Chapter 47: Appearance
When Jiang Chenghan entered the room, it was quiet, with no one speaking. Yan Jingshu slightly lowered his face, his expression somewhat somber and helpless, while Xie Huan looked both shocked and furious, yet unable to believe what he had heard.
"Jingshu, who is this?" Jiang Chenghan acted as if he hadn’t noticed their unusual expressions. Upon entering, he smiled faintly at Yan Jingshu with a hint of confusion.
Though he guessed the man before him was likely Yan Jingshu’s uncle, Xie Huan, this was their first meeting, and Xie Huan did not yet recognize him. It was only proper to introduce each other first.
"You’re back." Hearing Jiang Chenghan’s voice, Yan Jingshu raised his head, revealing slightly reddened eyes.
"What’s wrong?" Startled, Jiang Chenghan quickly stepped closer to Yan Jingshu and asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Is the child troubling you?"
Feeling embarrassed in front of Xie Huan, Yan Jingshu gently pushed Jiang Chenghan away and said, "I’m fine. It’s just that some dust got in my eyes earlier. Really, it’s nothing."
Having just come in from outside, Jiang Chenghan knew there wasn’t even a breeze today. But noticing the glance Yan Jingshu cast toward Xie Huan, he guessed it must be related to him and didn’t press further.
As for Xie Huan, he had been so stunned by Yan Jingshu’s earlier words that he hadn’t snapped out of it until Jiang Chenghan returned.
Though he had never met Jiang Chenghan before and didn’t know him, seeing how concerned and attentive Jiang Chenghan was toward Yan Jingshu—and how intimate Yan Jingshu was with him—he realized this must be Yan Jingshu’s husband. Moreover, seeing how harmonious and affectionate the two were, completely unlike what he had imagined before coming, a complicated emotion flickered in his eyes.
But the next moment, when he heard Jiang Chenghan mention the word "child," his eyes—almost identical to Yan Jingshu’s—widened in shock. His gaze immediately dropped to Yan Jingshu’s abdomen as he exclaimed, "You’re pregnant?"
Though Yan Jingshu's pregnancy was already showing, it wasn't very noticeable. Additionally, while it was late spring, there was still some chill in the mornings and evenings, so he wore multiple layers, making it even harder to detect.
Earlier when Xie Huan first saw Yan Jingshu, he had immediately questioned him about the circumstances of his marriage. Unwilling to hide anything from Xie Huan, Yan Jingshu had explained everything in detail - from Yan Jingyu's schemes against him, Xie Shi's complicity and manipulations, to the truth that he wasn't Xie Shi's biological child.
Jiang Chenghan had returned just as Yan Jingshu finished speaking, so the matter of his pregnancy hadn’t yet been mentioned.
Now that Xie Huan had brought it up, Yan Jingshu nodded and said, "...It’s been five months already."
Hearing this, Xie Huan’s expression grew even more complicated. He looked at Yan Jingshu, then at Jiang Chenghan, momentarily at a loss for words.
Yan Jingshu, however, suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Uncle, this is Chenghan, my husband. Chenghan, this is my uncle."
Though he wasn’t Xie Shi’s child and thus not truly Xie Huan’s nephew, since Xie Huan hadn’t yet rejected him, he allowed himself the audacity to call him "uncle" one more time.
Jiang Chenghan had already guessed as much and wasn’t surprised. He immediately greeted Xie Huan, following Yan Jingshu’s lead and addressing him as "uncle."
"No need for formalities." Xie Huan was fairly amiable toward Jiang Chenghan and didn’t object to the address.
When Jiang Chenghan first saw Xie Huan, he found him somewhat familiar. Then, looking at Yan Jingshu, he immediately noticed how strikingly similar their appearances were—especially their eyes, which seemed carved from the same mold.
However, Xie Huan was older, with faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and carried an air of refined elegance and composed dignity, shaped by years of experience. Compared to Yan Jingshu, whose temperament had always been gentle and mild, Xie Huan, with his stern demeanor, seemed colder and more distant.
If Yan Jingshu were Xie Shi’s child and Xie Huan’s true nephew, their resemblance wouldn’t be unusual—after all, there was an old saying that nephews often took after their uncles. But since Xie Shi wasn’t Yan Jingshu’s birth mother, Xie Huan logically shouldn’t be his uncle. Yet their uncanny similarity inevitably raised questions, especially since Xie Huan wasn’t an ordinary man—the faint red mole between his eyebrows marked him as a shuang'er, capable of bearing children.
Recalling what Yan Jingshu had once told him—that Xie Huan had studied at Mushan Academy in the capital before his birth but left shortly afterward to travel with his mentor—and seeing how genuinely shocked Xie Huan was upon learning the truth about Yan Jingshu’s parentage, Jiang Chenghan’s mind raced with an almost unbelievable suspicion.
But suspicion was just suspicion—he had no proof. And with Yan Jingshu currently pregnant, a time when he should avoid stress and emotional turmoil, Jiang Chenghan kept his thoughts to himself, not revealing even a hint on his face.
Xie Huan had come with certain intentions, but after learning about Yan Jingshu’s forced marriage and the truth of his origins, seeing the loving relationship between him and Jiang Chenghan, and especially discovering Yan Jingshu’s pregnancy, he found himself unable to voice what he had originally planned to say.
After a long silence, seeing Yan Jingshu’s anxious expression, Xie Huan sighed inwardly and finally softened his expression. Gently, he said, "...Seeing that you’re doing well now, and even have a... child, I can rest easy. As for the rest, don’t dwell on it. Even though my sister isn’t your birth mother, as long as you’re willing, I will always be your uncle..."
Though by blood, Yan Jingshu and Xie Huan were no longer uncle and nephew, for the sake of both the Yan and Xie families’ reputations, the truth of Yan Jingshu’s parentage could never be revealed. Moreover, Xie Huan, who had always been fond of Yan Jingshu and now felt guilty over Xie Shi’s mistreatment of him, didn’t want to cause him further distress.
Hearing this, Yan Jingshu was momentarily stunned, then broke into a happy smile. "Of course I’m willing. You’ll always be my uncle."
That's his parent isnt it
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