We can never fully escape the debt we owe our parents for raising us, yet one parent's way of handling things in childhood can leave us drowning in our own grief.
Luckily, Jiang Jianmin and Li Yan never raised Jiang Cheng with that soul-crushing style of education.
Imagine growing up under that kind of pressure.
Maybe you'd study harder just to prove them wrong, to fight back against every belittling word.
But it would also destroy any real communication between you and your parents.
You'd end up resisting—instinctively, from the heart.
From Qiu Yihe and Qiu Zheng's earlier talk, it was clear their conversations were nothing but confrontation.
Seeing Jiang Cheng understand the turmoil inside her…
Qiu Yihe's tense expression melted in an instant.
The look she gave him lost its wary edge; in its place came a gentle warmth.
Her favorability toward Jiang Cheng jumped to 75.
Qiu Yihe: Favorability +10!
Qiu Yihe parted her lips and spoke slowly.
'Yes, if he weren't my father—just a top-gun pilot—he'd be perfect. I'd worship him as my hero. But he is my father, and I can't say those praises to his face…'
When the last word left her lips, her voice quavered, a faint sob hiding beneath it.
Jiang Cheng gazed at the small, delicate hand Qiu Yihe had rested on Ergou's head, then covered it with his own broad, strong one, holding it gently but firmly.
Perhaps his expression was too sincere, or the move caught her completely off guard.
A flicker of surprise crossed Qiu Yihe's pretty face.
Yet the surprise vanished quickly, replaced by pure gratitude. She even offered Jiang Cheng a warm, easy smile—the kind shared between close friends.
'I'm fine. These years at the police academy I studied a lot of psychology. People can't be perfect; many great figures in history loved all humanity yet had no time for their families—total failures there, in fact.'
Qiu Yihe drew a deep breath, steadying her emotions.
'I understand, but I still won't forgive him. He's owed the whole world everything—except me. I'll walk my own path; I won't compromise.'
Jiang Cheng simply nodded, offering no plea for reconciliation.
A saying fits: 'Walk not in another's shoes, know not their pain.'
Seeing she wasn't some sanctimonious saint, Jiang Cheng respected her even more.
'Take care of yourself. If you ever need anything, call me.'
Feeling his genuine support, Qiu Yihe nodded, relieved.
Whenever she spoke of her parents, relatives urged filial obedience.
No one had ever understood her the way Jiang Cheng did.
Qiu Yihe: Favorability +5!
Just then, Ergou—pinned beneath their hands—suddenly shook his head.
The movement made Qiu Yihe realize Jiang Cheng's hand had been covering hers for some time.
Though she told herself it was only a friend's comfort,
the warmth of that masculine palm shot through her like an electric current.
Her fair cheeks flushed scarlet, ripe as apples… Evening found them back at her house.
Unlike at the start, the wall between them had thinned.
After parking, she sighed. 'No idea what Dad will say this time…'
Jiang Cheng reached out and casually ruffled her hair. 'I'll come in with you; Uncle Qiu's a reasonable man.'
Instinctively she started to pull away.
But she stilled and let his hand linger.
On the training ground the touch had been comfort; now, inside the closed car, it felt unmistakably intimate.
It was the exact 'head-pat kill' she'd seen in dramas—
except Jiang Cheng didn't follow with some misleading gaze.
He simply stroked her hair, then opened the door and stepped out.
Of course, the move was deliberate on his part.
Brief, tantalizing, it stayed just shy of greasy excess,
yet left no fault to find.
It balanced on the finest line,
landing squarely in the 'heart-flutter zone' of most Young Ladies.
A tease they couldn't quite scold or flat-out reject.
Since junior-high graduation she'd lived at the police academy, training day in, day out.
Contact with the opposite sex had been almost zero.
A textbook straight-girl.
So when Jiang Cheng hinted he wasn't 'small,'
she'd blurted her unfiltered reply.
To Qiu Yihe—zero romantic experience—Jiang Cheng's sudden gentle flirtation was a pebble tossed into still water.
Ripples spread across her simple heart.
A quiet bud of feeling had, without her noticing, taken root…