After the Harem Novel’s Female Lead was Spoiled by the Comments - Chapter 17

Unlike many wealthy families who intermarry solely for interest, in the Yan family, love has never been a luxury.

Before meeting Yan Lianchen, Yan Qingwen’s grandmother was just a fisherwoman in City G making a living from the sea. In that era when dark underworld forces were rampant, she accidentally saved Yan Lianchen, whose company had just started and who was being hunted by assassins hired by a competitor. Thus, she won Yan Lianchen’s heart and followed him back to City K.

Her relationship with Yan Lianchen was not looked upon favorably from the start, but Yan Lianchen overcame all obstacles to be with her.

Yan Qingwen’s mother came from even humbler origins; she and Yan Aotian, who was born with a silver spoon, belonged to two different worlds. However, the playfulness of fate created a tangled, inseparable bond between them.

After experiencing classic tropes like a one-night stand, a “white moonlight” substitute plot, a pregnancy escape, a miscarriage, a “chasing the wife at the crematorium” redemption arc, and the “cold weather means the Wang family goes bankrupt” overbearing CEO moments, they finally cleared up their misunderstandings and got together. After marriage, they were deeply in love and became a model couple for City K’s elite.

However, because Xiao Baihua had suffered a miscarriage and had a difficult time finally conceiving and giving birth to Yan Qingwen, she was unable to provide her with a younger brother or sister afterward.

As for Yan Qingwen’s second uncle, Yan Ritian, and her aunt, Yan Su, since they knew from childhood that the heir would be their most outstanding and domineering eldest brother, they wouldn’t gain the succession rights even if they married into other wealthy families. Consequently, they both gave up on political marriages and chose to date and marry for love.

Therefore, in Yan Qingwen’s eyes, a calculated political marriage was the most unlikely thing to happen in the Yan family.

And yet, under the influence of Jiang Yunhan’s “Male Lead Halo,” this most unlikely event had occurred.

This was precisely why Yan Qingwen was desperately trying to uncover the secret of Jiang Yunhan’s “cheat code.” She could not let her family become so strangely distorted.

Thinking of this, she wanted to know the extent to which her family was affected—was it irreversible?

“Grandfather, Dad, Mom—what is your reason for choosing Jiang Yunhan? From a corporate interest perspective, the Jiang family mainly operates in real estate and logistics, so there isn’t much room for cooperation with the Yan Group. From a personal emotional level, his pursuit of me is entirely one-sided. I have absolutely no feelings for him and have explicitly rejected him, as you all know.”

The men of the Yan family remained silent.

Xiao Baihua said, “But he pursued you for seven years. Someone that devoted is rare; you would be happy with him.”

Yan Qingwen countered, “Is Mom with Dad because Dad pursued you for seven years?”

Xiao Baihua was momentarily speechless.

Yan Aotian defended his beloved wife, “Of course not. It’s because I love my wife.”

“Dad, I love my wife too.” If you all want to use a “love-brain” to think about problems, then I’ll be a love-brain for once.

For the first time, Yan Aotian experienced what it meant to be at a loss for words.

Yan Ritian, stifling a laugh under his father’s stern glare, joined the ranks of the persuaders: “Actually, the reason your grandfather and parents took a liking to Jiang Yunhan is that we are old family friends with the Jiangs; we know their roots. Moreover, he won’t inherit the Jiang family business and is a wealthy man of leisure. Because of his good background, even if he married into the Yan family, it wouldn’t bring shame to either house.”

This reason sounded slightly more plausible.

“But Second Uncle, the Wen family isn’t bad either. Hebai and I are childhood friends; my understanding of her far exceeds my understanding of Jiang Yunhan. I also don’t like people who are unfaithful. While Jiang Yunhan was pursuing me, he was also flirting with others outside; this is something I cannot tolerate. Hebai is great—even after entering the entertainment industry, she hasn’t been embroiled in scandals. Only she is worthy of standing beside me.”

Yan Ritian couldn’t out-argue her, so he could only shrug and withdraw from the battlefield.

“He’s a man; he’ll settle down after marriage,” Xiao Baihua said with unusual tolerance. After all, before she was with Yan Aotian, he had many women around him, but once they were together, Yan Aotian never betrayed her again.

Yan Qingwen pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed. Was this really her own mother?

The Xiao Baihua of the past, though a “love-brain,” was someone who demanded loyalty in love and would never have instilled such thoughts in her. Her father used to tell her that she was his only princess, and only the best people or things were worthy of her; no one could make her bow her head to compromise or yield.

Now, they were actually trying to make her believe a playboy could reform?

Yan Lianchen naturally saw that neither side could convince the other, so he threw out the most crucial reason for opposing her marriage to Wen Hebai: “How can two women have children? Our Yan family hasn’t had many inheritance disputes or internal strife because of the primogeniture system. Once you have no descendants, it’s equivalent to pushing the future of the Yan Group into an immeasurable battlefield.”

Wen Hebai was left in the living room to chat with the female elders. They were no strangers to her, and she could keep up with many topics, especially since the drama Tu Sihua was currently binging was one she starred in. The old woman was currently clutching her hand and asking, “Did you finally get a divorce?”

Wen Hebai said with a serious expression, “Grandmother, I’m not getting a divorce.”

Tu Sihua was quite disappointed: “Why won’t you divorce? I think the man who opened the company with you is quite good.”

Yan Su realized her mother was too immersed in the show and said, between laughter and tears, “Mom, that’s a character in a play, not Hebai. Hebai and Qingwen have only been married for three days; how can you ask her if she’s divorced?”

Tu Sihua gave an “oh,” reacted slowly, and then asked Wen Hebai: “You two are married? Then why wasn’t there a wedding? I didn’t even see Wenwen in a wedding dress.”

Tu Sihua was, after all, over seventy. Compared to the robust Yan Lianchen, her health was worse; she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s several years ago.

Wen Hebai smiled and said, “Because A-Wen is busy with work and I’ll be joining a film crew soon, we plan to take things slowly.”

Second Aunt Hai Hou disapproved: “You can’t take this slowly. A marriage in a wealthy family must have a ceremony. How can it be okay for your marriage to have no sense of ritual?!”

Wen Hebai pondered her words; on the surface, she seemed to be looking out for them, but she was actually implying that their marriage had not yet been recognized by the Yan family.

Yan Su came to Wen Hebai’s rescue: “Xiao Wen is a busy person, and Hebai is a household name. Their wedding naturally requires a long time to prepare; it can’t be rushed.”

Normally, Wen Hebai would have retorted to Hai Hou, but the timing wasn’t right, so she followed Yan Su’s lead and changed the subject.

Not long after, Yan Qingwen came downstairs. The Yan Aotian couple and Yan Ritian followed shortly after, with Yan Lianchen being the last to descend.

The elderly man, who still maintained the majesty of a patriarch, looked around, his gaze finally landing on Wen Hebai.

Wen Hebai showed no stage fright, offering an envelope with a composed manner: “Grandfather, the day before yesterday was your and Grandmother’s golden wedding anniversary, and I didn’t have time to deliver the gift I prepared! I brought it specifically today; I hope you both will accept it.”

Why didn’t she have time to deliver it? All of City K knew she was rushing to get married to Yan Qingwen. Yan Lianchen gave a huff.

Tu Sihua, hearing it was a gift for her and her husband, took it and opened it, only to find two tattered, yellowed boat tickets.

The tickets knocked on the long-closed door of memory. Tu Sihua’s eyes instantly welled with tears as she took Yan Lianchen’s hand and said, “Old man, these are the boat tickets from when we left City G all those years ago.”

These were tokens that witnessed their love; as a golden anniversary gift, nothing could be more appropriate.

The dates and the pier matched up. Yan Lianchen also felt a sense of nostalgia. His expression softened slightly as he asked, “Where did you find these?”

“I recovered them from the son of the Yan family’s late former butler.”

Tu Sihua said excitedly, “Thank you, child. I like this gift very much.”

Yan Lianchen remained silent for a long while, then waved his hand: “Let’s eat!”

Everyone took their seats.

Yan Qingwen was somewhat surprised that Wen Hebai would put in this much effort and whispered, “When did you prepare this?”

“Not long ago.”

Seemingly dissatisfied with them whispering in each other’s ears as if no one else were there, Yan Lianchen cleared his throat, and the two sat up straight with solemn expressions.

Before the food was served, Yan Lianchen said to Yan Qingwen, as if in passing, “You haven’t come back to accompany us two old folks for a long time. Tomorrow is the weekend; stay at home to keep your grandmother company. Stay the night tonight!”