Chapter 58

Lin Shuang took two steps forward, glanced behind him, and said softly, “I’m here to see Shiqing.”

Ren Bai had already turned around to look at Yu Shiqing and stepped aside so he could pass.

Just then, Jiang Yu got out of the car. Lin Shuang was surprised to see him. She found his face familiar, and only then remembered that she had seen him the last time she visited Yu Shiqing’s house.

“It’s you?” she said. Then she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

There hadn’t been a chance to introduce them last time, so Yu Shiqing pulled Jiang Yu to his side and said, “This is Jiang Yu.”

Lin Shuang quickly replied, “I remember! He’s your coworker?”

“Not a coworker,” Yu Shiqing corrected her. “He’s a friend.”

Lin Shuang paused again, then forced a smile. “Oh, a friend.”

The only friend of Yu Shiqing she knew was Ren Bai. Hearing him say the word “friend” now made her unsure how to react.

Soon, she turned to Jiang Yu and spoke gently, “Hello, I’m Yu Shiqing’s mother.”

From the moment Yu Shiqing pulled him in front of Lin Shuang, Jiang Yu’s back went stiff and his expression turned rigid. Even though his impression of Lin Shuang hadn’t been good after their last meeting, it was obvious from just one encounter how important she was to Yu Shiqing.

No matter what, she was the person Yu Shiqing cared about most. Just realizing that made Jiang Yu nervous for the first time in his life.

“Auntie,” he greeted her. From then on, his mind went blank. He vaguely remembered trying to smile, but wasn’t sure if he actually had.

Meng Chen, who was walking to the side, saw his boss’s expression and almost tripped in shock.

Lin Shuang clutched her purse tightly and asked softly, “Did I disturb you two?”

“No,” Yu Shiqing replied, noticing something off about her expression. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Lin Shuang nodded. “Okay.”

She was still wearing her hair down that day. Despite the early summer weather, she wore long sleeves and pants, and even a silk scarf around her neck. She looked gentle, but there was more fatigue and sorrow in her eyes than before.

Ren Bai noticed her outfit and deliberately walked beside her on the way up. In the elevator, he chatted with her the whole way. He even found out that she had been waiting all morning, so once inside, she went straight to the bathroom.

After watching her disappear through the door, Ren Bai looked at Yu Shiqing and hesitated.

Yu Shiqing said calmly, “Speak.”

But Ren Bai swallowed his words, turned around, and saw Jiang Yu walk straight to the balcony, looking at something on his phone.

“What’s Jiang Yu doing?” He wanted to ask Meng Chen but remembered that Jiang Yu had exiled him to the studio.

Soon, Lin Shuang came out of the bathroom, and Jiang Yu also returned from the balcony. That was when Lin Shuang noticed the furniture had changed since her last visit. She recalled seeing two sets of toiletries in the bathroom earlier and looked at Ren Bai.

“Did you move in with Shiqing?”

Ren Bai shook his head. “No, no. I still live in my own place.”

A hint of joy appeared on Lin Shuang’s face. “So, Shiqing has finally found someone to be with?”

Yu Shiqing glanced at Jiang Yu. “You could say that.”

Jiang Yu remained calm.

Lin Shuang smiled. “That’s great.”

She seemed relieved. The sadness in her eyes faded a little.

Yu Shiqing asked, “How is Yuanyuan’s condition?”

“She’s still recovering.” Lin Shuang looked a bit uncomfortable bringing up her daughter in front of Yu Shiqing. “The doctor said she should be able to return to school in a month or two.”

“That’s good.”

Ren Bai couldn’t help asking, “Auntie, why didn’t you call Shiqing before coming over today? That way, you wouldn’t have had to wait so long.”

Lin Shuang gripped the strap of her bag tighter before saying, “Because I deleted all of Shiqing’s contact information.”

“You deleted them?” Ren Bai was confused. “Why?”

Lin Shuang looked at Yu Shiqing, as if she had finally made up her mind. “Shiqing, there’s something I want to talk to you about… alone. Is that okay?”

Yu Shiqing looked at her and nodded. “Okay.”

Lin Shuang took a deep breath and walked toward the bedroom first without asking Jiang Yu or Ren Bai to leave.

The bedroom now belonged to Jiang Yu. Yu Shiqing had intended to bring her to the study, but since she had already walked in, he didn’t insist.

He followed her inside and closed the door slowly after meeting Jiang Yu’s gaze from the living room.

Jiang Yu stared at the tightly shut door when he heard a soft sigh beside him.

Ren Bai said, “I wonder what they’re talking about.”

Jiang Yu looked at him. “Is it about money?”

“I don’t know.” Ren Bai thought of Lin Shuang’s expression and said, “She’s the only family Shiqing has left. Even if it’s about money, it probably isn’t a big deal to him now.”

Jiang Yu frowned slightly. “But if she has a new family, why come to him?”

“You know about that too?” Ren Bai was surprised. “To understand that, you have to go back to when Yu Shiqing was a kid.”

When Yu Shiqing was young?

“Actually, Auntie remarried because she had no choice.” Before Jiang Yu could ask, Ren Bai continued, “Uncle Yu was successful and planned to move the family abroad. He sold everything and bought a house overseas. But just before they left, he got into a car accident. Overseas, you know how it is without money for taxes, the house was taken back. Auntie and Shiqing had no place to live, not even enough to rent.”

After returning to China, with no work experience, Lin Shuang could only take odd jobs to support Shiqing’s education. They often lived in cheap basements. She was pretty and an omega, and with a ten-year-old son by her side, there were always rumors. Even when she found long-term jobs, she was often harassed. They kept moving new homes, new schools, new jobs until she couldn’t pay Shiqing’s tuition and was too exhausted to run anymore. Through someone’s introduction, she married a man she had only met a few times.

The man was an alpha and naturally hostile toward Shiqing, also an alpha. After the marriage, he forced Shiqing to live at school and even forbade him from coming home during breaks. When Lin Shuang got pregnant, he no longer allowed her to see her son at all.

Ren Bai sighed. “I often saw Auntie secretly visiting Shiqing back then. She would cry a lot. After she had Yuanyuan, she came less and less.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu’s eyes darkened.

Ren Bai continued, “They had such a hard time, but Auntie never stopped paying for his tuition. Even when Shiqing wanted to quit cello, she refused. If she hadn’t been pushed to her limits, their relationship wouldn’t be like this.”

That’s why when Lin Shuang came looking for Shiqing during hard times, he didn’t say much because he knew she had her own struggles.

Jiang Yu thought back.

He had once been puzzled by Shiqing’s attitude toward Lin Shuang. He had assumed it was just the complicated emotions between family members. But now, he understood: when Lin Shuang said Shiqing “had a hard childhood,” it wasn’t an excuse it was the truth.

“Shiqing doesn’t say it out loud, but I know how he feels about Auntie.” Ren Bai added, “I met the alpha she married. He’s nothing like Uncle Yu. I even told Shiqing to convince her to divorce him. But I doubt he would listen to me.”

Jiang Yu pressed his lips together.

Yu Shiqing had suggested divorce once, but Lin Shuang had refused.

He looked at the closed bedroom door. Now that Yu Shiqing was doing well, would she still refuse?

—Inside the bedroom—

After Lin Shuang finished speaking, Yu Shiqing stayed silent for a long time.

Her eyes were red. “I’ve seen a lot of news about you lately. I know you’re doing well now and finally have someone to be with. I feel at ease.”

Yu Shiqing, who rarely brought up the past, said, “You can get a divorce.”

“I don’t want to drag you down.” Lin Shuang shook her head. “Yuanyuan needs her father.”

Yu Shiqing looked at her and suddenly let out a short laugh.

Lin Shuang avoided his gaze. “You should move. Ever since he saw you on TV, he’s been checking my phone constantly. I’m afraid he’ll cause you trouble eventually.”

The silence in the room made her uneasy. She added, “Not telling me your address is the safest way.”

Yu Shiqing paused, then said, “Okay.”

He finally agreed, and Lin Shuang froze.

Deleting all contact info and not knowing his address was indeed the best way to protect Yu Shiqing from her husband. But thinking of never seeing him again made her heart ache.

“Then you…” Lin Shuang forced a smile. “Take good care of yourself.”

“You too,” Yu Shiqing replied.

She clutched her bag strap tightly, looked at him, and bit her lip before turning to leave.

Yu Shiqing watched her go, then took a step back and sat on the edge of the bed.

The door wasn’t closed. He heard Ren Bai’s voice outside.

“Auntie, why are you crying?”

“I’m fine, Xiao Bai. Please help me take good care of Shiqing from now on.”

Ren Bai didn’t understand. “From now on? Auntie, what’s going on?”

Lin Shuang didn’t hide it. “My husband still wants money from Shiqing. But it wasn’t easy for him to get where he is today. I don’t want to burden him anymore. I told him to move… we probably shouldn’t meet again.”

“What!” Ren Bai was shocked. “Never meet again? Auntie, don’t say that. We can talk it through.”

Lin Shuang just shook her head, unable to say more. She looked back at the bedroom one last time, wiped her tears, and walked out the door.

Ren Bai, still worried, ran after her.

Jiang Yu didn’t pay attention to them. When he heard Lin Shuang say, “never meet again,” he turned and walked straight to the bedroom.

He pushed open the half-closed door and saw Yu Shiqing sitting at the edge of the bed.

Backlit by the sun, his eyes were downcast, his expression unreadable. The bright sunlight from the window filled the room but left him in deep shadow.

A sense of loneliness weighed on his shoulders like never before.

Jiang Yu’s hand slowly clenched on the door handle. Just looking at him made his heart tighten.

“Yu Shiqing.”

Yu Shiqing looked up.

Jiang Yu walked to him. He wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to start.

Yu Shiqing smiled faintly, as if seeing through him. “I’m fine.”

Jiang Yu stared into his eyes. “Really?”

The warmth in his eyes had faded, replaced by a cold calmness from before, like a deep, still lake impossible to read.

“I’m used to it,” Yu Shiqing said softly. “The people around me always leave, sooner or later.”

“No,” Jiang Yu said firmly.

He always spoke this way, direct and strong. “I won’t leave.”

Yu Shiqing was slightly stunned.

Seeing the unwavering sincerity in Jiang Yu’s eyes, so strong it felt like it pierced right through him, Yu Shiqing’s heart began to thaw, and his smile softened.

“Thank you.”

Jiang Yu frowned. “You still don’t believe me?”

“No.” Yu Shiqing stood up from the bed. “I believe you.”

“Then you—”

Suddenly, Yu Shiqing raised his hand and pulled him into an embrace, holding him tightly.

Jiang Yu turned his head but couldn’t see Yu Shiqing’s expression. He could only feel the warmth of his hand and his heavy breathing.

After a while, Yu Shiqing finally spoke in a low voice.

“I believe you.”

Author: athena