When Tang Lingmei learned that Chu Tao wasn’t lying and that her son had really almost jumped off the building, she completely broke down.

Her dream of a perfect life was shattered, thoroughly and utterly, leaving her lost and helpless.

The husband she had always praised as caring, gentle, and honest was now a coward, unable to hold things together. After all, he had been used to Tang Lingmei taking control of everything in their life, and he had never had a say.

Eventually, after advice from school teachers, Shen Hongfang attended classes for a while and went to the hospital for treatment.

The hospital results came back quickly. Shen Hongfang was diagnosed with moderate depression and anxiety disorder. Not fulfilling his promise to the person he liked, especially on his birthday, might have triggered his suicidal thoughts.

However, Shen Hongfang remained calm throughout, speaking little and unwilling to open up. Most of the time, he quietly listened—listening to Tang Lingmei’s hoarse crying, pounding on his chest, accusing him of cruelty, listening to the doctor’s gentle persuasion and comfort, and listening to the school leaders and teachers’ comfort words.

Nothing, no matter who said it or what they said, seemed to stir him. His eyes had no sparkle, and there was no hope.

After temporarily stopping his classes, his academic performance would only fall further behind, and his last remaining point of pride disappeared. But at the same time, he felt a strange sense of relief. Perhaps this way, he wouldn’t be the only one suffering.

Teachers privately told Tang Lingmei that Shen Hongfang had too many mental barriers, and her way of guiding him had been wrong, leading him to almost takes his life.

The doctor also said that this wasn’t just Shen Hongfang’s treatment; the parents needed to be treated too.

Tang Lingmei knew exactly what Shen Hongfang was trying to avoid. The whole family was worried about his declining grades, but she believed Shen Hongfang didn’t care enough, so she thought she had to push him harder to unlock his full potential.

And then there was that Xi Xun. Tang Lingmei had secretly met him. He was soft and weak, reserved and shy, seemingly unable to speak loudly, always hiding behind Chu Xingning like a shadow.

She, of course, thought Shen Hongfang only liked him for his looks. After all, Xi Xun’s personality completely didn’t align with her taste.

The person Shen Hongfang liked had to be someone outstanding, confident, and cheerful—like a thriving pine tree, full of life and reaching for the sunlight.

But this Xi Xun was just hiding in a dark, damp corner, like a wilting dandelion.

But clearly, Shen Hongfang liked the dandelion. To him, the promise made to the dandelion was worth sacrificing his life for, while his mother, who gave him life, became the cruel wind that scattered the dandelion.

Tang Lingmei wanted to bring Xi Xun in to talk to Shen Hongfang, not because she agreed with their relationship, but because she hoped Xi Xun could help Shen Hongfang pull himself together.

However, she couldn’t bring herself to ask, and Xi Xun had been protected by the homeroom teacher, making it difficult for Tang Lingmei to approach him.

With no close friends and having lost both her parents early, Tang Lingmei had no one to confide in. In desperation, she called Song Mian.

When Song Mian heard about the situation, she couldn’t stay angry at Tang Lingmei anymore.

She never would have imagined that the mature and rational child would have considered giving up his life, especially if not for Chu Tao intervening.

Both the school and the doctors later spoke with Chu Tao, Jiang She, and Shen Hongfang, slowly piecing together the details of what happened on the rooftop.

Song Mian couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread, always shaken by what could have happened.

Shen Hongfang had actually said that Chu Tao and he were alike, that Chu Tao would always live in Chu Xingning’s shadow, and that he would only ever receive a casual compliment saying he was “not bad.”

Song Mian reflected carefully, and the overlooked little details from their years of growing up gradually came into focus.

She couldn’t sleep for several days in a row, and if it had been Chu Tao standing on that rooftop, Song Mian felt certain she would have gone mad.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love Chu Tao; she was just a bit careless.

When she was pregnant, she had studied child-rearing books and educational methods, reading them over and over, fantasizing, even making notes in a small notebook, setting standards for herself.

But the trivialities of life had left her with little time to manage everything. She had even once thought she was doing well because both of her children were excelling. Yet, now looking back at the notes in that little book, Song Mian realized she had hardly met any of the standards she had set for herself.

Song Mian said with a wry smile：“What advice can I give you? Even Shen Hongfang said that Chu Tao should understand him. I myself am quite a failure.”

Tang Lingmei sobbed, her throat hoarse. She mumbled in a raspy voice, “I really didn’t expect him to retaliate against me like that. Do you think I pushed him to study for who’s sake? Why am I even doing this?”

Song Mian had no choice but to steady herself, speaking gently, “Xiao Tang, you need to stay calm and be strong. Right now, Shen Hongfang needs you. You have to let him know that you truly love him and that you made mistakes in the past.”

Tang Lingmei covered her face and cried in pain, “The doctors have told me this a hundred times, but why do you all think I don’t love him? He’s my only son! If I don’t love him, who do I love? Why do you all think I don’t love him?”

Song Mian quietly listened to her cry for a while, secretly wiping her tears, sighed softly, and then said slowly, “Maybe it’s just not the kind of love he needs.”

“You say, who didn’t have pressure in high school? If we’re talking about pressure or shadows, Tao Tao had them too. How come Tao Tao managed to overcome the pressure and make progress, but Shen Hongfang just collapsed?”

Tang Lingmei coughed twice violently, the coughs swallowing the last two words. It was obvious that this event had really hurt her, and she had collapsed under the weight of it.

“This…” Song Mian paused for a moment, “Maybe it’s because everyone’s ability to handle stress is different.”

She couldn’t help but recall what Yang Liu had secretly told her. On the rooftop, Chu Tao had admitted to Shen Hongfang that his chemistry lessons were tutored by Nian Li Hua.

Where did Chu Tao get the money? Where did he find the time?

When did he start tutoring, and when did he contact Nian Li Hua?

Song Mian had no idea. Not only did Song Mian not know, but even Yang Liu didn’t know, because Chu Tao wouldn’t talk about it.

For Song Mian, Chu Tao now held too many secrets.

Why was he on the rooftop with Jiang She? Every time Chu Tao said he was going out, was he really going out with Jiang She, not Tao Song?

“Song, if it were you, could you allow Tao Tao and Xingning’s grades to drop and let them fall into early relationships?”

Tang Lingmei asked, murmuring.

Song Mian was silent for a long time, thinking about many things.

Since the classes changes, Chu Tao’s changes had come like a revolving lantern, each scene flashing in front of her eyes.

She softly said, “Xiao Tang, can you honestly say you didn’t like anyone in high school?”

There was no answer from the other side of the phone, only deep breaths, the sound of static accompanying the breathing.

For the final exams, Shen Hongfang did not participate. The doctor had suggested not to use exam scores and rankings to stimulate him for now, especially since he hadn’t been reviewing recently, so it was inevitable that he would fall behind.

This exam had no malicious leak, and overall, it was relatively fair. Chu Tao ranked twelfth.

Jiang She made it into the top 400 in the grade, completely breaking free from the tail end of the rankings.

The 400th place at Huainan No. 1 High School isn’t particularly outstanding, but it’s not a score that can be casually achieved either.

Unlike others, Jiang She, as the son of Jiang Qifeng, had his progress celebrated by the school leaders, even to the point of sounding drums for a hundred-place improvement.

The celebration almost reached Jiang Qifeng’s home, and it took him two days of socializing before it finally ended.

With the summer vacation approaching, Jiang Qifeng had a rare opportunity to join Shen Qing and have a family dinner with Jiang She.

The relationship between Shen Qing and Jiang Qifeng was still indifferent, with almost no common ground between them. But both were pleased and surprised by Jiang She’s progress, though Shen Qing’s joy was always conveyed without a smile.

Shen Qing picked up a honey-glazed cherry and placed it on Jiang She’s plate. The small cherry was tender and lovely, red and coated with osmanthus syrup.

Jiang She’s gaze lowered slightly as he stared at it for a few seconds before picking up his chopsticks and eating it.

Shen Qing’s smile stiffened.

This was not a good sign, even though Jiang She ate the food she offered.

She knew very well that there had been a large misunderstanding and rift between her and Jiang She, and even the incident that ended up at the police station had never been addressed directly, with only Jiang Qifeng apologizing on her behalf.

When Jiang She was a child, he would deliberately cause trouble to get her attention, even going to the police station on purpose and causing trouble. At least, it showed that he cared about her.

But now, he seemed completely indifferent and cooperative.

Jiang Qifeng touched the tip of his nose, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said in a low voice, “Ah She doesn’t like sweet things.”

Shen Qing fell silent.

Her impression of Jiang She was still stuck in the past when he liked bubble gum and cola.

She didn’t know when he stopped liking sweets, but Jiang Qifeng knew.

Shen Qing thought it was rather absurd.

After getting pregnant and having a child, she gave up an important assignment opportunity to take care of Jiang She.

She breastfed him, put him to sleep, staying up all night and constantly worried, almost becoming neurotic and suffering from postpartum depression.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qifeng was focused on his career. Although there wasn’t much money, he was in his prime, full of passion and ideas, and his career blueprint was grand.

Of course, Jiang Qifeng was a talented person, and he had succeeded.

But the assignment opportunity Shen Qing had missed was taken by a male classmate who had always been less capable than her in police school.

She watched as that classmate rose swiftly and brilliantly, while the leader who had tried to get her the opportunity was under enormous pressure to support female leaders within the system, compensating for Huai City’s longstanding imbalance.

The expectations from above were high, and of course, they wanted her to be more outstanding than the male peers, to give up more.

After the result came out, there were many voices in the team, laughing behind her back, saying that the leader who supported her was being overly sentimental, that after getting married, she would surely focus on her family and children and couldn’t possibly still care about the cases.

Shen Qing watched Jiang Qifeng’s success, and she felt deeply dissatisfied. She was so proud—how could she be content with just being Jiang’s wife? So, when Jiang She was still too young to understand, she handed him over to Jiang Qifeng’s parents and started over.

Now, Jiang Qifeng had become the good-natured man, showing warmth and care in front of their son, making her appear cold-hearted and ruthless. And it was clear that Jiang She was growing closer to his father.

Jiang She didn’t remember at all what she had sacrificed before.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Jiang Qifeng laughed and tried to ease the tension, saying, “Our son even told me his goal is to get into Tsinghua or Peking University. He’s changed; he’s working harder than before.”

Shen Qing placed her chopsticks to the side. The tip of the chopsticks, coated in syrup, hovered just above the white tablecloth without touching it.

She let out a soft laugh, lifted her eyes, and gave Jiang Qifeng a meaningful look, leaning back in her chair. “You know so much about our son, do you know why he suddenly became better?”

Jiang Qifeng frowned slightly and said, “What do you mean by suddenly becoming better? Ah She was young before, liked to play around, and we gave him enough money, so he didn’t feel the need to study hard. Now that he’s matured, of course, he’s going to try harder. You don’t understand men; they grow up in an instant.”

Shen Qing curled her lips, casting a side glance at Jiang She.

Jiang She was calm and composed, even his blinking was slow. It was clear he didn’t want to get involved in his parents’ verbal sparring and preferred to be a detached observer.

Shen Qing turned back to Jiang Qifeng, a slightly smug expression on her face as she said, “Well, let me, as the bureau chief, analyze why he’s changed. In the past few months, Jiang She’s phone usage and bill have more than doubled. He’s making a hundred times more calls than before. His living environment hasn’t changed, and there are no sudden new friends he needs to keep in contact with.”

“In the few times I’ve seen him, he’s been using different kinds of suppressants, and the packaging and dosage could last him over half a year. He’s just been switching them out frequently.”

“You say Jiang She doesn’t like sweets, but when he ate it earlier, his brow relaxed, his nostrils flared slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted a little. Even the muscles in his neck were at ease, which means he doesn’t really mind. If he didn’t like it, someone else must have, and just thinking about that person makes him happy.”

“His sudden improvement in grades and his claim that he wants to get into Tsinghua or Peking University—normally, someone at the bottom of the class wouldn’t set such a high goal, even if they were determined to improve. The gap between the current reality and such a dream is too wide, which makes it feel unrealistic and hard to sustain motivation. But he’s so clear about it, unless he has to go to one of those two schools, or he won’t see that person.”

“That person must be someone who is very good at studying, with good habits and a unique personal charm, someone who is even willing to encourage Jiang She to improve. I happen to know someone like that. Your son is willing to take the blame for him to protect him. Of course, Jiang She is always loyal, and he can do this for his friends, but friends alone wouldn’t inspire his determination to study. So, in conclusion, your son is in a relationship. None of this has anything to do with you, and it has nothing to do with what you said about men growing up overnight—it’s all about that boy.”

“Jiang Qifeng, don’t flatter yourself. Since he came in, Jiang She’s eyes have been constantly darting towards the honey-glazed cherries. This is the special dessert of this private kitchen, said to be passed down from the Song Dynasty. Such a fresh treat—how valuable it is for the person who loves sweets to taste it.”