◎In Memory of Her Deceased Love◎
The situation quickly spiraled out of control.
No one expected an old man with turf on his head to suddenly appear. Some children even mistook him for a camp NPC and abandoned the ball-pushing game to play with him instead. Meanwhile, the camp staff, fearing he might be some strange intruder, hastily called for security to intervene.
Only Jiang Suizhi, leading the charge, and Little Le Jia, being dragged along, remained unfazed.
Who was shouting? Only the shoes left behind knew.
Though Little Le Jia failed to push the ball, the camp staff generously awarded his team the first prize, considering the "great sacrifice" he’d made. The plush toy was so large that the child could only clutch the rabbit’s foot, hopping barefoot on one foot as he triumphantly marched back to his uncle’s side.
Old Master Jiang, who had just been pacified by Le Qing, bristled with anger. "Look at the weather! How could you let the child run around barefoot for so long?"
"Mm," Jiang Suizhi replied with a provoking tone. "Just wrap his feet in a quilt later—won’t catch a chill then."
Old Master Jiang’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Since when had this brat become even more insufferable, and so talkative too?
Hearing the familiar voice, Little Le Jia peeked out from behind the rabbit’s plush rear. "Great-grandpa’s here! Look, big rabbit! Uncle and I won it!"
The old man’s heart softened at the sight of the child’s flushed, excited face—until his gaze dropped to the tiny toes awkwardly curling against the grass. He didn’t know whether to laugh or scold.
Though they hadn’t won first place, Little Le Jia’s sister was thrilled. Her mouth fell open. "Wow, such a huge bunny!"
Le Qing picked up the shoe Old Master Jiang had retrieved and bent down to put it on the boy. Just then, a sharply defined face emerged from behind the giant plush rabbit.
Suddenly, her arms were full of fluffy fur.
Jiang Suizhi took the shoe from her hand, the corner of his eyes lifting slightly. "Cute, isn’t it?"
Le Qing froze, remembering what she’d said before the game started.
Meanwhile, Jiang Suizhi crouched to shove the shoe onto the child’s foot, but fitting the heel proved troublesome. Giving up, he let go. "Three years old and still can’t wear shoes properly?"
"I can!" Little Le Jia protested, squatting to adjust it himself. "Uncle’s the one who can’t."
"Nonsense."
Holding the giant rabbit, Le Qing lowered her gaze, suppressing an inexplicable urge to laugh.
She set the plush toy beside the little girl, who immediately hugged its legs, then turned to Old Master Jiang, hesitating slightly before speaking. "Grandpa, this is Annie. We came back from abroad together. She’s the children’s mother, but due to her past health issues, she’s lost her sight and some memories."
Amnesia too?!
That damned Jiang Hechang!
Le Qing then addressed Annie, seated nearby. "Sis, Jiang Yan’s grandfather is here."
During her time abroad, Annie had always been pampered and never needed to stand on ceremony with elders. But the name "Jiang Yan" meant nothing to her, let alone his grandfather. The sudden encounter left her flustered.
She started to rise, but Old Master Jiang gently pressed her shoulder back down. "Sit, dear. No need to mind me."
He added, "I didn’t mean to intrude. It’s just been so long since I’ve seen you all. Knowing you were here with the kids, and with nothing much to do at home, I thought I’d drop by."
Jiang Suizhi finally recalled what Jiang Hechang had mentioned yesterday.
Ah. He’d forgotten about this.
"Where’s Jiang Hechang?" he asked.
"He…" Old Master Jiang stammered. "How should I know? Isn’t he at home?"
Jiang Suizhi scoffed. "If he were home, you wouldn’t be dressed like this."
Sneaky and suspicious—clearly guilty of something.
Meanwhile, Jiang Hechang, still forced to hide behind the mushroom hut with turf on his head, was both anxious and aggrieved.
Not a single reliable person in this family.
Just then, the camp’s second round of games began. Eager to escape the brewing storm—and to keep Jiang Suizhi away from the kids—Old Master Jiang volunteered, "I’ll take them this time. You all stay and chat."
He hurried off, a child in each hand, forgetting even his cane.
The others: "…"
"Chat about what?" Annie still couldn’t fathom why, whether it was the uncle at her doorstep the other day or Old Master Jiang now, everyone seemed to tread carefully around her.
Jiang Suizhi poured two glasses of water, setting one before Le Qing and the other in front of Annie, tapping the rim lightly to guide her. Then he sat beside Le Qing. "Jiang Hechang called yesterday. Wanted to invite you all to dinner."
His gaze swept the surroundings. "Probably hiding somewhere."
Le Qing whispered a reminder, "Before you took the kids abroad, you met him once. The money you received was from him."
Annie nodded in realization. "Ah, this trope I know."
Her family had plenty of idle second- and third-generation relatives who often racked up romantic scandals. But their household wasn’t one just anyone could enter, especially not those scheming for money or power.
So whenever such situations arose, certain elders would step in, offering payouts to make the "problems" disappear.
But Annie had never been part of such dramas. After a brief pause, she smiled lazily, unfazed. "Sure."
"If Uncle’s here, he might as well come out," she added. "It’s rather impolite otherwise."
A minute later, a solemn-faced Jiang Hechang, still in his formal suit and turf disguise, sat stiffly before the group.
He removed the turf, smoothed his hair to salvage some dignity, and began, "I admit my past mistakes. This time, I came personally to ask you to return home. Even though Jiang Yan is no longer—"
Thud. Jiang Suizhi slammed a glass of water onto the table. "If you can’t speak properly, don’t speak at all."
Jiang Hechang: "…"
Was there anything wrong with what he’d said? He’d rehearsed this speech countless times—ever since he’d mistaken Le Qing for the children’s mother!
"Jiang Suizhi." Le Qing stood, tugging his sleeve. "Come with me to check on the kids."
She knew his presence would only escalate tensions.
Jiang Suizhi offered no resistance, letting her pull him away—though he knew full well she just wanted him out of the way.
But such rare moments of closeness were hard to come by. Who knew when the next chance would be?
He followed silently beside Le Qing, expecting her to say something like "Don’t talk to your father like that" or "That’s impolite"—some kind of admonishment. But two minutes passed, and Le Qing was genuinely just watching the children’s competition, as if she had completely forgotten his presence.
Jiang Suizhi tugged at his sleeve in frustration.
Le Qing let go of his hand and turned to him with a questioning look.
What’s wrong?
"Aren’t you trying to get rid of me?" Jiang Suizhi asked.
"Yeah," Le Qing nodded. "Even though my sister doesn’t remember, she knows what kind of person she is. She’ll make her own judgments. We shouldn’t get in the way."
That was probably why the Jiang family never interfered in these matters, leaving it all to Jiang Hechang to handle alone.
Jiang Suizhi leaned against a nearby tree trunk, lowering his gaze. "I thought you’d ask me something."
Somehow, Le Qing understood what he meant. She turned her head away. "That’s your private matter."
"You’re my private matter too," Jiang Suizhi said. "Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you."
This time, Le Qing didn’t respond.
Truthfully, Jiang Suizhi had already told her so much—even his only weakness.
Before, she could justify it as mutual support between them. But now, with other emotions mixed in, she was afraid of asking too much, knowing too much, and then being unable to walk away. It wouldn’t be fair to Jiang Suizhi.
After her brief silence, Jiang Suizhi suddenly chuckled. "Avoiding it won’t solve anything."
A nerve in Le Qing twitched. This wasn’t the first time someone had said that to her.
Jiang Suizhi watched her lightly pursed lips and softened his tone. "Of course, you can keep going like this. And I can keep indulging your avoidance, but..."
He paused, then smiled. "I’ll keep testing your limits. Are you really going to let me?"
The big-tailed wolf sighed playfully. "That wouldn’t be so bad. Eventually, you’ll run out of limits."
How could he always make serious things sound so unserious? Le Qing finally turned to glare at him.
Seeing this, Jiang Suizhi straightened up slightly, still smiling. "Jiang Hechang and I aren’t like father and son. To me, he’s just the other half that gave me life. Right now, our relationship is more about cooperation than family."
Le Qing had heard Old Master Jiang mention this before—Jiang Suizhi hadn’t grown up with them and had endured a lot of hardship.
She couldn’t help asking, "Do you hate him?"
"No."
Jiang Suizhi raised an eyebrow. "Hate requires a reason and a connection. We have neither."
For years, Jiang Hechang had been completely absent from his world. He’d been too busy surviving to spare energy for hating anyone.
Returning to the Jiang family was for Jiang Yan’s sake. Even now, he was only holding onto the Jiang family because it was what Jiang Yan wanted. As for feelings? There weren’t many to speak of.
Even if he knew Jiang Hechang had his own struggles and intentions, that he’d secretly reached out to the neighbors back then—otherwise, Jiang Suizhi wouldn’t have survived on their kindness—what did it matter?
He couldn’t empathize with Jiang Hechang’s choices.
Maybe Jiang Hechang felt some semblance of fatherly love, but without acknowledgment from either side, that sentiment meant nothing.
The Jiang family of the past was cold, their relationships twisted.
If he hadn’t forcefully taken control from Jiang Hechang, the man might never have revealed his original plans.
They were used to being in power, used to distrusting everyone but themselves.
So after Jiang Yan—the only one who could navigate their world—was gone, Jiang Suizhi refused to indulge them. He wanted them to realize that without power and money, they were nothing.
All of this shattered after the truth about Jiang Yu came to light, breaking the self-righteous balance they’d prided themselves on. Only then did they begin to reflect.
The familial warmth Jiang Suizhi couldn’t give them, they now sought in the children and people like Le Qing.
"Maybe to them, the current me is a stranger," Jiang Suizhi mused. "After all, the Jiang Suizhi they saw in the past few years was just someone trying to secure his place in the company."
Hearing this, Le Qing suddenly felt a sense of kinship—she and Jiang Suizhi were the same kind of people.
To him, no matter how much he had now, it still felt like nothing.
Just like her in the past.
She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Then Jiang Suizhi raised his hand, showing the watch on his wrist.
It was the one Le Qing had picked out for him, the one he still wore.
"But I think the me in your eyes has always been just… me," Jiang Suizhi said. "Like this watch you gave me."
Out of all his watches, this was his favorite.
Not because it was a gift for the CEO of Jiang Corporation, or for the children’s uncle—but simply for him. For Jiang Suizhi.
He realized what he’d always loved was someone thoughtful, someone who cared deeply about others.
"Actually…" Le Qing looked at his watch and said softly, "They’re not entirely wrong about you."
"Hm?"
"Old Master Jiang told me a long time ago that you were a rogue."
"..."
Jiang Suizhi froze, remembering what happened in the elevator that day.
"No one is perfect, including me," Le Qing said, meeting his gaze. "But we should always strive to be better than before. I’m learning, and didn’t you say you would too?"
Her expression and eyes were the same as when they first met, but now there was more clarity and spirit in them.
It hit Jiang Suizhi then—while he’d been standing still, she had already been moving forward, step by step, toward the person she wanted to become.
"Got it." Jiang Suizhi extended a finger—the one he’d never managed to touch before. "Then I’ll learn from you, Teacher Le Qing. Share some of your energy with me."
"Seeing how fast you ran off with my brother earlier, I think he already gave you plenty."
Jiang Suizhi huffed. "I ran fast because Teacher Le Qing said the prize was cute."
Le Qing’s heart skipped a beat. Under his unwavering gaze, she remembered what she hadn’t finished earlier.
She’d meant to let him touch her finger then—as thanks. Now was as good a time as any to make up for it.
She raised her hand and lightly brushed her fingertip against his.
This time, no one interrupted them.
It really did feel like energy was passing between them—otherwise, why would her finger burn so much?
"Your secrets… I won’t tell anyone," she said.
It took Jiang Suizhi a second to understand. Forcing his eyes away from their touching fingers, he slid his hands into his pockets and smiled. "It’s fine if you do."
"I chose to tell you everything, to let you know me better," he said lightly, as if handing his weaknesses to someone else meant nothing. "I’ll bear any consequences."
"Le Qing." His voice was low and steady. "I trust you more than I trust myself."
The space where the two stood suddenly felt stifling and awkward to Le Qing. She lowered her head and muttered, "You're talking nonsense again."
"Don’t believe me?" Jiang Suizhi raised his hand. "Try touching me again?"
"Try what?"
"Touch me one more time, and see if I can control myself now."
Le Qing froze for a moment before gritting her teeth. "I advise you not to push your luck."
Jiang Suizhi let out a low chuckle from his throat and withdrew his hand, feigning regret. "See? I can’t control myself, but you can control me."
This time, Le Qing didn’t give him any more room to continue. She turned and walked away.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Jiang Hechang and Annie was far less pleasant—mainly on Jiang Hechang’s part, since Annie had no memory of what had happened back then.
She even asked him to recount the events of that day!
How was this any different from public humiliation?
Aside from family matters, Jiang Hechang had lived a relatively smooth life, yet he had stumbled twice because of this young woman. He hadn’t even felt this nervous or desperate during shareholder meetings.
Thinking about it now, Annie was truly the original "Le Qing." The pressure she exuded was identical, and he couldn’t even refuse her.
After listening, Annie remained silent. She simply picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip, her expression unreadable.
This only made Jiang Hechang, already uneasy, even more restless. Just as he was about to speak, Annie lazily said, "You shouldn’t apologize to me."
"What?"
"If that’s the case, then my decision to leave back then had nothing to do with you," Annie said calmly. "I did it for him and the two children. Even without your interference, I would have made the same choice the moment I learned about the difficulties he was facing. That’s why I hid my pregnancy from him."
She added softly, "I never do things I regret, and no one can force me to make a choice."
Unless there was truly no other way.
Perhaps both she and Jiang Yan back then just hadn’t been mature enough.
Maybe all of this was some kind of inevitable arrangement—like how, if those events hadn’t happened, the real Le Qing might never have appeared in this world, and Jiang Suizhi might never have returned to the Jiang family.
But Jiang Yan…
Just thinking of that name sent a sharp, needle-like pain spreading through Annie’s chest.
"I want to visit his grave."
Now that the two children were separated by life and death, Jiang Hechang also felt a pang of sorrow. "I’ll take you there another day."
As he spoke, he pulled a photo from his pocket. Ever since learning that Annie had lost her sight, he had specially treated Jiang Yan’s memorial photo, hoping to give her something to remember him by.
Annie took it and ran her fingers over it.
Unlike when she touched her sister’s photos, this time, the contours of a vague figure slowly pieced together in her mind, growing clearer and clearer.
It was the kind of person she had imagined she would love—mature, gentle, and giving her an overwhelming sense of security.
Annie blinked, forcing back the uncontrollable sting in her eyes.
Her other hand, holding the glass of water, trembled slightly, spilling some onto the floor.
The two children, having just finished their competition, walked over hand-in-hand with Old Master Jiang, their uncle, and aunt. Seeing their mother pouring water onto the floor while holding a photo, they asked their great-grandfather in confusion, "Great-grandpa, what is Mommy doing?"
Old Master Jiang, familiar with this ritual, teared up at the sight of his granddaughter-in-law holding the photo. Considering the children’s sensitivity, he chose a gentler explanation:
"She’s… commemorating her lost love."
Le Qing: "…"
Jiang Suizhi: "…"
He silently glanced down at the child hiding System Dad by his left side.
Between failing to win over his wife and having his wife mourn him as if he were dead, he wasn’t sure which was worse.
Jiang Yan, witnessing his wife commemorating him in real time: "………………"
I’m not that dead, and our love isn’t gone either. No need to mourn so soon.
