Chapter 56: Jiang Dage Gets Engaged

On the way back, Shen Yunhe stopped by the police station. Lin Yiming’s case should have reached a conclusion by now. Upon arriving, the officer who had originally taken on the case came out to greet him.

“Hello, Officer.”

“Hello. The case of Lin Yiming has been concluded. He kidnapped your son because he felt humiliated by you. His extreme sense of inferiority and sensitivity led him to seek revenge. This man could have used his medical skills to benefit others, but instead, he used them for evil—truly unforgivable! We’ve already filed charges against him, and his sentencing will be soon.”

“Alright, thank you.”

On the way back, Shen Yunhe kept thinking about Lan Haizhou’s words. He felt conflicted. He wanted his son to receive psychological treatment and become a normal person, but he was also afraid that if his son was treated, Jin would disappear.

To others, they were the same person, but in his heart, they were two different sons, and he didn’t want to lose either one.

After the argument yesterday, no one mentioned seeing a psychologist anymore. Things at home seemed calm, but in reality, the problem still lingered. If left unresolved, it would only cause more issues in the future.

He thought that Jiang Banyue also needed to see a psychologist. Her mental state wasn’t good. Several times, he’d seen her sitting alone, lost in thought, not even aware of what she was thinking. She often forgot things—things she had just done moments ago.

In the kitchen, while cooking, the water was nearly boiling over, yet she remained absent-minded, unaware. If he hadn’t returned home, the house might have caught fire. After that incident, he was too scared to leave her side.

Once he returned to the army, he had to take them—mother and children—with him. This time, he would never let them go again!

When the children finished school, Shen Yunhe drove to pick them up and take them home. As soon as they arrived, the phone rang.

Jiang Huaiyu answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Yu, Mommy’s busy at Grandma’s. Your dad will make lunch for you at home.”

“Okay!” Jiang Huaiyu hung up the phone.

“Dad, Mom won’t be back. She said you’ll take care of our lunch.”

“Alright, what do you want to eat? I’ll make it!”

“Dad, I want a hamburger and a Coke!” Jiang Huairou excitedly shouted, with Jiang Huaiyu agreeing.

“I want some too! I want to eat hamburgers. Mom never lets us have this, so let’s have hamburgers today!”

“Dad, hamburgers!” Jiang Huaijin looked at him with hopeful eyes. Shen Yunhe couldn’t bear to disappoint them.

“Okay, let’s go now!”

“Yay!” The three children bounced around their dad as they headed out. Shen Yunhe smiled and shook his head.

At the Jiang family home,

Jiang Banyue and her mother were busy in the kitchen, while in the living room, Jiang Chenggong was sitting with a woman in her thirties. Fourteen-year-old Jiang Qingfeng and twelve-year-old Jiang Qingyue sat on the other side.

They weren’t children and understood that this woman could possibly become their stepmother. Deep down, they felt some resistance.

Jiang Banyue asked her mother, “Mom, what’s the situation with this woman?”

“Her name is Li Zhaodi. She’s also divorced and thirty-three this year. She has a fifteen-year-old daughter who stays with her ex-husband. She’s decent, looks gentle enough.”

Jiang Banyue nodded. Her older brother had gone on a matchmaking date, and this woman was the one he had chosen. This was her first time coming to dinner. Jiang Banyue’s mother had called her older daughter to help out. Jiang Qingfeng and Jiang Qingyue were studying at university out of town, so they couldn’t make it back.

At dinner, Li Zhaodi was very nervous, not daring to pick up her chopsticks to eat. She kept rubbing her hands on her clothes, clearly tense.

Jiang’s mother continued to encourage her to eat, but Li Zhaodi only picked up vegetables, avoiding the meat dishes. Worried that Li Zhaodi might feel neglected, Jiang’s mother exchanged a glance with Jiang Chenggong, signaling him to serve her some meat.

Receiving the hint, Jiang Chenggong took a piece of chicken and placed it in Li Zhaodi’s bowl.

“Here, eat,” he said.

Li Zhaodi, flattered, picked up the bowl with a flushed face, murmuring, “Thank you.”

Jiang’s mother was quite pleased with her potential daughter-in-law. Li Zhaodi didn’t have many demands—she just wanted someone who could take good care of her son and grandchildren, and that was enough for her.

Jiang’s mother asked Li Zhaodi, “Do you have any requirements for marriage?”

“No, I’m fine with anything,” Li Zhaodi replied.

“What about your family? Do your parents have any requests?”

“They… my parents, I make my own decisions,” she said.

Li Zhaodi’s parents had married her off when she was only seventeen to a man nearly thirty who slaughtered pigs for a living. That man had abused her, and during her second pregnancy, he beat her so badly that she lost the baby and was left unable to have more children. He divorced her to marry someone else and have a son.

Her daughter, now fifteen, was something Li Zhaodi had hoped to take with her, but her ex-mother-in-law refused to let her. It wasn’t that the family missed the daughter—it was that they saw she had grown up and they wanted to take her to sell her as a bride for more money.

She had no choice but to stay behind with her daughter after the divorce. Returning to her parents’ house, her brother and sister-in-law didn’t treat her well. Her parents, rather than helping, joined in the bullying.

She overheard them discussing how to sell her off for dowry money again, which made her despair. She ran away, renting a place by herself, but after a month, a matchmaker introduced her to Jiang Chenggong.

This time, she made her own decision, marrying without a dowry to her mother’s family.

Jiang’s mother smiled.

“We’ll offer six hundred as the dowry and buy you a sewing machine. How does that sound?”

Li Zhaodi was surprised. “That’s too much!”

Her first marriage had only come with an eighty-dollar dowry.

Jiang’s mother chuckled.

“It’s not much. Things are different now. My son’s finally getting married, and I’m happy. Please, take it without worry.”

“Thank you!” Li Zhaodi said, touched. The more dowry Jiang’s family gave her, the more she felt valued by them.

Jiang’s mother continued, “The 18th of next month is a good date for the wedding. How about we set it for then?”

“Whatever Auntie decides,” Li Zhaodi said, blushing and lowering her head.

Jiang’s mother clapped her hands with joy.

“Great!”

Jiang’s father also drank happily, and while Jiang Qingfeng and Jiang Qingyue didn’t have any strong opinions, they knew that decisions made by the adults couldn’t easily be changed by children.