Chapter 505 The Problematic Baby VS The Arrogant Guy Who Loves to Ask Questions 57

Five years later.

A bookstore near an elementary school in Lincheng.

Jiang Zhiyi squatted down next to the bookshelf in the children's book section, holding a duster in her hand, and was carefully tidying up the books that had been messed up.

The group of elementary school students who came to the bookstore after school were very polite, and they even said "thank you, sister" sweetly when they left, but the bookshelves were still inevitably messed up by them.

Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and Aesop's Fables are mixed together, and science picture books are also crookedly inserted among the storybooks.

Jiang Zhiyi took out each book, carefully checked the cover and category label, and then put them back in their correct places one by one.

As the duster swept across the spine of the book, it stirred up fine dust particles that danced gently in the sunlight.

In recent years, Jiang Zhiyi's life has been peaceful and stable.

After graduating from a school in Rinjo, she has been working at this bookstore.

Lu Jingxun gave her a lot of money back then. After deducting her school expenses over the past few years, she still had a lot left. So she rented a house nearby, firstly for her convenience at work, and secondly because Jiang Qiujin and Jiang Qiuyin also attended a nearby primary school.

Jiang Qiujin and Jiang Qiuyin are now second-grade students.

The school was just next to the bookstore. Every day after school, the brother and sister would carry their little schoolbags and skip happily to the bookstore to do their homework.

After Jiang Zhiyi gets off work, she will take the two of them to buy some delicious food, and then they will walk home together.

Jiang Zhiyi is already very content with this peaceful and happy life.

"What's wrong? Why are you squatting there?" Ye Jingming walked into the bookstore and saw Jiang Zhiyi squatting on the ground. He thought something had happened and quickly asked.

After graduating, Ye Jingming returned to work in Lincheng and was transferred to a nearby bureau. He always visits her after get off work.

"It's nothing, I'm just organizing the bookshelves," Jiang Zhiyi said.

She carefully placed the last copy of "100,000 Whys" back in its place, explaining, "They always forget to put it back after they finish reading it."

When she stood up, she almost lost her balance; her legs were numb from squatting for so long.

Ye Jingming reached out and supported her arm, letting go only after she had regained her balance, saying, "Don't always squat like that, it's bad for your knees."

He pulled a brown paper bag out of his coat pocket. "I bought this on the way. It's chestnut cake. Jinjin and Yinyin love it."

Jiang Zhiyi took the paper bag, and the familiar sweet aroma wafted towards her. She said, "You always say you're buying it on your way, but I remember the old man who sells this chestnut cake isn't around."

Ye Jingming scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, insisting, "It really is on the way."

Jiang Zhiyi couldn't do anything about him, so she turned around and poured him some water.

"How's work? I heard you got promoted again?" Jiang Zhiyi asked.

Although the two met frequently, she wasn't entirely clear about the situation. It was only when she called home today that she heard Wang Huilan mention it, saying that Ye Jingming was outstanding and could be promoted anywhere, and that many people wanted to introduce their daughters to him...

Ye Jingming nodded. "Pretty much, it's just been submitted. It's not much different from before, it's all work."

Jiang Zhiyi didn't ask any further questions.

Actually, he might have had a better future outside if he hadn't returned to Lincheng, but he still chose to come back.

The two chatted for a while longer when Jiang Qiujin and Jiang Qiuyin, who had finished school, came in carrying their schoolbags.

Upon seeing Ye Jingming, they greeted him warmly, "Brother Jingming."

Jiang Zhiyi pointed to the chestnut cake on the table next to her and said, "Your brother Jingming brought you some delicious chestnut cake."

"Thank you, Brother Jingming!" the two said in unison, rushing towards the chestnut cake.

"You glutton," Jiang Zhiyi muttered to herself.

Ye Jingming looked at her with a smile.

"Sister, look at this!" Jiang Qiuyin stood on tiptoe, the pink bow on her braid swaying as she took out her workbook from her schoolbag, pointed to the arithmetic problem on it, and poked a small dent in the paper with the eraser. "20 + 5 equals 25, I got it right!"

Her fingers, covered in pencil dust, were still gesturing excitedly in the air.

Jiang Qiujin didn't even look up, biting into a chestnut cake, her right hand holding a pen that scratched across the paper: "I got it right too."

"Brother, have you memorized the text 'The Butterfly'?" Jiang Qiuyin tugged at Jiang Qiujin's clothes.

Seeing that he ignored her, she deliberately poked a series of small black dots on his notebook with a pencil.

Jiang Qiujin paused for a moment, then honestly replied, "Not yet."

That text was too long for him to memorize yet, but he'll definitely be able to by tomorrow.

He seemed to remember something else. Jiang Zhiyi had said she would take them to see butterflies during the week's holiday. "Sister, we want to see butterflies!"

He reminded Jiang Zhiyi.

Jiang Zhiyi replied, "I remember, but you two have to finish your homework first. Then I'll take you to the insectarium to see the butterflies. If you haven't finished, you can't go... There are lots of beautiful butterflies there..."

"Wow! I'm going to draw it then! I'm going to draw it now too!" Jiang Qiuyin's eyes sparkled, and her notebook was instantly filled with colored pencils.

The butterfly wings she drew were crooked, but she deliberately colored them gold and silver. "These are my brother's and my butterflies! We have little wings now!"

"You can't draw, finish your homework first. Your sister is being disobedient." Jiang Qiujin said this, but she took out stickers from her schoolbag and silently put a precious little red flower on the butterfly that her sister had drawn crookedly.

This was given to him by the teacher; only obedient children received it, but he was willing to give his little red flower to his younger sister.

Jiang Zhiyi smiled as she silently watched the heartwarming interaction between the siblings, Jinjin and Yinyin.

Ye Jingming didn't say anything to disturb her, his gaze... falling on her.

...

At night, Jiang Qiujin and Jiang Qiuyin were already asleep.

During dinner, Wang Huilan and the others called to say that everything was fine at home and that Jiang Zhiyi shouldn't worry. They said they would come over in a few days and bring some things with them.

Jiang Zhiyi was still not sleepy, so she went out for some fresh air. She stood on the balcony and quietly gazed at the full moon in the sky.

A gentle evening breeze carried a slight chill.

The moon remains as bright and clear as ever.

She likes to look at the moon at night, a habit that has never changed. It's quiet all around, and she can think about many things by herself.

Suddenly, a name popped into my mind.

Jiang Zhiyi pouted and frowned, somewhat angrily.

fraud.

Meanwhile, in another place nine thousand kilometers away.

Lu Jingxun stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor, also gazing at the bright moon.

The neon lights outside the window flickered, but they could not obscure the moonlight in front of me.

In five years, he went from completing his studies to inheriting the company and then expanding overseas...

His experiences have made him calm and reserved, and you can no longer see any trace of his youthful self. It's as if he has become a completely different person.

Lu Jingxun casually picked up a poster from the side; it was a promotional brochure for a recent movie, filmed at a primary school in a remote mountain area.

That place is right next to Lin City, only half an hour away.

In the poster image, extras stand in front of a mottled blackboard, chalk dust falling on their faded school uniform shoulders, and the "Study Hard" slogan behind them is missing several pieces.

Standing in the very center is a popular young actress, but she's wearing makeup to make herself look ugly, so she doesn't look like her usual self.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a woman with a graceful figure walked in.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the celebrity from the poster.

"Mr. Lu..."

The woman's voice had a sticky, cloying quality at the end.

She approached slowly, her ten-centimeter red high heels clasped loosely, her silk robe swaying gently with each step, the diamond necklace around her collarbone swaying gracefully, exuding charm.

With a cautious, tentative look in her eyes, she reached out to take Lu Jingxun's arm...