Chapter 49 End

Due to attending universities in different locations, Ying Nian and Jiang Jiashu hadn’t seen each other for quite a while. Ying Nian still remembered that Jiang Jiashu had privately reported to Ying Heng behind her back, and she had mentioned several times on WeChat that she’d give him a hard time when they returned home for the New Year. Jiang Jiashu knew this well and hadn’t dared to contact Ying Nian for a long time.

When receiving his call, Ying Nian was genuinely surprised.

Gone was his usual playful and mischievous tone, as Jiang Jiashu spoke solemnly: “Grandpa has been discharged from the hospital.”

Ying Nian paused for a few seconds: “Mm.”

“He’s getting old, and his health isn’t what it used to be. This time, a lot of his old ailments resurfaced. My mom told me that on the day he was discharged, Grandpa left the hospital in a wheelchair, pushed by my uncle… The doctor’s advice is that he’ll need someone to take care of him from now on. He can still speak, but he’s having some difficulty with other things, and walking isn’t very convenient,” Jiang Jiashu said. “My mom and uncle have discussed it, and they’ve decided to hire someone to go to the house every day to take care of Grandpa. Grandma is also getting old, and it’s too tiring for her to take care of him.”

“Got it,” she responded. “Are you planning to go back?”

Jiang Jiashu said he was. “My mom asked me to go back and check on him. Even though Grandpa’s been discharged, his condition is still not very good. The younger generation in the family is being called to see him every now and then. My mom’s worried that, just in case anything happens, they might not have many more chances to see him.”

Ying Nian remained silent.

He asked, “Are you going back?”

“You know what our relationship is like,” Ying Nian said.

Jiang Jiashu fell silent as well. In this situation, given Ying Zhaoguo’s condition, it wasn’t appropriate to speak ill of the old man, nor was it suitable to try to persuade Ying Nian to change her mind.

A knife cutting into someone else’s skin—only the person who has been cut knows how painful it truly is.

He didn’t want to be someone who offers advice without understanding the suffering.

Regarding this matter, Ying Nian truly didn’t want to talk much. After a short conversation, the two hung up the phone.

…

When Yu Linran arrived at the apartment with Ying Nian’s favorite dessert, she was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. Seeing him enter, she tried to get up but moved slightly and sat back down.

Noticing she was in a bad mood, Yu Linran put down the items and instinctively sat next to her. “What’s wrong?”

Ying Nian leaned against his arm for a long time.

“I’m thinking about my grandfather.”

“Your grandfather?”

She replied, “I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon.”

“Mm, and then?”

Ying Nian looked at him, “I think… I want to go back.”

Yu Linran was slightly surprised, “You want to go back to see him?”

“Yes and no,” she said. Her gaze drifted far away, and after a moment, she suddenly snapped back to reality, pursing her lips. “Some things… it’s time to put an end to.”

…

After Ying Zhaoguo was discharged from the hospital, his children hired a few highly experienced caregivers specifically to handle cooking, cleaning, and taking care of various chores, ensuring that both elderly parents were well looked after.

The descendants of the Ying family were quite filial. Even though they were busy, they always made time to visit him. The younger children, especially, took turns visiting the elderly couple on weekends to keep them company.

The day Ying Nian returned home happened to coincide with a time when the old man’s health had improved. After resting for a while, his complexion looked much better, and he had regained some of his former energetic spirit.

The whole Ying family had planned to gather at the old man’s house for a meal. Ying Yaoxing and his wife couldn’t quite figure out the reason for Ying Nian’s return, and before they even asked whether she intended to join, the eldest brother of the Ying family relayed a message.

Upon hearing that Ying Nian had returned, in an unprecedented move, Ying Zhaoguo himself took the initiative and asked Ying Nian to attend the family banquet.

Ever since a big argument between Ying Nian and Ying Zhaoguo at a hotel during her high school years, where Ying Nian declared that she would no longer attend such events or share a table with the old man, she had kept her word. No matter the occasion, whether it was a major or minor holiday, or even Spring Festival, she had never appeared at a family banquet since.

Over the years, neither side had made any effort to reach out to the other. When Ying Zhaoguo fell ill and was hospitalized, everyone in the family returned except for Ying Nian. The rest of the Ying family used to think Ying Nian was talented but also hot-tempered. They hadn’t expected her to be so resolute, sticking to her word without wavering. Her decisiveness made her behavior seem far beyond that of a mere young adult.

Some said she was cold and disrespectful to her elders, but Ying Zhaoguo’s own actions were laid bare for all to see. A mess of unresolved issues made it impossible to determine who was truly in the wrong.

Ying Yaoxing asked Ying Nian, “What are your thoughts? If you don’t want to go, I’ll just tell Grandpa you’re not feeling well, and we’ll cancel it.”

The couple still didn’t want to put their child in a difficult position. They had already done more than enough for the elder. They arranged the hospital and doctors, and the caregivers looking after the old man were all carefully selected by them.

They were filial, but they also cared deeply for their daughter.

Ying Nian thought for a while. “I have some things I want to say to Grandpa,” she said, her expression serious. “It might upset him. Do you think I should go?”

“I can’t make the decision for you,” Ying Yaoxing said. “Some things you have to decide for yourself. Just one thing—know your limits, and don’t go too far with anything.” He sighed, “If anything happens, Dad will back you up.”

With just those few words, Ying Nian felt a sharp pang of emotion at the tip of her nose.

“Alright.” She nodded with a faint smile on her lips, carrying a thousand unspoken words.

…

The Ying family had long known that Ying Nian was bold, but none of them expected her to be this bold—bold enough to say such “outrageous” things directly to Ying Zhaoguo.

Times had changed. Ying Zhaoguo was now an elderly man who had been hospitalized and needed care. The Ying family believed that no matter how much resentment Ying Nian held, it should have faded by now.

Ying Zhaoguo had already taken the initiative by inviting her to the family banquet. When she entered, Ying Zhaoguo was sitting in his wheelchair, no longer as stern as he used to be. In a rare gesture of acknowledgment, he said, “You’ve come.”

The family thought Ying Nian should take this opportunity to smooth things over. After all, she was the younger generation, the granddaughter, and no matter what, she shouldn’t hold onto grudges against her elders.

That was their thinking.

But Ying Nian wasn’t like that.

When she entered the room, she stopped at a distance from his wheelchair. She didn’t call him “Grandpa,” didn’t apologize, didn’t reflect on her own faults in the years she had clashed with her elders. She simply said, in a calm tone, “I’m here.”

Her aunt immediately scolded her harshly: “Ying Nian! Is that how you talk to your grandfather? No respect at all! After all this time, you can’t even greet him properly?”

Ying Nian ignored her and simply looked at Ying Zhaoguo, quietly observing him.

Sitting in the wheelchair, he no longer carried the imposing presence he once had. No matter how stern his expression, there was an air of empty bravado. Ying Zhaoguo, too, seemed a bit embarrassed, his face darkening slightly.

“What are you standing there for? Do you need an invitation?”

But perhaps he had come to terms with things, and his attitude was somewhat different. After a brief pause, he made an effort to soften his tone, saying, “Your brothers are all inside. Go in and find them.”

“I’m not here to eat,” Ying Nian remained still. “I came to see you.”

“To see me?”

“Yes,” she said. “This is the only time I’ll come. I won’t be coming again after this.”

Her uncle grew anxious. “Niannian! Don’t hold a grudge against your grandfather…”

Ying Zhaoguo raised his hand to stop her uncle, fixing his gaze intently on Ying Nian. “You’re here to tell me you’re still angry with me?”

“I know what I’m about to say may seem outrageous to others, but I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I believe it’s time to put an end to things,” she said.

Ying Zhaoguo snorted coldly. “An end?”

“That’s right.”

“You have Ying family blood in your veins, and you want to cut ties?!”

Ying Nian ignored his sarcasm. “You don’t need to tell me that. I’m not the kind of person to get caught up in such trivialities.”

The surrounding elders all hesitated, wanting to intervene—some to stop her, some to scold her, some to ease the tension—but the pair in the center of it all, the grandfather and granddaughter, gave them no opportunity.

“Before I came, I had some doubts. After all, my dad is your son. He is very filial and respects you deeply. Doing this would put him in a difficult position. The same goes for my mom—she’s never been favored by you. If I do this, she’ll be criticized even more in the future.”

“But I also know that, more than anything, they want me to live well.”

“My dad, my mom, and my brother—they love me, and I love them. Even if I never set foot in your home again, they will still do what they should, treating you well, being filial to you. And likewise, that won’t stop me from being good to them in the future.”

At this moment, Ying Nian felt an unexpected sense of relief.

“Grandpa,” there wasn’t a trace of disrespect in her voice. On the contrary, her expression, tone, and demeanor all conveyed her respect, “In the past, I truly wanted your approval.”

“In first grade, when I learned to write based on pictures, I showed you my little essays. When I became class monitor, I came home to tell you. When I scored 95 on a test, I brought the paper to you… So many times, I hoped you would praise me, that you would like me, instead of pointing at my handwriting and mocking, ‘What is this supposed to be?’ Or pouring cold water on me by saying, ‘Class monitor? Probably just rotating through every student.’ I didn’t want to hear you say, ‘Girls are just girls. No matter how hard they try, they’ll only score 95. Never meant to get a perfect score.'”

“You loved my brothers, even when they scored 80 or 70. If they failed, you’d still encourage them to try again. But me? No matter what I did, you never liked me.”

“When I was little, do you know how scared I was of you? If I accidentally broke a bowl, just one word from you would send me hiding in the bathroom, crying for twenty minutes. Every time my brothers reached out for you to hold them, do you know how envious I was? You never held me, not even once.”

“All the names in our generation were chosen by you—except for mine.”

“My nickname is Niannian, but not once in all these years have I ever heard you call me by it.”

“When you bought food, no matter if it was good or bad, expensive or cheap, everyone in the house got some. Even other people’s kids got a share. But me? I never got anything.”

“When my brothers argued with you, if you were in a good mood, you’d just see it as them being playful. But with me? Even if you were in the best mood, I was always considered rebellious.”

“…I’m tired of saying all this.” Every word Ying Nian spoke echoed clearly in the quiet living room, each sentence firm and resolute.

Her cousins came out from inside, standing by the door or peeking around the walls, their eyes all fixed on her.

No one argued.

Because everything she said was the truth.

“You have so many grandchildren, and to you, disliking me is just disliking one granddaughter. But you’ll never know how deeply you’ve hurt me over the years because of it.”

She continued, “You’ve been my shadow.”

This was the first time Ying Yaoxing had heard her say such heartfelt words. Although he had long understood that his father’s behavior was biased and wrong, and he knew his daughter had been wronged for many years, hearing it all now, the feeling was indescribable.

He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, standing to the side with reddened eyes.

On one side was his father. But standing there, the one who had endured all the pain and injustice, was his daughter.

His wife stood beside him, but he didn’t dare look at her. He felt the weight of her leaning against his arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that her eyes were red as well, but neither of them said a word.

Ying Nian stood tall and straight.

“All these years, I’ve cried, I’ve felt wronged, I’ve been hurt. Now I’m almost twenty years old, and I have a long life ahead of me. I think it’s time for some things to come to an end.”

She took two steps forward and knelt down with a thud.

“This kneel is to settle things between us. After all, there was never much affection between us, and I don’t owe you anything. My life and blood were given to me by my parents. If you think I owe you my life, there’s nothing I can do about that, but I won’t repay it. I still need to live well and be filial to my parents.”

“I once said I wouldn’t step into your home again, wouldn’t see you again. Today is an exception, but from now on, I will keep my word.”

“From now on, just consider me as no longer being your granddaughter. To put it bluntly, when you’re gone, I won’t come to see you. You have plenty of children and grandchildren to be filial to you—you don’t need me.”

Ying Nian stood up, gazing at the old man who seemed to be faintly moved. She didn’t try to guess why his hands were trembling or what he might be feeling at that moment.

She simply said:

“In this life, we’ve both failed at being grandfather and granddaughter. The shadow you’ve cast over me—it’s time for it to end. While you’re still here and I’m still here, I want to tell you, if one day in the future you feel even the slightest bit of regret, or if you ever think that perhaps you were wrong, then please remember my words today.”

“—I do not forgive you.”

I will never forgive you.

…

Life flows like water, and time passes swiftly.

When SF secured their third world championship and officially established the SF dynasty, fangirls in the esports community once again went wild over Yu Linran’s extraordinary skills and stunning appearance.

“Did you guys watch the interview? I’m about to faint! Anyone who can keep Yi Shen and Bo Can in check is definitely something special!”

“That smile Captain had when he lifted the trophy—I literally died!”

“How does the Dragon King keep getting more and more handsome? Playing games all day, staying up late for training, and he doesn’t age at all. Is he even human??”

“…..”

As countless female fans celebrated SF’s victory, they couldn’t help but marvel at Yu Linran’s godlike looks, though they inevitably felt a pang of regret knowing that he was already taken. Many expressed their envy toward his girlfriend.

It was said that Yu Linran’s girlfriend had attended the event. For the past few years, she had been present at every major match to support him. She had been a long-time fan of Yu Linran, and when they first got together, she faced a lot of criticism. But eventually, people realized that she was not only low-key but also never caused any drama. She didn’t even post selfies on Weibo and rarely shared anything about her personal life, apart from mentions of Yu Linran and gaming.

Occasionally, she would stream games with Yu Linran, and fans and seasoned viewers knew that this was as much of a celebration as any holiday. Every time they streamed together, no matter whose channel Yu Linran was using, the number of viewers would skyrocket.

Some even jokingly referred to it as, “The Dragon King beating up his girlfriend in-game,” which had practically become a traditional celebration after SF won any major or minor awards.

It wasn’t just the fans who were excited about this; even the SF members looked forward to it with great enthusiasm.

The conversation shifted from Yu Linran to Ying Nian, as fans began discussing her appearance. People were saying that attractive people always find each other, and Yu Linran and his girlfriend were the perfect example—both were incredibly good-looking.

Just as the chat was heating up, the esports community suddenly exploded with news.

It was well-known that “Yu Linran Marry Me” was the Weibo handle of Yu Linran’s girlfriend. On the night of the championship victory, “Yu Linran Marry Me” unexpectedly posted a new message after a long silence.

And when she posted, it was nothing short of shocking.

There were no pictures, only text. The Weibo post read:

【@Yu Linran Marry Me:

The wedding is the month after next. Wishing me and Yu Linran a lifetime of happiness!】

…

[Who proposed? Was it Ying Nian or the Captain?!]

Seeing Yi Shen’s question in the group chat, Ying Nian turned to ask Yu Linran, who was beside her, “So, who do we say proposed?”

Yu Linran raised his eyebrow, “What do you think?”

Ying Nian glanced at the shiny ring on her hand. “You bought the ring, you were the one who just knelt down, and you’re the one who asked me to marry you.”

“But that night two months ago, when we were waiting for the meteor shower that never came, it was you who said you wanted to make a wish,” Yu Linran said, giving her a sideways glance.

“I did want to make a wish, but you’re the one who bought the ring, knelt down, and asked me to marry you,” Ying Nian replied.

“…”

That one sentence was enough for victory. Ying Nian smirked, playfully shaking her shoulders in his arms.

“Alright, fine, I’ll admit it was me,” Yu Linran conceded.

Ying Nian frowned, “What do you mean ‘just admit it’?”

“I mean, it was me.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it…?”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Yu Linran, take the ring back, I don’t want it anymore!”

“You want it.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Your face says you do.”

“Your face says it! And your head is full of crap!”

“Don’t use bad words. My head is full of you.”

“Oh, so you’re insulting me?”

“You said it yourself…”

Before they knew it, the two were playfully wrestling again.

Ying Nian pinched his waist until her hand was sore, and she was out of breath from the effort. After calling a temporary truce, she curled up in his arms, staying still.

“Do you remember the wish I wanted to make last time?”

After a long silence, she suddenly asked.

“I remember,” Yu Linran replied, “Of course I do.”

That day, they went to watch the meteor shower, but the forecast was wrong. They didn’t see a meteor shower—didn’t even see a single shooting star.

Ying Nian was disappointed and said she had wanted to make a wish.

Yu Linran asked her what wish she wanted to make.

After hesitating for a long time, Ying Nian finally told him, and then he gave her his reply.

She said, “I want to spend my life with Yu Linran.”

He said, “Okay.”

…

After the “Yu Linran Marry Me” post went out, it shook the entire esports community.

Soon after, the rarely-seen Great God Yu himself made an appearance on Weibo, reposting the message with just three words, carrying a lifetime of affection—

【You oh you.】

…

We will grow old together, we will stay by each other’s side for a lifetime.

We will experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness together.

You and I,

We will last forever and ever, for a long, long time.

—End of the main story—

---

Translator’s Note:

Don’t forget, there are still 3 extra chapters ahead waiting for you to read. 🥰