Rebirth of Love: Jiang Ciyou's Counterattack Legend

The morning light flowed in from the French windows of the three-story villa like melted honey. Jiang Ciyou stood at the door of the children's room, watching his daughter Lu Xingyao tiptoeing to reach the glass jar on the top of the closet. The sunlight passed through her drooping hair, casting tiny spots of light on the floor, like a handful of glowing stars.

"Xingyao, come down!" Jiang Ciyou stepped forward quickly, the hem of her Chanel suit sweeping across the crayons scattered on the ground. She reached out to catch her daughter's little body as she jumped down, and her nose was immediately surrounded by the scent of strawberry shampoo. The lucky stars in the glass jar were scattered all over the ground, reflecting a rainbow-like halo.

"Mom, I want to take this to kindergarten!" Xingyao held up a pink star and said in a baby voice. Jiang Ciyou noticed that there were still sequins from yesterday's handicraft between her daughter's nails, and suddenly remembered that when she was a child, her stepmother always scolded her for "her hands are dirtier than cat's paws."

"This is the courage star that mom gave you." She squatted down and pinned the star on the pocket of her daughter's floral dress, "It will become a small medal when school is over." Her fingertips touched the slightly beating heartbeat under the fabric, which made her throat tighten - this little girl who always liked to smear strawberry jam on her face was going to kindergarten today with a pink schoolbag on her back.

The sound of a sports car engine shutting down came from downstairs. When Lu Jingchen pushed the door open, the shoulder line of his black suit was still damp with the morning mist. He took off his sunglasses, and the amber pupils behind the lenses reflected the image of his wife and daughter leaning on each other. "Are my two ladies ready?" He stretched out his hand and raised the star above his head, and the mechanical watch hidden in his sleeves reflected a fragment of light - it was a limited edition he designed last year, and the constellation of Jiang Ciyou was embedded in the dial.

Jiang Ciyou watched her husband carry their daughter downstairs on his shoulders, and suddenly remembered the rainstorm night three years ago. The fire lit up half the sky, and he rushed out of the fire with her covered in wounds. His suit was already soaked in blood, but he always used his body to protect her head. Today, this man who holds his daughter high is still her most solid support.

At the entrance of the kindergarten, the leaves of the camphor tree rustled in the morning breeze. Xingyao held her mother's hand tightly, and her small leather shoes left crooked marks on the asphalt road. When Jiang Ciyou squatted down, the Chanel suit on her knees was stained with morning dew. "Do you remember our agreement?" She pointed to the sunflower brooch on her daughter's chest, "This is the flower of courage. It will become a small medal after school."

"But..." Xingyao suddenly stood on tiptoe and whispered in her mother's ear, "I'm afraid of that kid named Tangtang." Jiang Ciyou's heart suddenly tightened - Tangtang was a neighbor's child, two years older than Xingyao, and always loved to snatch her toys. Last week, Xingyao's teddy bear had one eye torn off and is still lying in the toy hospital.

"Mom is here." Jiang Ciyou pressed her daughter's hand against her chest, "Do you feel your heartbeat? This is your mother's courage charging you." She took out a lavender sachet from her bag and stuffed it into her daughter's schoolbag, "If you are scared, just smell this, and your mother's scent will accompany you."

Lu Jingchen stood aside, watching his wife and daughter touching foreheads, and suddenly remembered the first time they took Xingyao to get a vaccination. At that time, his daughter cried heartbreakingly, but Jiang Ciyou calmly held down her moving hands until the nurse inserted the needle into her skin. Later, he learned that his wife waited outside the delivery room for a full 36 hours before receiving the news that their daughter was born safely.

"Xingyao, Daddy has a present for you." Lu Jingchen squatted down and took out a velvet box from his suit pocket. The moment he opened it, Jiang Ciyou's pupils shrank slightly - inside was a small jade peace locket tied with a red string, the same style that was broken by her stepmother when she was fifteen.

"This is what Dad found in the mines in Myanmar." Lu Jingchen put the peace lock on his daughter's neck, "It can bless our little star to be safe and happy forever." The touch of the jade against her skin reminded Jiang Ciyou of that winter night when she curled up in the stairwell holding the broken peace lock. It was Lu Jingchen who found her and wrapped his scarf around her trembling shoulders.

The iron gate of the kindergarten slowly opened, and the children flew in like colorful butterflies. Xingyao suddenly turned around and hugged Jiang Ciyou's legs, with tears still hanging on her little face. "Mom, you must be the first one to pick me up this afternoon!" She choked and said, "You must bring strawberry cake!"

"Definitely." Jiang Ciyou kissed her daughter's forehead and watched her walk into the classroom, looking back every few steps. When she turned around, she found her husband staring at her, with complex emotions flowing in his amber pupils. "What's wrong?" She reached out to straighten his slightly messy tie.

"Nothing." Lu Jingchen held her hand, and gently stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist with his calloused fingertips. It was a gift from him at Xingyao's 34th day banquet, and the bracelet was engraved with the seal script "Forever Guardian". "I just suddenly remembered the first words you said on the day our Xingyao was born."

Jiang Ciyou smiled, and memories came flooding back. The smell of disinfectant mixed with the smell of blood in the delivery room, she looked at the baby in the cradle exhaustedly, and the first words she said were: "Her eyes are like stars."

"That's why I call her Xingyao," Lu Jingchen said softly, hugging his wife. The shadow of the camphor tree swayed over them, and children's laughter came from afar. Jiang Ciyou closed her eyes, feeling her husband's familiar heartbeat, and suddenly remembered the anonymous email she received last night - in the photo, Xingyao was sitting alone in a corner of the kindergarten, surrounded by laughing children.

"Let's go in and take a look?" Lu Jingchen noticed his wife's stiffness and suggested. Jiang Ciyou shook his head and took out the tablet from his bag. In the surveillance video, Xingyao was sitting by the window, her little fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of her skirt. The sunlight shone through the glass, weaving a golden net in her hair.

"She needs to adapt." Jiang Ciyou put the tablet back into her bag, digging her fingernails into her palm. The image of her stepmother locking her in the storage room suddenly flashed through her mind, making her feel cold all over. "Our Xingyao is very brave, isn't she?"

Lu Jingchen didn't answer, but held his wife's hand tighter. They stood under the sycamore tree outside the kindergarten, watching the children running on the playground, like two solidified statues. It was not until the bell rang that Jiang Ciyou turned around as if she had just woken up from a dream, but her husband grabbed her wrist.

&34；等等。&34；陆景琛从西装内袋取出一个皮质笔记本，&34；我让助理整理了幼儿园的所有资料。&34；他翻到某页，上面密密麻麻记录着老师的背景、课程安排、安全措施。&34；每天下午三点，会有营养师检查餐点；每周三下午有心理辅导课...&34；

"Lu Jingchen, are you too nervous?" Jiang Ciyou interrupted him, but a smile appeared on his face. This man who was decisive in business was always so meticulous when it came to his daughter's affairs. "Our Xingyao will be fine."

Lu Jingchen closed his notebook and looked at the wisteria on the kindergarten wall. "Do you remember?" he suddenly said, "On our first date, you wore this Chanel skirt." Jiang Ciyou looked down at her suit, which was indeed a new spring model from the same series.

"You couldn't even cut a steak properly back then," she said, laughing, "and you spilled red wine on my skirt." Recalling that flustered man, her heart suddenly softened.

"So later I went to learn etiquette." Lu Jingchen chuckled, "Look, now I can even tie a bow very well." He reached out to help his wife tidy up her wind-blown hair, and his fingertips inadvertently brushed across the butterfly birthmark on the back of her neck - that was the mark Xingyao had when she was born.

"We should go." Jiang Ciyou reluctantly glanced at the kindergarten for the last time, "I will pick up Xingyao in person at three o'clock in the afternoon." She turned and walked towards the Porsche, her high heels tapping out a crisp rhythm on the asphalt road. Lu Jingchen looked at his wife's back and suddenly remembered the scene when they first met.

It was at an antique auction in Paris, Jiang Ciyou was wearing a black evening gown, standing under the spotlight to bid for a Monet water lily. He remembered that when she raised her placard, her wrist trembled slightly, revealing a jade bracelet that glowed faintly under the light. From that moment on, he knew he had decided on this woman.

"Jingchen?" Jiang Ciyou's call brought him back to reality. She sat in the driver's seat and rolled down the window, "What are you daydreaming about?"

"Nothing." Lu Jingchen sat in the passenger seat, "I just feel that being able to witness Xingyao's growth with you is the luckiest thing in my life." He placed his hand on his wife's hand on the gear lever, "No matter what happens, we will always be together."

Jiang Ciyou smiled and nodded, then started the engine. The Porsche drove away from the kindergarten smoothly, leaving behind a string of melodious car horns. In the rearview mirror, the outline of the kindergarten gradually shrank and finally disappeared in the morning mist.

At this time, Xingyao was sitting in the corner of the classroom, holding the sunflower brooch tightly in her hands. She watched other children playing games in a circle, and suddenly remembered the courage star her mother had mentioned. "Courage star, give me courage." She whispered softly and took out a lavender sachet from her schoolbag. The familiar fragrance made her feel more at ease, but she didn't notice that Tangtang was staring at her peace locket from behind.

"Rich girls' things are always spoiled." Tangtang muttered disdainfully, with her broken Disney thermos lying at her feet. Xingyao shrank her neck nervously and hid the peace locket in her collar. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of a long kindergarten career, and more challenges were waiting for her and her family.

Jiang Ciyou's Porsche was speeding on the road, and the fragrance system in the car exuded the scent of lily of the valley. She glanced at the rearview mirror and found that Lu Jingchen was taking a nap with his eyes closed, and his eyelashes cast a faint shadow under his eyes. Suddenly, her mobile phone vibrated. It was a message from the kindergarten: "Hello, Lu Xingyao's parents, your daughter wet her pants during her nap."

Jiang Ciyou slammed on the brakes, and Lu Jingchen woke up. "What's wrong?" he asked nervously. Jiang Ciyou handed over the phone tremblingly, as if his throat was blocked by something. After reading the message, Lu Jingchen was silent for a moment, and suddenly held his wife's hand: "Let's go back and pick her up."

"But..." Jiang Ciyou hesitated, "Will this make her even sadder?"

"No." Lu Jingchen said firmly, "When our little Xingxing needs her parents, we must be by her side." He took out his cell phone and contacted his assistant, "Prepare a change of clothes and arrive at the kindergarten in ten minutes."

The Porsche turned around on the road, and with the roar of the engine, Jiang Ciyou recalled the time when she wet her pants at the age of five and was publicly humiliated by her stepmother. Hot tears suddenly burst out of her eyes, and she stepped hard on the accelerator, as if this would shake off the shadow of the past.

When they rushed into the kindergarten, Xingyao was hiding in the toilet sobbing. Jiang Ciyou pushed open the door and saw her daughter curled up in the corner, her face full of tears. "Mom!" Xingyao threw herself into her arms, "I didn't mean it..."

"It's okay, baby." Jiang Ciyou hugged her daughter tightly, "Mom also wet her pants when she was a child." She patted her daughter's back gently, looking over her daughter's head and meeting Lu Jingchen who was standing at the door. The man nodded slightly, his eyes full of heartache and support.

After changing her clothes, Xingyao became much quieter, but she just held her mother's hand tightly and refused to let go. Jiang Ciyou squatted down and looked at her daughter at eye level: "Xingyao, can I tell you a story?" Xingyao nodded, her eyes were red and swollen like two small cherries.

"Once upon a time there was a little bear who went to forest school for the first time." Jiang Ciyou said gently, "He was very scared and ended up wetting his pants in class. All the little animals laughed at him and the little bear was very sad. But his mother told him that wetting his pants was no big deal and that everyone gets scared sometimes."

"What happened next?" Xingyao asked with sobs.

"Then the little bear became very brave." Jiang Ciyou said with a smile, "It learned to protect itself and made many good friends." She pointed to her daughter's peace locket, "Look, the little bear also has a talisman to protect it."

Xingyao nodded, not quite understanding, and suddenly stood on tiptoe to kiss her mother's cheek. "Mom, I'm not afraid anymore," she said in a baby voice, "I want to be a brave little bear."

Jiang Ciyou stood up and exchanged a gratified look with Lu Jingchen. They walked out of the kindergarten holding their daughter's hand. The sun was shining brightly. The camphor tree leaves rustled in the wind, as if applauding this brave little girl.

After returning home, Jiang Ciyou washed Xingyao's wet clothes and hung them on the balcony. She looked at the floral skirt fluttering in the wind and suddenly remembered that her floral skirt was always cut into pieces by her stepmother when she was a child. When she turned around, she found Lu Jingchen standing behind her, holding an exquisite wooden box in his hand.

"This is a growth album for Xingyao." He opened the box, and inside were neatly placed Xingyao's hair, her first drawing, and today's diaper. "When she grows up, we can recall these beautiful moments together."

Jiang Ciyou was so moved that she couldn't speak, she just hugged her husband tightly. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, stretching their shadows very long. In this loving home, a new story is quietly unfolding.

At this time, Xingyao was sleeping soundly in the children's room, holding a lavender sachet. The moonlight shone through the gauze curtains, casting a gentle spot of light on her little face. The mechanical watch on the bedside was ticking, and the constellations on the dial glowed slightly in the dark, as if guarding this sleeping little angel.

(End of this chapter)