Chapter 75
Lu Mingxiao drove very fast along the way, but did not violate any traffic regulations. He knew that Grandpa Jiang had already entered the operating room, and arriving a few minutes earlier would not help. If something happened on the way, it would only cause more trouble.
While waiting at a red light, he held Jiang Huaiyu's hand and rubbed it.
"Your hands are so cold, should we turn the air conditioning up a bit?"
Jiang Huaiyu shook her head: "No need, it's already very hot. It was my own overreaction."
The car started and continued forward with the traffic. Lu Mingxiao stared ahead, focused on driving, and softened his voice to comfort Jiang Huaiyu: "How could it be an overreaction? After all, he is our mother's father, and he was so close to you when you were little. It's normal for you to be worried. You didn't eat lunch just now, so I packed some for you in a thermos. We'll go to the hospital to see how things are going. If you can find some time, have a bite."
Jiang Huaiyu didn't even notice when he put the food into the thermos.
"Brother Xiao..." Jiang Huaiyu said softly, "Thank you."
"Don't be so formal, Jiang Xiaoyu, you're even thanking your brother..." Lu Mingxiao reached out and ruffled his hair: "Thank you is for outsiders, I'm family."
Despite chatting with him about trivial matters, Jiang Huaiyu felt inexplicably at peace. She slowly exhaled and looked out the car window at the gradually congesting traffic. The red cross-shaped sign of the Second Municipal Hospital had already come into view.
...
In the corridor, besides Song Jingliang and his wife and the Jiang family, there were two middle-aged men wearing executive jackets with badges pinned to their chests, talking quietly with Song Jingliang.
"The Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Municipal Party Committee have already invited experts from Beijing for a remote consultation. The leaders are taking Mr. Jiang's condition very seriously. Mr. Song, please feel free to ask if you need anything..."
Song Jingliang shook hands with them: "They have already helped a lot. On behalf of my father, I thank all the leaders for their concern."
They exchanged a few more words, and then Song Jingliang escorted them downstairs.
Lu Chuan and Li Qing also arrived. The Jiang family was all there, so the two of them could only stand a little further away. But Li Qing kept her ears perked up, listening to what was happening on Jiang Lan's side.
The person sitting next to Jiang Lan, holding her hand and talking to her, was her cousin.
Jiang Lan remained relatively calm, though her eyes were red and her usually delicate face looked somewhat haggard.
When a loved one is in imminent danger, people often feel regret and reflect on whether they have done enough or not well enough. Jiang Lan was no exception.
Her father's attitude towards Xiaobao was the root of the conflict between them over the years. But looking back, she realized she shouldn't have been so harsh. She only wanted to protect her child, but she forgot that she was also her father's child. Even if she visited him more often, she could have just ignored what her father said.
She was spoiled growing up and got everything she wanted, so even at this age, she is still a bit willful and feels that no matter what, it is her father who will ultimately be the one waiting in the same place and choosing to compromise.
She was preoccupied with her own family matters, and it took her a long time to hear what her cousin was saying.
“Lanlan, Song Jingliang is a capable man, but he's a live-in son-in-law after all. If the old man doesn't make it through, he'll be in big trouble. You need to be careful. Also, Mingxiao still refuses to change his surname back to Jiang. The only one in the family with your surname Jiang is someone else's bloodline. Luckily, the old man doesn't acknowledge him. Oh, by the way…”
My cousin hesitated for a moment, but finally asked, "Lanlan, I'm only thinking of you. You don't really understand business matters. Did Grandpa leave a will...?"
Jiang Lan stretched her stiff neck and looked at the woman sitting next to her.
This person I grew up with now seems like a complete stranger, and the more I look at them, the more unfamiliar they seem.
She wanted to swear, but her good upbringing prevented her from even thinking of a curse word. Her lips trembled, and suddenly her other hand was grasped by a pair of warm hands.
Li Qing walked over at some point and asked her quietly, "Do you need me to be your mouthpiece? Would it cause trouble if you yelled at her here?"
Jiang Lan looked at Li Qing. Without her saying a word, Li Qing understood Jiang Lan's gaze. She smiled reassuringly at Jiang Lan, helped her up, and sat her down on a chair across the corridor. Then she turned to face the woman with a surprised expression and shielded Jiang Lan completely.
"Hey lady, are you starving? Trying to steal other people's money?" Li Qing said in a low, affected tone, "I'm doing this for your own good~~ You think you're kidding me? You can't even do basic addition and subtraction on your fingers, and you're trying to use an abacus in front of me? Being mentally challenged is a disease you need to get treated. Go and take this seriously!"
The woman stared in disbelief: "You...who are you? When did it become your place to meddle in the affairs of the Jiang family?!"
Li Qing started firing off like she had a submachine gun in her mouth.
“I’m the mother of her child. You’re probably too weak to survive, so you come here to freeload. If it weren’t for the chaos right now, I would have slapped you twice.”
"You worthless wretch, so eager to divide the inheritance? Why don't you just die first, and let your children mourn you first?"
...
Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu had just rushed out of the elevator when they heard Li Qing's elegant dialect. There were many people around, so Li Qing couldn't make a loud noise. She spoke in a low but continuous voice, like a submachine gun with a silencer. The woman sitting opposite her lost her composure first and turned around to yell at the bodyguards who were listening with great interest behind her: "What are you guys doing? Get her out of here!"
"Let's see who dares!"
Lu Mingxiao strode over and put his arm around Li Qing's shoulder: "Mom, what are you arguing about with this lady?"
Li Qing leaned close to Lu Mingxiao's ear and whispered the whole story of how he had been being sarcastic and sarcastic.
Jiang Huaiyu didn't even need to listen to Li Qing's description; just one glance at the woman was enough for him to know what was going on. He quickly walked over to Jiang Lan, sat down, and whispered words of comfort to soothe her emotions.
"Mom, Grandpa will be fine. You need to take good care of yourself now. After Grandpa is out of the operating room, he will need you to take care of him."
"Mom knows." Jiang Lan held Jiang Huaiyu's hand, glanced at the scarf around his neck, and pulled it up to cover the marks on the child's neck. She then touched Jiang Huaiyu's slightly cool face: "Have you had fun playing with Dabao these past two days?"
Jiang Huaiyu's ears burned, and she nodded gently.
Jiang Lan forced a smile: "As long as you're happy."
Song Jingliang also rushed back. Lu Mingxiao then told his father what had just happened, and Song Jingliang's face darkened completely.
“Sun Xiangming, in the end, you’re not even surnamed Jiang. You’re just my father-in-law’s niece. Whether it’s the law or reason, which gives you the confidence to think you can get your hands on anything from the Jiang family? Don’t you feel ashamed to be here sowing discord and jumping around like this?”
"My father-in-law will be safe and sound today. As for the Jiang family's property, don't worry. I signed an agreement with my father-in-law and had it notarized long ago. My wife is not the kind of person you think, who can only rely on others and be easily swayed by anyone's words. The Jiang family doesn't have that kind of gene. As for your stupidity, it's probably inherited from your father's side."
Lu Mingxiao: ...
He seemed to have had his fill of what he heard; it seems Old Song was still holding back with his words.
Sun Xiangming was so angry she almost fainted. Just as she was about to pretend to faint, she saw the boy who looked exactly like Song Jingliang and snapped her fingers with a "crack".
He had an attitude that said, "If you dare to faint, I'll crush your chin."
There were other members of the Jiang family present. These people, who hadn't spoken up earlier, all stepped forward to mediate the fight. Just then, the lights above the operating room went out.
The doctor, looking exhausted, came out: "Where are the family members?"
Song Jingliang quickly helped Jiang Lan up, put his arm around her shoulder, and stroked her shoulder with his fingers: "We are family."
"The surgery was successful, and the patient is out of danger. He will be observed in the intensive care unit for two days. If there are no problems, he can be transferred to a regular ward. I will explain the precautions to you later."
Jiang Lan burst into tears of joy, and Song Jingliang also breathed a heavy sigh of relief, gently patting his wife's back and nodding to the doctor: "Thank you."
...
Song Jingliang and Jiang Lan left with the doctor, and Li Qing and Lu Chuan also went home first. Lu Mingxiao greeted Song Jingliang, then pulled Jiang Huaiyu back to the car and took out the food from the thermos to feed her.
Jiang Huaiyu was experiencing low blood sugar, so she held the still-hot soup and sipped it slowly.
Unrelated people came and went. Lu Mingxiao sat in his car, watching luxury cars drive out of the parking lot one by one. Looking at these so-called upper-class people, he felt that they were like vultures that smelled blood, utterly despicable.
"How many of them are genuinely here to visit the old man?" Lu Mingxiao frowned. "Why do they all seem to wish the old man would die sooner? And what are those guys in suits?"
Jiang Huaiyu said, "He is a lawyer."
Lu Mingxiao was so angry he laughed: "A distant relative, have they gone mad for money?"
“There are always people thinking, what if, what if we can get a piece of flesh and blood…” Jiang Huaiyu said in a low voice, “Brother Xiao, you should understand from your major that if the backbone of a behemoth like the Jiang family falls, even if we are lucky enough to get a scrap, it is still a huge fortune.”
Lu Mingxiao sighed: "The old man holds onto power too tightly; he doesn't trust our dad."
“It’s only human nature.” Jiang Huaiyu watched the people file past and said, “Brother Xiao, these are the wolves and tigers you will be facing from now on.”
"What do you mean I have to face it?" Lu Mingxiao raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him: "We're like brothers fighting a tiger, right? Jiang Xiaoyu, of course you have to help me."
The chicken soup was sweet and warming, making me feel very comfortable.
Jiang Huaiyu lowered her eyes: "Brother Xiao, aren't you afraid that I'll become one of them too?"
"Hiss..." Lu Mingxiao gasped, "I didn't put any mushrooms in this soup, so why are you talking nonsense?"
He leaned closer and lifted Jiang Huaiyu's chin: "Baby, take a good look. Where else can you find such top-tier beauty if you leave me? Can money buy this?"
Jiang Huaiyu met his gaze; their eyes were clear as a galaxy.
A moment later, he chuckled softly and leaned in to kiss Lu Mingxiao.
"Indeed, it's priceless."
Author's Note:
Hehe, it's not finished yet, it'll be finished tomorrow [laughing and crying emoji]
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