Wen Guoan’s ability to break free from mental constraints before Wen Yu was primarily because Wen Yu wasn’t his biological son.
However, Wen Yu was still his son.
When even blood ties couldn’t bind him, other constraints were even easier to overcome. That’s why Wen Guoan, at his age, had thought through these matters before Wen Yu.
When Wen Yu realized this, he remained silent for a long time before sighing deeply, “Fine, your call.”
But he still wanted to advocate for Xiaosong and Xiaobai, “Treat all three children equally.”
Wen Guoan sighed and said, “I’d like to, but I don’t have that much energy left.”
Wen Guoan had aged, and he couldn’t devote the same effort to raising the third generation as he did with Wen Yu back in the day. He could only do his best to nurture the eldest child while he was still healthy.
The advantage of age was also a significant reason why Wen Guoan chose Junjun. This explained why eldest sons usually prevailed over their younger siblings to become successors. Being born earlier undoubtedly had its advantages.
“I’ll try to live until Junjun comes of age,” Wen Guoan sighed. “I don’t expect to see Junjun get married and have the four generations living together.”
The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.
“Qkhld uswa dwavwakdt rzyd, dsv vs xldvksd usw,” Eld Zw iwkrrle pyanypvknyzzu, “R’x yqayke lhld R osd’v zkhl zsdt ldswtb vs pll Kwdfwd tlv xyaakle.”
Eld Zw ekpnsdvldvlezu rsjle vbl NUP pnalld sq Eld Qwsyd’p dsvlcssj.
Eld Qwsyd’p “Fwnnlppsa Maykdkdt Vastayx” bye fwpv alynble vbl plnvksd sd “Oxsvksdp yde Yyaakytl.”
【Wllz qall vs eyvl clqsal vbl ytl sq voldvu.】
【Gqvla voldvu, wdelapvyde vbyv xld yal sdzu qsa alrasewnvksd yde yxwplxldv.】
【Ebld byhkdt nbkzeald, nbsspl y tsse prlax esdsa. Wkapv, vblu pbswze cl blyzvbu; plnsde, kdvlzzktldv; vbkae, tsse-zssjkdt.】1Zswa nbkzeald okzz byhl y vokpvle xkdeplv okvb vbkp jkde sq zlppsd
…
Ebld Kk Gddkdt pyo vbl nsrkle hlapksd, pbl oyp wvvlazu prllnbzlpp.
The distinctive, morally questionable perspectives of the Wen family were evident everywhere!
Fortunately, a child’s upbringing wasn’t determined by one person alone. A child’s character development would be influenced by all members of the original family. Ji Anning hoped she could temper the dark energy emanating from the two Wens.
Born into such a family, Wen Shujun seemed to have a life that was almost too good to be true.
She had been guided by her grandfather in her actions and behaviors since childhood, and Wen Guoan had the most profound impact on her character. At eight or nine years old, she already showed a decisive and resolute side.
She resembled both Wen Guoan and Wen Yu.
But she also valued family bonds, just like everyone in the family.
Between her and her grandfather, there was an intimacy that even her parents couldn’t surpass.
Watching her grow day by day, becoming more and more like the person he had hoped for, Wen Guoan felt increasingly gratified.
Unfortunately, Wen Guoan didn’t live to see his beloved granddaughter come of age. He peacefully passed away when she was seventeen.
In traditional terms, it could be considered a fortunate passing.
Wen Guoan lived his life with abandon, and his later years were happy and fulfilling, which many people envied.
Although he didn’t leave behind direct descendants, he left a profound imprint on his son Wen Yu and his three grandchildren.
Inheritance doesn’t always have to be about blood ties.
At the funeral, Xiaosong and Xiaobai wept uncontrollably.
Wen Yu turned his head and noticed that Wen Shujun seemed dazed, but not a single tear fell. She was obviously Wen Guoan’s favorite grandchild.
Late at night, Ji Anning woke up to find the space beside her pillow empty. Walking to the balcony, she indeed saw Wen Yu sitting there.
Wen Yu was smoking, something he hadn’t done for many years since Ji Anning’s grandmother’s passing.
The ashtray was full of cigarette butts.
Ji Anning took the cigarette from between his fingers and extinguished it. “Dad doesn’t want you to get lung cancer.”
Wen Yu looked up, his eyes red.
His biological father was still alive, serving a sentence in prison. But for Wen Yu, his true father was Wen Guoan.
In the eyes of his children, he was already a middle-aged man, a father himself. However, from this day forward, he became someone without a father.
Ji Anning understood him.
She reached out and gently touched his temple.
Wen Yu held her wrist and gently pulled her into his arms. Ji Anning leaned quietly against his shoulder, and the couple sat in silence.
After a long while, Wen Yu said, “I’m worried about Junjun.”
Junjun had refrained from crying, showing no visible reactions at all.
Having experienced such moments herself, Ji Anning said, “Give her time.”
Junjun’s emotional outburst came a whole week later, precisely when the vacant chair at the dining table, once occupied by Wen Guoan, was finally taken over by Wen Yu. It was then that Junjun’s sadness erupted, and she sobbed uncontrollably at the dining table.
Xiaosong and Xiaobai flanked her, offering soft words of comfort.
It was a relief for Wen Yu and Ji Anning to see her finally express her grief.
Wen Yu called Junjun into the study.
This study, once belonging to Wen Guoan, now belonged to Wen Yu.
Wen Yu showed Junjun the “Successor Development Plan” that Wen Guoan had created for her when she started kindergarten. “Your grandfather made this plan for you. From now on, I will execute it. You, Xiaosong and Xiaobai will have equal resources and opportunities. There won’t be any injustice because you are a girl.”
Junjun was moved by her grandfather’s early efforts to plan for her future but still felt perplexed. “What’s wrong with being a girl?”
Over the past decade, society had progressed rapidly, not only in technology but also in evolving values.
Growing up in this family, Junjun had never encountered the idea that “girls are inferior to boys.”
Wen Yu was momentarily speechless.
Reflecting on the narrow and stereotypical mindset of over a decade ago, he realized how limited their thinking had been.
Wen Yu felt that the only thing he had truly surpassed his father, Wen Guoan, in was getting married and having children early.
Now, as his children were growing up, he, a middle-aged man, still had the energy to guide and protect them. In any case, Wen Yu considered himself quite young and vigorous, with plenty of time to gradually teach his children and escort them through their journey to maturity.
Wen Shujun to the United States to study, and by her junior year, she used her own pocket money to buy a recently registered patent from a classmate and registered a company in China to deeply explore the applications of this technology.
When Junjun returned to China, the company she had established with her pocket money was already valued at several billion.
Junjun was, of course, different from ordinary entrepreneurs. With the backing of the Wen family, she could access various support, making her success more achievable. Nevertheless, her achievements still impressed the elders.
However, Junjun’s return this time brought an unexpected surprise for Wen Yu and Ji Anning.
She returned pregnant.
Wen Yu/Ji Anning: “…!” What on earth!
The older generation was truly shocked, but Junjun didn’t care at all. “I thought about it, and I’ll probably be busy when I come back, so I might as well solve this matter first.”
“What? Explain yourself!” Wen Yu had a headache. “Whose child is it? Joey or Andrew?”
“Neither,” Junjun said. “I haven’t met the sperm donor in person, but according to the records, he’s a Harvard graduate of mixed Chinese descent with black hair, emerald green eyes, and a height of 188 centimeters.”
“!!!” Wen Yu and Ji Anning looked at each other, asking in unison, “Are you saying…”
“Yeah,” Junjun nodded, holding her waist. “I bought high-quality sperm.”
Junjun said it with great confidence.
Who could blame her? The domestic government was adamant about not allowing the sale of sperm for the sake of promoting marriage. Many single women in China who wanted children but didn’t want to get married had no choice but to buy sperm from the United States.
Wen Yu was truly at a loss. Although being single and childless was very common nowadays, and it was not uncommon for single women to go abroad to buy sperm for pregnancy, as a parent, he undoubtedly wanted to see his children not only successful in their careers but also happy in their families.
“Oh my goodness,” Junjun rolled her eyes rather unladylike. “You’re even more old-fashioned than my grandpa! You’re such a stick in the mud. Even my grandpa thought I didn’t need to get married. If you don’t believe me, go check how he outlined the plan for me.”
Wen Yu, in his younger days, could never have imagined that he, the once promiscuous and charming man, would become the conservative figure in the eyes of the next generation. It truly felt like karma!
Ji Anning stepped in to mediate. She gently scolded, supporting her precious daughter, “Both of you, talk nicely.”
In Ji Anning’s view, it wasn’t such a big deal. Over the past few years, she had been involved in campus charity projects, often interacting with young girls of this era. She understood that the mindset of this generation was different from theirs.
Times had indeed changed.
Especially considering Ji Anning’s personal experience with childbirth and raising children, in their family’s circumstances, this wasn’t a difficult task. If there was a slight deficiency for single mothers raising children, it was the lack of adult males participating in the child’s growth. However, isn’t Wen Yu still around?
How old is Wen Yu? His prime as a man was far from over. Among his friends, someone had just become a father last month.
Moreover, apart from his grandfather, this child had two lively uncles.
After scrutinizing the conditions one by one, Wen Yu genuinely felt that it wasn’t a big deal. What bothered him was that Junjun, this girl, made such a major decision without informing her parents! How could she not discuss such matters with them?
“As an adult, is my own life and my own uterus not something I can decide for myself?” Junjun justified herself.
She didn’t think she did anything wrong, leaving Wen Yu fuming with anger.
Ji Anning rubbed her forehead and said, “I just didn’t expect you to have a child so early.”
Junjun chuckled and said, “I learned it from you! Isn’t it said that if you give birth early, you recover well? Look at you; you had a child early and still maintain such a youthful appearance.”
After Ji Anning gave birth to Xiaosong and Xiaobai, the couple discussed and decided not to have any more children. At that time, Ji Anning was still young, recovered quickly, lived comfortably in the wealthy family, and maintained good looks. Now, she and Junjun looked like sisters.
“I didn’t plan to get married, but I thought I could still have a child,” Junjun said. “After thinking about it, if I decide to have one, it’s better to do it now while I’m not so busy and still young and healthy. Otherwise, there are too many things on my plan. Mom, Dad, do you want to see my plan?”
…
Ten years later, in the X Province’s Top Ten Outstanding Youth selection, Junjun, the young leader of the Wen Group known as the “Shark,” made it to the list. In the news photos, she confidently and boldly smiled.
With no print media around, Wen Yu printed out the news and burned it in front of Wen Guoan’s grave. As the paper turned to ashes, Wen Yu turned to the child behind him and called out, “Duoduo, come here, greet your great-grandfather.”
“Okay!” The boy of this age couldn’t stay calm, hopping and jumping over in a few steps.
“Great-grandfather Wen Guoan! Do you remember me?” The boy smiled and addressed the holographic image of the old man on the tombstone. “I’m your great-grandson. Like you, my last name is Wen!”
[End of the story]
Sansukini: I like that the ending is more about Daddy Wen. He is my favorite character after Wen Yu and Ji Anning. Man, I feel sad already. No more ARIES staring next week. This is really one of the most unforgettable cnovel I have ever read/MTL. When I decided to translate it, I was worried that it would get a lot of flak because the ML started out as a scum. But you know that feeling of a bookworm, there are some instance where you read a book, but after awhile, you forgot a lot of the things that happened in the story, but you still remember the feeling it gave you when you read it. Nostalgic. This novel did it for me. So I’m glad this story got a very good response from the readers here and in novelupdates. If you started reading here (or in my previous blog where this started) and stayed till the end, Thank you very much! I really appreciate it, you guys. It’s the end of the year, and also the end of this novel. Let’s start a new one for 2024. I hope you give it the same love you gave this one.
Next Project to follow ARIES. Please look forward to it,
For over a decade, Li Teng served in the “Falcon”. He is known for his fierceness, a man of a few words, with unruly nature, and everyone in the airborne brigade knows of him. His comrades were curious about what kind of heroic woman their leader would choose.
Until one day, a lovely girl appeared—charming, gentle, and a bit silly. When she smiled, Li Teng willingly surrendered everything to her.
*
A sweet military romance featuring the tough and domineering special forces paratrooper and the adorable singer from the cultural troupe.
Sweet and heartwarming.
TN: Li Teng is a Special Forces undercover when he met the then kidnapped Ruan Nianchu. Unable to escape her captors, he protected her while carrying out his mission. After saving her and completing his mission, he disappeared completely from her life only for him to reappear and reunite with her a few years later. This is a sweet romantic novel with some military mystery and action.
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)
You can also check out my other translations Here
I really enjoyed it too!!!!
Thanks for all your hard work!!!!
Thank you for sticking by. I really appreciate it.
I’m going to miss this. This is one of my best reads this year.
Thanks for your hard work
It’s one of my best too. Thanks for reading.
This is such a great read! Thank you TL-nim ❤ What a great way to end the year 🥳 This is one of my favorite cnovels huhuhu please if any of you got cnovel recommendations, can you pleaseee reply to my comment? Will greatly appreciate it heheheh
Hi. You can check out my other Novels. I hope you find something you like.
Married to the Male Lead’s Hidden Rich Brother (Romance, Comedy, transmigration [the antagonist is the transmigrated person]) – completed
Hello, Mr. Zhou (Romance, Entertainment, Childcare) – completed
Casting Nets to Catch a Husband ( Romance, historical, Rebirth, Slice of Life)
Interstellar Dad (Future, Romance, MPreg, Boy-Girl Romance, Transmigration, Military)
And my new one, replacing After Rebirth…
He Confessed in the Backlight (Romance, Military Special Forces, Adapted to Drama)
Happy New Year! A bittersweet finale – wish they didn’t need to go so far into the future that Wen Guoan was gone, but, I love that Wen Yu is very much involved in his grandson’s upbringing – would have liked to see more of that 😁 Congrats on finishing this novel & thank you!!
What I love about the extra ending is that they were centered around Wen Guoan. We can only have so much of Wen Yu and Ji Anning’s dog food, right. Grandpa is the pillar of the family. I like how they started the novel with people with very thin familial lines, like it’s just Wen Yu and his Dad (nvm the mom), Ji Anning and her grandma, but in the end, they were able to make their family grow, especially for Dad Wen who longs a lot for it.
Hey, see you in my next translation.
Thank you! For your hardwork translating this. Start reading this this morning, and i already finished. I think the length is just nice, eventho some part are a bit rushed.
I did not expect to see Junjun grow up, and having a kid on her own. Good for her, you don’t need to get married just to have kids
Wow! You read so fast.
Thank you Sansukini for your hard work to finished this story.
I really like this novel because of development character of Wen Yu.
Thank you for reading, You can also checkout my other completed novels, if you’re looking for something else to read.
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for your hard work! It was a great read.
Wow, it’s finished. Thanks so much for the translation!
Thank you for your hard work. Really satisfied with the HE ending of this novel. All characters have explainable ending. Will miss daddy Wen.
Thanks so much for sticking by. Yes, I agree, the ending is really satisfying.
Thank you translator! I enjoyed the story.
I almost dropped it because WY was so aggressive in his ways, I’m glad I stuck around!
Thank you translatornimm!!! I liked the story so much.
I like it so much too. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to read my other “completed” translations.
A very heartwarming and emotional ride for me. Thank you for translating this. Much love❤️🥰🔥
Glad you enjoyed it.
Well, I kind also speechless at how Junjun decided to be pregnant as a young single mother. Let not talk about my moral compass (because her decision breach several of it). Let just talk about how she said it’s her own life and her own uterus to make decisions while in consequences of that decision impacted her father and brothers to fill the role of male elder(s) (the father) for her child–without asking or even informing them ahead of her pregnancy. Sigh
Anyway, thank you for the translation. It’s an interesting book. Otsukaresama, Sansukini. 😄
It’s so beautiful. The main story was so well developed and concluded all the big and lows of Anning and Ah Yu, the extra chapters truly were the sweet, peaceful and blissful life they deserved. I love the way the author made Grandpa Wen, he was such an amazing dad first of all, and then he became a great pillar and the greatest of all Grandpas for his grandchildren, specially Junjun.
I binged read this in one and a half days, but I enjoyed this story so much, the approach the author took with an already cliché theme (being reborn, second chances, etc.) in this novel is so refreshing. Thank you so much for sharing this story, dedicating your time to translate it so well. Thank you, so, so, so much!
I’ll be reading your other translations works for sure!!
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to visit my other translations.
Thank you for your hard work! I had a fun time reading this.
Thank you so much for reading and liking.