Chapter 13
[Lu Mingxiao]: I've started school! [Burning] [Burning]
Jiang Huaiyu was adding voiceover to a video of the cornfield when a message from Lu Mingxiao popped up on WeChat. He quickly finished adding the voiceover and then picked up his phone to reply to Lu Mingxiao.
[Jiang Huaiyu]: A week earlier?
[Lu Mingxiao]: Yes, I signed a statement that I voluntarily returned to school early.
[Jiang Huaiyu]: Voluntary?
[Lu Mingxiao]: Voluntarily [smile] [smile]
Jiang Huaiyu smiled and was about to type a message to Lu Mingxiao that the snacks for Hu Zi had arrived when Lu Mingxiao's voice suddenly came from the video that was playing automatically on the computer.
"Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~~~"
.
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
Even the most beautiful voice can't withstand this kind of screaming and yelling, like a horse that has escaped from the zoo and regained its freedom.
Jiang Huaiyu rewound the video a little bit. In the video, he was talking to a Chinese "American farmer" grandpa. The grandpa was talking about his cornfield with great enthusiasm.
"There are water pipes buried in these furrows. When the humidity sensor whistles, the tap automatically spouts water, saving us from having to figure out how to irrigate like in the old days. When two villages fought over water, they even swung iron pickaxe handles. Speaking of war..."
Jiang Huaiyu paused the video here, edited out the old man's five-minute-long "rural tales: the battle for control of the irrigation canal," and then translated the old man's part about corn planting into an English script.
I had just written a line when, in the video, Lu Mingxiao drove by in his four-wheeled vehicle, the wind blowing off the straw hat he had borrowed, revealing the boy's deep-set features. He reached out to grab it, saw the camera filming him, smiled, and shook his hat, shouting, "Donkey Mountain!"
His smile seemed to radiate the sunshine of midsummer, cheerful and bright.
But her spoken pronunciation was really bad, and Jiang Huaiyu laughed out loud.
The atmosphere at home has been tense these past few days. Grandpa Jiang Qiheng insists on publicly revealing that Jiang Huaiyu is not a biological son of the Jiang family. Jiang Lan and Jiang Qiheng are arguing fiercely. Song Jingliang, who usually yields to Jiang Qiheng, is unusually assertive, clearly stating that he has no right to manage the Jiang family's assets. However, if Grandpa insists on revealing Jiang Huaiyu's background, he will immediately draft an agreement to hand over the company he founded to Jiang Huaiyu after he completes his studies. At the same time, he will make the contents of the agreement public so that everyone knows that Jiang Huaiyu is not a "disfavored" imposter, but still the beloved young master of his parents.
Hearing that Grandpa Jiang was so upset that he was hospitalized, Jiang Lan told Jiang Huaiyu directly that she didn't need to visit him, because she couldn't bear to see Jiang Huaiyu suffer any more.
Jiang Huaiyu... actually didn't plan to go.
After the baby swap was discovered, Jiang Huaiyu felt like a small seashell whose soft, white flesh had been suddenly stuffed with a grain of sand.
From the outside, he still looks like that little seashell, so calm and so sturdy, but only he knows that the sand is stuck in his flesh, and every breath he takes is accompanied by a faint burning pain.
It was the unwavering and gentle love of two sets of parents, along with Lu Mingxiao's sincere and open kindness, that transformed this grain of sand into a smooth little pearl.
The little seashell not only felt no pain, but also gained a pearl hidden deep in its heart.
And my grandfather's attitude...
Jiang Huaiyu could understand his grandfather's disappointment and anger at having his efforts wasted, but understanding didn't mean he would accept all the harm his grandfather had done. He clearly realized that his parents were still his parents, but Grandpa Jiang was no longer his grandfather.
Since there was no longer any expectation, Jiang Qiheng's desire to reveal his background didn't cause him much of a stir, and he has been focusing on catching up on his homework these past few days.
Looking at Lu Mingxiao smiling brightly on the screen, the pen tip unconsciously paused on the page.
He missed that little courtyard a little, but actually he missed a person.
As the young master of the Jiang family, he has never lacked friends since childhood. Whether they are sincere or not, he always has someone by his side. But there has never been a friend who made him feel "missed".
He hesitated, wanting to send a message to Lu Mingxiao.
The next second, the phone vibrated; Lu Mingxiao was making a video call.
Jiang Huaiyu felt a subtle sense of shame at being seen through. He deliberately paused for more than ten seconds before answering the video call.
"Hello~ Boss Jiang!" Lu Mingxiao leaned against the headboard, chewing something with his cheek moving slightly. "What are you busy with?"
Jiang Huaiyu noticed that he had cut his hair, and his prominent brow bone was no longer hidden, making his unruly spirit even more obvious.
"I'm doing my homework." Jiang Huaiyu put her phone down, sitting up straight as if she were in a video conference. "Didn't you start school today? Why are you home so early?"
"The school is moving to a new location, so we hired a moving company to move everything. The first seven classes of the second year of high school had to finish packing this morning, and the last seven classes would be done this afternoon, so we got it all done this morning." Lu Mingxiao took a bite of the dried meat in his hand. "After I got back, I took a shower, and my ears felt hot. You weren't secretly thinking about me, were you?"
Jiang Huaiyu: "You're overthinking it."
My fingers awkwardly scratched at the leather chair under the desk. Was it really that accurate?
Lu Mingxiao didn't mind his coldness, and continued chewing, his cheeks puffing out: "Boss Jiang, how have you been these past two days? Is your homework going well? Is your second uncle able to pass for the real thing?"
Jiang Huaiyu shook her head, a slight smile unconsciously appearing on her lips: "The old man's clothes and body language make it easy to tell where he's from, but it doesn't matter, let it be. Besides, why are you running around in my video? It's too much trouble to cut you out."
"Did I run around? I only remember passing by the camera three times. And I only appeared on camera when I heard my second uncle talking nonsense. Those clips were unusable anyway." Lu Mingxiao thought for a moment and asked uncertainly, "I feel like I was only on camera for three or four minutes in total. Did I really cause you any trouble?"
Jiang Huaiyu asked doubtfully, "...Only three or four minutes?"
Lu Mingxiao stated firmly: "It will definitely not take three or four minutes!"
Jiang Huaiyu then realized that he seemed to have watched those few minutes of video several times...
What is he doing?!
"Alright..." Young Master Jiang coughed, abruptly changing the subject: "What are you gnawing on? Did Grandma Li stew big bones again?"
Lu Mingxiao: "Huh? I'm eating the snacks you mailed to me."
Jiang Huaiyu was completely confused: "I did buy you a gift, but a pair of sneakers, how could they be meat sticks with bones?"
"This is it." Lu Mingxiao showed him the packaging bag: "Selected grain-fed beef, high-quality ingredients, to safeguard the health of your beloved dog."
"Oh." Jiang Huaiyu forced a laugh: "Hello, my beloved dog."
"Damn it!!" Lu Mingxiao hung up the video call.
Jiang Huaiyu couldn't hold back any longer. She laughed so hard that she rolled around on the bed a few times while holding her phone, and even sent a message to Lu Mingxiao to add insult to injury.
[Jiang Huaiyu]: There's also a "necklace," why don't you try it?
[Lu Mingxiao]: [I'll kill you.jpg]
After laughing, Jiang Huaiyu lay on the pillow and stretched out her arm to pull at the little wild donkey pendant hanging above the bed.
His gaze was unfocused, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
A moment later, he sat down at his desk to complete his part of the analysis report.
...
A week into the new semester, the students' curiosity about the new school has finally subsided, and they are beginning to notice how desolate the surrounding environment is. Apart from the school cafeteria, there are no shops around, although several are under renovation and will not be able to open for business for the time being.
But the older students have been eating the same food in the cafeteria for two or three years and are already tired of it. Many choose to have a quick snack at lunchtime and then eat a proper meal at home in the evening. However…
"He's selling this small packet of instant noodles for three yuan? Why doesn't he just rob it?"
"A grilled starch sausage costs four yuan!"
"You should double-check the calculations when you buy things from him. Last time he said he made a mistake and overcharged me by five yuan. Huh? You say he made a mistake, but why do you never see him undercharge me?"
Lu Mingxiao and Li Rui were standing and squatting against the wall at the entrance of the small supermarket. Almost all the students coming and going were complaining, and the owner's loud shouts could be heard from inside the supermarket from time to time: "I have clearly marked the prices. If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to buy it!"
Li Rui's eyes lit up, and he excitedly poked Lu Mingxiao's leg: "Brother Xiao, can we sell our stuff now...?"
Lu Mingxiao shook his head: "It's the beginning of the semester, don't be too high-profile. People in the supermarket are like 'convex lenses'. The things I stocked up on this time all have a long shelf life. No rush, we'll talk about it next week."
"Oh... I see..." Li Rui seemed thoughtful, then jumped up when he heard the bell: "Okay, Brother Xiao, just let me know if you need anything. I'm going back to class now."
Lu Mingxiao also walked back as the bell rang. He had long legs and walked fast. He entered the classroom just as the bell rang. This physical education class was "optional" by the chemistry teacher. This strict old man always arrived very early. He rolled his eyes at Lu Mingxiao as he returned by the bell.
Lu Mingxiao knew that the old man was a "grades-first" person, so it was understandable that he looked down on him. He didn't say anything and went straight to his seat, but the old man was a little dissatisfied with his leisurely pace.
"Lu Mingxiao, you're late. Stand for ten minutes!"
Lu Mingxiao: ? ? ?
Alright, ten minutes won't kill him. Arguing with the old man will only make this hardworking old man faint.
To avoid blocking his classmates, he went to stand in the last row. Just as the old man opened his textbook to begin his lesson, the classroom door was pushed open again.
The old man's face darkened further. Only when he saw that it was the grade director did he manage to restrain himself. He treated leaders and students equally and asked curtly, "Is there something you need, Director?"
The head of the grade was quite amiable. He smiled at the old man and stepped aside, saying, "It's alright, it's alright. I'll just take a minute of your time to bring over a transfer student."
A group of students who had just finished their summer vacation were filled with resentment about the start of school. The arrival of a new classmate was a rare occurrence, and for a moment everyone looked towards the door, their sleepy eyes clearing up considerably.
Apart from Lu Mingxiao.
He was looking out the window; from the classroom, he could see the small storage room where he kept his things, and he was estimating the round trip time.
Until gasps of surprise echoed throughout the classroom.
"Holy crap, is this guy crazy for being this badass?"
"So handsome..."
"So high..."
Lu Mingxiao: ? ? ?
That's hilarious! He wants to see who can be more handsome than Brother Xiao!
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