Chapter 42
“Look at you, your eldest son upset you, and you’re taking it out on me.”
His wife, Wen Xinyi, looked at him coldly. Their son, Jiang Cheng, had performed well in the competition, winning the silver medal in a world-class competition. According to Teacher Li, winning a silver medal at his age was a remarkable achievement for a genius.
The gold medal went to a foreigner, who had an inherent advantage, coupled with their aristocratic status. It was reasonable for them to win the gold medal.
With her younger son bringing her honor, Wen Xinyi naturally had little patience for her husband. She knew about Jiang He’s numerous social engagements.
Compared to her ex-husband, Gu Ze, whom she had known since childhood and whose background she was familiar with, Jiang He had one flaw: he wasn’t as loyal to her, not as loyal to their marriage.
But she also knew that you couldn’t have it all. Jiang He and Gu Ze were completely different. If it were Gu Ze, that man wouldn’t have been able to provide her with such an affluent life in such a short time.
Thinking of this, Wen Xinyi didn’t say anything more: “I’m going upstairs. I want to be alone. Don’t bother me unless it’s important.”
Nineteen years ago, she lost her first husband, the only man in the world who might have truly and purely loved her. And nineteen years later, today, she lost the child that man left behind, the child who was so much like him.
She needed some time to adjust her mindset, it wouldn’t take long, just one day.
Jiang He waited for his wife to go upstairs. Their home was a duplex, two large apartments combined. Although it was just the three of them living there, the house wasn’t empty.
There was a violin room, a study, a home theater, a dance studio…
The first floor had many mirrored surfaces. As Jiang He went upstairs, he suddenly saw his own reflection. Compared to previous years, his aura had weakened considerably, no longer as vigorous and energetic.
Due to overwork, his hair had turned gray prematurely. He dyed it black every month, trying to appear young to outsiders.
Unlike his wife, who regularly had cosmetic procedures, his face aged naturally, with prominent forehead and eye wrinkles when he made exaggerated expressions.
Partly, it was due to the decline in his physical functions. Unlike Jiang Huaisheng, the privileged child born with a silver spoon in his mouth,
Jiang Huaisheng was the center of attention at any social gathering. If he said he wanted tea, no one would dare offer him alcohol.
If he said he wanted juice or milk, people would praise him for his healthy choices. He, Jiang He, was different. He had many unavoidable social engagements.
Not having time to exercise, not developing a beer belly and becoming fat, he was already considered well-maintained among his peers, a handsome, sturdy tree.
But Jiang Huaisheng was completely different. Since that surgery five years ago, Jiang He felt that his “nephew” was glowing with health, as if he had absorbed the essence of a living person.
He used to be a sickly person who was constantly in and out of the hospital, with a fragile body that couldn’t handle high-intensity work. But after the surgery, Jiang Huaisheng recovered quickly and was discharged from the hospital. Normally, using another person’s organs or tissues could easily lead to rejection.
But strangely, Jiang Huaisheng didn’t have any rejection reaction and recovered exceptionally well.
This might have a lot to do with the donor’s good health. Jiang He’s most vivid memory of his wife’s son from her previous marriage was his vitality.
He had interacted with Gu Tang’s father before. He married Wen Xinyi not only because she was beautiful and presentable, and because she and her son could gain the Jiang family’s sympathy and be useful tools, but also largely because of Gu Tang’s father.
Jiang He was an orphan, and Gu Tang’s father, Gu Ze, was also an orphan, but Gu Ze was adopted by a kind elderly couple in town and had a very warm family.
Yes, even though they weren’t blood-related, when Gu Ze mentioned his parents, his eyes were filled with happiness.
When talking about his beloved wife and newborn son, the happiness in his eyes almost overflowed.
Gu Tang’s father, who became the Jiang family’s housekeeper at a young age, was also a very outstanding young man, unlike Jiang He.
Jiang He’s excellence was in his academics and work ability, but initially, because he came from an orphanage, he was much more sensitive.
Gu Ze was the complete opposite, an open, cheerful, and easygoing person, very approachable, like a radiant sun.
Coming from the countryside, he had honey-colored skin and strong muscles from physical labor. The elderly couple treated Gu Ze very well, but Gu Ze was sensible and always helped out at home.
Gu Ze lived in the countryside as a child and only moved to the town after his family’s financial situation improved. He knew how to do a lot of farm work. He hadn’t been to a gym, but he had a beautiful and strong physique, with the height and figure most men envied.
Jiang He had no doubt that if Gu Ze, with his unusual strength, really wanted to fight, he could kill him, the frail Jiang He, with one punch.
Despite his hard life, compared to the Jiang family’s wealth, what they had was just a drop in the bucket.
Jiang He didn’t understand why this country boy was always so happy and could easily gain the favor of so many people. His happiness was often an eyesore to him.
Gu Ze only had a high school education and joined the army after graduating, while he was a rare university graduate, a truly highly educated person in that era.
Gu Ze married early and sent all his savings to his family. After joining the Jiang family, he saved most of his hard-earned money and sent it to his wife and child.
The Gu family built a stylish and comfortable new house in the town. In those days, the Gu family was among the first to build a small villa in the town. Although they weren’t the very first, their house was very beautiful at the time, with a fashionable design unique to big cities.
So, before he turned eight, Gu Tang was truly happy. He had a capable and loving father who brought home bags of gifts every holiday and, no matter how tired he was, would take a long train ride home to be with his family on his days off.
Even if he arrived one day and had to take the train back the next.
His father was handsome and capable, he had a beautiful home, his mother was gentle and beautiful and could make many delicious snacks, and his grandparents doted on him.
He, Gu Tang, was the most likable and enviable child in Lishui Town!
Gu Ze’s wife sent him a letter with photos of their new house and Gu Tang.
Gu Ze’s son, this handsome child, looked radiant under the sun, wearing the clothes Gu Ze sent him, like a little young master from the city, not a dirty country bumpkin at all.
And the child looked a lot like Gu Ze, inheriting his parents’ good looks, with fair skin and bright eyes, and cute dimples and slightly protruding canine teeth when he smiled.
Even Jiang He, who didn’t like children, felt a pang of envy towards Gu Ze at this moment. His son was so much like him and seemed so outstanding.
But Gu Ze died, saving Mr. and Mrs. Jiang, so young, so capable, so smart, suddenly dying overnight.
Gu Ze’s adoptive parents were already old, and upon hearing this devastating news, they passed away one after another, leaving behind Gu Ze’s beautiful and fragile wife and his eight-year-old son.
Many people in the countryside married early in those days, without a marriage license. Gu Ze became a father at eighteen and was only twenty-six when he died, very young.
Gu Ze’s wife, Wen Xinyi, was the same age as him, also twenty-six, and was said to be Gu Ze’s high school classmate.
Jiang He was also twenty-six. He didn’t have a wife or children. Four years after graduating from university, it was the perfect time for him to focus on his career.
Dealing with Gu Ze’s affairs was a task assigned to Jiang He by the Jiang family. Because Gu Ze died for the Jiang family, it had to be handled with care and propriety. This was the Jiang family’s way of showing their appreciation for and testing Jiang He.
What happened next was as Gu Tang knew. Jiang He and his mother, Wen Xinyi, got together.
Gu Ze’s wife was a fragile and beautiful woman, like a dodder flower. She yearned for wealth and status but didn’t have the means to achieve them herself, let alone with a child as baggage.
No one knew that Jiang He marrying Wen Xinyi actually had something to do with Gu Ze himself.
Although Gu Ze’s wife was beautiful, she was essentially quite similar to Jiang He. He had originally thought he would marry a naive and simple-minded heiress, but in the end, he chose Wen Xinyi.
This beautiful but poisonous young woman, a selfish, cold-blooded, and ruthless woman at heart, the beloved wife of the deceased Gu Ze.
His feelings towards Gu Ze were very complicated, not the kind of feelings between Gu Tang and Jiang Huaisheng, but pure jealousy.
Pure, simple jealousy, so he wanted to have what Gu Ze had, thinking he was more deserving.
On the day he married Wen Xinyi, Jiang He was particularly proud. He thought that if Gu Ze knew in the afterlife, he would be furious.
Jiang He married Wen Xinyi and then had a son with her. His son should be more outstanding than Gu Ze’s short-lived child!
This kind of excellence wasn’t about being better than him in one aspect and him being better in another, that was being evenly matched.
He wanted his younger son to be better than Gu Tang in every aspect, whether it was academic performance, social status, or even their partners.
When they were young, they compared academic performance, and when they grew up, they compared social status and marriage.
He hadn’t been good to that child, but even in an environment of constant emotional neglect, the child had only briefly regressed before becoming what he was now. Was it because Gu Ze’s genes were too good?
Jiang He lit another cigarette. The crystal ashtray beside him was already filled with cigarette butts.
If Jiang Huaisheng and Gu Tang really stayed together long-term, he would be very miserable.
He had stolen Gu Ze’s wife, making his son call him “dad.” Of course, that stubborn brat Gu Tang had never called him that, only “uncle.”
But if Gu Tang and Jiang Huaisheng were successful, what would that make him?
Gu Tang refusing to mend their relationship meant he wanted him, his stepfather, to lower his head. Why should he? Jiang He would never lower his head to Gu Ze’s son.
Jiang He stubbed out his cigarette. He would create some trouble for Gu Tang and Jiang Huaisheng.
He didn’t believe that the relationship between two men, with the old man’s opposition, could truly last.
However, before Jiang He could cause trouble for Gu Tang, trouble came to him first.
