"Brother Yanzhen..."
The same address, coming from different people, brought completely different feelings to Yanzhen.
Being called "brother" by these two small and cute kids, he truly felt like an elder brother who should set a good example for them.
In fact, his age was already old enough to be their father. With a touch of inexplicable sadness, he smiled at the two kids and said, "Nice to meet you. Please take care of me, little brother Xuanxuan and little brother Xuxu."
Yanzhen's response made the two kids extremely happy. In Haicheng, only Li Xinxin called them "brother." This was the first time someone called them "little brother"!
They still wanted to pull Yanzhen and talk to him more, but Yin Shulan held their hands and said softly,
"Xuanxuan, Xuxu, would you like Grandma to teach you how to paint oil paintings?"
Xuanxuan and Xuxu looked at Xu Zixi, then at Yan Yincheng, and finally at Yin Shulan. Sensitive Xuanxuan immediately understood that the adults were going to talk about something. Before coming here, they also heard from their daddy and mommy that they came back to Fengcheng this time to handle some business.
So he nodded and said, "Okay, Grandma."
Seeing that his brother had agreed, Xuxu also followed suit and said, "Grandma, can you paint? Can you draw a picture for Xuxu?"
"Grandma has already drawn you two. This time, how about you draw Grandma?"
Yin Shulan took the two kids upstairs. It wasn't until their figures disappeared that the topic in the living room got to the point.
Behind Yanzhen was the best lawyer in Fengcheng, named Zhang Yu. This time, he would be their defense lawyer and defend them in court.
After introducing each other, Yanzhen and Lawyer Zhang sat down and talked to everyone about this case, confirming all the details from Xu Zixi and Yan Yincheng again.
It wasn't the first time they had to expose the events of four years ago in front of everyone.
Now when they talked about it again, whether it was Xu Zixi, Yan Yincheng, or Yanzhen, they could all remain calm and composed.
Although their evidence chain was very complete, Yanzhen always had an uneasy feeling, perhaps because the court session was approaching.
The lawyer closed the notebook in his hand and promised solemnly,
"Everyone, please rest assured. I will do my best to make the defendant pay the due price."
This conversation lasted for a total of two hours before it ended. Lawyer Zhang still had to rush back to the law firm to revise the materials in his hand, so he didn't stay at the Yan family for long.
Yanzhen also wanted to find an excuse to leave, but Yan Haikun stopped him and said, "Since you're here and it's lunchtime now, stay and have lunch with us."
Yanzhen hesitated, stammering. Yan Haikun pretended to be angry and said, "What? Do you really not want to stay with me? Are you still mad at me for hitting you with the walking stick?"
Yanzhen quickly said, "No, no, Grandpa. I've never blamed you. If you hadn't woken me up, I might still be deceived and played by that woman."
"Humph, it's good that you know." Yan Haikun said, "Go and help me organize the bookcase in the study. You haven't been back for two months. I have to find something for you to do."
The old man mumbled.
Yanzhen didn't refuse. As he said, he got up and went upstairs to organize the study for him.
When he got to the study, he found that the bookcase was neatly arranged and not messy at all. Yanzhen then understood that the old man was worried that he would feel embarrassed, so he deliberately found an excuse for him to go to a place where there was no one to calm down.
It also gave him a chance to think about how to get along with his family.
He, his uncle, and Xu Zixi would eventually become a family.
He couldn't keep running away like this for the rest of his life.
Yanzhen really didn't dare to face Xu Zixi, but the reason wasn't what Yan Haikun thought, like being unwilling or still having feelings for her. Seeing her always reminded him of what he had lost.
It had only been a little over two months, but he felt like he was living in hell.
What was even more painful? He tried every means to dream of someone, but that person never appeared in his dreams.
Not even once.
He had tried many methods, repeating that name before going to bed and even looking for a hypnotist, but all to no avail.
It wasn't until he went to see a psychologist the other day that he realized that maybe the butterfly that suddenly appeared in front of the tombstone on the day when he erected a cenotaph for Yuan Xi was an illusion he created because of his excessive grief.
But this fact was more cruel to him than not being able to dream of Yuan Xi.
It also cruelly reminded him that he didn't deserve Yuan Xi's forgiveness.
He quietly rearranged the books on the bookcase in the study. It wasn't until he felt that his heart was completely calm that he left Yan Haikun's study.
Just as he was about to go downstairs, he heard a "click" sound. The door of a room opened, and two small figures ran out, shouting,
"Daddy, Mommy, baby has drawn a super great picture!"
Unexpectedly, they bumped into Yanzhen.
Xuxu looked up, showing his delicate little face, and gave Yanzhen a big smile. "Brother! Why are you here? Are you here to play with us?"
"Brother, Xuxu has drawn a picture. Grandma said it's a family portrait. Let's call Daddy and Mommy to come and have a look, okay?"
Without waiting for Yanzhen to answer, Xuanxuan and Xuxu each grabbed one of his hands and dragged him downstairs.
Yin Shulan shouted behind them, "Oh, baby, slow down. Be careful not to fall."
Soon, the whole family was called by the two kids to see their carefully created "family portrait."
The two kids didn't have much strength in their hands and had no concept of painting. Even with the guidance of Yin Shulan, who was a master of oil painting, the people they drew were full of childlike innocence.
"This is Daddy, and this is Mommy. We're beside Daddy and Mommy!"
"This one with a lot of wrinkles is Grandpa, and this is Grandma!"
"This is Brother!" The small and short finger pointed at the little figure beside Yan Haikun. Although there was no way to tell that it was Yanzhen from head to toe, Xuxu said firmly,
"Brother was drawn by Xuxu! Brother, does Xuxu draw it like you?"
The child's eyes were bright, with a hint of expectation in them. Yanzhen's heart was immediately touched. He couldn't help but smile and said, "It's very like. Thank you, little brother Xuxu."
"And Grandma!" The kids were still introducing the characters in the picture to everyone, but Yanzhen's upturned lips couldn't come down.
His appearance also fell into Yan Haikun's eyes. Touching the walking stick in his hand, Yan Haikun also smiled contentedly.
Sure enough, he didn't misjudge. These two kids, Xuanxuan and Xuxu, were the lucky stars of the Yan family. As long as they were around, they could always bring the power to heal everything.
There was no hurdle that couldn't be overcome.
Time would always fade everything away.