Chapter Thirty-Five: Yet Another Person Who Doesn't Know Wang Ruolan

Sitting on the high-speed train back to his hometown, Jiang Yang took out his phone to check it. It had been over a full day, and Ruolan hadn't called him; he, in turn, had no intention of calling her.

They were currently acting exactly like a bickering married couple, neither one willing to acknowledge the other. Except they hadn't actually exchanged a single word of argument; they had simply cut off contact.

He didn't believe for a moment that Ruolan would just disappear. A woman who had installed eighteen cameras in his room would certainly not vanish so easily. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before she appeared before him again. Besides, she had stolen his household registration booklet, and she would definitely have to return it. He didn't know what they would say to each other when they finally met, and Jiang Yang didn't want to think about it right now.

As for who he had originally intended to confess his feelings to, he found it difficult to come up with an answer. The women in his life each had their own unique charm: Xia Bingbing was pure and sweet, and being with her felt like a gentle breeze; Su Muyun’s sexiness could make any man’s blood boil, leaving anyone wishing they could pin her to the sofa and have their way with her; Ouyang Qian possessed an intellectual beauty, and Feifei was like a powerful buff, making being with them feel like home. Liang Xiaoqing was his childhood sweetheart; they had grown up together, and even though he had lost his memories, seeing her caused various beautiful fragments of his childhood to vaguely resurface. Then, of course, there was Dr. Yang, who was like a confidante, always staying by his side during his most confused moments. She didn't even get jealous of the other women, choosing instead to help him selflessly.

Now that every woman expected to be his wife and wanted him to consider it seriously, it was truly a conundrum! Ah, how he wished he could grab his pre-amnesia self and ask what he had decided. Of course, that was impossible. While he couldn't interrogate his past self, there was someone else he could ask: his mother. Surely he must have told her about something as significant as marriage.

His mother was an ordinary middle-aged woman from a small town. She had been laid off from a state-owned enterprise in her early years and had since worked various odd jobs to make ends meet, helping his father put Jiang Yang through university. Later, she had endured his father’s disappearance and the burden of massive gambling debts, which had left her with a very open-minded perspective on life.

She had never interfered with Jiang Yang’s dating life, believing that as long as he was happy, that was all that mattered. She often said one had to take responsibility for one's own life. However, he had previously been so focused on paying off his father's debts that he worked every side job imaginable, leaving him no time to date. He hadn't expected that without much dating, he would suddenly find himself at the stage of discussing wives, so he must have asked for his mother’s opinion.

There was another problem: Sister Xiaoqing was back, and he wondered if she would be whispering in his mother’s ear while staying at their home.

As he was lost in thought, the train announcement chimed: "We have arrived at W City."

Jiang Yang grabbed his luggage to disembark. Although it had only been a month since his last visit home, it felt like a lifetime ago. As soon as he stepped out of the station, he saw a familiar figure waiting at the exit.

Liang Xiaoqing was wearing a light, breezy camisole today, revealing her fair shoulders and arms. The sunlight fell upon her, giving her skin a healthy glow. Her denim shorts encased her straight, slender legs, and the white sneakers she wore added a touch of vitality. She was the "white moonlight" of Jiang Yang’s childhood and adolescence; even just standing there, she could be the white moonlight for many others. Seeing her now seemed to awaken memories in Jiang Yang’s mind—he felt as though there were both beautiful and painful recollections between them. It likely wasn't as she had claimed, that their friction was merely a dispute over not asking her for money.

"Jiang Yang!" She ran over with a beaming smile, then glanced behind him and asked, "Didn't you say you had a wife? Where is she? Didn't you bring her for your sister to see?"

Jiang Yang felt a flash of awkwardness. "We broke up."

Liang Xiaoqing feigned surprise. "Oh? It couldn't be because I visited for a little while, could it? I didn't even stay the night at your place that evening."

"It’s not because of you..." Jiang Yang hesitated for a moment, deciding not to mention the cameras. "Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s head home."

Liang Xiaoqing seemed to love the word "we." She beamed and said, "I understand. You just want to get married, right? That’s simple; leave it to me! I’ll cook tonight and make a feast for you and your sister."

Jiang Yang’s mouth twitched. *If my marriage is really up to you, then I’m in trouble.* He asked instead, "You’ve been in the U.S. all this time; surely you aren't going to make us American food?"

Liang Xiaoqing tapped Jiang Yang on the head with a hooked finger. "Didn't I video call you often while I was in the U.S.? I always cooked at home, so my culinary skills haven't gotten rusty."

Jiang Yang apologized, "I'm sorry, Sister Xiaoqing. After I lost my memory, I really did forget a lot of things."

Liang Xiaoqing took Jiang Yang’s hand. "I heard about your car accident and the memory loss. It’s okay. I have some free time these next two days, and I’ll help you remember our past together."

Jiang Yang was stunned. "Who told you about it?"

"A friend of yours," she said nonchalantly. She then hailed a taxi and they headed toward his home.

W City was a fourth-tier town, and Jiang Yang’s home was in an old residential complex built in the nineties; the buildings were dilapidated and worn. Since helping his family pay off their debts, his hope had been to buy them a new home sooner or later, or perhaps bring his mother to live in S City. But now that the financial debts were cleared, the emotional ones were not so easily repaid.

Liang Chunmei had been waiting at home for a long time. Seeing her son return, she stepped forward and hugged him. "Son, you were in a car accident and lost your memory, yet you didn't even tell your mother."

Jiang Yang knew it must have been Xiaoqing who told her. He comforted her immediately, "Mom, why are you worrying so much? Look, aren't I perfectly fine? Aside from losing some old memories, I haven't lost a single piece of myself."

"Oh, you're such a grown man and still don't know how to take care of yourself. I think it’s time you found yourself a partner." She then cast a glance at Liang Xiaoqing, who was tying on an apron nearby.

Jiang Yang quickly put his arm around his mother’s shoulders. "Let’s not talk about that for now. Have there been any updates about Dad?"

Liang Chunmei sighed. "No. Even the debt collectors didn't know where he went. I don't want to look for him anymore; I’ll just consider him gone."

"Jiang Yang, don't talk to your sister about these things. That's all in the past, we need to look forward. I think our neighbor, Old Chen, is quite good to your sister..."

Jiang Yang’s eyes lit up. "Sister Chunmei, I didn't realize it, but are you starting to sprout new buds like an old willow tree? Is there a new romance?"