"The more skills one has, the less it weighs you down," said Jiang BaiYan lightly as he swiftly composed himself, pretending as if nothing had happened. "The more I know, the more awesome my fans think I am. It's good for my career."
Jian Jing frowned. "You already have many fans who like you. There's no need to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy."
"It's not that bad either," he got up and went to the balcony with the kettle to water the plants. "I want to make myself a little better."
She asked, "To make more people like you?"
Jiang BaiYan glanced back at her with a smile. "Yes, and no," he said slowly. "I used to think that as long as I try harder, one day even those who don't like me will end up liking me. It was only later that I realized sometimes when people don't like you, they just don't. That will never change."
His tone was calm and composed, but Jian Jing knew there must have been a painful story behind this realization.
She guessed he was deliberately trying to prompt her to ask more, but she hesitated, unwilling to reopen old wounds.
"Do you want to know why I changed my mind?" Jiang BaiYan put down the kettle and walked over as usual, smiling. "I can tell you, it's okay - you want to know, don't you?"
He dangled a cat teaser in front of the increasingly chubby orange cat, amidst the tinkling bells, and gently asked, "You want to know why the cat is named Pudding, right?"
Jian Jing hesitated, "If it's too sad, let's just drop it."
"It's okay," he repeated, "I'm willing to tell you."
"You don't remember, but I do."
Jiang BaiYan's story began in the spring of 2014.
Back then, he was not called by this name, but Jiang Xun. His birth mother passed away unexpectedly and he was brought back to his father's home, where he suffered constant bullying by his stepmother and siblings.
They either ignored him, humiliated him, or controlled him. Looking back years later, it could be described as psychological manipulation. Like anyone caught in such circumstances, he was unaware of what it meant. Since young, his birth mother had taught him to please his father and siblings. Even without fully understanding why, just to avoid getting beaten or scolded, he would do as told.
However, it was of no use. His careful attempts at pleasing them only brought intensified torment. Yet he endured through it all, because aside from putting up with it, there was no other way.
Fortunately he did not yet understand despair then. As days passed, he got so used to it and numb to it all.
Until one day after school, when he was abducted on his way home.
It was a gang of desperate criminals looking to kidnap the son of Jiang Shui Group's chairman and profit handsomely before escaping far away. But very unfortunately for them, the person they managed to capture was neither Jiang Er nor Jiang San, but the insignificant illegitimate son.
When the phone call reached the Jiang family, the chairman's attitude was rather cold.
Separated only by a thin door, he could hear the kidnapper shouting into the phone, "Ten million less, and I'll chop off one of your son's fingers! Dare to call the cops, I'll dig out his eyeballs! Each day of delay, I'll cut off an ear!"
Jiang BaiYan thought then, I'm definitely done for.
His rational self said, losing limbs would be too painful, dying by jumping off a building would be quicker. But emotionally, he still hoped that perhaps...perhaps they would save him.
Seeing how obedient I've been, how hard I've tried, seeing that I really am your brother/son after all...
Please save me.
He did not want to die. He cooperated as much as he could with the kidnappers, crying when told to cry, begging when told to beg, utterly subservient.
Being so obedient and docile, even the kidnappers gradually softened their attitude. From one cold bun a day, it became two meals of cold rice daily.
The weather was too cold, they even let him use a coat to cover himself when sleeping.
Perhaps no one could have imagined that an absurd idea would sprout in his mind then - these bad people are nicer to me than my own family.
At least the kidnappers cared if he felt cold.
His family didn't care one bit if he lived or died.
But this slight feeling of warmth soon dissipated as the ransom delivery dragged on. The kidnappers grew impatient by the day, yet the money from the Jiang family failed to arrive.
One moment they cited insufficient cash flow, the next claimed they really could not manage it. The secretary handling communications remained polite in tone, yet firmly unrelenting.
Gradually, Jiang BaiYan understood that he truly did not matter one bit.
"Could we have caught the wrong person? This isn't his own son."
"Yeah, I heard the other kids have bodyguards, but we didn't run into any capturing him."
"It's too unbelievable, they can't even take out 50 million?"
"What if we really got the wrong person? Do we let him go?"
"Let go? No way! He's seen our faces, better to get rid of him."
The fragmented murmurings drifted through the door and into his ears. His heart was seized tightly, at times pounding like thunder, at times throbbing dully.
He breathed lightly, wishing he could become a tiny speck of dust, quietly hiding in the corner, afraid they would notice him.
Not daring to say he was hungry, or needing to pee, or wanting to sleep.
It's hard to describe in words the sheer terror of that time - each minute, each second, each breath, carried an intense fear.
Am I going to die?
I'm about to die soon.
They're going to kill me.
How will they kill me?
Even more frightening was how the dark cloud of death did not descend in an instant, but accumulated day after day, torturing him slowly and persistently.
At times, he even wondered - am I still alive? Perhaps I'm already dead, a lingering ghost staying in this place, waiting for someone to come save me.
But who could save him?
He wracked his brains trying to dredge up even the tiniest shred of warmth from the long river of time, to sustain himself and carry on. But tragically, no matter how much he recalled, he could not find a single happy moment.
The cold and arrogant birth father.
The fawning and obsequious birth mother.
The condescending eldest sister.
The arrogant second brother.
The violent and vengeful third brother.
On a frigid spring night, the cherry blossoms on the streets were budding. Lying on the cold hard floor, he broke apart every fragment of his memories, counting over the past, again and again, but could not find any shred of hope.
This feeling was despair.
So-called blood ties meant nothing. All his efforts to please were but a joke. Everything in the past was but self-delusion.
They never liked me.
They will never like me.
Perhaps dying at the hands of the kidnappers was exactly the outcome they wanted - the blemish on the family wiped out by the enemy, their hands remaining clean as they kicked aside the intrusive existence.
From now on, the Jiang siblings could lie to themselves that their family was never tainted by an outsider, that their father was upright and just, their mother graceful and proper, and the siblings loving to each other - what a perfect family!
Jiang Xun is not our brother.
Jiang Xun should never have existed.
It'd be best if Jiang Xun just died.
In the hazy space between dream and wakefulness, he could hear the murmurings of his siblings, resentful and hateful, gnashing their teeth as they cursed him with blood-laced words.
And so, Jiang Xun died.
What is death like?
It's a lot like a burning candle.
When first lit, the flame is passionate and lively, dancing and leaping, still full of hope for life. But as the whitewashed memories are peeled away, just like wax tears rolling and falling, solidifying into a puddle of tears that no one cares for.
Pale, faded, icy tears.
The flame grows weaker and smaller.
Gradually, slowly, extinguished bit by bit, becoming a pile of ashes with lingering warmth.
If at that time, no one had relit a flame to revive him, using that remaining warmth, then Jiang Xun would have truly died, and there would never be the Jiang BaiYan of today.
Fortunately she came.
On a very quiet night, there was suddenly a muffled "thud" from the corner.
Something had fallen in through the small window above the wall.
To the kidnappers outside watching TV, it would have gone as unnoticed as a mosquito buzzing. But to him, it was like a roll of spring thunder, rumbling close.
He saw a Ferrero Rocher chocolate ball roll to a stop beside him.
Golden, like real gold.
His heart had died, but his body still lived. His stomach let out a gurgle, urging him to unwrap it. And inside was a sheet of semi-transparent rice paper, with the words:
Have you been kidnapped? If yes, meow like a cat. If no, bark like a dog.
Remember to eat the paper.
Having starved for a week, and tortured for as long, he could not discern truth from lies. He only instinctively let out a soft "meow".
Outside: "Meow meow meow?"
Him: "Meow?"
After meaningless meows, silence returned. He swallowed the rice paper he was writing on and the chocolate, clenching the shiny candy wrapper in his palm, glancing at it from time to time to distinguish reality from dreams.
But nothing happened the next day, so he couldn't help but doubt that he had brought the chocolate himself, and had dreamed of someone coming to rescue him last night.
Ah, what an incredible beautiful dream!
Who would come to save him anyway.
However, late into the night, a bamboo pole poked diagonally into the air vent, swiftly sliding in a plastic bag.
Inside the bag was an old mobile phone.
His own phone had already been taken away by the kidnappers, so getting a phone back now, he sadly flashed through a cowardly thought - should I call Dad?
No, of course not.
They want me to die, I don't want to die.
There was a text message on the phone, with a contact name of j-
You've been kidnapped, haven't you? -
Yes -
Want me to call the police for you? -
No, they'll kill me -
Okay, I'll try to save you. Can you tell me what happened? -
They asked my dad for money, he refused to give it, so I'm going to die. Save me, please -
The kidnappers want money, your dad refuses to give it, so you have to try to help them -
I can't, please save me, I'm begging you -
I'll definitely help you, but you have to try too -
Okay, I'll listen to you -
The phone battery is low, use it sparingly, don't let them find it -
Can't you talk to me? -
Chatting may get discovered, don't be afraid, I'm watching over you -
Please, don't ignore me -
I'll always be here, I promise. Turn the phone off, open it again this time tomorrow -
Okay
He didn't want to upset her, he didn't want to lose this glimmer of hope, so even though it was hard, Jiang Baiyan still did as she said.
After half an hour, another chocolate was thrown in.
This time, there was also writing on the candy wrapper, but it was a cute story: On this street lives a fat and chubby cat. It is the cutest cat in the world, smart and brave. There is no wall it can't climb over, no sparrow it can't catch.
It has a glorious battle record, having defeated the local bully cats from the next street, beating them until they fled in panic, and now they never dare to invade this street again. But its most impressive feat involves a case of a stolen gem.
Do you want to know why the gem went missing? You have to guess its name first.
Hint: it's soft and fat, with smooth and beautiful fur, and streaks of amber orange.
Tell me your answer tomorrow :)
The story was simple, yet strangely captivating. Jiang Baiyan was drawn in by the vivid description, almost forgetting his fear for a moment.
And once he calmed down, his ability to think returned, and he suddenly knew what to do.
He told the kidnappers, "I'm dad's son, he doesn't not want me, he just really has no money left."
The kidnappers scoffed. "The chairman of a conglomerate has no money? Kid, who are you kidding."
"It's true," he said. "Dad spent all his money on buying gems."
This immediately attracted the kidnappers' attention. "Gems?"
"An emerald called the 'Crown Jewel'." Jiang Baiyan said confidently. "Very valuable."
The kidnappers were skeptical. "Kid, you're telling the truth?"
He nodded emphatically.
Of course it was true. He had always had a good memory, right?
His sister only mentioned it once, and he remembered.
The kidnappers looked up this information, and it was indeed factual.
They believed Jiang Baiyan's identity again, and no longer talked about getting rid of him. Instead, they set their sights on the gem.
That emerald was worth 130 million yuan. Jiang Shui Group's chairman had acquired it six months ago, far more than the 50 million ransom they had asked for.
"Or we could take advantage of the situation, pretend to ask for ransom, then when they're not looking, take the gem..." There was no lack of clever and bold people among the kidnappers.
Everyone was tempted.
Jiang Baiyan had not expected it to be this easy, and was delighted to the point he almost doubted life. His first reaction was to increase his own value so he wouldn't be killed.
"The gem is hidden in the chairman's villa, but only a few people know the password to get in," he said.
The kidnappers now looked at him differently. "Boy, why are you telling us this?"
Jiang Baiyan answered honestly, "I don't want to die. Besides, it's not my gem anyway."
