After feeding the fish, they boarded the boat.
The staff helped them put on life jackets.
As the boat moved farther from the shore, the maple trees on both sides of the lake became denser, looking like a painting. Jiang Qingmi took out her phone to take pictures and held Jiang Tuantuan for a selfie.
Jiang Tuantuan loved taking photos. She nestled against her mother, raising her little finger in a “yay” gesture. Her fair little face was incredibly cute.
Qing Yanshen also took out his phone. “Do you want me to take some photos for you?”
“Sure.”
Jiang Qingmi adjusted her hair, sat up straight, and held the child. The lake water rippled gently on either side of her as she looked at the maple trees on the shore.
Qing Yanshen took a few shots. Jiang Qingmi looked at them and found them surprisingly good.
She then put away her phone, deciding to just enjoy the scenery.
Qing Yanshen watched her for a long moment, waiting. When he realized she really wasn’t going to take any more photos, he pursed his lips slightly, his tone low and a little hesitant, carrying a faint, barely noticeable grievance. “Qingmi, what about me?”
“Ah?” Jiang Qingmi turned to him, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Qing Yanshen looked at her quietly. “Aren’t you going to take my picture?”
The mother and daughter had taken photos to keep as memories, but what about him? It was like he hadn’t come at all.
Jiang Qingmi blinked and suddenly realized. “Ah, sorry, I forgot to ask. You want a photo too, right? Sit properly, I’ll take it right away.”
She took out her phone, opened the camera, and aimed it at him.
He refused. “I want a photo with you and the baby.”
“Ah?”
“Is that not allowed?” His tone was a little insistent.
“Not exactly.”
It felt a bit strange, but as friends, taking a photo together wasn’t a big deal.
So the man held the baby, and Jiang Qingmi turned on the front camera. The three of them looked at the lens and took several photos.
Qing Yanshen looked at the photos on the phone and finally felt satisfied.
He opened his Moments and posted his first update since losing his memory.
Qing Yanshen: [Maple Lake]
(Photo)
In the photo, he was holding Jiang Tuantuan and looking at the camera. Jiang Qingmi smiled, closer to the phone, clearly taking a selfie.
Soon, people started liking it.
Wang Ge: “Oh, so elegant, showing off your love too.”
Zhao Ge: “Not bad, we went today too, but didn’t see you.”
The Contractor: “Wife and kid on the warm bed, huh.”
Qing Yanshen read each comment with a happy heart, smiling as if it were the first time he had fallen in love.
Next comment:
Monkey: “Tsk tsk, you’re really lucky.”
Qing Yanshen immediately blocked Monkey.
This WeChat account was created after his amnesia, and he had few friends.
Jiang Qingmi only realized he had posted the photo after getting home. She froze, that uneasy feeling returning.
“You posted our photo?”
Even though they were friends, it was clearly a family photo. Was it really appropriate to post it online?
She hesitated, unable to find the right words.
Qing Yanshen seemed calm. “Yes, to keep a memory.”
Jiang Qingmi felt confused, as if she were overreacting.
“What’s wrong?” Qing Yanshen looked at her. “Can’t our relationship be shared?”
Their relationship?
They were just friends, right?
Jiang Qingmi thought it was normal for friends to post a photo together, but since he was a male friend, it could easily cause misunderstandings.
She didn’t say anything more.
When she got home, busy in the kitchen, she didn’t notice that a small photo frame had appeared on the coffee table. Inside was the photo taken by the stranger while they were feeding the fish.
Her uneasy feeling peaked.
Was this right?
It didn’t seem right. Even as friends, he was a male friend. It made it look like they were really a family of three.
Meanwhile, the “culprit” was playing with Jiang Tuantuan, completely unaware of the mistake.
“This frame…”
“Yes, I think the photo is beautiful and meaningful. It should be kept carefully,” Qing Yanshen said, looking up, then went back to teasing the baby, acting as if what he had done was completely normal, even praiseworthy.
At the same time, Jiang Qingmi said hesitantly, her tone disapproving:
“This… isn’t quite appropriate, is it?”
“Not appropriate?” Qing Yanshen looked up, a little unsettled. Since the morning, from buying flowers to this moment, her reactions had been strange. She hadn’t shown joy upon receiving the flowers, only curiosity.
On the boat, she didn’t take a photo of him until he suggested it.
Now she said “not appropriate” about the frame.
Where was it inappropriate?
Given their current relationship, living together as a family of three, what was inappropriate?
She probably hadn’t included herself in that thought at all.
The more Qing Yanshen thought about it, the worse he felt. His voice lowered a few tones. “Qingmi, you actually dislike me, don’t you? Do you regret it?”
He couldn’t think of any other reason.
“I don’t!” Jiang Qingmi protested, widening her eyes. “How could I dislike you? You’ve helped me so much. I just feel… something’s off.”
“What regret?”
He glanced at her, a hint of hurt in his eyes. “Do you regret being with me?”
For a few seconds, Jiang Qingmi felt dazed. Her mind went blank, unable to think. Regret being with him?
Who, her?
It had to be her. After all, besides her, only Tuantuan was in the room.
But…
“Have we actually been together?”
She asked this from the depths of her soul, eyes wide, staring at him.
Qing Yanshen had considered many possible answers from her, but not this one: Have we actually been together?
He frowned, sensing something was wrong.
“Didn’t what you said last night mean ‘being together’?”
“What exactly did I say to give you the wrong idea? I didn’t!” Jiang Qingmi was confused, trying to recall last night’s events.
“You said, if I needed help, you would not hesitate. If I went to the hospital, you would take care of me. You also said you would not forget my kindness.”
“Wasn’t that a confession?”
Qing Yanshen spoke earnestly, eyes fixed on her.
“No!” Jiang Qingmi was exasperated. “I said those things because you treated me this way and took care of me. So I would do the same for you. Who said that meant I liked you? That’s mutual help. That’s friendship!”
Qing Yanshen’s brow furrowed. But the reason he treated her well and cared for her was because he liked her, very much.
But on Jiang Qingmi, that reasoning didn’t apply.
She wondered when she had given him the wrong impression that she liked him and was confessing.
“Are you from the seventies or eighties?” Jiang Qingmi teased. “Back then, words about mutual help might have been a subtle confession.”
“So… I misunderstood?”
His tone was low, more hurt than embarrassed. The happiness from last night had instantly turned into pain.
A brief moment of joy, and it was gone.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you would take my words seriously. I don’t feel that way about you. We’ve known each other less than a month, right? Have you considered what our identities were before your amnesia? Confessing or being together wasn’t something I ever thought about.”
She needed to focus on earning money for the paternity test and taking care of the baby.
Her calm, rational words gave Qing Yanshen a headache, not just a metaphorical one, but real pain.
Amid the pain, a memory surfaced, vague around the edges, but her voice was sharp and clear, every word piercing him.
It was unmistakably Jiang Qingmi’s voice, full of anger and decisiveness he had never heard in the past month.
I’ve had enough of being with you. Just thinking about spending a lifetime with someone like you makes the future seem meaningless. Let’s end this. We should have separated long ago. Don’t come to me, don’t cling to me, don’t make me dislike you. I hate you.
Liking you was fake too, sorry. That was a lie. I never liked you.
Qing Yanshen’s pupils contracted. He couldn’t process the memory fast enough. Pain blurred his vision, preventing thought. The next moment, the world spun, and he collapsed toward the woman, losing consciousness.