After My Rebirth, My Husband Pampers Me Everyday!

Chapter 201: SEASON ONE FINALE PART (2): HIS UNCLE TURNED OUT TO BE HIS FATHER

The study fell quiet after Jiaming and Bowen left.

For a while, Xue Mingzhan remained where he was, looking absent-mindedly at the closed door before reaching for the cup of tea beside him.

It had long since gone cold.

A faint smile crossed his face.

"Butler Hou."

The old butler appeared almost immediately.

"Please ask Guiying to come in."

"Yes, Patriarch."

Outside, Guiying had been waiting in the corridor.

When the study door opened, he instinctively looked up.

Jiaming and Bowen stepped out without saying a word.

The expressions on their faces gave him pause.

He had expected annoyance, perhaps irritation after another lecture from their grandfather.

Instead, there was something unusually subdued about both of them.

Bowen seemed lost in thought, while Jiaming wore an expression Guiying had never seen before, one that looked suspiciously like regret.

For a brief moment, Jiaming looked as though he wanted to say something.

Instead, he lowered his eyes and continued walking.

Guiying frowned slightly as he watched them disappear down the corridor.

What exactly had Grandfather told them?

Butler Hou smiled gently.

"Young Master Guiying, the Patriarch is waiting for you."

When Guiying stepped into the study, the noise from the hall seemed to vanish behind him.

The room was exactly as he remembered it, neat to the point of obsession, with shelves lined from end to end with books that had been collected over decades and a faint scent of old paper and tea lingering in the air.

Xue Mingzhan was seated behind his desk, but the severe expression he had worn before the family had completely disappeared. The old man looked up as soon as Guiying entered, and a warm smile spread naturally across his face.

"There you are."

Guiying smiled back before bowing politely.

"You wanted to see me, Grandfather?"

"I did. Come and sit."

Guiying took the seat opposite him without another word. For a while neither of them felt the need to speak, and the silence that settled between them was comfortable rather than awkward. Mingzhan simply looked at him with quiet satisfaction, as though seeing him there was enough.

Eventually, the old man chuckled softly and shook his head.

"So... you got married."

Guiying couldn’t help smiling.

"I did."

"The Liu boy is a good one."

There was no hesitation or reservation in Mingzhan’s voice when he said it.

"I knew his grandfather many years ago. We disagreed often enough that the people around us grew tired of listening, but he was an upright man and one whose word was always worth trusting. I’ve only observed Liuxian for a short while, but I think he inherited more from his grandfather than his appearance."

Guiying’s expression softened.

"He’s good to me."

"I’m glad."

Mingzhan nodded almost to himself before looking back at Guiying again.

"You deserve someone who treats you well, and seeing you smiling today made this old man happier than any celebration ever could."

The unexpected sincerity behind those words made Guiying lower his eyes with a quiet smile.

"Thank you, Grandfather."

Mingzhan slowly reached across the desk and rested his weathered hand over Guiying’s. The gesture itself wasn’t unusual, but something about the expression on the old man’s face made Guiying instinctively look up again.

The smile was still there.

The warmth was still there.

But behind both sat a heaviness that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

"Guiying..."

His voice had grown noticeably quieter.

"Please don’t be angry at Grandpa too much... or your father. He didn’t know."

The sentence caught Guiying completely off guard.

He frowned in confusion, trying to understand what his grandfather meant, but nothing about those words made any sense to him.

"What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering, Mingzhan opened the drawer beside him and carefully removed a thick folder that looked as though it had been opened countless times over the years. He rested it on the desk for a brief moment before sliding it gently across to Guiying.

"You’ll understand after seeing these papers."

Guiying accepted the folder without taking his eyes off the old man.

"What is it?"

Mingzhan’s answer was simple.

"The truth."

Something about the way he said it caused an inexplicable uneasiness to settle in Guiying’s chest. He looked down at the folder in his hands before slowly opening it, expecting documents relating to the family or perhaps another matter concerning the inheritance.

Instead, the first page left him confused.

The second forced him to stop reading altogether.

His brows slowly drew together as he lowered his eyes and read the same lines again, refusing to believe that he had understood them correctly the first time. He turned another page, then another, but every document only confirmed what the one before it had already told him.

The man he had believed to be his father for most of his life...

...was not his father.

The uncle he had only recently met...

...was.

The room remained perfectly still while Guiying sat motionless with the papers spread before him. His fingers had unconsciously tightened around the folder, but apart from that he didn’t move at all. It wasn’t until several long moments had passed that he slowly lifted his head and looked at the man sitting across from him.

"This is a joke... right?"

His voice was so quiet that it barely sounded like his own.

Xue Mingzhan slowly shook his head.

"I’m so sorry, Guiying."

Guiying continued looking at him as though he were waiting for someone to smile and admit that it had all been some elaborate misunderstanding.

Nobody did.

The old man lowered his eyes briefly before speaking again.

"There was a great deal happening at the time that led to many misunderstandings, and with ShangYan away, I believed allowing Deyong to think you were his son would give you a better life."

A faint smile appeared on Guiying’s face, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of happiness in it.

He lowered his eyes to the documents again and remained quiet for so long that Mingzhan thought he might not respond at all.

When he finally spoke, his voice was calm.

"You labelled me as an illegitimate child... even when I wasn’t one."

He let out a small laugh that carried no amusement whatsoever before looking back at his grandfather.

"And this was supposed to make my life better?"

No explanation could answer that question.

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable because neither of them had anything left to say. It was uncomfortable because both of them already understood that nothing said in that room could undo the years that had already passed.

Guiying carefully closed the folder and rose from his chair, keeping both hands around it as though he needed something solid to hold onto.

He bowed with exactly the same respect he had shown since the day he first entered this family.

"Thank you for the inheritance."

His voice remained steady.

"And thank you for telling me."

He paused for only a moment before continuing.

"I would like to have some time to think. I hope you remain in good health, Grandfather."

He bowed once again and turned towards the door.

Behind him, Mingzhan quietly called his name.

"Guiying."

He stopped walking but didn’t turn around.

"I’m sorry."

Guiying remained where he was for another second before giving the slightest nod of acknowledgment. Without saying another word, he opened the door and quietly left the study.

Xue Mingzhan watched him go without trying to stop him. The old man simply remained seated behind his desk, looking at the doorway long after it had closed, knowing there were mistakes that could never be undone no matter how deeply they were regretted.