Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 144
by Little PandaFamily Meeting (Part Two)
“This is madness! Absolute madness! You—the two of you must end this immediately!” Furious and shaken, Yan Yidong pointed a trembling finger at Yan Xi.
“We can’t,” Yan Xi replied coldly. “I want to be with Taotao.”
“You…” Yan Yidong gaped at her, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
“You—you…” He struggled to find the words. “This is wrong! It’s unacceptable! I absolutely won’t allow it!”
“I don’t need your permission,” Yan Xi said, drawing in a breath and trying her best to keep her voice gentle. “First Brother, I know this is incredibly difficult for you to accept right now. But please understand, Taotao and I are serious. I want to be with her.”
Yan Yidong was entirely deaf to her words. He furrowed his brows deeply, his expression one of utter disbelief. “Be together? Can you get married? Can you have children? What can she possibly give you, and what can you give her? And… that girl… you raised her!”
Yan Xi lowered her eyes. Under the overhead light, her long eyelashes trembled like falling teardrops, and even her voice shook slightly. “I know. I hesitated too. But I couldn’t help it. I love her.”
“First Brother,” she pleaded, her voice cracking slightly, “I truly want to be with her. I can’t imagine living my life without her by my side…”
Yan Yidong froze. In all these years, Yan Xi had never been so resolute, so unwavering about love. If she were this determined about a man, he would have supported her with both hands. But why did it have to be Anzhi?
It was nearly ten in the evening when Yan Xi returned home. Although she had managed to compose herself on the drive back, seeing the warm light left on for her still made her nose prickle with a sudden, sharp ache.
Steeling herself, she headed up to the second floor. In the living room, Anzhi was deeply absorbed in her laptop. Her dimples flickered occasionally. Her features had fully matured into those of a young woman in the prime of her youth, radiating a fresh, vibrant beauty even in the dead of night.
Anzhi noticed her arrival and flashed a bright smile. “You’re back! Did they like the gifts?”
“Yeah, they loved them,” Yan Xi said, her eyes fixed on Anzhi, who was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, her slender, pale legs tucked beneath her as her almond eyes curved with warmth.
Yan Xi’s expression softened, and she smiled tenderly. “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“I was waiting for you. I haven’t showered yet, either.” Anzhi closed her laptop and stood up.
Yan Xi smiled. As she walked toward the bedroom, she paused, suddenly spinning around to ask, “Want to shower together?”
Anzhi caught her breath, a rosy flush instantly rising to her cheeks.
Yan Xi smiled softly. Deciding not to tease her any further, she walked into the room.
She gathered her things and went into the bathroom. After removing her makeup, she pinned her hair up. Feeling exhausted, she began running a bath. Just then, Anzhi slipped inside. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her cheeks were still flushed a soft pink.
“Are you taking a bath?” Anzhi asked shyly, not quite daring to look her in the eye.
Yan Xi smiled and began undressing. “No, I’m too tired today.”
Hearing the sound of running water, Anzhi hesitated, unsure whether to step inside. The frosted glass of the shower stall cast a hazy silhouette of Yan Xi’s graceful figure, water droplets tracing down her thighs.
Anzhi wasn’t sure she could resist the temptation. As her mind wrestled back and forth, she heard Yan Xi call out to her, “Aren’t you coming in?”
Blushing, Anzhi stepped closer and shed her clothes. Yan Xi had left the glass door of the shower slightly ajar. A warm, humid fragrance drifted over her nose, offering tantalizing glimpses of the older woman’s porcelain, alluring body.
The moment Anzhi’s petite foot crossed the threshold, a pale, jade-like arm reached out and drew her into a close embrace.
The water from the showerhead flowed like a bubbling stream, but the thick steam did nothing to damp the heavy air of intimacy.
A long time passed. By midnight, Anzhi was lying naked on her side in Yan Xi’s arms, fast asleep from sheer exhaustion. She was sleeping so deeply that soft, indistinct murmurs occasionally escaped her lips.
Her entire body exuded a pure, innocent scent mingled with the unmistakable trace of having been thoroughly, intensely loved.
Yan Xi stroked Anzhi’s soft, rosy shoulder. There was a red mark on her neck where she hadn’t been able to resist biting her earlier. Yan Xi used to think Anzhi was the clingy one, but now she realized she was becoming increasingly possessive herself. She loved simply being in the same space, even if they were doing their own things. Previously, she could still exercise some restraint during their kisses and tenderness, but lately, her self-control had been slipping. She found herself wanting to… do even naughtier things to her.
Fortunately, in the quiet of the night, Anzhi was fast asleep. No one but Yan Xi would ever know the unspeakable desires harbored in her heart.
Before coming home, Yan Xi had a massive row with Yan Yidong. He had been practically hopping mad with rage—she had never seen her First Brother lose his temper to such an extent. Throughout it all, Yan Xi had fought hard to keep her emotions under control.
“I don’t care! If you won’t end it with her, I’m going to have to talk to Anzhi myself!”
But Yan Xi knew he would never actually do that. Although Yan Yidong was rarely home, he doted on Anzhi. More importantly, he undoubtedly believed that the older of the two should bear the brunt of the responsibility.
She could only tell him the absolute truth. “First Brother, I won’t separate from her. We’ve already… I must take responsibility for Taotao.”
Yan Yidong frowned, about to speak, but the next second, the realization of what she meant hit him. His eyes widened, and he stared at her with a thoroughly complicated expression.
“You—you’re too… You—you…”
He was even more shocked than the time Xiao Pang had brought home a supposedly pregnant girlfriend and announced they were getting married.
He didn’t even know what words to use to scold her.
When she left, Yan Xi had seen her First Sister-in-law going upstairs with headache and stomach medicine.
Yan Xi pulled Anzhi closer, letting out a quiet sigh as she buried her face in the girl’s neck and closed her eyes. She had expected to have a restless night, but she slept soundly until dawn without a single dream.
Yan Yidong, on the other hand, hadn’t slept a wink. He sighed, tossed, and turned until Xiao Yutong was utterly exasperated. If she hadn’t felt some sympathy for him, she would’ve kicked him right out of bed.
The next morning, Yan Yidong swallowed another painkiller. Furrowing his brows, he began racking his brain for a solution, forced to admit for the first time that he was completely at a loss. He slapped his forehead and dialed his two younger brothers.
“Don’t tell your wives. Get over here immediately.”
“Once you arrive, don’t ask your First Sister-in-law anything. Just head straight upstairs to the side hall.”
Today was the weekend, and Xiao Yutong was in the living room supervising Junjun’s homework. Fortunately, Junjun wasn’t as slow as Da Pang and Xiao Pang. He was reasonably bright, though he still couldn’t compare to Anzhi. Xiao Yutong felt she needed to be stricter with him. “Look at this. You still don’t know how to do this problem? When your Anzhi-jiejie was in the second grade, she could solve this with her eyes closed…”
Junjun: “…”
His mother’s phrasing was grammatically incorrect! But he didn’t dare say it out loud.
After a while, Yan Yixi arrived first. “First Sister-in-law.”
Xiao Yutong was slightly surprised. “Oh, Yixi?”
Yan Yixi was a man of few words to begin with. Before Xiao Yutong could ask what was going on, he had already headed upstairs.
Puzzled, she turned her attention back to Junjun, swatting his shoulder when she caught him drifting off. “Stop daydreaming! Once you finish your math, go memorize your language arts text again!”
Junjun protested, “Mom!”
“Protest all you want, but you won’t be getting any ice cream later,” Xiao Yutong replied.
Junjun: “…” He could only comply.
Xiao Yutong was satisfied. Although Junjun wasn’t a girl and wasn’t as brilliant as Anzhi, his grades were decent, he wasn’t too mischievous, and he was quite obedient—as long as he was fed.
Just as she was considering assigning him a few more exercises, Yan Yinan hurried inside. “…First Sister-in-law.”
Xiao Yutong arched an eyebrow. “Are you three brothers plotting something?”
Yan Yinan let out a nervous laugh. “No, how could we be…”
Honestly, he didn’t know either. Compared to his First Sister-in-law, he was far more afraid of his First Brother. Rolling his eyes slightly, he stammered, “First Brother just wanted us to come over to… cough, catch up and bond, you know. Just have a chat.”
Xiao Yutong sneered. “Heh.”
Who was he trying to fool? Yan Yidong loved sports and military programs, Yan Yixi was obsessed with physics, and Yan Yinan loved talking about makeup and medicine. There was absolutely no common ground among the three of them!
Watching Yan Yinan walk upstairs, Xiao Yutong fell into deep thought. She patted Junjun’s head. “You don’t have to memorize your text. Go play once you finish those, and you can have some ice cream.”
Then, she dialed a number. “Hello, Yiyi?”
In the side hall upstairs.
Yan Yixi and Yan Yinan couldn’t believe their ears. “First Brother, is this true?”
Yan Yidong leaned back in his chair, his head still throbbing. “It is absolutely true. Xiao Wu admitted it to me herself.”
Yan Yixi and Yan Yinan exchanged a look.
Yan Yixi knit his brows.
Yan Yinan’s jaw dropped. Tilting his head, he sucked in a sharp breath and blurted out, “Holy shit!”
And that wasn’t enough.
“Holy shit!”
He stood up and began pacing in circles, racking his memory before clapping his hands together. “No wonder! I always felt there was something strange going on between them. I thought I was just being paranoid, but it turns out to be true! Everything makes perfect sense now! Holy shit!”
“Hahaha…” Yan Yinan burst into laughter, but when Yan Yidong shot him a fierce glare, he sheepishly shut his mouth.
With a dark expression, Yan Yidong turned to Yan Yixi. “Second Brother, what do you think?”
Even the quiet and reserved Yan Yixi remained stunned for a moment. After some careful thought, he said, “Honestly, the fact that they’re both women isn’t really a big deal… but why does it have to be Anzhi?” He sighed softly.
Yan Yidong scowled. “Even if it weren’t Anzhi, it would still be unacceptable.”
“First Brother,” Yan Yinan said, “it’s not like this is anything new nowadays. There are plenty of gay men out there, too.”
Yan Yidong was in no mood to hear any lectures about how “it’s the twenty-first century and global acceptance is the trend.” He’d heard more than enough of it. “I called you here to discuss how to convince them to end this, not to listen to this nonsense.”
Yan Yixi and Yan Yinan exchanged another glance, falling silent.
“Well… although I agree their relationship has some issues, this is Xiao Wu’s life, after all,” Yan Yixi said hesitantly.
Yan Yinan chipped in, “And besides, even if we say something, it’s not like Xiao Wu will listen to us…”
Yan Yidong slammed his hand on the table. “She doesn’t have a choice! Have either of you stopped to think about what we’re supposed to tell the kids? How are they supposed to address them? And if this ever gets leaked, Xiao Wu’s career will be finished!”
“First Brother, aren’t you about to become the top leader1? Who’d dare leak Xiao Wu’s private life? Besides, she isn’t some trending celebrity. At most, people might speculate, and that’s harmless anyway. The public is very accepting these days…” Yan Yinan said dismissively.
“The kids will probably accept it too. It shouldn’t be an issue,” Yan Yixi agreed.
“…” A breath caught in Yan Yidong’s throat, leaving him suffocated, and his chest throbbed with a dull ache.
Of course, as long as he was around, no mainstream media outlet would dare report on Xiao Wu. He had only brought it up to emphasize the gravity of the situation and rally his two younger brothers to his side.
“So you both approve of this?” he asked grimly.
Yan Yixi: “I remain neutral.”
Yan Yinan: “I… guess I’m fine with it. Maybe we’ll get used to it once some time passes?”
Furious, Yan Yidong kicked them out.
Yan Yixi and Yan Yinan stood up. Just as they opened the door to leave, Yan Yidong called out from behind, “And another thing—don’t mention this to your wives. After all, this is a matter for the Yan family.”
Yan Yixi and Yan Yinan turned around in confusion, but before they could speak, they saw Xiao Yutong standing right outside the door, arms crossed over her chest.
They decided there was no need to say anything. It was best to slip away immediately.
Sure enough, as they made their escape, Xiao Yutong’s cold sneer rang out behind them. “Heh. Yan Yidong, what exactly do you mean by that? This lady has been married to you for twenty years, and yet I’m still not considered part of the Yan family?!”
The author has something to say:
The final countdown of chapters has begun.
When I mentioned earlier that the novel would conclude in mid-September, I was referring to the main story. I was calculating it based on daily updates (it is so sad that I couldn’t update daily to get the full attendance little red flowers2!). However, it looks like it will be roughly the same, with a margin of error of no more than a month.
Thank you all for your understanding.
Footnotes
- A colloquial term in Chinese administration referring to the absolute head or top-ranking official of a government department or organization.
- An online publishing platform reward system where authors receive a digital 'little red flower' icon on their profile for updating daily without interruption.
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