The streetscape kept receding behind him as the car quickly left the city proper and headed toward Qian.
Duan Yan leaned against the window, his thoughts drifting.
He had heard that his mother’s new husband was financially well-off, but he had no idea just how “well-off” he was. All he knew was that the man was a company’s general manager. His stepfather had a son with his ex-wife, a boy younger than him who was apparently still in college.
Duan Yan truly did not know much about his mother’s life. In the past few years, he had either been training or away on missions. He had barely had time to keep in touch with his mother, let alone his grandfather or his friends.
The autumn sunlight made him drowsy. In the midst of his tangled thoughts, Duan Yan began to feel sleepy. He closed his eyes and dozed lightly for a while. He did not know how long he had been asleep when he suddenly heard the driver let out an exclamation.
When he opened his eyes and looked out the window, he saw a cream-colored building standing not far away, almost dazzling beneath the sunlight.
It was a sprawling detached villa in an unmistakable Tuscan style, with red-tiled roofs and arched windows.
The front of the villa opened onto a broad, meticulously tended garden. From where the car was, he could not see the entire building, but he could make out the ball-shaped yew trees, the broad expanse of blue-green lawn, and the tasteful wedding decorations arranged throughout the garden.
“Son, the location says it’s somewhere around here. Are you sure it’s that big villa up ahead?”
Duan Yan took out his phone and checked it. Only then did he confirm that the villa ahead was their destination. He nodded at the driver.
The driver clicked his tongue, turned the steering wheel under pressure, and drove onto a wide private road. They passed a line of luxury cars parked along the road.
Luxury cars seemed commonplace here. A battered BYD, on the other hand, stood out far more. As a result, the car was soon stopped by two men in impeccably tailored suits.
After a moment’s thought, Duan Yan took a wedding invitation from his belongings. The men blocking the road were slightly startled when they saw it, but they courteously returned the invitation and let them pass.
The BYD stopped at the location marked on the map. Under the driver’s watchful gaze, Duan Yan got out of the car, immediately drawing numerous overt and covert glances.
“Who’s that? Did he come to the wrong place?”
The men and women holding champagne in the garden had already widened their eyes slightly when the old BYD Qin pulled up at the entrance.
When the car door opened and the young man stepped out, two wealthy older women giggled.
“He looks like a hired special forces soldier.”
“Is that really necessary? It’s a wedding, not an auction.”
“President Huang wants to make a good impression. I heard Old Master Song is bringing the Young Master along to show his support. Naturally, they can’t afford even the slightest mishap today.”
Those who heard this drew quiet breaths.
Duan Yan naturally noticed the guests sizing him up, but he was entirely unaffected by the pressure. He walked straight toward the woman standing before the champagne tower, dressed in a champagne-colored embroidered gown with her hair elegantly pinned up.
He had only ever seen that face in photographs. She was beautiful and radiant, but in person, she was clearly even more striking than in the pictures.
“Xiao Yan!”
Duan’s mother had been listening to someone beside her with a smile on her lips when she suddenly caught sight of the tall, straight figure approaching. Her eyes lit up at once.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
After apologizing to the guests, Duan’s mother hurried over to meet him.
Her husband, a somewhat heavyset man with a kind expression, followed close behind.
“You’ve grown so tall and broad.”
Duan’s mother was overjoyed to see that Duan Yan had truly come, but when she saw the child who had now grown into an adult, her eyes inevitably grew hot.
Huang Lin quickly caught the emotion in his wife’s expression. He gently placed an arm around her lower back, offering her silent reassurance.
“Xiao Yan, was it tiring coming here alone?”
This was Huang Lin’s first time meeting his stepson. The boy seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined. He looked calm and sensible, clearly mature beyond his years.
“I originally said I’d send a car to pick you up, but we never got your address. I’m sorry you had to make the trip yourself.”
Duan Yan told them that he had only been discharged from the military today. Duan’s mother had indeed asked for his address and offered to send someone to pick him up, but he had refused.
“It was easy enough to take a taxi.”
The three of them chatted for a while, their conversation warm but carrying a trace of unfamiliarity. There were many guests, and as the central figures of the day, the couple had to attend to everyone. They had no time to spend entirely with Duan Yan.
After a few simple exchanges, Duan’s mother and Huang Lin told him to look around on his own and promised they would have a proper talk once things quieted down.
Duan Yan agreed. After watching the couple turn away to greet their other guests, he headed into the villa and casually picked up a glass of wine, downing it in one go.
Huang Lin’s thoughtfulness had become an instinct built up over time, and his mother’s happiness was clearly genuine rather than something she had put on for show. Having made the trip today, Duan Yan felt that he could finally set his mind at ease.
Once the ceremony was over and he had eaten, he would leave. He had no intention of staying long and disturbing his mother’s new life—just as he had never really been part of her life all those years before.
Just as Duan Yan stood in an inconspicuous corner, his thoughts drifting, he distinctly sensed a gaze fixed on him. It lingered for quite some time.
He followed the direction of the gaze and saw a young man.
The young man’s skin was very pale, almost sickly. The faint bluish veins at his neck were clearly visible, while the silk shirt draped smoothly along his shoulders. The slightly open collar revealed the delicate ridges of his collarbones.
If one were to describe him using the popular terms of the internet, he was undoubtedly a pampered, fragile young master from a wealthy family. But Duan Yan’s only thought was that the young man looked far too thin.
He also appeared quite young, around the age of a college student.
The young man stood fairly close to him, alone. Hidden gazes drifted over him from all around, much as people had kept sizing Duan Yan up when he first arrived.
Putting the clues together, Duan Yan arrived at an answer: this young man was his stepfather’s son.
After a brief hesitation, he decided to take the young man a drink and introduce himself. He and this so-called younger brother had no direct stake in each other’s affairs, and naturally, there never would be one.
Still, today was a joyous occasion. He hoped everyone could remain harmonious and friendly, if only as a blessing for the newlyweds.
He walked over to the dazzling array of drinks, paused for a moment, then picked up a glass of juice instead.
Song Fengsui stared at the glass of juice held out before him and froze.
He frowned slightly and looked up at the man who seemed so out of place here.
Duan Yan clearly sensed that the young man’s gaze had turned strange after he handed him the juice. At the same time, even more eyes around them shifted in their direction, while the murmur of whispers grew louder.
This unquestionably confirmed his guess. People were naturally curious and fond of gossip, and a relationship like theirs was bound to become the first thing everyone wanted to watch.
But Duan Yan had never cared about such things. He simply acted according to his own heart.
With the natural patience and tolerance of an older brother, he asked, “You don’t like it?”
Song Fengsui raised his brows slightly and, almost on instinct, accepted the drink being offered to him. A series of soft gasps immediately arose from the surrounding guests.
Duan Yan had excellent hearing, so he naturally heard them.
He was delighted that his younger brother had accepted his goodwill. Whether it was sincere or feigned, at least the guests would not be treated to any spectacle from the host’s family today.
The two stood shoulder to shoulder. Neither said another word, but neither walked away either. Soon, the emcee announced through the microphone that the wedding was about to begin, and the two of them tacitly went to watch the ceremony.
Afterward, the guests were shown to their seats for dinner. By an odd stroke of luck—or perhaps misfortune—the two ended up at the same table, and not just any table: they were seated at the head table.
The guests below wore strange expressions. Huang Lin and Duan’s mother, seeing the two seated together onstage, were equally surprised and caught off guard. But this quickly turned into smiles of relief and delight.
Duan Yan knew that their joy after the initial surprise came from seeing the children from both sides getting along harmoniously—a complicated emotion, to say the least.
His heart eased. He glanced at the younger man beside him, who happened to look back at him as well.
The dinner was exquisite, and many of the dishes were ones Duan Yan had never seen before. Most of them, however, were not to his taste, so he barely touched them. Instead, he used the serving chopsticks to put food onto the plate of the person beside him several times.
His younger brother ate with refined, impeccable manners. Anyone could tell that he had received an excellent upbringing, and Duan Yan was rather pleased.
At first, Duan Yan took the initiative to serve him dishes that were a little too far away, ones that he had noticed the younger man glancing at. Later, the younger man began saying what he wanted, and Duan Yan would serve it according to his instructions.
Everyone at the table looked somewhat awkward, but no one said anything. They simply kept their heads down and ate. The only exception was the blond brat sitting opposite Duan Yan. He had a tender, youthful face, but was dressed in a mature style; the contrast only made him look even more immature. For some reason, he had been glaring at Duan Yan the entire time, occasionally snorting like a bull.
After being glared at more than ten times, Duan Yan placed a piece of abalone on the plate of the person beside him and finally could not resist asking, “Which side of the family is that kid from? Why does he keep glaring at me?”
The young man seemed a little surprised. “You don’t know?”
Duan Yan’s brows twitched. “Is he someone I should know?”
The young man took a small bite of the abalone from his plate, thought for a moment, then answered seriously, “I think it’s necessary for you to know.”
Duan Yan could not help asking, “Then who is he?”
“According to the ethical relationship between you, he counts as your younger brother. Now that his father has married your mother, in this sort of blended family, the children on both sides are highly likely to harbor hostility toward each other. Clearly, your younger brother is no exception.”
After saying this, the young man gave Duan Yan a fair assessment as well. “But it seems you’re a pretty good older brother—steady and calm.”
Duan Yan was stunned for a moment. “I heard the Huang family has only one child.”
“That’s right.”
“?”
Duan Yan stared at the young man. “Then who are you?”
The young man looked back at him. “I’m a guest invited by the groom. My surname is Song. You can call me Song Fengsui.”
Duan Yan: “…”
The two stared at each other in silence.
After a moment, Duan Yan fell silent. He suddenly felt like leaving. The food wasn’t even very good anyway.
