At least a meter separated the two of them.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of wind outside the window.
Jiang Yao had her eyes closed, yet she could not fall asleep.
She could clearly sense the presence of the person beside her. Even though they were far apart, that faint lingering aura still made her somewhat uncomfortable.
She did not even know how she had been coaxed into giving away half of her bed earlier.
The excuse had supposedly been to slap Ye Qing in the face, but somehow, Jiang Yao felt that Su Jingyang had quite a few hidden motives of his own.
“Can’t sleep?”
Su Jingyang’s voice suddenly broke the silence.
Jiang Yao opened her eyes and turned to look at him.
“How did you know?”
“Your breathing’s different.”
Jiang Yao raised a brow.
“You can tell I’m awake just by listening to my breathing? Mr. Su, your hearing is pretty good.”
The man was silent for a moment before saying,
“I trained it in the military.”
Jiang Yao remembered his identity as a former Special Forces soldier and nodded in understanding.
She turned over to face him.
“Su Jingyang, let me ask you something.”
“Mm?”
“Have you ever regretted it?”
“Regretted what?”
“Marrying the orig— marrying me.”
Jiang Yao nearly let it slip.
“Because it was you, I don’t regret it.”
“Me? Why?”
The more Jiang Yao listened, the more she felt there was hidden meaning behind his words.
The man did not answer. He simply turned back to stare at the ceiling.
“Go to sleep,” he said.
Jiang Yao curled her lips and turned away.
Acting all mysterious!
Outside, the snowstorm grew fiercer and fiercer, but the room gradually became warmer.
At some point, just as Jiang Yao was drifting into sleep, she suddenly felt the mattress beside her sink slightly.
She opened her eyes and realized Su Jingyang had somehow moved closer.
The distance between them had shortened from one meter to half a meter.
She was just about to speak when she heard the man’s low voice.
“It’s cold.”
Jiang Yao froze.
This man was actually afraid of the cold?
She neither moved nor spoke, simply closing her eyes again.
Half a meter away, the man’s breathing gradually steadied.
That night, the snowstorm raged wildly.
That night, although half a meter still separated them, the distance somehow felt much closer than the previous one meter.
The next morning, when Jiang Yao woke up, the space beside her was already empty.
She reached out and touched the bedsheets there.
They still held warmth.
Just as she sat up, the bedroom door was pushed open and Su Muzhe poked his head inside.
“Mom, get up and eat breakfa— huh?”
He looked at the bed, then at Jiang Yao, and his expression immediately turned subtle.
Jiang Yao glared at him irritably.
“What are you staring at?”
“Nothing.”
The boy withdrew his head, his voice drifting in from outside the room.
“I just came to tell you breakfast’s ready. Oh right, Dad made you honey water downstairs.”
Jiang Yao listened to the sound of him running away and shook her head helplessly.
What exactly was going on inside this child’s brain all day?
She got up, washed up, and headed downstairs.
There, she saw Su Jingyang already seated at the dining table speaking with Old Master Su.
Old Madam Su was busy in the kitchen, while Su Muzhe sat nearby making exaggerated faces at her the moment he saw her.
A cup of honey water at the perfect temperature sat quietly beside her seat at the table.
Jiang Yao walked over and sat down, picking up the cup and taking a sip.
The temperature was just right.
She lifted her eyes toward Su Jingyang.
The man was calmly drinking porridge with his head lowered, as though nothing had happened.
Old Madam Su carried out another bowl of porridge and smiled warmly.
“Yaoyao’s awake? Did you sleep well last night? That snowstorm was terrifying.”
Jiang Yao accepted the bowl with a slight smile.
“I slept very well. Thank you, Mom.”
Old Madam Su nodded in satisfaction before turning her attention to her grandson.
Su Muzhe lowered his head while drinking porridge, but the tips of his ears had quietly turned red.
Jiang Yao glanced at him and found it amusing.
Outside the window, the storm had already stopped. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, reflecting brightly off the snow until it was almost blinding.
The next day—
At six in the morning, the official livestream for Growth Diary began right on schedule.
This variety show was filmed entirely through live broadcast before later being edited.
Sleepy viewers rubbed their eyes and clicked into the stream, only to see the screen instantly split into five sections—
Five families.
Five entirely different mornings.
【It’s finally starting!】
【I’ve been waiting forever. Heard there are five families this season.】
Only a few comments had floated by before sharp-eyed viewers noticed that four of the five screens were already brightly lit.
The Lu Family’s stream attracted attention first.
Under warm yellow lighting, Ye Qing wore an elegantly coordinated loungewear set with an expensive silk apron tied around her waist as she busied herself at the stove.
As the camera zoomed in, every movement she made appeared graceful and composed. Even flipping fried eggs looked artistic.
“Lu Sheng wakes up at six-thirty every morning, so I always prepare breakfast before six-twenty.”
She smiled gently at the camera.
“Children are still growing, so breakfast must be nutritionally balanced.”
【Wow, this is the correct way for a wealthy socialite to live】
【Ye Qing is so gentle】
【Lu Sheng is so handsome, literally a prince charming】
As the comments floated past, footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Lu Sheng descended wearing a perfectly neat school uniform, his hair meticulously combed.
When he noticed the cameras, he paused briefly before revealing a perfectly timed smile.
“Morning, Mom.”
“Morning, Shengsheng. Hurry and wash up, breakfast will be ready soon.”
Lu Sheng nodded, but instead of heading directly to the dining area, he walked to the piano in the corner of the living room and sat down.
His slender fingers rested upon the keys as clear notes flowed out.
Morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the silhouette of the boy seated at the piano looked like a painting.
【Help! What kind of heavenly scene is this?!】
【Top student + piano prince? What kind of god-tier son is this?!】
The livestream comments exploded instantly, and #LuShengPiano rapidly climbed the trending charts.
Meanwhile, the Zhou Family’s atmosphere shifted sharply in the opposite direction.
Mrs. Zhou sat on the living room sofa holding a small teaching whip.
Zhou Xiaoyu lay sprawled over the coffee table with a stack of advanced mathematics exercise books piled in front of him, furiously writing.
【This feels suffocating…】
【Everyone from wealthy families is working hard, so what excuse do you have to slack off?】
【Tiger Mom truly lives up to the name】
At the Zhao Family’s home, Zhao Siqi practiced dance moves in the living room—splits, backbends, spins—all executed with graceful precision.
Mrs. Zhao sat nearby holding a book of poetry, occasionally glancing up at her daughter with gentle eyes.
“Qiqi has been dancing since she was little. It’s already been ten years.”
Mrs. Zhao’s voice was soft.
“This child is self-disciplined. I never have to worry about her.”
【This mother-daughter pair is so healing】
【This is what peaceful happiness looks like】
At the Qian Family’s house, Qian Duoduo was memorizing a script.
Her hair was tied into a ponytail, her face completely makeup-free as she muttered lines to herself.
Whenever she stumbled, she frowned, paced around, then started over again.
“I have an audition the day after tomorrow, so I need to memorize all my lines.”
She blinked at the camera, revealing two adorable tiger teeth when she smiled.
【Beautiful and hardworking, too impressive】
【Do child stars really work this hard?】
Just as the comments flooded the screen, viewers suddenly noticed something extremely strange.
【Wait… why is the Su Family screen still dark?】
【One missing out of five?】
【Where’s Su Muzhe’s family?】
The camera switched to the Su Family livestream.
The screen showed an empty living room completely shrouded in darkness.
【??? This family’s still asleep?】
【Wasn’t the livestream supposed to start at six?】
【LMAO other families have already been busy forever while this family’s still sleeping】
【The Su Family is surprisingly down-to-earth】
【I knew there’d be people just like me who can’t wake up】
The comments floated for another two minutes before movement finally came from upstairs.
At 5:55, Su Muzhe came downstairs dressed in sportswear.
When he noticed the several cameras set up in the living room, his steps paused briefly before he calmly walked toward the door as though nothing was unusual.
The cameraman following him hurried after him.
“Student Su, going out this early?”
“Running.”
The teenager answered with extreme brevity.
This had become a habit over the past few months.
Ever since that fight and his trip to the police station, every time he recalled his mother’s swift and clean fighting moves, his heart itched with envy.
He had finally managed to pester his mother into agreeing to teach him martial arts—
Though, to this day, his lazy mother had not taught him a single move and instead tricked him by saying she would only begin teaching once he could run ten kilometers in under twenty-five minutes.
【His voice sounds so good!】
【Cold and arrogant—totally my type!】
【Running? A wealthy young master this disciplined?】
The camera followed Su Muzhe out of the villa as the freezing morning wind rushed toward them head-on.