"Alright, alright!" Ning Yibin put down the chess piece and said to Qin Jian with a smile, "Look at how anxious your mom is, afraid that her son might suffer the slightest grievance."
Qin Jian felt a bit embarrassed by his parents’ fuss, "It’s okay, Dad. I don’t mind playing chess with you until dawn as long as you’re up for it. The most important thing is your health. Mom is worried about that, too."
Ning Yibin chuckled and glanced at Zhang Yun, saying, "Your mom knows best what she’s really worried about."
"What else could I be worried about, if not for you all, for our family?" Zhang Yun wasn’t pleased with Ning Yibin’s remark.
"Oh, are you getting angry now? I know you care about our family. Alright, alright, I’m going to wash up and sleep," Ning Yibin said, standing up and speaking to Qin Jian, "You should go to bed as well. I know ’absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ you must be eager to head upstairs, right?"
Qin Jian’s ears turned slightly red as his father teased him, "Dad, if you’re going to be , I must stay and play chess with you all night! Until you’re sick of it."
"Don’t listen to him, son. Go upstairs and sleep!" Zhang Yun came over and started packing up the chess set, pulling Ning Yibin back to their bedroom.
Once inside, she began to scold Ning Yibin, "Look at you, a grown man, don’t you know our son just came back? The light upstairs is still on; his wife must be waiting for him. Our son is probably thinking about going upstairs by now. You can play chess anytime, but why must you insist on playing with our son late at night?"
"So it’s all my fault now? I was thinking that our son is staying for a longer visit this time, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him; I miss him! I wanted him to spend a bit more time with me. Look at you nagging at me."
"I nag you because you don’t think about our son at all. Think back to when you were young, didn’t you always rush to my room first when you came home?" Zhang Yun glared at him as she spoke.
"Fine, fine, fine. It’s my fault! It’s my fault! Let’s rest now, okay?" Ning Yibin was now evidently afraid of his wife.
In his youth, that sharp tongue of hers was quite something! Now that they’ve aged, her scolding skills haven’t deteriorated one bit.
But he liked to listen to her nag.
Her heart was always filled with others, considering a lot for him, for their son, for this family.
Qin Jian went upstairs and, upon opening the door, saw An Hao still not asleep. She was sitting under the light, diligently reviewing her lessons.
"Still not sleeping at this hour? When you’re at school, do you study this hard every day?"
Hearing him speak, An Hao turned her head to look at him, her gaze lingering on his leg for two seconds before she got up and walked towards him.
"Come, sit down!" She pulled Qin Jian toward the bed.
Qin Jian sat down as she directed, only to see her crouch down and start rolling up his trouser leg.
She heard he was injured, and all evening her mind was on checking how bad his injury was.
Finally, he had come upstairs after an entire evening.
"Why, are you being so forward today? Can’t wait to see me the moment you spot me?" Qin Jian said with a curve on his lips, joking with his young wife.
An Hao didn’t respond to him and directly rolled up his trouser leg above the knee.
Seeing the fierce, reddish-purple scar left on his knee after the wound had healed, An Hao’s tears immediately clouded her vision.
"How did you get injured so badly? Couldn’t you have mentioned it in a letter to me?"