He hadn't seen his mother for so long that he couldn't figure out what she was thinking and was afraid that she would say something that would embarrass Xu Xinghe.

"It's a topic for women." Zhang Xueqin's tone remained indifferent, yet carried an undeniable air, her gaze fixed directly on Xu Xinghe. "Only women can talk about it."

The atmosphere in the office instantly froze.

There was an inexplicable spark between the mother and son's eyes.

It's been years since we last met, and not only is there no warmth, but we're also arguing!

Xu Xinghe quickly stepped out from behind Jiang Linchuan, forcing a smile, "It's alright, Linchuan. I'll just chat with your aunt. You wait for me outside for a while."

Fearing that the two would really argue if the situation continued, she decided to take the initiative and agree.

Anyway, some things we have to face eventually.

Jiang Linchuan gave Zhang Xueqin a deep look before turning and walking out of the office. But before closing the door, he couldn't help but say, "Mom, she is the most important person to me."

The implication is that you should not hurt her.

Zhang Xueqin didn't speak, her gaze remaining fixed on Xu Xinghe's face.

Now that only the two of them were left in the office, the atmosphere seemed even more awkward.

Zhang Xueqin pointed to the sofa opposite her, "You sit there."

As she spoke, she walked behind her desk and sat down, placing her hands folded in front of her. Her scrutinizing posture made Xu Xinghe's heart jump again.

"Auntie, may I ask... what do you want to tell me?"

Zhang Xueqin's gaze lingered on her face for a full half minute, her eyes sharp and complex, making Xu Xinghe feel flustered, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Just as she thought the other person was about to say something serious, Zhang Xueqin suddenly stood up abruptly, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

Xu Xinghe was so startled that she shrank her shoulders and stood up abruptly, but the expected scene did not happen. Instead, Zhang Xueqin pulled her into her arms.

The warm embrace was completely different from her previous cold demeanor. Soft hands gently patted Xu Xinghe's back, but the force concealed an indescribable tremor.

“That’s wonderful…that’s wonderful…” Zhang Xueqin’s voice was no longer cold, but choked with emotion, and her tone became exceptionally kind. “Linchuan, this child, finally has someone who cares for him.”

Xu Xinghe was completely stunned and stood frozen in place.

One second her aunt was like an ice sculpture, the next she suddenly became so warm and friendly. This sudden change left her mind blank, and she could only stand there blankly as the other person hugged her, not even knowing where to put her hands.

After a while, Zhang Xueqin finally let go of her, gently wiping the corner of her eye with her fingertips, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

She pulled the blank-minded Xu Xinghe back to sit down, pushed the osmanthus cake on the coffee table in front of her, and sighed, "Xinghe, I'm sorry to have startled you. That look just now was an act I put on for Linchuan's benefit."

"Act...act for him?" Xu Xinghe finally found her voice, her eyes full of confusion.

Zhang Xueqin nodded, her gaze drifting to the sycamore trees outside the window, her voice gradually lowering, "There's something I have to tell you. When Lin Chuan was five years old, he was kidnapped by a group of bad guys targeting the Jiang family and disappeared for three whole months."

Xu Xinghe's heart clenched, and she instinctively held her breath.

“Those people didn’t beat or scold him; instead, they fed him well every day and treated him incredibly well.” Zhang Xueqin’s voice was filled with suppressed pain. “But that kindness wasn’t genuine at all; it was like training a dog! They wanted to tame him, make him dependent, and then turn him into a knife to stab the Jiang family when he grew up! Lin Chuan was too young then and didn’t understand the wickedness of people’s hearts. He only knew that those people were kind to him, but secretly, they used all sorts of methods to torment his will, making him struggle repeatedly between dependence and fear.”

As Zhang Xueqin spoke, her body trembled slightly. "Later, we finally managed to find him. You know what? He was so thin, just skin and bones, and his eyes were glazed over. We felt sorry for him and wanted to give him the best of everything, but whenever we were kind to him, he would tremble all over, hide in a corner and cry, begging us not to do that, saying he would listen to us. The doctor said it was a stress reaction; he had linked the kindness shown to us with his fear at the time."

Xu Xinghe finally understood what Jiang Linchuan meant when he said that being good to his family was a burden. It wasn't his problem at all, but rather the trauma left by that dark past!

"To help him gradually recover, we had to force ourselves to distance ourselves from him." Zhang Xueqin's eyes reddened. "We didn't take the initiative to get close, we didn't deliberately show concern, and we maintained a distance that he could accept. But we didn't expect that this estrangement would last for more than ten years, making him more and more closed off, and he wouldn't even make friends. He always thought it was because he was cold-hearted, because he wasn't good at getting close to people, but he didn't know how much it hurt us, his parents, to see him all alone!"

“Later he said he was going to the military headquarters in Heilongjiang Province. We were reluctant to let him go, but we still agreed.” Zhang Xueqin smiled bitterly. “We thought that maybe a change of environment, away from us, would make things easier for him. But he rarely contacted us. Even when he sent letters and photos, he became colder and colder. That’s when I realized that we had made a mistake. We shouldn’t have done that. Instead, we made things worse.”

She held Xu Xinghe's hand, her palm warm. "This is the first time he's said he wanted to see us, the first time he's said he wanted to bring people. This child has never cared about anyone like this before. You are the first person who can enter his heart. I pretended to be indifferent just now because I was afraid he would see through me and start to doubt himself again. But I couldn't help it... The thought that he finally has someone to care for him makes my heart feel both bittersweet and warm."

Looking at Zhang Xueqin's reddened eyes, Xu Xinghe felt as if something was blocking her heart.

It turns out that behind Jiang Linchuan's personality lies such a heartbreaking past.

The coldness of Jiang's parents was actually out of a helpless desire to protect him.

She finally understood why Jiang Linchuan both longed for and resisted family affection.

In fact, those fears buried deep in our memories have never truly disappeared.

Xu Xinghe grasped her hand in return, her eyes resolute. "Auntie, don't worry, I will definitely treat Lin Chuan well."

Zhang Xueqin nodded, then suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Xinghe, please don't stop liking him just because he seems cold. You know, this engagement was actually proposed by Linchuan. It was the first time he made demands of us, how could we refuse? So we consulted your parents. He already liked you back then. So no matter what happens, please don't abandon him, okay?"