Dabao nodded. “Yes, I did.”
Nan Chen let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. I knew Erbao couldn’t possibly come up with such a heart-wrenching idea!
“Why would you do that?” Nan Chen asked.
“Because things aren’t working out between you and Mommy.” Dabao replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Mommy had it rough trying to raise us all by herself, so we want her to have someone who she can share that burden with.” Dabao said.
“And?”
“We were really happy when you showed up, Daddy. We thought you were that person Mommy needed, but it turns out that you’re not.”
Nan Chen felt a sting in his heart, but it wasn’t as bad as the one from earlier.
“And why is that?”
“Because you don’t like Mommy. You two are always fighting, and you’ve hurt Mommy so many times. You even went on dates with other women!”
“I did not!” Nan Chen said anxiously.
“You did, Daddy. We have photos to prove it.”
Dabao said and whipped out the “intimate” picture of Nan Chen and Ouyang Qing.
“It’s not what you think. This is just a misunderstanding,” Nan Chen said.
“But everyone else doesn’t see it that way, and neither does Mommy. Since you don’t like Mommy, then you shouldn’t continue to hurt her like this. Wouldn’t it be better to let someone else look after Mommy then? Then, if there’s someone you like, you can go out with her like too. That way, everyone goes home happy!” Dabao said.
Nan Chen was taken aback by what he heard.
How long did he take to prepare those lines? Everyone goes home happy? As if!
“I didn’t have Erbao say those things to hurt you, Daddy. We were just being honest,” Dabao said.
Nan Chen kept quiet.
Damn, it still stings. This won’t do. I have to control my emotions and calm myself down…
“It’s not what you think. You’re both wrong,” Nan Chen tried to explain.
“What is it, then?” Dabao asked.
“You kids wouldn’t understand.” Nan Chen sighed.
They may be geniuses and all, but they’re still children. It takes time and experience to understand these sorts of things. How am I supposed to explain my relationship with Ning Ran in a way that they would understand?
“There you go again, Daddy! You shouldn’t underestimate us just because we’re kids, you know?” Dabao protested.
“Forget it. We’re not having this conversation anymore. Ouyang Qi can never be that special someone for your Mommy, and that’s final.”
Nan Chen closed his eyes and leaned back against his seat after saying that, signaling the end of the topic.
Dabao got the hint from his body language and stopped talking too.
Of course, he wasn’t actually going to let someone else look after his Mommy. Everything he said was just to provoke his Daddy into taking action, and it seemed to have worked a little too well.
The car arrived at Yunfeng Hill about half an hour later.
Under normal circumstances, cars were prohibited from entering Yunfeng Hill. However, an exception was made for those from the Nan family, and they drove all the way to the back of the mountain.
Erbao had slept throughout the entire journey, and it took them quite a bit of effort to wake her up.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful! I wanna catch a bird!” Erbao shouted excitedly when she saw that they were in the mountains.
“Don’t run around! It’s dangerous!” Nan Chen ordered.
“Okay,” Erbao responded obediently.
They made their way towards Nan Zhengde’s room in the temple.
“Great-Grandpa!” Erbao began calling out to him from outside the door.
Nan Zhengde had a sharp sense of hearing and opened the door when he heard her voice. “Erbao!”
Erbao ran over to him and hugged his leg tightly, melting his heart with her cuteness.
“Hi, Great-Grandpa.” Dabao bowed respectfully.
“Haha, come on in! It’s windy here in the mountains, you wouldn’t want to catch a cold now!” Nan Zhengde said affectionately and welcomed them into his room.
“Are you going to become a monk, Great-Grandpa?” Erbao asked.
“Don’t say that, Erbao!” Nan Chen scolded her.
Erbao pouted and kept her head low.
Nan Zhengde laughed. “Hahaha! It’s fine. She is just naïve! No, I’m not going to become a monk.”
Erbao smiled brightly at him and asked, “Then why are you here, Great-Grandpa?”
“You see, I’ve made a wish in my prayers to Buddha. In return, I promised to devote some time each year to pray at the temple. Now that my wish has been granted, I have to fulfil my end of the promise,” Nan Zhengde explained patiently.
Erbao didn’t really understand what he said, but she nodded her head anyway.
“This is votive offering.” Dabao understood.
“That’s right! It’s exactly as Dabao says!” Nan Zhengde was overjoyed.
“Are you not going back anymore, Great-Grandpa?” Erbao asked.
“Of course I am, silly! I’ll head back after a few days.”
“Okay! It’s chilly up here, so you must take good care of your health! Remember to eat on time and stay warm, Great-Grandpa! Make sure you take your medicine if you catch a cold, okay?” Erbao reminded him.
“Oh my, you’re so thoughtful! All right, I will.”
“Let’s go out and play so Great-Grandpa can have a chat with Daddy.”
Dabao knew Nan Chen didn’t just come all the way here to visit Nan Zhengde.
“Okay!” Erbao played along. One of Nan Chen’s men led the kids outside, and he was the only one left in the room with Nan Zhengde.
“At the birthday banquet, the General said a high-ranking official would be coming over from the Capital for inspection. He specifically requested for you to escort the official in order to establish some form of contact. That could make things go a lot smoother for us in the future. However, I heard you abandoned your duty at the last minute for a woman. I need you to give me an explanation for that.” Nan Zhengde’s tone was calm, but there was a powerful energy in the air around him as he spoke.
“I did escort him,” Nan Chen replied calmly as well.
“I know, but you did that afterwards. From what I’ve heard, you were actually planning not to go through with it, but you did it because of that woman. Is this true?”
“Yes.”
Nan Zhengde froze. I had expected Nan Chen to come up with some sort of excuse, but he actually admitted to it! This complete honesty from him is what I admire the most about him! He would admit to his mistakes and take full responsibility for them. That’s why I could entrust him with everything in the Nan family despite his young age.
“Are you going to sacrifice your career for a woman?” Nan Zhengde’s tone grew cold, revealing his true nature.
In fact, he was never the kind and endearing old man that he appeared to be.
He kept that side of him hidden as much as possible, but bits of it would still show from time to time.
The Nan family had trampled over countless bodies to get where they were today, so it only made sense that the Old Master Nan was a force to be reckoned with.
The fiercest competitions took place during his time, after all.
