I am not familiar with Jiang Keyang, but I know he is married. Around 2004, when I met Teacher Wang Ren, Jiang Keyang's child was already in kindergarten.
Calculating backward, Jiang Keyang must have gotten married around 1999 or 2000. But I had no idea there was this interlude before his marriage.
"She's rich."
"Are you deceiving her?"
"No."
"Do you have love?"
"Yes!"
My answer was firm and unwavering, leaving no room for doubt.
"Since you still have love, why are you helping me?"
"I want you to know that your father was a hero back then, and heroes still exist in this world. But I don't understand your current situation, so it seems like I, the hero, am being overly concerned."
"This isn't being overly concerned; it's meddling."
I chuckled, "Aren't heroes always meddling?"
"I don't need you to interfere."
"Chen Ling, it's not up to you to decide. You've seen my resources. You must understand that even if you offered to return to Bai Xue Club for free, they wouldn't dare take you back now."
"If that's the case, then I'll have to deal with you first."
Chen Ling said unhappily. I frowned and casually remarked, "This is probably what an enemy would think."
"What enemy? Tang Nan, you're so annoying. Do you know that? I don't know your background, but I assume it's related to your wealthy wife. You claim you have love with your wife, and I don't believe it."
"Why?"
"If you had love with your wife, would you still be concerned about your first love? Whatever your goal is, if you can accomplish one thing, I'll let you help me."
"Accomplish what?"
"Call your wife now and ask her to come meet me."
"Now?"
Seeing my hesitation, Chen Ling looked smug. I frowned, "It's late, and the child is asleep."
"You're afraid to call?"
I sighed deeply, took out my phone, and dialed Lin Han's number in front of Chen Ling, then pressed the speakerphone. Lin Han's end was chaotic. I was quite puzzled, "Where are you at this late hour?"
As I spoke, I glanced at Chen Ling, who seemed pleased, likely thinking that my wife and I were living separate lives and had no affection for each other.
"Amusement park, go-karting. I'm going to be sick. Where are you? Come save me quickly."
"Haven't you taken the child home to sleep yet at this hour?"
"She wants to play. Oh, right, when she goes to her grandma's, let's build an amusement park for her and other children to play with."
"Isn't that reckless?"
"Our mother doesn't agree, right? I'll talk to her. Where are you?"
"Chen Ling and I are having dinner at a Northeast Chinese restaurant in Dongzhimen. She wants to meet you."
"You're meeting your first love and you want me, your actual wife, to come? Isn't that awkward?"
I looked at Chen Ling, who was dumbfounded. I asked Chen Ling, "Do you still want to meet her?"
"I'm even more curious to meet your strange wife now."
It seemed that Lin Han's unconventional personality had piqued Chen Ling's curiosity, unlike the people she usually studied. Helplessly, I told Lin Han, "You should come over."
"I can't leave. You guys come here."
...
In the end, Chen Ling and I went to the amusement park. Tang Yi saw me there and ran over ecstatically. Lin Han also smiled, "You're finally here. I'm so dizzy from spinning."
Tang Yi and I got on the go-karts, while Lin Han and Chen Ling went to the mall for drinks.
Around ten-thirty that night, I carried the half-asleep Tang Yi to find them. Lin Han smiled, "Another day of playing until she passed out."
"This is called drowsy driving!"
Chen Ling stood up and shook my hand to bid farewell, "Tang Nan, your life is truly enviable. Thank you for your family's hospitality. I'll leave today; we can discuss further matters later."
Afterward, Chen Ling and Lin Han embraced and said goodbye, like two sisters. I looked at Lin Han in surprise, and she gave me a triumphant smile.
...
That evening, back home, I dumped Tang Yi on the bed, sweating, and said with lingering fear, "This little girl hasn't gained any weight lately."
"Indeed! Oh, right, my mom called. She wants us to send Tang Yi to Xi'an. She doesn't trust me to raise her."
I thought to myself, "If you raise the child, who can trust you? She plays until she's unconscious every day, eats whatever she wants, drinks whatever she wants. The child is hoarse, and you still give her ice cream."
"Fine!"
"I knew you'd agree. What about her grandmother? We promised her too!"
"Let's send her back after we have our own child."
"Okay, let's have one now."
Lin Han said, pouncing towards me. I caught her and smiled, "Is the child still here?"
"Don't worry, she's sleeping so soundly that even if the sky falls, she won't wake up."
...
Lin Han, being a competent businesswoman, negotiated a deal between me and Chen Ling. I had a week to help Chen Ling. If I couldn't resolve the issue within a week, according to our agreement, I was to cease all involvement in Chen Ling and Jiang Keyang's affairs.
To honor this agreement, I met with Jiang Kexin the next day. Jiang Kexin always kept her hair cut short and dressed in a neutral style, wearing hoodies and jeans, like an energetic young boy.
We had coffee at a cafe. Jiang Kexin looked at me thoughtfully and then tentatively asked, "You probably want to ask me about your brother's situation."
"As expected of a top profiler."
Jiang Kexin chuckled, "I'm not that skilled. Actually, it's like this: yesterday, my brother called me quite late. He was asking about you, so I guessed you must be meeting me today about my brother's matters."
"What does your brother do?"
"You'll have to ask my brother yourself. I don't even know."
"He taught you how to pick locks."
"That's right!"
I looked at Jiang Kexin, whose expression was calm, and asked her, "Have you ever wondered why your brother knows how to pick locks?"
"I don't know."
"Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
Jiang Kexin looked at me seriously and said, "Compared to my brother, my mother is an even stranger person, so I'm used to oddities."
Indeed, in the eyes of others, Teacher Wang Ren should have been a stranger.
"Do you know he was a thief?"
Jiang Kexin raised an eyebrow, looking quite interested, "Is that so? I'll ask him about it sometime."
I was somewhat at a loss. Jiang Kexin was a young woman who didn't seem to care much about things. She wasn't very aware of her family's situation. As Jiang Kexin put it, she was like her father, very laid-back. Although Jiang Kexin hadn't reached the level of practicing calligraphy for self-cultivation, she had certainly embraced the idea of letting things take their course.
"Can I meet your brother?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"My brother said you shouldn't meddle in his affairs."
"What else did he say?"
"He said..."
Jiang Kexin paused, her gaze drifting into the distance, her brow furrowed. Following her gaze, I saw a couple shopping in the mall. They looked quite well-matched, and their gestures were affectionate.
"Do you know them?"
"Is that woman my sister-in-law?"
Judging by Jiang Kexin's reaction, that woman was her sister-in-law, but the man was definitely not her brother. Their demeanor suggested there was more to it.
"That's not your brother, is it? What are you going to do?"
Jiang Kexin pulled up her hood and put it on, smiling slightly, "I'll just pretend I didn't see anything."
I was speechless. To be so nonchalant, you can see your sister-in-law clearly cheating and still pretend not to see it?