Seeing An Jing laugh heartily without any reservation, even though Xiao Changyi knew that An Jing was just teasing him, he wasn’t angry at all. In fact, the tenderness in his cold eyes seemed to deepen a bit more.
Caught by the corner of his eye, Xiao Changyi noticed their youngest son practicing the horse stance, his little legs trembling, so he touched the boy’s head: "Take a rest before you continue practicing."
An Yiyun was physically weak, unlike his brothers Su Yi Jing, Su Yixing, and An Yiqing. With such physical activities, he couldn’t last long, but he continued to persist, gritting his tiny teeth.
"No, Yun Er wants to keep practicing!" An Yiyun said this with extraordinary stubbornness, his little face full of a defiant expression.
Xiao Changyi didn’t say a word.
But An Jing felt pained, "Yun Er, honey, take a rest before you continue." Her youngest son’s legs were still shaking.
"No, Yun Er wants to keep practicing!" An Yiyun repeated. Despite his stubbornness and persistence, his little legs shivered even more, and his teeth clenched tighter.
An Jing looked at those trembling little legs, feeling even more heartache.
Xiao Changyi also felt uneasy.
"Yun Er," squatting in front of An Yiyun, An Jing calmly spoke again, "Didn’t you promise mom you’d be good and obedient? Honey, stop practicing, okay? Once you’ve rested enough, you can continue, alright?"
"Not okay!" An Yiyun’s eyes instantly reddened, and his voice choked, "Big brother, second brother, and third brother are still practicing. Yun Er wants to practice too! Why can they do it, and Yun Er can’t?"
Seeing An Yiyun’s red, tearful eyes, An Jing felt indescribably distressed.
The only discontentment in her and her husband’s blissful life was their youngest son’s health.
"Yun Er, your constitution isn’t as good as your brothers’. Honey, please don’t practice anymore," An Jing gently tried to persuade An Yiyun, attempting to pull him away and stop him from practicing the horse stance further. She could no longer bear to see her little son in such a pitiable state.
But before An Jing could touch An Yiyun, he collapsed from exhaustion and sat down on the ground.
And as soon as he sat down, An Yiyun began to cry sorrowfully: "Big brother, second brother, and third brother can all do it, why can’t Yun Er? Yun Er is also mom and dad’s child, wu wu... Yun Er wants to be like his brothers, wu wu..."
An Jing’s heart nearly broke hearing An Yiyun cry, and she quickly embraced the child sitting on the ground, soothing him tenderly: "Yun Er, your frailty is innate, let’s not be sad, don’t be sad. Even if your brothers are physically stronger, remember, you have a better memory than them. Last time mom taught you that poem, your brothers couldn’t memorize it, but you did. Every inch has its short, every ell its long; you shouldn’t compare your weaknesses to your brothers’ strengths."
Even though An Jing’s consolation might have seemed a bit far-fetched, she still offered those words. She was so disturbed by her son’s crying that she hardly knew how best to comfort him.
"Mom, Yun Er just wants to be like his brothers..." An Yiyun continued to cry his heart out, his breath hitching between sobs, "Every time... Every time my brothers can keep practicing... but... but Yun Er gets tired after just a little while... wu wu... Yun Er doesn’t want it to be ..."
"Yun Er..." An Jing’s voice choked up, and it hurt to swallow.
To date, the best doctor they knew was Gong Juechen, yet even he could only treat their youngest son to this extent, unable to cure him completely.