[Chapter 071] Bian Ting’s letter & father PK small aunt
He ignored the car and took Uncle Li’s car together with Lu YunFei. As he prepared to board it, he heard Yuan Shuo call after him, “Jin Jin.”
Bian JinYuan: …
Lu YunFei turned to look at him, “Jin Jin?”
Yuan Shuo had already walked over. He smiled at Lu YunFei, “You must be Xiao Fei. I’m business partners with your father and have heard about you from him. You’re a handsome boy like he said.”
Lu YunFei smiled politely, “Hello uncle.”
“Hello to you too,” Yuan Shuo looked at his son after greeting Lu YunFei, “Are you going to tutor Xiao Fei? Let me send you home after your tutoring session.”
“No need, uncle Li will send me.”
“I also wish to treat you to a meal,” Yuan Shuo said truthfully.
“Not today, Sunday is better.”
Yuan Shuo didn’t argue, and only said, “Okay then.”
He took out his phone and asked Bian JinYuan, “Could you tell me your phone number?”
Bian JinYuan didn’t refuse, and calmly recited his phone number.
Yuan Shuo didn’t bother them after this. He bid them goodbye and went back to his car.
Sensed that something was up, Lu YunFei pulled Bian JinYuan into the car and asked him what was happening.
Bian JinYuan didn’t hide it from him and told him plainly, “He said that he’s my dad.”
Lu YunFei: !!!
“Your dad?!!!”
“That’s right.”
“Re-…really?”
“Mmm.”
“Why would he suddenly appear, where had he been all these while?”
“He didn’t know of my existence before. Now that he suddenly appeared…” Bian JinYuan said to this point, and then slowly gazed at Lu YunFei, “You heard it too just now didn’t you, he’s your father’s business partner. Your father had randomly talked a bit about me to him, that’s how he knew.”
Lu YunFei: …
Lu YunFei thought about that night when his mum told him, “Of course it’s an important partner. Speaking of, the other party is quite handsome. Not only that, he also looks very familiar.”
So it had turned out to be Bian JinYuan’s father… it really was… no wonder his mum found him familiar!
Lu YunFei was dumbfounded for a moment. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Then what do you think about your dad who’s suddenly appeared?”
Bian JinYuan said calmly, “He’s just a passerby.”
“Do you hate him?”
Bian JinYuan shook his head.
“Then do you like him?”
“How is that possible.”
Bian JinYuan looked out the window, “I’m someone who’s scarce with emotions. The majority of people are just passersby to me. You won’t hate a passerby, nor would you like one. Apart from you, my small aunt, and Shuang Shuang, I don’t have any opinions towards anyone else.”
Lu YunFei was surprised, “I’m also included?”
Bian JinYuan looked at him, “Do you feel honoured?”
Lu YunFei nodded, “Very honoured.”
Bian JinYuan smiled and reached out to pinch his face.
The tutoring session went by quickly that night, and Uncle Li sent Bian JinYuan to the train station. Bian JinYuan thanked him and walked home quietly.
The night sky was dark. As he walked on the road, he slowly recalled a letter from a long time ago.
It was a letter that Bian Ting had written and passed to him on her deathbed.
Bian JinYuan had read it numerous times, to the point where he could memorise its contents.
“Xiao Yuan, are you sad because your mum is no longer here? If so, then mum can only apologise to you. Mum also doesn’t want to leave, but it can’t be helped, so please don’t blame mum alright? Everyone will have to depart at a certain point. If they meet sickness or other disasters, they would quicken their pace towards the end.”
“Do you still remember your grandparents? You probably don’t, but you had met them when you were very young, so young that you were still being carried by me. But they had to leave because their time was up. It is now mum’s time to go. After I leave, I can reunite with your grandparents in another world. So, you don’t have to be sad.”
“Xiao Yuan you can’t come over, because your small aunt is still here. If we were to all go over to the other side, Small aunt will be all alone. She would be too pitiful. Small aunt treats you very well, so you could not bear for that to happen to her right? Anyway, mum can’t bear it, so mum hopes for you and small aunt to be live happily together.”
“I still remember when you were just born. You were so small, and you’ve grown so much in a blink of an eye. You once asked me where your dad was when you were younger. Why didn’t our family have a father? I don’t know when but you somehow stopped asking. Now, mum wants to tell you something about your dad, because you’ll never hear about it if I don’t say it now. If you don’t understand the contents, or if you don’t wish to read it, then please store this letter away. You can read it when you’re older or when you meet your father.”
“Xiao Yuan, do you believe in fate? I do. So, if you meet your dad one day, don’t be surprised. Don’t be upset either, and don’t be angry. He doesn’t know of your existence. In this aspect, he’s innocent. When you appeared in my womb, it was at the height of our love, filled with love and warmth. And so, I gave birth to you.”
“You were conceived with love, the same as all the children in the world. I love you, and I love your father too. I don’t know if you’ll ever meet each other someday in this big world, but I hope that if you do, that you would follow your heart. If you wish to get closer to him, then get closer to him. If you wish to keep away from him, then keep away. You belong to yourself. Your life is up to you.”
“Only, this entire situation was built on the foundation of him not wanting to form a family. Your father is someone who cherishes his freedom. He hates restraints, and so he rejected the notion of marriage and families. This was also the reason why we didn’t stay together. I’m an ordinary woman, I want to form a family and have children at a certain age, but he doesn’t think so. His life is rich with wealth and freedom; he’s given a lot leeway in this respect. But I don’t, and so I chose to leave him.”
“If you meet him, and he’s yet to form a family, then you should follow your heart. Make sure that you’re happy whether you grow closer to him or keep away from him. If he already has a family, then you should steer away from him. Your birth was outside of his expectations. It’s irrelevant to him, only to me. Your growth is also irrelevant to him, so he should respect your decision.”
“I love you. In this life, I love you the most in this world. And so I wish for you to always be happy. Small aunt will take care of you after I leave. She is the other person whom I love most apart from you, and so I’ll be at peace leaving you with her. Our relationship is too short in this lifetime. I can’t bear to leave before seeing you grow up, but I can’t help it. The only reprieve is that there are still people whom I trust in this world, so that I can leave you to her.”
“Xiao Yuan, live your life happily, and grow into someone whom you wish to become. This world is a beautiful place for you to savour. My greatest gift to you is to have brought you into this world. Here is a place which presents unending opportunities and dreams, and you will achieve them.”
Bian JinYuan unconsciously halted his steps. He looked up at the starless night sky in the city, and resumed walking forwards.
I’ve met him, he said soundlessly in his heart, but I don’t feel anything for him. Mum, I don’t hate him, nor am I upset. No resentment, and no love. So don’t worry, I’ll settle this situation my way.
He pushed open the door to the yard and entered it. His home was emitting a warm light.
Bian JinYuan had never regretted having been born in this world. He had never harboured such feelings even during the hardships his family had gone through. This world was the greatest gift that Bian Ting had given him. She had brought him into this world and given him all of her love. He lived among love and dreams. Even after she had departed, Bian Jie had continued to light up his world, never ceasing this light.
And so he didn’t hate or resent Yuan Shuo, and he also didn’t feel like he needed Yuan Shuo in his life. He lived completely, possessing familial, friendly, and romantic relationships. He didn’t want for anything else.
However, Yuan Shuo was different, he needed him.
At the appointed Sunday, Yuan Shuo entered the yard of Bian JinYuan’s house, following him through the door. He looked at the cramped house in shock, an overwhelming pang of heartbreak at the sight.
Bian Jie had already made a meal. Shuang Shuang had also been sent to a friend’s house. Bian Jie said, “Sit.”
Yuan Shuo looked at her face that was strikingly similar to Bian Ting’s. In that moment, he felt a revelation.
He seemed to have seen a young Bian Ting in her, yet also seemed to see a middle-aged Bian Ting as well. But he knew that the person in front of him wasn’t the girl he liked, but her younger sister, the one whom she often talked about—Bian Jie.
Yuan Shuo sat on the sofa, and Bian Jie and Bian JinYuan moved two stools over to sit in front of him.
Yuan Shuo was about to speak when he heard Bian Jie say, “I’ve heard about you from Xiao Yuan. But I want to clarify something with you, can I?”
Yuan Shuo answered naturally, “Sure.”
Bian Jie didn’t beat around the bush, “May I know if mister Yuan is married?”
Yuan Shuo hadn’t expected her to be so direct. He was momentarily stunned, and then answered truthfully, “Not yet.”
Being single at his age was uncommon. However, Bian JinYuan and Bian Jie had heard about his resistance towards marriage from Bian Ting, and so they nodded in acknowledgement.
“Mister Yuan is still the same as when you were young, disliking restraints. Not being married at this age, Mister Yuan is probably living freely, right?”
Bian JinYuan glanced at his small aunt, now understanding why she wanted to meet his cheap father. He hadn’t thought that, for all that his small aunt was sweet and gentle, that she would be able to say such barbed words.
Yuan Shuo naturally was able to detect what even Bian JinYuan could see. He recalled what Bian Ting had said, that she and her younger sister were very close. He smiled and replied amiably, “I am so, but not that freely.”
“Then does mister Yuan plan to get married?”
“We’ll see in the future.”
Bian Jie scoffed, “Mister Yuan is really banking on there being many days in the future. When probed on marriage in your youth, you left it to the future, as there was no hurry. Now that you’re middle-aged, mister Yuan continues to push the matter of marriage to the future. Mister Yuan’s future is so difficult to wait for. It’s a good thing that my sister left early, otherwise I’m afraid that she would be waiting until her death, and still never hear a word from mister Yuan about marriage.”
Yuan Shuo raised his head sharply, as he glared fiercely at Bian Jie.
Bian Jie didn’t seem to notice his anger. She looked at Yuan Shuo, her eyes filled with resentment and disdain. She knew about Bian Ting and Yuan Shuo’s relationship better than Bian JinYuan, and knew how much Bian Ting suffered in order to take care of Bian JinYuan. As Bian Ting’s younger sister, she stood by Bian Ting’s side unconditionally, and so in her heart, Yuan Shuo had long ago been marked as scum. It wouldn’t matter if Yuan Shuo had never appeared before them. Now that he had, she wasn’t going to be polite to him.
Bian JinYuan looked at the two people before him, and poured a drink for Bian Jie, “Small aunt, drink something.”
Then, he placed the jug back and reminded the man sitting opposite him, “Retract your gaze. If you aren’t able to speak properly to my small aunt, then you can scram.”
Yuan Shuo: ????
Yuan Shuo looked at his son in shock. Was it him who didn’t want to talk properly? It was obviously the other party who didn’t want to talk properly. He was innocent!
Quack Notes
So much feels this chapter 🙁
25 responses to “After I Possessed the Tmall Genie of the School Adonis Chapter 071”
What can i say your not in his life since his birth but also giving them a second chance won’t be bad Bian JinYuan ?. Anyways thanks for the update ♡♥.
Kinda have mixed feelings about his dad. We’ll see in the future too lol
Thanks for the update ?
(Considering my statement may go through the gutter if Yuan Shuo did something scummy to Bian Ting I’ll write down my indignation.)
This is so unfair. Bian Ting’s decision was just too unfair, hiding Bian Jinyuan’s birth is so unfair to both, the father and the child.
If I were a man and had a relationship with a woman and she got pregnant I would want to know. It is OUR child, is MY child as much as it is hers and she has NO right to hide him/her from me.
Why do you all think it is illegal for mothers to keep fathers from meeting their children? Because fathers also love their children, also want to spend time with them, also want to watch them grow and share their experiences.
In my country parents have the right to meet their children at least once every fortnight and it’s the mother’s obligation to let the father meet the children.
Bian Ting let her child grow 16 years without even knowing who his father was and all of it because she took the decision (without even consulting the other party concerned who also had the say in this), out of the argument “he didn’t want to form a family” and so what?
First of all, even if he didn’t want to form a family, HE has the OBLIGATION to take RESPONSIBILITY of the child.
Second of all, SHE has the OBLIGATION to make him know about the existence of the child.
She did wrong, she had no right to choose whether her child needed a father or not, she had no right to make an assumption of whether Yuan Shuo wanted the child or not. She wronged everyone, including herself.
I’m just saying, if I were Yuan Shuo I would be mad, regretful and upset as hell, just with the thought of losing all my child’s childhood, half of his adolescence and never being able to share those moments with, nor ever being able make up for it, it just freaks me out!
Besides, imagine Yuan Shuo going through all that shock and regret only to arrive at Bian Jinyuan’s home realising he’s living in not the best condition, that his son is indifferent to him at keeps him at an arms length and he only goes there for Bian Ting’s sister to reproach him almost blindly and scold him as if he were the only one who was in the wrong, poking his wounds and deepening his regret.
Just put yourself in his shoes, how would you feel?
It unfair to him, UNFAIR.
Yes, I am upset for the poor father for all these reasons.
This is my thoughts too. I mean, I get it okay, Bian Ting’s letter is so emotional but at the same time I think she’s kind of like a stupid young girl driven by emotions. Her child needs a father, like who doesn’t right? Of course Bian Bian doesn’t need him now cuz he’s already approaching adulthood but when he was younger he kinda wanted a father too.
So she broke up with him because he didn’t feel like marriage was important in his early 20s, found out she was pregnant, unilaterally made the decision to not tell him and cut all contact and move away, and HE’S the asshole? Uh, ok, sure, I guess. We’re missing a lot of important details around their breakup but I’m also remembering her advice to her toddler son was “you dont need anyone who doesn’t need you” which is like … wrong and messed up? Anyways I’m trying really hard to withhold judgment but it’s not easy
Thank you for the update ❤️ Everyone has been hurt to some extent by what happened and everyone’s hurt is valid. Would it be great for this to be preceeded by counseling and guided through mediation? Yes, but when does that really happen? Do I believe a father should have been told about his child? Yes, BUT I am an outsider. I did not love and live with him. Children can bind people and lead to resentment, his family is wealthy would they put pressure to marry or try to adopt the child? The aunt watched her sister struggle raising a child on her own and then took him in on her deathbed through many struggles of her own. Why would Bianbian be attached to someone who just looks similar to him in the mirror? Have you heard about twin strangers? That’s basically what I believe the situation could kind of feel like to him. His mother did pass on information in the letter and asked him not to destroy if he didn’t want to know at the time of first reading and did not brew or let others brew resentment in him at his father. Great focus was put on do what you want to do, which is hearty support.
They are doing what they can to meet, figure out some things and protect those they care about. While yes the process is ouchy and scratchy it needs to be gone through if they want a good outcome together.
It’s one of the reasons I’m enjoying this story so much. It makes me FEEL – the situations and responses make sense and adapt to further situations and responses. Author is amazing for conveying this and translator/s and editor/s are awesome for keeping the heart and flow of the writing.
I really hope there is a good relationship between Bianbian and his father, and that little aunt and his father ease into an amicable relationship ?
Bian Ting’s letterman me a little teary, ngl. I can understand Jie’s situation, and also Yuan Shao’s. With his attitude, with his wealth and power, if she told him she was keeping the baby, his fam might have lashed out at her. Or taken Bian away shortly after he was born. And for Jie, watching her sister struggle and pass away, whew. What a serious history for Bian JinYuan.
I’ll be firmly behind Bian Bian no matter his decision. Which somehow I think Yun Fei will indirectly influence.
Its so complicated but it’s really unfair for the father and bianbian. I wish they could form a family so BianBian could live his life as a normal student. So he could study properly and neednt to work. Bianbian i love youuu
While it is unfair to the Yuan Shao, Bing Tian probably tried her best given her circumstances.
BJY could have been taken away from her since he’s Yuan Shao’s heir, and Bing Tian not being married to Yuan Shao puts her at a disadvantage.
We should consider that they were young at that time, what if Yuan Shao felt that BJY was a shackle to his freedom back then?
Also, it seems that Yuan Shao didn’t contact Bing Tian in the last decade, otherwise he would have known she died. Isn’t this the biggest red flag?
Which is why I can’t sympathize with Yuan Shao, there are things he could have done better to save the situation.
It’s not so normal to keep in contact with your ex-partner. It’s not a red flag at all for him to stop contacting her, it would be a red flag for him to insist and insist even after they broke up.
It’s understandable for him not to know about what happened to her. From Bian Ting’s aptitude, she doesn’t seem to really like to be inquired after and even less, investigated, she said so herself, she likes her privacy, so yiu can take Yuan Shao not inquiring as him respecting said privacy and the distance she herself put between them, that also means he respected her decision.
Let’s be realistic, how many of you still know about your exes wellbeing? If you go ask your parents about the boy/girlfriend they had in university and ask them if they know how they are faring, few will really be able to tell you what was of their lifes even if they did love them at the time, some may even have to take some time to remember whether they were dating and whom.
And even if some keep in touch with their exes, people also need their time when they broke up, to move on and heal, not everyone can immediately resume contact with their exes. If his way to move on was to not think about her anymore, thus not contacting her, it may have been a mistake, but it’s also understandable. Or should he still talk to her every day to torment his lovelorn self?
When Bian Ting died, many years had already gone by. Once again, would you inquire in detail about the ex you broke up with ten years ago?
Besides, they broke up 16 years ago, around 2000-2003 it was not so easy to keep in touch.
Thanks for sharing, I didn’t think about things that way. I thought it was rather heartless if he didn’t care to mend their relationship after the breakup since they seem to love each other a lot. Maybe this relationship just happen to break off completely like you said.
mildly mad at bian ting for her actions tbh. it was unfair to both bjy and yan shuo,, but alas, what can we do. thanks for the chap
I am in disagreement with most of the other commenters. I feel I like it would be wrong to force a child into a person that does not want a family. Telling him would be forcing him because of culture pressures. This would cause some resentment and would create a negative atmosphere.
It is better for a child to grow up in a healthy loving environment and that does not require two parents. Jin BianYuan does not feel that he is missing anything by not having a father. So why should we feel sorry for him when he does not even feel sorry himself. I would feel the exact same way as he does if my mom had done the same thing. Actually I would have preferred to have grown up with just my mom. My father mostly added negativity to my life.
+1 re: cultural pressures/expectations
Looks like there’s quite the… conversation in the comments.
Anyway, Yuan Shao seems somewhat pitiful. He can be present in his son’s life now, however.
Thanks for the chapter!
Sometimes people make mistakes even when they are well meaning. I believe the mother is not wrong to not tell the father. His background is power and wealth, it’s unfair to judge but in theory. There was too many what if, if the father family known would they take the child away. From a lot of Chinese novel we see that the wealthy family will not look well on illegitimate children so BJY might have been treated badly. So rather than taking that risk, raise the child in love. Also like mention before, imposing a child in another person who didn’t want the child is holding them morally hostage and can make the father resent the child. Yes, he and the family could provide him materially but would they love him? So many what’s if? Tbh if I had a sister like small aunt who stand firmly on my side and raise my kid like their own then that in itself is very rare. So to round it up, no medicine for regrets, it’s now how they choose to move forward is the most important thing.
I’m just saying, Bian Ting could have been sued (in my country at least) for what she did (hiding Bian Jinyuan’s existence from his father). This shows the extent of how not cool what she did is. In my country the parent without the custody has the right too see the children AT LEAST once every 15 days, by law.
The father maybe didn’t have to take on the responsibility of taking care of the child (what I mean is, being with him all day, taking him to school, etc.) But would HAVE TO take on economic responsibility at least (That way Biang Ting wouldn’t have to work herself to the bone, too), however, how could you know he didn’t want to take responsibility of him if he has not even given the opportunity?
Besides, I have to disagree with the comments stating he could have been taken away from Bian Ting, we don’t even know the father’s family, how can we know that would/could have happened?
I completely agree with all the viewpoints sympathising with the father. All this being equal, those would be my personal reactions.
I would, however, like to point out that things work very, very differently in China than from many first-world countries. The corruption amongst the teachers illustrated in the earlier arc of the story is a social norm, along with society’s generic tolerance of injustice (as you could see from the other teachers’ reactions, as well as the victims’ passive position). I think it is fair to use this to measure the absolute power imbalance between wealthy/influential families and anyone else who gets involved with them. In this setting, a lone pregnant woman with no background won’t last a second against a powerful family; it’s more than likely that she’ll lose all rights over her agency and her child if they knew it existed. Forced marriage, forced abortions, blackmail, seizure of custody, all of it can happen and has happened, not to mention the stigma against illegitimate children and the various ways they’re mistreated by everyone.
And therefore I cannot say for certain that Bian mother did wrong. For all she knows, her decision could have been bang right given the specific circumstances of the time. I am sorry for the father, because he was not given a chance to prove himself, but there were clearly reasons that the mother decided that she couldn’t take the risk to trust him, and we can see that he knows himself well enough to understand that he is at least partly to blame in that respect.
lol at everyone feeling bad for the rich man. i don’t like him personally
Kinda disappointed with the mom. Every child deserves legal support from their parents. She robbed BJY of that when she didn’t even tell the dad. Lyk cmon. If you have a romantic and ideal view on life and think money doesn’t matter and poverty doesn’t hurt your child, that’s just stupid. She’d rather leave it up to fate instead of ensuring that MYJ wouldn’t have to work 2 part time jobs, be aloof and afraid of forming bonds, so insecure of his status that he can’t even confess his crush. UGH!!!
I can understand both sides sadly. Bian Ting probably, after a while, felt like she didn’t belong in his world. That is if we are going off what she had said in the past about fitting in to others world. I feel like she didn’t want to force him into a marriage and destroy his freedom. Especially since we don’t know what his family is like. I don’t know if they broke up before or after she found out, and I do think she should have said something BUT I can see why she didn’t.
However l don’t think the father is at all horrible (we’ll see for sure after we know about the break up). From the conversation with naming it seemed he was ok with having a family with her. Maybe at the beginning of their relationship he made a comment about not wanting to get married or smth but I do think he was willing with her. If he still remembered and thought of her every so often, he must have loved her.
We don’t know how they broke up or what happened but I do think they both truly loved each other. It was probably a communication issue where they didn’t talk it out and just assumed things on both end. However I could be wrong
I also sympathize to the Father cause surprise surprise, for once we have an unknown father who is actually… Nice?
But at the same time, while everyone is looking at it from a legal standpoint and the fact that he was actually not a scum father, you must also look upon the relationship of the two.
BianYuan was described to be a decisive person like his Mom. Bian Ting knew what she wanted. Yuan Shuo doesn’t…? And seemed like an easy going and free spirited man.
We must also consider that this was MANY YEARS AFTER. At this point, Yuan Shuo had many walks in life and experiences already. BianYuan is 17 years old. Can you tell that if confronted back then, Yuan Shuo could’ve had the same response? Who knows.
There are many factors, but mainly on miscommunication between the two. She didn’t hate him seeing how he still affectionately added his name.
While everybody is hellbent on jailing this woman, I would like to note that she respected him enough to back away knowing their differences in priorities. Surely enough it didn’t end well, but she meant well. Having a child needs consent from both parties and parents cause, ironically, this isn’t child’s play. This was a surprise event. Bian Ting understood that while he loved her, Yuan Shuo didn’t sign up for this, and made a decisive decision. She is however, still at fault for not asking though.
Just want to offer a few thoughts on the table. She made a mistake, but not for the wrong and nefarious reasons. She didn’t know that BianYuan would have a hard life after. She didn’t want her child to be wronged. She was kind, but she kept problems to herself too much that this ended tragically.
People can change, if i say at 21 that i do not want to marry and have a family, then at 27 i then want it, there’s nothing wrong with it, and it’s not being indecisive.
Let’s be straight about it, ML’s hardship is caused by his own mother hiding things from the father. Yeah we do not know what his reaction could have been, but was it set in stone? I don’t think so.
If you love your child, you will want the best thing for them. I don’t get authors doing this, parents DO NOT do this unless they’re rich enough to support their child alone. Furthermore, there would be child support, so what’s the point of hiding it. The mother was so avoidant of ML’s father being mentioned, but why? I don’t get it.
She should be kind, but she does not love her child enough.
What I can say is, I don’t agree with Bian Ting’s decision, but I could see where she came from. She’s the submissive party in this relationship regarding social status and background. There are many things that couldn’t be solved with love.
Even if she told Yuan Shuo about her pregnancy and he agreed to settle down, the Yuan family might not necessarily agreed, and all the social pressure would fall on her shoulder. They were so young and Yuan Shuo was so carefree, so I’d assume he hadn’t yet had a firm footing to completely protect a family, especially one with such blatant difference in social status. And from her letter, I could see that both of them deeply loved each other, both were deeply selfless yet selfish.
Yuan Shuo obviously respected and cared for her very much from the way he strictly stayed away from doing what Bian Ting disliked. He was carefree, perhaps he also took Bian Ting’s presence for granted, and he probably didn’t know that Bian Ting wanted to settle down. Also 21+ was incredibly young. It’s very normal to not want to get married at that age. Perhaps he loved her so much that he still haven’t married at this age. I assumed he DID want to settle down with her eventually, but just not at that age, which was why he took her presence for granted and didn’t feel the need to give her reassurance and express his love when he had the chance. He’s selfless for respecting her boundaries and never tried to chase after her despite wanting to be closer, but also selfish for taking her presence for granted.
As for Bian Ting, she obviously loved him so much that she’d rather stay away from him than to forcibly tie him down with a child. Perhaps she knew that even though Yuan Shuo didn’t want to, he would still marry her for the child’s sake. She didn’t want him to live with that shackle. She felt that a person as free as him didn’t need someone like her, who was dreaming of settling down. Not to mention their daunting difference of social status, and that he probably didn’t give enough assurance that he wanted a future with her. She’s selfless for not wanting to tie her love down, but also selfish for keeping their child hidden.
So yeah, this is just a BIG, messy misunderstanding that COULD be easily solved if they communicated properly back then, but they had their own philosophy and they weren’t mature enough to decide something this big, so this happened.
I bet Yuan Shuo didn’t elaborate that he wanted Bian Ting in his future, and Bian Ting also didn’t explicitly ask him if he wanted a family with HER specifically.
Bian Ting did something wrong, yes, but it wasn’t entirely her own fault, Yuan Shuo had a hand in this too. Bian Jie resented Yuan Shuo bc she only knew a half of the story. The most pitiful person here is definitely Bian Jinyuan. He was deprived from a father, a mother (Yuan Shuo def could help with her illness if he knew), and a normal childhood.
This is why communication in a relationship is crucial. Look at how big a tragedy it could cause.