A beautiful summer night

The brother and sister glanced at Xia Wanzhi, who was secretly pleased.

War is about to break out.

"You can't scold children during the New Year!" Xie Tan forcefully put pressure on her older brother.

Xie Qiyan scoffed: "Feudal superstition."

"sister in law--"

"Behave yourself." Xia Wanzhi softened at being called "sister-in-law" and quietly scolded Xie Qiyan.

Xie Qiyan held back, feeling resentful that Xie Tan was competing with him for favor, and spoke up to defend himself: "She didn't do her winter vacation homework; it's because her attitude was not right."

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Xie Tan was clearly guilty and went straight for the trump card: "Sister Wanzi, I think you need to reassess his personality. I suspect he has a severe child abuse syndrome. What will happen when he becomes a father!"

Xie Qiyan remained unmoved and said quietly, "If I'm going to be a father, then I'll be a strict father, and your sister-in-law will be a loving mother. Isn't it normal for a loving mother to be paired with a strict father?"

Xie Tan was completely defeated: "..."

Xia Wanzhi never expected the topic to veer towards becoming parents. She coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Well, weren't we just talking about why Xie Nan was looking at me with such dissatisfaction? Xie Tan, come here and tell me what happened."

"What else could it be but envy, jealousy, and hatred?" Xie Tan sat down angrily, grabbed a cookie, tore it open, and stuffed it into her mouth. "It's not just Third Brother, Second Brother is the same. They're all complaining that the family background of the marriage partners Grandpa chose for them isn't as good as yours, Sister Wanzi."

"You have no idea, once when Third Brother got drunk, he talked nonsense, saying that if he had known earlier that Sister Wanzi was Richard's grandfather's granddaughter, he would have pursued her long ago."

Xie Tan grew angrier as she spoke, failing to notice Xie Qiyan's noticeably gloomy face beside her.

"Why do you think Grandpa arranged marriages for them? Second and third brothers too, they clearly don't like Sister Luo and Sister Lin, but they still agreed to marry them..."

Many people say that in wealthy families, there is only profit, not love.

If such cases exist, they are rare and fortunate.

Xia Wanzhi was very lucky because she married Xie Qiyan.

Marrying Xie Qiyan is marrying for love.

The human heart is the most difficult thing to understand, and Xia Wanzhi couldn't give Xie Tan an answer to this question.

"But they still wanted to marry your second and third brothers, didn't they?" Xia Wanzhi wiped the biscuit crumbs from Xie Tan's mouth and smiled. "It was voluntary on both sides. As for why, that's their own business."

Xie Tan raised her chin and said seriously, "When I grow up, I don't want an arranged marriage. I want to be like Sister Wanzi and marry the person I love."

Xia Wanzhi patted her head: "Alright, I know. With me and your brother here, we won't let you marry someone you don't like. Now, dear little Xie Tan, please hurry up and do a couple of questions to show your determination to work hard, okay?"

This means they won't check the homework.

Xie Tan clasped his hands together and almost knelt down. He glanced at Xie Qiyan, who had turned back into the King of Hell. Although he didn't know why Xie Qiyan's face had darkened, Xie Tan knew that it was best to leave at this moment.

As Xie Tan happily went upstairs, he glanced back at Xie Qiyan, whose gloomy mood had brightened after being coaxed by his wife, and couldn't help but sigh that it was really good to have a sister-in-law.

If anything happens, my sister-in-law will take the blame.

Xia Wanzhi squeezed Xie Qiyan's fingers and chuckled, "You're not thinking of going to beat someone up, are you?"

Xie Qiyan gave her a "can I?" look.

"It's unlucky during the Lunar New Year," Xia Wanzhi said tactfully.

Xie Qiyan didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought.

Xia Wanzhi had no choice but to change the subject: "Xie Tan's younger sister is named Xie Tong. I've noticed that Xie Tan and the others all have the character 'wood' in their names. Is there any significance to that?"

Apart from Xie Qiyan, it seems that the names of the other members of the Xie family in this generation were all chosen by the old man.

“The old lady’s name was Lin Shan.” Xie Qiyan slowed down his speech when he talked about this. “She was the old man’s only wife, and also my grandmother.”

No one in their generation had ever seen this old lady.

All I know is that she died of illness at a young age.

At that time, the eldest of the three Xie brothers was just starting junior high school.

For the sake of the old lady and his three sons, the old man never remarried in his life.

Schelling was named Schelling because he was the old man's first grandson.

Using his wife's surname and naming his grandson after her is a way of hoping that his grandmother's spirit in heaven will bless his grandson so that he can grow up safely and healthily.

Whether it was Xie Lin, Xie Nan, Xie Tan, Xie Tong, or even Xie Qiyan, they all knew the old lady's name and what kind of person she was.

Although they had never met, the old man was making them remember him in his own way.

Xia Wanzhi suddenly remembered the dowry that the old man had left her from her grandmother.

If this dowry is to be given, it should be to his daughter-in-law.

But the three Xie brothers...

Xie Tianqi eloped with someone when he was young and ran away. Years later, he abandoned his wife and married someone else.

That's trash; the old man doesn't like it.

Xie Wenqi, the second uncle of the Xie family, married a wife who was arrogant, domineering, and petty, which the old man disliked.

As for Xie Yongqi, the third uncle of the Xie family, he married three wives.

The old man no longer expected to pass on his wife's dowry to his daughter-in-law, so he kept it until he learned that Xia Wanzhi was dating his grandson.

So the dowry was given to Xia Wanzhi.

At that time, Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan were pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend, so it was inappropriate for her to accept this gift. She originally wanted to leave it for Xie Tan, but now, she has actually become Xie's granddaughter-in-law.

"Grandpa was such a devoted lover, yet his own son..." Xia Wanzhi felt inexplicably that it was a bit unjust. Such good genes, yet none of his three sons inherited them.

Fortunately, it was inherited across generations.

"Isn't Xie Tianqi devoted to love?" Xie Qiyan lowered his eyes, subconsciously shrinking his fingers. "Back then, he also severed ties with his family for my mother to pursue love, but in the end, he couldn't withstand the cruelty of reality and abandoned his woman and children to marry someone else."

"My second sister-in-law is so domineering and not likable, but my second uncle was attracted to her family background and spent most of his life with her. Isn't that another kind of infatuation?"

"Look at Uncle San, he loved each of his wives passionately, that's also a kind of infatuation."

Xie Qiyan took a deep breath, held Xia Wanzhi's hand and said slowly, "They may have both been infatuated, but the most important thing in love is loyalty, it's about two people being honest with each other, trusting each other, relying on each other, and liking each other."

"Xia Wanzhi, we are lovers, we are family, we are the only one." Xie Qiyan was serious, his eyes more earnest than ever before. "We will be together for life. Being together for life means that I will love you until the moment I die."

Fireworks are prohibited in the northern part of the city. Even during the Lunar New Year, the entire Xie family mansion was quiet. Xia Wanzhi could even hear Xie Qiyan's heart pounding as he spoke those words.

So intense, so clear.

"boom--"

It was Xie Qiyan who set off fireworks in her heart.

"I love you too, Xie Qiyan." Xia Wanzhi wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, tilted her chin slightly, and smiled as she responded to his love.

Obsession is a crazy infatuation, and it is also the beginning of love.

But love doesn't just have one beginning.

It has a long process and an undetermined ending.

In this process, one needs to maintain the initial infatuation, transform it into deep affection through daily interaction, and finally, love each other until the end of life.

This is enduring affection.

The old man was a man of deep affection.

Xie Qiyan may have resentment towards the old man, but he regards the old man's deep affection for the old woman as a role model.

Her Ayan was telling her that he would prove himself to be a man of lasting affection with time and action.

He wanted her to believe him.

I also hope she can be like me.

One person, that is a lifetime.