Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiqing immediately beamed with joy and reached out to take Zhao Hanying's arm affectionately. However, before he could even touch her, she gently pushed him away.
"Excuse me, you two siblings can chat. I haven't finished reading my documents yet. I'll go to the car and wait for you."
Normally, a major general wouldn't be assigned a car, but because Zhao Hanying and Zhang Jisheng lived together, Commander Liu made a special exception and assigned them a car to pick them up and drop them off at get off work.
Zhao Hanying picked up her bag and left without looking back.
Even if Zhang Jiqing was completely oblivious to subtle cues, she could still tell that Zhao Hanying was indifferent to her.
As soon as Zhao Hanying left, Zhang Jiqing pouted and looked at Zhang Jisheng with dissatisfaction.
"Brother, does your wife not like me? Does she not want to teach me English?"
Zhang Jisheng was pulled along, with his sister on one side and his girlfriend on the other, and he frowned in distress.
"She's always been like this, you know that."
Also, Han Ying is very busy, how could she have time to come and train you in English every day?
If you're capable, go learn it yourself; otherwise, stop dreaming about studying abroad.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiqing's face immediately fell.
"Brother, you promised me you'd send me abroad to study. What do you mean by this? Are you going back on your word?"
Out of consideration for her feelings, Zhang Jisheng didn't say it directly, but instead tried to persuade her.
"Studying abroad has very high requirements. As I said, if you have the ability, then go abroad. If you don't have the ability, you'll just suffer if you go abroad."
"Alright, I have to go to work now, you should go home too."
Even if Zhang Jiqing was unhappy, he didn't dare to go against his brother, so he just watched helplessly as the two of them got into the car and left.
She had never ridden in that kind of car before.
Studying abroad is great; when I come back, I can ride in this kind of car and live in such a nice house.
No matter what, she must be like Zhao Hanying!
Because their old house burned down, Zhang's mother and Zhang Jiqing can only stay temporarily in a guesthouse on the street.
These guesthouses are specifically for foreign guests. The staff can speak a few words of English, and the guests stay in Western-style buildings and eat Western food. They can see the river view from the windows, so the prices are quite expensive.
"Fifteen yuan for one night? My God, that's so expensive!"
When Zhang's mother heard the price, she was so shocked that she immediately wanted to move out.
Zhang Jiqing, however, remained quite calm and composed.
"What are you afraid of? It's only fifteen yuan a night, but we're staying in a suite that can accommodate four or five people. Isn't that much better than those guesthouses?"
Besides, we'll only be staying here for a month at most. We can move out after we buy the new house, so what's there to be afraid of?"
"Fifteen yuan? How can it be so expensive? Is this house made of gold?"
Zhang Jiqing looked at his mother with a half-smile.
"Mom, this is the French Concession, the most expensive area in BH City, just one street away from my brother's Wutong Mansion."
Moreover, the residents here are mostly Americans or Germans, so how could it not be expensive?
Besides, what are you afraid of? Jin Shu is rich. She owns many shops in Suzhou, and rent is sent to her every month.
For Zhang Jiqing, Jin Shu's money was like a gust of wind; he obtained it without much effort.
Upon hearing this, Zhang's mother thought about it again and realized it was indeed a good idea.
Anyway, Jin Shu isn't of much use anymore, so we might as well enjoy ourselves while we can. We can ask her for some money when Ji Sheng buys a house in a couple of days, and then Jin Shu won't be a problem anymore.
Thinking about this, she suddenly felt a little confused.
"Where's Jin Shu? We haven't seen her all day. Didn't we send someone to inform her?"
Zhang Jiqing called the housekeeper, but the housekeeper only said that he didn't know either.
"The lady has not returned since she left yesterday afternoon."
"Didn't you come back last night either?"
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Zhang's mother's face turned pale.
"She wouldn't stay out all night. Where could she have gone if she didn't come back all night?"
Zhang Jiqing suddenly said something.
"Where could she go? She only knows us in the entire BH city. Where else could she go besides the Zhang family?"
"Oh, Mom, don't think so much. Just relax and stay here. Jin Shu will definitely be back before dark tonight. I know her too well; she's so old-fashioned and conservative. She always tries to cover her face completely with a hat when she goes out. A woman like that won't go far."
"That's true, but we should still send someone to check on the old house."
After a while, the housekeeper returned, looking somewhat flustered.
"Madam, the lady is not at the old residence!"
"Where else can we go if not the old house?"
There was no place left for Jin Shu in such a nice guesthouse. Since her place hadn't been burned down, Zhang's mother assumed Jin Shu would go straight back to the old house.
The next second, the butler said something else.
"Not only are they not there, but I just pushed the door open and saw... I saw that everything in the backyard wing room had been moved out!"
"They moved away?!"
Zhang's mother jumped to her feet, asking incredulously.
"What does that mean? What does it mean she moved out? Could she have gone to find Jisheng?!"
Zhang Jiqing nodded.
"Of course, Mom. We have to find her. Sister Hanying will definitely be angry if she sees her."
"Yes, we can't let her cause trouble. Your brother is on edge right now."
The mother and daughter rushed to Wutong Mansion, but when they arrived, they couldn't find Jin Shu anywhere.
“The area outside the Wutong Mansion is full of General Liu’s soldiers, all carrying real guns. She, an outsider, definitely can’t get in.”
As Zhang Jiqing was saying this, he turned his head and saw Zhang Jisheng and Zhao Hanying's car driving back.
"Mom, my brother is back."
Zhang Jisheng had just returned home from a day of meetings when he immediately saw his mother and Zhang Jiqing. He quickly got out of the car to help them up.
"Mom, what brings you here?"
"Mom came to see you two when she had some free time."
Zhao Hanying lingered for a while before getting out of the car. When she saw the mother and daughter, her smile was indifferent. After a brief greeting, she was about to leave when she heard Zhang Jisheng say something.
"Don't stand there, come up and sit down. It's been chilly at night lately, be careful not to catch a cold."
Zhao Hanying finally turned around and said something.
"Auntie, what brings you here so late?"
Zhang's mother was a shrewd person; how could she not see Zhao Hanying's deliberate distancing and rejection?
Although she was angry inside, the smile on her face didn't diminish at all when she thought about her son's future.
"You just got back? That's good. Hanying, you should go back and rest first. We won't go upstairs. Jisheng and I will just say a few words and then leave."
Zhao Hanying really didn't stand on ceremony at all; she picked up her bag, turned around, and left.
Zhang Jisheng was left looking at his mother with an awkward expression. He was about to say something on her behalf when his mother magnanimously shook her head.
“It’s normal for someone who’s studied abroad to be a little ambitious. Your mother isn’t a mean person.”
(End of this chapter)
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