Zayne's sincerity and purity

Zayne felt it.

But he had worked out for years, and the strength Yu Xiang used to squeeze him really did not put him under any pressure.

Zayne said, "...I will put my wife first in everything, respect and love her, and take good care of her. Mother, Father, and all my dads, please rest assured."

The two dads standing behind them, Jiang Qizhi and Jia Nan, both nodded in approval.

Xiao Yan went around hugging each of her dads, then came back and took Zayne's hand. "Come on, come on, it's too cold outside. Let's go in and talk over dinner!"

After politely nodding and smiling at them again, Zayne was pulled into the house ahead of everyone else by Xiao Yan.

As they went, he lowered his head to look at his hand.

Xiao Yan's hand was so small that, in her haste, she had only caught his index and middle fingers.

He adjusted his grip, turning his hand to enclose her little hand completely.

Compared with the main house's dining room, the dining room in Xiao Yan's villa seemed much smaller.

This dining room was practically a banquet hall.

At the magnificent long dining table, Xiao Jue sat at the head, with Xiao Yan in the next seat of honor. Even sitting beside Xiao Yan, Zayne felt very far away from Xiao Jue.

Still, a large table with everyone spread out had its advantages.

Zayne could relax a little.

Chen Qian was a particularly thoughtful dad. He went to fetch a blanket and draped it over Xiao Yan's legs. "Yanyan, the weather's getting cold. You can't dress like this anymore."

Xiao Yan grinned. "Okay~ I'll listen to my dad."

"Oh my, you're so much livelier!" Chen Qian was delighted. "After that car accident, you barely paid any attention to anyone in the family. I was worried sick!"

"Isn't that all thanks to Little Li and the others taking such good care of her?" Xiao Jue remained composed, looking at Zayne affectionately. "Yanyan really is much more energetic on this visit home. I want to thank all of you for looking after her."

Zayne felt ashamed of his inadequacy. "I... still haven't done nearly enough."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yan pulled her chair right up beside Zayne's.

She linked her arm through his again and leaned against his shoulder. "Mom, Zayne and the other four are wonderful. Xavier is very busy, but he video calls me every day. Zayne is busy too, but he reminds me to eat on time every single day. He even spent the whole way here telling me off for dressing too lightly. Rafayel, Sylus, and Caleb are all wonderful too."

Zayne grew suspicious.

Probably not a word of that was true, including the parts about him.

Looking at Xiao Yan's smile, he began to see a hint of forced cheer in it.

Zayne covered Xiao Yan's hand with his own and patted it. He had nothing to say.

He only felt that being the young lady of a great human family truly was not easy for Xiao Yan.

Before marriage, she had clearly been a favored daughter of heaven, showered with every kind of love at home.

After marriage, however...

Zayne really could not feel at ease.

Chen Qian returned to his seat, his eyes full of teasing. "If they're so wonderful, why do you always keep them hidden away? Bring them all home sometime. I'm curious about every one of them."

Xiao Yan said, "Oh, I will! Once their days off line up."

At that, Xiao Jue had a question. "After your father and your dads married, they all merged their assets with our family's, and afterward they came to help with family affairs. Zayne, what are the five of you thinking on that front?"

Just then, Uncle Wu, the butler, came over to ask for instructions.

Xiao Jue said the food could be served, interrupting the question.

Once the appetizers arrived, Zayne attended to Xiao Yan, serving her some food.

He had also decided what to say.

"Mother, Father, and all my dads, I don't know much about business operations, nor am I interested in them. So even if I merge my assets with my wife's, I still hope to continue practicing medicine."

It was half true and half false.

Merging assets was false, but wanting to be a doctor was absolutely true.

Xiao Yan thought Zayne was truly honest and clever. He had held to his bottom line without making any false promises.

After hearing this, Xiao Jue looked at Xiao Yan.

In truth, Xiao Jue had no desire to interfere in what her five sons-in-law wanted to do.

But if Xiao Yan wanted all five men brought home to learn how to manage the group and its businesses, Xiao Jue would certainly bring pressure to bear.

She respected all her daughter's decisions and would support every one of them.

If Xiao Yan did not want to be the villain who forced men to obey, she, Xiao Jue, did not mind playing that role.

Xiao Yan shook her head at Xiao Jue-Mom, don't force him. Don't force them.

Xiao Jue sighed. After taking a bite, she still felt she had to say something.

"Little Li, our Yanyan is only eighteen, after all. She's still at an innocent, carefree age. Don't think she's easy to fool just because she's young."

Although Xiao Yan knew Xiao Jue was standing up for her.

That might have been fine with someone else, but Zayne did not need a warning.

Zayne was the most upright person. He would not bully her.

When Zayne had said he wanted to continue practicing medicine, he had already prepared himself for a reprimand.

He had adapted to and accepted the rules of this world, where women were superior and men inferior, more deeply than Xiao Yan imagined.

"Mother, please allow me to express my thoughts." Zayne stopped eating and wiped the corners of his mouth.

He looked openly at Xiao Jue. "My wife is indeed at an innocent, carefree age. She isn't good at, or doesn't like, using forceful measures on those around her. That is neither a flaw nor a shortcoming."

Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow. "Mm, go on."

"I won't take that to mean I have an opening to achieve some aim of my own," Zayne said sincerely. "I will only find her all the more precious, and feel incredibly fortunate to have met her and been chosen by him."

Xiao Jue's expression softened, and she smiled slightly.

"Good fortune that comes easily still has the supreme worth of something to be carefully cherished." Zayne turned to Xiao Yan with a gentle smile. "I know very well that her favor toward me is a rare treasure I must protect with all my strength."

In the end, it still came down to society being unfair to men, with women held supreme. He was merely assessing the situation and going with the tide.

Xiao Jue sighed. "As long as you know to cherish her, there's no need to say any more about the rest..."

"But what truly matters most to me is the person before me," Zayne interrupted Xiao Jue. "My love and respect for her would not change even in another world, under a different set of social rules."

Xiao Yan jolted, staring blankly into Zayne's eyes, which, though narrow and sharp, were utterly sincere.

He was declaring to everyone that his feelings were pure, unconstrained by external frameworks.

Of course, Xiao Yan remained clearheaded. The prerequisite was that Zayne first had to become truly willing to give his feelings.

"What I feel for my wi... for Yanyan is admiration, love, and respect from the bottom of my heart. It has nothing to do with this world." Zayne's gaze grew even more tender. "What Mother worries about will not happen, because whenever I work overtime late into the night, on my way home, I will always stare at my own shadow beneath the moon for a long, long time."

Those words were deeply moving.

Even though his feelings had yet to begin growing wildly, and everything Zayne said was only one possible future.

But he had also clearly expressed that, watching his shadow beneath the moon, he knew his own circumstances well.

Then, cloaked in moonlight, he would look toward the person he would love wholeheartedly, apart from worldly conventions.

Xiao Jue considered the meaning of Zayne's words.

In his speech, Zayne had examined his own circumstances, acknowledged social reality, and expressed his devotion and admiration for Xiao Yan herself, transcending that reality.

She, Xiao Jue, had not misjudged him, and her daughter Xiao Yan's taste was even more unquestionably good.

This Zayne truly was mature and grounded, and very intelligent, with convictions, views, and a stance of his own.