Jiang Yan’s relationship — Lin Kexing knew about it, and Jiang Yan’s mother knew about it too.

Jiang Yan had never hidden it. After confirming his relationship with Jiang Ruoqiao, he told his mother straight away. He took the relationship very seriously. Outsiders might not believe it, but he had even thought ahead to life after graduation. Jiang Ruoqiao was the first person he had ever liked, and that made it very easy for him to picture marriage, children, a life shared together.

“Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore.” His mother said gently. “How are things with your girlfriend? No arguments?”

She behaved just like any other mother would.

Open-minded and warm.

Thinking of Jiang Ruoqiao, a faint smile appeared on Jiang Yan’s face. Both hands tucked in his trouser pockets, his manner was casual and unhurried, yet the tenderness in his eyes was genuine. “Pretty good. She treats me well. We’re doing well.”

The two of them had met in the library.

He was on his way out; she was on her way in.

It had been raining that day. He stood at the library entrance and watched her walk toward him through the curtain of rain, holding a clear umbrella.

Calling it love at first sight would be an exaggeration, but he had certainly felt a pull toward her in that moment. When she folded her umbrella, a few drops of rain accidentally splashed onto him. She turned her head and gave him an apologetic smile.

The second time was also on campus. She was scanning a shared bicycle, and he happened to be there too.

The third time was off campus. They took the same subway.

There was no need to wait for a fourth encounter. Jiang Yan followed her out of the subway and all the way back to A University. Once inside the campus gates, he summoned his courage and went up to introduce himself.

Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to remember those two chance meetings.

He had pursued her for quite a long time. Even now, he still remembered the way she had blushed and nodded when she finally said yes.

Watching her son smile like that, Jiang Yan’s mother felt a quiet sinking sensation in her heart, though she showed nothing on her face. She had probed carefully. The girl was not a local, and from the look of things, her family circumstances weren’t particularly comfortable. But a wise mother learns when to let go. The more she pushed back, the more fired up he would become. Throughout history, how many so-called “undying loves” hadn’t been fanned by outside interference? When parents objected, the two people involved would often feel like the whole world was against them — and that would only make them cling to each other more tightly.

“Well, that puts my mind at ease.” His mother coaxed him gently. “You’re the man — you should give way to her more often. Even when you argue, take a step back. There’s nothing to lose by yielding a little. Be good to her.”

Jiang Yan smiled. “Don’t worry.”

He was happy. His mother was so understanding — surely Ruoqiao and his mother would be as close as mother and daughter someday.

“By the way, Kexing is about to start university soon.” His mother brought it up in a seemingly offhand manner. “She has a simple, guileless nature — no scheming in her at all. Never mind a housewife, even I worry about whether she can manage her relationships with her dormitory roommates. She insisted on living on campus, but she’s not good at navigating complicated social situations. A’Yan, I’ve watched Kexing grow up. Without meaning to sound presumptuous, she’s no different to me than my own daughter. Those two brothers of hers are from a different mother after all, and the age gap is large — they don’t have much in common to talk about. The Mrs. is also busy most of the time. A’Yan, if you have time, go visit Kexing at her school now and then. If she runs into any trouble, she’d be willing to talk to you.”

Jiang Yan thought it over and agreed.

After all, their family owed the Lin family a great debt of gratitude, and his mother and Kexing did share a genuinely close bond.

After the two of them had strolled outside for a while, they prepared to head back. Jiang Yan had things to attend to and went upstairs first. His mother thought of something and went to the kitchen to make some fresh-pressed juice for Lin Kexing. While she was still busy, the Mrs. Lin and Lin Kexing came by.

“I saw you and A’Yan come back just now. Where’s A’Yan?” Mrs. Lin asked.

“He said he had something to take care of.” Jiang Yan’s mother replied. “He’s been terribly busy this past year or two — even took on a few part-time jobs himself.”

Mrs. Lin smiled. “That’s wonderful — he should keep himself busy.”

“Isn’t it.” Jiang Yan’s mother looked toward the quiet Lin Kexing standing to one side, her expression full of warmth. “Kexing, I noticed you’ve been eating rather few vegetables these past couple of days. Is it not to your taste? I’ll press some juice for you — you’ll drink it all up later, won’t you?”

Lin Kexing looked at the fruits and vegetables on the counter, then at the busy figure of Jiang Yan’s mother, and felt a wave of genuine emotion.

Auntie was truly so good to her — even better than her own mother.

So many small, overlooked details that no one else would notice — Auntie always paid attention. She was endlessly attentive toward her.

“You really are so thoughtful.” Mrs. Lin praised her. “We’ve been fortunate to have you all these years.”

Jiang Yan’s mother laughed it off. “Don’t say that — it’s only right. By the way, Mrs. Lin, which jewellery brands are popular with young girls these days? I haven’t been keeping up with any of that.”

The Lin family stood at the pinnacle of the jewellery industry, and Mrs. Lin had spent so many years at Mr. Lin’s side that she had naturally absorbed a great deal of knowledge along the way.

After Mrs. Lin mentioned a few brands, she asked curiously: “Why do you ask? Are you thinking of buying something for someone?”

A happy smile spread across Jiang Yan’s mother’s face. “Yes — A’Yan has a girlfriend now, doesn’t he? I thought, sooner or later he’ll bring her to meet me, so I may as well prepare a gift in advance. Better to be ready.”

Mrs. Lin sighed with feeling. “The children have all grown up. A’Yan is already in a relationship. If you ask me, you don’t need to be so nervous about it. They say it’s the daughter-in-law who gets nervous meeting the in-laws — A’Yan’s girlfriend is truly fortunate. Any girl would be happy to have a mother-in-law like you.”

Jiang Yan’s mother replied, “I wouldn’t say that. The girl is someone’s treasure at home too. If it truly works out in the end, I’ll cherish her like my own daughter. My worry right now is that the girl might think we’re not good enough for her. A’Yan’s father is gone, and we have no home of our own to speak of. That really is a headache when you think about it…”

Bringing up Jiang Yan’s girlfriend this way was partly out of self-interest on his mother’s part.

She didn’t want Mrs. Lin to grow suspicious. After all, A’Yan and Kexing were only two years apart. She was afraid that if Mrs. Lin started guarding against A’Yan, it would make things difficult. A’Yan having a girlfriend was a situation with both advantages and disadvantages. At the very least, for now, Mrs. Lin wouldn’t read anything else into things.

Lin Kexing, who had been rather cheerful up until a moment ago, gradually bowed her head, her hand instinctively tightening into a fist.

She forced a smile. “Mom, Auntie — I promised Peipei and the others I’d chat with them. I’ll head up first so I don’t interrupt you two.”

Mrs. Lin smiled. “Go on then.”

And then she continued chatting with Jiang Yan’s mother about the business of being a mother-in-law.

Even though she wasn’t one herself, that didn’t stop her from finding the topic interesting.

Jiang Yan’s mother appeared to be listening attentively to everything Mrs. Lin was saying, but the corner of her eye tracked, without a trace, the figure of Lin Kexing turning to leave.

—

Jiang Ruoqiao had a great many things on her plate these days as well. Once she had figured out who the “little sister” was, she no longer had much mental energy left to spare for the matter of Jiang Yan.

The paternity test results were coming out tomorrow. Even though she had already braced herself mentally, and had made an effort to accept that Lu Siyan was her child, now that the moment was actually approaching, she still felt a flicker of nerves.

She couldn’t even say herself whether she was hoping he was hers, or hoping he wasn’t.

After turning it over in her mind, she decided that tomorrow she would need to have a proper talk with Lu Yicheng regardless of what the result turned out to be.

The most pressing issue right now was that it was mid-August, and once school started, neither she nor Lu Yicheng would have much time to look after a child. The child couldn’t be cooped up at home all day — he needed to go to school. But what about household registration? And once that enormous matter was sorted out, there was still the question of kindergarten to consider… Just thinking about it all made her head swim. Whether it was Jiang Yan’s business or Sun Yan’s, both would simply have to wait their turn until she had the space to deal with them.

With that in mind, Jiang Ruoqiao sent Lu Yicheng a text: 【Results are coming out tomorrow. Let’s have a proper talk.】

They were already going to see each other tomorrow anyway, but the meeting would be too brief — she needed to arrange a time in advance.

About ten minutes later, Lu Yicheng replied: 【Alright, but I’m still only free after three-thirty tomorrow afternoon.】

Jiang Ruoqiao: 【Fine. Let’s find somewhere quiet to talk tomorrow.】

Lu Yicheng: 【Okay.】

—

Lu Yicheng knew what Jiang Ruoqiao wanted to discuss.

He had prepared for all of it in advance. As far as the child was concerned, he wanted to resolve the bulk of the difficult matters himself and leave only a small portion for her to decide. When it came down to it, he still wanted to keep her on side — a child’s upbringing required both parents to be present, and he was willing to shoulder the greater portion of responsibility, the greater portion of the tedious and troublesome details. All he hoped was that she would be there for every important milestone in the child’s life.

As he had thought before — frightening her off would do him absolutely no good.

He only wanted her to be by Siyan’s side. To be a mother.

He would make it as easy as possible for her to be a mother. As long as she was there.

Lu Yicheng was not so saintly as to have no will of his own. He wasn’t some self-sacrificing figure, either. Since childhood he had endured the pain of losing both parents. When life tested him, his first instinct was never to run — it was to face the problem and solve it. Because if he didn’t solve it, no one would do it for him. There was no one standing in front of him.

—

After washing up, Jiang Ruoqiao prepared to sleep.

While most students were in the habit of treating the holidays as an excuse to stay up until all hours, Jiang Ruoqiao still kept to her habit of sleeping early and rising early.

Tonight, however, was not a pleasant one. She couldn’t tell whether she was worrying too much, but she had a dream — a dream about a novel, and in the dream she was an outsider who read the entire thing from start to finish.

The novel told the story of a secret love that blossomed into something real.

After a catastrophe befell the male lead’s family, he came to live with the female lead’s family alongside his mother. The female lead had begun to like the male lead when she was in her early teens, but her naturally timid nature meant she never dared show it. She could only carry it silently in her heart. The male lead was an exceptional person who got into A University and began a new My Child’s Father – Chapter of his life. The female lead remained by his side throughout, but during this particular year, the male lead fell in love — he developed feelings for the second female lead.

The female lead was kind and gentle. Even though the bitterness weighed on her, she quietly wished him happiness with the second female lead.

Later, the male lead brought the second female lead to meet his mother. The second female lead flew into a rage and broke up with him on the spot. As it turned out, the second female lead had never genuinely liked the male lead at all — she had mistaken him for a wealthy heir and had only been with him for that reason. The second female lead couldn’t bring herself to accept the truth and walked away despite the male lead’s desperate pleas to stay.

After this blow in his romantic life, the male lead became an entirely different person.

He grew dark and brooding, and used every means at his disposal with a single-minded desire to rise to the top. Fortunately, through it all, the gentle female lead remained steadfastly by his side, warming him, healing him — and it was only because of her that he never strayed into truly dangerous territory.

…

In time, the male lead achieved both professional success and happiness in love, while the scheming second female lead who had once abandoned him met with a thoroughly miserable end.

Most inconveniently of all, this second female lead was none other than one Jiang Ruoqiao. 🙂

—