Chapter 36
On the morning of New Year's Eve, Lu Mingxiao was woken up by a series of WeChat notification sounds.
He half-opened his eyes, reached for his phone, and opened it to find it filled with messages from He Yan.
The He family had a lively New Year. Before Jiang Huaining's parents could even come to demand an explanation, He Yan and his son immediately forced He Sheng to come and apologize. He Sheng was beaten black and blue by He Yan and then hit with a golf club by Jiang Huaiyu's uncle.
When their son was beaten, his parents couldn't stand it and tried to stop him. He Sheng's mother even said that the two children were "dating" and should just get engaged. Her shamelessness almost made He Yan and his father bury themselves in a flowerpot. As a result, they were slapped repeatedly by Jiang Huaiyu's aunt. The bodyguards rushed up to break up the fight—only stopping He Yan's parents, while the aunt got her fill of slapping.
He Yan got beaten up when he got home, even though he was really wronged.
However, after this incident, He Yan's father was determined to completely separate from his brother's family. He held a press conference to announce the division of the family property. Most of the He family's ancestral business was in the hands of He Yan's father, and his uncle naturally disagreed, leading to another round of tug-of-war.
He Yan wasn't in the mood to unpack the mountain of gifts until this morning, when she thought about the new year and the new beginnings, and not wanting to carry bad luck into next year, she decided to unpack some gifts to cheer herself up.
He opened Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu's gifts. The two gifts were in one box. When he opened it, he was almost moved to tears.
He took out the top-quality mahogany figurine, and then used the pure gold small weapons and decorations that Jiang Huaiyu had given him to dress up the figurine and take photos. He posted the photos on his WeChat Moments early in the morning, and then sent a lot of messages to Lu Mingxiao to express his endless gratitude and complain about his recent situation.
Lu Mingxiao listened in a daze, and Jiang Huaiyu was also woken up. Through the wooden board, she asked in a slightly sticky voice, "Did Mom say she's going out to buy groceries today?"
Hearing that he seemed to be still half asleep, Lu Mingxiao got up and changed his clothes himself: "I can go by myself. There are so many people in the market today, don't kick your toenails again."
Jiang Huaiyu chuckled, lingered in bed for a while, then finally got up. The two of them squeezed into the small bathroom to wash up. The adults, busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, were finally able to relax when they saw that they were awake. Li Qing and Jiang Lan chatted and laughed while making dumplings, Lu Chuan sat to the side peeling garlic, and Song Jingliang stir-fried the seasonings in the kitchen, filling the entire house with a fragrant aroma.
"Sister Qing!" Song Jingliang shouted, "Your range hood isn't working properly!"
Li Qing shouted, "Just punch it once and it'll be fine!"
With a loud "thump" from the kitchen, Song Jingliang exclaimed, "It's done! It's fixed!"
Two dogs barked in the yard. Li Rui braved the wind and snow, crossed the small courtyard, pushed open the door, and entered the house. He was stunned when he saw the beautiful woman sitting at the table: "Aunt Qing, who is this lady?"
"Hey sis, you disrespectful brat!" Li Qing chuckled as she brushed the snow off Li Rui. "This is Xiaoyu's mother. Whose clothes are you wearing?"
"Don't even mention it. My grandma insisted that I was cold and made me wear her floral cotton-padded jacket. Can't she give me any face at all?" Li Rui quickly took off the floral cotton-padded jacket, revealing a thin down jacket underneath. "Aunt Qing, leave the clothes at your house for now. I'll put them back on when I come back from grocery shopping."
He turned to Jiang Lan and showered her with auspicious greetings: "Hello, Auntie! You look so young and beautiful! Happy New Year!"
He peeked into the small bedroom and asked, "Where are Xiao Ge and Yu Ge? Yesterday, Xiao Ge said they were going to buy groceries, and my grandma asked me to go with them to buy some spinach."
Li Qing said with a smile, "They just got up. Sit on the sofa for a while. There are snacks on the table. Feel free to eat whatever you like."
Li Rui sat down with a cheerful smile, not bothering with formalities, and started eating sunflower seeds. When he looked up, he saw Song Jingliang coming out of the kitchen, with sunflower seeds scattered all over the floor.
Who is this? Is it Lu Laoxiao?
Song Jingliang, being the kind of person he was, immediately understood what the little brat was thinking and smiled kindly: "I am Lu Mingxiao's maternal uncle."
Oh! It's no wonder that nephews resemble their uncles!
Li Rui unconsciously stood up and said, "Hello, Uncle, Happy New Year, Uncle..."
He picked up the sunflower seeds that had fallen on the ground. Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu had also finished washing their faces and came out of the small bathroom.
“Hey, you two brothers, how can you squeeze into such a small space to wash your faces together…” Li Rui complained while sitting on the sofa, “Can’t you take turns washing your faces one by one? It’s so awkward for me to sit here by myself.”
"You're embarrassed, yet you found a bunch of sunflower seed shells in your food? You're embarrassed, but your mouth isn't. That's really scary..." Lu Mingxiao squeezed out a pump of Li Qing's moisturizing cream and rubbed it all over her face, his movements so rough it looked like he was scrubbing a dog's head. He didn't forget to call Jiang Huaiyu: "Jiang Xiaoyu, come over and put on some lotion. Make sure your face is dry before you go out..."
Jiang Huaiyu hadn't brought his skincare products with him because he wasn't sensitive and wouldn't get pimples no matter what he used. As he put on his coat and walked over, Lu Mingxiao squeezed out a little more and dabbed it on each of his cheeks.
Jiang Huaiyu rubbed her face and said, "Let's go."
"Ew~" Li Rui crossed his arms and shook off the goosebumps on his body: "Why do I feel like you two are so lovey-dovey?"
...
In contrast to the lively atmosphere at the Lu family's residence, the atmosphere at the Jiang family's residence had plummeted to freezing point.
The Jiang family is a large clan, with its children and grandchildren engaged in business or politics. Like a towering tree with intertwined roots, most of the younger generation have accomplished something meaningful. The family also has strong cohesion. Every year on the morning of New Year's Eve, everyone gathers together, firstly to pay respects to their ancestors and strengthen family bonds, and secondly to exchange information and share resources.
The family dinner at noon today was unusually somber. The patriarch, Jiang Qiheng, could only manage a stiff smile, which everyone could tell was just a facade to avoid spoiling the New Year's mood. Everyone chatted and laughed, but after the meal, instead of staying at the old house to talk as in previous years, they all took their leave.
Jiang Huaining said goodbye and left with his parents. Looking back, he saw the old man sitting alone on the large sofa. His straight back slumped down when no one was around. He took out a flat pendant the size of an egg from his pocket, which looked like a pocket watch from the old days.
He opened his pocket watch, put on his glasses, and examined the contents.
On the way back, Jiang Huaining originally wanted to send a message to her cousin about this, but thinking that Jiang Huaiyu might be having fun right now, she put her phone away again. She and her mother sat in the back seat, her father was driving, and her grandfather, who always wore an executive jacket, was in the passenger seat.
"Uncle probably handled this matter poorly. He didn't consider things from my eldest sister's perspective. It's hard to sever ties with a child you raised yourself..." Father spoke Jiang Huaining's mind: "It wouldn't be a problem for Xiaoyu and her biological child to stay in the Jiang family together..."
"Shut up." Grandpa suddenly said in a deep voice, "Who gave you permission to gossip about your elders?"
Jiang Huaining's father is her grandfather's youngest son and is usually very much loved by the old man. She has never seen her grandfather speak to her father in this tone before.
The car fell silent immediately.
On both sides of the road, tall trees cast deep shadows, and all the scenery rushed past. After a long while, more vehicles appeared in the field of vision, and her grandfather finally spoke again.
"It's because of blood, but it's not just because of blood..." The old man sighed deeply. "I hope your uncle can get out of this rut soon, but Xiaoyu's heart is broken, and she can't go back..."
...
Jiang Huaiyu sneezed loudly.
The supermarket was crowded with people buying New Year's goods. Most of them had filled their shopping carts to the brim, and the checkout process was slow. Jiang Huaiyu and her two companions had been queuing for fifteen minutes and had barely managed to get to the middle of the line.
Li Rui was still thinking about what happened that morning and couldn't help but ask Lu Mingxiao, "Brother Xiao, what do your aunt and uncle do? Is your aunt a celebrity? Have I seen her on TV before...?"
Seeing that Li Rui was actually starting to think, Lu Mingxiao decisively interrupted this great evolution: "Grandma Li asked you to buy MSG, did you buy it?"
Li Rui craned his neck: "What? My grandma wants me to buy MSG? I haven't bought any! I'll go get it right now. Thanks for reminding me, Brother Xiao, otherwise I'll get scolded again when I get back."
Li Rui turned and squeezed into the crowd, shouting "Excuse me!" as he went to find the MSG.
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
It's a pity, he almost developed a brain.
Lu Mingxiao pulled Jiang Huaiyu's arm, shielding the young master to his side and separating him from the dense crowd.
“Stand here, make it a little more comfortable…” Lu Mingxiao reached out and took off the white cotton hat from Jiang Huaiyu’s head: “Are you hot? I told you to wait for me at the exit.”
Jiang Huaiyu raised her hand to brush away her slightly damp bangs, her narrow eyes squinting sleepily. It seemed that although she was standing there, her soul was still in bed.
"I don't want to wait there for you alone, it's pointless," Jiang Huaiyu said. "I want to be with you..."
"Buying groceries."
The supermarket was playing "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing You Prosperity). Life was noisy, but all of that was gradually becoming background noise. Lu Mingxiao only listened to what he liked, automatically ignoring the last two words, and made himself feel happy. There were people all around, and no one paid any attention to the two of them. So he leaned closer to Jiang Huaiyu and whispered, "Want to slip a little, Jiang Xiaoyu?"
Jiang Huaiyu raised an eyebrow: "There are a lot of people, Brother Xiao."
"Tsk...nobody's watching us." Lu Mingxiao started acting like a rascal, tugging at Jiang Huaiyu's open sleeve: "Just slide it for a bit..."
The child sitting in the shopping cart behind, sucking his fingers, suddenly looked up and asked his mother loudly, "Is the older boy in front also asking the younger boy for candy?"
"Yes," Mom replied impatiently, "Big brother will get a spanking when he gets home!"
Lu Mingxiao: ...
Jiang Huaiyu laughed out loud: "Brother Xiao, aren't you ashamed?"
Lu Mingxiao didn't want to lead the children astray, so he stood up straight. Even in the north, his height was towering. The children looked at the mountain in front of them and exclaimed "Wow!"
But he quickly looked at Jiang Huaiyu with admiration: "Brother, you're so amazing! Can you spank my dad? My dad isn't as tall as this brother!"
Lu Mingxiao: "Hahahaha..."
Jiang Huaiyu was speechless, wondering how to deal with this child's innocent remark, when Lu Mingxiao's laughter suddenly stopped. He stared in one direction, the smile on his face gradually fading, his deep brown pupils trembling slightly, all the joy and bright emotions in his eyes quickly receding. Jiang Huaiyu had never seen him show such an expression before.
His gaze was like an angry net, silently threatening to devour the target he saw, while a chilling ferocity pulsed deep within the net.
"Jiang Huaiyu, you line up to pay, I have something to take care of." He squeezed Jiang Huaiyu's arm tightly.
Author's Note:
Today is Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), there will be another chapter. In the next chapter, we'll see them get together! [heart emoji]
(It's okay, don't worry, this NPC is an accelerant.)
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