The three arrived home as dusk settled. Before even entering, they sensed guests in the living room; Uncle Li and Aunt Wu were attending to them.
"Uncle, Aunt, Brother~ Nuannuan is back!" Nuannuan called out, waving as she ran.
Held in her father's arms, Nuannuan, with her vantage point, spotted Ye Jingchen and Lin Anran with her two older brothers seated on the sofa from a distance.
Her excitement from the amusement park hadn't waned, so she happily called out from afar.
Those inside the house turned to look as one upon hearing the voice.
Ye Jingchen, rarely seeing Nuannuan so animated, couldn't help but smile.
The twin brothers joyfully ran to the doorway to greet their sister. As the people inside shifted, a partially hidden figure was revealed.
It was a young, beautiful woman, bearing a resemblance to Lin Anran. Her brown curly hair and sparkling eyes exuded a hint of playfulness as she glanced around. Her eyes brightened noticeably when Ye Jinghuai entered.
She was Lin Anning, Lin Anran's sister, 26 years old and a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in country Y.
The Lin family was a prominent military and political lineage. Lin Anran's grandfather had served as an officer under the Old Master.
The Lin family had now reached a point of more daughters than sons. Lin Anran's father had only two daughters, and Lin Anran herself had only one paternal cousin and one younger male cousin; all others were sisters.
When the Old Master was alive, he had arranged the marriage between Lin Anran and Ye Jingchen. Without him, the Ye family might have remained bachelors.
This was also why, even after the Ye family Old Master's passing, the Ye family's connections in the military remained strong.
The Lin sisters and the Ye brothers had known each other since childhood, and they could be considered childhood sweethearts. Lin Anning, in particular, had always followed Ye Jinghuai around.
If Lin Anran was gentle and serene in temperament, then Lin Anning was her opposite. To put it kindly, she was charming and lively; to be blunt, she was a spoiled, willful young lady.
Upon seeing Ye Jinghuai, she excitedly stood up from the sofa and went to meet him.
"Brother Jinghuai!"
Lin Anning's eyes were fixed on the man before her. She had liked him since she first developed feelings, for ten years.
"Sister Anning," Ye Jingzhi called out awkwardly from behind.
Despite being his elder sister-in-law's sister, Ye Jingzhi strongly disliked Lin Anning. He couldn't understand how his gentle elder sister-in-law could have such a sister.
"Brother Jingzhi is here too!" Anning said in a tone of seniority.
"And this must be Brother Jinghuai's daughter! Is her name Nuannuan?" Anning looked at Nuannuan with feigned affection, a flicker of jealousy crossing her eyes.
"Nuannuan, this is my sister, your Aunt. You can call her Auntie," Lin Anran said softly, standing up to introduce Nuannuan.
She was also quite troubled by her sister. As soon as she knew her brother-in-law had moved next door to Ye Jinghuai, she insisted on visiting.
Having only arrived a short while ago, she insisted on saying she hadn't seen Brother Jinghuai in a long time and, since they lived next door, she wanted to drop by. Everyone knew her intentions.
Anran was helpless with her sister's pestering. Fortunately, Ye Jingchen expressed understanding of his wife's predicament.
He also wanted to see Nuannuan, so he brought his whole family, young and old, and his sister-in-law to sit there, dryly waiting for Ye Jinghuai's return.
"Hello, Auntie!" Nuannuan politely greeted her.
"Nuannuan is so cute, you look so much like Brother Jinghuai. But I'm truly sorry, Auntie only found out about you yesterday. I came in a hurry today without a gift. I'll make it up to you next time, okay?"
Lin Anning had been touring with her orchestra abroad for several months and had only returned yesterday. Upon returning home, she happened to catch Du Ruo's live stream and immediately felt restless.
Her greatest wish since she was sixteen was to marry Ye Jinghuai. She had even fantasized countless times about what their children would look like.
However, she hadn't expected that after leaving for just a few months, Brother Jinghuai would suddenly have a daughter. Lin Anning was unhappy, and seeing Nuannuan in Ye Jinghuai's arms felt somewhat displeasing.
"Thank you, Auntie. No need to bother~ Daddy buys everything Nuannuan wants!" Nuannuan thanked Lin Anning in her sweet, childlike voice.
Her soft and well-behaved demeanor instantly captured everyone's hearts present, except for Lin Anning.
"Right? Daddy~" She then turned and looked at Ye Jinghuai with starry eyes.
"Yes, whatever my darling wants, Daddy will buy," Ye Jinghuai replied with a smile, affectionately kissing Nuannuan's forehead.
Seeing the scene before her, Lin Anning felt even more uncomfortable, but she didn't show it on her face.
"Was Nuannuan happy playing today?" Ye Jingchen felt a surge of sweetness whenever he saw Nuannuan.
"Happy~ Today Nuannuan and Daddy rode horses, and Uncle was there playing too." Nuannuan couldn't stop her excitement as she recalled the amusement park.
"Then maybe Uncle can take Nuannuan next time, okay? And my two nephews can accompany you."
"Mm-hmm, Nuannuan, little sister, we brothers can also take you to play," the twins chimed in unison.
Ye Jinghuai felt increasingly like they were trying to snatch his daughter away, his eyelids twitching.
"No need. Brother, you're so busy, and your nephews have a lot of classes to attend during the holidays. I can take care of Nuannuan."
"Brother Jinghuai, I was visiting Sister today and didn't expect you to move next door. I also watched the live stream yesterday. Are you and Nuannuan alright?"
Lin Anning, standing aside, unwilling to be ignored, tried to interject again.
"We're fine. Thank you for your concern."
After all, she was his elder sister-in-law's sister, and besides that, the Lin and Ye families were old acquaintances. It wouldn't be appropriate to completely reject her.
"Brother Jinghuai, you don't need to thank me," Lin Anning's face flushed slightly at Ye Jinghuai's response.
"Oh, right. I bought this when I went to perform with the orchestra in country F. You like KY's designs, don't you? I went to their flagship store and had this specially customized for you."
As Lin Anning spoke, she quickly took out an exquisite velvet box from her bag. Upon opening it, a pair of delicately designed cufflinks was revealed. They were indeed very beautiful.
Although Ye Jinghuai often had a cold demeanor, appearing aloof, he actually preferred items with intricate and ornate designs.
However, this preference was not something one would discover without close acquaintance or careful study, as Ye Jinghuai used items of all kinds.
It must be said that Lin Anning truly liked Ye Jinghuai; at least, she had put significant effort into understanding his preferences.
"Thank you. Since you're here, Brother and Sister-in-law, please stay for dinner today!" With an outsider present, Ye Jinghuai offered a perfunctory invitation.
"Certainly!" Ye Jingchen agreed without hesitation.
Lin Anning was even happier. She felt that Brother Jinghuai was now willing to ask her to stay for dinner. If she persisted, she was sure she could win his heart.
Ye Jinghuai felt nothing for Lin Anning. In his eyes, she was once the daughter of his father's friend, and later became his sister-in-law's family member, at most a distant relative.
He had explicitly rejected her multiple times over the years, but the girl seemed not to understand and continued to act as she pleased.