Chapter 10: Old Cow Eating Young Grass

Xie Yan only snapped back to reality when he could no longer see Xue Qingdai through the glass window. “Mom, what did you just say?”

Zhang Shuying, hoping to catch a crack in her son’s icy expression, patiently repeated herself, “I said, your little fiancée has come to the capital.”

“Her grandfather is quite odd. Instead of calling you or your father first when his granddaughter arrived, he informed an old friend. Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? We’re the in-laws—they’re being overly polite.”

“Honestly, I’m a little excited now. I have to hurry and buy some things at the department store that my sweet daughter-in-law might like. Fruits, nuts, candies—they all have to be the newest and best!”

“Finally, I’ll have someone to go shopping with!”

Zhang Shuying stormed out of the women’s clothing store. All the carefully selected clothes suddenly didn’t interest her anymore—her mind was now fully occupied with preparing a gift for her future daughter-in-law. She had secretly overheard her husband on the phone the night before, and this morning, she had coaxed the truth out of him while he was still warm in her arms. After all, what man could resist a woman’s gentle touch?

Her son just hadn’t seen his fiancée yet. Once that girl appeared before him, stayed by his side every day—let’s see if that ice block Xie Yan could really keep his cool then!

Zhang Shuying had already made it to a street corner, buying freshly stir-fried sunflower seeds from Old Yu.

Xie Yan stood frozen in place, and only then noticed two toddlers outside the glass window staring at him while sucking on candied hawthorns. They excitedly waved at the handsome “uncle” with thick brows and deep eyes. Xie Yan tried to force a smile to look less intimidating, but inside, he felt lost.

He actually liked children. But fate had played a cruel joke on him, and he’d long since given up the idea of having any.

Following his mother and carrying her things, Xie Yan walked the brick road with his mind in chaos, his feet feeling like they were treading on clouds.

So… his young fiancée had really come to the capital. It was time to seriously discuss the engagement—to protect her reputation to the greatest extent.

He didn’t disturb his mother’s enthusiasm for preparing a warm welcome. But memories surged—of how, in his youth, he had been forced into the engagement by his elders. Back then, he hadn’t yet been injured. He could’ve given her a warm home.

Accidents come without warning. Xie Yan had long accepted his inability to have children, and he had made peace with how to treat the girl he was engaged to. Love was complicated. Having stared death in the face on the battlefield, such abstract notions weren’t part of his world. But as a man with a sense of duty, he couldn’t allow his fiancée to lose her chance at motherhood because of him.

He could die alone or on the battlefield—but a woman who married him shouldn’t be doomed to a childless life.

The political alliance between the Xie and Xue families came with complicated benefits. He had never voiced his inner thoughts. Judging from their actions, the Xue family didn’t seem eager to have their daughter marry early either. Both families maintained a delicate balance, but politically, they remained close allies.

Xue Fengrong, the second son of the Xue family, rarely mentioned his sister in front of him. But he had a well-known reputation in the military for doting on her—sending huge packages home every year, even mailing this year’s newly issued military coat early.

Was the Xue family really guarding against him?

Xie Yan suddenly realized a lot after thinking about how Xue Qingdai’s grandfather had handled her arrival. It was time he had a proper talk with Xue Fengrong.

Zhang Shuying noticed her son dazing off and grew increasingly dissatisfied. “Xie Yan, what are you thinking about?”

“I don’t care what you’re busy with—you need to apply for leave from your unit immediately. You’ve saved up plenty of vacation days. Use this chance to build a relationship with your fiancée. You never call or write to her—this time, you have to be warm and sincere.”

As she turned to speak, she didn’t look where she was going and bumped into Xue Qingdai, who was holding a bag of freshly baked egg cakes.

The cakes nearly fell, but Xie Yan reacted quickly and caught them. If those golden cakes had hit the dusty gray brick pavement of the capital—always covered in a layer of grit from frequent sandstorms—they’d have turned into little charcoal lumps. And judging by how delicate this girl looked, she definitely wouldn’t have eaten them if they’d touched the ground.

Xue Qingdai looked at the cakes in his hands and hesitated, biting her lip. He seemed… not so bad after all. The egg cakes were still warm—almost too hot to hold.

In the distance, Xue Yongkang had just finished buying sweet potatoes and shouted, “Daidai! I told you to slow down!”

“It was my fault—I didn’t watch where I was going and blocked this young lady. I’m so sorry. I just bought some red dates, please try a few,” Zhang Shuying said, pushing the dates into Qingdai’s hands as a token of goodwill. Her sharp phoenix eyes lingered admiringly on the girl’s delicate, beautiful features.

Good heavens—who would let such a beautiful, treasured daughter wander the bustling streets of Wangfujing alone? She was gorgeous. Not a single new recruit in the song-and-dance troupe could compare.

Xue Yongkang didn’t want to accept anything from strangers—free gifts were always the most expensive. He feared it might just be an excuse to get close to his sister.

Then he looked up and saw their future brother-in-law—Xie Yan.

“???”
Didn’t Grandpa say the capital was huge? That it was impossible to run into Xie Yan by chance?

Xie Yan was staring directly at his sister. Xue Yongkang immediately wanted to grab Daidai and flee. He tried his best to act like he didn’t know him.

“Yes, my sister was being careless. It’s really nothing,” he said calmly.

In Xue Qingdai’s memory, whenever someone bullied her back in the village, her third brother would lash out so fiercely that the other side would be left speechless. This calm and composed version of her brother was rare. She soon realized he didn’t want her involved and let herself be steered away.

But just before they left, she turned to Xie Yan and softly said, “Thank you.”

Xie Yan quietly responded, “Mm.”

The attitude of that young girl’s brother, avoiding him like the plague, was truly odd.

Zhang Shuying noticed the sibling pair had already walked far away, yet her son was still staring after them. She waved her hand repeatedly in front of Xie Yan’s face. “Son, snap out of it. Do you know them?”

“I’m telling you, you do have a fiancée, so stop staring at other people’s daughters. It would make your fiancée uncomfortable.”

“No matter how pretty that girl is, she’s not yours.”

“Don’t be like your father, always drawn in by a pretty face.”

“And your fiancée is still young—you need to be more considerate.”

“Your dad, honestly… already an old ox eating young grass, and now he wants to arrange the same for you!”

Zhang Shuying kept grumbling as they walked. Xie Yan only listened to a few lines, knowing that once they got home, she’d put on a whole different face.

He followed behind, carrying all the shopping bags. Zhang Shuying had convinced her husband to pull some strings and secure a courtyard house not far from the Forbidden City. The alleys around the Xue family’s courtyard were wider, and their own courtyard wasn’t small either.

At the doorstep, Zhang Shuying straightened her clothes, reapplied some bright red lipstick—the kind her old man gave her—and fussed with the curls from her latest perm.

Xie Yan was already used to his mother’s double-faced ways: all elegance and charm on the outside, a sharp tongue in private. He helped carry everything while watching her stride gracefully up the stone steps of their courtyard.

“Songshan, where are you~?” she called sweetly.

Xie Songshan, reading in his study, heard his wife’s voice, opened the door, and stepped out to greet her. He wrapped his arms around his much younger wife.

Zhang Shuying could never stand being apart from him for too long. Every time they separated, she needed a warm embrace to ease the longing.

“Alright, alright, don’t let our son laugh at us. This isn’t very dignified.”

“I don’t care,” Zhang Shuying said. “You didn’t come shopping with me, and our son doesn’t know my taste. Next time, you must come pick out clothes with me.”

“Everything you choose, I love wearing. I just really love being with you,” she said.

Xie Songshan held her hand, looking at his son, who stood nearby looking uncomfortable. He had no choice but to reply, “Alright, alright.”

Xie Yan quietly slipped back to his room.

This was exactly why he didn’t like coming home. The two lovebirds, nearly a hundred years old between them, always acting so sweet it gave him a toothache.

He changed back into his military uniform. After dinner, he was going to visit the military district where Xue Fengrong was stationed—he needed some answers.