A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

Jiang Chu remained silent.

A breeze blew from the direction of the back garden through the corridor, ruffling a few stray strands of her hair. She raised her hand to tuck them behind her ear. "I understand."

Xie Jing paused at the corner of the corridor, looked up at the faded painted decoration above the eaves. It was a set of lotus scroll patterns, with most of the paint gone.

"That's just the kind of person the old man was. Anyway, he's gone, so none of this matters anymore. I'm telling you this so you can understand me. I didn't have a... good father in the conventional sense, so there are many things I'm unsure how to do."

He hesitated slightly. "Providing my elder brother's daughter with education and material resources, and protecting her until she comes of age, is what I promised her back then. As for the rest, she didn't want my care, so I let it go, because I didn't love her anyway. I was also very busy at the time and didn't try too hard. If it were my child, I would definitely have more patience, but I don't know to what extent I can do it."

Jiang Chu followed him, walked a few steps beside him, and then gently placed her hand into his palm.

Xie Jing looked down at her, said nothing, but simply closed his fingers and held her hand.

"Xie Jing," Jiang Chu looked up at him earnestly, "You know very well that a normal father wouldn't beat his child for those reasons, nor would he send his child to some war-torn mine to be killed. That's enough. It shows that you're different from your father. As for the rest, how far can you go... people aren't born knowing how to be parents. Right now, I think I'd rather go dancing than play with a noisy baby. You see, I'm selfish too!"

Xie Jing paused for two seconds, his expression relaxing slightly. "I don't think this is selfish. A baby's cry is a high-frequency noise that has been optimized by natural selection in terms of physiological mechanism. It can trigger the alarm response of the amygdala, making it impossible for people to ignore it."

He squeezed the girl's fingers. "In other words, your brain has been hijacked. Disliking being hijacked is a normal self-protection mechanism, not selfishness."

Jiang Chu blinked. "Okay, great scientist, anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't be too hard on yourself."

"Yes," Xie Jing smiled, "Besides, you don't need to worry about the children making noise."

Jiang Chu turned her head to look at him.

Xie Jing calmly stated, "There will be a professional childcare team, including postpartum nannies, pediatric consultants, and sleep trainers. This can be arranged starting before delivery. When the baby cries, the professionals will handle it; you won't have to bear it yourself. You can sleep if you want, dance if you want, or be alone if you want."

He paused, then said, "Your body is yours, and your time is yours. Always."

Jiang Chu was stunned for a few seconds.

Her ears began to slowly heat up, and the heat spread along her neck, even giving her cheeks a thin blush.

"No," she looked away, "you're thinking too far ahead."

Xie Jing lowered his head, his deep black eyes falling on her profile. "I'm just saying, if that day ever comes, don't worry."

Jiang Chu took a deep breath. "I...I'm not that worried. I just wanted to reassure you. Many people have criminal parents, but they themselves are good people, right?"

After passing through the third courtyard, the gate to the back garden is open.

The winter scenery here is somewhat desolate. Most of the vegetation in the flowerbeds has withered, with only a few wintersweet trees quietly standing next to the flower stand, their yellow stamens about to bloom but not yet open.

Next to the artificial hill is a small pond with a thin layer of ice on the surface, reflecting the cold sunlight.

Jiang Chu stood beside the plum tree and gently touched a bud that was about to bloom.

Xie Jing walked to her side and stopped in front of a stone carving above the flower stand.

It was a small bluestone slab, embedded in the side of the flower stand pillar, with several lines of text engraved on it.

The handwriting is not the solemn regular script of inscriptions, but rather a running-cursive script, carrying a strong personal style.

"Profits should not be monopolized, plans should not be made alone, actions should not be rushed, and forbearance should not be tolerated."

The inscription at the bottom reads: Recorded by Xie Tingshu.

And a line of year numbers.

It is still the previous dynasty.

"Is this one of your ancestors?"

"My God, my great-grandfather," Xie Jing whispered, "his great-great-grandfather, when he was in his forties, had just completed a partnership with several Beiyang businessmen, expanding the business into textiles and coal mines."

Jiang Chu read the line of text again, and nodded thoughtfully.

The two stood in the back garden for a while, and Xie Jing led her on a walk around the east and west courtyards.

The east courtyard now houses a small study and a tea room, both kept quite tidy and regularly maintained. On the table is a ceramic vase with fresh pine branches, indicating that someone has been there recently.

"Who lives here?" Jiang Chu asked, looking at the pine branch.

"Some relatives come occasionally," Xie Jing said casually, "and your niece too."

Jiang Chu: "?"

Jiang Chu: "I don't have a nephew—oh, you mean Xie Qingyang."

Jiang Chu: "…………"

She looked around and went into a small study.

This looks like it hasn't been used for a long time.

A desk sits by the window, next to a display cabinet with openwork latticework, and in the corner sits a round-backed chair with a thin layer of dust on its armrests.

On the desk was a celadon brush washer, long since dried, its crackled glaze gleaming in the setting sun.

Jiang Chu looked at the wall behind the desk.

There was a painting hanging there.

A painting of bamboo in ink.

The brushwork is extremely clean, with several bamboo stalks emerging diagonally from the lower left corner of the painting. The bends of the branches are both free and restrained, the bamboo leaves are arranged with a good balance of density and sparseness, and the transitions between dark and light ink are crisp.

The inscription contains only a few characters, written in running-cursive script, with slender yet powerful strokes.

—It makes a sound even without wind, just a casual sketch.

Below was a vermilion seal with characters that were too small. Jiang Chu squinted and tried to decipher them for a moment. "What characters are these?"

"...Yun." Xie Jing stood at the door. "That's Madam Lei's name."

Jiang Chu understood. "Your father's ex-wife?"

"Yes, she is very talented," Xie Jing nodded. "They seemed to be very close when they were young, but later she couldn't stand the old man anymore."

"So you got divorced?"

"Yes, that's one reason. Her relationship with the Lei family wasn't good. She discovered that those people wanted to interfere in the Xie family's shareholding, so she became even more determined to get a divorce. She took her share of the assets with her."

Xie Jing thought for a moment and said with a sense of satisfaction, "She built her own manor, kept models, and I think she also has actresses. In short, she's much happier in her later years than the old man."

"..."

When we walked back to the second courtyard, the winter sun had already set, and the golden light slanted across the blue brick ground, casting long shadows of two people side by side in the courtyard.

"Chairman," the head of the bodyguard team approached, "Miss's car will be arriving soon. In about twenty minutes."

Xie Jing nodded calmly.

The captain hesitated for a moment, "The young lady also brought a friend, surnamed Wei."