Chapter 39 Uncle

Chapter 39: Uncle

After his thoughts had wandered, he concluded that he simply couldn't imagine it—whether it was a younger sister or a younger brother, there was ultimately only one Yan Zhoubai.

Oh well.

"I'll stop meddling in your relationship with Zhan Jiayu, but I still hope you'll be more cautious. After all, you know what kind of person Zhan Jiayu is and what his background is like," Yan Anxuan finally conceded. "But for now, you should put more energy into your studies. Didn’t you say you really want to get into university?"

"Okay, I’ll definitely study hard!"

Yan Zhoubai was thrilled. He hadn’t expected his big brother to be so reasonable. Seeing the tension between him and Zhan Jiayu last night, anyone would have thought they had some past grudge. He had assumed he’d have to beg repeatedly before his brother would agree.

Even the system had said that no matter how many times he asked, his brother might not agree, because the system believed his brother was the stubborn type. Ever since his brother had forbidden him from going out to eat with Zhan Jiayu the day before, Yan Zhoubai felt the system had done a complete 180 on his brother, turning from a fan to a hater.

Seeing Yan Zhoubai so happy, Yan Anxuan felt he had made the right decision. If Yan Zhoubai wanted to interact with Zhan Jiayu, fine, have it your way. If it comes to it, he would keep an eye on things himself—he wouldn’t let Zhan Jiayu harm Yan Zhoubai, no matter what.

...

The car pulled up smoothly in front of the Bai family’s main gate.

Unlike the Yan family, the Bai family didn’t live in a uniformly planned residential area. Instead, they resided in a custom-built detached villa near the mountainous area in the northern suburbs of Jing City.

Although the Western Hills villa area was also located in the northern mountainous part of Jing City, it covered a large, flat expanse of land. The Bai family’s house, however, was built directly into the mountain slope, giving it a landscaped garden feel.

When Yan Zhoubai was young, he had always loved the rockery in his uncle’s courtyard, which was designed by a specialist. The rockery was built against the natural mountain, with a stream of spring water trickling down from above—it was especially beautiful.

Before visiting the Bai family today, Yan Anxuan had specifically given his uncle a heads-up, so he should be home.

Sure enough, as soon as Yan Anxuan’s car stopped, the Bai family’s gate opened, and someone immediately came out to greet them and usher them inside. They didn’t need to worry about the car—someone would park it for them.

"Uncle!" Yan Zhoubai called out cheerfully as soon as he entered the living room.

Although his mother and uncle didn’t get along well, Yan Zhoubai had a good relationship with his uncle. At the very least, compared to the uncles and aunts in the Yan family, who sometimes couldn’t even be bothered to pretend, his uncle genuinely cared for him.

"Xiao Bai is here! And Anxuan too. Come, both of you, sit down."

Bai Gu was Bai Rong’s older brother, a few years older than Yan Ren, Bai Rong's contemporary. Unlike Yan Ren’s consistently refined demeanor, Bai Gu was more open-minded and had better interpersonal relationships, as evidenced by his hearty greeting just now.

Although they were siblings, Bai Gu and Bai Rong didn’t look alike. Bai Rong had a gentle and delicate appearance, while Bai Gu had a rougher, more rugged look. In fact, based on his looks alone, he didn’t seem like a shrewd businessman but more like a worldly adventurer.

As soon as Yan Zhoubai and Yan Anxuan sat down, Bai Gu immediately noticed the bandages on Yan Zhoubai’s hands.

"I fell by accident. It’s nothing serious—it’s almost healed already."

Yan Zhoubai raised his hands slightly toward Bai Gu to show him that the injuries weren’t severe.

Yan Anxuan remained silent beside him. He hadn’t realized before how close Xiao Bai and their uncle were.

To others, this level of closeness might not seem like much, but his mother and uncle had been on bad terms for over a decade. Although the Yan and Bai families were connected by marriage, their relationship had always been somewhat awkward. This level of intimacy was rare.

He had never paid much attention to how his uncles and aunts treated Xiao Bai before. It was only his second uncle’s indifferent attitude toward Xiao Bai the day before that made him notice. Similarly, it was only now that he realized how well their uncle treated Xiao Bai.

"Xiao Bai, don’t keep things from me. Even though I’ve been out of town lately, I still follow the news online."

Bai Gu leaned back on the sofa, looking completely at ease. Even though he knew his two nephews were visiting today, he was still wearing pajamas, showing that he considered them family despite his long-standing estrangement from his sister.

"No, Uncle, the injuries on my hands have nothing to do with the news." Realizing his uncle had misunderstood, Yan Zhoubai quickly explained.

"Xiao Bai, if you really need help, you can tell me," Bai Gu said, referring to the bullying incident at Lixing High School.

"Hey, sweetie, your uncle seems pretty nice. Why didn’t he help you when you were in such a tough spot at the Yan family before?"

The system had only recently arrived in this world, and Yan Zhoubai had followed its advice to go to Cangru Temple soon after, so the system hadn’t had much contact with Yan Zhoubai’s uncle and was a bit puzzled.

"My mom and uncle are on bad terms. It’s like an open secret in Jing City’s social circles, so my uncle doesn’t interfere in our family matters. I don’t want to put him in a difficult position either."

Yan Zhoubai had never thought of asking his uncle for help. Although they had a good relationship, they didn’t interact much normally, partly because his mother didn’t want him to have too much contact with his uncle. Moreover, he didn’t want to complicate their relatively simple relationship by asking for favors.

"Uncle, don’t worry. We’re already dealing with the Lixing High School situation. My father is personally overseeing it, and we won’t let Xiao Bai suffer again," Yan Anxuan quickly assured Bai Gu when the topic of the incident came up.

"That's surprising. I didn’t expect your father to still spare energy for Xiao Bai after Qi Ran returned," Bai Gu remarked, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Bai Gu hadn’t attended Yan Zhoubai and Bu Qiran’s coming-of-age ceremony. After all, he and Bai Rong hadn’t appeared together in the same setting for over a decade.

But as his nephew’s coming-of-age ceremony, coupled with the real and fake heir scandal, he couldn’t have been unaware. Although he didn’t attend, he sent two lavish gifts to the Yan family. He had done the same for Yan Anxuan’s coming-of-age ceremony years ago.

"Uncle, let’s not talk about this anymore. I’d like to see Huihui. We came today to take Huihui home."

Yan Zhoubai hadn’t expected he’d one day be the one changing the subject. On one hand, he felt the atmosphere would become too heavy if they continued, and on the other, he really missed Huihui and wanted to see him as soon as possible.

"Go to the backyard. He’s still there. Your sister has been busy with work these past few days and hasn’t come home. With no one to play with him, he’s been restless. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you," Bai Gu said with a smile.

Without hesitation, Yan Zhoubai ran straight to the backyard, leaving his brother and uncle alone in the living room.

When only the two of them remained in the living room, Bai Gu’s previously relaxed and cheerful smile gradually faded.

"Anxuan, be honest with me. After Qi Ran returned, how exactly does your family plan to treat Xiao Bai? I’ve been out of town lately and only found out later that Xiao Bai isn’t the Yan family’s biological child. At the same time, I heard that after Qi Ran returned, your family planned to kick Xiao Bai out."

Bai Gu’s tone was neutral, but Yan Anxuan wasn’t foolish—he could tell his uncle was questioning him with an accusatory undertone.

"We did consider that initially."

Yan Anxuan didn’t deny it, but now, bringing up the past plan to make Yan Zhoubai leave the Yan family made him feel somewhat ashamed. He coughed lightly to mask his embarrassment.

"Mom felt she'd wronged Qi Ran too much and thought that if Qi Ran returned to see Xiao Bai, who had taken his place for so many years, still living in the family, it would hurt him. So she wanted Xiao Bai to leave," Yan Anxuan continued.

"She would say something like that. After all these years, she still has the same temperament," Bai Gu remarked, though it was unclear whether it was a straightforward comment or a sarcastic jab.

"But Xiao Bai caused a bit of a scene at the coming-of-age ceremony that night, and we realized we had neglected him too much over the years, while Mom was being overly partial to Qi Ran, who had just returned," Yan Anxuan explained further.

"So, was it Xiao Bai’s outburst at the banquet that forced you to let him stay to save face, or did you decide to let him stay because you felt guilty for neglecting him all these years?"

Bai Gu cut straight to the heart of the matter, disregarding the minor details.

"Neither," Yan Anxuan immediately retorted, his tone urgent before softening. "We genuinely want Xiao Bai to stay."

"Anxuan, I’ll say this once: if your family sees Xiao Bai as a burden, send him to our family. Even though I only found out recently that he’s not my biological nephew, I’ve long considered him as my own."

When his eldest nephew called this morning saying he wanted to bring Xiao Bai over to pick up Huihui and visit him since he had just returned from out of town, Bai Gu agreed since he had no plans today.

Taking Huihui back wasn’t a big deal—after all, Huihui was Xiao Bai’s dog. His daughter wouldn’t mind either; she had been too busy with work lately to care for him, and she’d be happy knowing Xiao Bai was looking after Huihui again.

What he really wanted to discuss during their visit was about Xiao Bai.

Due to his strained relationship with Bai Rong, he had never had open contact with the Yan family over the years, mostly limited to the children visiting during holidays. He had no standing or right to interfere in the Yan family’s affairs.

He knew Xiao Bai wasn’t valued in the Yan family, but he thought that, as a pampered young master, Xiao Bai wouldn’t suffer too much. That was until the bullying incident at Lixing High School came to light.

Now that Xiao Bai was no longer the legitimate young master of the Yan family, his position was awkward. Bai Gu felt that if he didn’t step in now, Xiao Bai would likely face even more hardship.

"How could he be a burden?" Yan Anxuan reflexively retorted, then added, "Uncle, don’t forget—Xiao Bai’s surname is Yan, not Bai."