AFM Ch 7 Part 2

Jing Mian ate a little and felt that he had no appetite, so he put down his chopsticks gently.

“Xiao Ren, give Mianmian more food. The child is so skinny; he must not be eating enough,” Ren Xingwan’s mother noticed Jing Mian and said with a smile.

This time, Ren Xingwan didn’t ignore her suggestion.

Instead, he really did pick up a soft, pale-colored pastry from the table and put it on Jing Mian’s plate.

Jing Mian felt a little embarrassed, so he ate the little pastries.

After completing this task, another oddly shaped little snack was quickly placed on his plate. It looked delicious.

Jing Mian held back for a moment, then picked up his chopsticks and ate it bit by bit.

So, the third one came soon after.

Jing Mian: “…”

Jing Mian decided not to accept it silently this time. If he continued like this, the entire table would have to be eaten by his stomach.

So, he put down his chopsticks and took the man’s hand that was about to continue while no one was paying attention.

Jing Mian reminded in a low voice: “It’s enough, Mr. Ren.”

He only needed to put on a show; why be so serious?

But the man’s hand suddenly took the initiative.

Jing Mian’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyelashes trembled.

Under the table, his hand that was trying to pull back was slowly interlaced with the man’s fingers and tightened.

A strange but heart-pounding warmth traveled from the tips of their fingers and palms, coming in a slow yet powerful way.

Jing Mian pressed his lips in confusion.

Mr. Ren, what’s going on?

“Now,” the man opened his lips and said, “is there anyone you know better than Jing Luo?”

“…”

Jing Mian suddenly understood and was instantly embarrassed.

It turned out that the man heard what he and Jing Luo said just now—that they hadn’t even held hands yet, and that he didn’t know Jing Luo as well as he thought.

So this was intentional.

Jing Mian lowered his eyes and realized he was wrong.

Even though the man’s hand was still gripping his own, he still pretended nothing was happening.

After a while, the man’s voice suddenly came to his ears.

“Want to go out?”

Jing Mian was startled and then realized that Mr. Ren meant for them to leave the banquet. He said quietly, “It’s not over yet. Isn’t it bad to leave now?”

Ren Xingwan said, “It’s fine,” and led Jing Mian away from their seats.

Then he took Jing Mian and left the seat.

Jing Mian was led up the stairs. He wasn’t very familiar with the layout of the hotel, but he really wanted to ask: If they were going to leave, wouldn’t they go down the stairs? Why were they going higher?

But soon, he understood.

Mr. Ren had actually brought him to the skydeck.

Night was slowly falling, and there was only a gentle breeze, which did not make people feel cold.

They walked to the edge of the fence. From this angle, they could overlook the night view of the entire city.

The beautiful night view and the cool breeze that brushed against his face made Jing Mian suddenly feel that all the unhappiness from earlier had disappeared into thin air.

They didn’t speak, just overlooking the entire night scene. Suddenly, the man turned sideways and whispered: “Do you want to meet someone?”

Under these circumstances, it was obviously impossible to leave the party. But the person they wanted to see had already appeared at the party earlier, so Jing Mian couldn’t think of who Mr. Ren wanted them to see.

But he nodded obediently.

The next second, the man actually took out his mobile phone.

Jing Mian: “?”

Jing Mian watched him opened the phone, paused, and then dialed the number.

Soon, a waiting screen appeared on the screen. Jing Mian saw the small window for video calls and realized what the man meant… He seemed to want to video call someone.

“Mianmian.” Mr. Ren looked to the side and said softly, “This is the real meeting of the parents.”

Before Jing Mian could digest the meaning behind this sentence, an old lady’s face appeared on the screen.

Jing Mian was obviously stunned by the high-definition screen.

It was a white-haired old lady who seemed to be wearing a hospital gown and was too thin. The background seemed to be beside the bed, but her smile was extremely kind and she waved to the video.

Jing Mian reacted and quickly responded.

Ren Xingwan whispered: “Grandma.”

Jing Mian finally understood.

It turns out that the meeting with the parents that Ren Xingwan mentioned was a video call with his grandmother.

Jing Mian immediately became serious, and a strange nervousness arose in him. He nodded slightly at the camera and said politely and obediently:

“Grandma, hello. I’m Jing Mian. I’m Ren Xingwan’s…”

At this point, Jing Mian got stuck.

How should he introduce himself to his grandma?

Did Ren Xingwan mention that the two of them had received their certificates?

Did she also know what kind of relationship they have?

If she knew, how should he introduce himself to grandma?

Grandma, I’m your grandson’s husband?

Your grandson’s… lover?

No matter how he said it, it was both strangely embarrassing and strange.

Jing Mian’s brain was working so fast that his CPU was about to burn out. Countless titles were floating through his mind, but almost none of them seemed suitable.

The same-sex marriage system has only been implemented by the country in the past few years and has gradually gained public recognition. However, many elderly people still cannot accept it. After all, traditional concepts have restricted their thinking. It was not easy to change suddenly. Jing Mian could understand.

Just as he was at a loss for words, Mr. Ren’s voice suddenly rang out beside him.

“My bride.”

Ren Xingwan said suddenly.

“…”

Jing Mian’s breath froze, and his cheeks instantly turned red.

Seeing the old lady on the screen looking at him with confusion, as if waiting for him to speak, Jing Mian hesitated for a moment. His throat unconsciously rolled, and in the end, he compromised and said in a soft voice:

Jing Mian: “…his bride.”

……

After saying that, Jing Mian wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it. Although he was telling the truth, after being led by the man, it felt like something had changed. It was especially strange to say it in front of this kind old lady.

But after he said it, the old lady’s expression didn’t change at all. Instead, she nodded and smiled even more.

The old lady waved at Jing Mian again. That kind and warm expression could be felt even through the screen.

Jing Mian smiled back at her.

The grandma suddenly asked: “What’s this little baby’s name?”

“…?”

Jing Mian seemed to remember that he had just introduced his name to his grandmother.

So he repeated himself again, this time much slower and clearer.

The old lady nodded.

After a while, the old lady suddenly asked again: “What is the name of this beautiful little baby?”

“…??”

This time it was Jing Mian’s turn to be stunned.

At this time, he heard the man explaining in his ear:

“Alzheimer’s disease.”

Jing Mian was stunned and suddenly realized.

No wonder Ren Xingwan’s grandmother didn’t show up at this party. She was sick, which was why she was wearing a hospital gown.

She was probably the person Mr. Ren cared about the most.

Perhaps Mr. Ren wanted Jing Mian to meet someone at this gathering, but the person didn’t show up. So the man had found another way to let Jing Mian and his grandmother see each other even if they were separated by an unimaginable distance.

This was the true… meeting of the parents.

The chat only lasted for a short while, and then the grandmother had to go eat with the nurse, so the video call ended.

Jing Mian had something he wanted to say, but he didn’t know where to mention it.

However, before he could speak, the man suddenly handed him a drink. The purple liquid inside looked like it was made of blackberries.

Jing Mian accepted it in slight surprise. “Thank you.”

He suddenly remembered that at the gathering just now, he hadn’t eaten much food, but he had really enjoyed the refreshing blackberry juice. Xiao Jing Luo didn’t like the sweet and sour taste, so he quietly handed it to his brother.

Jing Mian took a few sips and found that it was surprisingly refreshing.

He didn’t expect that such details would be noticed by Mr. Ren.

Not long after Jing Mian finished drinking, he inevitably went to the toilet.

Mr. Ren returned to the banquet just now.

Not long after the man sat down, a small figure slipped over to Ren Xingwan’s side. He seemed to stretch his hand as high as he could…and only managed to touch the man’s arm.

Ren Xingwan: “…”

He glanced sideways.

It was discovered that it was Jing Mian’s half-brother Jing Luo. During the meal just now, Jing Mian’s attention was given to this four-year-old child.

The man’s expression remained unchanged, even a little cold.

However, the little dumpling swallowed his saliva. Although there was fear in his eyes, there was also displeasure. He was looking at the man with an expression of pride as if he didn’t know what he wanted to do.

Ren Xingwan’s aura was too strong. He just sat there, not speaking, but seemed to have said everything. His careless eyelashes and brows revealed a bone-chilling coldness that was inaccessible.

But the little dumpling didn’t flinch.

Jing Luo said, “You are Ren Xingwan.”

“The man who stole my brother.”

Ren Xingwan maintained his original posture without raising his eyebrows: “Yes.”

This short word is simply more lethal than thousands of troops.

After receiving a response that could be described as contempt or even disregard from the enemy, Jing Luo’s face turned red. The little guy pursed his lower lip and decisively launched his ultimate move:

“My brother said bad things about you. He doesn’t like you.”

Sure enough.

This time, he successfully attracted the other party’s attention.

Ren Xingwan raised his eyebrows: “Bad things?”

“Yeah!” Jing Luo looked left and right and finally decided to release this bomb in the enemy’s ear. The effect was very good.

He climbed onto the chair and whispered to Ren Xingwan:

“Brother has already told me secretly.”

……

“He said you actually can’t do it.”