CH 90

“Mr. He, Mrs. He, the private room is ready, please follow me.”

Yang Yun took He Yanfeng’s arm, smiled and nodded: “Thank you.”

“It’s our honor that Mr. He and Mrs. He chose our hotel for dinner.” The manager led the way with a smile on his face, and his tone was enthusiastic but not overly friendly: “After I found out yesterday that Mr. He and Mrs. He had reserved a place, I made the decision to leave a portion of the broth our head chef cooked today. I heard from Mrs. He that your son loves braised meatballs, so the kitchen simmered it this morning, and left it on a slow fire that is just perfect to eat now.”

Jiang Chen and He Qianmin followed two steps behind the He Yanfeng couple. He Qianmin subconsciously turned his head to look at Jiang Chen when he heard these words, and found that his expression was as calm as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, so he quietly let out a relieved breath.

“Here we are, I hope Mr. and Mrs. He and your two sons have a pleasant meal.”

The manager helped to close the door of the private room and retreated. The two solid wood doors were closed, which also isolated the sound from the outside, and the air in the room became silent for a moment.

The private room was large, decorated in a modern Chinese style, the high ceiling was bright, and the dining area was clearly distinguished from the leisure area. There was still a while before the food would be served, and the four of them sat on the sofa in the leisure area. Soon, the waiter who came in to take their orders broke the silence.

Yang Yun casually took a menu and handed it to Jiang Chen: “Xiao Chen, you order first.”

“Thank you, Aunt Yang.” Jiang Chen took it politely, ordered a dish at random, and handed the menu to He Qianmin.

“Don’t you want to order some more?” Yang Yun asked, concerned: “Your hand is not healed yet, and you need to eat some food that can promote wound healing. Would you like to order a bowl of pigeon soup?”

Jiang Chen declined with a smile: “No need, I’m not too hungry now, thank you Aunt Yang.”

Yang Yun slightly curved her lips, hiding the disappointment in her eyes.

He Qianmin glanced at his mother without any trace, and said, “Mom, I just drank a bottle of Coke after class, and I’m not hungry now, you can make the orders.”

Yang Yun immediately diverted her attention: “Didn’t Mom tell you to drink less of these things? Coke is not healthy, and you are still growing now. Drinking too much carbonated drinks is not good for your health.”

“I haven’t been drinking much.” He Qianmin turned to look at Jiang Chen: “My brother can testify for me.”

“Qian Min rarely buys soft drinks. It should likely be a treat from a classmate, and he couldn’t refuse.”

Only then did Yang Yun feel relieved. She took He Qianmin’s hand and chided him: “You really need to listen to your brother more at school, but your brother is already in the third year of high school, and he is also so busy with work, and now his hand is injured, so remember to take good care of him, but you can’t always look for him either, it will disrupt your brother’s studies.” She turned her head to look at Jiang Chen with gentle eyes: “Xiao Chen, you have to take good care of yourself at school, you know that your health is the most important thing, right?”

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled, “Okay.”

After the waiter finished taking the orders and walked out, He Yanfeng got up and said, “Qian Min, stay with your mother outside, and Xiao Chen, go inside and have a talk with me.”

He Qianmin’s body, which was sitting crookedly, instantly straightened, and then he got up as well: “I’ll go too.”

He Yanfeng turned around, crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows: “You and your mother haven’t seen each other for so long, can’t you spend more time with her?”

“Won’t it be the same when we eat together later?” He Qianmin walked to Jiang Chen’s side: “Besides, what could you and my brother have to talk about that you must avoid me and my mother, it’s fine if I follow along.”

“Qian Min, sit outside with Mom for a while, and tell me how you have been at school over the past half a month.” Yang Yun secretly pulled Qian Min’s arm: “Just wait a bit, your father and brother will tell you when they are done talking.”

He Qianmin pulled at his hand, and it was the first time that he knew how strong his normally fragile looking mother could be.

Jiang Chen raised his eyes and glanced at He Qianmin. Seeing that he stopped struggling, he turned his head and said, “Uncle He, we can go over there to talk”

He Yanfeng walked to the side of the display shelves, walked around the screen, and opened a hidden door. Only then did Jiang Chen discover that there was a small conference room hidden within the private room.

“Come in.”

He Yanfeng found an armchair to sit down on, and beckoned his hand at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen closed the door, glanced at the lush green plants outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and sat down opposite He Yanfeng.

“Do you like the decoration here?” He Yanfeng looked out the window: “There’s a lot of greenery.”

“My father likes this decoration style.” Jiang Chen slightly curved his eyes: “My mother likes flowers and plants very much.”

He Yanfeng nodded slightly and slowly twice, then changed the topic and said, “I asked you to come in for a private conversation, you are probably a little confused right now.”

“Before…..” He Yanfeng tapped his fingers on the desk, paused for a while, as if he were considering his words: “My wife and I have thought about how to tell you something for a long time, but before we could, a lot of things happened, and after going through all of this, I think, maybe speaking directly and frankly is the most effective way to go about this.”

Jiang Chen nodded: “Uncle He can speak directly if you have something to say.”

He Yanfeng took out a document envelope from a drawer on one side, and put it in front of Jiang Chen: “Look at this first.”

Jiang Chen looked down at the document envelope, but didn’t open it right away.

He Yanfeng returned to his original position and sat down, nit urging him. He said gently and slowly: “I remember the first time I saw you, it was in a bookstore, you had a little girl with you and you were talking to Li Xiao and Qian Yu. I was very surprised, Qian Yu is not a shy girl, but she seems to change when she is with you. Later, I was even more surprised when I saw you getting along with Qian Min. He Qianmin, that kid, is even seldom so obedient to his elders, he is only so obedient in front of you that I almost dare not recognize him, then I thought, what kind of ability do you have to inspire such docility in our little devil…..”

Jiang Chen opened the document envelope and pulled out several stapled A4 papers.

He Yanfeng observed Jiang Chen’s expression calmly, and continued: “Later, as I got to know you more and more, I have to admit that you are indeed a very likable child, worthy of everyone’s liking. And then I received this document envelope.”

Jiang Chen turned to the last page of the results, paused for a moment, and gently placed the report on the table.

“You don’t look surprised at all.” He Yanfeng said: “Your mother and I were much more surprised than you when we got this report.”

Jiang Chen didn’t hide it: “There are too many similar coincidences, I had some guesses before.”

He Yanfeng sat up straight, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Jiang Chen quietly: “Then have you ever investigated it?”

“No.”

The smile on He Yanfeng’s face faded a little bit, and his tone became a little cryptic: “Why didn’t you check it out?”

Jiang Chen raised his eyes: “Why should I?”

Two pairs of similar eyes faced each other, and the dust floating in the air also seemed to slow down, leaving only the sound of gentle breathing in the room.

He Yanfeng chuckled lightly, crossed his legs, and leaned back: “Before I thought, of my two sons, one seems to be steady and mature but lacks the ability to take on responsibility, while the other seems to be brash and flamboyant but actually shields himself up like a hedgehog. Why is it that not one of them has a personality like mine, but now I know, it turns out that isn’t the case.”

“Xiao Chen, you don’t need to feel hostility towards me and your mother.” He Yanfeng smiled, with a bit of helplessness in his eyes: “We are your biological parents, and the starting point for everything we do is out of love. I also respect you very much, so the first moment we knew about this, we didn’t immediately go to the Jiangs to negotiate with your adoptive parents to get you back, but found a suitable time to tell you about it first. Then it’s up to you to decide when to tell your adoptive parents.”

Jiang Chen put the report back into the brown document envelope, and said calmly, “Even if I say that I don’t want to change my identity back for the time being, and I don’t want you to publicize this matter, you will still follow my wishes?”

“We are willing to discuss it with you.” He Yanfeng smiled slightly: “Find a time that both parties will think is suitable.”

“Half a year.” Jiang Chen said, “I’ll announce this after taking the college entrance examination.”

Even though He Yanfeng thought that Jiang Chen would delay for a while in order to mentally prepare the Jiangs, he never thought that it would take half a year for Jiang Chen to open his mouth. Almost without thinking, he shook his head and said, “That is not possible.”

Worrying about Jiang Chen’s misunderstanding, He Yanfeng quickly explained: “Your identity is very important to the He family. The He family does not just consist of me and your mother, but also your uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Especially your grandparents. After they learned of your identity, they became very anxious to meet you. As your father, I can try my best to satisfy your request, but as their son, half a year is too long for the elderly.”

Jiang Chen didn’t expect this to be the reason. Facing He Yanfeng’s gentle and sincere eyes, he slightly pursed his lips, and said his reason: “My mother will give birth in four months, I don’t want her to suffer any shock during this period, and she is also giving birth at an advanced age, so she needs more care than other mothers during the post pregnancy period. If she learns of my identity, it will definitely be difficult for her to recover her health in peace.”

He Yanfeng didn’t expect Jiang Chen to bring up this reason for the half a year wait. He pondered for a moment, and said: “Xiao Chen, I understand your worries and concerns, and I know that you have a deeply close relationship with your adoptive parents, but half a year is really too long. I will go back and discuss with your grandfather, and Dad cannot promise you what will happen in the end.”

Hearing the last part of He Yanfeng’s words, Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered slightly. He paused for a moment, and pursed his lips before saying, “Thank you.”

He Yanfeng had been observing Jiang Chen’s expression, and seeing that he did not show any repulsion or resistance to his claim, the smile in his eyes deepened, and he said while the atmosphere was good: “There is no need to say thank you between father and son. So long as it is not a crime, Dad will support you unconditionally.”

The corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth slightly raised, but he didn’t speak.

He Yanfeng shook his leg, stood up and said, “Come on, let’s go out and tell your younger brother about this. I imagine his expression will be very stunning later, maybe he will even jump up in surprise.”

Jiang Chen glanced over He Yanfeng’s energetic expression, then stood up, thinking to himself: Unfortunately, He Yanfeng was doomed to be disappointed.