Chapter 441 - Not Asking
Zhai Yanjun was feeling extremely relaxed sitting with Yue Yue and chatting happily. He was offered tea and freshly baked snacks as well that only made the atmosphere more pleasant. Zhai Yanjun didn't feel impatient while waiting for Yue Yue to write down what she wanted to say to him each time. He was willing to wait patiently.
And he particularly enjoyed this conversation as well. They didn't discuss anything heavy. They were just making small talks and Zhai Yanjun shared some anecdotes with her about the army which Yue Yue listened attentively. Neither of them felt bored talking about such random things.
Zhai Yanjun felt like he couldn't possibly get tired of talking to her. And he also felt like he had way too many things to share with her. After all, she had been missing from his life for over two decades now. So, no matter how much he said it won't be enough.
"Ayi..."
Yue Yue raised her brow at him, noticing his gaze, she could actually tell where he was about to go with this.
"When I first met you here, I had actually planned to go back to my maternal grandparents to question them why I had to forget that I had an aunt like you."
Yue Yue's body stiffened when she heard that. Her eyes widened and he could see the panic in her eyes.
He patted the back of her hand, "But I didn't." Yue Yue's body finally relaxed but she wasn't completely at ease right now. "Actually, it's Fai whose words made me change my mind."
Yue Yue's brows furrowed up as she looked at him and then wrote, 'Fai? What did he do?'
Zhai Yanjun shook his head, "Relax. He just told me that I had no right to intervene in your personal life. Whatever might be the reason for why I found you here, I should never go behind your back and try to probe into your life."
'Don't mind his words.'
Zhai Yanjun read what she wrote and smiled at her, "I didn't mind at all. He is protective of you and I can see that. Anything that can potentially hurt you, he'd do everything in his power to keep it away from you." He glanced at her, "He is a good son."
'So are you,' responded Yue Yue and even caressed his face lovingly.
Zhai Yanjun chuckled at her and shook his head, "No matter who you ask, I am not a good son. I know that. And at the end of the day, I don't want to be a good son. I am known as a good grandson but I can never be a good son to my parents." 'Because they had never been good parents to me.' He didn't speak out the rest of his sentence because he knew she wouldn't like hearing it.
Yue Yue felt heartache looking at him like that. She remembered him as a happy and lively child. She knew people changed with age but she didn't think he'd change to this degree. Earlier when he was laughing and chatting with her, she thought that was how he was supposed to be. But the truth was, there was something painful behind his smile now and she didn't know what it was. And she certainly didn't like it either.
"Ayi, can you tell me why you left me?"
Yue Yue opened her mouth but nothing came out. She hesitated before writing down, 'I wasn't allowed to be around you.' She paused before she went on writing, 'You should have heard that I was kicked out of the family. You might not even find my name on the family genealogy anymore.'
"And what if I want to know why you had to leave?"
Yue Yue didn't know how to answer this question. She obviously couldn't tell him the truth. She never intended to speak about that incident ever again. But she didn't really want to lie to him either. This put her in a difficult position.
'Can you not ask that?'
Zhai Yanjun looked at what she wrote and looked up at her. He could see that she really didn't want him to ask about it. He pondered over it for a while before questioning, "It has something to do with my mother, right?"
Yue Yue shook her head and wrote, 'No, it was I who was too young and naive back then.'
Not even for a second did Zhai Yanjun believe her words. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that it had nothing to do with his mother. He wasn't blind, he had seen how his mother had been trying to take control of the Yue family in all these years. Wasn't that the reason that now she even wanted to step into politics like every clan head had done before her?
He wasn't that oblivious to his mother's deep-minded schemes. It was just that he liked keeping his distance from that woman.
Yue Yue didn't know why but she could feel a sort of hostility and resentment coming from Zhai Yanjun. It wasn't directed at her but she didn't know whom he was thinking about to make his whole persona take such a drastic turn. Who could influence him to this point?
"I won't ask you again about what happened in the past," he told her solemnly. "It's not like I can change the past but I do want you in my present."
Yue Yue smiled at him gently, 'I'm here.'
"Well, I hope you don't disappear again," commented Zhai Yanjun playfully but Yue Yue could tell he was being serious right now. He really didn't want her to disappear but then again, where else could she disappear now?
It had been easy to disappear two decades ago but in today's age, it was difficult to do so. Technology was quite advanced and it wasn't all that difficult to find someone. Besides, she had a son who was a celebrity. It made it even more difficult to hide her whereabouts.. Anyone who could find her son would be able to reach her as well.