Throughout his life, Jiang Jingze had many nicknames.
Jinx, disaster star, unlucky ghost, freak.
The first few were because he was very unlucky, prone to all sorts of accidents throughout his life.
The last one was because he neither cried nor laughed.
It was as if he lacked the emotions that humans should have.
Actually, from a very young age, Jiang Jingze had realized that there was something abnormal about himself.
He couldn’t be capricious, nor could he do many things that children should do because that could endanger his life.
Playing in water could drown him.
Running could kill him in a fall.
Those toys also had to be kept far away to prevent him from inhaling them into his windpipe or poking himself in a fatal spot.
Even crying and laughing were not allowed, as they could lead to death by choking on saliva.
Most people looked at him with a mix of sympathy and a subtle fear.
Others showed pure malice and mockery.
Jiang Jingze didn’t get angry because excess emotions could lead to more accidents.
He was a person isolated in a glass dome, shunned by all.
They stood outside the glass, curiously watching him as if he were a unique monster.
When Jiang Jingze was five or six years old, his mother took him to his grandmother’s funeral.
Many children present didn’t understand what a funeral meant, but Jiang Jingze did.
He knew that he would never see his grandmother again.
Never see the kind old lady who would touch his cheek with her lips ever so gently, calling him Aze in an affectionate and cheerful tone.
The children didn’t understand, yet the parents secretly pinched them, forcing them to cry out loud.
The hall was filled with the intermittent crying of children, and Jiang Jingze looked up at the black-and-white photograph hanging high on the wall.
He opened his mouth but found that he couldn’t shed a single tear.
It was as if he had forgotten how to cry.
After that day, the nickname freak replaced disaster star.
Grandfather Jiang Qing said that the child was cold-hearted and emotionless, not shedding a single tear even when his own grandmother passed away.
His mother ran her fingertips gently through his hair, as if afraid of hurting him.
She said my Aze is not a freak, he actually understands everything.
The quarrel at the dinner table continued, and as usual, his parents stood firmly in front of him.
His uncle’s family fanned the flames from the side, and Jiang Pengxuan, one year his junior, bared his teeth in a smile full of malice.
His granduncle’s family tried to smooth things over.
His grandmother seemed to be advising his grandfather but was really snidely undermining his parents.
Although Jiang Jingze’s face was expressionless, he saw all of this very clearly.
The sound of putting down chopsticks was not loud, but it made everyone look over.
"I’m going to the restroom," Jiang Jingze stood up.
Jiang Chengren quickly followed suit, "Let’s go together."
"It’s okay, it’s just a few steps away. There won’t be an accident."
Under his son’s gaze, Jiang Chengren could only sit back down.
The door to the private room opened, and Jiang Qing’s voice followed.
"Look at that, he even needs someone to accompany him to the toilet! You see! Isn’t it for your own good that I suggested adoption? Who knows what could happen with his condition..."
Before he could finish, Jiang Chengren closed the door of the private room again.
The soundproofing at the Four Seas Restaurant was excellent; all sounds were nullified into oblivion.
His parents always protected him with such clumsy and cautious methods.
Jiang Jingze looked up and locked eyes with Yue Qingqing.
As they gazed at each other, both were momentarily stupefied.
"I... um..." Yue Qingqing didn’t know how to explain her behavior.
Observing the aura around you and accidentally getting mesmerized by it?
If she actually voiced that reason, they would think she was sick.
Upon meeting again, unlike the forgetfulness of ordinary children, both of them actually remembered each other.
Jiang Jingze looked at the girl who seemed very familiar to him.
For some reason, he inexplicably felt like attempting a smile.
Yue Qingqing’s eyes widened in surprise.
What... what kind of expression is that? Did she actually upset him?