“What are you doing?” she asked softly.
In an instant, the stars and bright moon seemed to vanish into nothingness, their brilliance fading bit by bit until it dissolved into flickering light.
He looked… vaguely guilty?
“I… I was afraid you’d get cold, so I wanted to close the window,” he said.
Then, slowly and deliberately, he backed away, his handsome face gradually retreating from her sight.
Jiang Fuyue glanced at the car window—half lowered, letting in the chilly night air. It was a little cold.
“Thanks, but I’m here already,” she said as she opened the door and got out.
After standing upright, she gave him a small smile. “Goodbye.”
The man gave a slight nod. Under the streetlamp’s glow, the sharp line of his jaw softened a little, giving him a hint of warmth—he no longer looked like the icy, aloof figure isolated atop a snowy mountain.
“Goodbye.”
Only after watching her walk inside did Xie Dingyuan drive away.
…
The night was quiet, the chill seeping like water.
The entire neighborhood was fast asleep. The Jiang family’s villa, too, was cloaked in darkness.
Suddenly, the front door creaked open from the inside, and a figure stepped out.
Denim jacket, skinny jeans, a baseball cap pulled low, completely hiding their face.
A black Mercedes-Benz sat quietly at the curb. Jiang Fuyue opened the door and got in.
Liu Jinzhong instructed the driver, “Drive.”
Soon, the car pulled away from Yutianhua Residence, swiftly cutting through the night.
Inside the car.
Liu Jinzhong said, “That man is named Xiao Shan. He used to teach in the mathematics department at H University, specializing in mathematical modeling. The department held him in high regard, and his own academic work was quite commendable. Saying he had a bright future wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
“Five years ago, he went to prison for intentional assault and was sentenced to three years. Due to good behavior and obtaining a national patent for one of his inventions while serving time, his sentence was reduced by a year. After release, his ex-girlfriend, who was terminally ill, left their child in his care before passing.”
“He previously ran a tutoring center but was maliciously reported by a competitor. Using the rule that former inmates can’t engage in education work, the center was forcibly shut down. Now, he barely makes a living selling study courses.”
Jiang Fuyue let out a light chuckle. “A highly educated intellectual, a university professor—someone who outsiders would call a promising young man—and he went to prison for assault? Uncle Liu, do you believe that?”
Liu Jinzhong shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Exactly…”
It didn’t make sense.
Anyone with basic legal knowledge knows that once you use violence, you’re in the wrong—no matter the reason.
Especially someone like Xiao Shan, a top student?
Unless…
He had been pushed to his absolute limit, with no choice but to act.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “Who did he hurt?”
Liu Jinzhong replied, “I couldn’t find his court case records. They must have been handled—intentionally erased.”
“What about his prison records?”
“Also inaccessible.”
Jiang Fuyue raised her brows. “Looks like this Professor Xiao offended someone he shouldn’t have…”
No. 35 Yangling Street, inside a small single-story house.
“Daddy, dinner time~” A tiny figure pushed the bigger bowl across the table, holding onto the smaller one for himself. He carefully scooped a spoonful of glutinous rice and popped it into his mouth with great satisfaction.
Grandpa Liu’s sticky rice was delicious!
There were even two pieces of hidden meat inside—Grandma Liu said they were a gift. She told him that eating them would help him grow tall and reminded him not to tell anyone else. Otherwise, people might stop buying Grandpa Liu’s sticky rice.
He was a good boy, so he didn’t tell anyone.
Daddy figured it out on his own, so that didn’t count.
So he was still a good boy.
Scoop, scoop…
When he got to the middle, he finally found the meat—and it was even bigger than yesterday’s!
He dug it out and buried it in Daddy’s bowl. When Daddy found it while eating, he’d say he already ate his—then Daddy wouldn’t give it back to him.
“Daddy, why aren’t you here yet?”
If the rice got cold, it would harden and taste bad.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Xiao Shan picked up a half-full kettle and brought it to the stove.
The stove was high, and he was seated—he had to use both hands to manage it.
Once it was placed, click, he lit the fire.
Just then, his son called from the living room. He answered, “Coming.”
Xiao Shan rolled over to the dining table.
It wasn’t a real table—just a slightly wider stool with a layer of newspaper, just enough space for two bowls and a couple of side dishes.
He glanced at the heaping bowl and started scooping some into his son’s bowl.
The little one clearly expected this and quickly picked up his bowl, shaking his head solemnly.
“No, no! I’m full already! If I eat more, my tummy will burst.”
Xiao Shan said, “Come here, let me check.”
The little one obediently walked over, lifted his shirt. “See? Round and full…”
Xiao Shan nodded. “Looks okay.” He tugged the shirt back down, smoothed it, and tucked it into the waistband.
Sticky rice is hard to digest—too much is bad.
The little guy returned to his seat and cleaned his bowl, not leaving a single grain of rice.
Xiao Shan began to eat too—until he suddenly paused.
The boy, watching him closely, froze. Did Daddy find the meat?
Sure enough—
Xiao Shan: “Meat?”
The boy nodded seriously. “Uh-huh! Grandma Liu gave it again—four pieces this time. Two for me, two for Daddy!”
Xiao Shan transferred both pieces to the boy’s bowl. “Daddy doesn’t like it. You eat it.”
“No no! I already ate mine! My belly is full…”
In the end, Xiao Shan still ate those two pieces.
Once they finished eating, the water on the stove was boiling.
“Xiao Liang, come wash your face and feet. Time for bed.”
“Okay!” The little one quickly changed into slippers, grabbed his rinsing cup and small towel.
When washing his feet, Xiao Shan made him soak longer.
This kid always tried to pull out his feet after barely ten seconds, claiming he was done.
Xiao Shan scowled, “Two minutes.”
The boy pouted, grumbling, “They’re already clean and don’t stink at all. Smell good…” Why two minutes?!
Xiao Shan ignored him.
A couple seconds later, the boy caved. “Daddy, you didn’t finish the story about the mathematician Gauss.”
Xiao Shan: “Where did I leave off?”
The boy’s eyes lit up. “The math teacher was in a bad mood one day. Did he make Gauss stand as punishment? Like how Teacher Wang punishes Guan Xiaokai.”
Teacher Wang was his homeroom teacher, and Guan Xiaokai was the worst-behaved, worst-performing kid in class.
Xiao Shan: “No. Not every teacher gives punishment.”
“So what did the math teacher do?”
“He made the class add numbers from 1 + 2 + 3 all the way to 100. No one could go home for dinner until they got the right answer.”
“Then Gauss definitely solved it!”
Xiao Shan laughed. “Why do you think that?”
“Because he’s a mathematician! Mathematicians are amazing! Just like Daddy!”
Xiao Shan paused. “I’m amazing?”
“Of course! Guan Xiaokai doesn’t know who Einstein is, or the Dirichlet equation. Only I know!”
Xiao Shan: “Guan Xiaokai is a poor student.”
The boy got anxious. “But Zhang Qinqin doesn’t know either!”
Zhang Qinqin was the class monitor and a teacher’s favorite.
“Alright,” Xiao Shan patted his chubby little feet in the basin. “Two minutes are up.”
“Yay! Daddy, dry my feet~”
Xiao Shan grabbed the towel and carefully dried each of his toes. “Done.”
“Daddy, you didn’t finish—did Gauss solve it or not?”
“Didn’t you already guess?”
“He really did? So cool! I solved it too! I’m awesome too!”
Xiao Shan’s gaze paused. “…You solved it?”
“Uh-huh! It equals 5050, right?”
Xiao Shan was momentarily speechless.
“Daddy?” The boy’s smile faded, looking nervous. “Did I get it wrong?”
“No.” Xiao Shan patted his head. “That is the answer.”
“Wow! I got it right! Then am I as amazing as Gauss?”
“Mm. You’re the best.”
“Nope,” the boy said seriously, “Daddy’s the most amazing person in the whole world.”
After putting the boy to sleep, Xiao Shan sat at the desk under the lamp, flipping open Theory of Prime Accumulation. It was filled with dense notes.
He turned to a new page and began writing.
Outside, the night deepened…
No one knew how much time had passed when a sudden phone ring shattered the stillness.
Xiao Shan’s eyes moved from the tangled mess of numbers to the phone screen.
An unfamiliar number.
He hung up.
A moment later, the same number called again.
He answered, “Hello?”
“Professor Xiao, good evening. I’m right outside your door. Would you mind coming out to meet me?”
Outside the door?
Xiao Shan’s expression instantly turned wary. “Who are you? What do you want?!”
The boy is SO cute!!💕
The injection of “romance”👀 is just the right amount and adds a nice mix of comedy to the story.