Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
When Jiang Se left Hanshan Temple, she had specifically asked Han Yin if she wanted to go to Fuchun Street for New Year’s Eve, thinking she could keep her company in the lively crowd and properly cross the year together.
She really hadn’t planned on returning to Beicheng, especially at this delicate time.
Once the qipao shop’s matter was settled, what Zhang Yue promised her could no longer be delayed.
Near year’s end, the snowfall in Tongcheng grew heavier day by day, goose-feather flakes filling the dim sky.
Jiang Se parked the car, put on the scarf Yu Shiying knitted for her, and slowly walked toward Liyuan Street. She hadn’t even reached Courtyard No. 48 when a familiar laugh drifted out from the half-open courtyard gate, carried by the wind.
Jiang Se stopped walking, glanced at the half-open wooden door, then frowned and took out her phone. The screen was full of unread messages.
She opened WeChat and swiped twice, and sure enough, she found an unread message in Cen Mingshu’s chat: 【I’ll give you a surprise in a bit.】
Jiang Se: “……”
Pressing her headache down, she shoved the phone back in her pocket and continued toward the end of the street. In just a few steps she had already heard Cen Mingshu laugh three times.
This hearty, bold laugh was very much Cen Mingshu.
Jiang Se’s footsteps stopped outside the courtyard. She sighed softly in her heart, then pushed open the half-closed wooden door and went inside.
The courtyard was quite lively at the moment.
Jiang Chuan, Yu Shiying, and Jiang Ye were all there, sitting with Cen Mingshu under the tree, burning charcoal and drinking tea while chatting.
The wooden door creaked, and several gazes turned toward her at once.
Cen Mingshu spoke first: “Let me guess, are you cursing me in your heart right now?”
“……”
Jiang Se: “You show up without a word of notice, am I not allowed to curse you a little in my head?”
Cen Mingshu immediately turned her head and said to Yu Shiying and the others: “See, I told you, she definitely wouldn’t be happy to see me. They all say once you have a wife you forget your mother. In her case, once she has her real parents she forgets her little aunt.”
Everyone: “……”
Jiang Se said with exasperation: “I wouldn’t dare forget little aunt even if I forgot everyone else.”
She walked over and sat down beside Cen Mingshu. “My dad, mom, and Jiang Ye are all honest people, don’t bully them.”
As soon as she said this, a peachwood window behind her was suddenly pulled open, and the person inside inserted themselves cheerfully: “Dad and mom are indeed honest people, but Little Ye has nothing to do with honesty!”
“Cen Yu!” Jiang Ye turned around angrily, “Just because you changed your surname, don’t think I won’t argue with you!”
Cen Yu let out a snort-laugh. After teasing Jiang Ye, she waved at Jiang Se: “Senior!”
Her face-changing speed really was on par with Jiang Chuan.
The room Cen Yu was in was the one she used to live in. A window in there faced the osmanthus tree. When that face appeared at the window just now, Jiang Se was a little surprised.
Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve banquet was hosted by the Cen family, and Cen Yu was the main figure. With Ji Yunyi’s style, Cen Yu should be trying on dresses at the old house by now.
After greeting her, Cen Yu ran down the steps and into the courtyard, smiling at Jiang Se: “I’m a little nervous, so I came back to Tongcheng for one night, and I’ll go back with little aunt early tomorrow morning.”
Yu Shiying looked at her and said with a smile: “You’ve been like this since you were little. Every big exam you’d be so nervous you would need your big sister, but every time you still got first place in the whole school. Mom knows that no matter what you face tomorrow, you’ll definitely do well.”
Her eyes were red, clearly she had cried.
After all, she had raised her for twenty-three years. Changing the surname didn’t erase the feelings. Every time she passed Cen Yu’s room she would remember how she used to cling to her, how she used to smile and call her “mom.”
Hearing this, Cen Yu subconsciously wanted to hug her from behind like before and act spoiled, but catching sight of Jiang Se in the corner of her eye, she immediately held back the impulse and answered with a bright smile: “That’s why I came looking for you, Mom. Too bad big sister isn’t here, but at least senior is.”
Of course Jiang Se noticed the hand she had just reached out and quickly withdrawn. She smiled and said: “I can’t help with that, I’m used to sleeping alone. How about letting Mom sleep with you tonight?”
Cen Yu froze, then exchanged a look with Jiang Se. The two of them smiled at each other.
Cen Yu also wasn’t pretentious, she nodded once and said: “I think so too, it’s not easy to come back for one night, even if Dad gets sour, there’s nothing he can do, tonight Mom can only accompany me.”
The Cen family was strict, it really wasn’t easy for Cen Yu to come back once.
Only when Cen Mingshu opened her mouth would Ji Yunyi not refuse, otherwise how could Cen Yu have come back so smoothly.
Ji Yunyi didn’t like Cen Mingshu, but never tore her face with her, even more tolerant of Cen Mingshu than the average person, very much with the meaning of not wanting to fuss with a troublesome little ghost.
Cen Mingshu coming from so far to bring Cen Yu over was definitely not only to accompany someone to relax.
Sure enough, Jiang Se had just finished a cup of tea when Cen Yu handed her an elegant invitation.
One glance at the drawing on that invitation and you could tell it came from Ji Yunyi’s hand.
Jiang Se glanced at Cen Mingshu sitting opposite, holding her tea and drinking away with great relish. She took the invitation Cen Yu handed over, and shook her head saying: “I’m not suitable to appear at that kind of occasion tomorrow.”
“What suitable or not suitable, could it be that just because Senior switched to another surname, even the qualification to attend a banquet is gone?” Cen Yu smiled, and in her expression there were rarely a few more degrees of seriousness and stubbornness, “Senior is the legend of our A University econ and management department, in the past whenever you appeared, we junior sisters couldn’t even be bothered to look at the campus hunk or department hunk, only stared at you. I really don’t understand why when others mention you and me they think we’ll be at each other’s throats, acting like they’re ready to watch a show.”
As she spoke she let out another cold laugh: “Some people even want to sow discord, make me cause trouble for you! Whether you come tomorrow or not, I’ll let everyone know you’re the person I admired most in my student days, no one’s going to use me as a gun to bully you!”
Really took her for an idiot to toy with.
She just wanted to quietly realize her dream of becoming Tongcheng’s richest woman, why did she always run into these people who treat her like an idiot.
And did they not think about it,someone who could be first place from childhood to adulthood and even grow up in a place like Fuchun Street where all sorts mix together, could her IQ be a basin?
Jiang Se could more or less guess who Cen Yu was talking about but couldn’t be bothered to respond. She half-jokingly said: “Aren’t you afraid that the moment I appear tomorrow I’ll make you the talk of the town?”
“I’m not afraid.” Cen Yu followed with a smile, “This Cen family invitation I have to hand to you personally, this represents my attitude, but whether you come is up to you. I actually have something else I want to discuss with you this time, about the Fu family and Fu Yun.”
Fu Yun?
A handsome, gentle-as-jade face rose in Jiang Se’s mind.
“What?” Jiang Se furrowed her brows, “The Cen family wants you to replace me to marry into the Fu family?”
“The Chairman does indeed have this idea, but it’s not settled yet, said it depends on my and Fu Yun’s own opinions.”
Jiang Se looked at Cen Yu, “They haven’t raised you the past twenty-three years, if you’re unwilling, neither the Chairman nor Mrs. Ji can force you.”
Cen Yu nodded: “I know, Senior, if I never meet someone I like, it wouldn’t be impossible to consider picking a suitable choice.”
She paused for a moment and asked Jiang Se: “What kind of person is Fu Yun? I heard he’s the Fu family’s illegitimate son, only brought back to the Fu family when he was around ten.”
Jiang Se thought for a moment, objectively said: “A gentle and cultured person with ability, Old Master Fu values him very much.”
Cen Yu was a little disappointed: “Although being capable is good, the gentle type isn’t my thing, I prefer something rougher.”
“If you don’t like it then don’t consider it, if the Chairman brings it up again just have Little Aunt block it for you.” Jiang Se smiled, “You’re not the same as I was back then, you have the right to choose, staying single like Little Aunt your whole life is also fine.”
–
Cen Mingshu had been single for over forty years, not because she lacked suitors, but simply felt that marriage was a burden.
Her popularity had always been good, she could get along with anyone.
Even though she was born in a wealthy family, she never put on airs, nor separated people into classes because of her identity.
You could tell Yu Shiying and the others all liked her, knew she loved drinking, and once night fell, they invited her to “Wangchuan” to drink.
Cen Mingshu drank until almost midnight before she’d had enough, and when leaving she was stumbling as she walked. Jiang Se supported her all the way back to Xiangshu Alley.
The moment they reached downstairs she decisively let go, calmly saying: “Alright, Little Aunt, you don’t need to pretend any further.”
Only then did Cen Mingshu straighten up, rubbed her shoulder, and said: “Say you’re a little ingrate and you won’t admit it, helping me a few more steps will kill you? The more I drink, the happier I drink, the happier your parents are, don’t you understand?”
Jiang Se took out her keys from her bag, stepped onto the wet staircase, and said with an unchanged expression: “So didn’t I help you all the way?”
Cen Mingshu followed her, her gaze sweeping over the pitch-black hallway, unable to help furrowing her brows: “It’s one thing that this place doesn’t have an elevator, but how does it not even have a motion-sensor light?”
“The light’s broken, it should be fixed in a few days.” Jiang Se said, “After all it’s a forty-something-year-old building, please bear with it.”
Hearing this, Cen Mingshu’s frown deepened, but she didn’t speak again until they reached the sixth floor. Only after entering the apartment did she speak: “Don’t your parents have a place for you to live?”
After saying that, she started looking around the apartment critically. After a while, seeing the place was bright and clean enough to be livable, her expression finally softened somewhat.
“The inside’s alright, just a bit small. In the past even one of your cloakrooms was bigger than this whole place, I can’t believe you can put up with living here.”
Jiang Se didn’t respond to that, poured her a cup of honey water and said: “Drink some to ease the alcohol.”
Cen Mingshu took it, didn’t drink immediately, held the cup and slowly strolled around the over-eighty-square-meter apartment. When she came out of Jiang Se’s bedroom her expression was clearly a notch better again.
“Count you as having some conscience, you didn’t leave the things I gave you back at the Cen house.” Cen Mingshu sat down on the sofa, very graciously drinking half the honey water.
On the vanity table in the bedroom were basically all the things Cen Mingshu had given Jiang Se before, mostly jewelry and also some other rare trinkets, all of which Jiang Se had brought with her.
“You’re the one who said you don’t count as a Cen family member right?” Jiang Se brewed herself a cup of black tea, sat down beside her, and said unhurriedly, “Since that’s the case, the things you gave me naturally don’t count as Cen family things either.”
Cen Mingshu slanted her gaze at her: “I snagged that final evening gown from last month’s New York Fashion Week, that’ll be your battle robe tomorrow.”
“Battle robe?” Jiang Se laughed, “You’re using Cen Yu’s ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ as a battlefield? Aren’t you bored, Little Aunt?”
The Cen family’s children all officially entered the Beicheng social circle on the day they turned eighteen, and in a certain sense the Cen family’s New Year’s Eve banquet tomorrow night would be the ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ Cen Yu came about six years late to.
“Don’t tell me you want to run.” Cen Mingshu set her cup down on the coffee table with a “bang,” crossed her legs, turned her head and stared at Jiang Se, “Everyone who should come to tomorrow’s banquet will come. Isn’t it the perfect chance for you to let everyone know you have nothing to do with the Cen family anymore? Do you not know Cen Minghong and Ji Yunyi never intended to give you up?”
Jiang Se quietly held her teacup without making a sound, listening as Cen Mingshu continued: “Don’t think about running away, Sese, you’re a child who came out of our Cen family old house. Remember this, as long as you’re a child who comes from there, whether your surname is Cen or Jiang, wherever you go, you stand tall and upright, you can’t be a stray dog!”
Cen Mingshu looked at Jiang Se seriously: “Cut off that piece of rotten flesh of the Cen family stuck on you, let’s properly get the illness treated. Once you’re healed you can really begin a new life, and after that wherever you want to go, Little Aunt won’t stop you.”
–
When Jiang Se was little, she had lived in the old house for a period of time.
Back then the old master of the Cen family hadn’t passed away yet, and the older he got the more he liked to nag; Jiang Se had heard plenty of his griping about Cen Mingshu.
Once, who knew whether it was because he thought Jiang Se was too young to remember or because of his partiality toward Cen Mingshu, the old master suddenly sighed in front of her: “If your Little Aunt were a boy, handing the Cen Corporation to her would put me more at ease than giving it to your father.”
With sheer stubbornness, without using a single bit of the Cen family’s resources, Cen Mingshu had carved out her own world abroad.
The Cen family had heavy rules; only the so-called direct-line descendants were qualified to hold their ‘coming-of-age ceremony’ in the old house, and naturally Cen Mingshu’s coming-of-age ceremony had also been held there.
The night the old master passed away, the Cen family’s direct and collateral descendants gathered by his bedside, waiting for his last words.
The old master only left words for Cen Minghong and Cen Li, but when it came to Cen Mingshu, there was only a gaze filled with dissatisfaction and regret, perhaps also worry and expectation.
At that time Cen Mingshu only said one sentence to him: “Rest assured, Father, I’m a child who walked out from here.”
At this moment, Cen Mingshu passed that sentence to Jiang Se.
Jiang Se stared at the teacup in her hands for a while, only after a long time slowly exhaling, and said to Cen Mingshu: “Little Aunt, tomorrow night’s banquet, I can’t avoid it, can I?”
Cen Mingshu let out a “mm”: “You can try avoiding it, I’ll still drag you over even if I have to tie you up. I’ve already spoken to Dr. Gina, in a couple days I’ll take you to see her.”
“Fine, since you’ve even prepared my battle robe, I can’t let you waste that money. But about Dr. Gina, I’m not going.”
She swallowed the last mouthful of tea, got up to add hot tea at the dining table, saying casually: “Little Aunt, I’ve found her.”
Cen Mingshu didn’t understand, looked at Jiang Se’s back and asked: “Who?”
Jiang Se used a spoon to stir the rock sugar in the black tea, her expression calm, and only after a long moment did she slowly say: “The person Zhao Zhicheng would rather swallow razor blades and kill himself to protect; if I find her, I can find Zhao Zhicheng’s past.”
Cen Mingshu’s expression tightened, she abruptly stood up, staring at Jiang Se without a word.
The doors and windows in the room were shut tight, and the living room window buzzed under the force of the bitter cold wind.
Seeing Cen Mingshu’s face dark enough to drip water, Jiang Se gave a slight smile and said: “So don’t worry about me, Little Aunt. I didn’t come to Tongcheng to run away, whether I’m a child who walked out of the Cen family old house or Liyuan Street, I won’t be a stray dog.”
Cen Mingshu’s focus was no longer anywhere near the stray-dog issue.
She knitted her brows, looked at Jiang Se and said deeply: “Sese, the three people who kidnapped you back then are all dead, including the mastermind Zhao Zhicheng. What you should be doing is getting proper treatment and putting this matter to rest once and for all; not digging into Zhao Zhicheng’s past like your life depends on it, never escaping that shadow for the rest of your life! Once we return to Beicheng tomorrow you’re coming with me to see Gina!”
“No, Zhao Zhicheng couldn’t possibly have been the mastermind. There was a fourth person, there must have been a fourth person in that kidnapping case, that person is the real mastermind.”
Jiang Se put down the spoon in her hand, her expression still calm as she looked at Cen Mingshu, but the beautiful outline of her eyes was gradually coated with a faint layer of reddish rust.
“My illness, besides me, no one can cure it. Just take me as having gone mad, treat me as a lunatic if you want.
“Little Aunt, the sixteen-year-old Cen Se is still stuck in that stormy night, still trapped in that abandoned factory, still waiting for me, I have to go bring her back myself!”
