Nan Xiao looked at her, his heart aching, and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Lan Yuxi pulled down her clothes and sat up, "It stopped hurting long ago, it's just a little ugly."
Nan Xiao also sat up and comforted her, "Where is it ugly! If you don't look closely, you can barely see it."
Lan Yuxi pursed her lips, "It was especially ugly right after the surgery. I had to use many methods to remove the scar later."
After telling Nan Xiao so much, Lan Yuxi instantly felt much lighter. She had never hidden anything from him since she was young, but she had always felt guilty for concealing the identities of their two children from him. Now that she had confessed everything, that tiny bit of guilt had vanished.
Nan Xiao reached out, wanting to embrace her, but she skillfully dodged him.
"Don't always touch me like that," Lan Yuxi moved to the edge of the bed, ignoring Nan Xiao's hurt gaze, and said plainly, "I agreed to raise the two children together with you back then because they are your biological children, but that doesn't mean I can accept you. I'll say it again, I will never get married in this life."
Nan Xiao, angered, grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Who was it that stood in front of so many Nan family members and said they wanted to marry me?"
"I said it, but the Nan family, including you, rejected me. Moreover, you also declared in front of everyone this morning that we would just continue like this. Are you going back on your word?"
"You said it so resolutely at the time, of course, I had to go along with you, otherwise, you would lose face. But what I didn't tell you was that the moment I knew we had no blood relation, I had already decided that in this life, I would marry you! Now, I want to tell you explicitly, this life, you will marry me whether you want to or not!"
Lan Yuxi sneered and kicked him with her small foot.
Nan Xiao grabbed her slender ankle, "You can't beat me, so it's best to behave."
As Nan Xiao spoke, he tightened his grip slightly and pulled her into his embrace.
Lan Yuxi raised her elbow and hit him. This time, Nan Xiao didn't dodge. He needed her to vent her anger first so that she could listen to what he had to say next.
Seeing that he had taken the blow squarely, Lan Yuxi's eyes welled up with tears.
"Are you an idiot! Why didn't you dodge?"
"As long as you can calm down, I don't mind you hitting me every day," Nan Xiao said, taking her hand and bringing it to his face.
Lan Yuxi's face flushed with anger, and she struggled to withdraw her hand.
Nan Xiao excitedly pulled her into a tight embrace, "Xi Bao, I knew it, you still have feelings for me."
"Don't flatter yourself! I'm afraid your face will be red tomorrow and you won't be able to go to work."
"Thank you for being so considerate of me, Xi Bao." Nan Xiao hugged her, lowered his head, and kissed the top of her head. "Xi Bao, no one knows better than you how bitter and difficult life is for children without parents. And I know better than anyone that living in a loveless family is even more painful than for those children without parents. Do you want our children to go through what we went through?"
Lan Yuxi's eyes darkened slightly. Of course, she didn't want that, which was why she had rushed back the moment she heard Nan Xiao had become a vegetative state.
Seeing her waver, Nan Xiao reached out and rubbed her head, "Even before I knew Chao Chao and Mu Mu were my children, I liked them very much. After I found out, I liked them even more."
"Xi Bao, thank you for giving birth to two such lovely children. They are not only cute but also very smart. Did you know, that little fellow Chao Chao actually installed a listening device in my house to test if I, as a father, was qualified?"
Lan Yuxi blinked in surprise for a moment, then laughed, "I knew it. No wonder he would go with you; he went to be a secret agent at your place."
Nan Xiao smiled, "You know our son best."
Lan Yuxi rolled her eyes at him, "I gave birth to him, of course, I know him!"
"Then do you know what the two children are thinking now?"
"..." Of course, she knew, but she didn't want to say it, lest he become smug upon hearing it.
"The two little guys want us to be together. But if you don't agree, they can only suppress their desire for a complete family."
Seeing that she refused to respond, Nan Xiao could only answer his own questions.
"A person, especially a child, if they suppress their emotions for too long, it will affect their healthy growth. You must have heard the saying, 'A happy childhood can heal a lifetime, an unhappy childhood requires a lifetime to heal.' You are the best proof of this. If your child and Yun Jie's child had not been swapped, or if Yun Jie and her husband had not sacrificed themselves, and if I... if I could have protected you well, you wouldn't have become so depressed that you didn't even recognize your own children."
"I promise you, after we get married, we won't live in the old house. I will try my best to reason with my mother. If she can treat you and the two children kindly, then everything will be peaceful. If she is still the same as before... the Old Master might have to enforce family discipline."
Lan Yuxi looked at him in disbelief.
"After the Old Master saw the paternity test results, he cried. Then he asked for my opinion. He has been considering this matter for a long time."
Lan Yuxi shook her head disapprovingly, "Your mother's influence has permeated the entire Nan family. If the Old Master does this, he will likely be the one hurt in the end."
Nan Xiao lowered his eyes, concealing the emotion within, "The Old Master has done many things while my mother was hospitalized. The An family is already in decline. If my maternal grandfather passes away, the An family will become a pile of loose sand. After my mother loses the An family as her backing, if she also loses me as her last support, she won't be able to harm the Old Master."
Lan Yuxi gave a light, disbelieving laugh, "Would you let her lose you as her support?"
"Xi Bao, I told you, you might not believe it, but you have always been my top priority. Moreover, there are two children now. In order for them to grow up happily and for you to have a comfortable life, I will no longer let my mother control the Nan family. However, if it truly comes to that point, I can't abandon her. As for how to arrange her old age, it's up to you."
After Nan Xiao finished speaking, he cautiously watched Lan Yuxi, fearing that his last statement would anger her.
Lan Yuxi glanced at him, "She is your mother, not mine. What does it matter to me how you arrange her life!"
Nan Xiao said obsequiously, "You are my wife, so of course, I will listen to you."
Lan Yuxi rolled her eyes at him, "Who is your wife!"
"Not yet, but you will be in the near future!"
"You're so annoying! I will consider what you said. You should go back. Don't let the two children wake up and not see you; they will be scared."
"The Old Master is with me. I'm not going back tonight."
Lan Yuxi thought she had misheard and asked with a frown, "What did you say?"