The Jiang family parents had an unusually obsessive strictness towards their children, as if they weren’t their blood but rather “faces” born from their wombs. The first time Jiang Shen met Jiang Wenze and Tian Lu, their eyes were filled with emotion, yet there was a hidden scrutiny.
With clear analysis and probing, it wasn’t until Jiang Shen’s nearly perfect achievements from childhood to adulthood were laid out before them that they tore off that layer of hypocritical facade, revealing a few genuine smiles.
Tian Lu contentedly sighed, “I told you, with our genes, how could it be otherwise… truly our child.”
Jiang Shen then realized something was off.
For Jiang Shen’s return, Jiang Wenze and his wife showed great enthusiasm, even going so far as to hold a high-profile “recognition banquet.”
That night, Jiang Shen wore a custom-made white suit, standing among the Jiang family members. Everyone marveled at their striking resemblance, then praised the couple’s excellent genes, and finally admired their benevolence in choosing to keep the “fake young master” by their side.
Tian Lu was beaming, and Jiang Shen saw this proud and beautiful wealthy lady as if she was finally vindicated.
In contrast, Jiang Mao’s situation wasn’t bad either. The Jiang family still gave him a monthly allowance of a hundred thousand, and even the servants whispered, “Madam seems to treat Young Master Jiang Mao even better.”
But Jiang Shen had seen the way Tian Lu looked at Jiang Mao, stripped of most maternal love, as if relieved, viewing him as a past mark, an insignificant label, or perhaps… a pet.
After Jiang Mao displayed his utterly hopeless talent, he gradually became transparent in the eyes of Jiang Wenze and his wife.
And Jiang Shen, living up to expectations, rose to fame, becoming the “perfect child” in Tian Lu’s ideal.
This process wasn’t tiring for Jiang Shen. The resources readily available from the Jiang family could save him several lifetimes of struggle. The parent-child relationship, measured and evaluated, wasn’t much in this family. However, wearing a mask for too long made Jiang Shen a bit irritable.
After taking a shower, he lay down, casually scrolling through his phone. Suddenly, Jiang Shen sat up straight, the faint light in his pupils brightening instantly.
It was a text message, riddled with typos: [Guagua, if you have time, come eat some crisp dates. Your dad picked a lot.]
Since returning to the Jiang family, Jiang Erkun and Wang Xiuyu had contacted him less.
They initially wanted to cut ties with Jiang Shen, but Jiang Shen, with red eyes, argued his case, and Jiang Erkun finally agreed, on the condition that he stayed well in the Jiang family and didn’t wander off unnecessarily.
Jiang Shen glanced at his schedule for the next two days, both full and important. No matter how much he longed for it, he had to wait until the weekend.
As soon as dawn broke, Jiang Shen mentally wound himself up, quickly waking up, getting out of bed to wash up. When he came out of the room, meticulously dressed, he saw the three people sitting at the table.
Tian Lu didn’t hide her admiration and amazement for Jiang Shen’s appearance.
“Xiao Shen, are you busy today?” Tian Lu’s tone was gentle.
She had released an album when she was young, with a voice as smooth as water and wind, but in Jiang Shen’s ears, it felt like the tail end of a sound scraping harshly against metal, making his eardrums shrink in resistance.
Tian Lu had shed a single tear upon meeting Jiang Shen, then quickly accepted the fact that he was her son, as if she had prayed for twenty years to exchange for a more desirable one, and when the time came, she didn’t hesitate.
But Jiang Shen couldn’t do it. His emotions were reserved and gradual. Tian Lu’s sudden intimacy left him at a loss, yet this person was indeed his biological mother, their features identical.
“Yeah, I’m at the company in the morning, having lunch with President Qin of Chen’an Group at noon, working overtime in the evening, and attending the bidding for the ‘Mingxi’ building tomorrow.” Jiang Shen said in one breath, responding to Tian Lu and also speaking for Jiang Wenze to hear.
Jiang Wenze hadn’t completely relinquished control. In his forties, he was well-maintained, wearing a black sweater and glasses, flipping through the latest financial magazine. After hearing Jiang Shen’s words, he lightly acknowledged and then said, “Let’s eat.”
During this process, Jiang Mao was like an invisible person.
He couldn’t handle business matters, only liked painting. In the past, when Jiang Wenze was furious, he even smashed Jiang Mao’s studio, but couldn’t correct him. However, now it wasn’t necessary.
Tian Lu gave Jiang Mao a fried egg.
Leaving the Jiang residence, Jiang Shen finally felt the suffocating pressure around his throat dissipate.
Before closing the car door, he saw Jiang Mao had returned to his room, pulling open the curtains and fiddling with a cactus that had just bloomed.
Jiang Shen was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, but fortunately, time passed quickly. By Friday night, he had packed his luggage, a single backpack was enough. Jiang Wenze and Tian Lu were attending an exhibition, leaving in the morning, so Jiang Shen slept in and then set off.
The next morning, Jiang Mao was watering flowers in the yard.
He rarely left his room, and it was evident that with Jiang Wenze and Tian Lu not around, he dared to relax.
Jiang Mao had a faint smile on his face, resembling Wang Xiuyu in a certain moment.
But upon seeing Jiang Shen coming out in casual attire, the smile gradually disappeared.
Jiang Mao knew where Jiang Shen was going.
On the day of their recognition, he had seen his biological parents, old and unremarkable, like two dusty clods in the vast mountains, strongly impacting Jiang Mao’s heart.
Jiang Shen didn’t explain much, nodded, and left with large strides.
The journey took two and a half hours by bus.
On the way to Yuwei Village, the skyscrapers outside the window turned into mountains, allowing Jiang Shen to gradually shed the fatigue from the heavy and busy life. It was as if he had grown wings again, and those clods that Jiang Mao couldn’t accept were the place where his soul longed to rest.
Getting off the bus, he smelled the familiar scent of grass and wheat in the air. Jiang Shen stretched his limbs, raised his eyebrows, grinned, and walked familiarly towards an intersection.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Shen saw his family’s yard from the slope.
“Guagua is back?” a neighbor asked with a smile, eyes full of curiosity, face simple and honest.
“Auntie, hello,” Jiang Shen greeted, taking a few steps up.
Wang Xiuyu was in the yard, breaking corn. Hearing the commotion, she looked up, her eyes instantly reddening. She threw down what she was holding and ran towards Jiang Shen.
Jiang Shen hugged her, his voice a bit hoarse, “Mom.”
“Yes, yes!” Wang Xiuyu responded several times. Although her temples were graying and her face had wrinkles, she had a standard thick-browed, big-eyed appearance, looking very energetic. She patted Jiang Shen’s shoulder while leading him into the house, “Your dad knew you were coming back, so he made dough. Tonight, we’ll have your favorite noodles.”
“Okay.” As soon as Jiang Shen entered the house, Jiang Erkun extinguished his cigarette, stood up, and said, “You’re here?”
His tone was old and calm, as if it didn’t matter whether Jiang Shen came or not. But from the way he took the bag from Jiang Shen’s hand, boiled water, made tea, and served snacks, afraid of not being hospitable enough, and even brought out a plate of crisp dates that looked great, “Don’t you like them? Look, your mom picked them this morning.”
Jiang Shen couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion, as if the recognition event had never happened, and the tide of time had washed him back to a few years ago when their family of three lived peacefully, and nothing had changed.
After drinking tea and eating half a plate of crisp dates, Jiang Erkun went to cook lamb, and Jiang Shen helped Wang Xiuyu break corn. Although this place wasn’t far from Lin Du, it was the most inconspicuous village, and all that prosperity seemed like something from another dimension.
So meeting Zhao Louyue here was truly an “ill-fated relationship.”