Chapter 67

On the day of Jiang Rou’s graduate school written exam, Li Xiao set aside a whole day to accompany her. He got up early before dawn to cook, preparing dishes like steamed eggs, sweet potatoes, and small pumpkins, as well as fried noodles, broccoli, and potato cubes. He also made fresh soy milk, filling each plate generously. The meal was abundant and nutritious, a stark contrast to the usual egg-fried rice.

In the morning, An An saw the spread and pouted her little mouth in complaint, saying, “Daddy only favors Mommy.”

Li Xiao remained calm and drank the leftover soy milk Jiang Rou hadn’t finished, taking it all in one gulp. “Eat your breakfast.”

An An huffed and then obediently used a fork to twirl the noodles into her mouth. The fork she used was made of wood by Li Xiao, as he worried she might hurt herself due to her young age.

As the exam approached, Jiang Rou became a bit anxious. She had been confident during her college entrance exams, but this time was different. The graduate school exam questions were much harder, and with so many books, she felt there were still areas she might have missed.

So, while eating, she flipped through her notes, her legs shaking involuntarily. When leaving, she looked at Li Xiao with a worried face and said, “What should I do? What should I do? I don’t know.”

Li Xiao wanted to laugh but held it in. It was rare for him to show such affection in front of his daughter, so he hugged her and gave her a kiss, then said casually, “It’s alright. It’s not a big deal. If you don’t pass, you can try again next year or find a job directly. If that doesn’t work, come work in my factory. The company will probably be up and running by next year, and you can be my assistant or secretary then.”

Jiang Rou considered this and felt reassured. Although their family wasn’t exactly rich, they were well-off, and there was no rush. Unlike some of her classmates, who faced tremendous pressure from their families, she didn’t have that pressure. If she didn’t pass, she could always try again.

Despite this, Jiang Rou remained nervous. When Li Xiao drove her to the exam venue, she had already gone to the bathroom twice before the exam even started.

Li Xiao had never experienced such intense nervousness before. On the contrary, he had always enjoyed exams in his school days because, while skipping classes could get him caught by teachers, he could always finish exams early and go out to play.

It was Saturday, and An An didn’t have school. The family of three sat in their car by the roadside. The exam venue’s school gates were still closed, and the candidates were waiting outside, either sitting on the ground or standing.

An An curiously leaned on the window to watch the scene outside and occasionally turned to glance at her mother, who was reading a book. Knowing her mother was going for an exam, she was thoughtful and kept quiet.

Even if she had questions, she made an effort to keep them to herself.

Li Xiao was even more exaggerated, placing Jiang Rou’s legs on his own and massaging them. Whatever Jiang Rou asked for, he immediately got it for her, even feeding her water directly.

An An was amazed by this, and it planted a seed in her mind from a young age, making her believe that during exams, she was like the Boss.

As a result, when she grew up and faced major exams, she would always make requests that her parents normally wouldn’t agree to.

The exams lasted for two whole days. Afterward, Jiang Rou felt completely exhausted and spent the entire next day sleeping at home.

After getting some rest, Jiang Rou began to enjoy herself and became the most idle person in the family. Li Xiao wanted her to accompany him to work, and Jiang Rou promised she would, but the next day, she disappeared without a trace.

She had been diligently preparing for her exams, rarely going out to play. She had turned down several invitations from Dong Mingming and Lin Shujun.

Now that the exams were over, Jiang Rou called them back. Lin Shujun, being a criminal police officer, was very busy and rarely had time to spare. When Jiang Rou called, Lin Shujun was organizing case files.

Recently, there has been a case of a crime of passion in the city involving a wide range of people. Jiang Rou had heard Li Xiao mention it; the suspect seemed to be the son-in-law of a wealthy businessman.

Dong Mingming, on the other hand, had more free time lately due to her pregnancy and was trying to reduce her workload.

They arranged to meet downstairs at her company, and Jiang Rou drove to pick her up.

On the phone, Dong Mingming said she was already out but suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, wait a minute. I need to go back and get something.”

She immediately turned back.

Jiang Rou waited an additional ten minutes. When Dong Mingming came back down, she sat in the passenger seat and handed Jiang Rou a bulging A4-sized kraft paper envelope. Jiang Rou curiously took it and asked, “What’s this good stuff?”

As she spoke, she opened the envelope and found it contained some photos.

Dong Mingming smiled and said, “These are the ones from the wedding day. I printed an extra set for you. Some of the photos include you, An An, and your sister.”

She added, “I wanted to give them to you earlier, but you were so busy. I kept them until now.”

Jiang Rou flipped through the photos. Some showed themselves, while others showed Lin Shujun’s family. Everyone was smiling happily, and Jiang Rou couldn’t help but smile as well. “I’ll look at them properly when I get home. Thank you so much. I really like them.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Seeing Jiang Rou’s pleasure, Dong Mingming was also happy.

Jiang Rou then drove Dong Mingming to a restaurant in the city center. They ordered a lot of food and had a nice meal. Afterward, they strolled around the mall, where Jiang Rou bought a red sweater for An An and matching sportswear for herself and Li Xiao, planning to wear it at home.

After shopping, Jiang Rou drove Dong Mingming back to the company. Since Dong Mingming was pregnant, she was more cautious and had a driver pick her up for work, no longer driving herself.

Her husband had a good quality of being frugal but never required Dong Mingming to follow suit. After their marriage, they lived in a luxurious flat in the city center. However, he still wore clothes that cost only a few dollars each and drove an old car. Dong Mingming initially wanted to replace his car, but he refused, saying it was unnecessary to waste money. He even mended his socks when they wore out, continuing to use them.

But Dong Mingming enjoyed good food and clothes without restriction. Her husband didn’t mind and even saved his meager salary to buy her expensive gifts. Despite their vastly different living conditions, they managed to live harmoniously.

Dong Mingming also bought a villa for her in-laws, but the elderly couple chose to live in a shabby old neighborhood. The whole family was very frugal.

Dong Mingming also told Jiang Rou, “Since I got pregnant, my mother moved in with us. She’s now quite content and even started a flower shop.”

She was very satisfied with her current life. Without her father, the mother-daughter duo’s life had improved significantly.

Jiang Rou nodded and asked, “What about that woman your father was involved with?”

Dong Mingming snorted, “I’ve managed to reclaim most of the money. The house has been confiscated, essentially given to that woman and her son. With the money my father had given previously, if they use it well, they won’t live poorly, but it won’t be great either.”

It was no comparison to the life she had with her father.

Jiang Rou knew from a previous call with Dong Mingming that the woman had also contracted SARS but was luckier than Dong Mingming’s father and eventually recovered.

However, Jiang Rou had heard from many friends that some patients who recovered from SARS didn’t return to their previous condition. For instance, their class monitor had developed issues with his sense of taste and had seen a significant decline in his vision.

—o—o—o—

After dropping Dong Mingming off, Jiang Rou drove directly to Li Xiao’s factory.

Since the end of the volunteer work, Li Xiao has become very clingy, which makes Jiang Rou feel helpless. When she checked her phone, she found several missed calls from Li Xiao.

She had kept her phone on silent during her exam preparations and had forgotten to switch it back.

Jiang Rou called Li Xiao back, but the call didn’t connect. Uncertain whether he was angry or busy, she hurriedly drove over, picking up some food on the way.

Upon arriving at the factory, Jiang Rou headed straight to Li Xiao’s office. When she opened the door, Li Xiao looked up briefly, his expression showing clear displeasure.

Jiang Rou quickly put on a smile and held up the new clothes she had bought for him. “I went shopping for a bit. Look, I bought you some new clothes. Do you like them?”

Li Xiao’s expression softened a little, but he still said, “Weren’t you supposed to bring me lunch? What time is it now? I might starve waiting for you.”

At noon, Zhou Jian had invited him to lunch, but he had refused, saying Jiang Rou would bring him lunch. Zhou Jian had envied him for it, but he ended up waiting so long that he had to ask his assistant to sneak out and get him some food.

Jiang Rou quickly ran over, trying to please him. “Are you starving? I’m so sorry.”

She reached out and gently touched his stomach.

Li Xiao looked at her, clearly skeptical of her exaggerated concern.

Jiang Rou decided to sit on his lap and caressed his face, then showered his face with kisses from top to bottom, and from left to right.

She had planned to say more sweet words, but Li Xiao couldn’t hold back and started laughing, leaning back slightly. “Alright, I know what you did.”

She must have been chatting about gossip with Dong Mingming and completely forgot about him.

Li Xiao wrapped his arms around Jiang Rou’s waist, buried his face in her neck, and bit her as if he was giving her a punishment.

Jiang Rou let out a soft “ouch,” and said: “What are you doing? It hurts.”

Li Xiao snorted lightly, “You’re just pretending. I didn’t even bite hard.”

Jiang Rou fell silent and then burst into laughter.

Li Xiao laughed too, and then leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Tonight, let An An sleep on her own.”

The meaning was clear.

Since the exams ended, An An had been insisting on sleeping with Jiang Rou, and Jiang Rou felt she had neglected her a bit during this time, so she had agreed to it.

Now, Li Xiao’s request was a bit tricky—on one side was their daughter, and on the other was her husband. It was indeed difficult to handle. However, this hesitation lasted only a few seconds. Jiang Rou gently touched Li Xiao’s ear, planted a kiss on his cheek, and said helplessly, “Alright, who told me to love you the most?”

Li Xiao did not believe her sweet words at all and had no doubt that she would say something different in front of An An.

But these words still pleased him.

—o—o—o—

That night, Jiang Rou had a hard time getting An An to sleep in her own room. Once An An was asleep, Jiang Rou quietly left the room.

She had just gotten back to her own room and hadn’t even climbed into bed when Li Xiao turned off the lights.

They spent some time in intimate embraces, and eventually, Jiang Rou was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.

Li Xiao was also slightly out of breath. He turned the light back on, picked her up, and carried her to the bathroom for a quick bath.

By the time they were back in bed, it was already eleven o’clock at night. Jiang Rou had been staying up late studying, so she wasn’t sleepy at this hour. As Li Xiao was about to turn off the light, Jiang Rou suddenly remembered something and stopped him: “Wait a moment.”

She sat up, and then pressed Li Xiao down, reaching for the kraft paper envelope on the bedside table—the one Dong Mingming had given her today.

Li Xiao chuckled as she pressed him down, wrapping his arms around her waist.

After Jiang Rou got the envelope, she pushed him away and turned her back to him, lying back down.

Without turning off the light, she lay in bed looking at the photos. She hadn’t had a chance to examine them closely in the car earlier, and now she wanted to take a look.

Dong Mingming was quite generous with her spending. She had taken over a hundred photos and even included a DVD that documented the entire wedding. Jiang Rou couldn’t help but say, “We should also take a video by the end of the year, and take more photos of An An when she’s little. It’ll be fun to look back on when she grows up.”

Especially since Li Xiao was so handsome…

It would be a shame not to document it.

Li Xiao had never been particularly concerned about his appearance, but Jiang Rou felt it was a pity there were so few photos of him when he was young. She remembered the shock she felt when she first saw him in person; it was a truly unforgettable experience.

Li Xiao casually agreed, “Sure.”

He embraced Jiang Rou from behind and affectionately kissed her shoulder.

Jiang Rou ignored him, focusing on the photos and explaining the lively scenes to Li Xiao. “This one is a photo of An An and Mingming’s mother. Aunt Mingming looks really young-looking. I hope I can look that young when I’m her age.”

Li Xiao replied bluntly, “She doesn’t look that young. She seems to be in her forties or fifties.”

“…”

“This is Fu Fei’s daughter. Isn’t she cute? Her name is Fu Mianmian. It sounds quite nice.”

Li Xiao responded, “Really? I came up with that name.”

Jiang Rou looked at him in surprise, “Is that true?”

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow, “What’s there to lie about? That day, Fu Fei called me and asked for a name. I just said ‘Fu Mianmian’ on a whim, wishing him and his wife a sweet relationship.”

“…”

Li Xiao added naturally, “He also asked me to come up with a name as nice as An An’s, but I couldn’t think of one.”

Jiang Rou was at a loss for words, laughing and crying at the same time.

She marveled at how carefree Fu Fei and his wife were to actually use the name Li Xiao suggested.

Jiang Rou turned her head back to continue looking at the photos, while Li Xiao, with nothing better to do, leaned in and nuzzled Jiang Rou’s hair as they looked at photos together.

He didn’t pay much attention, glancing casually at the photos, mainly focusing on those of Jiang Rou and An An. For the others, he would only take a brief glance. However, one photo caught his attention.

It was a picture of Jiang Rou holding An An, standing between the newlyweds. An An was squirming in her mother’s arms, reaching for the red flower on the groom’s chest, her little chubby hand grabbing the man’s collar. The tall man was slightly tilting his head to look at her, smiling with his eyes and revealing a scar at his temple.

Li Xiao frowned and was about to examine the photo closely when Jiang Rou had already finished looking at it, set it aside, and moved on to the next photo.

He suddenly reached out and took that photo.

Jiang Rou looked puzzled and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Li Xiao didn’t answer but instead asked, “Who is this man?”

Jiang Rou, bemused, replied, “Are you out of it? Of course, it’s the groom. I had wanted you to meet him, but you always said you were too busy.”

Li Xiao made a thoughtful noise and then asked, “Is he the police officer with the last name Shen? What’s his family background?”

Jiang Rou turned to him with confusion, “What’s going on?”

Seeing his strange expression and furrowed brows, she explained, “He’s a police officer named Shen He. Dong Mingming has been seeing him for a long time and hasn’t changed. I mentioned him to you before.”

Li Xiao’s expression grew serious, “Call Dong Mingming and ask about her husband’s family background.”

Jiang Rou was puzzled, turning around to ask, “What’s this about? Why are you asking these questions?”

Li Xiao finally focused his gaze on Jiang Rou and said, “He looks a bit like the older brother of Jin Dayou.”

Jiang Rou, upon hearing this, looked incredulous. Without thinking, she took the photo from his hand and doubted, “Are you sure? He doesn’t look like Jin Dayou at all.”

“And besides, Mingming’s husband is a police officer with parents. Jin Dayou was abducted. How could he have been sold to a police officer?”

Li Xiao looked at the photo again, deep in thought. “His brother has a scar in the same place as the one I got when I was a child. The location is exactly the same.”

Jiang Rou still found it hard to believe, “Having a scar doesn’t mean he is Jin Dayou. There are many people with scars in the world.”

Li Xiao said, “He gives me a familiar feeling. He resembles the Jun Dapeng in my memory.”

Jiang Rou fell silent for a moment. She knew well how good Li Xiao’s memory was. When she was studying at home, struggling to remember complex traditional Chinese medicine theories, she often had to repeat them several times to memorize them. But Li Xiao is different; he could remember them after just hearing them once and would even remind her. This always frustrated her, and once, when she tested him by waiting several days before asking again, he still recalled everything clearly.

If Li Xiao said the man resembled Jin Dapeng from his memories, it might indeed be the case.

However, if it was really Jin Dapeng, the difference between him and Jin Dayou was too great. After going to university, Jin Dayou had grown taller and thinner, becoming quite fair, likely from spending so much time in the laboratory. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking like an educated, refined person.

In contrast, Shen He was tall and gave off a very reliable and upright impression.

The two had completely different temperaments and appearances. However, it was also possible for someone to take after one parent while the other takes after the other.

Jiang Rou hesitated for a while but decided to follow Li Xiao’s advice and called Dong Mingming.

She didn’t know much about Shen He; the only things she knew were what Dong Mingming mentioned in their conversations about him. She knew his father was a police officer, his mother had worked at a textile factory before resigning due to poor health, and he had an older sister who passed away at a young age.

Jiang Rou hadn’t thought much of it and made the call—only then did she realize it was the middle of the night, and she might disturb her by calling now. Just as she was about to hang up, the call was answered, and Dong Mingming’s breathless voice came through, “Jiang Rou?”

Along with it was a man’s muffled groan.

“……”

Jiang Rou’s face turned red with embarrassment. She was so angry she nearly wanted to strangle Li Xiao.

She glared at him in annoyance. She quickly said, “It’s nothing. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Without waiting for a response, she hung up.

After hanging up, Jiang Rou gave Li Xiao a punch on the arm, “It’s all your fault.”

Li Xiao, having heard the call, looked embarrassed and hurriedly wrapped his arms around her, gently soothing her, “It’s okay, it’s my fault. Don’t be angry.”

Jiang Rou didn’t want to talk to him and turned away.

Li Xiao embraced Jiang Rou from behind, planting kisses on her ear and cheek.

—o—o—o—

The next day, Jiang Rou called Dong Mingming to relay Li Xiao’s concerns and inquire about Shen He’s family background. She added, “Li Xiao thinks your husband resembles a friend of his from childhood. If possible, could you ask your in-laws to check? Li Xiao’s friend’s family was devastated by human traffickers. His mother went mad searching for her son and barely recognized anyone now, and his father never returned. They were once a very happy family…”

Dong Mingming initially wanted to refute the possibility, given her father-in-law’s profession, which seemed incompatible with such activities. However, she suddenly remembered something and asked, “How old was your friend’s brother when he went missing?”

Without much thought, Jiang Rou answered, “Seven years old.”

Dong Mingming hesitated and said, “My husband mentioned that he had a severe fever when he was young and forgot everything from before he was seven or eight.”

Both fell silent for a moment. Finally, Jiang Rou spoke up, “Could you… help me look into it. Dayou’s family has never given up searching.”

Dong Mingming agreed, “Okay.”

Even though it might disrupt her in-laws’ peaceful life, Dong Mingming felt deep sympathy for Jiang Rou’s friend’s family. The thought of a mother going mad searching for her child, especially as she herself was pregnant, resonated with her.

Dong Mingming was quick to act. Just when Jiang Rou thought she might have to wait a while longer, Dong Mingming called her back within a couple of days. She revealed that her in-laws wanted to meet with Jin Dayou’s family and shared that  Shen He was actually adopted by them.

It turned out that after her mother-in-law gave birth to her older sister, her health declined, making future pregnancies difficult. Shortly after her older sister’s death, her mother-in-law was deeply heartbroken. During this period, her father-in-law solved a human trafficking case, rescuing five children. Four of the children were reunited with their families, but her husband, Shen He was the only one who wasn’t.

Her husband was a stubborn child who tried to escape several times after being trafficked but was caught and brought back. Eventually, one rainy night, he managed to escape but had an accident falling down a hill, hitting his head, and suffering from a high fever. When he woke up, he had lost all memory of his past.

The police tried many methods to find his biological family, but the lack of information and frequent transfers made it impossible. As the police prepared to find adoptive parents for him, her father-in-law stepped forward, expressing a desire to adopt the child, leading to him becoming Shen He.

Since Shen He had lost all of his memory, the couple never mentioned the details, only telling him about an older sister who had passed away, leading Shen He to believe he was their biological child.

“My in-laws are very sorry after learning about your friend’s family and want to meet them.”

Jiang Rou replied quickly, “Great, I’ll contact him right away.”