My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Shi Nian?" Qiang Fei came out of her room sleepily. "Did someone come?"

Shi Nian closed the door behind her and rubbed her cheeks. Seeing Qiang Fei still clad in pajamas with messy bed hair, she showed a surprised and confused face.

Qiang Fei understood her daughter, she rubbed her head and smiled. "Mama has finished her work for this week so my boss gives me a two days holiday. I have been so busy since we moved here that I haven\'t been able to accompany you much. Mama will make it up for you, okay?"

Shi Nian blinked and her lips blossomed into a delighted smile, her eyes shone bright enough to light up the whole room.

Qiang Fei felt happy yet heartache at the same time. She tucked Shi Nian\'s hair behind her ears, softly said, "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"

[I want Mama\'s pumpkin porridge!]

"Sure." Qiang Fei laughed. "Let me refresh myself and go to the supermarket below to see if there\'s pumpkin there. We haven\'t had hotpot for ages. How about it for dinner?"

Shi Nian\'s smile froze briefly but the yawning Qiang Fei didn\'t realize it. When she was done rubbing the tears and eye gunk away, Shi Nian had recomposed her expression and smiled with a nod. [Sure, let\'s have hotpot for dinner!]

Qiang Fei went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, then recalled her previous question. "So, did someone come just now?"

[No.] Shi Nian answered sullenly. [Just a water purifier salesman.]

***

It was rare for Qiang Fei to have a peaceful day. As she sat at the dining table with a bowl of piping pumpkin porridge emitting warm steam in her hand, her whole body felt relaxed and comfortable. In front of her, Shi Nian ate happily. Her eyes curved in joy as she kept on stuffing herself.

The thick, creamy and sweet porridge went to her stomach and made her warm all over. It was so tasty, especially when she hadn\'t eaten Qiang Fei\'s porridge pumpkin for months. Qiang Fei was a great cook, but because of her busy job, Shi Nian hardly had the chance to eat her dishes.

This kind of hard earned delicacy almost made her moan in bliss.

"Slow down." Qiang Fei chuckled and handed her a napkin. "No one will take your food away."

The TV in the living room was on and at this moment, it was showing a business conference that was attended by numerous big figures, entrepreneurs, executives, and investors. But of course, the main highlight of the event was two most gigantic moguls namely the CEO of Henan Corporation, Nan Cheng and the CEO of Jiang Corporation, Jiang Huocheng.

The camera moved to shoot Nan Cheng\'s enigmatic smile and face full of righteousness and heroism. Shi Nian looked at the successful middle aged uncle and was reminded of the wild young master whom she met in the hospital, Nan Xukun.

Then after Nan Cheng walked down the red carpet amidst the camera\'s blinding flashlights, behind him, another tycoon followed. A tall, powerful man clad in a three piece suit. He had sharp and dark eyes, sculpted face like God\'s favorite and an impressive aura that could awe the crowd. Yet something in the way he carried himself exuded a faint sense of melancholy and gloominess.

The CEO of Jiang Corporation, Jiang Huocheng.

Shi Nian\'s eyes instantly glued to the man.

This face…it was an exact replica of her general! Except for the wrinkles around his eyes and the strands of white hair on his temple, the two men looked like they were carved out of the same mold!

She almost dropped her spoon in shock. Shi Nian seldom watched business channels so she didn\'t have any chance to see Jiang Huocheng. On the other hand, he was very low profile and rarely appeared in public, unlike Nan Cheng who often accepted interviews from various TV stations.

Jiang Huocheng. Jiang Jinyan.

Shi Nian\'s brain clicked.

Holy—so it turned out, Jiang Jinyan was a rich young master! As expected of the general!

Shi Nian\'s mood turned to the better after knowing that Jiang Jinyan had such a powerful family. It meant that he was living well in this life, unlike Shi Nian who had to work multiple part time jobs to ease her household\'s financial affairs.

"What makes you so happy?" Qiang Fei followed her line of sight and only saw the opening ceremony of a business conference in the Capital that looked more like a Spring Festival Gala with all of the festivities. "Jiang Huocheng?"

Shocked, Shi Nian left her food behind and typed. [Mama knows him?]

Qiang Fei chuckled. "Everyone who works in the business world should know him. After all, he hailed from a humble family and worked his way up. When he merged his investment company with the long time conglomerate Guan Empire, it almost caused the pillar of economy in China to shake."

Shi Nian didn\'t understand anything but it sounded really cool. Moreover, because he was Jiang Jinyan\'s father, it sounded triple cool! She looked at Jiang Huocheng on the TV screen with awe.

"Niannian is going to graduate from high school next year." Qiang Fei asked casually. "Are you interested in taking business major?"

Shi Nian sank into deep contemplation and realized that she hadn\'t had any plan for her future education.

Qiang Fei gave her a comforting smile. "It\'s okay, think slowly. No matter what you choose, Mama will always support you. Don\'t let anyone else influence your choice and it\'s better to stick to what you like, got it?"

Warmth permeated through Shi Nian\'s chest and she felt so lucky to have Qiang Fei as her mother. In their past lives, she had sacrificed herself to give Shi Nian a way to live and in this life, she was a strong, gentle and supporting mother who never constrained Shi Nian\'s wishes.

No matter how hard life slapped her, she would always be able to maintain a positive mentality and influence others with it.

[Ah, right.] Shi Nian felt that it was the right time and tried to ask. [Mama, when I was around five or six, do you remember that I used to play with a bunch of friends?]

"Yes." Albeit confused, Qiang Fei answered earnestly. Her eyes were stained with nostalgia. "At that time, Mama is especially busy so I always drop you off at our neighbor\'s house. You often played with the auntie\'s child back then."

Shi Nian\'s eyes lit up. [Yes, yes! Do you still remember that child\'s name?] Her heart raced. If it was truly the Xiao Chun she had been dreaming about, then she would know where she should start to investigate.

"Her child? Mama doesn\'t really remember it. I just recalled that you two were a pair of very adorable dumplings. Mama remembers the auntie more, after all, she had taken care of you." Qiang Fei tried hard to recall and succeeded. "If I\'m not wrong, her surname is Si. Si Qingzhao. By the way, why are you suddenly asking about that?"

.

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A/N: Let me refresh your memory:

Si Zhening - Jiang Huocheng\'s secretary

Si Yusheng - Dreamscape Bar\'s manager

Si Qingzhao - neighborhood auntie

Spoiler: they are all connected with the case and THEY are connected with each other. Oh, I just want you to suspect everyone ne~ ლ(｀∀´ლ)