Chapter 22 (Second Update)
Zhong Min had been staying in the school dormitory recently, but Zhong Ru found out today and threw all his things in the trash can while he was in class, so he had no choice but to come back here.
But to my surprise, as soon as I entered, I heard someone saying, "Tell him to get out."
Moreover, he had a gut feeling that this "he" was him.
Is there really such a good thing?
It would be best if Zhong Hejing couldn't stand him anymore and kicked him out of the house, then Zhong Ru would have no choice but to accept it.
So he changed his shoes and walked over, ignoring whether others were talking about him or not, and sat down on the high stool next to the island platform, propping his head up without saying a word.
Zhong Hejing didn't expect that Qiao Wu would continue the topic after seeing Zhong Min arrive, and that her last sentence was clearly not just for her.
Thinking that Qiao Wu could control the two Lu brothers, and might even be able to control Lu Jinzhi.
Zhong Hejing had a strange sense of respect for her, so she didn't care whether Zhong Min could hear her or not, and continued to ask, "What do you mean?"
Qiao Wu: "He is a person with full civil capacity. Whether he is unwilling or resists is his business."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Min realized that the person was talking about him.
Since he's so open about it, it's no wonder he overheard it.
Moreover, this was said by Qiao Wu, so it's normal for him to resist.
Zhong Hejing felt that Qiao Wu hadn't finished speaking, so she waited patiently.
Sure enough, Qiao Wu continued, "Similarly, he should also be responsible for his actions. You don't have any sibling relationship with him, and he obviously thinks so too. Since that's the case, why should you bear his anger? So if you can't stand him, of course you can tell him to get lost."
Zhong Min couldn't hold back any longer.
He stood up, clapped his hands, walked to the table, and met Qiao Wu's gaze: "I think you're right. Now let's talk to them about what it means to do unto others what you would not have them do unto you."
Zhong Hejing frowned: "Who gave you the right to speak?"
Zhong Min scoffed, "You think I can't listen to what you're saying? If you don't want to, then kick us out. Who wants to stay here? I have hands and feet; do you think I can't support Shi Xia?"
He looked at Qiao Wu: "You mean the same thing, right?"
No wonder he felt that Qiao Wu was different from other rich people; it turned out to be a resonance of souls.
Qiao Wu did not answer, but simply raised her eyes and glanced at him indifferently.
Zhong Min felt uneasy under that look. Had he guessed wrong?
The next second, his premonition came true, and Qiao Wu continued, "Of course you can leave, as long as you can bear the consequences of leaving."
Zhong Min was furious: "Consequences?! You want me to talk to Zhong Ru about consequences?!"
"Why are you taking it out on me?" Qiao Wu put down his cup and looked at him coldly. "It's obvious you can't handle this."
How do you know I can't handle it?
"Judging from your own experience," Qiao Wu said calmly and unhurriedly, "I've seen you twice. The first time, you helped your brother fight with his classmates. The second time, I was sitting here as a guest, and you were rude and angry at me before I even greeted you. If you really leave this house, do you think you can be a good role model for your brother? Or do you think it doesn't matter if your brother becomes like you?"
Zhong Min felt as if he had been slapped hard across the face. He paused for two seconds before saying, "If I hadn't been forced into this situation..."
"Forced?" Qiao Wu smiled.
Although one was standing and the other was sitting, her legs were crossed, clearly the posture of a superior, and there was even a hint of mockery in her smile: "Zhong Ru did force you, but that's Zhong Ru's business. You chose the stupidest way to deal with her."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't have the ability to fight against her, so you can only use childish and low-class methods to make her unhappy. But in fact, these methods are completely irrelevant to her because you can't threaten her. You are not equal in status, and you have wasted your time and energy, even dragging down the people around you. Don't you know that apart from Zhong Ru, no one owes you anything?"
Zhong Min's throat bobbed slightly, but he couldn't refute it.
Qiao Wu continued, "If you were alone, you could do whatever you wanted, but since you chose to take on the responsibility of caring for your younger brother, you should bear it. Even without Zhong Ru, you will encounter thousands upon thousands of people like Zhong Ru in the future. Are you going to choose the same way to fight against those people? Your brother will suffer because of you."
In the story, after his sister's death, Zhong Min was forcibly pushed into a higher position and always looked at everyone with a misanthropic eye until the female lead came to redeem him. Even so, he still had a long and complicated relationship with the female lead.
Qiao Wu felt...
Looking for trouble.
Zhong Min was insulted to the point of being worthless, but he was clearly the victim!
"Then what do you think I should do?" he asked with a sneer.
“Since you’ve taken on this responsibility, you have to become someone who can handle it.” Qiao Wu casually picked up a document with annotations from the table and threw it in front of him. “If I were you, I would clearly distinguish who is on my side, who is a friend and who is an enemy. Just stay here obediently. She wants you to inherit her company, so you should stand in a higher position than her and then turn around and control and threaten her. Then who can do anything to you? You can keep the company if you like, or do charity if you don’t. Who can do anything to you then?”
Or perhaps...
Qiao Wu's voice was a little calmer: "Now pack your things and get out of here with your brother. Go to school and earn money to support your family. Go to the police and report that your mother is illegally imprisoning you. If you don't know how to call 110, I can teach you. If that doesn't work, I can provide you with legal aid, but it won't be free. You have to pay me back when you earn money in the future. Consider this a charity donation from me."
Zhong Hejing: "..."
Qiao Wu, oblivious to the strange expressions on their faces, continued, "As for the next time, you'll have to figure it out yourself. After all, aren't you supposed to be very principled?"
These words were enough to make Zhong Min so angry that he would bleed from all seven orifices.
But he couldn't refute it with a single word.
Because Qiao Wu is right.
Zhong Ru deserves to die, but she does have a responsibility to take care of her younger brother. She will encounter more people and more difficulties in the future, and Zhong Ru is just one of them.
If he can't become more powerful, he'll only be threatened by one Zhong Ru after another.
Since his younger brother was born, Zhong Min has known what responsibility is and that the road ahead is not always smooth. But he has never felt tired because of it. It's just that when he suddenly changed his environment and arrived in a place that was completely different from his previous world, he didn't know how to move forward.
Now he suddenly realizes that there are many unknown things in the future that he has not yet experienced. He is just going through one of the hurdles. There may be even more difficult mountains to climb than Zhong Ru in the future.
But he hasn't become stronger yet, and... he's even dragged his younger brother down with him.
“And your sister has no obligation to pay for your expenses,” Qiao Wu said. “Like now, you’re living in her house, and she can kick you out anytime she’s not happy.”
Hearing this, Zhong Hejing actually felt a little ashamed.
Because before this, she really valued the Zhong family and felt that since Zhong Min had come, she couldn't let her burden become heavier.
Therefore, she was very angry about the childish tricks Zhong Min played, otherwise she wouldn't have hit him. She wasn't as insightful as Qiao Wu.
But she's come to terms with it today; it's just the Zhong family.
There are millions of people with the surname Zhong in the world, and she is just one of them. It doesn't matter if this one falls apart, as long as she is still alive, there can be another Zhong family.
“I’m not forcing you,” Zhong Hejing said. “We share half the same blood, so I’m giving you a choice between two options.”
"Either you obediently follow me and learn from me, and in the future, I'll give you half of what belongs to the Zhong family. As for how you and your brother divide it, and how you deal with Mom, that's your business."
"Either pack your things and get out of my house right now. I don't care how you and Mom fight or get involved, but if you ever drag me into this again, I won't let you off the hook."
Zhong Min once thought he was the one who had wronged the whole world, and he was even secretly arrogant.
But only now did he suddenly realize that he was too insignificant in the face of absolute power, nothing at all.
He now has the opportunity to leave the Zhong family, but he has other ideas.
He also needs to earn money to support his younger brother in the future. Earning money is the same no matter where he is. Staying here will not only allow him to earn more money, but also make him stronger so that he will have the ability to fight against and suppress Zhong Ru in the future.
This is his only quick stepping stone.
“She’s your mother. You knew I was going to deal with her, yet you still let me learn from you?” he asked Zhong Hejing.
Zhong Hejing retorted, "You think you can kill her?"
Zhong Min: "...No."
"That's fine then," Zhong Hejing said. "She'll take responsibility for the fruit she grows herself, and you don't need to worry about my affairs."
Zhong Min was secretly alarmed.
Sure enough, there wasn't a single normal person in this family.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” He made the decision immediately.
Zhong Hejing and Qiao Wu exchanged a glance and smiled, "Then let's pick up these things and go take a look."
The documents that used to make him want to vomit didn't bother him as much now that his mindset had changed. Zhong Min didn't say anything, but bent down and picked up the messy things.
But as he was returning to his room, something occurred to him, and he turned to Zhong Hejing, saying, "I heard you... you know..."
He didn't say "I'm going to die" out loud, and after a pause, he said, "Anyway, it's a 50/50 deal. I won't take your share of the money. You can hire a lawyer or whatever, I'll sign it."
"Don't worry." Zhong Hejing knew what he meant. "I won't die."
That's not up to you to decide.
Zhong Min didn't argue with the dying man any longer, just said "oh" and left.
After taking a couple of steps, remembering Qiao Wu's comment about his rudeness, he turned back again.
He looked at Qiao Wu on the sofa with a calm expression, and was inexplicably stung by the calm and open-minded look in the other's light eyes, which made his heart surge.
If he could reach that level, wouldn't Qiao Wu no longer look at him with such eyes? Not like he would look at a strange and ignorant young man.
He forced a smile and said, "Goodbye, and thank you."
Qiao Wu nodded gently: "Goodbye."
Watching Zhong Min's figure disappear, Qiao Wu felt a little puzzled.
Is this the main character?
That seems to be all there is to it.
"Thank you," Zhong Hejing said.
Qiao Wu didn't seem to care much: "It was just something I said casually."
Zhong Hejing thought to herself, this is not something that can be said casually.
People who lack this mindset and insight might not realize this: everyone is unique.
No wonder the Lu family members are so obedient to Qiao Wu.
"Now I think I know why Lu Jinzhi chose you as his housekeeper."
Qiao Wu rarely remained silent.
This wasn't Lu Jinzhi's choice; he probably regretted it a lot before.
"He goes abroad, you go abroad too; he goes for two years, you go for two years too." Zhong Hejing suddenly realized, "You two planned this?"
Qiao Wu: "No, it was just a coincidence."
Zhong Hejing asked curiously, "May I ask why you chose to become the Lu family's butler? What do you mean by saying they need you?"
As far as she knew, Qiao Wu had grown up in the Lu family since she was a child and studied with the young masters of the Lu family. Therefore, with her abilities, she should be able to do more than just be a housekeeper. The Lu family had so many servants, they should not be short of a housekeeper.
Qiao Wu countered, "What did you think they were like before this?"
"……truth?"
"Um."
That might be impolite.
Qiao Wu chuckled: "Just as you thought, but in my eyes they are not like that."
“You have no feelings for Zhong Min, yet you still hesitated for him,” she said. “But I’m closer to them than you are to Zhong Min, and I don’t want them to become the kind of people you envision in the future.”
Zhong Hejing understood: "Now, my opinion has changed a little."
"Then we need to keep up the good work."
"After things change, are you going to stay there forever?"
Qiao Wu thought about it carefully and gently shook his head: "No."
Although the Lu family offers high salaries, they also have very busy work schedules and a lot of things to do.
She is not an insatiable person, nor is she ambitious. Once their fates change, she will probably choose to do something easier. But by then, she will just be their friend, which is fine too.
Zhong Hejing's eyes lit up: "If it's possible, I mean if."
She looked at Qiao Wu: "If you're not going to continue working as a housekeeper over there, would you like to come and stay with me?"
Qiao Wu was surprised: "What?"
“I know how high Lu Jinzhi’s standards are.” Zhong Hejing spoke of him with a hint of disdain. “Ordinary people don’t meet his standards, so I’m quite curious. The people around me right now are just so-so, but I admire you and think it would be very harmonious to work with you. Would you like to consider it?”
Zhong Hejing subconsciously felt that being a housekeeper and running her own business were completely different things and could not be compared.
Qiao Wu chuckled: "I won't be leaving the Lu family anytime soon."
"It's alright, it's only a matter of time."
Before Qiao Wu could say anything more, his phone suddenly rang. It was Lu Yingchi calling.
She apologized and answered the phone: "What's wrong?"
"My car broke down," Lu Yingchi said, sounding a little down. "I need to have my driver come pick me up."
Qiao Wu glanced at the time. It wasn't far from Lu Yingchi's school, so he said, "I'll go. It's on my way."
The other person's tone immediately became more enthusiastic: "Really?"
"Yes, twenty minutes."
Lu Yingchi snorted twice: "If it takes another second, I'll go and complain to the old man about you."
Because the house was quiet and the two were close together, Zhong Hejing could hear the other person clearly. She saw Qiao Wu to the door, but still didn't say the last thing.
It feels like Lu Yingchi is like a dog, wagging his tail at the slightest wave.
But it was also because of this phone call that she felt Qiao Wu should not continue to stay in the Lu family.
She knew bits and pieces of what Qiao Wu's father had done in the past, and he didn't have much freedom.
This further solidified her resolve to bring Qiao Wu to the company.
Twenty minutes later, Qiao Wu arrived at the entrance of Lu Yingchi's school.
Young Master Lu stood upright in the sun as if he had never been in the sun before, his hands in his pockets and his expression dark. His blond hair looked like it had been scorched by the sun, but it still couldn't hide his striking face, which attracted the attention of both men and women.
Someone who recognized him came up to greet him: "Young Master Lu, want to go for a drink?"
Lu Yingchi said impatiently, "I'm not going."
Many people at school knew that Lu Yingchi had fallen out with Hu Zhuo and his group, and it had turned out quite badly, so no one dared to provoke him for the time being: "I heard your car broke down, do you want me to take you home?"
Lu Yingchi's expression softened a bit: "Didn't you see me standing here?"
? ? ?
So?
Seeing the other person's puzzled expression, Lu Yingchi clicked his tongue lightly and said, "Someone's here to pick you up, you know?"
"Oh, oh, oh!" his classmate exclaimed suddenly, "I get it! Girlfriend!"
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to stand here like Hou Yi instead of seeking shelter in the shade.
Lu Yingchi's girlfriend!
Is she really Chang'e?!
"What girlfriend?" Lu Yingchi asked with a disapproving look. "What are you thinking? It's none of your business."
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more, you just wait."
The man said goodbye to Lu Yingchi, and after walking only a few steps, he saw a low-key black BMW pull up and stop by the roadside. Lu Yingchi, who was originally in the back, strode over, opened the passenger door, and said arrogantly, "It's been more than twenty minutes."
A cheerful, pleasant female voice came from inside the car: "Okay, it's my fault. So, are you still going to get in or not?"
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Lu Yingchi stepped into the car, this classmate saw the person inside and his eyes widened instantly.
And it really is Chang'e!
Lu Yingchi is so good-looking, why is he keeping it a secret!
He subconsciously took a step forward, but was noticed by Lu Yingchi, who was closing the door. The other man's gaze immediately loomed over him, heavy and menacing.
Qiao Wu, who was in the car, noticed that he hadn't closed the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Lu Yingchi closed the door, blocking her view as well. "What are you doing here?"
Qiao Wu casually replied, "I have an appointment."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yingchi glanced at her, but hesitated and didn't dare to ask.
This person seems to have appointments every day, both at home and outside. Is he really that busy?
"Next time something like this happens, you can just call the driver directly," Qiao Wu said.
Lu Yingchi remained silent.
He did have the driver's phone number, but when he opened his phone, the first thing he saw was the pinned contact. By the time he realized what was happening, the call had already been made.
"Did I bother you?" he asked.
Sensing his displeasure, Qiao Wu soothed him, "No, I was just worried you'd get sunburned, so I came to pick you up right away."
"Two minutes late."
"Tsk, Lu Yingchi."
Lu Yingchi said sullenly, "You won't let me say it now?"
Just as Qiao Wu was getting close to home, his phone rang again.
Worried that she might need to handle some things, she habitually connects to Bluetooth as soon as she gets in the car so she can answer calls easily.
Seeing that it was Zhong Hejing calling, she asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
“I was interrupted just now, and I didn’t finish what I was saying,” Zhong Hejing said. “It was about you coming to work with me.”
The listless Lu Yingchi next to him suddenly sat up like a puppy with its fur standing on end, his eyes wide open.
Qiao Wu had a bad feeling and was about to interrupt Zhong Hejing, but she continued, "I'm afraid you'll misunderstand, so I'm explaining to you. I'm not asking you to be my housekeeper. I will definitely not let my mother participate in the company's affairs in the future. I have my own development plans, so if we can really work together, apart from salary, we can talk about stock dividends."
Qiao Wu does know this.
To be honest, working in a company might be easier than being a housekeeper, at least the job content is more monotonous.
“I’ll consider it,” she said politely.
Lu Yingchi was instantly stressed.
Still considering?!
Zhong Hejing: "Then I look forward to that day."
"What are you considering?! She's mine!" Lu Yingchi finally reacted and yelled at the screen, "Don't even think about it! If she doesn't consider it, you can forget about it too!"
He hung up the phone before Zhong Hejing could speak.
Qiao Wu sighed: "I told you to be polite."
"You're still defending her?!"
"I haven't gone out for fun or drinks for a week, and I haven't even seen any friends, and you're still not satisfied!" Lu Yingchi said, feeling wronged and irritable. "Not only am I going to hang up on her, but I'm also going to set some family rules!"
Starting today, make a sign and put it in the guardhouse.
Zhong Hejing is not allowed to enter!
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