Chapter 32
On the afternoon of Bo Muyu’s return to Qinzhou, Jiang Chenyin went back to the old Jiang residence.
It wasn’t a weekend, so neither Jiang Yingzong’s family nor Jiang Gaojun’s family were there. The old residence seemed less lively.
When Jiang Chenyin entered, Auntie Wang, who was clearing the table, was surprised. “Liu’er, why are you back?”
Jiang Chenyin said, “I brought something for Mom, Dad, and Auntie Wang.”
Auntie Wang went to take the gift bag from her hand and smiled at her. “It’s not the weekend. What’s the rush? It’s a long way. Are you staying for dinner?”
Jiang Chenyin looked around, nodded, and smiled. “Of course.”
“Good, then you should rest first,” Auntie Wang said with a beaming smile, then paused and added, “Your parents are upstairs. Your dad should be practicing calligraphy at this time.”
“Okay, then I’ll go to the study and take a look.”
After giving the supplements she had brought to Auntie Wang, Jiang Chenyin went upstairs and knocked on the study door.
“Come in.”
Old Master Jiang’s voice drifted out after a long while, sounding very focused.
Jiang Chenyin pushed open the study door. The window in the study was open, and the large patch of sunset light that streamed in divided the dark wooden floor into two different shades.
The wide desk was covered with smooth, clean Xuan paper. Old Master Jiang’s brows were tightly furrowed, his expression deep and somber. He held a brush in his right hand, his strokes hovering in the air, powerful and unrestrained.
Finally, with the last stroke, Old Master Jiang let out a light sigh. Jiang Chenyin walked closer to look.
It was “Green-Headed Duck: Ode to the Moon” by the Northern Song poet Chao Duanli. The poem was elegant and graceful. But Old Master Jiang’s brushwork was free and unrestrained, and when paired with this deeply emotional poem, it had a somewhat heroic and untamed quality.
Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but recite, “Thinking of the fair one, after parting, this should ease the longing.” She paused, her fingertips slowly moving to the last line, and recited again, “May you be strong and healthy, with a clear cup and a plain shadow, I wish to always be with you.”
Old Master Jiang nodded and asked thoughtfully, “Do you still remember how your name came to be?”
“I remember,” Jiang Chenyin looked up. “Dad told me that it was when he and Mom had just gotten married and were living in two different places. Once, when he was missing her terribly, he thought of this poem while practicing calligraphy and wrote it down. When he finally came home, he showed the calligraphy to Mom.”
“After parting from the sound and dust, ‘yīn chén,’ ‘chén yīn’…” Old Master Jiang nodded, his eyes filled with reminiscence. “Yes, that piece of calligraphy is still here. At that time, your mother and I didn’t have any children, and we had always wanted a daughter. If we had a daughter, we would name her Chenyin, to represent that the longing we had when we were apart had finally been rewarded.”
Jiang Chenyin’s lips curved. “Who knew the first two would be my brothers.”
Old Master Jiang waved his hand and smiled. “Oh, that’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it, let’s not talk about it. I’m old now. You’ll scold me for being sentimental.”
Jiang Chenyin helped Old Master Jiang to the sofa and sat down. Old Master Jiang asked, “Why are you back today?”
“I bought some things back, and it’s not like I can only come back on weekends,” Jiang Chenyin laughed. “I wanted to have dinner with Mom and Dad, so I came back.”
Old Master Jiang looked at her and nodded. “It’s already mid-October, almost over. It’s not far from your birthday.”
“I know,” Jiang Chenyin said in a soft voice. “I’ll be celebrating at home from now on.”
For the past few years, she had celebrated her birthdays alone, or rather, she hadn’t celebrated them at all. Now that she was older, she didn’t care about such days anymore. Although she remembered them during her years abroad, she had never seriously celebrated her birthday. In those years, on that day, the clearest thing in her heart was probably the guilt she felt towards her family.
She understood that her family was also worried about her, which was why they hadn’t insisted on her coming home. Temporarily leaving that place was not entirely a bad thing for her and her family and friends, especially for those who knew about the past.
Perhaps it wasn’t necessary to go abroad, but being a little further away would give her heart more peace.
Old Master Jiang thought for a moment and said, “For your birthday this year, let’s invite Yi’an.”
Jiang Chenyin was taken aback. “Yi’an?”
Old Master Jiang nodded, stood up with his cane, and waved his hand to stop Jiang Chenyin, who was also standing up, from helping him. He leaned on his cane with one hand, the other hidden by the sleeve of his Tang suit, its gesture unclear.
Old Master Jiang walked to the window and stood there, facing the setting sun, his figure straight, his voice solemn. “You’ve finally come back. I don’t want to say anything else. Saying too much will only hurt everyone.”
Jiang Chenyin didn’t speak, her brow unconsciously furrowing.
Old Master Jiang turned around. “But just treat it as making it up to him for all these years. Whether it works out in the future or not will depend on the two of you.”
“Dad…”
Old Master Jiang raised his hand to signal her not to say any more, then sighed softly. “The decision is all in your hands.”
A dull ache settled in Jiang Chenyin’s chest, an indescribable discomfort. She knew why Old Master Jiang had stopped the topic there, and she also knew why he had given her the final say. No matter how much he cared, he couldn’t say any more.
Because if this topic were to continue, it would inevitably involve the reason she and Meng Yi’an had broken up, and that would inevitably bring up even more distant past events. And those past events were not only her nightmare but also a taboo for the entire Jiang family.
Her parents and siblings couldn’t bear it, and she herself had a knot in her heart. This was why no one had said a word about her not starting a family.
Looking at Old Master Jiang’s concerned yet restrained expression, a dull pain throbbed in Jiang Chenyin’s chest. She agreed in a low voice, “I know. I’ll invite him.”
Old Master Jiang nodded, then suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, a couple of days ago, I had someone send something to you at the company. The people there said you weren’t in Qinzhou.”
“Yes,” Jiang Chenyin’s thoughts shifted, and she replied, “I went to Lingzhou for some work, and also to see Muyu. She was on a business trip in Lingzhou.”
Although her work was not limited to the office, she didn’t want the old master to know the real reason she had gone to Lingzhou. Because she couldn’t be sure if he would mention it to Bo Muyu the next time he saw her, making her feel uncomfortable.
She didn’t want that child to be sad in the slightest, especially because of her. She couldn’t prevent this kind of hurt during the years she was away, but now she could.
“Ah… Xiaoyu,” Old Master Jiang chuckled. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”
Jiang Chenyin chuckled softly. “She should be coming over in a few days.”
Old Master Jiang nodded and shook his cane. “Alright, let’s get ready to go down for dinner.”
Jiang Chenyin left the study and returned to her room.
It was almost the end of the year, and there were many things to do. The closer it got to the end of the year, the more crucial it was not to make any mistakes. Not just in business, but some personal matters probably also needed to be handled in advance, otherwise they might affect her mood to a greater extent.
Things had finally calmed down. There shouldn’t be any more waves.
Jiang Chenyin walked to the window and drew the curtains. The warm light of the setting sun stabbed at her eyes, making her squint immediately. But the warmth made her feel warm, as if the suddenly cold blood in her body was being warmed up.
She took out her phone and called her assistant, Xiao Lu.
“Xiao Lu, my previous assistant should have handed over a special bank account to you,” she said, taking a deep breath and tightening her grip on the curtain.
“Mmm, yes. What’s wrong, Sister Chenyin?”
Jiang Chenyin said, “Transfer two hundred thousand to this account.”
Xiao Lu was taken aback and hesitated. “An auntie has been contacting me these past few days. She said the previous assistant left her my contact information and asked me to inform you. She also said to ask you to give her the money as soon as possible. Could it be…”
Jiang Chenyin suddenly gripped the curtain tightly, her face instantly turning cold. The scabbed-over wound in her heart felt as if it had been violently torn open, and the pain spread in an instant.
“Yes,” she said in a deep voice. “That’s the account. Transfer two hundred thousand.”
Xiao Lu sensed the fluctuation in Jiang Chenyin’s emotions. Although she was curious why the usually gentle Jiang Chenyin would be so cold, she didn’t dare to ask and quickly said, “Okay, I know.”
After hanging up, Jiang Chenyin’s whole body seemed to deflate. She took a few steps back and sat on the bed, like a fully drawn bow that had suddenly been released.
She closed her eyes, and the scene from that year seemed to appear before her again.
The crazed boy shouting wildly, demanding that she compromise, that she not leave, that she gamble with her entire family’s peace. And then, her heart filled with panic and fear, she had run over with all her might, hoping to grab even a corner of his clothes. But all that was left for her was a ground of bright red, a bloody mess.
Before this, she had thought that love was beautiful. Although there was sourness and regret, she had never thought it would be associated with words like “cruel” and “coercion.”
She had also once thought that rejection could promptly stop all the nightmares that shouldn’t have happened. Why did those things have to happen to her? What had she done wrong? Why did she have to bear such a burden for the rest of her life?
Was it because she had encouraged him when he was feeling down? Or because she had held up a protective umbrella for him when everyone was verbally attacking him? Or was it because she had never looked at him with those malicious eyes like everyone else?
Or were all of these the reasons for his madness? If so, then why did she have to be so kind? What had her kindness gotten her in the end?
Her phone rang, making her shudder. She slowly opened her eyes and answered the call.
“Teacher Jiang, are you coming over tomorrow night?”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Jiang Chenyin asked in a low, hoarse voice.
“Just come over. I have something to tell you,” Ye Xialan said, then belatedly realized that something was wrong with Jiang Chenyin. “Teacher Jiang, what’s wrong with you? Did you just wake up?”
“No, I’m fine,” Jiang Chenyin said, rubbing her forehead and sighing. Her voice returned to its usual gentleness. “Is it Muyu who’s looking for me?”
“Pfft…” Ye Xialan laughed. “It’s related to her, but it’s not her who’s looking for you. It’s me. Just come over.”
“Okay, then I’ll go over tomorrow,” Jiang Chenyin said, her thoughts returning. She asked, “But I remember she told me she was going to come and live with me after she got back from Lingzhou. Has she decided when she’s coming?”
“Tsk, that’s what I want to talk about,” Ye Xialan sighed with a laugh. “Alright, alright, we’ll talk about it when you come over tomorrow.”
Ye Xialan had no intention of talking about it on the phone. The two of them quickly hung up.
The room fell silent again. The worries from before Ye Xialan’s call resurfaced in her mind.
But this time, she shook her head after a short while. She was still afraid of remembering those past events, but sometimes she had to. But at the same time, she also understood deeply that being kind to others was her choice, and whether others returned that kindness was their choice.
