An Yangning sensed that Jiang Han was in a somewhat strange mood, and she gently stroked his face with her fair, delicate hand.
"What happened?"
This simple question opened the floodgates for Jiang Han, and he couldn't help but start complaining.
"I really give up on my oldest cousin's girlfriend. My cousin happily invited me out for barbecue, and she had to tag along just to cry about being poor, saying how hard it is for my cousin to make money. I was so mad I laughed."
"The most important thing is, my cousin has to ask his girlfriend's permission just to go home! That's not being brain-rotted by love—that's a brain tumor!"
Watching Jiang Han puffing with anger, An Yangning suddenly found him extremely amusing.
She wanted to laugh but felt a bit embarrassed, so she reached out and pinched Jiang Han's mouth shut with her fingers.
"Alright, it's not even your girlfriend, why are you getting so worked up?"
Jiang Han paused for a second, realizing he was indeed getting worked up over nothing.
He let out a sigh of relief.
"Babe, massage my head for me."
An Yangning didn't refuse, her soft little hands rhythmically pressing against Jiang Han's temples.
Jiang Han narrowed his eyes in comfort, then glanced at his wife's stunning face, feeling his mood improve drastically.
He really wondered if Jiang Zhe had lost his mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a pretty and gentle girlfriend?
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Han picked up his phone, snapped a photo of An Yangning's face, and took another of her hands massaging him.
He posted it to Moments with the caption: "Got a fairy massaging me the moment I get home, what regrets could life possibly have?"
Visibility set to "Jiang Zhe only."
It was time to let Jiang Zhe experience firsthand how a woman, just like a career, was a man's best ornament.
An Yangning was too focused on the massage to notice Jiang Han taking photos and posting.
When she was massaging Jiang Han, she was as serious and focused as she was with her studies.
After more than ten minutes of massage, she almost lulled Jiang Han to sleep.
In his drowsy state, he heard his phone alarm ring, reminding him that study time had begun.
High school seniors were all like this, having every 24 hours meticulously planned out.
For instance, a schedule consisting of a few hours of studying, half an hour of sleep, twenty minutes to eat, and so on.
"Babe, you're amazing, you almost put me to sleep."
"Come here, give me a kiss."
Jiang Han leaned in as if to kiss her, but An Yangning shyly dodged away.
How could he possibly let her off the hook, though?
He forcefully cupped her face and planted a loud "muah" right on her cheek.
He only dared to kiss her cheek, though, never her lips.
After kissing her, he silently cursed himself in his heart for being a coward.
An Yangning wiped the saliva off her cheek with a tissue. Probably used to Jiang Han taking advantage of her, she wasn't nearly as shy as she used to be.
"Alright, I'm going to study." Using studying as an excuse, Jiang Han shifted his position.
He didn't dare let the ambiguous atmosphere linger any longer.
Just then, Jiang Han received a message from Jiang Zhe.
"Bro, I discussed it with Luo Yuqin, and she won't let me go back."
"She said if I go back and get lectured by my dad, I'll get angry again, which would affect my studies and my part-time job. I'm in my final year of grad school, so I should wait a bit longer."
Jiang Han was once again so angry he laughed.
"Wait then, just wait! Wait for Jiang Chenyu to drive your sports car, and wait for the little mistress to wear third aunt's necklace."
"Remember that TV show *The Temptation to Go Home*? Mistresses always love wearing the original wife's clothes."
This seemed to deal a heavy blow to Jiang Zhe, as his chat window showed "typing..." for a long time.
He was probably starting to have his defenses broken down.
A few minutes later, Jiang Zhe's message came through again.
"Your oldest brother doesn't really not want to go home, it's just that whenever I mention Yuqin, he gets angry."
Seeing this, Jiang Han's anger subsided quite a bit.
He knew his cousin wasn't completely brainless; he just had too strong a sense of morality.
Once he started dating a girlfriend, he wanted to take responsibility for her for the rest of her life, overly pursuing that idealistic state of a lifelong monogamous romance.
"Then wait a bit, I'll think of a way for you." Jiang Han turned off his phone.
He knew very well that trying to persuade him was useless; the only way was to break them up.
Yet he felt a slight pang of guilt—was he meddling too much?
At that moment, Jiang Han thought of his mother and decided to ask her for a solution.
If his mom didn't approve of him interfering, he would drop the matter.
Seeking advice from one's parents during the process of growing up was nothing to be ashamed of.
Jiang Han directly initiated a video call.
It was connected almost immediately, and what appeared on the screen were Jiang Nian'an's two dark nostrils.
"Daddy, look quickly to see if there's a little present in my nostril, I'll pick it out and give it to you."
Jiang Nian'an's baby voice came through the video.
Jiang Han felt his paternal love thinning by the minute. How had he ended up with such an abstract daughter?
"An'an, stop messing around, hand the phone to Grandma." Jiang Han shook his head helplessly.
Jiang Nian'an obediently handed the phone to Wang Yin.
"What's wrong, you little brat? Too busy enjoying your world for two?" Wang Yin teased.
Jiang Han's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
To be honest, he still couldn't understand why his mom was so wildly open-minded about him dating An Yangning!
Jiang Han cleared his throat. "Mom, I wanted to talk to you about Cousin Jiang Zhe. This whole situation is driving me out of my mind."
Wang Yin's smile faded slightly.
"Go ahead, what is it?"
With the matriarch's nod, Jiang Han recounted everything that had happened today to Wang Yin from start to finish.
When he finished, Wang Yin let out a cold hum.
"Sister Li is also a formidable career woman, yet she gave birth to such an idiot, leaving her still starting a new business in her fifties just to pave the way for her son."
"If Jiang Zhe had any sense, his mother wouldn't have to work so hard."
Jiang Han interrupted her, "Stop scolding him. Tell me what to do first?"
Wang Yin thought for a moment and said, "First of all, Mom supports you in persuading Jiang Zhe to come home. Secondly, we need to spark some conflict between the two of them."
"A girl like Luo Yuqin looks plain, but she's full of schemes. In a few days, you and Ningning should invite them out shopping, and make sure to go to the places Jiang Zhe used to like."
"Mom guarantees Jiang Zhe will come to his senses."
Jiang Han caught her drift and gave Wang Yin a thumbs-up.
"Mom, I thought you were going to tell me to throw a bank card at Luo Yuqin and tell her to take the money and leave Jiang Zhe."
Wang Yin frowned. "You little brat, do you think money grows on trees?"
Jiang Han chuckled. "Then why do you send An Yangning so many things? I never get that kind of treatment."
Wang Yin shot him a sideways glance.
"That's different. Ningning is the daughter-in-law I've chosen. As for your cousin's girlfriend, just hearing about her is annoying, I wouldn't want to give her a single cent."
Jiang Han burst out laughing; his mom always spoke the absolute truth.
He hung up the phone, planning to invite his cousin out as soon as the monthly exams were over.
...
Two days of monthly exams later, after the final test, the students in the entire class were utterly exhausted.
Even the energetic Jiang Han was wiped out, slumped lifelessly over his desk.
The most active one was Zhuang Yongzhi sitting in front of him, who kept grinning foolishly at his phone the moment the exam ended.
Attracted by this, Jiang Han leaned over to take a look.
"What are you looking at, grinning like a lovesick fool?"
Zhuang Yongzhi proudly brandished his phone.
"Looking at selfies of our baby. Her legs are seriously so long!"
Jiang Han suddenly recalled those previous photos—blurry faces and completely flat chests.
He let out a cold chuckle.
"What are you laughing at? I'm afraid when she goes to an offline meet-up, she'll pull out something bigger than yours!"