Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Chen Ruozhi sat on the hotel sofa, holding a book in her hand. But she couldn’t concentrate at all.
Although Chen Tanliang had always investigated these matters before, this was the first time he had been so certain, which made Chen Ruozhi’s heart race.
She couldn’t help but wonder, what if Chen Tanliang was mistaken, and Jiang Shining wasn’t their mother?
It seemed that even imagining it would burn my heart with disappointment.
Chen Ruozhi was fidgeting when she suddenly heard the door open.
“Tanliang, you…”
Chen Ruozhi turned her head, her voice stuck in her throat.
Chen Tanliang stood by the door as a young woman walked in. Chen Ruozhi stared at her blankly for a long while before saying in disbelief, “…Mom?”
“Ruozhi…” Jiang Shining called softly.
Chen Ruozhi put down her book and flew into Jiang Shining’s arms like a little bird.
“Oh my god, it really is you! My brother actually found you!” Chen Ruozhi’s eyes were red. Jiang Shining patted her back, and Chen Ruozhi looked her up and down, saying in a tearful voice, “You’ve become younger and more beautiful, it’s so wonderful!”
Jiang Shining reached out and wiped away her tears, then looked at Chen Tanliang behind her.
“Tanliang, close the door, let’s go inside and talk.”
Chen Tanliang closed the door as instructed. Chen Ruozhi and Jiang Shining sat down together, holding hands affectionately; the mother and daughter looking incredibly close. Chen Tanliang, being the son, could only sit opposite them, watching them longingly without saying a word.
Chen Ruozhi excitedly told her what she had done and seen over the years. Originally a rather quiet girl, Chen Ruozhi was now talking so fast that Chen Tanliang couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Jiang Shining listened to her daughter’s incessant chatter and gently stroked Chen Ruozhi’s black hair.
She had lived five lifetimes and only had two daughters, so she loved them dearly. Looking at Chen Ruozhi now, so graceful and elegant, she couldn’t help but recall how adorable Chen Ruozhi was as a child.
The more I look at it, the more I like it.
As Chen Ruozhi spoke, she realized she was the only one talking, and suddenly felt she was being a bit too childish. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head, whispering, “I… I was just too excited…”
“It’s alright, I like listening to you.” Jiang Shining reached out and stroked Chen Ruozhi’s face again. “How have you been these past years? Have you been wronged? How’s your life been?”
Hearing this, Chen Ruozhi smiled.
“I’ve always been fine, especially in this life,” she said calmly. “I had too many thoughts and concerns in my previous life, so I’m much less materialistic in this one. Although I had a tough childhood but the sea of books is boundless, and learning has no end. I can get through most ordinary days by reading. But my brother…”
She turned to look at Chen Tanliang. If Chen Tanliang were a cat, his fur would probably be standing on end in a nervous rage. He realized that Chen Ruozhi was about to complain.
Sure enough, Chen Ruozhi reached out and put her arm around Jiang Shining’s arm, rested her head on her shoulder, looked at Chen Tanliang, and complained softly to Jiang Shining, “Brother is too obsessed. Sometimes when I see him getting stuck on something, I want to hit him.”
Chen Ruozhi had a high level of mindset. It was said that there were countless lives in books, and in some ways she was very similar to Jiang Shining. Jiang Shining’s composure came from having experienced five lifetimes and thus seeing through them, while Chen Ruozhi had read many books, gained insights, and then looked back at her own life, enlightened herself, and thus moved on.
However, Chen Tanliang was different. In his past life, he led troops in battle. If a general were to become detached from worldly affairs, then there would be no need for war. Generally, the more valiant and skilled a person was in battle, the more stubborn they tended to be. Such people could achieve great things, but they were not easily able to let go of their own desires.
In his previous life, when Jiang Yiru died, Chen Tanliang was fighting a war abroad. He always felt that his mother’s death was his fault, and since she was gone, he couldn’t let go. Chen Tanliang could only tell himself that if he lost his family, he would protect the country. Therefore, he was exceptionally brave and achieved amazing results in battle.
The same applied to this life. He always thought that if the brother and sister could be reincarnated and become a family again, perhaps their mother was also in this world? Chen Ruozhi hoped that her brother would let go, because one cannot live a lifetime clinging to the obsessions of the past life, let alone such an almost impossible wish. However, Chen Tanliang was stubborn, and Chen Ruozhi could not persuade him.
Chen Tanliang had never thought he had done anything wrong, but at this moment, under Jiang Shining’s gaze, he lowered his head as if he had made a mistake.
Jiang Shining’s temples throbbed. She felt very sorry for Chen Tanliang, but she had an even bigger worry.
She knew Chen Tanliang’s personality; if she told him she had other sons, she had no idea how he would feel.
Jiang Shining felt herself going crazy. She was worried about the Chu brothers, and also about Chen Tanliang. They were all her children, whom she had raised from childhood. How could she bear to see them sad?
If anyone was to blame, it was the Transmigration Bureau. If only they had completed their mission and allowed her to spend each of her children’s lives with them, she would have preferred to spend five lifetimes with them before returning to death rather than see them suffer.
The words of explanation were on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn’t get them out.
Jiang Shining couldn’t bear to tell Chen Tanliang the truth, so she said to him, “Go downstairs and buy us some food and drinks.”
Chen Tanliang naturally obeyed. After he left, Chen Ruozhi looked at Jiang Shining.
“Mom, is there something you want to tell me?”
Her daughter was very smart.
Jiang Shining was relatively reassured about Chen Ruozhi, and she carefully explained the general situation to her daughter. As she spoke, Chen Ruozhi’s eyes widened more and more.
“…So that’s how it is, no wonder…” Chen Ruozhi murmured. She looked at Jiang Shining, “You’ve worked so hard, Mom.”
Jiang Shining was surprised that she accepted it so quickly, and couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you angry with me?”
Chen Ruozhi smiled gently.
“This was your task, you had no choice, so why blame you?” she said. “The feelings are real, and the debt of gratitude for raising us is real. Now it seems that you even saved our lives, otherwise my brother and I would not have been so fortunate. We are too busy repaying you to blame you. Tanliang will understand all this, he won’t have any objections. It’s just… he will be very sad.”
Chen Tanliang was not a troublemaker; he accepted the facts completely, though he would grieve alone.
Jiang Shining felt like she was going crazy. Perhaps these children had particularly tragic fates in the book, which was why almost every one of them was so sensitive. Putting them all together like this meant that if other children appeared later, she wouldn’t be able to comfort them all.
“What should I do?” Jiang Shining said, distressed and self-reproachful. “I feel like I’ve let you all down.”
Chen Ruozhi sighed.
“This is the cruelty of the world. We are lucky enough to be reunited. This kind of suffering should be considered a good thing, so please don’t blame yourself anymore,” she said. “How about I talk to my brother about this tonight, I’ll comfort him, and once things have stabilized, you can take us home.”
Jiang Shining was still a little worried, so Chen Ruozhi said, “Besides… you also have to take care of your children at home now.”
Jiang Shining was taken aback. Right, she still needed to tell Jing Yuan and Jing Xuan about this…
Helpless, she said, “Then you should comfort him more tonight.”
When Chen Tanliang returned, the three of them ate dinner in a somewhat somber atmosphere, and Chen Ruozhi had to work hard to find topics to talk about.
After a grueling dinner, Jiang Shining got up to put on her coat, and Chen Tanliang stood up as well. Jiang Shining looked at him and sighed, “Tanliang, you and your sister stay here for the night. I’ll go back and tidy up the house. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
Chen Tanliang’s dark eyes looked a little disappointed, but he still nodded.
“I’ll see you downstairs.”
When they arrived downstairs, Jiang Shining greeted him before driving away.
She had to put aside Chen Tanliang’s affairs for now, as she still had to face the two brothers when she got home.
It was already five o’clock in the evening when Jiang Shining got home. She unlocked the door and saw the two brothers cooking in the kitchen, seemingly exchanging ideas.
“Mom, you’re back,” Jing Xuan said with a smile.
Jiang Shining forced a smile, hung up her coat, changed her shoes, and walked into the house.
Throughout dinner, the two brothers sensed that Jiang Shining was distracted. Although she tried her best to deal with it, she had something on her mind.
Jing Yuan and Jing Xuan exchanged a glance, both of them simultaneously having a bad feeling.
“Mom…is there something you want to tell us?” Jing Xuan asked slowly.
Jiang Shining, who had been lost in thought, finally came back to her senses. She looked at her two sons in front of her and gave a bitter smile.
“Yes,” she said, “I do have something I’d like to discuss with you…”
Jiang Shining’s solemn demeanor set off alarm bells in both of their minds.
Jing Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his thin lips pursed, giving off a rather dangerous air. Since he didn’t speak, Jing Xuan had no choice but to speak.
“You…speak.”
Jiang Shining stared at them, then took a deep breath and forced a smile.
“I’ve found another pair of siblings,” she said. “They’re staying in a hotel now, and I might arrange for you to meet them tomorrow.”
Click.
A crisp sound echoed in the quiet living room. Jing Yuan had crushed a soda bottle in his hand.
He silently pushed back his chair, turned and left.
Jiang Shining’s temples throbbed with pain. She covered her forehead and sighed softly.
Jing Xuan remained seated opposite her, his eyes shifting several times, his hand clenched into a fist under the table before relaxing and he finally managed a smile.
“That’s good,” he said, his voice a little hoarse. “You know Jing Yuan has this temper; he’ll be fine by tomorrow… or the day after.”
Jiang Shining had a headache all afternoon and nodded wearily.
“He might listen to you a little more…”
“Okay, I’ll try to talk to him.” Jing Xuan comforted Jiang Shining, “It’s alright, don’t sigh. After a period of adjustment, there won’t be any problems. I’ll go see him.”
Jing Xuan got up, and as he walked to the stairs, Jiang Shining called out to him.
“Xuan’er,” Jiang Shining said wearily, “you’ve worked hard.”
Jing Xuan paused slightly, a helpless bitter smile appearing on his face.
He knew that he had always been the most obedient and worry-free one in Jiang Shining’s heart, but what other choice did he have? His older brother had a bad temper, and if he were to be even more willful and capricious, they wouldn’t be able to get along.
Jing Xuan went up the stairs and knocked on Jing Yuan’s door. Knowing he wouldn’t respond, he went straight in.
Upon entering, he saw Jing Yuan sitting silently on the edge of the bed, his back leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees, his dark eyes fierce and somewhat frightening. A chilling atmosphere permeated the entire room.
Jing Yuan’s murderous intent arose from anger and jealousy. From the original story to his previous life, he was never a kind person; his kindness to his mother and brother was merely his softest side. Outside them, however, he was a ruthless man who, after ascending to the throne, slaughtered his other half-brothers.
It was just a pity that he couldn’t touch Jiang Shining’s children. Besides, there was no grudge between them, and Jing Yuan wouldn’t kill an innocent person simply out of anger.
Therefore, he could only suppress this anger and murderous intent.
In this situation, probably no one would dare approach Jing Yuan. In his past life, when he displayed this kind of aura, it meant someone’s head was in danger. However, this terrifying aura seemed to have no effect on Jing Xuan. He closed the door, leaned against it, and sighed.
“Our mother will be in a difficult position if you act like this.”
“I know,” Jing Yuan said in a deep voice, “but I can’t help it.”
Jing Xuan stared at him for a while, then suddenly asked curiously, “Were you in this state when I was born?”
Jing Yuan, who was in a fit of rage, was taken aback. He thought for a moment before saying, “I was more afraid at the time. I was only seven years old then, and I was afraid that my mother would abandon me if she had a child. You know I’m a sensitive person, so she would inevitably have to take care of me. It took me about two years to believe that she would treat both of us equally.”
No wonder they reacted so strongly; it turns out they were always being pampered in their past life. So they definitely couldn’t handle it now.
Jing Xuan said helplessly, “This outcome isn’t what she wanted either, but nothing in this world is perfect. Think about it, would you rather be feeling uncomfortable like this now, or would you rather never have seen your mother at all?”
Jing Yuan fell silent. Reuniting with his mother was something they hadn’t even dared to dream of; that was all they had ever hoped for. But people were never truly satisfied; with a mother, they also hoped no one else would get in their way. But…
Jing Yuan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
“…So be it. Since things have come to this, what else can be done?” he said coldly. “I’d like to see what kind of people my other sons are.”
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