Chapter 40: Ji Family Trouble (2)
Zhou Yingying ran up to the two of them with a book in her arms, her gaze falling on their touching fingers. Her eyes were so fiery that it seemed as if she wanted to stare a hole through Zhong Qiao's hand.
This woman already has a child. Does she want to rekindle her old love?
Zhong Qiao didn't recognize her, but he had seen this kind of look many times.
Very similar to Li Fangfang in the previous life.
When a woman falls in love with a man, she will never allow any opposite sex to be around her man. Obviously, she is being treated as a third party.
When Zhong Qiao realized this, she immediately retracted her finger as if she had been burned. She didn't want to be dragged into disputes for no reason. Emotional matters like this were the most troublesome.
Ji Hebai lowered his eyes and looked at their fingers that touched unintentionally, a little dazed.
"Yingying."
When the Ji family saw her, their tense faces instantly relaxed.
They showed the kindness of elders, their eyes darting around Ji Hebai and Zhou Yingying, their tone of voice meaningful.
"Yingying, are you here to look for Hebai?"
Zhou Yingying suddenly remembered that the Ji family was there, and instantly and seamlessly switched to her well-behaved persona.
She stuck out her tongue and said coquettishly, "Uncle Ji, you are teasing me again."
The people in the Ji family were so amused by her words that they couldn't stop grinning.
"Yingying, you're here."
Ji's mother smiled so sweetly and waved at her.
"Come, come to your aunt."
Hearing this, Zhou Yingying glared at Zhong Qiao unwillingly, then ran to Ji's mother and said coquettishly, "Auntie, Yingying is so hungry. Didn't grandma say she cooked her specialty today? When are we going to eat?"
After saying that, she glanced at Zhong Qiao with a provocative look, as if she regarded her as a third party.
Zhong Qiao just felt that the little girl was a little childish.
Aunt Ji smiled and said, "We'll have dinner when you come."
"Aunt Ji, how do you know her?" Zhou Yingying hesitated and whispered in Aunt Ji's ear.
"You don't know, everyone in our compound is talking about it..."
It was hard to hear clearly, but Zhong Qiao could tell part of it from her and her mother's expressions. They were probably talking about what people in the compound were saying about her.
She eloped with someone else, had a child, and got divorced, becoming an unwanted hag. She has no self-control.
This would be fatal for a woman no matter what era it happened in, let alone in 1976.
Just one word from your mouth can crush someone to death.
Zhong Qiao, the person involved, was scolded in front of him.
One second I thought this little girl was childish, and the next second I thought her gossiping habit was really mean-spirited.
Ji's mother obviously noticed this, her expression was not very good, and she glanced at Zhou Yingying in her arms.
"Okay Yingying, let's talk later. There are outsiders here."
The outsider here naturally refers to Zhong Qiao.
Ji Hebai's handsome and deep brows were knitted tightly together, and his sharp features like a knife blade, along with his tightly pursed lips, looked even more sinister.
Zhong Qiao didn't notice any of this. She smiled and said to Ji's father and stepmother, "The food has been delivered. I'll leave first and won't disturb you guys for dinner."
Ji's mother smiled politely and elegantly: "Go back and thank your mother for me."
"Sure." Zhong Qiao responded politely.
After saying that, he fled from this seemingly calm but actually stormy scene.
The family was having a happy meal together, and she came at a really bad time.
After Zhong Qiao left, Ji Tangchun was puzzled: "Mom, why did you just turn your face away from me?"
"Turning her face? If you knew how she treated your brother back then, you would be even angrier than me."
Mother Ji sneered in annoyance, but was stopped by Father Zhong who cleared his cough a few times.
Ji Tangchun was puzzled: "Mom, why do you always stop talking in the middle? What's going on?"
Zhou Yingying also pricked up her ears to listen.
Father Ji scolded him in a deep voice: "What kind of girl is this? Is this what you are taught to do, to listen to these things and gossip about others?"
"It was Mom who started it all."
Ji Tangchun was scolded and felt embarrassed, so he pulled Zhou Yingying to the back hall.
"Yingying, let's go. Let's not talk about that. The food is already ready and we're waiting for you."
"My grandma is really good at making braised pork liver. It tastes better than anything else out there. You're in for a treat today."
"Wait a moment."
Zhou Yingying stopped, her face flushed with embarrassment, and looked back, "Where's Brother Hebai? Why doesn't he go with us?"
Ji Tangchun showed an understanding expression and said with a smile: "My brother is going too. This is a family dinner."
She bumped Zhou Yingying's shoulder and said something with hidden meaning.
Ji Hebai looked at the bamboo basket in his hand, lowered his eyes, and didn't know what he was thinking. After a while, he ignored the expressions of the other people in the Ji family and strode out as if he didn't hear them.
Father Ji rapped his cane, knocking the bricks loudly, and angrily scolded: "Rebellious son, the family banquet is about to begin, where are you going? Can't you see Yingying is still here?"
The other people in the Ji family were also shocked when they saw Ji Hebai walking out and didn't seem to want to stay for dinner.
How come this kid becomes a different person after coming back from outside?
He used to listen to his parents very much, but now he goes east and west when they tell him to, and stands when they tell him to sit.
No wonder Ji Qiuhai wanted to beat him to death with his cane when he saw him.
If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have stopped them. The beating was indeed too light.
Ji Tangchun also became anxious.
Her silly brother, could he have been made stupid by that beating with the cane? Now that he's not obeying his father, does he want to be kicked out of the house in the future?!
She quickly left Zhou Yingying behind and went to pull Ji Hebai's arm.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? If you really leave this time, Dad will definitely be angry for a long time. Maybe he won't even let you into the house."
Ji Hebai stopped and looked down at her.
"Isn't this just perfect? Anyway—"
He stretched out his voice, but his tone was neither slow nor slow. He spoke slowly and leisurely, looking up at the Ji family until his eyes fell on Zhou Yingying's snow-white face.
"Anyway, no one asked for my opinion on this family dinner."
Zhou Yingying felt a little uneasy, but wanted to go forward and pull him.
"Brother Hebai, did I do something wrong to make you angry? I will definitely change, okay?"
What Ji Hebai disliked most was Zhou Yingying's pitiful appearance.
He immediately dodged her hand, leaving Zhou Yingying stunned.
Ji Hebai looked at her face seriously: "Ms. Zhou, I haven't had the chance to explain this to you clearly before. Since everyone is here today, I will explain it clearly."
Zhou Yingying seemed to have guessed what he wanted to say, her face turned paler and paler, as fragile as paper.
But because of the little expectation in her heart, she still listened patiently.
She thought, no matter what, Ji Hebai would not slap her in the face in front of everyone.
But what Ji Hebai said next completely broke her heart of love.
"I don't like you, and I don't agree with arranged marriages, so Miss Zhou, if you are a girl who knows your limits, I hope you won't waste your time on me."
Everyone in the Ji family looked unhappy.
Ji Tangchun let go of his hand, his heart pounding with shock.
Father Ji was so angry that his eyes rolled back and he could hardly breathe.
"Rebellious son! Rebellious son! I should have beaten you to death just now! You refused to study and refused to come back to start a family and build a career. You couldn't find a good girl like Yingying even with a lantern, yet you chose her."
Ji Hebai didn't look back.
"Yingying." Ji Tangchun exclaimed.
Zhou Yingying couldn't accept this fact, and ran out crying with her hands covering her face.
Father Ji had a headache: "Go after her quickly, it's getting dark, don't let anything happen to Yingying."
Ji Tangchun, Xiao Shen and others nodded quickly and chased after him.
Ji's mother's face was full of disappointment, and then she seemed to have thought of something.
"Tell me, has my son been bewitched by Zhong Qiao? Otherwise, why would he suddenly come to give He Bai something?"
"Impossible." Ji's father answered firmly.
"You, me, and He Bai all know that this is impossible."
Ji's mother fell into deep thought.
The Ji family members looked at each other, they also knew about this.
This was decided by the previous generation, but the Zhong family suddenly broke the agreement.
Especially that Zhong Qiao, who ruined people's reputation and had corrupt morals.
Not only did he break the contract, he also slandered and insulted their He Bai, causing He Bai to become controversial.
If they had not been stopped by the seriously ill grandfather of the Ji family, their family would definitely not have let the Zhong family go.
But this Zhong Qiao is interesting. He did such a shameful thing back then, but he still came to the house as if nothing had happened.
This made the people in the Ji family who had lived for decades feel amused and admired.
I admire Zhong Qiao's shameless mentality.
Father Ji had a headache on his face. "That happened so long ago. Besides, no one can explain what happened back then. It's not necessarily that Zhong Qiao did it. Besides, he made his own choice. He has no connection with our family. Isn't everything fine now?"
"I think you are a pushover. You shouldn't have let Zhong Qiao into our house just now." Ji's mother curled her lips.
When these words came out, Ji's father was very unhappy.
"Alright, even if Zhong Qiao did something like that back then, she's a parent now. What if she admits her mistakes and changes them? We're here today to make peace between the two families. That's what Dad wants to see. We're half the elders, so why would we make things difficult for the younger generation?"
Father Ji emphasized.
"Don't forget, you loved Zhong Qiao very much when she was a child."
After hearing this, Ji's mother recalled the memories of Zhong Qiao's childhood from more than ten years ago, and her expression eased slightly.
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