Qin Zheng rolled her eyes at her, grabbed her bag from the sofa, and left. Jiang Ruoning paused mid-brush at the door closing, peeked out—house empty.
Whoa.
So quiet.
Quiet enough that Jiang Ruoning felt unaccustomed.
After washing up and returning to her room, she glanced at Jiang Qin’s door. Thinking of the dream, she went in. Her mom’s room was much neater and cleaner than hers, with far fewer things. Back in Linping, the house overflowed with her childhood toys, books; even clay figures she’d made as a kid were still there. When they moved to Shangjing, her mom brought only essentials—a few changes of clothes, daily items in one suitcase. Jiang Ruoning had opened it once: full of her photos, award certificates, her Jing University admission notice.
They’d moved to Shangjing after her sophomore summer break.
That’s when the accident happened. During summer cleaning at home, she’d leaned on the window sill and fallen from the third floor. Nearly died. Luckily, a dense tree below cushioned the fall a bit; otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen another sunrise.
Even so, she still remained in a coma for over a month and underwent three surgeries, all on her calf. She also lost part of her memory.
It wasn’t just the memories from dating; her recollections of high school and summer vacation were also hazy. Later, to make it easier for her to attend school and go to the hospital, Jiang Qin moved directly to Shangjing and quit her stable job of more than twenty years.
Jiang Ruoning actually felt quite guilty about it, but Jiang Qin wouldn’t let her bring it up. They hadn’t returned to Linping even during holidays. The few times she went back to Yun An’s hometown, she flew straight there without transferring through Linping.
Jiang Ruoning vaguely knew that Linping was a sore spot for Jiang Qin.
Perhaps it was related to her own romance back then.
She wasn’t willing to uncover it.
So for so many years, she never mentioned Linping or went back.
She wondered what her mom would think if she knew she had reconnected with Shi Sui—
What was she thinking?
Jiang Ruoning broke out in a cold sweat.
She took a deep breath, walked to the window, and opened it. The cool morning breeze poured in, chilling her. She felt for her phone and called Jiang Qin. Jiang Qin had just woken up and was preparing to go hiking that day, eating breakfast. When she received Jiang Ruoning’s call, she smiled and said to the person beside her, “My daughter.”
Her tone was full of pride.
Jiang Ruoning heard it too. She said, “Mom.”
Jiang Qin replied, “Mm, you’re up so early today?”
She usually slept in on her days off, practically glued to the bed.
Jiang Ruoning said, “Yeah, I have a shoot later.”
Jiang Qin immediately asked with concern, “Have you eaten breakfast?”
“I have,” Jiang Ruoning said. “Zhengzheng stayed over last night. She made breakfast.”
“You couldn’t make it yourself,” Jiang Qin said. “Zhengzheng is a guest.”
Jiang Ruoning pouted. “What guest? Zhengzheng is family.”
“Alright, alright,” Jiang Qin said, in a good mood and not arguing with her.
Jiang Ruoning could hear the happiness in her tone. She asked, “Mom, are you having fun out there?”
Jiang Qin said, “Yeah, it’s pretty fun. I’ve met a lot of people.”
Most of the tour group consisted of parents whose kids were single and tired of hearing nagging at home, so they had signed up for this trip. Once out, everyone shared information and planned to set up blind dates for their own children when they got back.
Jiang Qin was no exception, but she was afraid of causing trouble for Jiang Ruoning by directly sharing her photo—after all, Jiang Ruoning was a model in the public eye. So usually, she just observed without being proactive. Two women around her age often dragged her along for hikes and chats. One had a only son whose family had two loan-free houses in Shangjing; the guy owned a car and earned around five hundred thousand a year.
Jiang Qin had seen the guy’s photo—a neat and proper young man with no obvious issues.
The other woman was named Zhang Zhilan, from the same neighborhood as her. She also had a daughter. Whenever others tried to introduce matches to her daughter, she would wave it off with a smile and say, “It might not be suitable. Let the child decide for herself.”
This laid-back, worry-free attitude stood in stark contrast to everyone else there.
Jiang Qin heard that her daughter worked at some law firm in a high position with strong abilities. She had bought her own house and car in Shangjing with a high salary. Others speculated that her high status made her domineering, but Zhang Zhilan said, “Not domineering at all. My child has a pretty gentle personality.”
As she spoke, she showed Jiang Qin and the others a photo. The woman in it faced the computer, head lowered, one hand propping her chin—a side profile shot of a very beautiful girl.
The only-son family took a liking to Zhang Zhilan’s daughter and had been pestering her the past couple of days to set up a meeting.
Zhang Zhilan escaped the crowd and let out a breath. Jiang Qin handed her a hiking pole with a smile. “Caught by Old Zhou again?”
“I’ve told her it’s not suitable, not suitable, but she won’t listen,” Zhang Zhilan said. “What does your daughter do? Want to meet Old Zhou’s son?”
Jiang Qin said, “My daughter—” She smiled awkwardly. “She’s a model.”
“A model, huh.” Zhang Zhilan exclaimed, “Your daughter must be gorgeous.”
Jiang Qin nodded.
Zhang Zhilan tugged at her. “But modeling is just a bowl of youth rice. Once she marries, she still needs to choose carefully. Old Zhou’s kid looks decent. Want to try getting to know him?”
Jiang Qin felt a bit tempted.
Lin Mei had messaged her last night, saying Jiang Ruoning was unresponsive to her suggestions; none of the people she recommended caught her interest. She even said Ruoning’s standards were too high. Jiang Qin knew it wasn’t high standards; it was just…
She couldn’t say it.
Now, running into someone with suitable conditions and decent looks, she nodded. Zhang Zhilan said, “If my daughter weren’t unsuitable, I’d even send the photo to her.”
Hearing her repeatedly say “unsuitable,” Jiang Qin grew curious. “Why is your daughter unsuitable?”
“Ah—” Zhang Zhilan wore an indescribable expression. Looking at Jiang Qin—remembering they were neighbors and had plans to have tea and shop after returning—she leaned in and whispered, “My daughter… she’s… well, she doesn’t like men.”
Jiang Qin blanked for a moment. “Huh?”
Zhang Zhilan spelled it out: “You know, like a lesbian?”
Jiang Qin froze in place.
Zhang Zhilan thought she had shocked her. She didn’t dare speak up or approach Jiang Qin for the rest of the hike. Instead, Jiang Qin took the initiative to find her, her expression constipated. She said, “Can you send me a photo of your daughter?”
Zhang Zhilan was wary. “Why?”
Jiang Qin said, “I… have a friend’s daughter who also likes girls.”
Her expression was unnatural, but Zhang Zhilan understood. The first time she learned her own daughter liked women, she had resisted too, embarrassed to tell others. Later, she came around and felt much more at ease. She asked Jiang Qin, “Really?”
Jiang Qin nodded helplessly.
Zhang Zhilan said, “Then help me introduce her properly. If it works out, dinner’s on me.”
Jiang Qin asked, “You don’t mind?”
Zhang Zhilan paused, then said, “Why would I mind?”
Jiang Qin looked at her. This was the second person who claimed not to mind their child liking girls. The first was Qin Guilan, Qin Zheng’s mom. She didn’t mind because Yun An was great, Yun An’s family was great, and Yun An’s family treated Qin Zheng even better.
So Qin Guilan didn’t mind.
Because Qin Zheng was happy—very happy.
Jiang Qin had tried to accept it too, tried to believe that Ruoning would be like Zhengzheng. But she was wrong.
She was wrong.
Someone bumped Jiang Qin’s arm. The person passing by turned her head, about to say not to block the path, but glimpsed Jiang Qin’s poor complexion—pale as a ghost—and swallowed her words, asking with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
A circle of people gathered around. Jiang Qin felt dizzy, her vision blurring. Her head hurt!
It hurt so much!
Her head felt like it was splitting open!
“You’re Jiang Ruoning’s mom? Like mother, like daughter. She’s clinging to Shi Sui without any shame.”
“Do you know how to write the words for ‘shame’? Did you teach your daughter? Do you know what your daughter did to seduce Shi Sui?”
“Your daughter is the most undisciplined I’ve ever seen. From Jing University? I really want to go to Jing University myself and ask how they admit students of such character.”
These voices echoed repeatedly in Jiang Qin’s ears. She lowered her head, unsteady on her feet. The crowd grew noisy with gasps. Jiang Qin seemed to see many people rushing toward her.
Jiang Ruoning spent the whole day on edge, her left eyelid twitching nonstop. She kept checking her phone. Zhao Miaomiao didn’t understand. “Ning-jie, what are you looking at?”
“I’m checking if there’s any black hot search about me,” Jiang Ruoning said seriously. “I have a bad feeling.”
She got Zhao Miaomiao all worked up too. During Jiang Ruoning’s shoot, Zhao Miaomiao kept scrolling her phone frantically. Wu Jie entered the studio and saw the two with heads together, fiddling with their phones. She walked over and asked Jiang Ruoning, “How many sets done?”
Jiang Ruoning put down her phone. “Four sets, two more to go.”
Wu Jie reached out to fix her long hair. Jiang Ruoning’s look that day was for Fengshang designs, matching each outfit. The previous set was a gentle style with a side low ponytail adorned with a yellow flower, and a necklace shaped like a flower—youthful and vibrant.
This set suited a university student.
Jiang Ruoning removed the flower, sat in front of the mirror, changed into the next outfit, ready for the following set. Wu Jie turned and saw Zhao Miaomiao still on her phone, frowning. “What are you looking at?”
Zhao Miaomiao looked up and explained, “I’m checking if there’s a black hot search on Ning-jie.”
Wu Jie couldn’t follow. “Huh?”
Zhao Miaomiao pocketed her phone. “Her premonition.”
Wu Jie: …
Jiang Ruoning saw Wu Jie wanting to roll her eyes from the mirror.
Wu Jie said, “The last hot search was just a few days ago; it shouldn’t be this soon.” As she spoke, she patted Jiang Ruoning’s shoulder. “The last hot search wasn’t pulled by Ye Yu’s side.”
Jiang Ruoning turned. “Wasn’t it?”
She had a few friends in the industry, but besides Ye Yu, no one else would help her remove a hot search.
Wu Jie shook her head. “No, I asked Jin Man.”
Jiang Ruoning let out an “oh,” and suddenly a figure and a name flashed in her mind.
Shi Sui?
Why did she think of Shi Sui?
Jiang Ruoning lowered her head and heard her phone vibrate. She picked it up from the table—an unknown number. She hesitated for two seconds before answering. A woman’s anxious voice came through: “Are you Jiang Qin’s daughter? Your mother has been admitted to the hospital.”
