When the old man tried to explain, the old woman shot him a glare that seemed to say, ’You just wait until the kids are gone!’

"Yeah, your grandmother’s just putting on a sour face. Don’t mind her." He Liuzhang knew his mother well, and he spoke with some irritation. "I wanted you to see your great-grandchildren, but look at you, not even cracking a smile."

"What? You want us to leave?"

The moment the old woman heard the words "great-grandchildren," her expression changed instantly. "Great-grandchildren?"

She couldn’t help but stare at the baby in He Liuzhang’s arms.

He Liuzhang turned the baby’s face toward the old woman. Her gaze was instantly captivated. The woman who had been scowling just a moment ago suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. "Oh, it really is my great-grandchild! So adorable, just like their mother. Look at those big eyes!"

The old woman was from the early 1900s, so her way of speaking was rather dated.

She was used to old-fashioned terms like "Ma" and "Pa," so she referred to Xie Changning as the two great-grandchildren’s "Ma."

Liu Changyou moved closer to Xie Changning and explained, "Years ago, the old woman didn’t like Yue Yihan. She felt that no matter how we raised him, he would never truly be one of the family, and she didn’t want us to keep him. After that, we stopped bringing him over, and she would only bring it up whenever we came back to visit."

"Then, as Yihan slowly distinguished himself among the new recruits and began climbing the ranks, the old woman started to feel conflicted."

It was a normal way of thinking. Back then, the family was poor. He Liuzhang’s own household barely had enough to eat, though he managed to send a little money back to his parents. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

They certainly wouldn’t have wanted another mouth to feed.

So they would push the old woman to lecture He Liuzhang, but all she could do was talk; she couldn’t actually change his and Liu Changyou’s minds.

Later, when Yue Yihan grew up to be successful and always showed his respect and gratitude to He Liuzhang, the old woman knew she had misjudged him. She started to feel like she had backed herself into a corner and couldn’t admit her mistake without losing face.

That’s why, after Yue Yihan grew up, she was always so difficult and awkward whenever he visited.

She wasn’t deliberately targeting Xie Changning; she was lashing out at her past self and at Yue Yihan.

Xie Changning hadn’t known about the He Family’s history, but after hearing Liu Changyou’s explanation, she felt their way of thinking had been perfectly normal. After all, they could barely provide for their own children.

Yue Yihan had never taken it to heart.

It was just the old woman who insisted on making things awkward.

"Let me see the other great-grandchild! Oh, so lovely! Twins from one pregnancy?" The old woman beamed at Xie Changning, but it was only after seeing Xie Changning smile back that she realized what she’d just done.

Then, her smile vanished. She glanced at the two children. "They’re just so-so. Not as handsome as my grandson." Having said her piece, she couldn’t stop herself from sneaking another peek, and then another, and she just kept staring—

He Liuzhang watched his mother, exasperated.

"Oh, give it a rest, Mom. You think I can’t tell? You clearly adore these two babies. Don’t you want to hold one?"

"I will not!"

As she spoke, the old woman stretched out her arms. "Well, if you absolutely insist, I suppose I can bring myself to hold one."

Liu Changyou stifled a laugh and looked at her husband. "Oh, in that case, let’s not tire Mom out. She’s getting on in years; it’s better for her to get more rest."

Just as Uncle He came in with tea, he heard his sister-in-law teasing his mother.

He chuckled and said to Yue Yihan, "Your grandma’s like this with us, too. It’s not just you."

"I know," Yue Yihan nodded.

This wasn’t his first day living with the He Family. Of course, he knew.

As for Xie Changning, she had figured out long ago that the old woman held no malice toward her; she was simply too proud to overcome her own stubbornness.

Seeing her son about to walk away with the baby, the old woman finally panicked. "You little brat! Would it kill you to give your own mother an out!?" As she spoke, she thrust her hands forward.

"I want to hold my great-grandchild!"

He Liuzhang passed the baby to the old woman.

The old woman gazed gingerly at the child in her arms, the smile on her face growing wider and wider. She even stopped puffing on her tobacco pipe.

Seeing that his wife had stopped smoking her pipe, the old man decided he would have a smoke himself.

He had just picked up the pipe and was about to light it when the old woman snapped her head around, her sharp eyes fixing on him. "What do you think you’re doing? Put that down!"

"You can’t smoke that pipe in front of the baby!"

The old man was speechless. ’You hypocritical old woman!’

’That’s not what you were doing just a moment ago! Hmph!’

The old man grumbled to himself for a moment, then whined pitifully, "I want to see my great-grandchild, too! Let me see!" He craned his neck to get a look at the baby in Liu Changyou’s arms.

Liu Changyou quickly held the baby out a little further so he could get a clear view.

"Mmm, so fair-skinned and lovely! Beautiful!"

The old man chuckled and pulled a treasure from his inner pocket, handing it to Liu Changyou. "This is a little something I prepared for the two children. Quick, take it."

The old woman’s eyes widened.

’That old coot! Hiding things behind my back, is he!’

Feeling betrayed, the old woman shot the old man a resentful glare, then pulled two red envelopes from her own pocket.

"Hmph. If that old coot has a gift, how could I possibly not?"

She had known for a while that Yue Yihan had twins; she just hadn’t known when they would visit. She had been preparing for this, just waiting for this day.

At the thought that her gift was red envelopes, a smug look appeared on the old woman’s face.

"We can’t accept your money," Xie Changning said, looking at Yue Yihan. He immediately understood and moved to push the red envelopes back into the old woman’s hands.

But the old woman held his hand fast.

The old woman said gruffly, "I haven’t given you a red envelope in all these years. Just consider this making up for it. Take them!"

At that moment, Uncle He also chimed in.

"If you don’t take them, your grandmother won’t be able to sleep tonight. Especially since you accepted the old man’s gift. If you don’t take hers, she’ll be even more upset."

Hearing Uncle He’s words, the two of them fell silent.

Yue Yihan accepted the red envelopes.

That evening, they had dinner at the home of He Liuzhang’s younger brother. At first, Aunt He had not been very keen on having Xie Changning and Yue Yihan over for dinner with their children.

That is, until Uncle He mentioned that Xie Changning was the director of three factories. Aunt He’s expression instantly went from cloudy to sunny, becoming absolutely radiant.

It gave Xie Changning a real taste of what it meant to be superficial and to have an obvious agenda.

"Yihan’s wife," Aunt He began, "I heard from your Uncle He that you’re the director of three factories. That’s so impressive! Most people can’t even manage one factory, and you’re managing three?"

’Can she really handle all that?’

’If she can’t, I have a nephew on my side of the family who’s currently available...’

Seeing Aunt He’s ulterior motive, He Liuzhang cut in, "Of course she can. Xie Changning is a top graduate from Beijing University, speaks eight languages, and is a talented researcher. You think just anyone is as capable as she is?"

After speaking, He Liuzhang shot a look at Uncle He, silently telling him to get his wife under control.

’Don’t let her say such things in front of Xie Changning. It’s embarrassing!’

Uncle He understood his older brother’s silent message and quickly pulled his wife into the kitchen.

Dragged into the kitchen, Aunt He glared at her husband. "What do you think you’re doing!?"