Chapter 219: Jiang Chuchu’s Settlement
[First Key Node: Mother’s Death]
Just hearing the name of this node, Gu Qinghuan already knew what it referred to, and her mood grew heavy.
When she first met Han Yun, it was not long after the midterm exams. In Jiang Chuchu’s most tragic fate, it was also at that time that Zhu Qinglan encountered the Han siblings at Yunjin Tower and got dragged into their conflict.
Unlike Qinghuan’s experience, in that timeline, there had been no clash between Class Three and Class Twelve, and Jiang Chuchu had not invited her classmates to dine at Yunjin Tower.
When the accident happened, Jiang Chuchu was still at home, waiting for her parents to return. What came instead was a phone call from her father—bringing devastating news.
The person in charge rushed Zhu Qinglan to the hospital as quickly as possible and informed Jiang Youwei on the way. Jiang Youwei only learned about Zhu Qinglan’s condition from the doctors after arriving at the hospital.
After hesitating again and again, he still informed Jiang Yuxuan and Jiang Chuchu.
When Jiang Chuchu arrived at the hospital, she was still wearing her house slippers. She couldn’t understand how the mother who had been joking with her that morning was now lying inside the operating room.
After the emergency surgery ended, Jiang Chuchu stayed overnight in the hospital, keeping vigil beside her unconscious mother.
Jiang Yuxuan rushed back from his university city in the middle of the night, bringing nothing but his phone and necessary documents.
That night felt unbearably long to Jiang Chuchu. It wasn’t until the next morning that Zhu Qinglan finally regained consciousness.
But her condition deteriorated too quickly. The hospital’s prognosis was grim—she could pass away at any moment.
Jiang Chuchu and Jiang Yuxuan both took leave from school. Even knowing the likely outcome, they wanted to stay by their mother’s side and accompany her through the final stretch of her life.
The siblings could pause their studies, but Jiang Youwei could not stay at the hospital at all times. He still had the affairs of Yongchang Group to handle.
When Zhu Qinglan’s condition worsened, Jiang Chuchu couldn’t always reach him.
She tried to convince herself—her father had responsibilities, she should understand him. But seeing her mother’s pale and frail face on the hospital bed, resentment still grew uncontrollably.
In the end, when Zhu Qinglan passed away, Jiang Youwei was not there.
With her final strength, Zhu Qinglan held Jiang Chuchu’s hand and, in broken words, told her to live well with her brother and father.
But when Jiang Youwei finally arrived after everything was over, Jiang Chuchu was unable to stay calm.
Her mother had still been thinking of him at the very end—but where was he? Why hadn’t he been there?
Even with Jiang Yuxuan trying to comfort her, Jiang Chuchu refused to listen. She even felt that Jiang Yuxuan had betrayed both her and their mother by siding with Jiang Youwei.
She no longer wanted to hear anything from her father or brother, believing that no one in the family could be trusted.
After quietly reading through this, Qinghuan spoke, “System, I want to know the objective situation behind Jiang Youwei leaving the hospital.”
The system explained:
“During that time, Yongchang Group’s competitors learned that Zhu Qinglan was critically ill and deliberately tried to strike while Jiang Youwei couldn’t make timely decisions.”
“Jiang Youwei adopted a strategy of contraction and stabilization, precisely to free up time to stay with his wife and children. However, the shareholders cared more about their own interests and were very dissatisfied with this approach.”
“In fact, Jiang Youwei’s departure was also Zhu Qinglan’s request. In her view, her death was inevitable, so for the sake of their children’s future, her husband needed to handle the company’s affairs properly.”
Qinghuan said softly, “This kind of conflict could have been resolved.”
Jiang Chuchu wasn’t truly unreasonable. She simply couldn’t accept her mother’s death and wanted to escape from it.
Given enough time, she would have healed, understood her father’s situation, and reconciled with her family.
But in that most desperate fate, she never had that time.
She met someone.
[Second Key Node: Ning Siqi]
After Zhu Qinglan’s funeral, despite having taken time off, Jiang Chuchu’s ability and intelligence allowed her to barely keep up with her studies.
She didn’t want to rely on Jiang Youwei or Jiang Yuxuan, nor did she want to appear weak in front of her classmates. She gritted her teeth and studied alone—until she met Ning Siqi in the school library.
A very cliché campus romance.
But for Jiang Chuchu at that time, Ning Siqi’s care truly helped her emerge from the pain of her mother’s death.
In her eyes, Ning Siqi treated her with restraint, encouraged her to become better, and seemed to want nothing in return.
She believed he was a good person.
After learning about his identity as an illegitimate child, she hesitated briefly, then accepted his explanation—believing he was innocent and shouldn’t be dragged into the previous generation’s grudges.
She treated him as a friend, speaking up for him and standing by his side, just like the students of Class Eight.
Students from Class One dared to criticize Ning Siqi, but they didn’t dare confront Jiang Chuchu. Ning Jianxian also didn’t want his classmates to clash with the Jiang family because of him, so he chose silence.
With Jiang Chuchu backing him, Ning Siqi no longer suffered gossip over his identity and began to live smoothly.
But for Ning Siqi, that wasn’t enough.
The better Jiang Chuchu treated him, the more his desires grew. He wanted to completely shed the label of “illegitimate child” and become the rightful heir of the Ning family.
For that, he needed the Jiang family’s wealth and power.
The system stated:
“The subsequent key nodes involve the future development of the world and cannot be disclosed.”
Qinghuan rubbed her temples. “It’s fine. I don’t want to see it either.”
What would Ning Siqi do next? It was obvious—he would use Jiang Chuchu to scheme against Jiang Yuxuan and Jiang Youwei, most likely manipulating her through love.
After a moment of silence, she asked, “In that fate, what was Chuchu’s ending?”
The system replied:
“Her father and brother died one after another. Jiang Chuchu was not trained as an heir. Ning Siqi originally intended to use her to inherit the Jiang family’s assets, but Jiang Youwei and Jiang Yuxuan had already set up wills, leaving Yongchang Group to someone else.”
“Jiang Chuchu lived off dividends from shares and a pre-established trust fund, receiving enough money to sustain herself.”
Qinghuan frowned. “But Ning Siqi would never accept that outcome, right?”
“Yes. He deceived Jiang Chuchu into signing certain agreements. The result was that she had to regularly provide him with money, leaving very little for herself.”
“At that point, Jiang Chuchu finally faced the truth that she had been deceived. While acknowledging it, she was overwhelmed by guilt and self-blame, and ultimately chose suicide.”
Qinghuan let out a long breath, then patted her cheeks and steadied herself.
“At least the Chuchu I know now won’t meet that kind of future.”
The system asked, “Will you continue to reserve this task reward?”
Qinghuan nodded. “Yes. I liked Xie Xiangxue’s reward last time, so I need to find the right occasion.”
“Understood. The rewards for Bao Qingsong and Jiang Chuchu are currently reserved. Please remember to redeem them in time.”
Qinghuan’s consciousness returned to the real world.
She stared at the ceiling for a long while before finally closing her eyes again.
There were still 17 tasks left.
She would complete every single one.
