When Jiang Yuchi woke up the next day, she found her phone had blown up. News of her return to the country had spread like wildfire. For the past six years, everyone had tacitly avoided bothering her, knowing how much she had been suffering, but now that they knew she was back, they had all come crawling out of the woodwork.
Some were genuine friends, but many were people she hadn't been particularly close to in the past, now popping up in hopes of capitalizing on her status.
In the past, Jiang Yuchi had been the daughter the Jiang Family never valued, raised away from home since birth. Later, she hitched herself to Yujie, whom everyone jokingly referred to as the "Crown Prince" of the Jing Circle, transforming overnight into the eldest mistress of the Yu Family.
As it turned out, less than half a month after their wedding, the eldest young master of the Yu Family, Yujie, died in a plane crash. Just as many were privately mocking her for falling from the high branch she had climbed back into the mud, Yujie’s will was made public: he had left everything that belonged to him to his wife, Jiang Yuchi.
These days, many joked that if there were a directory of wealthy women in the Capital, Jiang Yuchi would undoubtedly occupy the entire first page all by herself.
She patiently replied to the messages one by one, politely declining most of the invitations to get together by stating that she needed to spend more time with her two children for the time being. However, she paused at one specific message.
Xin Su: "The weather is perfect on July 12th. You can observe the star clusters from the mountaintop."
Jiang Yuchi clicked on Xin Su’s social media profile. It was desolate, containing only a single post from four years ago: a shared article about his company going public. The post listed a myriad of titles for him, and the photo of him ringing the bell showed a man full of youthful vigor and ambition.
Today, Xin Su is a rising star in the business world, thriving in the new energy sector.
This version of him was a far cry from the Xin Su she remembered.
It was only then that it hit Jiang Yuchi: like her, he was twenty-eight years old now.The seventeen-year-old Xin Su ought to have been waiting downstairs for Jiang Yuchi in the long, sultry summer, wearing a white shirt and carrying a heavy telescope on his back, complaining when Jiang Yuchi opened her window and shouted, "Wait for me just a moment, I'll be ready right away!" while he replied, "If you keep dawdling, Young Miss, we’re going to miss the best viewing time!"
They would watch the stars by the sea and meteor showers from the mountain peaks, then kiss—their inexperienced lips always parting at the slightest touch, never daring to linger for even a fraction of a second.
In every sense, Xin Su could be considered her first love.
The last time she saw Xin Su was during her sophomore year. He had traveled for over six hours to find her, only to see her locked in an intense, inseparable kiss with her boyfriend at the time, Jiang Zhiyi.
Until that moment, Xin Su had never imagined that a man and a woman could kiss in such a way, as if they were trying to swallow each other whole.
From then on, Xin Su vanished from her life, becoming a "dead man" in her WeChat contact list.
That this dead man should suddenly come back to life at such a juncture left Jiang Yuchi stunned, unsure of how to reply to him.
Jiang Yuchi felt a prick of conscience when it came to Xin Su. Their breakup had been a cruel twist of fate, but it was due in greater part to her own lack of resolve. The fact that Xin Su hadn't even deleted her from his contacts made her feel even more guilty.
She typed messages in the chat box only to delete them, then typed them again. Eventually, Jiang Yuchi decided to issue a tactful refusal to make him back down. She first expressed interest in his suggestion, then politely explained that her two children couldn't bear to be away from her for even a moment, making it impossible for her to keep the appointment. Finally, she suggested that stargazing was something better enjoyed with a girlfriend.
She hadn't heard any news of Xin Su getting married, but since he was already twenty-eight, Jiang Yuchi figured he must at least have a steady girlfriend.
Having emphasized the fact that she was now raising two children and having brought up his girlfriend, Jiang Yuchi felt she had delivered a refusal that was both tactful and appropriate.
Unexpectedly, the reply from the other end came quickly—
Xin Su: I don't have a girlfriend.
Xin Su: I'll be observing from the villa I built on the mountain peak. I'll send a driver to pick you and the children up.Jiang Yuchi began to loathe herself for trying to be subtle with her ex-boyfriend. Now, refusing him again would be truly difficult.
She could only blankly reply, "Okay."
July 12th—the day after tomorrow. No rush, no rush. Perhaps she could find a new excuse to decline in the next two days.
Jiang Yuchi was still dizzy from jet lag when she went downstairs. Yu Qinghuai and the two children had already finished breakfast; in fact, it was nearly lunchtime.
The two children had developed good habits under their uncle’s care. Upon waking early, they would tiptoe to their rooms to wash up before heading downstairs to eat with him.
After breakfast, seeing that their mother hadn't come down yet, Yu Buying had wanted to go back upstairs to nap with her, but the heartless Uncle Yu Qinghuai had firmly stopped her, claiming that Mommy was tired from the flight and shouldn't be disturbed.
As Jiang Yuchi reached the bottom of the stairs, Yu Buying immediately trotted over, clinging to her and begging for a hug. Yu Buqi, unable to stand her lack of backbone, turned his head and snorted.
The next moment, a soft, fragrant kiss landed gently on his cheek.
Before Yu Buqi could even react, Yu Buying’s chubby little hand had already covered Jiang Yuchi’s mouth.
"Mommy, you aren't allowed to kiss Brother first!" Her grape-like eyes were fixed on Jiang Yuchi, her expression hovering between tears and indignation.
While Jiang Yuchi attempted to reason with the unreasonable Yu Buying, Yu Buqi finally reached up to touch his cheek, realizing belatedly what had happened.
So, this was what a mother's kiss felt like.
Yu Qinghuai simply instructed the kitchen to serve lunch early. At the table, Jiang Yuchi recalled the direct reason for her return and asked tentatively, "Brother, are you dating someone?"
They had decided on these terms the previous night. Since the children's names were a mouthful and they had no nicknames, Yu Buying had suggested that Jiang Yuchi call her "Little Treasure." As for Yu Buqi, she felt that since she had always called him "Brother," it would be fine for Jiang Yuchi to do the same.
After a democratic vote, it was decided that they would call Yu Buqi "Brother" and Yu Buying "Sister." Yu Buying was the only one who voted against it—she still wanted Jiang Yuchi to call her "Little Treasure"—but since the other two voted in favor, the minority had to submit to the majority.
Young Master Yu Buqi, who had just graduated from kindergarten, nodded with a solemn expression. "I am currently dating Ms. Xu Zhen with the intention of marriage."
This answer was so far beyond the norm that Jiang Yuchi’s mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word. In the end, she could only pretend she hadn't heard him and focused on her food.
Yu Qinghuai, guessing what she had seen, took the initiative to explain, "A new paparazzi studio caught him while they were tailing Xu Zhen a couple of days ago. The PR department settled it as quickly as possible."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuchi pulled out her phone and checked her recent search history. Sure enough, the trending topics from two days ago—#Jing Circle Prince Infatuated with National Sweetheart# and #Jing Circle Prince’s True Face Exposed#—had been scrubbed clean. There wasn't a trace left, and even searching for Xu Zhen’s name yielded no related results.
Having finished most of her meal, Jiang Yuchi couldn't help but watch a few videos of Xu Zhen, finding herself quite interested in Yu Buqi’s young girlfriend whom he was "dating with the intention of marriage."
After scrolling for a while, Jiang Yuchi said to Yu Buqi, her mood complicated, "Brother, if the gossip blogs haven't lied, your girlfriend is already in the second grade, and you aren't even starting first grade until September."
Yu Buying, still holding a grudge against her brother for ruining her plan to have Mommy call her "Little Treasure" the night before, immediately sold him out: "Mommy, that’s just how Brother pretends not to understand his homework so he can ask Sister Xu Zhen for help!"