As Xia Wan’an stared at the cheerful little boy in the album, she shook her head in response to Grandma’s question. “No.” 

“When his older brother passed away, Jingnian was only three years old. When the news of his older brother’s death arrived, he was happily playing with building blocks in the toy room. His mother’s health wasn’t good when she gave birth to him, and after his older brother left, her health deteriorated day by day. The following year, she followed his older brother, and at that time, he was four years old and already understanding what it meant when his mother left.” 

“That incident happened on the same day these pictures were taken. At the time, our whole family was in Y City because it was his birthday the next day. So, his father flew in from Hong Kong a day early to celebrate his birthday. The outfit he’s wearing in this picture was his birthday gift from his father. As soon as he received it, he put it on and his father took this photo.” 

“That evening, after dinner, his father drove him to pick out a birthday cake. Y City is a mountainous city with winding roads everywhere. While our place was a bit far from the city center, it wasn’t too far. It should have taken them about two hours for a round trip, but they hadn’t returned by eleven o’clock that night.” 

“Back then, since his father was with him, no one suspected that something had happened. We all thought they were just having fun somewhere. But even by the next morning, they still hadn’t returned. At that point, we couldn’t stay calm anymore and immediately contacted local authorities to search for them.” 

“Over twenty years ago, it wasn’t as developed and convenient as it is now. It took two days and two nights to find them. They had been in an accident, and their car had slid down the mountain. When they found them, his father had already passed away, and he was unconscious with severe injuries. He remained in a coma for half a month before waking up. However, after waking up, he acted like a fool—refusing to speak, eat, occasionally screaming and self-harming. At the worst of times, he almost jumped off a building. During that period, he survived on nutritional injections and sedatives. Later, when his physical condition improved, his mental state didn’t. I spent a lot of money to find many psychologists through connections, and later, I learned from a psychologist that his father saved him despite being gravely injured, and he witnessed his father’s passing with his own eyes. He desperately wanted to stop that process but was powerless. He personally experienced his father’s departure and the gradual cooling of his father’s body…” 

Upon hearing this, Xia Wan’an was deeply shocked. She knew that his father had passed away when he was relatively young, but she didn’t know that he had witnessed it happening. 

“Two days and two nights in the mountains, and at night, it was pitch dark. How could a five-year-old child not be scared?” 

“But fortunately, he eventually pulled through. Slowly, he became no different from a regular person, except that he stopped talking and smiling. He didn’t even misbehave anymore. He matured and became responsible. At the same time, it made me feel so heartbroken. Do you know, when he was eight years old, he asked me a question that I still remember very clearly to this day? He asked me, ‘Grandma, am I a jinx?'” 

“Did my older brother, my mother, and my father all die because of me?” 

“You know what? It’s not related to him at all. I told him not to overthink it and asked him who told him such nonsense. He probably saw me getting anxious and crying, so he immediately comforted me and said he wouldn’t say such things anymore.” 

As Grandmother Han spoke up to this point, she wiped away a tear that had welled up in her eye. Then, as if realizing she was losing control of her emotions, she quickly changed the subject. “Look at me, why am I talking about these things from the past?” 

She continued with a smile, “Now, Jingnian is married, and with you by his side, Grandma feels much more at ease. In a couple of years, when you have children, Jingnian’s and your family will be even more complete, and Grandma will be even more at ease… Anyway, things are better now than before, and they will get even better in the future.” 

Hearing these words, Xia Wan’an lowered her gaze. Would things really get better for her and Han Jingnian in the future? Or rather, would there be a future for her and Han Jingnian? 

Since they got married, nobody, whether from his family or hers, knew how their relationship worked. Grandma thought they got along very well, which was why she said these words. But Grandma didn’t know that despite her efforts to enter Han Jingnian’s world, she had never truly succeeded. 

Grandmother Han knew that some things were better left unsaid. She had shared these past events to subtly change Xia Wan’an’s perspective. After all, they were a couple, and there was always emotion between them. Besides, women tended to be more sentimental. This moment of tenderness might make her less resentful toward Han Jingnian. As for what kind of path their relationship would ultimately take, it depended on the two of them and their fate. 

Thinking about this, Grandmother Han tactfully changed the subject. “An’an, it’s getting late. You and Jingnian should go back and rest.” 

“Okay, Grandma.” Xia Wan’an agreed and was about to say her goodbyes when she suddenly thought of something. Last week, she had worked late, and there was a power outage at her company. She had encountered Han Jingnian’s fear of the dark, and considering what Grandma had just mentioned, she couldn’t help but ask, “Grandma, is Han Jingnian… afraid of the dark?” 

Grandmother Han was taken aback. “How did you know? Did Jingnian tell you?” 

Xia Wan’an shook her head and proceeded to recount the events of last week to Grandmother Han. 

Grandmother Han let out a sigh of relief. “So that’s what happened. Fortunately, you encountered him that day; otherwise, the consequences could have been unimaginable. He might have died.” 

“Died?” Xia Wan’an was startled. 

“Yes, his fear of the dark stems from that incident. Over the years, he hasn’t been able to overcome this fear deep inside him.” Grandmother Han spoke in a hushed tone. “An’an, Grandma is telling you this because I considers you Jingnian’s one and only wife for life. Remember, don’t tell anyone about Jingnian’s fear of the dark. Anyone at all. This is his biggest weakness, and if anyone finds out, his life might be in danger.” 

Xia Wan’an saw how serious her grandmother was and nodded solemnly. 

After leaving her grandmother’s room, Xia Wan’an couldn’t help but feel that her grandmother’s final words held more significance than she had initially thought. 

T/N ramble:
Justified? Up to you to decide.
No one’s perfect, and I’d rather have a flawed character at the beginning and read their character development than to not have any character development for the next 500 chapters. (Which is very abundant in xianxia novels especially with the current trending storyline, where the main chara is OP from the very beginning. It’s fun to read at first but it gets boring real soon)
But if you want to continue enjoying the novel, it’s best that it is justifiable.