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CH 092 STAY IN THE HE FAMILY
The air was quiet for a few seconds, and the sound of steady footsteps approaching from far away became audible. Jiang Chen followed the sound and saw old Mr. He approaching slowly.
“Are you all here?” Old Mr. He stopped by the decorative shelf at the junction of the living room and the middle hall, glanced at Jiang Chen and He Qianjian, and said calmly, “Since you’re all here, follow me to the study.”
Yang Yun pulled He Yanfeng’s hand subtly, and He Yanfeng said, “Dad, why don’t we eat first.”
“The rice is not cooked yet.” Old Mr. He turned around and said, “We can eat after talking.”
The most authoritative person in the He family spoke, and the other people in the living room could only follow upstairs one after another.
He Qianjian grasped the shoulder strap of his schoolbag, his finger bones turning white, and he had to try a few times before stepping up the stairs. He could only hear footsteps of varying severity in his ears, and his mind buzzed.
“Qian Jian.” Yang Yun patted his shoulder lightly with worry, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
He Qianjian’s mind was in a mess, and he couldn’t hear the sounds from the outside world at all, only calling the system in his mind again and again.
However, at least three minutes had passed since he saw Jiang Chen’s appearance in the old family house, and the system still had not responded at all.
Recently, the system often did not respond to his requests for exchanges, and every time he asked, it would say it was busy looking for vulnerabilities, and if he continued to press, it would evolve into a quarrel.
——Every time it was He Qianjian quarrelling one-sidedly, while the system would only be indifferent and unresponsive.
He Qianjian didn’t believe that there would be any vulnerabilities in the system at all. As the system itself said, it was a high-tech product from the future, possessing unimaginable powers, and in the plane where it resided it was the most perfect intelligent program. That being the case, how could it have vulnerabilities? If there was a vulnerability in its code, why had he never heard of it in the past ten years.
All this just showed that the system might have grown tired of him and was slacking off passively.
Thinking of what he might have to face next, He Qianjian gripped the shoulder strap of his schoolbag harder and harder, and even his face and scalp felt numb. He wanted to turn around and run, leaving here immediately, but his stiff and heavy legs could only climb up mechanically.
“Qian Jian, Qian Jian?” Seeing that He Qianjian’s complexion was ugly and his hands were shaking, Yang Yun grabbed his arm and raised her voice, “Qian Jian!”
The people walking in front were all turned back by Yang Yun’s suddenly raised voice, only to see He Qianjian suddenly raising his head, revealing a bloodless face with a pair of dark eyes without any light in them, and at first glance it was actually somewhat scary.
“What’s going on?” Old Mrs. He, who was closest to He Qianjian, stretched out her hand, felt cold sweat on He Qianjian’s forehead, and said with distress, “Why is your complexion so bad? Are you sick?”
“I
..” He Qianjian opened his mouth, looked through the familiar faces, and found Jiang Chen at the top of the stairs. He seemed to be talking to He Qianmin just now, and he glanced this way casually when he heard the movement behind him, before simply retracting his gaze indifferently.
This expression, this look
..He Qianjian hadn’t seen it for a long time.
——Like an aloof god up high, he lacked the interest to even look at the ants under his feet.
Scenes of memories that he thought he had forgotten rushed towards him like turbulent waves, as if a mountain was pressing down on him, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
But what right did Jiang Chen have?
He was the eldest son of the He family, he was the eldest grandson of the He family who had lived in the He family for eighteen years and was known and recognized by everyone!
Did Jiang Chen want to take everything away from him? What right did he have?
He Qianjian was breathing more and more heavily, and his anger surged layer upon layer. He looked at Jiang Chen as if he had killed his father and was his enemy.
The He family saw He Qianjian’s expression in their eyes, and their expressions shifted for a bit. The only ones whose expressions did not change were He Yanjun and Jiang Chen.
“Qian Jian
..” Yang Yun called him again, with a softer voice: “Are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”
Having his arm pulled roughly, He Qianjian suddenly came back to his senses. The first moment his reason returned to his mind, the different expressions of the He family also entered his eyes.
It was all over.
This thought was the only one left in He Qianjian’s mind.
Seeing that He Qianjian was still in a daze, old Mrs. He touched his forehead again, feeling its coldness, and she couldn’t help worrying: “Da Bao has been acting a little bit strange since he came, could he be haunted by something?”
He Qianjian’s eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Before he could speak, a sneer suddenly came from above: “Putting aside the fact that there are no ghosts in this world, even if there were ghosts, they wouldn’t dare to haunt him, so Grandma, you don’t have to worry. “
He Yanjun patted He Qianmin’s head lightly, “Don’t say anymore.”
He Qianmin pursed his lips, but did not continue to speak in the end.
But old Mrs. He believed in her own speculation.
She had studied abroad for many years and respected the religious beliefs of various countries. When she was studying abroad, she would occasionally go to church with religious friends. After returning to China, she would also go to mountain temples to worship, but she did these more just for fun, she didn’t really believe it. However, after knowing that the identities of Jiang Chen and He Qianjian were switched, her thinking changed drastically.
After He Qianjian was discharged from the hospital, the words of the old Daoist priest who they met at the entrance of the hospital rang in her ears, everything he had said hd come true. Old Mrs. He just thought he was a charlatan before, but now she just wanted to know what the Daoist priest meant whe he said, “There will be a catastrophe within three years”.
He Yanya often went home in the past few days and heard the old lady’s nagging a few times. When she saw the old lady’s expression, she knew that her mother really felt that He Qianjian was haunted by something.
But
..He Qianjian’s expression just now was indeed strange. He Yanya suppressed the doubts in her heart, comforted her old mother and said: “Mom, Qian Jian is probably just tired from a day of class, the course load in the third year of high school is heavy, so don’t worry about it.”
“Yes.” Yang Yun answered, “Qian Jian has been under a lot of pressure from his studies during this period, and he is often like this.”
Just now He Qianjian thought on impulse about just pretending that he was really haunted by something to muddle through just now, but He Yanya’s words made him sober. Over these years, in order to ingratiate himself to the He family it was like walking on thin ice, and he also knew the temperament of the He family very well.
No one in the He family was easy to fool, moreover the system had been offline recently. His biggest backer now was old Mr. He and old Mrs. He. He must not try to lie to the old lady, otherwise once she came back to her senses, he would really have no foundation left in the He family.
“Grandma, don’t worry, I’m fine.” After thinking it over, He Qianjian smiled a little. He held the old lady’s arm, and his voice was a little hoarse: “I have been sleeping late during this time, and I had a fever as well a while ago. Maybe I haven’t fully recovered yet, so I have been easily distracted recently.”
“A fever?” The old lady hastily touched He Qianjian’s forehead: “Are you feeling better now?”
He Qianjian raised his eyes and looked upwards, his eyelashes lowering slightly, and his voice was very docile: “It’s much better now.”
“Drink more soup later, you lost so much weight.” The old lady said with distress: “Even if you are a third year in high school, you have to pay attention to your health, Xiao Yang, you go back
..”
“What are you all doing on the stairs?” Old Mr. He interrupted old Mrs. He with a serious face, “Hurry up already!”
The study room was huge, and even with ten people standing or sitting, it didn’t look crowded at all. Old Mr. He sat on a red sandalwood armchair, his imposing and calm eyes swept over the people present, and finally fell on He Qianjian, before saying slowly: “I called you all back today because I have something important to say, Qian Jian.”
He Qianjian met old Mr. He’s gaze, and tried his best to control his facial expression, trying his best to look confused.
Old Mr. He said: “Because of a mistake, the identities of you and Jiang Chen had been switched. In fact, you are not a child of our He family, but the child of Jiang Chen’s parents.”
“How, how is that possible?” He Qianjian’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he said with disbelief: “I’m not the son of my parents? I don’t believe it! Impossible, impossible, I can’t not be the son of my parents, Grandpa, you are lying to me, aren’t you?”
The lines at the corners of old Mr. He’s mouth deepened, he sighed silently and did not speak.
“Mom, Mom!” He Qianjian turned his head and grabbed Yang Yun’s hand: “Am I really not your son? I don’t believe it, tell me this is not real.”
Seeing He Qianjian’s red eyes, Yang Yun felt her heart clench a little: “Even if you return to Jiang’s, you are still Mom’s child.”
“Impossible!” He Qianjian looked at He Yanjun and He Yanya: “Uncle, Aunt, tell me, i this true!?”
He Yanjun and He Yanya glanced at each other, feeling a little unbearable.
He Qianmin moved closer to Jiang Chen’s ear, and said in a low voice, “He can’t perform as well as he usually can today, his expression looks like he’s choking on mustard.”
Jiang Chen was a little surprised at He Qianjian’s quick response at first, but now hearing He Qianmin’s words, and seeing He Qianjian’s open mouth and red eyes, he couldn’t hold back the silent smile on his lips.
He Qianjian was brewing tears at first, but catching sight of Jiang Chen’s brief smile, hatred flashed across his face. Before anyone noticed, he quickly lowered his head and murmured: “So it’s like this
..no wonder Jiang Chen always shows up at our house, no wonder he could make Qian Min and Qian Yu like him so quickly, no wonder he is better than me in everything
..I actually didn’t know anything before, it’s normal for you to not want me because of him, who told me to be unable to compare to him
..”
“Da Bao, come to Grandma.” Old Mrs. He grabbed He Qianjian’s hand, pulled him close with distress and said, “Don’t worry, as long as Grandma is here, no one can drive you out. Don’t be afraid, Grandma will protect you.”
He Qianjian whimpered and lay down in the arms of old Mrs. He, crying loudly.
After He Qianjian finished speaking, He Qianmin’s expression became very ugly. Seeing that he was crying so falsely, he stepped forward to speak. Jiang Chen sensed his intention, grabbed his arm without a trace, and shook his head lightly at him.
Old Mr. He saw everything with his eyes, sighed in his heart, and said in a deep voice: “Alright, what is there to cry about, you are already eighteen, and you can’t even bear this setback?”
He Qianjian remembered that cowardice and fragility was what the old gentleman hated the most, and his body stiffened. His eyes were red when he looked up, and he said in a hoarse voice: “Grandpa, I was just too upset just now, I’m sorry.”
“Have you calmed down now?”
He Qianjian nodded, his trembling voice making it hard to believe that he had indeed calmed down, but old Mr. He seemed to be unable to see it, and said lightly: “Then let’s get down to business. Since you two had your identities wrongly switched, then it must be changed back. Our He family knows about this matter, but the Jiang family probably doesn’t know about it, so we need to find a time to discuss this matter with the Jiang family, when do you two think is the most appropriate?”
He Qianjian’s voice was tense: “I will listen to Grandpa.”
Old Mr. He looked at Jiang Chen, and Jiang Chen looked at him calmly and said, “Grandpa, I have already discussed with my father, and I hope to tell my parents about this in half a year.”
He Qianjian raised his head abruptly, almost unable to hide the surprise and joy on his face. He Yanjun and He Yanya were also very surprised, they didn’t expect Jiang Chen to push the time so far back.
“Half a year?” Old Mr. He’s expression darkened, and his eyes carried the imposing and oppressive aura of one being in a high position for so long: “Give me your reason.”
“My mom is pregnant.” Jiang Chen looked at him, and said without avoiding his eyes, “I can’t let her emotions be stimulated.”
Old Mr. He stared at him closely, and after a while, he looked at He Qianjian, and said in a deep voice, “What do you think about delaying returning to the Jiangs for half a year?”
He Qianjian secretly scolded Jiang Chen as an idiot, and suppressed the sudden ecstasy in his heart. He pretended to hesitate for a moment, and then murmured: “It is true that older pregnant women cannot be stimulated, Grandpa, I have no objection.”
“You have no objection?” Old Mr. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a cryptic way: “You don’t have any thoughts about when to recognize your biological parents?”
He Qianjian froze, and recalling that old Mr. He didn’t like people who had no opinions, so he decided to take a gamble: “I want to stay in the He family! Just like Jiang Chen has no feelings for the He family, I have never met the Jiang family. I also have no feelings for them, so as long as I can stay by your side longer, even for one more day, I am willing.”
“Could it be that you won’t recognize us anymore when you go back to the Jiangs?” Old Mr. He’s eyes were dark, and seeing the anxiety hidden in He Qianjian’s eyes, he sighed deeply in his heart, raised his hand and said, “You all go out first, I’ll talk to Jiang Chen alone.”
When there were only two people left in the study, old Mr. He softened his tone: “Tell me what you think.”
“My mom has finally conceived a second child. I don’t want her to be stimulated in any way. This child is one our family has been looking forward to for a long time. I hope you can understand.”
Looking into the young man’s clean and clear eyes, old Mr. He said in a deep voice: “Have you ever thought that you are also the child your parents had been looking forward to for a long time, and now knowing that their own flesh and blood is unwilling to recognize them, won’t they be sad as well?”
Jiang Chen pursed his lips, remained silent for a while, and then said, “I will try my best to make it up to them.”
Old Mr. He shook his head. He and Jiang Chen had only met twice, but at this age, he also had some experience in judging people. Jiang Chen seemed gentle and polite, but in fact he was simply hiding the distance and aloofness within him. To put it bluntly, this child was not one to be moved or persuaded by either soft or hard methods.
The emotional card could not be played, and other aspects were equally difficult to use. Jiang Chen himself was excellent enough, so even without the He family’s money, power and status, just him alone was enough to let himself stand in a higher position than even the He family. And his only weakness was his adoptive parents. If something happened to them because of the He family, he was afraid that not only would their biological child be unable to be recognized back, instead there would even be enmity and hatred.
Old Mr. He said: “I can promise you that I will tell your parents your true identity after half a year, but during these six months, you have to come back here for two meals a month, and after disclosing your identity, you must change your surname back to He.”
Jiang Chen pondered for a moment, then nodded, “Okay.”