As usual, shortly after Grandma entered the house, Xia Wan’an spoke up, “Um, you… You can take a walk alone. I need to use the restroom.” 

After saying this, she waited for a moment, seeing that Han Jingnian remained silent, assuming that he was just as indifferent to her as before. Therefore, she turned and left on her own. 

After coming out of the restroom, Xia Wan’an didn’t go to the courtyard but instead settled on the living room sofa to watch TV. 

… 

Upstairs, after Old Madam Han finished her bath, she noticed Aunt Zhang standing on the balcony, gazing downward. She couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What are you looking at?” 

“Old Madam…” Aunt Zhang responded and hurriedly brought a hairdryer over to help her dry her hair. “I’m looking at Young Master Jingnian. He’s standing alone in the courtyard, and he seems to be deep in thought.” 

“Alone?” Old Madam Han immediately grasped the significance. 

“Yes, alone…” As Aunt Zhang finished speaking, Old Madam Han suddenly got up, walked to the balcony, and glanced down. 

She saw Han Jingnian standing by the fountain in the courtyard, resembling a statue as he stared at the continuously rising water jets without moving. 

“What about An’an?” Old Madam Han withdrew her gaze, moved toward the dressing table, and asked. 

“Madam Xia is watching TV downstairs…” Aunt Zhang replied and added, “…After you finished your bath and I came to close the balcony window, I saw Madam Xia saying something to Young Master Jingnian while looking at him. After that, she went inside and hasn’t come out since. Young Master Jingnian has been standing here the whole time.” 

Old Madam Han responded with an “Oh” and sighed heavily after a while. 

After Aunt Zhang finished blow-drying her hair, she couldn’t help but ask, “Old Madam, what’s wrong?” 

“What else could it be? Isn’t it because of the person standing downstairs…” Old Madam Han said, turning to face Aunt Zhang. “…Today, didn’t you notice anything unusual?” 

Aunt Zhang shook her head. 

“Think carefully.” 

Aunt Zhang thought carefully but still shook her head. “Old Madam, please stop keeping me in suspense. I really didn’t notice anything unusual.” 

“Do you really think my grandson came here today to visit me?” Old Madam Han said and then turned to face Aunt Zhang. “…Others may not see it, but I raised him since he was a child. I know him well. He didn’t come to see me today; he clearly came to see An’an… You don’t know, before dinner, he sat next to me, claiming to chat with me, but his eyes kept glancing at An’an. Do you really think he had work to discuss with Zhijin? It’s obvious he was just finding excuses… Also, during dinner, he picked up a spoon for An’an. An’an originally wanted to drink the soup, but in the end, she didn’t touch it at all. I even mentioned to her that the soup would get cold if she didn’t drink it, but she just smiled and still didn’t drink it…” At this point, Old Madam Han sighed deeply. “I’ve always been afraid of this. I’ve been afraid for two years, and it’s happening again…” 

“Old Madam, the more you say, the more confused I become. What exactly are you afraid of?” Aunt Zhang asked. 

“Afraid of what? I’m afraid that An’an won’t accept him, that he’ll become concubine!” 

Hearing the term “concubine” for the first time, Aunt Zhang shook her head and said, “Madam, I think your worries are unnecessary. Young Master Jingnian could never be divorced by Madam Xia.” 

“Hah, why not? I can see it coming!” Old Madam Han retorted dismissively after Aunt Zhang’s objections. Then she sighed again and said, “This child Jingnian is excellent in every way, but he’s just slow to warm up. They say he’s slow to warm up, but it’s probably because he’s afraid…” 

Growing up, she had watched the people he cared about leave one after another—his elder brother, mother, father, and second brother. Gradually, he learned not to care anymore. Because only by not caring could he avoid the fear of losing them. 

Thinking of this, a trace of heartache appeared on Old Madam Han’s face. “Sigh, it’s not his fault… Later, make a cup of milk for me and have An’an bring it to me. Make sure she doesn’t make it too obvious.” 

“Madam, you can rest assured. I know what to do.” 

… 

Descending from upstairs, Aunt Zhang went straight to the kitchen. In no time, she came back holding a cup of hot milk. “Madam Xia, lately, Old Madam hasn’t been sleeping well. I’ve made her a cup of hot milk. Please take it to her. I also prepared some midnight snacks in the kitchen; you can keep an eye on them.” 

“Alright.” Xia Wan’an quickly put away her phone, accepted the tray from Aunt Zhang, and headed upstairs. 

Arriving at the entrance of Grandma’s room, Xia Wan’an knocked before entering. When she heard Grandma’s voice from inside, she walked in and said, “Grandma.” 

Old Madam Han was sitting on the sofa, wearing reading glasses and engrossed in something. Upon hearing Xia Wan’an’s voice, she was delighted. “Oh? An’an, come and sit down…” 

Xia Wan’an approached, placed the hot milk on the coffee table next to Grandma, and then glanced into her lap. She noticed that Grandma was looking at a photo album. 

“I don’t think I’ve shown you this album before. Take a look,” Old Madam Han said, handing the album to Xia Wan’an. As she flipped through the pages, she pointed to a bright and cheerful little boy in one of the photos and asked, “An’an, do you know who this is?” 

The little boy was quite handsome, with faint similarities to Han Jingnian in his facial features, but Xia Wan’an didn’t dare to confirm. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know.” 

“It’s Jingnian when he was five years old…” Old Madam Han explained while flipping through the album, showing Xia Wan’an more pictures of Han Jingnian at various ages. “…This is him at six, this is at ten, and this one is when he was twelve… Does he look more like his current self now? This is him at sixteen… By this time, he had grown quite tall…” 

After flipping to the last page of the album, Old Madam Han went back to the photo of five-year-old Han Jingnian. “I love this picture the most because it’s the last photo where Jingnian smiled among all the pictures of him as a child.” 

“When he was little, Jingnian was very cute, always smiling and likable. But he was mischievous too; he often bullied his classmates in kindergarten and led the charge in pulling out all the little trees the principal had planted… Later, he didn’t smile as much…”  

Speaking of this, Old Madam Han asked Xia Wan’an with suspicion, “Have I told you about what happened when Jingnian was a child?” 

T/N ramble:
He was a sh*t to her.
She was a dreamer.
And the grandma’s biassed.
I don’t really advocate divorce cuz I believe marriage should be founded by mutual understanding and respect. This marriage was a mistake from the very beginning, but drama needs a starting point.
It’s painful to read, haha. 

Next chap! The grandma will justify his arseholishness, I guess there’s a back-story to every arseholes.