Qiao Hailou couldn’t help laughing at his father’s audacity. “Hahaha! Your calculations are impressive. Even now, you think giving me money is charity? Do you really think I’m so poor I need your pittance? Ridiculous.”
Old Qiao frowned. Hailou’s words were sharp, but he could no longer contain himself. “I know you’ve made it on your own now. You don’t need my money. I originally intended for An’an to be raised by you. But now… I’ve changed my mind.”
He glared at Shen Yuan and the baby, fuming. “In that case, let your eldest brother raise An’an. You clearly don’t want my money anyway.”
Hailou, always one to insist on fairness, replied sharply, “I don’t need it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it. I’m your son too. Legally, I have a right to inherit. Why should you deny me? I don’t even need a full third—half of that will suffice. I’ll take only what’s fair.”
Shen Yuan frowned at Hailou’s remark about dismissing An’an but said nothing.
Old Qiao’s anger surged. “Ha! I regret it already! If someone like you raises An’an, she’ll be spoiled! I was blinded by my own foolishness. I retract what I said. You’ve got money, skills, talent—you’ve proven me wrong, satisfied? And now I’m just a hateful old man, losing a child in my old age, with an unfilial son—punishment enough! Happy now?”
Hailou sneered. “Yes, I’m delighted.”
The old man tore up the will he had prepared. “Fine, write a new one. Don’t argue about illegitimacy or thirds. Each brother gets one share: company to eldest brother, house to An’an, your share converted to cash.”
Hailou, determined to push back, quipped, “No. I don’t need cash; I want the house.”
Old Qiao snapped. “You don’t need money, what’s there to argue? Give the house to An’an. This is my money—I’ll distribute it as I wish. You take cash, she gets the house.”
For a moment, the once-frail old man seemed invigorated, arguing passionately with Hailou, faces flushed, neither giving an inch.
Everyone else was left out, and the room descended into chaos.
Shen Yuan groaned, helpless, glancing at Haixuan, who shook his head—there was nothing they could do. They’d warned both sides not to quarrel, yet here they were, exhausting everyone.
Haixuan tried to mediate. “Dad, Hailou, stop… didn’t you promise not to fight?”
His plea vanished like a drop in a stormy sea. No one paid attention, leaving him embarrassed.
Shen Yuan noticed Little Peanut stirring. The baby seemed frightened by the shouting and began to cry.
He tried to pick the baby up to remove him from the scene. Just as he was about to, someone tugged at his sleeve. It was An’an, looking pitiful and anxious. “Brother…”
Shen Yuan hesitated. Little Peanut’s cries grew louder, uncontrollable. The wails finally shattered the argument between father and son.
Shen Yuan snapped, exasperated: “Still arguing? You’ve scared the baby into tears!”
The room went silent.
Hailou immediately quieted down, looking at his son, cheeks red and tears streaming. Heart aching, he murmured, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, Little Peanut… Don’t cry.”
He muttered at his father, “All your fault—you scared my son.”
Old Qiao, not daring to shout now, still deflected blame. “My fault? You were louder! Who shouts louder wins, right? I’m just an old man, can’t beat you. Suit yourself.”
Hailou snapped back, “Stop bringing up ‘dying’ every other sentence. Big brother said the surgery has a fifty to sixty percent success rate. You’re still vigorous—won’t die for decades yet!”
Old Qiao scoffed. “Am I a turtle? I’m eighty. Fifty percent success means fifty percent failure, and that’s for young people. For an old man like me, half my foot’s already in the grave.”
Hailou continued, “I don’t worry about big brother and sister-in-law; Xiao Jun is established. Only An’an… she’s so little…”
“Give her to them? They’ll be fine with her. They treated me well, even though I’m like this.”
Old Qiao muttered, “They’re old, can’t manage two kids. And in a couple years, Xiao Jun will have his own child. Too many children to care for.”
Hailou found the logic flimsy. “Then let her live with her maternal grandparents.”
Old Qiao shook his head. “Her grandmother has dementia. Aunt and uncle have families and children—An’an would suffer.”
Hailou retorted, “And I don’t have a family or kids? So naturally, she’s mine to raise? You only remember me for the bad things? The good goes to others, the bad to me?”
Old Qiao’s temper flared again. “I didn’t mean that! I thought, married to a man, you wouldn’t have children. An’an likes Shen Yuan. You wouldn’t mistreat her, so I wanted you to raise her. Big brother doesn’t lack children. Now you have one, so when you grow old, you have someone to care for you, not alone!”
Hailou froze. Words failed him.
Seeing Little Peanut still crying, Shen Yuan picked him up, soothing, “Stop arguing, okay?”
Hailou’s emotions churned. This was a chance to calm down, and he reflected: the old man could have just explained his intentions clearly instead of shouting—they wouldn’t have argued.
Little Peanut finally quieted, exhausted, tears still glistening as he drifted off.
Shen Yuan exhaled, asking sharply, “You finally done?”
Hailou realized Shen Yuan seemed angry. Why? Because he’d been loud enough to scare the baby?
Shen Yuan glared, voice trembling. “Hailou, you know how I grew up, right? I hated adults behaving like this. And you said those words in front of a child!”
Hailou understood—Shen Yuan’s childhood mirrored An’an’s, being tossed around by relatives. Hailou’s complaints had hurt him too.
Hailou fell silent, watching An’an. Maybe Shen Yuan would feel relieved if someone cared for her. Fine… we’ll raise her.
Hailou reached to touch her head. She swatted his hand away, uncharacteristically defiant, running back to the bed, clutching her grandfather’s hand, tears in her eyes: “I don’t want uncle, aunt, uncle, big brother! I only want Grandpa! Grandpa, don’t die!”
“…“ Hailou and Shen Yuan were speechless.
Old Qiao helplessly coaxed, “An’an, be good, okay? Don’t be stubborn. Didn’t you say you liked handsome brothers? You’ll have the eldest brother and a cute little brother. Don’t mind the grumpy uncle—he’s not bad, he just likes arguing with grandpa.”
An’an refused to let go, clutching tighter. “I don’t like big brother anymore. I don’t want him, the scolding uncle. I only want Grandpa.”
Shen Yuan watched the pair, eyes misting, recalling his own childhood. He had once clung to his grandfather’s hand in the same way.
Seeing Shen Yuan near tears, Hailou finally softened. Remembering how his second brother had cared for him, taking in the orphaned, he decided raising An’an would honor that memory, not for his father. “Alright, for Shen Yuan’s sake, I can take care of An’an.”
Shen Yuan immediately shook his head, voice firm, suppressing tears: “I didn’t say I would raise her.”
Hailou blinked. What? He had expected Shen Yuan to relent, yet he refused.
Old Qiao: “…” This wasn’t going as he thought.
Shen Yuan stared unflinchingly at Old Qiao, speaking as much to him as through him: “If you want to raise her, do it yourself. Don’t push her onto others. She’s your responsibility. Your illness isn’t guaranteed to be fatal. You love your granddaughter, right? Then why not summon the courage to fight for her? You argued with Hailou with such confidence—take that strength into the surgery!”
Old Qiao stammered, “But… what if—”
Shen Yuan, eyes red, interrupted: “Stop thinking about ‘what if.’ Thinking like that is already defeat. Why must you do this? She lost her parents and barely trusts you. I’m not saintly—I have my own child. Of course I’ll favor him. I’m not helping you. If you want to raise her, recover, live another twenty years, and raise her yourself—teach her, guide her, see her married. That’s your responsibility.”