Chapter 30#
How terrifying love is.#
“Mom.”
The soft light of dawn spilled over delicate flower petals. The entire garden was planted with the same type of flower. Yu Shu was wearing a sea-green qipao; under the light, the faint white-gold patterns on the fabric shimmered. A white shawl was draped over her shoulders, its tassels swaying gently as she bent over slightly, holding a pair of scissors to prune the excess leaves from a branch.
Hearing the call, Yu Shu turned around.
Seeing Qin Mu walking toward her, the corners of her mouth curved upward in a gentle smile.
Her slightly curly long hair brushed against the side of her face. The sunlight filtered through, seemingly smoothing away the fine lines left by time.
It is said that time never defeats a beauty, and this saying applied perfectly to Yu Shu.
As the distance closed and the woman’s features became clearer, Qin Mu’s footsteps faltered slightly. Gradually, she began to overlap with the person in his memories.
It was as if nothing had changed over all these years, as if she had never left.
Qin Mu came to a halt and called out softly, “Mom.”
The woman gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. She patted the dust off her hands and handed him the scissors. Qin Mu was momentarily dazed as he took them.
“You’re back?”
The distant, cold tone instantly snapped Qin Mu out of his reminiscence. He looked at the woman before him, lowered his eyes slightly, and nodded. “Yes. Grandpa is being discharged today.”
The woman paused for a moment, then walked straight toward a white chair in the garden and sat down.
She instructed the servant beside her, “Bring some food up.”
The servant withdrew.
Watching Yu Shu’s back, Qin Mu slowly furrowed his brows.
He didn’t understand what connection this world had to his original one. Aside from Qin Zhao, even Yu Shu was exactly the same as his original mother.
However, her personality was worlds apart. In his memory, Yu Shu was a very fragile woman—gentle, kind, lacking in personal opinion, and even somewhat prone to tears.
His biological father had passed away very early, leaving him and Qin Zhao behind as “baggage” for Yu Shu. The massive family estate was quickly carved up by his father’s siblings. Yu Shu was beautiful; if she had abandoned them to remarry, it wouldn’t have been difficult.
But while Yu Shu was beautiful, she wasn’t quite smart enough.
A woman—a beautiful woman at that—trying to live her life while raising two children; one could imagine how those days went.
Yu Shu never lacked suitors. A fragile woman who wasn’t good at saying no was always hounded by all sorts of people. Back then, she still had a bit of private savings, but she was constantly getting scammed in business. In front of her children, the fragile woman always wore a faint smile, saying everything was fine, only to soak her pillow with tears in secret.
At night, the three of them would huddle in a tiny rented room. Qin Mu could still vividly remember the woman’s suppressed sobs and her trembling shoulders.
As the days passed and Qin Mu grew older, the woman’s business finally began to get on the right track.
But then, the fragile woman died.
An acute illness, no cure.
Even if there were, they had no money.
That year, Qin Mu was twelve and Qin Zhao was seven.
The person in front of him was not her.
The last time Qin Mu had returned to the old residence, he had asked the System for the reason. The System had stammered, unable to give a clear answer, and had returned to headquarters to investigate—it hadn’t been back since.
When the snacks were served, Yu Shu took a small bite and slowly frowned. She sighed softly and pushed the plate back.
“You did a good job with that matter a couple of days ago.”
Since the mistress of the house had begun talking, the servant nearby tactfully withdrew again.
“When did you get together with Xiao Han?”
He idly toyed with the cake in front of him. Qin Mu didn’t like sweets. Hearing the question, his answer was rather half-hearted: “Mm… a while ago.”
Yu Shu paused, her tone growing slightly heavier. “You’re not young anymore. It was one thing to be playful and worrisome before, but now that you’re with Xiao Han, settle down. Haven’t you liked Xiao Han for many years?”
“Mm…” Qin Mu gave a perfunctory response.
He wasn’t quite sure what “liking” was, and he understood even less of the “love” that the world praised so much.
But within his shallow understanding, “liking” was a menacing beast, and “love” was something that made people lose their intelligence.
His mother, for the sake of that ethereal love his father spoke of, was willing to become a canary, a bird in a cage, single-mindedly waiting for a man who never came home.
And then, for that so-called love, she spent her life running around with two children.
Even Qin Zhao, for the sake of her “true love,” had betrayed him and even shot him dead.
You see, how terrifying love is.
It can turn a person into someone else entirely.
Placing one’s hope on another person, betting that they will never change their mind or leave for the sake of spoken love—the probability of that was too low. Qin Mu still preferred to trust himself.
But thinking of that single unshed tear, Qin Mu felt an indescribable irritability in his heart.
After that day, Jian Yunchen seemed to have vanished; he hadn’t appeared again.
He sensed that Jian Yunchen was likely unhappy. He probably needed to go and coax him, but his train of thought was stuck. He had never coaxed anyone before and couldn’t find any reference for a while.
Yu Shu was still nagging across from him: “You should have taken on the appearance of the eldest grandson long ago, to let them know that you are the legitimate heir of the Qin family.”
“And Qin Zheng?” The woman’s voice gradually became sharp and thin, hiding a hint of meanness upon closer listen. “A lowly thing like that, what right does he have to compete with you?”
“Since you’re with Xiao Han, get engaged as soon as possible. With the support of the Jiang family, do you still need to worry about Qin Zheng competing with you?”
“The Qin Group must be yours.”
The woman spoke with finality. Qin Mu didn’t listen to a word. He swallowed a bite of cake, the cloying cream melting in his mouth, and gave a couple of “mm-hm"s in agreement. “Sure, the Qin Group must be mine.”
Yu Shu glanced at him and took a sip of clear tea to soothe her slightly dry throat.
“Then what’s the deal with Jian Yunchen?”
Qin Mu’s movements paused. Without looking up, he slowly sipped the tea beside him to wash away the excessively sweet taste in his mouth. He threw the question back: “What deal?”
Yu Shu ignored her son’s feigned ignorance and said directly, “You can mess around however you want in private, but Jian Yunchen won’t do.”
Qin Mu’s rebellious streak was instantly triggered. He leaned against the back of the chair, his chin slightly tilted. “Why won’t Jian Yunchen do?”
Yu Shu looked at him quietly, her red lips parting as she spoke unhurriedly, “Based on the fact that his identity is just as shameful as Qin Zheng’s. Do I need to give you more reasons?”
“Heh.” Qin Mu let out a cold laugh, lifting his eyes to look straight at her.
After a long silence, Qin Mu suddenly stood up, losing all interest in dealing with her. The reason he gave her any face at all was only because she had the exact same face and name as Yu Shu.
She had never fulfilled the responsibilities of a mother, yet she certainly had the urge to act like one.
Some people respond to the carrot but not the stick; some respond to the stick but not the carrot.
As for Qin Mu, he responded to neither.
He turned and left without hesitation. Today was the big day for Old Master Qin Linze to be discharged, and everyone had to return to the old residence. Since Qin Mu had already come, he didn’t plan on leaving. Unable to continue the conversation with Yu Shu, he randomly picked a pavilion in the back garden and sat down with his eyes closed.
He folded his arms and leaned quietly against a pillar. A light breeze blew by, and the sunlight fell across his face like starlight through the gaps in the trees.
The sound of “rustling” reached his ears, like the sound of clothing brushing against the grass as someone passed by. Qin Mu didn’t pay it much mind, keeping an ear out while keeping his eyes peacefully shut.
He had originally thought that surely no one would be blind enough to come forward and disturb him.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.