"I can tell you what you want to know," he repeated as she turned to look at him.
Yan Nuan was surprised. She had never thought that Yan He would ever talk to her. He had always been hostile towards her.
But she didn't doubt him. He was older than her. So, he must know more than she did.
She climbed the stairs once more and stared at him as he walked towards her in slow, steady steps. His hands were in his pockets and he looked graceful in his clothes. Father Yan's genes were good. All of his children were handsome.
He halted in front of her before gesturing towards his room. Yan Nuan raised an eyebrow. Although, she was confident he had no idea she was a girl, she wasn't comfortable going into his room. Him being suddenly nice to her. She had every reasons to suspect he was up to no good.
Sensing her reluctance, he shook his head and said, "What you want to know is something dad won't want you to know. It's best we talk in a more secluded area."
Yan Nuan nodded. "Let's go to the greenhouse then."
"Okay."
He led the way and she followed suit. They sat in the greenhouse and he was silent for a few seconds before saying,
"Your mother. I knew her."
"Tell me about her and why all her pictures are being kept away."
He nodded and his gaze moved towards the inner garden. He seemed lost in thoughts and Yan Nuan was about to call out to him when he didn't talk after a long time.
He suddenly began, "I wasn't born in the Yan manor. According to what I know, I was an unplanned pregnancy and dad didn't know about me till I was three. Your mother was dad's childhood sweetheart and he was pursuing her when he got drunk and my mom..."
He hesitated and Yan Nuan sensed his awkwardness. He continued, "And my mom forced herself on him. When the Old Master found out about me, he couldn't keep his grandson out and forced dad to accept me and mom. Dad had no choice but to accept. However, your mother and dad were engaged. She was also pregnant with you. Dad didn't want her to feel wronged and the wedding date was fixed. They got married and she moved in with us."
"With you and your mom?"
"Actually, dad had never let mom live in the main building since she brought me to live in the manor. She's been living in the west courtyard since then. Your mother stayed in the main building with dad."
Yan Nuan leaned back and asked, "My mother. How did she treat you?"
He smiled. "She acted contrary to everyone's expectations. She was nice and treated me like hers. Sometimes, I even stayed with in her room."
"Then, why are you so hostile to me?" Yan Nuan inquired, her passive face turning serious. Yan He sat there, stunned for a moment before looking away awkwardly.
"I..."
"Never mind. What was her name? My mother."
"Ye Ran. She was the only daughter of the Ye family."
"I see. How did she die?"
He sat up instantly. "How do you know that? That she died."
"It's common logic. No matter how I asked, dad never told me where my mother was. Of course, I figured that she was dead."
"She's indeed dead," he said carefully as though he was afraid of triggering something. "She died at your birth."
Yan Nuan instantly sat up and folded her arms. "Why?"
"Some complications at birth, I think. I think the doctor said, she had a shallow womb. You barely survived."
"Why is her death being hidden from me and her pictures too?"
He hesitated, his knuckles clenching slowly. "I don't know much about it. When you were two, you threw away one of her picture frames and it broke. Afterwards, whenever you saw her picture, you either burst into tears or showed violent reactions. When you were three, you broke another frame and tore her photograph in it. You hurt yourself. No one knows why. But, you had an adverse reaction to her. After one of your episodes, dad suddenly took you away one day and when he returned, he cleared out her room and transferred all her stuff into her break room. And sealed it into the wall."
Yan Nuan nodded in realization. No wonder, the room was sealed with a wall.
He stared at her curiously. Yan Nuan glanced at him. She knew he was worried she would have an adverse effect to what she heard but she wasn't Yan Yehan. She was Yan Nuan and had no attachment to Ye Ran.
***********************
"It's snowing,"
Yan Nuan heard as she walked into the classroom. She saw a lot of students crowded at the window. They were all staring at the falling snow through the windows.
As she passed by two students sitting together, she heard the girl say,
"Ah Nan, should we go to the cinema today? It's the first snow."
The boy laughed lightly, "You girls like to believe superstitions. It's just snow. What does it have to do with bringing couples together. Moreover, we're already together. Does it have anything to do with us?"
Yan Nuan shook her heard as she walked past them. She also felt that the boy was right. She could never understand the world of couples. They do all sorts of weird things.
She sat down and brought out one of her textbooks. She began to flip through it calmly, however, her heart wasn't as calm.
She was complaining inwardly about why anyone would invent school. Having to read and understand such weird characters was extremely hard. When her seatmate noticed her sitting and flipping through the pages of their science textbook, his gaze on her was even more fervent.
'As expected, the world of geniuses is not to be trifled with. All they need to do is flip pages and everything becomes stuck in their brain.'