Jiang Heng remained silent.
Even if Xie An had really done such a thing, it didn’t mean Jiang Heng could accept Jiang Jin now. Perhaps the worst outcome would be that in the future, he would not only lack his father’s company but also his mother’s.
Jiang Heng lowered his gaze slightly, nodded lightly, his face devoid of much expression.
Jiang Jin seemed a bit nervous as he pulled out a chair for him. “I thought you might find it noisy, so I booked the place.”
Jiang Jin’s behavior was excessively accommodating. Jiang Heng wondered if Jiang Jin had ever thought about how his young self would cope when they divorced.
Without responding or expressing gratitude, Jiang Heng sat down and looked up at Jiang Jin who had also taken his seat across from him.
“Say what you have to say,” Jiang Heng still couldn’t face Jiang Jin calmly.
Whenever he saw Jiang Jin, he would remember the arguments he had eavesdropped on when he was young.
On normal days, two such gentle people would quarrel so intensely and agonizingly. Additionally, Jiang Jin had openly admitted to falling for an Omega.
Jiang Heng simply couldn’t imagine any reason why the reality of Jiang Jin’s infidelity, which Jiang Jin himself had openly admitted, could be mistaken.
Xie An had never denied Jiang Jin’s infidelity.
Xie An wasn’t the type to deceive himself about such things.
Seeing Jiang Heng’s attitude towards him, Jiang Jin smiled slightly bitterly, “Okay, I have something to tell you.”
“Jiang Heng, even if Dad says these things now, you might not listen, but—” he began, but Jiang Heng cut him off, “Wait, don’t call yourself Dad. For so many years, that role hasn’t existed in my life. I think you understand what I mean?”
Jiang Jin hesitated, thinking it over, which was quite normal.
If he hadn’t noticed something wrong with Xie An, he wouldn’t have realized he had been deceived for so long, nor would he only now be thinking of reclaiming his son and making up for everything he had lost. Seeing Jiang Jin suddenly look crestfallen, Jiang Heng inexplicably became a bit irritated.
He couldn’t bear to see this pitiful look in front of him. What was there for Jiang Jin to feel pitiful about? He clearly lived so well now, with a new wife and children, so happy. His own children had grown up with the companionship of both parents from a young age. He couldn’t recall whether Xie An and Jiang Jin had ever taken him grocery shopping together, probably they had, when he was too young to understand.
Jiang Heng opened his mouth but swallowed his mocking words. He had come today just to find out what Jiang Jin knew about why he and Xie An had divorced back then, whether it was because Jiang Jin had cheated.
He didn’t speak, and Jiang Jin quickly adjusted his mood, as if nothing had just happened. He smiled, “Okay, I just wanted to tell you to take care of yourself. If you’re willing, could you stay near the city recently?”
He spoke cautiously, afraid Jiang Heng would turn and leave because of his words. But Jiang Heng’s expected anger didn’t come. He just raised an eyebrow and asked lightly, “I study near the city. If I don’t stay near the city, where should I stay?” Jiang Heng sneered slightly, a bit sarcastic, “Jiang Jin, just say what you want to say. Are you trying to tell me to stay away from my mom?”
Surprised that Jiang Heng would ask so directly, Jiang Jin hesitated for a moment, but quickly understood. Given Jiang Heng’s temper, he had grown up with Xie An, and now he was asking these questions… He probably already figured something out.
In Jiang Jin’s plan, there was no intention to let Jiang Heng know the whole truth. Over the years, his son had already been through a lot, and he didn’t want to burden him with these hurtful realities anymore. Jiang Jin closed his eyes and sighed bitterly, “Yes, I’m sorry. I came too late.”
“I don’t want to hear all this,” Jiang Heng’s tone remained cold. He was increasingly annoyed by Jiang Jin’s demeanor. Clearly, he was a successful person. Why couldn’t he maintain a semblance of that success in front of him? Why act so humble, as if he had lost even his self-respect?
Jiang Heng paused, suppressing his inner irritation, and then asked bluntly, “I want to know, why did you and my mom… divorce back then? Was it really because you cheated?”
The words “cheated” were like a bloody knife stabbing into Jiang Jin. Last time he tried to explain to Jiang Heng, he didn’t listen at all. It was normal for Jiang Heng not to listen. Anyone faced with such an established fact suddenly being defended against would find it absurd. Moreover, defending oneself as someone who had “cheated” made it even less convincing.
And yes, during those arguments with Xie An, he did say such hurtful words.
After a brief silence, just as Jiang Heng was about to lose patience, Jiang Jin shook his head. There were some things that he shouldn’t have told Jiang Heng in the first place. Jiang Jin was always afraid of hurting Jiang Heng, but now he realized that not telling him was hurting him even more. Over all these years of protecting his son from harm, he had inadvertently left him in the dark.
“No,” Jiang Jin finally responded. “Maybe you won’t believe it, and I did indeed say I liked an Omega. I won’t deny that. But those were just words said in anger during arguments.”
As Jiang Jin spoke, his voice lowered, “I have always loved Xie An. Even when we divorced, she was the only person I loved. Perhaps saying this is unfair to my current wife, but I won’t deny this truth.”
It was precisely because of this love that he had to choose divorce.
When he was young, Jiang Jin was an extremely outstanding Alpha, whether in academics, appearance, or family background. At that time, many people pursued him. He had a gentle temperament and appeared to treat everyone well on the surface. However, only those close to him knew that despite his high intelligence, he was inexperienced in matters of the heart. Similarly, he was someone who lacked love deeply, perhaps due to his upbringing. Jiang Jin’s parents had an arranged marriage for business reasons, devoid of love, and he received little affection.
He hoped to find someone he truly loved and who would love him in return. This changed when he met Xie An.
Jiang Jin and Xie An attended neighboring schools. Xie An, despite being a Beta, was pursued by many admirers due to her youth, beauty, and intelligence. Although it was unconventional for an Alpha to date a Beta, their love affair was anything but conventional.
Strangely enough, when Jiang Jin first saw Xie An, he felt like he had met the person he would spend his life with. Perhaps it was because similar types of people often have a mutual understanding.
It was almost love at first sight for both of them.
Their relationship was smooth-sailing and filled with love. Initially, they were happy together. Despite Jiang Jin’s parents’ disapproval of him marrying a Beta due to inherent reproductive issues—Betas have much lower fertility rates than Omegas—Jiang Jin and Xie An still got married.
However, after marriage, their lives became increasingly busy. Xie An had her research to focus on, while Jiang Jin had his company to manage. Despite these challenges, they remained happy. Against all odds, Xie An conceived Jiang Heng, despite the extremely low probability, which was a great joy for Jiang Jin.
However, Xie An wanted to terminate the pregnancy of the child she had conceived against all odds.
At that time, Xie An had been in the laboratory for just over a year and had already made significant progress in her research. It must be admitted that Xie An was truly outstanding and intelligent. During her pregnancy, she was involved in a very important research project, and the entire team worked tirelessly day and night.
Xie An wanted to terminate the pregnancy out of fear that the intensity of her work would lead to a miscarriage. She thought it would be better not to have the child at all rather than risk losing it suddenly.
In contrast to Jiang Jin’s complete softness towards the person he loved, Xie An sometimes showed an inherent indifference. Even so, Jiang Jin never tried to dissuade Xie An from terminating the pregnancy. He always acquiesced to her wishes.
However, in the end, the child was born. At that time, Jiang Jin didn’t know why Xie An changed her mind. During the later stages of pregnancy, Xie An rested at home for a while. It was evident that she also cherished their child.
That period was the happiest time for Jiang Jin. He and Xie An had their own child. Initially, he even considered adopting a child if his parents pressured him too much.
During the early years after Jiang Heng’s birth, both of them were very busy. Jiang Jin admitted that even when he had time, his thoughts mostly revolved around Xie An. He rarely focused on their son’s growth. More than being a father, he wanted to be a good husband.
It wasn’t until Jiang Heng started kindergarten that Jiang Jin realized Xie An no longer loved him. She was very busy, to the extent that she didn’t even have time to spend with Jiang Jin anymore.
This was a kind of feeling.
At that time, Jiang Jin was not yet thirty years old. As an Alpha, Alphas have a strong possessive nature—it’s inherent. They cannot tolerate their wives gradually losing interest in them.
They began to argue.
Two people with mild tempers find it really difficult to argue. Jiang Jin couldn’t bring himself to say harsh words to Xie An, and it seemed she was the same. She didn’t seem to get angry at anything, even if they had a disagreement the day before, Xie An would forget about it the next day.
This made Jiang Jin feel powerless.
However, even gentle people can be frightening when they explode.
During their most heated argument, Jiang Jin happened to be in his sensitive period.
He didn’t want to take suppressants, and Xie An said she couldn’t help him either, so he had to take suppressants or endure it.
Seeing Xie An’s attitude, Jiang Jin acted impulsively and said he would find an Omega.
It was just that one sentence that made Jiang Jin realize Xie An still cared about him, and Xie An got angry.
Because he saw a glimmer of hope, Jiang Jin then said he had fallen for an Omega. He hoped to provoke Xie An and make her pay more attention to him.
Even Alphas have vulnerable moments.
But Jiang Jin never imagined that because of his words, Xie An would directly bring up divorce.
Xie An said, “If there’s no love left, then let’s divorce.”
She was too indifferent, and never showed herself as angry or hating Jiang Jin’s appearance again. Despite his disappointment, Jiang Jin still complied with Xie An’s wishes. If she wanted to separate, he would let her go. Perhaps there was still an element of stubbornness at that time, but after the divorce, Jiang Jin regretted it. During the divorce, Xie An requested custody of Jiang Heng, citing genetic tests indicating Jiang Heng would develop into an Omega. Xie An had everything planned out—she believed their son, being an Omega, wasn’t suitable to stay with Jiang Jin, especially since Jiang Jin was planning to marry the Omega he had fallen in love with. It was even less appropriate to have their son around.
At that time, Jiang Jin was full of disappointment. Due to his emotional turmoil, his sensitive period lasted a long time, and not even suppressants could suppress it.
During that period, Jiang Jin’s parents even urged him to fight for custody of Jiang Heng. Jiang Jin refused because he didn’t want to upset Xie An further. He hoped Xie An could live happily.
Seeing his son like this, Jiang Jin’s parents were also at a loss. Coincidentally, a close family friend’s son, who was an Omega, had just returned to the country. They discussed it and arranged a blind date for Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin was forced to go on the blind date.
The other person was nice, but Jiang Jin couldn’t agree because his heart was with Xie An. They treated each other like friends. The other person was gentle, comforting Jiang Jin, listening to his stories about Xie An, and telling him that maybe Xie An still loved him. They just didn’t know how to express it. Their love was too reserved. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t have risked their child’s life by giving birth under such dangerous circumstances. She also wouldn’t care so much about what he had said.
Although Jiang Jin and Xie An were both gentle, it was only surface-level. They lacked communication. Their divorce was too hasty. It was at that time Jiang Jin regretted that he had used the wrong approach. His possessiveness was too strong, and he yearned too much for someone to love him. His thoughts were too extreme.
He had even thought about remarrying Xie An in the past, but after the divorce, Xie An moved away from the nearby city. She even transferred directly to a laboratory in a distant city. Before remarrying, Jiang Jin went to the distant city to see Xie An once. Xie An said she was busy and didn’t have time to see him. She also told him that although she didn’t hate him, their son did and hoped he wouldn’t disturb their son’s life.
Jiang Jin believed her. Whatever Xie An said, he believed. He told Xie An that he didn’t have any other intentions, just hoping they could live well. He accepted responsibility for his mistakes. Jiang Jin didn’t entertain thoughts of remarrying Xie An.
However, after returning from the distant city, due to emotional fluctuations, he entered his sensitive period again. His sensitive period was too fierce. He couldn’t control his emotions, suppressants didn’t work, and the hospital was powerless to help him.
This time, he temporarily marked his blind date partner, who is now his current wife.
It’s actually quite common for Alphas and Omegas to temporarily mark each other to help out.
But at that time, Jiang Jin was desperate for an outlet, so he proposed responsibility to his partner.
From the beginning, he has felt sorry for his current wife, so Jiang Jin has always held an attitude of compensating her.
The two of them have been respectful to each other since they got married. Compared to his intense feelings for Xie An, Jiang Jin feels more of a familial bond with his current wife.
“The time I met my wife, you can ask anyone to confirm.” Jiang Jin shook his head, smiled helplessly, and continued, “When I just remarried, I indeed didn’t dare to come see you.”
He didn’t dare let his son know that he already had a new family, or rather, he didn’t dare to see his son disappointed in him, or see Xie An’s expression when she saw him.
Jiang Heng hung his head, listening quietly. There are many things he couldn’t remember. If Jiang Jin’s infidelity was just a misunderstanding caused by a heated argument, that would be too ridiculous.
Why didn’t Xie An explain to him over all these years?
Because she didn’t want to give up custody rights?
Jiang Heng dared not dwell on it too much.
Nor did he easily believe Jiang Jin’s words.
However, Jiang Jin now didn’t seem to mind Jiang Heng’s attitude much. He just wanted his son to grow up safely in the future; he would find a way to handle the rest.
“Later on, every once in a while, I would secretly go to the distant city to see you,” Jiang Jin said, taking out a box.
It was a box with a combination lock, looking somewhat aged, its exterior worn down so much that its original appearance was no longer discernible. Only the lock looked new, bearing traces of replacements over generations.
It was clear he had come prepared.
“Your mother said you hated seeing me. I had no choice but to see you this way,” Jiang Jin felt that his past self was probably really foolish. Clearly, he could excel in his career, but he was utterly clueless in matters of love and life. He unconditionally trusted Xie An, to the extent that before every visit to Jiang Heng, he would contact Xie An. Every time, Xie An would tell him, ‘Don’t disturb our son. Don’t make me hate you. Even when he has nightmares, he’s afraid of you. How can he live like this?’ When Xie An said these words, her tone was still gentle, as if just reminding Jiang Jin not to make their son hate him more. But she never realized that these words would become a thorn in Jiang Jin’s heart forever.
When he was with Xie An, he indeed paid too little attention to his son, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love Jiang Heng.
If his son didn’t want to see him, he would find a way to see him.
Before this, Jiang Heng had never imagined that he would see so much here at Jiang Jin’s place, even things he had forgotten about himself.
“This… was shortly after you left for the distant city. I asked my friend to take it for me.” The box contained a large pile of photos, almost overflowing.
Jiang Jin picked out one: a photo taken while standing in line under the sun. Perhaps taken from a far distance to avoid being noticed, the focus was clearly on young Jiang Heng. He wasn’t wearing his school uniform and looked a bit disheveled, with a dirtied shirt, but there was a smile on his face.
Jiang Heng was slightly taller than his peers, making him quite noticeable.
Jiang Heng remembered this.
It was the first time he got into a fight in the distant city because someone called him a wild child with no parents. That day, he was supposed to be called in by the principal, but Xie An was too busy to come.
Jiang Heng stared at the photo expressionlessly.
But his hands, resting on his knees, clenched tightly, even the nails digging deep into his palms.
Yet he didn’t feel any pain at all.
“It really doesn’t hurt.”
Seeing him devoid of emotion made Jiang Jin feel uneasy. He had made too many mistakes and owed Jiang Heng too much.
“This one I took myself. It was after your mid-term exams ended, and you came out of school, arguing with your classmates.” Jiang Jin described the photo where young Jiang Heng emerged from the school gate, almost jumping as if to hit someone nearby. His face couldn’t hide the smile, looking quite silly. The shade of the trees and the sunlight fell perfectly on his face.
After Jiang Jin finished speaking, he moved to set the photo down like the previous one. But before he could, Jiang Heng snatched it away.
Jiang Jin was taken aback. “What’s wrong…?”
Jiang Heng’s face tensed. “Did you take this without my knowledge?”
Worried that Jiang Heng might get angry and not understanding how he found out, Jiang Jin could only nod.
Jiang Heng sighed. “You’re so busy, yet you managed to find time to take sneak photos.”
His tone was somewhat accusing.
Jiang Jin didn’t take offense. “Whenever I had a chance, I would come over.” He continued, a bit embarrassed, “I almost got mistaken for a criminal once.”
But in this world, there was nothing money couldn’t settle.
Jiang Heng flipped the photo over without much emotion.
It was then that he realized his hands were trembling like this.
On the back of the photo were written the date, location, and what Jiang Jin guessed Jiang Heng was doing.
“April 15, 2060. Looks very happy, playing around with classmates.”
Jiang Heng frowned and gritted his teeth until they felt numb, finally stopping his trembling eyelids. “Why ‘Star’?”
Jiang Jin, who had been closely watching his son’s every move, hesitated for a moment. His voice softened. “When you were just born, I named you Jiang Xing.” He paused, then sighed helplessly. “But your mother said it sounded too ordinary, so we changed it to Jiang Heng.”
“Your nickname was supposed to be ‘Star’.”
Nickname.
Jiang Heng lowered his eyes, clenched his teeth tightly. His hand, which had been on the photo, quickly moved away, tucking under the table, tightly gripping the edge of his clothes. He was trembling.
But he didn’t know how to stop trembling.
After a while, so long that Jiang Jin thought Jiang Heng must really dislike that name, Jiang Heng half pursed his lips and spoke again. “What about the other photos?”
“Are you just showing me these two?”
At his words, Jiang Jin immediately picked up another new photo.
“This one is when you were brought up to the platform for a review.” Even in moments like this, little Jiang Heng under Jiang Jin’s camera lens still shone like the sun.
On the back of the photo, it was written: “May 15, 2060. Star made a mistake and was brought up to the platform. Looks really cute. I’m going to argue with the teacher.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
He blinked, his voice trembling slightly. “Did you argue with the teacher?”
Jiang Jin shook his head gently. “I didn’t dare to.”
He feared that if he went to argue with the teacher, even if he could bribe the teacher into silence, he was afraid that one day the teacher might accidentally slip up. Then he might lose even the right to secretly look at his son.
Jiang Heng chuckled softly without saying another word.
Seeing him smile, Jiang Jin relaxed a bit, despite it being a wry smile—it was still another form of emotional expression.
At least it shows that Jiang Heng’s attitude is slowly changing.
“This one is when a girl confessed to you.” On the back of the photo, it was written: “July 12, 2061. Star has girls liking him already, but Star is still young. Is it too early now?”
From Jiang Heng’s elementary school to junior high and then to the first year of high school…
“This one is when you got injured in a fight.” In the photo, Jiang Heng was holding his injured arm, limping towards the school gate.
On the back of the photo, it was written: “April 15, 2065. Star got injured. What should we do? Why isn’t anyone helping me? I really want to hug him.”
Author’s note: “Wahhhhh I’m crying so hard, what a fool I am. I cried so hard while writing, wiping my tears there. Oh my god, my friend laughed at me so much.”
Jiang Jin was also someone who made mistakes.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
