Veiled Heartbreak

Fu Yusen was stunned; he remembered that night when Jiang Nuan’s mother had asked him for ten million. It seemed no different from usual, yet something felt off. Fu Yusen didn’t remember clearly, the only thing coming to mind was Jiang Nuan’s mother’s slightly hunched back in the yard that night. He closed his eyes, feeling regret. He had always been smooth-sailing, thinking everything was under control, but the human heart was unpredictable and elusive, so what gave him such confidence? Like Jiang Nuan, now vanished from his life, even declared dead. Like Jiang Nuan’s mother, he once thought of her as a woman who used her beauty to serve, but now, she had left the Fu family, her whereabouts unknown. Fu Yusen looked out into the distance; from above, the sea seemed calm, yet it felt deep and cold. Something flashed through his mind but disappeared quickly. He shook his head, returned to the car, and sent a message to Tang Beizan: Find out where Jiang Nuan’s mother is. Half an hour later, Fu Yusen received a location message from Tang Beizan. He started the car, driving towards that location. He had never cared much about anything related to Jiang Nuan before. Now that she was gone, Fu Yusen was desperate to grasp anything connected to her. The place was quite a distance from Luocheng, Fu Yusen passed through six service areas before exiting the highway. Low-rise buildings flashed by as he maneuvered his way to Jiang Nuan’s mother’s residence. Seeing the light through the peephole, he knocked on the door. Soon, the door opened, and Jiang Nuan’s mother was first surprised, then gave him the familiar obsequious smile. “Yusen, what brings you here? Come in, sit down.” Fu Yusen didn’t refuse and stepped inside. The place seemed long uninhabited, with a musty smell. The house was about eighty square meters, the living room small, with many certificates hung on the walls. All of them were in Jiang Nuan’s name, almost covering an entire wall. Near the ceiling, a nail had been hammered into the wall, from which hung two yellowed cloth bags. Jiang Nuan’s mother went to the kitchen to fetch water. Seeing Fu Yusen standing in front of the certificates, she seemed a bit embarrassed: “I’m sorry you had to see this. These were put up by Jiang Nuan’s father. Any award Jiang Nuan brought home, he would stick on the wall. He’d boast to anyone who came over, but I always thought, what’s there to boast about…” Fu Yusen pointed to the two bags: “What’s in those?” Jiang Nuan’s mother thought for a moment, then hesitated, “I’m not too sure. Let me take them down for you to see.” She started searching around, but couldn’t find anything. Jiang Nuan’s mother muttered, “I told him not to hang them so high, saying they would block the certificates. Now how am I supposed to reach them?” Fu Yusen was also taken aback; looking at the certificates, he noticed how neatly they were arranged, giving a sense of order. Seeing Jiang Nuan’s mother fumbling around, he spoke up: “Give me a chair, I’ll stand on it and get them.” Fu Yusen was tall; Jiang Nuan’s mother brought a small stool for him to stand on, and he easily retrieved the bags. The yellowed, moldy bags contained quite a few items, which when poured out, revealed numerous medals, some finely crafted, others crudely made. Jiang Nuan’s mother remembered: “These are from the extracurricular activities Jiang Nuan participated in before university.” Fu Yusen, with keen eyes, picked up a medal with Jiang Nuan’s photo on it. It must have been elementary school; you could vaguely see the shadow of the adult Jiang Nuan in her. Even though the photo had faded, you could still see little Jiang Nuan smiling proudly and brightly. Fu Yusen gripped the photo tightly and suddenly asked Jiang’s mother, “Can I take this?” Jiang’s mother naturally agreed. Fu Yusen then said, “If Jiang Nuan contacts you in the future, please be sure to inform me.” Jiang’s mother, who was arranging medals, suddenly froze. The sky was somewhat dark, and the room was not lit. Fu Yusen noticed that Jiang’s mother’s eyes quickly filled with tears. After a long while, Jiang’s mother raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, gathered the medals into a bag, and hugged it tightly to her chest. Then she looked up at Fu Yusen: “Nuan Nuan, she won’t contact me anymore.” “So many days have passed, I haven’t even dreamt of her.”