1122 - Chapter 36

Tonight’s shopping haul was naturally too much for one person to handle. The family of three sorted and hung up all the newly bought clothes in the walk-in closet.

Under Qiao Qiao’s direction, they even cleared out space in the closet for First Dad to store their family matching outfits.

With so many things, the walk-in closet was now completely full, leaving no room for anything else.

“Let’s move the rest to the house next door,” Yan Nanchen suggested. He had originally planned to tell them after the renovation was complete, but with the house now cluttered with stuff, there was no other choice.

Jiang Yi knew Yan Nanchen had already finalized the purchase of the neighboring house, so this was the only feasible solution. They began moving the remaining items, along with Qiao Qiao’s toys, next door.

The neighboring house was much larger than their current one, and with no furniture, it felt particularly empty.

“First Dad, do you live here alone? But there’s nothing here, do you sleep on the floor?” Qiao Qiao looked up at Yan Nanchen, who was carrying a pile of things, her face full of concern. “How come I didn’t know you lived here? Do you sneak back quietly?”

Yan Nanchen set down the dozens of shopping bags filled with clothes and toy gift boxes before answering with a smile, “No, First Dad doesn’t usually live here. I bought this place because I knew you lived next door, I wanted to be closer to you. There’s still a lot of furniture that hasn’t been moved in yet.”

Noticing Jiang Yi carrying several boxes of Qiao Qiao’s building blocks, he reached out and took them from him.

Jiang Yi’s hands were suddenly empty. He stared blankly for half a second before lowering them.

“But why live next door?” Qiao Qiao finally couldn’t hold back her question any longer. “Isn’t our home right here? Or is our house too small? Even Uncle doesn’t live with us anymore does First Dad also think our house is too small?”

Jiang Yi froze for a couple of seconds. Qiao Qiao had never mentioned this before, so he hadn’t thought to ask. After all, Chu Beiheng had raised her since she was little logically, she should have felt uncomfortable, but she never said anything.

Apart from crying for her uncle during the first few days after moving, she had gradually stopped.

And the house they lived in back in the U.S. had indeed been much bigger. Qiao Qiao had been born there, so while she might not have a concept of money, she could certainly sense the difference in environment. To a child, it must have felt like moving from a big house to a small one and she probably thought Uncle didn’t live with them anymore because the house was too small.

He lowered his gaze, guilt weighing on his heart.

“I’ll sleep here tonight.”

Jiang Yi looked at Yan Nanchen in surprise.

Yan Nanchen picked up Qiao Qiao and smiled at her. “How could our house be too small? It’s not small at all. We just have too many things, so First Dad bought this house next door to store Qiao Qiao’s toys that way, our home won’t feel cramped. And Uncle didn’t stop living with you because of that. It’s just that Grandpa misses him too. Uncle is Grandpa’s son, just like Qiao Qiao is Jiang Yi’s precious baby. Shouldn’t he stay by his dad’s side?”

“What about you, First Dad? Where do you usually live? In the big house with Grandpa?”

“Yeah.”

“But isn’t Qiao Qiao also Yan Nanchen’s precious baby? Shouldn’t I also live with First Dad? Has First Dad still not apologized to Daddy?” Qiao Qiao said with a troubled little face, her shoulders drooping as she crossed her arms and sighed: “When we kids do something wrong, we apologize, then the teacher tells us to hug it out, and everything’s fine. Are grown-ups still going to argue?”

As she spoke, she began directing them. She struggled out of First Dad’s arms and stood between the two men, extending her hands with a stern expression: “Come on, I’ll teach you how to apologize now. First, stand facing each other.”

Jiang Yi helplessly rubbed his forehead: “Qiao Qiao, stop fooling around.”

“Stand properly!” Qiao Qiao’s voice still carried a childish lilt, but her expression was very serious: “Now, Jiang Yi, take one step forward!”

Jiang Yi: “…”

Yan Nanchen seemed quite pleased with his daughter’s game arrangement. Like a model student in class, he obediently followed instructions, stepping forward to stand before Jiang Yi. Then he said to Qiao Qiao: “Teacher Qiao, I’m standing properly now.”

Qiao Qiao immediately gave Yan Nanchen a thumbs up: “Praise for Yan Nanchen! Reward diamond sticker!”

Yan Nanchen smiled: “Thank you, teacher.” He then raised an eyebrow at Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes at Yan Nanchen until his daughter came over and poked his leg. Reluctantly, he took a step forward and said: “Fine.”

Only then did Qiao Qiao nod in satisfaction, crossing her arms as she stood before them: “Now, Yan Nanchen, apologize and say what you did wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m sorry.”

Meeting Yan Nanchen’s steady gaze, perhaps because he was already beginning to let go of his resentment, Jiang Yi found this apology not too hard to accept. Still, being stared at like this made him somewhat uncomfortable, so he responded quietly: “Mm.”

But Qiao Qiao wasn’t satisfied: “Jiang Yi, Yan Nanchen is apologizing to you. You have to look into his eyes.”

Following his daughter’s instruction, Jiang Yi looked at Yan Nanchen: “Is this okay?”

The moment their eyes met, countless unspoken words seemed to pass between them.

“Now it’s your turn. Say what you did wrong.” Qiao Qiao poked her father’s thigh sternly.

This time, it was Jiang Yi’s turn to be baffled and annoyed: “What did I do wrong? It was clearly your First Dad who messed up!”

Yan Nanchen also looked surprised: “Qiao Qiao, Daddy didn’t do anything wrong. It was First Dad who made the mistake.”

Qiao Qiao pouted: “Daddy won’t let First Dad come home. Being stubborn is wrong too.”

Jiang Yi stared wide-eyed at Qiao Qiao oh, so this little girl was taking sides now. Then he saw Yan Nanchen smile, perhaps too tenderly, and for a moment, he was stunned.

“That’s right, Qiao Qiao. Daddy won’t let me come home. What should I do? I want to come home to sleep.” Yan Nanchen sighed, hugging his daughter: “Qiao Qiao, hurry and tell Daddy to let me come home.” He deliberately glanced at Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi’s gaze darkened: “Yan Nanchen, stop being childish.”

“Daddy, please let First Dad come home. Qiao Qiao can’t live without First Dad, waaah!” Qiao Qiao immediately clung to Yan Nanchen’s neck, tears falling instantly: “Qiao Qiao hasn’t had First Dad for five years. Back in kindergarten, the other kids always laughed at me for not having a First Dad.”

Jiang Yi froze, looking stunned. He was bewildered, why hadn’t Qiao Qiao told him any of this? In an instant, he seemed deeply hurt as he took his daughter from Yan Nanchen’s arms. “Why didn’t you tell Daddy? Did you tell First Dad?”

Qiao Qiao thought for a moment, then whispered, “Mm. I told First Dad. He wanted to tell you too, but I was afraid you’d be sad, so we agreed not to say anything.”

“Jiang Nianqiao!” Jiang Yi’s eyes reddened with urgency. “How could you not tell Daddy if you were upset?”

“But Qiao Qiao doesn’t want to see Daddy hide and cry. Every time we mention First Dad, you cry.” The little girl gently poked his cheek. “See? You’re about to cry again.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes gradually reddened. He took a deep breath, as if unable to believe he had overlooked this or worse, that his daughter might have been bullied at kindergarten because of it. The thought made him feel terrible.

“Has anyone ever bullied you?”

Qiao Qiao shook her head. “No one dares to bully me. They just say things, but I don’t cry.”

Yan Nanchen noticed Jiang Yi’s distress and took Qiao Qiao back. “Alright, Qiao Qiao, it’s almost bath time. Daddy said you can bathe yourself now, so how about First Dad gets your clothes and you go take a bath?”

“Okay.”

With that, he set her down and let her return to the other room.

Once Qiao Qiao was gone, Yan Nanchen walked up to Jiang Yi. Seeing his face full of self-blame, as if he was so angry at himself he might cry, Yan Nanchen found it oddly endearing and chuckled, pinching his cheek.

“Now you look like a pufferfish.”

Jiang Yi remained silent, his brows tightly furrowed.

“I’ve told you, this isn’t your fault. I’m the one who missed five years of her life, but I won’t be absent anymore.” Yan Nanchen studied his silence. “Qiao Qiao said you used to cry whenever they mentioned me. Is that true?”

Jiang Yi turned his face away, taking another deep breath. “I didn’t cry every time.”

“So you did cry.” Yan Nanchen hated seeing him so down. “How about I stay with you tonight? I can sleep here. Even just a wall apart might give you some sense of security.”

He finally voiced what he hadn’t been able to say in the car earlier.

“There’s nothing here to sleep on.” Jiang Yi steadied his emotions and met Yan Nanchen’s worried gaze. “I’m fine now. It’s true that I used to feel down when you were mentioned, but you should still go home to sleep.”

“I want to sleep here.”

Hearing the determination in his voice or perhaps still raw from his daughter’s words Jiang Yi relented. “Fine, sleep here then. I’ll get you a blanket.” He turned to check on Qiao Qiao.

But before he could take two steps, Yan Nanchen wrapped his arms around him from behind. Jiang Yi stiffened.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m happy.” Yan Nanchen buried his face against Jiang Yi’s shoulder, laughing softly. “I feel like I’ve gotten a little closer to you again.”

Jiang Yi snorted. “A wall apart is ‘closer’ my ass. Let go.”

“Then can I have the blanket you’re using?”

“In your dreams.”

“What about your pillow?”

“In your dreams.”

“Then can you not wash this shirt you’re wearing and give it to me first?”

“Yan Nanchen, enough already!”

Then he felt Yan Nanchen laugh against his ear, arms tightening around his shoulders. “Yi, I’m so happy. I love you so much. So, so much.”

The deep, tender voice with its husky undertones expressed lingering affection, the last few words like popping candy stimulating his heartbeat, the dense tingling sensation making Jiang Yi’s ears burn.

He gasped for breath before finally forcing out a few words: “Stop talking so much.”

“I won’t. I want to say all the ‘I love you’s I couldn’t say enough in five years. I want to say it every day, every moment, say it whenever I catch you, hold you and keep saying it. I just love you so much, so very much, and I can’t control how much I love you.”

Perhaps the love was too intense, making Jiang Yi’s entire body burn. He quickly shook off Yan Nanchen: “I, I’m going to check on Qiao Qiao.”

If this continued, it would be strange if he didn’t fall completely.

Night gradually deepened.

In the room, only the moonlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows cast faint illumination. Jiang Yi lay in bed, unable to sleep. He lay on his side, staring at the wall beside him, his mind repeatedly wondering there wasn’t even a bed in the next room, not even a mattress. Could he sleep well?

After tossing and turning, he flipped over again.

The floor was so hard. Would it be too cold with the air conditioning on? Should he bring a thicker blanket?

There probably wasn’t any drinking water there either. What if he got thirsty?

Jiang Yi tossed and turned, and before he knew it, an hour had passed without a hint of sleepiness. Unable to sleep, he got out of bed. Rising too quickly, his head spun for a moment, and he plopped back onto the edge of the bed. After recovering slightly, he stood up and headed to the walk-in closet.

He remembered there was an extra blanket in the closet, he should just give it to Yan Nanchen.

As he passed the bathroom, he stopped in his tracks, looking down at the shirt in the laundry basket. As if remembering something, he absentmindedly picked up his own shirt and stuffed it into the blanket.

Only when he stood at Yan Nanchen’s doorstep, blanket in hand and ringing the doorbell, did his mind clear slightly.

Wait had he just done something really weird?

Just as he was about to turn back, Yan Nanchen’s door opened. There stood Yan Nanchen, bare-chested, wearing gray athletic shorts, a towel draped over his head clearly fresh from a shower. His toned upper body glistened with a thin sheen of moisture, his muscular frame exuding intense pheromones, the alpha pheromones washing over Jiang Yi in waves.

Jiang Yi pursed his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Uh! Well, I brought you an extra blanket.”

Yan Nanchen took the down comforter from Jiang Yi and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m so hot.”

“Then I’ll take it.”

Jiang Yi moved to take it back, but Yan Nanchen had already grabbed it. His eyes widened when he spotted a corner of his shirt peeking out, why had he been so out of his mind earlier?

“It’s fine, I’ll use it.” Yan Nanchen took the blanket from Jiang Yi’s arms, smiling fondly. “Even if it’s hot, it’s fine.”

Jiang Yi met Yan Nanchen’s gaze and felt as if burned by something. “W-well, I’m going back to sleep. You should rest early too.” With that, he hurried back and shut his own door.

Leaning against the cool door, he panted.

Oh no, what if Yan Nanchen found out? Would he think he was.

A lunatic.

He grabbed his head in frustration, completely unaware that his ears had turned red beyond saving.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Yan Nanchen closed it. As he held the blanket with one hand, a white shirt tumbled out from within.

He froze for a moment, as if recalling something, then bent down to pick up the shirt and brought it close to his nose.

In that instant, he caught the scent of Tuberose Jasmine pheromones that had haunted his dreams, mingled with a faint trace of perfume. His mind could almost picture the shirt’s owner wearing it, always carelessly buttoning it up before tucking it into tailored trousers, accentuating a slim waist and hips in an irresistibly sensual proportion.

He could also imagine the expression Jiang Yi must have worn when stuffing this shirt under the blankets for him.

Yan Nanchen gazed toward the doorway, chuckling softly as his Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes darkening with intensity.

“Yi Yi, you little devil,” he murmured.

Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to the worn fabric.

How was he supposed to sleep tonight?

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