TRMLCM Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Inquiry

Grandpa was beaming inside. He shifted his body, wanting to reach out and tease his worried old wife. Shen Chang’an was coming downstairs and nearly thought he’d fallen. He paused, looking back, but didn’t see anything.

Grandma followed Shen Chang’an, two steps behind. Seeing Grandpa’s movement, she hurriedly reached out to support him, her brows furrowed, and she glared at the careless fool, ready to scold him.

Grandpa, realizing what he’d done, looked sheepish and smiled at her ingratiatingly, his eyes pleading innocently. Grandma glared at him, her anger rising, but she gave him face, considering the children were present.

Cheng Yi, standing in the sunlight, turned and saw the three coming out. He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly went to greet them. He didn’t ask any questions but helped bring the wheelchair for Grandpa to sit in.

After pushing Grandpa into the yard, Grandma attentively fussed over him, adjusting his clothes. Cheng Yi stood aside, and Shen Chang’an, seeing the empty space, was about to find a stool to sit on when Grandpa stopped him.

Grandpa looked at Cheng Yi standing quietly beside him, his expression calm, but his eyes held a hint of inquiry and scrutiny. “Cheng Yi, may I call you Xiao Yi?”

Shen Chang’an had introduced Cheng Yi to Grandpa when he first brought him here.

However, Grandpa didn’t remember Cheng Yi’s name because of that introduction alone. He thought to himself, it was all thanks to his old partner, who kept mentioning it in his ear every day, “Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi,” until his ears were calloused.

Clearly, Cheng Yi was also surprised that Grandpa could suddenly speak, but the surprise was fleeting.

This was his first exchange with Grandpa.

His usual casual demeanor vanished, and he stood upright, his back straightened instinctively, his eyes deep and focused, his expression normal, his voice somewhat respectful. “Of course, Grandpa can call me that.”

“Mm,” Grandpa said with a very bland expression, speaking softly. He didn’t look at Cheng Yi but turned his head slightly to look at Shen Chang’an, who was quietly watching them. His eyes froze for a moment, and a burst of anger welled up inside him.

“Chang’an, I want to chat with, Xiao Yi alone, you go, and play for a while.”

As he spoke, his slurred voice was steady, and his expression was calm, as if it were a very ordinary thing.

Shen Chang’an glanced at Cheng Yi, met his calm, gentle black eyes, and, seeing his reassuring gaze, he nodded slightly, took Grandma’s hand, and turned to leave.

After they left, Grandpa didn’t say anything, his shrewd eyes fixed on Cheng Yi, and the more he looked, the more irritable he became.

Cheng Yi wasn’t flustered by his gaze. He stood there openly, his face revealing nothing, but beneath his shirt, his straight back was already stiff, and his well-defined fingers were gently rubbing along the seam of his pants.

Although he had just given Shen Chang’an a reassuring look, he was actually very flustered inside.

The more he was watched, the more flustered he became.

How to put it?

…He felt like Grandpa had discovered something.

What to do?

Waiting online, it’s urgent.

Even though he was panicking, Cheng Yi still maintained a calm facade.

The two stared at each other, engaged in a silent confrontation.

After a long time, seeing that Grandpa still hadn’t said anything and his gaze was becoming increasingly unfriendly, Cheng Yi panicked even more, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He hardened his heart and chose to come clean. “Grandpa, I know you’re not willing to accept it, but I’m serious, and Chang’an is serious too. If you’re unhappy, just come at me. Just tell me, what do you want to teach me?”

When it comes to confrontation, for Chang’an, winning or losing doesn’t matter.

“Hmph,” Grandpa snorted softly, looked at the shameless brat in front of him, pursed his lips, wanting to roll his eyes, but he didn’t because he didn’t know what he was considering.

Grandpa had been teaching for decades and had a rigid, old-fashioned mindset. He had met countless people of all kinds and had seen all sorts of temperaments.

Perhaps he would prefer those well-behaved, obedient, and sensible children, but surprisingly, he also found something pleasing about this boy, who stood straight but didn’t restrain his arrogant nature.

He had actually been observing Cheng Yi, observing the person Shen Chang’an had first brought home in the name of a friend.

Perhaps it was because of his daughter’s belated rebellion that Grandpa had an uncontrollable desire to investigate this special first encounter.

Although he mostly stayed in his room, the minds of young people were the easiest to understand, especially since the two of them didn’t seem to want to hide their relationship completely.

Grandpa was speechless. In his opinion, anyone who wasn’t blind could see the relationship between the two.

After all, even his simple-minded wife seemed to have noticed.

So the two of them had no intention of concealing anything at all.

Grandpa calmed down as if the oppressive feeling Cheng Yi had just felt was an illusion. He leaned back in his chair calmly, able to see the blue sky with a lift of his head.

Cheng Yi watched Grandpa’s sudden change in attitude, and his thoughts nearly didn’t keep up.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“This path is difficult, have you really thought it through?”

Grandpa’s voice was calm but slightly weak, yet very steady, carrying the kind of detached feeling that had been carved into his body after experiencing the world.

Cheng Yi’s face had long lost the immaturity of his youth, becoming mature and steady. He said in a deep voice, following his heart and telling the truth.

“This is the result of careful consideration.”

“What about your family? Do they agree?”

“I’ve already told my two relatives, and they won’t object, but my father will need a little more time.”

“What about descendants?”

“What if you get older and start to crave, wanting to have your own children?”

“What if you think it’s just a novelty, a temporary impulse, and want to go back to the normal path?”

“Or, what if you abandon him after messing around?”

…Abandoning after messing around was an old wound in his heart that couldn’t be healed.

The future…

It’s so far away, he was powerless.

What about his Chang’an, his good grandson?

Grandpa’s face was pale, and the more he asked, the more he thought, the more he felt annoyed.

He knew his child’s temper. Shen Chang’an’s personality was just like his mother’s, a wooden head. Once he had identified that person, it would be difficult to change him.

Grandpa knew about this community but didn’t understand it much. However, he thought that love was independent of gender. Whether it was between men, women, or men and women, the existing problems were pretty much the same.

In his opinion, this community, which was not bound by legal constraints, probably had more problems than normal relationships between men and women.

Whether two people could love each other to the end depended entirely on their conscience.

Cheng Yi looked at Grandpa’s troubled expression, and his heart felt heavy. After calming down and thinking calmly, he shook his head, his expression serious and sincere, and answered each question steadily and forcefully.

“I don’t like children, but if Chang’an likes them, we can adopt one later.”

“I’m not impulsive about this relationship, I’ve really thought it through.”

“I’ve never been in love before, and I don’t know what my orientation is. After meeting Chang’an, everything seemed to become clear, so there’s no such thing as a normal or abnormal path.”

“As for abandoning him after messing around?”

He didn’t feel anything when he said it himself, but now that he heard Cheng Yi say these words, Grandpa’s eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously held his breath and listened carefully.

Cheng Yi’s straight back relaxed, and his whole demeanor became lazy, like a good-for-nothing playboy.

He stood in a languid posture, chuckled softly, and then slowly retorted,

“Chang’an is so excellent, isn’t it me who should be worried about this issue?”