TYAM Chapter 80

Jiang Wang saw Peng Jiahui out the door. He had so much he wanted to ask his biological father, but when the words reached his lips, they refused to come out.  

If it hadn’t been for that car accident, he would never have come to this place, nor would he have had a chance to meet his biological parents even once.  

In his mind, the concept of a family reunion never existed.  

When it actually happened, he felt emotionally blank. He couldn’t even discern whether he should feel sadness or joy. Forty minutes flew by in a blur, and before he could process the emotional impact of such a strong event, it was all over.  

When Peng Jiahui knocked on the door, he had been cheerful and upbeat. But when he left, he was weighed down by his thoughts, hesitant to speak. He walked a few steps, paused, then turned back to look at Jiang Wang’s expression.  

“Brother,” the middle-aged man said as he pulled a crisp red envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Jiang Wang. “This contains half my annual salary, along with my year-end bonus—together, it’s finally around fifty to sixty thousand yuan.”  

“You’ve treated Xingxing so well, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. But his food, clothing, school fees — those should have been my responsibility.”  

Peng Jiahui scratched his head awkwardly as he continued.  

“You know I work in mechanical engineering. Payments are usually settled every two or three quarters, and my regular salary isn’t very high.”  

“I didn’t dare mention it before because I was afraid you’d think I was just making empty promises. But now that I’ve received the money, I came straight to you. I’ve also told the kid that his tuition and living expenses will be covered by his father. He shouldn’t feel any pressure and should just focus on studying happily.”  

Jiang Wang’s thoughts were still lingering on the fact that his parents had appeared together. It took him a long while to process, staring at the bank card wrapped in red paper in his hands.  

“You must accept it,” Peng Jiahui insisted, lowering his voice. “The password is the child’s birthdate. I know it’s not much compared to the school selection fees and other expenses you’ve already covered… I didn’t even have the nerve to ask. I’ve also been trying to request a transfer to Yuhan, but the condition is that I overachieve on this year’s and next year’s projects to qualify for a promotion.”  

“I originally planned to buy a house in Hongcheng, but since you’ve brought Xingxing here to study in Yuhan, I… I’ll work hard to buy a house here instead. If it takes another year or two, I’ll rent a place nearby in the meantime to stay with him. Does that work for you?”  

Jiang Wang rubbed the red envelope in his hands, finally speaking. “What did you feel when you saw Du Wenjuan?”  

Jiang Wang’s words carried one meaning, but they took on a different interpretation in Peng Jiahui’s ears.  

In Peng Jiahui’s eyes, the strong and rugged young man before him was his ex-wife’s younger brother.  

And they both knew that he had done many unforgivable things to his ex-wife in the past.  

Peng Jiahui’s confidence immediately faltered.  

“I truly didn’t mean to disturb you,” he said, returning to a humbled and slightly embarrassed state. “Back then… I was a complete bastard. I shouldn’t have hit her.”  

Originally, Peng Jiahui had another card in his wallet, intending to use it to secure a better place to stay, buy some New Year’s goods for his parents, and get new clothes.  

But after some hesitation, he gritted his teeth, reopened the wallet, and took out the second card as well.  

“This second card—please give it to Wenjuan for me. It’s what I owe her.”  

“The password is my parents’ birthdays, she knows it.”  

Jiang Wang was silent for a moment. He pushed the card meant for Peng Xingwang back into Peng Jiahui’s hands and accepted the second card.  

“I’ll pass this on,” he said, turning back toward the house, raising the card in his hand as he walked away.  

“What you owe Peng Xingwang can never be repaid with money.”  

“Make an effort to visit him more often.”  

Peng Jiahui hadn’t expected Jiang Wang to make that choice. Holding the red envelope in his hands, he stood there in stunned silence, his face burning as if he’d been slapped.  

Jiang Wang suddenly stopped mid-step, turning back to look at Peng Jiahui with an expression of newfound relief.  

“Oh, and… Happy New Year.”  

Du Wenjuan had been waiting in the living room for quite a while, still feeling uneasy.  

She hadn’t expected to meet her ex-husband so abruptly. The encounter stirred a mix of familiar fear and a bitter sense of vindication for having borne a daughter for him.  

But in front of the child, she had to suppress those emotions, showing only the side of herself that was a mother.  

How much Jiang Wang might have picked up on… was beyond her control now.  

Jiang Wang finished a cigarette downstairs, brushing off the smell before heading back up.  

He found his mother alone in the kitchen cooking, while Xingxing was watching TV in the living room. He greeted the child before stepping into the kitchen and closing the door behind him.  

“This is for you,” Jiang Wang said, handing her the card. “He asked me to pass it on. He said he should’ve given it to you a long time ago but never found the chance. The password is his parents’ birthdays.”  

Du Wenjuan was stir-frying lettuce. Hearing his words, she turned off the range hood and asked, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”  

Jiang Wang patiently repeated himself.  

He didn’t claim to love his mother, but he could distinguish between different emotions clearly.  

Who owed whom, and who left whom—these were separate matters altogether.  

Du Wenjuan froze for a moment, placing the spatula down hastily and wiping her hands on her apron.  

“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to the guest room.”  

She quickly led Jiang Wang to her room, where she retrieved a small compartment from her travel bag. The edges of the compartment were meticulously sewn with fine string, a precaution against pickpockets on trains.  

With a quick snip of scissors, she cut the stitching open. Inside was a red cloth pouch containing a small item, wrapped layer by layer in plastic to prevent water damage.  

When she handed the item to Jiang Wang, he finally saw what it was—

A passbook.  

An old, curled-edge passbook with faded gold letters that had long since blurred.  

It had been over a decade since he last held such an old-fashioned form of savings.  

“With Peng Jiahui’s personality, there’s no way he would’ve remembered to save money for me,” Du Wenjuan sneered coldly. “If he truly meant it for me, the password would’ve been my birthday, not his parents’.”  

“Even if he had money and was good to the whole world, I’d always be the last on his list. He’s even using the excuse of not seeing me to avoid responsibility, pretending nothing happened.”  

“Consider this money as something he left for Xingwang’s education. Keep it safe. The password is 528111.”  

She seemed to sense some bad luck and placed the card aside, saying no more about it. Then, with great care, she handed the passbook to Jiang Wang with both hands.  

“Wangwang, Xingxing has been with you all this time, and it’s delayed you from finding a good wife to marry — bringing up a child in your twenties will always get people talking.”  

“I was thinking, maybe after this school year, I could take him back to Cizhou. Yinyin should have been old enough by then, don’t you think?”  

“No rush to get married,” Jiang Wang replied instinctively. “I’m in a relationship now. My partner really likes Xingxing and doesn’t overthink things.”  

“Xingxing has just settled into this school. Transferring suddenly might make it harder for him to adjust again.”  

Du Wenjuan, who had been secretly worrying about her younger brother’s marriage, looked up in surprise, a hint of joy in her voice. “You’ve already found someone? Whose family is she from? What do her parents do? Does she treat you well?”  

Something seemed to cross her mind, and she chuckled with a mix of urgency and amusement, lightly slapping Jiang Wang on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If she says she doesn’t mind Xingxing, she’s just being polite. What girl would willingly raise someone else’s child?”  

“This can’t be delayed. If it’s too much trouble for her, I’ll quit my job, rent a place in Yuhan, and take care of Xingxing myself. What do you think?”  

Jiang Wang hadn’t expected her to care about so many details. He hesitated for a moment, then coughed lightly, lowering his gaze.  

“My partner… is very busy with work, frequently traveling across the country, so there’s no time to think about these things for now.”  

“You don’t need to overthink it. If anything comes up, I’ll definitely let you know.”  

Du Wenjuan nodded repeatedly, wringing her hands together. After a long pause, she said, “This deposit isn’t much, just under forty thousand.”  

“Considering Xingxing’s expenses in Yuhan, along with the confinement nanny you hired for me, I feel like it’s not enough.”  

Jiang Wang hadn’t expected her to calculate things so clearly. For a moment, he felt a sense of detachment and unconsciously took a step back, creating more distance between them.  

“Brother, don’t overthink it,” Du Wenjuan quickly grabbed his hand, noticing his reaction. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your help. I know you’re doing much better than we are financially.”  

“But, Wangwang, you should save more for your own future. Plan for yourself.”  

“It’s not easy to marry a girl in the city these days. Dowries are expensive, and with our parents gone, I’m the only one left to think about these things for you. Don’t resent me for nagging.”  

Jiang Wang suddenly asked, “Do you think marriage is what I should focus on for my future?”  

Du Wenjuan, caught off guard by the question, smiled helplessly. “Well, everyone should start a family at some point, right?”  

“To start a family, establish a career, have children, and pass on the lineage. That way, someone will care for you in your old age. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”  

Jiang Wang looked at the fine lines around her eyes, and an image of a much older voice on the phone years from now flashed through his mind.  

He had never cared for anyone in their old age.  

When he was young, they had forgotten him. When he grew up, he chose to forget them.  

Marriage, children, raising offspring for retirement—the very notion felt absurd to him.  

“What if,” he said softly, “I like men?”  

Du Wenjuan’s pupils dilated, her breathing momentarily halted.  

Jiang Wang had never thought he’d bring it up so abruptly, without any preamble, to Du Wenjuan.  

He’d planned to keep it a secret a little longer, to wait until she’d settled down after her second child before gradually breaking the news.  

But in this moment, the person in front of him wasn’t just Peng Xingwang’s mother or his so-called “sister.” She was his real, youthful-looking mother.  

“Mom, what if I like men?”

“Would you still leave me with my younger self?”

“Would you see me as some strange and crazy outlier?”

“Mom, would you still pressure me to save money and rush into marriage?”

The words crashed through Du Wenjuan’s mind like thunder. She stood there, stunned, unable to respond for a long time.  

“Who else knows about this?” she finally asked.  

Jiang Wang answered plainly, “Peng Jiahui, and a friend of mine. That’s all.”  

She was silent for a few seconds before suddenly pulling him into a tight embrace, her voice trembling.  

“Wangwang… these past few years must have been so hard for you, haven’t they?”