Chapter 56 – This Chapter Is Filled With Parental Drama – Subscribe with Caution!

Not long after Li Tang went abroad, Jiang Lou received a letter from Zhang Zhaoyue.

A physical letter, delivered to County High School, was handed over to Jiang Lou by his homeroom teacher.

It was then that Jiang Lou learned that despite his excellent grades, the impact of the broadcast incident was too severe. After being expelled from Xucheng No.1 High School, no school was willing to accept him. It was due to Zhang Zhaoyue’s efforts and coordination that County High reluctantly admitted him.

In her letter, Zhang Zhaoyue recounted the past. Even using the most concise language, she filled five pages of letter paper.

It turned out that Zhang Zhaoyue was not born into poverty. Her father, Jiang Lou’s maternal grandfather, had once been a well-known tea merchant in Xucheng. Zhang Zhaoyue grew up with silk clothes and jade food, ignorant of the hardships of life.

Until her third year of college, one day she suddenly received a call from home saying something had happened and she should return quickly. When Zhang Zhaoyue got home, her parents’ coffins had already been taken to the funeral home, and relatives at home said they died in a car accident, with the driver caught.

Zhang Zhaoyue, grieving, keenly sensed something amiss.

After her father’s business expanded, he often supported his brothers financially and arranged jobs for them in the company. But his brothers were lazy and spoiled, using their limited wit not for good, but to embezzle funds today or take bribes under the guise of their positions tomorrow.

People had warned Zhang Zhaoyue’s father to be wary of his two brothers, yet he was kind and broad-minded, thinking they were just greedy for temporary gain. A small punishment would suffice, no need to go to the extreme of breaking ties. However, his handling method left his brothers disgruntled, feeling he ignored the friendship that had endured through hardship and disregarded brotherly affection, making them lose face in the company.

Thus, a grudge was formed. Although Zhang Zhaoyue had limited understanding of the twists and turns, she remembered clearly that before leaving for college, the relationship between her father and uncles was already tense. They often argued in the company over disagreements, later developing to the point where they ignored each other even when they met.

Besides Zhang Zhaoyue’s father, the two uncles were the largest shareholders in the company. There was no doubt who would become the head of the company after her father’s death.

Furthermore, this car accident seemed suspicious. According to her father’s assistant, he received a call that day and drove away with her mother. That road was rarely traveled by them; how coincidental that a large truck came out halfway and hit their car?

Moreover, after hitting someone, the driver didn’t brake or run away, as if he knew he would hit someone today. When caught by the police, he calmly asked, “Are they dead?”

It was clear he was hired to kill.

After finishing her parents’ funeral arrangements, Zhang Zhaoyue wanted to thoroughly investigate the matter but repeatedly hit walls. Even the assistant who was willing to testify before clammed up, unwilling to provide any further clues about the matter.

Helpless, Zhang Zhaoyue could only start investigating from where she could. She went to the trucking company where the perpetrator worked, but the truck drivers were all busy, none familiar with the perpetrator, and none willing to spend time helping a little girl “turn the case around.”

It was there that Zhang Zhaoyue met Jiang Lou’s father, Jiang Fangqiu.

Unlike his scholarly name, Jiang Fangqiu was a sturdy young man. He disliked studying as a child, and his family didn’t bother managing him, letting him finish technical school and get his driver’s license, starting with light trucks and obtaining a Class B license within two years to drive heavy trucks.

The first time Zhang Zhaoyue came to the trucking company, he noticed this tall, beautiful girl in a dress. He knew he was from a different world than her, not daring to approach rashly, only daring to watch secretly from a distance.

Their paths crossed when Zhang Zhaoyue came to the trucking company again to inquire about matters related to the perpetrator. As she left, she tripped on a pothole in the road outside. Just then, a car lost control and rushed towards her. Without hesitation, Jiang Fangqiu rushed over and pushed her to safety with all his might.

This unexpected incident led to Jiang Fangqiu’s leg injury and hospitalization. Zhang Zhaoyue visited him in the hospital, crying that she didn’t do it on purpose. Jiang Fangqiu wasn’t angry at all, only thinking how beautiful this girl looked even when crying.

Zhang Zhaoyue reported her near “elimination” to the police, but the police did not follow up due to insufficient evidence. Several attempts to seek answers from her uncles were met with violent rejection.

During that period, she was extremely depressed, spending days holding the family photo she took with her parents, her tears washing her face, unable to seek justice for her parents, which made her depressed and almost lost the will to live.

In her letter to Jiang Lou, she called this period “a period of muddled confusion.”

She began to escape, not returning to school to continue her studies, overturning all future plans. Holding the few remaining assets after her uncles’ appropriation, she spent her days in entertainment venues such as dance halls, drinking until she was drunk, not distinguishing between night and day.

Once, she drank so much that she had stomach pain, squatting outside the bar vomiting profusely. Some young hoodlums harassed her as she passed by, and it was Jiang Fangqiu who appeared like a godsend, rescuing her.

When asked why he was here at this time, Jiang Fangqiu, dressed in plain work clothes, smiled shyly, “A colleague gave me two movie tickets. Do you have time to go with me?”

The next afternoon, Zhang Zhaoyue and Jiang Fangqiu went to the cinema together to see the newly released Hollywood blockbuster “Titanic.”

At that time, Xucheng had only one cinema, and the film was so popular that tickets were hard to come by across the country. So Zhang Zhaoyue didn’t believe the movie tickets were given by a colleague.

And thus understood Jiang Fangqiu’s intentions.

Zhang Zhaoyue wrote in her letter: I used your father, treating him as a shelter to escape reality, or a straw to save me from the mire. But the moment I accepted his proposal, I wasn’t without thoughts of living a simple, stable life.

Jiang Fangqiu and Zhang Zhaoyue registered their marriage in the autumn of 1998. After marriage, the two enjoyed a period of warm and happy times. They renovated the small house at the foot of the mountain, repainting the old wooden furniture, polishing the window glass spotless, and laying intricate patterned tiles according to Zhang Zhaoyue’s preferences.

They salvaged a TV set and a DVD player from the second-hand market. When Jiang Fangqiu wasn’t working, the two would huddle at home, watching pirated discs rented from the store, from “The Legend of 1900” to “Life Is Beautiful,” revisiting their “love movie” “Titanic” again and again, watching until the disc couldn’t read anymore.

Soon, Zhang Zhaoyue was found to be pregnant. Jiang Fangqiu was ecstatic, increasing his workload while devoting all his spare time to accompany his wife, willing to work day and night for this family.

They named their unborn child in advance. The character “Lou” may seem common, but it actually comes from “mountains beyond mountains, buildings beyond buildings.” They lived in a location overlooking the mountains, symbolizing the view of broader scenery beyond the mountains, hoping Jiang Lou could become the “building” outside the building, able to personally see the outside world.

But could the name given to their child not contain the longing of the mother herself? After everything returned to calmness, Zhang Zhaoyue began to think frequently of the capital’s prosperity, her unfinished studies, and the future that should have been as bright as the stars.

After giving birth to Jiang Lou, she spent her days taking care of the child at home, increasingly feeling trapped in the drizzly city of Xucheng, seeing the end of her life at a glance, which made her feel dull and fear arose spontaneously.

She began considering returning to the capital to continue her studies. Fortunately, Jiang Fangqiu always supported whatever she wanted to do unconditionally. He took on the responsibility of caring for the child, even giving Zhang Zhaoyue a sum of money he had saved for a long time, telling her not to worry about anything.

So Zhang Zhaoyue returned to the capital when Jiang Lou was just over a year old.

However, without financial support from her parents as before, Zhang Zhaoyue’s academic path in the capital was arduous.

Hardly enduring until graduation, further education meant needing a lot of money.

Her parents’ inheritance had long been exhausted, along with the money Jiang Fangqiu had given her. Zhang Zhaoyue had no choice but to work part-time while studying, serving dishes and washing dishes for slow income, and tutoring jobs were too competitive. Later, a female roommate introduced her to a part-time job, saying it was being a hostess in a dance hall, essentially a dancer, accompanying wealthy bosses to sing and dance, earning commission through encouraging drinking.

Initially, Zhang Zhaoyue struggled, feeling the industry was murky, worried that stepping in would lead to an endless abyss. Later, thinking that lotus flowers could emerge from mud without staining, she decided to stay clean and put on a cheongsam, stepping into the dance hall.

At the turn of the millennium, various industries in China were booming. It was an era of gold everywhere. Most of the bosses who frequented the dance hall started from real estate, among whom were elegant and generous men.

Li Yuanshan was one of them.

He was young, handsome, and his real estate business was thriving. The girls in the dance hall were willing to accompany him, but he was particularly fond of Zhang Zhaoyue, saying she had a seven-holed exquisite heart.

What seven-holed exquisite heart, Zhang Zhaoyue wrote in her letter: He merely thought I came from a small city, inexperienced, and without parents, easy to manipulate.

Li Yuanshan often visited the dance hall, always calling for Zhang Zhaoyue to accompany him. What they talked about most when together was their respective children.

Perhaps to win favor, Li Yuanshan did not reveal his true nature back then. He would often sigh after half a bottle of wine, lamenting that his son was unfortunate, losing his mother at birth, not knowing what to do in the future.

That appearance was very much that of a loving father.

And Zhang Zhaoyue also revealed to him her longing for her son far away in her hometown, slightly drunk, unable to resist telling him about the decline of her family.

One day, Li Yuanshan told Zhang Zhaoyue that he had inquired about the enmity between her father and her uncles. Everyone in the circle knew about the grievances and inside stories, but no one dared to expose them.

Zhang Zhaoyue asked what he meant by saying this, and Li Yuanshan looked at her and smiled, “Don’t you want revenge?”

How could she not want it? Her uncles had swallowed up her father’s empire, leading her to fall into such a state. In her dreams, she wanted to send them to the gallows with her own hands.

But Zhang Zhaoyue was no longer the innocent student in the ivory tower. She had long known that this society operated on the principle of equivalent exchange. No one would reach out to her without expecting something in return.

Indeed, the exchange condition Li Yuanshan proposed was: “Be a mother to my son until he is twenty years old.”

Zhang Zhaoyue felt this was too outrageous. Who would look for a mother for their child in a dance hall? And with Li Yuanshan’s conditions, finding another wife would not be difficult.

So she didn’t agree at first, until one day, Li Yuanshan showed her a picture of the child.

Li Yuanshan told her that the child still didn’t have a name, always called baby baby, and the nanny didn’t take good care of him. The child cried at home every day, spitting out milk after drinking it. He must miss his mother.

When Zhang Zhaoyue first went to the Li family and first saw Little Li Tang, the child waving his arms and crying in the nanny’s arms stopped crying when he saw Zhang Zhaoyue, staring at her with misty eyes.

Hearing that the child was born in the autumn of October, Zhang Zhaoyue thought of a small, cute, and brightly colored flower.

She suggested, “Why not call him Li Tang, the autumn begonia’s Tang.”

Zhang Zhaoyue admitted in her letter that agreeing to Li Yuanshan’s exchange conditions was not without nostalgia for a comfortable life. She was born a rich girl and couldn’t bear the taste of lack of money. Naturally, there was also a desire for revenge against her uncles. She knew that with her and Jiang Fangqiu’s abilities, they would probably only watch them get away with it for the rest of their lives.

But undeniably, one of the reasons she wavered was compassion for Li Tang, and a sense of inexplicable responsibility for being chosen at first sight.

She agreed to Li Yuanshan and dissolved her marriage with Jiang Fangqiu, obtaining a large sum of money from Li Yuanshan as alimony to be paid in full during divorce, hoping to secure Jiang Lou’s expenses for future schooling and life.

Before this, Jiang Fangqiu had tried to fight for her, to retain her. But Zhang Zhaoyue was determined to leave. When he learned that the man she was going to marry was a rich big boss who could give Zhang Zhaoyue a good life, he persuaded himself to let go, allowing the woman he loved to pursue the life she wanted.

But even the humblest, smallest people harbor a sliver of hope.

Receiving the divorce certificate, sending Zhang Zhaoyue away from Xucheng, Jiang Fangqiu held the two-year-old Jiang Lou in his arms, trying to smile, “If you miss us, come back anytime. But not too long, I’m afraid the child won’t remember his mother’s appearance. At most ten years, we’ll still be waiting for you at home at the foot of the mountain… Ten years, should be enough, right?”

Reading here, Jiang Lou realized that the “ten-year promise” in his father’s mouth was not a lie fabricated to deceive a child.

Although, Zhang Zhaoyue didn’t agree at the time. She only looked at the ring still on Jiang Fangqiu’s hand after the divorce, constantly shedding tears, constantly apologizing.

Back then, she was too young, too trusting in the power of material things, believing that emotional bonds were easily severed and discarded. She thought that with that money, the father and son she abandoned would live well. Jiang Fangqiu wouldn’t have to drive at night anymore, and wouldn’t have to leave the young Jiang Lou alone at home to save on daycare fees.

But she underestimated the determination of a seemingly weak and incompetent man who deeply loved her. After she left, not only did Jiang Fangqiu not touch that money, but he worked harder instead, depositing more money into that card every year, hoping that when she returned, the three of them could live a life free of worries about food and clothing, and Zhang Zhaoyue could return to being a rich girl untouched by the mundane.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Li Yuanshan gradually revealed his true nature after marriage. He was arrogant, conceited, violent, and suspicious, always worried that Li Tang would be abused when he wasn’t at home. He installed cameras all over the house to monitor Zhang Zhaoyue and the nanny’s every move, and unable to tolerate the natural noise of a child, he would become irritable when Li Tang cried, wanting to beat him and locking him up, under the guise of “teaching the child to behave.”

Zhang Zhaoyue advised him not to treat the child this way, but Li Yuanshan didn’t listen. Zhang Zhaoyue had to protect Li Tang when he was beaten and deliver meals to him when he was locked in a small dark room. She would secretly go to him at night and tell him stories.

Later, Li Yuanshan even suspected that Zhang Zhaoyue was having an affair with male classmates at school. Coupled with Li Tang’s frequent illnesses in childhood, requiring care, Zhang Zhaoyue’s studies were forced to stop.

Only when it was a fait accompli did Zhang Zhaoyue understand why Li Yuanshan chose to spend money to “buy” a mother for his own child rather than remarry. Firstly, a new wife might not be good to Li Tang. After all, turning on the TV, one could see news about stepmothers mistreating children, and a contractual “employment relationship” was more stable. Secondly, Li Yuanshan’s “ex-wife” was too strong-willed. Because she had everything, she had nothing to gain from him, and even the child couldn’t bind her. Li Yuanshan hated this feeling of helplessness, choosing Zhang Zhaoyue, a female student who only wanted his money, instead made it easier to control. Moreover, Zhang Zhaoyue had given birth, had a motherly nature, and when feelings developed, she might willingly pay for Li Tang.

But no matter how Li Yuanshan schemed, he overlooked one thing, that when Zhang Zhaoyue faced the imbalance of gains and losses, began to regret her initial choice, her feelings towards Li Tang would naturally change.

When her studies were forcibly interrupted, Zhang Zhaoyue resented it. When she carried the high-fevered Li Tang to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, Zhang Zhaoyue was also annoyed… She inevitably began to miss the carefree school days, missing her biological son two thousand kilometers away.

Did he live well? Did he grow taller? When he had a fever and was sick, did he also cry out for his mother?

The most severe imbalance occurred when Li Tang was five years old.

After remarriage, Zhang Zhaoyue didn’t forget the patricide and matricide. Occasionally, she reminded Li Yuanshan to help her sue. Li Yuanshan always said to wait, that important evidence was still lacking, dragging on for over four years.

Zhang Zhaoyue finally couldn’t wait any longer. She ran to Li Yuanshan’s company and found the head of the legal team, asking about the progress of the case. But the person was puzzled, saying he had never heard of such a case.

An accident that had already been treated as accidental, the hope of reopening the case was slim.

Li Yuanshan had deceived her.

At that time, Zhang Zhaoyue was furious, feeling that she had been fooled like a fool for these years. Impulsively, she went alone to Xucheng, back to the house at the foot of the mountain.

What followed was like an avalanche, swift and uncontrollable – Li Tang found her, chasing her onto the street, while Jiang Fangqiu, learning that his wife had returned, hurriedly drove back. To avoid Li Tang crossing the road, he slammed on the brakes, dying unexpectedly.

And Jiang Lou, just immersed in the joy of his mother’s return, faced his father’s tragic death again, caught off guard.

It was the day after his seventh birthday, and for so many years afterward, it was his nightmare, the source of his hatred, the bottomless abyss he couldn’t escape.

Zhang Zhaoyue wrote in her letter: I once blamed Heaven, for its deliberate mischief, treating mortals’ fates as a game. I also blamed Li Tang, even though he was only five years old at the time, an age when he knew nothing, he just wanted to find his mother.

Later, I realized that I should hate myself the most, for my indecisiveness, regretting decisions I had made, being ruthless but not ruthless enough, causing such a tragic situation.

But blaming and hating oneself, what can it accomplish?

There are always countless brick walls waiting for people to bump into. Too many things are understood only when it’s too late to reverse them.

The moment of understanding also means complete loss.

Bound by the contract, Zhang Zhaoyue had to return to the Li family, becoming Li Yuanshan’s wife and Li Tang’s mother. She had to push Jiang Lou away again, telling him to go back, pretending she had never been his mother.

Yet over the years, Zhang Zhaoyue’s feelings for Li Tang changed several times, a complicated relationship mixed with too much content. They weren’t resentful enough to become enemies, nor could they become mother and son in the conventional sense.

After the broadcast incident, she spent a long time thinking, forcing herself to remain calm, not impulsively making any decisions. The final conclusion was to want to take care of him.

Not unaware that the grudges accumulated over the years couldn’t be easily erased, so she didn’t seek forgiveness, only wanting to compensate him as much as possible.

Now that the vicissitudes of life have passed, Zhang Zhaoyue made no evaluation of Jiang Lou’s retaliatory behavior from the perspective of an elder, nor did she dare to criticize.

She understood that as the initiator, she had no right.

But as a former person deeply mired in hatred, she presented her viewpoint: The tragedy of revenge lies in that it cannot change the past, but can destroy the future. The more one is obsessed with revenge, the deeper the harm to oneself. Of course, if you choose to continue to retaliate against me, I will wait for you here. This time, I won’t run away.

If you choose to let go, to let this wound heal, I also hope that you can do what you truly want to do in the future, and that you truly gain happiness.

I’m too late, but your lives have just begun.

Jiang Lou knew that the “you” here referred to who.

Also knew that although she felt unworthy, Zhang Zhaoyue expressed tacit approval.

Approval to give up, and approval to make amends.

And now, this person was lying beside him, touching within reach, but he didn’t dare to touch lightly, fearing that like glass, fragile, touching would make him disappear again.

Sifting through the things Zhang Zhaoyue mentioned in her letter, retelling what could be told, Li Tang listened attentively, pursing his lips. His first response was not “So that’s how you knew we aren’t real brothers,” nor was it “So she loved me more than I thought,” nor was it “Then do you still want revenge now,” but –

“I didn’t want to not see you.”

Responding to the beginning of the topic, Jiang Lou’s statement “Even if you didn’t want to see me.”

And, “Then in this letter, didn’t she mention that you were… bullied by the students at County High?”

Jiang Lou was stunned for a moment, unsure which sentence to reply to first.

He received the letter after being beaten up, just returning to school from the hospital. In the letter, Zhang Zhaoyue mentioned that she had just returned from England, Li Tang’s current condition was stable, and he had started attending classes.

So it wasn’t surprising that Zhang Zhaoyue couldn’t immediately learn about what happened at County High.

“No.” Jiang Lou still answered the latter question first, “County High is a fully residential, closed management school. It’s hard for outsiders to know what’s happening inside.”

The leaders of County High didn’t want parents to know about such matters either, so they would hide it if they could.

But Li Tang didn’t buy this explanation: “Then how did the students at Xucheng No.1 High School know?”

Subconsciously, he slightly pursed his lips, “…still not caring enough about you.”

Jiang Lou was stunned again, by the obvious bias in Li Tang’s words, and the facial expressions that only appeared when dissatisfied, unseen for seven years.

Then he twisted his neck, slowly, turning his face to the other side.

“Tired?” Li Tang asked.

Jiang Lou wasn’t tired, but he nodded anyway.

He didn’t dare turn back, afraid that the blurry traces in his eyes would be seen through the light seeping in from outside the window.

Speaking of foolishness, who could be more foolish than the person beside him?

How could he feel sorry for the person who once wanted to “kill” him, and stand up for him?

More afraid of being unable to endure, not just wanting to secretly touch him when he sleeps, but wanting to do as he did seven years ago, while he’s awake, while his eyes reflect him, cupping his face and kissing him.