Chapter 22: Remote Control, I wish you could see the you in my eyes...
When Zheng Yi accompanied Jiang Hao back to Jiang's house to pack up, she didn't expect Jiang Cheng to be there. Their purpose for this trip was to pack up everything and move right here, never to return.
Jiang Cheng saw the two of them walk in together, and Zheng Yi was so protective of Jiang Haoxiang that he flew into a rage. Jiang Cheng's anger only made Zheng Yi more nervous, and he became even more protective of Jiang Haoxiang, which only made Jiang Cheng even angrier. It was like there was no end to it.
Zheng Yi had already stood between her and Jiang Cheng.
"You're back? You still remember to come back? Do you still know that your last name is Jiang?!" Jiang Cheng wanted to spit a few times.
Jiang Hao wanted to say calmly: "My last name is Jiang, and I can never change it in this life. But that doesn't mean I have to live in your shadow."
Jiang Haoxiang responded and headed upstairs to her room. Zheng Yi followed behind her, protecting her and secretly determined that no matter what, she would not be wronged again today.
"Stop right there!" Jiang Cheng stood up, his face looking even uglier. "My shadow? I provide you with food and clothing, but I've become your shadow? Jiang Haoxiang, have you grown wings now? Are you planning to move directly to someone else's house? Have you learned to act first and report later? Are you colluding with outsiders to deceive your father, me? Did Xiang Li teach you that? Is she so impatient to snatch you away? And you, Zheng Yi, what are you and your son planning? Have you conspired to kidnap my daughter?" The last sentence was directed at Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi frowned: "Uncle Jiang, watch your words."
"Watch your words? How old is my daughter? Are you instigating her to run away from home like this? Is this how Xiang Li acts as an elder? Teaching other people's children to disown their biological father?"
Jiang Haoxiang suddenly laughed. "Instigating? You're really flattering yourself. Do I need someone to teach me whether to acknowledge you or not? First, I didn't lie to you. I told you a few days ago that I would move out, but you didn't take it seriously. Second, Aunt Xiang is not an outsider. She raised and educated me, and she put in more effort than my own mother. As for Zheng Yi, he's not an outsider either. He's my boyfriend now, and he's also my family."
Jiang Cheng was angry and laughed, as if he was meeting his daughter for the first time.
"Boyfriend? How old are you to be in a relationship? And with this guy? Does Xiang Li know? Did she plan this all along? Xiang Li divorced herself and has a son, and now she wants to kidnap my daughter, right? Instigating you to have a premature love relationship?"
Jiang Haoxiang remained calm, "Of course she knows. She supports every decision I make. I know my own business. There's no need for you to speculate about others with your dirty mind. If you have the time, can't you speculate about yourself? You stare at others every day. Don't you know that you look like a demon now? I feel unlucky every time I go home."
Jiang Cheng was so angry that his teeth were chattering, and Zheng Yi was afraid that he would die of anger. In the end, Jiang Cheng still used the same old trick -
Raised his hand and slapped.
Seeing Zheng Yi standing beside him, ready to fight back at any time, Jiang Cheng didn't slap him.
He suddenly calmed down and said, "Since you mentioned your mother, did you know that your mother's house was demolished?"
Before Jiang Haoxiang and Jiang Cheng fell out, Jiang Cheng never called her "your mother," always "Lin Ran." It was as if Jiang Haoxiang and Lin Ran couldn't have anything to do with each other. After Jiang Haoxiang rebelled, Jiang Cheng started calling her "your mother" all the time, thinking that Jiang Haoxiang was now just like Lin Ran.
Jiang Haoxiang had a bad feeling: "So what if it's demolished?"
"Before the demolition, I went to clean up and found the things your mother left for you. Twelve letters and a suicide note. Your name was written on them all."
Jiang Hao seemed to be trembling a little. Zheng Yi immediately held her waist and asked in a low voice: "Are you okay?"
Jiang Hao wanted to use his strength to stand firm: "The house was demolished several years ago. Why did you tell me now?"
Jiang Cheng snorted coldly and said nothing. It was clearly intentional.
"Give me the thing." Jiang Hao wanted to say it directly.
Jiang Cheng sneered: "Okay. If you break up with Zheng Yi, I will give you the letter and the suicide note."
Zheng Yi, who was standing nearby, felt relieved upon hearing this condition. He even felt like laughing. That's it? He thought it was no big deal!
He thought that why not just pretend to agree to break up, wait until he got the letter and the suicide note, and then get back together with Hao Xiang, right?
It was impossible for Jiang Cheng to keep an eye on them 24 hours a day. He seemed to have great confidence in Jiang Hao and would never abandon him just because of a few old letters.
The indifference on his face did not escape Jiang Cheng's eyes. Seeing that he did not seem threatened at all, Jiang Cheng was even more furious, feeling like he had punched cotton.
Zheng Yi was about to wink at Jiang Hao, but she heard her say, "Then I don't want it."
Jiang Cheng and Zheng Yi were both stunned.
"Everyone needs to move forward and look ahead. I've already confirmed from Aunt Xiang Li that Mom loves me very much. That's enough. Her letters, her suicide note, are nothing more than proof of her love for me. I can probably guess what's in them. They're nothing more than blessings for me, love for me, and reluctance to let me go."
She looked directly at Jiang Cheng and continued, "I understand her feelings, that's enough. I will carry on living well with the love my mother gave me. You may think these letters and suicide notes are important, so you didn't dare give them to me a few years ago and hid them until now. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I will know how much my mother loves me? Are you afraid that I will realize how little you love me? Or are you afraid that if I get my mother's comfort, I will no longer need you as a father? You are too weak. In fact, I don't care about those things at all, you know? I really don't care."
After saying that, she took Zheng Yi's hand and walked towards her room.
Zheng Yi followed her upstairs, naively dragging her along. Along the way, he noticed the walls were covered with his brother's awards and photos. The only family photo hanging in the living room was a portrait of the four of them. Everywhere else, the only photos were of Jiang Cheng, Wang Jing, and their son.
Jiang Haoxiang had excellent grades and won so many awards since he was a child, but not a single certificate had ever been posted. He suddenly realized that there was no trace of Jiang Haoxiang's existence in this house.
Jiang Haoxiang's room was small, and she didn't have many things. Her belongings from her previous stay at the school had already been packed up and left at Xiang Li's house. The day before yesterday, Zheng Yi and Jiang Haoxiang had gone to visit Jiang Haoxiang's grandmother, and after returning, Zheng Yi went to the school to help her move them back.
Now she just needed to pack a few things. Her belongings at Jiang's house seemed to fit into a suitcase if she were to simplify them.
Zheng Yi was helping her pretend, feeling upset. Jiang Hao wanted her to suddenly stop and look around.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Yi asked.
"The box of dolls is gone."
Zheng Yi would give her claw machines every time they went to the arcade, and over the years, they had accumulated a large box of them. Jiang Haoxiang cherished them very much and named each one.
She walked out of her room and headed towards the other side, which was originally her bedroom, but now it was her brother's room.
When she opened the door, the dolls were scattered on the ground. Jiang Hao wanted to stand at the door, motionless. Then she suddenly burst into tears.
Zheng Yi followed, picked her up, and took her back to her little room and put her on the bed.
"Wait a minute," he said.
He found a large trash bag and picked up the dolls on the ground one by one. Some were in a state of disrepair, but he still kept them. These dolls had been taken away by his brother, and Jiang Haoxiang probably didn't want them anymore. But these were Jiang Haoxiang's things, and even if they had to be thrown away, it should be hers.
After packing up the dolls, he carried the luggage and the bag of dolls and took Jiang Hao's hand to go downstairs.
"Uncle Jiang, let's go."
On the way home, Jiang Hao wanted to throw the bag of dolls into the community garbage station.
When they got home, Xiang Li was not there. Zheng Yi took Jiang Haoxiang to his room. Jiujiu came over and for the first time he did not mind the cat's fur. He brought the cat to the bed and let Jiang Haoxiang pet it. Then he held the cat and Jiang Haoxiang in his arms.
"Don't cry, don't cry," he wiped her tears, "I'm almost saving enough money and will be able to buy a house soon. Let's go catch dolls this afternoon and keep catching as many as you like."
He added, "I just quietly took all the certificates from your drawer. I'll put them up for you at home later. You're the best kid."
"I'm not a child anymore." Jiang Hao said with sobs.
"Then we're the best friends." Zheng Yi kissed her forehead. "How about I go and beat up Jiang Cheng?"
Jiang Haoxiang was shocked: "Don't go, he will cause trouble for you."
Zheng Yi said, "I'm quite angry. I think even though you're crying, you're actually very angry, right?"
This reminded Jiang Haoxiang of an incident. When she was in elementary school, Zheng Yi took her to the arcade, where she found a small dinosaur doll she loved. A little boy stole it while she wasn't paying attention, and she angrily demanded it be returned. The boy's parents, watching Jiang Haoxiang's irritation, found it amusing: "Children are so cute when they're angry."
Zheng Yi rushed forward and snatched the doll back, and the boy immediately burst into tears. The boy's parents were about to get angry, but Zheng Yi shouted, "I find your anger quite funny and cute. Are you happy about me saying that? Angry is angry. You should be scared when you see someone angry, not find it cute! You're such a bad adult!"
With new and old memories overlapping, Jiang Hao felt a little embarrassed.
"Isn't this embarrassing for me? You're so old and you're still crying."
Zheng Yi kissed her cheek: "No. You're crying because your emotions are not resolved, and your emotions are not resolved because the problem is not resolved. How can it be embarrassing?"
He held her face in his hands: "I wish you could see yourself in my eyes."
"What do I look like in your eyes?"
"Very brave, very powerful, very strong, very agile, very smart, very beautiful." Zheng Yi said word by word with gentle eyes.
Jiang Haoxiang sniffed, and then his phone rang. It was Xiang Li.
"I miss you so much! Jiang Cheng just called me and had a huge argument. I won! It's so satisfying! Let's make dumplings tonight to celebrate."
Jiang Hao wanted to burst into laughter: "Okay!"
After hanging up the phone, Zheng Yi took her hand and said, "Then let's go catch the dolls now."
Arriving at the arcade, Zheng Yi exchanged a hundred coins and was eager to try his luck. However, half an hour later, fifty coins had gone to waste, and he hadn't caught a single doll.
"There is definitely something wrong with this machine." Zheng Yi was indignant.
Jiang Haoxiang couldn't help laughing: "Let me try."
She tossed two coins, aimed at Pikachu, and the claws came down and caught it.
Zheng Yi was stunned: "How did you do that?"
"Practice makes perfect. I usually do it myself."
She caught three more dolls, each one a success. Zheng Yi looked at her and realized that Jiang Haoxiang had really learned a lot during his absence.
On the way home, Jiang Haoxiang hugged the four dolls and her mood was obviously much better.
"Actually, I still care a little about those letters."
Zheng Yi held her hand: "I know."
"But I don't regret it. Mom's love is in my heart and doesn't need to be proven by a few letters. And I don't want Jiang Cheng to think that he can use Mom's things to control me."
Zheng Yi nodded: "I understand."
When I got home, Xiang Li had already started kneading the dough. Seeing the doll in his hand, he said, "Good results."
"I really wanted to pick them all up," Zheng Yi confessed honestly, "but I didn't get any."
Xiang Li laughed loudly: "Serves you right! You used to brag all the time."
The three of them made dumplings together. Xiang Li rolled the dough, while Zheng Yi and Jiang Haoxiang wrapped the dumplings. Zheng Yi's dumplings were crooked, while Jiang Haoxiang's were neat.
"Your cooking skills are not that good. How are you going to cook for me in the future?"
"I can learn."
It was already dark when the dumplings were cooked. The three of them sat around the dining table, steaming hot.
"Come, let's toast to our family's new life." Xiang Li raised his juice glass.
"cheers!"
"cheers!"
Zheng Yizhen took out Jiang Haoxiang's award certificates and posted them one by one on the wall of the living room.
The whole wall was covered with posters of "Three Good Students", "Outstanding Cadres" and "First Prize in Mathematics Competition".
Zheng Yi sighed as he posted, "This is too much. How are you so good?"
Jiang Haoxiang felt a little embarrassed: "Don't post it, it's too exaggerated."
Xiang Li directed from the side: "No, it must be posted."
After putting up the certificate, the three of them sat on the sofa to admire it. Jiujiu jumped up and nestled in Jiang Haoxiang's lap.
In the evening, Zheng Yi took Jiang Haoxiang back to her room. At the door, he held her hand and said, "This will be your home from now on, forever. I really like you, Jiang Haoxiang. Can you believe me? We will definitely be fine."
Jiang Haoxiang nodded.
Thinking of the broken fan, it suddenly didn't matter anymore. A breeze came in, blowing the curtains and across her face. It was just like the breeze that fan had brought her all those years ago.
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Author's Note: Oh my goodness, I'm done! It all happened so suddenly. I thought no one would read it! Thank you so much for your company! I can't believe it.
I also became more and more convinced that this was a dream that Xiao Jiang gave me, asking me to create her.
I enjoyed writing it, and I hope my readers will enjoy reading it too.
Oftentimes, I just get emotionally aroused and the atmosphere is there, so I just write like a slant. This one was written very quickly, practically without sleep, so there are bound to be some very immature and sloppy parts, which I may need to make changes to later.
I thought about the ending for a long time, but I still think it’s fine to stop here, it’s already good enough.
I will put the sweet daily life of Xiao Jiang and Zheng Yi in the extra chapter. Both children are very cute.
Then we'll see you in the sequel.
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