Her Parents' Love Story

Compared with toiling away to earn money in her previous life, staying in a wealthy family and stockpiling money in this life was much easier and more comfortable.

And it was five million at a time. Just thinking about it made her happy.

As for today's birthday cake, Jiang Jinran's aims were-

First, to please Jiang Yuehan.

After all, he was her biggest benefactor. Following the principle of keeping her benefactor happy, she had kindly planned this huge cake so he would hand over the money more readily. As for Jiang Qiche-

He was just incidental.

Second, to liven up the atmosphere.

With these two brothers together, a bad atmosphere was inevitable.

If they wanted a good atmosphere, Jiang Jinran could only burn herself up, pulling out all the stops with her antics.

At this stage, what Jiang Jinran cared about most was money.

So her own selfish interests accounted for the vast majority of her reasons for celebrating her two brothers' birthdays.

But if the Jiang Family's relationships could slowly improve, would they be able to avert their destruction?

Jiang Jinran sighed softly and slowly closed her eyes.

Rascal Airport.

Wearing black sunglasses and carrying her luggage in one hand, Jiang Yuyan strode through the airport terminal with swagger.

Her face was expressionless, her appearance cold, and her bearing noble.

This was the image Jiang Yuyan always presented to the outside world.

Only in front of her children and husband did she reveal her softer side.

But although her face betrayed nothing, her heart was inevitably tangled with turmoil, pain, and doubt.

Because of a single thought from her daughter, she had secretly doubled back-

She had not told Han Yi that she had gone abroad again.

Han Yi, her husband, most likely thought she had already returned home and was still there.

So...

Jiang Yuyan exhaled deeply. She would soon know exactly what Han Yi was doing now.

Jiang Yuyan took a taxi straight to the castle estate on the outskirts.

She had previously bought it at great expense so that she and her family would have somewhere convenient to stay when they traveled abroad.

Sitting in the taxi, she gazed unconsciously out the window, feeling somewhat dazed.

Familiar scenery flew past her eyes, but at this moment, her state of mind was already entirely different.

Her fingers unconsciously clenched.

Who would have thought that a powerful career woman who stirred up storms could also become fragile and wavering in the face of love and marriage?

The taxi stopped at the entrance to the estate.

Jiang Yuyan did not use the main entrance. She did not want Han Yi to discover her.

Everything had to be done quietly.

Jiang Yuyan entered the castle through the estate's back entrance.

Instead of going into the living room, she hurried down the corridor and reached the surveillance room in a corner of the castle.

After locking the door behind her, she turned around-

Before her were several surveillance screens of varying sizes.

As long as Han Yi was in the castle, rather than guessing where he was and what he was doing, she might as well come straight to the surveillance room, where she could see

directly and clearly.

Jiang Yuyan took a step forward and narrowed her eyes slightly. Soon, she spotted Han Yi on one of the surveillance screens.

At that moment, he was sitting in a rocking chair on the terrace, leisurely drinking coffee.

Jiang Yuyan bit her lip. Just as she thought Han Yi was alone on the terrace, a beautiful, graceful figure suddenly came into view.

"Brother Han Yi," a woman in a long white dress said as she approached him. Her face was innocent and lovely, but it was clear she was no longer young, with the weathering of years at the corners of her eyes. "Is it really all right for us to move in like this?"

Han Yi smiled, his handsome face full of tenderness. "The house would just be sitting empty anyway. One more person won't make a difference."

Jiang Yuyan's eyes widened. Without realizing it, she had already clenched her hands into fists.

Han Yi, who bought this house, again?

"Bai Ling." Han Yi beckoned to the woman named Bai Ling, and she obediently came over and sat beside him, like a pet that would never defy any command. "Once the time is right and everything has settled down, I won't let you down. I'll give you a proper title and standing."

Bai Ling shook her head, her eyes seemingly veiled in mist. "Even-even without that, I wouldn't mind."

Han Yi was instantly deeply moved. The two embraced without any restraint, looking like a perfectly matched, loving couple.

Jiang Yuyan could not help taking a step back, her face deathly pale.

She could no longer cling to a fluke or console herself. With the bloody reality laid out before her, she truly understood what it felt like to have her heart sliced by a knife.

An indescribable pain seemed to seep through her veins and the seams of her bones.

Jiang Yuyan bit her lip, tears spilling helplessly from her eyes.

It was all fake.

The tenderness and love Han Yi had shown her were all fake!

She thought back to when she had first met Han Yi.

Back then, she had been the Jiang Family's little princess, unrivaled in the limelight, while Han Yi had been a top student just entering the workforce.

Compared with hers, his background was as far apart as clouds and mud.

Han Yi had grown up in the countryside, and his parents were both illiterate farmers. But he was exceptionally gifted and intelligent, easily gaining admission to Imperial Capital University and moving from the countryside to the Imperial Capital.

After graduating, his excellent academic qualifications and impeccable résumé had earned him a job at Shengda Group, which belonged to the Jiang Family.

That was how Jiang Yuyan and Han Yi had met.

At first, Jiang Yuyan had simply felt that Han Yi was completely different from those sons of upper-class families.

He was witty, gracious, polite, knowledgeable, gentle, considerate, and respectful toward women.

So she did not mind Han Yi's family background.

Because, in Jiang Yuyan's eyes, this was actually one of his strengths.

He had not been tainted by the debauched air of high society. He was almost perfect, perfect on the outside and perfect within...

It had been only natural for her to fall for Han Yi back then.

Her parents had not been optimistic about her romance with Han Yi.

They had opposed it at first, but in the face of Jiang Yuyan's persistence, they had eventually compromised.

She was their only precious daughter. They only wanted Jiang Yuyan to be happy.

As her thoughts reached this point-

Jiang Yuyan's gaze paused slightly, because a new figure had appeared on the surveillance screen before her.

A girl wearing a designer princess dress, her hair in braids, skipped onto the terrace.

"Daddy, Mommy."

Jiang Yuyan's eyes widened, and her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

So there really was an illegitimate daughter!

This girl looked about the same age as her youngest daughter, Jiang Jinran...

Which meant that all those years ago, he had already...

Jiang Yuyan's tears flowed more and more freely. Her heart seemed to have gone numb, gradually losing the ability to feel pain.

"Xiaoxue's dress is so pretty." At the sight of his daughter, Han Yi could not help smiling. He beckoned, wanting the girl to take the seat beside him.

Xiaoxue obediently went over and sat down.

Her looks were seven parts Bai Ling and three parts Han Yi, so naturally, she was an exceptionally beautiful little girl.

"Daddy, when will we no longer have to hide in this castle?"

Yet the young girl with those wide, innocent eyes had asked an utterly practical question that gave Han Yi something of a headache.