Chapter 11
Lu Mingxiao bought two tickets and two ice cream cones. He handed one to Jiang Huaiyu: "Have some ice cream. After these grandpas and grandmas finish checking their group tickets and go in, we'll go check our tickets."
Jiang Huaiyu took a small bite of ice cream, looked up and asked, "Why is this place called Wild Donkey Mountain?"
“Because there used to be wild donkeys in there,” Lu Mingxiao said matter-of-factly. “There are also bear mountains, wild boar mountains, leopard mountains…”
Jiang Huaiyu: "Stop, no need to say anything more. Did the zoo not lock them up properly and they all escaped and became kings of the mountain? Thank you for not taking me to the Wild Boar Mountain."
Lu Mingxiao laughed out loud: "Young Master, you're so disgusted? The scenery in this mountain is quite nice. Mom said she'd pick some wild vegetables for her to take back, and she'll make you vegetable dumplings tonight..."
As he spoke, he took two small shovels out of Jiang Huaiyu's Prada backpack and gave one to Jiang Huaiyu.
Jiang Huaiyu: "...What else did you put in my bag?"
Lu Mingxiao: "A few plastic bags, filled with wild vegetables."
...
After the two entered the scenic area through the ticket check, Jiang Huaiyu watched as the elderly men and women took out the same small shovels and started digging around. Lu Mingxiao pulled him up the mountain: "Come on, let's climb the mountain first and dig at the mountainside. They're slow."
The steps in the scenic area were made of rough, polished raw stones. A cool breeze blew through the woods as Jiang Huaiyu walked up the steps. Her soft, dark brown hair was a little messy from the wind. Lu Mingxiao couldn't resist reaching out and ruffling it. It felt even better than when Hu Zi touched it.
Jiang Huaiyu was no longer polite to him, and gave him a sidelong glance with her long, beautiful eyes: "You're being nosy."
Lu Mingxiao didn't mind at all, and rubbed his head again: "Jiang Xiaobao, what shampoo do you use? Your hair is so soft. Why is mine like this? It feels prickly."
"Could it be a genetic issue?" Jiang Huaiyu took a deep breath and continued walking upstairs: "My dad... is your biological father, and he has the same hair texture as you."
"Oh..." Lu Mingxiao stood there stunned for a moment, then caught up with Jiang Huaiyu in two steps: "You've been here for a while now, Uncle Song doesn't seem to video call you much? Is he very busy?"
“Yes, he’s been very busy lately. He’s working on a project for the Jiang family and went abroad for research. Things will be much better once this is over…” Jiang Huaiyu paused for a moment, then added, “Next time he video calls you, you can ask him directly, or you can add him on WeChat. He’ll be very happy if you’re willing to chat with him.”
Lu Mingxiao didn't say anything, but kicked a pebble, which rolled down the steps with a gurgling sound.
Jiang Huaiyu gave him a strange look: "Why aren't you saying anything? That's rare."
"Is that all I have to say?" Lu Mingxiao laughed after saying that. "Okay, I just... don't know what to say to him. Look at you, you're good at everything, he'll definitely like you a lot. You can even chat with him in English, I can only sing him the alphabet song..."
“You can talk to him about digging for wild vegetables,” Jiang Huaiyu said. “Dad is an orphan, raised by relatives in the countryside. When he was living with them, he often had to help with farm work, like digging for wild vegetables and cutting pig feed… You think he was born speaking English? Of course not. When he was in college, he often got teased for his accent, so he got up every morning to practice his Mandarin and English speaking. It’s all about effort, and…”
Lu Mingxiao listened attentively and couldn't help but ask, "And what else?"
“You look a lot like him, and your personality is somewhat similar too.” Jiang Huaiyu was tired from walking, so she sat on the steps and looked up at him. “This is the first time I’ve seen your photo. Actually… I’m a little jealous of you.”
Lu Mingxiao sat down next to him: "Jealous that I'm handsome?"
“Hmm.” Jiang Huaiyu turned her head to look at him, her gaze carefully tracing his eyebrows and eyes: “You know that boys often admire their fathers. Sometimes, I subconsciously try to imitate him, but in the face of blood ties, those imitations become very clumsy. You are born just like him, which makes me feel… a little jealous.”
Those seemingly carefree days were often accompanied by restless nights. Jiang Huaiyu knew she had no right to be jealous of Lu Mingxiao; all the resources he had enjoyed since birth should have belonged to Lu Mingxiao.
But that's how the dark side of human nature is; the more you try to illuminate and suppress it with light, the more it grows rampant in the shadows.
So Jiang Huaiyu came to see the place where he should have grown up, and he was glad he made that decision.
Like plants uprooted and adrift in a turbulent river, they once again grasped the earth with their roots, allowing them to grow firmly on the ground.
On the steps of the mountain path, the two boys sat side by side. Lu Mingxiao's cheeks flushed as Jiang Huaiyu looked at him intently, and his heart skipped a beat for no reason.
He's the kind of person who tends to talk nonsense when he gets carried away, so he asked, "Does it really sound like you? Then call me 'Dad' and let me hear it?"
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
He pulled out a shovel for digging wild vegetables from his bag and decided to kill the idiot; the mountain was the perfect place to dump the body.
The struggle for the crown prince position has always been like this.
"Can't you take a joke, Jiang Xiaobao..." Lu Mingxiao laughed and jumped up, taking two long strides across five or six steps: "It's common for boys in dormitories to call each other 'dad'..."
"Huh? You're really going to hit me? That's like murdering your own brother!"
He thought Jiang Huaiyu would run out of energy after a couple of steps, but little did he know that the young master was also an expert climber. It wasn't until a staff member dressed as Sun Wukong shouted at them, "Kids! No playing around on the mountain path!"
The usually dignified young master Jiang blushed when called out, while Lu Mingxiao, thick-skinned as ever, greeted the staff, "Brother Monkey, do you have any small gifts?"
Monkey King snorted: "You shameless monkey! What talent do you have? Show me a little something. If you enjoy it, I'll give you a gift."
Lu Mingxiao: "No problem, no problem. I'll borrow the Golden Cudgel for a bit."
Jiang Huaiyu took the prop from the staff member and weighed it in his hand. Then he stood on the steps of the mountain road and twirled the golden cudgel with smooth movements, even doing a behind-the-back hand spin.
The "Monkey King" next to him was stunned. He quickly took out two small gadgets from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Huaiyu: "Don't spin them anymore, I'm scared. If you spin them, I'll lose my job."
Jiang Huaiyu looked down and saw two fluffy little toys, two small peaches, made of very light material, probably foam blocks with fluff stuck to them, and glued together with a spring and a small hair clip.
What is that? Peaches from the Peach Garden?
Before leaving, Lu Mingxiao asked, "Great Sage, how much do you get paid for this?"
The Monkey King glanced at him and said, "You're not good enough. You're too tall. Wait until the Bull Demon King is absent before you come and ask him again."
Lu Mingxiao: "What can a minor do?"
"cannot!"
The Monkey King descended the mountain, afraid of losing his job if he was too slow. Jiang Huaiyu held two small peach hair clips, raised her hand and clipped one onto Lu Mingxiao's head. The little peach swayed on Lu Mingxiao's head, looking rather cute. Jiang Huaiyu clipped her own peach onto the strap of her backpack.
Halfway up the mountain, the two began digging for wild vegetables. Lu Mingxiao showed Jiang Huaiyu two kinds of edible wild vegetables. The two squatted in the shade of the trees, digging around with peaches on their heads. At this time, the elderly people from the foot of the mountain also climbed up, and everyone who passed by would take a look.
My Prada backpack is full of wild vegetables again.
"That's enough, come and rest for a while." Lu Mingxiao took out a wet wipe from his bag: "Boss Jiang, are you digging for wild vegetables or digging for coal? You've got it on your face."
Jiang Huaiyu sat on the bench, wiping her face with a wet wipe. As she looked down, Lu Mingxiao handed her a slice of fruit.
"Have some fruit. I put some in an ice smoothie, but it's still cold."
The second half of the journey involved taking a cable car directly to the summit. At the summit, there was a small temple where Li Qing had placed a small Buddha statue on a pagoda to pray for Lu Chuan. She specifically instructed Lu Mingxiao to come and offer incense.
Jiang Huaiyu thought that Lu Mingxiao, with his fearless personality, probably wouldn't believe in gods and Buddhas. However, Lu Mingxiao's expression was devout and serious when he offered incense. After offering incense, he knelt on the prayer mat, bent his upright back, and kowtowed to the Buddha statue.
The temple bell startled the birds into flight, and the rows of candles in the Buddhist hall cast a soft glow on the boy's handsome features. His sharp eyebrows softened, and when he closed his eyes and lowered his gaze, his eyelashes were long and thick.
Jiang Huaiyu stood to his side and behind him, watching him solemnly kowtow three times. After standing up, he took two steps back before turning to Jiang Huaiyu and saying, "Let's go to the glass walkway."
Jiang Huaiyu, however, took the incense and, imitating him, offered it and knelt in worship.
A flicker of surprise crossed Lu Mingxiao's eyes, but it quickly turned into a faint smile. After Jiang Huaiyu stood up, the two left the Buddhist hall together. Lu Mingxiao turned his head, about to say something…
"You're not going to say thank you, are you?" Jiang Huaiyu said expressionlessly, but a closer look revealed a slight blush on her ears. "They're my family too."
Lu Mingxiao smiled and changed the subject: "I was just saying, the glass walkway is over there, Mr. Jiang, you're not afraid of heights, are you?"
...
Jiang Huaiyu still posted on his WeChat Moments, pretending not to see Jiang Huaining asking him where he was. Steaming hot vegetable dumplings were already on the table. Lu Dabao went to get bowls and chopsticks, and Jiang Xiaobao went to move stools. The division of labor was clear.
The next morning, Li Qing's "Mom's Experience" voucher expired. Before heading out to work with her renovation team, she rushed into Lu Mingxiao's bedroom, forced him to turn on from his sprawled-out sleep, gave him a worksheet, and told him to do his homework. She then smiled kindly at the sleepy-eyed Jiang Huaiyu, saying that breakfast was in the pot, before rushing out the door.
Lu Mingxiao only woke up for two seconds before falling back asleep, but Jiang Huaiyu couldn't fall asleep.
His maternal grandfather hadn't replied to his messages for a month, and hadn't responded to any of his greetings. After Li Qing left in the morning, Jiang Huaiyu subconsciously checked the time on his phone and saw a message from his maternal grandfather.
Have that child contact me.
There's only this one sentence.
Jiang Huaiyu stared at those few words for a long time, his finger involuntarily sliding down. He didn't have many chat records with his grandfather, most of them were video calls. In the few text messages, the old man reminded him to add or remove clothes and to bring an umbrella when it rained.
His maternal grandfather doted on him. When he was little, he would carry him on his shoulders, take him fishing on the lake, fly kites with him, teach him to ride a bicycle, teach him to ride a horse, and teach him gardening...
But now, his maternal grandfather sees him as a little liar who stole his heart and soul and affection from his own grandson.
Jiang Huaiyu did not expect everything to remain the same, but when he looked at his grandfather's changed profile picture, he still felt a moment of loss.
The photo of him and his maternal grandfather was replaced.
Jiang Huaiyu turned off his phone screen, pulled up a small blanket to cover his head. The blanket was very thin and couldn't block out the light at all. He closed his eyes, trying to escape the bright morning light.
After Lu Chuan finished breakfast, he went back to his room to do crafts. Only then did Jiang Huaiyu look up at Lu Mingxiao and tell him about the message her grandfather had sent.
Lu Mingxiao was very perceptive. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "After you came back, he didn't call you or send you any messages. The only message he sent was asking me to contact him?"
Jiang Huaiyu nodded: "Grandfather has actually been very anxious. He advocates bringing you back as soon as possible. Before I came, he had already argued with Mom and Dad several times. He disagreed with you continuing to live in the Lu family. Mom and Dad kept stopping him, so he was unable to send someone to take you back."
"I don't need his permission to live where I want," Lu Mingxiao chuckled. "It's only natural that he wants me to go back, but I'm not a baby who can't speak. He can't have someone kidnap me, can he?"
Jiang Huaiyu shook his head: "He probably just thinks... the Lu family is so well-off, you have no reason not to go back."
Lu Mingxiao neither agreed nor disagreed with these words. After the two finished breakfast and were clearing the table, Lu Mingxiao took an ice pack from the refrigerator and handed it to Jiang Huaiyu.
"Did you cry under the covers this morning? Your eyes are all swollen."
Jiang Huaiyu was a little embarrassed and tried to make an excuse: "I drank water before bed last night, so I might be a little swollen..."
Lu Mingxiao didn't expose him. Today it was his turn to wash the dishes. He put on Li Qing's floral apron and gloves, and said while washing the dishes, "Don't you understand yet? The old man of the Jiang family doesn't like you or me. He likes the heir of the Jiang family."
He put down the clean bowl he was holding and continued, "If he can just take back all those years of feelings he's had for you, then when I go back, he'll immediately find that I'm inferior to you in every way, and I'm not the perfect successor he envisions at all. He'll soon think I'm useless. Why should I bother with that? So, I don't plan to contact him."
Jiang Huaiyu pursed her lips, instinctively defending her grandfather: "He's not..."
“I don’t know him well, but it seems so now.” Lu Mingxiao shrugged. “I’ll contact him again once he can accept that he has two grandchildren.”
Jiang Huaiyu was stunned. After a moment, she rubbed her eyes and said softly, "Thank you, but you really didn't need to do that."
"I'm happy to~" Lu Mingxiao finished cleaning up the dishes, peeked into Lu Chuan's room, and seeing that the door was closed, he quickly took off his apron, pulled Jiang Huaiyu out, and even tiptoed and bent over with a very secretive look.
Jiang Huaiyu: "...What are you doing?"
Lu Mingxiao whispered, "I'll take you out to have some fun."
Jiang Huaiyu: "...Your homework?"
Lu Mingxiao clutched his stomach: "I get anxious and short of breath whenever I hear the word 'homework'."
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
He really wanted to laugh at Lu Mingxiao's exaggerated acting, but Lu Mingxiao had just stood up for him, and his conscience made him swallow his laughter. So he could only sneak out with Lu Mingxiao.
The two of them quietly closed the door, and when they turned around, they were met with a pair of clear dog eyes.
Tiger's tail wagged happily, and just as he let out an excited growl, Lu Mingxiao grabbed his muzzle.
Tiger: ? ? ?
Lu Mingxiao whispered to the dog's pointed ears, "Tiger, be good and don't bark. I'll bring you something delicious when I get back."
Whether it was some kind of telepathic connection between their kind or not, Tiger twitched its ears and actually stopped barking, wagging its tail and lying down on the spot.
Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu slipped out of the courtyard "quietly".
In the bedroom, Lu Chuan continued working, only letting out a disdainful snort.
"It's so big, does it think no one can see it?"
Once outside the courtyard, Lu Mingxiao, like a wild horse, headed straight for Li Rui's house. The two hit it off immediately and decided to go camping and have a barbecue. He transferred 300 yuan to Li Rui so that she could buy some skewered meat. Li Rui refused the transfer and rushed off to buy meat. Jiang Huaiyu and Lu Mingxiao went to buy other ingredients and sat in Li Rui's courtyard, skewering everything they wanted to eat.
Before setting off, Grandma Li sprayed Jiang Huaiyu with floral water. Because of her delicate skin, Jiang Huaiyu received special attention and was sprayed three times, making her feel like she was being marinated.
They borrowed two bicycles, and since Li Rui already had one, the three boys set off for camping—this was probably the most rudimentary camping trip Young Master Jiang had ever taken.
Passing by a shop that was under renovation, a female worker peeked out and said to Li Qing with a smile, "Sister Qing, your little rascal has taken Li Rui out to play again. I saw another child there, a fair-skinned and handsome boy."
“That’s my kid too.” Li Qing smiled. “I saw that brat just now, but I didn’t call him. Let them go play. They only have a few years left to play, right?”
The female worker assumed Jiang Huaiyu was Li Qing's relative's child and asked with a smile, "Isn't Xiaoxiao always busy making money during summer vacation? I think this child is very sensible. This year, he's probably staying to play with his relatives, which is why he didn't go out to do odd jobs, right?"
With a slight tremor, a few drops of paint fell from the roller. Li Qing's eyes stung a little. If she had grown up in the Jiang family, her eldest child wouldn't have needed to be so "sensible." What child would want to spend every day figuring out how to make money?
...
“It’ll definitely work for errand services.” Lu Mingxiao fanned the charcoal in the grill while pointing at the surrounding wasteland: “Look at the location of our new campus, there isn’t a single shop within ten miles, only a hospital and a few residential areas, and the school supermarket has outrageous prices…”
Li Rui was showing off his grilled skewers when he got burned and grimaced: "Brother Xiao, there aren't any supermarkets or convenience stores around here. How can you help me run errands? It would take so much time to go to the city center and bring the things back!"
Lu Mingxiao laughed: "You didn't eat that roasted pig brain for nothing, it's made you smarter."
He handed the grilled starch sausages to Jiang Huaiyu: "We can go to the city to buy some this weekend and store them nearby... The boys' dormitory won't work, there's nowhere to hide them during room checks. There are still some old houses nearby that haven't been demolished yet, we can set up a small warehouse there?"
Jiang Huaiyu blew on the sausage, took a careful bite, and asked indistinctly, "Rent?"
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be rented, Brother Hao… that guy we met at the bathhouse last time, his family has an old house that’s going to be demolished, it’s nearby, I should be able to use it without paying rent.”
Lu Mingxiao said thoughtfully, "I think it's okay to work for half a semester first. Once our school moves here, other shops will definitely follow, so we can earn money for half a semester."
"Brother Xiao..." Li Rui scratched his head: "Is your family short of money right now? Aren't you tired of researching these things every day?"
“What’s so tiring? It’s so much more interesting to think about making money…” Lu Mingxiao handed the grilled meat skewers to Jiang Huaiyu: “Boss Jiang, don’t just eat starchy sausages.”
Jiang Huaiyu withdrew her hand from the starch sausage and took the meat skewer.
Li Rui received a phone call midway through, saying that his grandfather needed to see him, so he rode off on his bicycle, leaving only Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu by the small grill.
Jiang Huaiyu was grilling skewers. Back at the Jiang family home, everyone often gathered for barbecues on the lawn in the yard. Jiang Huaiyu was quite adept at it. The temperature was just right under the shade of the trees. The newly built teaching building had a glass exterior wall in the middle, which reflected a halo of light in the afternoon sun.
"Don't let it interfere with your studies," Jiang Huaiyu said. "You'll be taking over the Jiang family business and managing a huge conglomerate in the future. You can't rely on petty tricks like buying and selling."
Lu Mingxiao lay on the picnic mat with his long hair down, raising his hand to look at the sunlight filtering through the leaves between his fingers.
“I still have you,” Lu Mingxiao said. “Like I said, I’m just waiting for my share of the profits.”
Jiang Huaiyu frowned: "We just did the math together, and the monthly profit is two to three thousand. What's the point of that?"
Lu Mingxiao raised an eyebrow: "No point?"
He sat up, a lazy smile on his lips, but the warmth in his eyes was fading: "Two or three thousand yuan really doesn't mean much to you. How much did that backpack you used to carry wild vegetables cost? Seven or eight thousand?"
Jiang Huaiyu's expression stiffened: "That's not what I meant."
“When I was ten, my father’s condition suddenly worsened. We were short two thousand yuan for the surgery. My mother called all our relatives and friends and cried for almost an hour before she finally managed to borrow two thousand yuan.” Lu Mingxiao let out a soft breath and pinched his brow. “I’m sorry, I didn’t control my emotions. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Anyway, after that day, I felt that not having money was a terrible thing.”
“Lu Mingxiao…” Jiang Huaiyu gripped the spice box tightly: “I’m the one who should apologize. I was too presumptuous just now.”
Lu Mingxiao laughed out loud: "Alright, are we just playing around with apologizing to each other? I know you mean well, but I really can't calm down..."
He shuffled forward, then shuffled further forward: "I'm serious, anyway, you're here. You won't take advantage of me being a bad student who doesn't know anything, and end up taking all the family property and making me sleep under a bridge, right?"
Jiang Huaiyu thought to herself, "Who will sleep under the bridge is still uncertain."
Judging from her maternal grandfather's current attitude, Jiang Huaiyu felt that she would probably end up working for Lu Mingxiao.
He no longer coveted the family fortune. Even if he were to take a step back and work for the Jiang Group, an opportunity that countless graduates from prestigious universities would not be able to obtain, the best outcome he could imagine was simply to stay in the Jiang family, stay by his parents' side, and work for the young master Lu who didn't want to study.
"Eat yours." Jiang Huaiyu shoved the meat skewers into his hands: "You can't sleep under a bridge. You can earn two or three thousand a month."
Author's Note:
It's late, but long [doge emoji]
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