Chapter 26
Before Grandpa Jiang could even respond to who was speaking over there, Lu Mingxiao casually added, "Oh, I'm Lu Mingxiao."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a string of emotional words. Lu Mingxiao didn't listen, hung up immediately, and blacklisted the phone number right in front of Jiang Huaiyu.
“Tsk…” Lu Mingxiao looked regretful: “It’s a pity, he is my mother’s father, I can only say a few words.”
Both sentences were devastating.
His icy hands and feet were gradually warming up. Jiang Huaiyu breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to help him up: "Why did you come out?"
"It's too stuffy in the ward, I came out for some fresh air." Lu Mingxiao leaned weakly on Jiang Huaiyu's shoulder: "Classmate, I feel so dizzy."
Jiang Huaiyu: "Weren't you quite quick and efficient when you snatched the phone just now?"
"I'm having a craving," Lu Mingxiao grumbled. "I want canned yellow peaches, you feed me..."
"Lu Mingxiao." Jiang Huaiyu turned her head and looked at the bald patch on her shoulder: "Are you really heartless? Didn't you hear what I said to Mr. Jiang?"
"Did you hear that? You're handing over the Jiang family to them?" Lu Mingxiao's heart still raced a little as he recalled the scene from earlier.
A cold and aloof young man stood in front of the reflective mirror, half of his delicate face submerged in the light. Beneath his lowered eyelashes lay an ambition brighter than the sunlight. It seemed as if he had inadvertently seen another Jiang Huaiyu, a true heir to a powerful family, one who had been built up by resources since childhood and had been able to look down on the world from a young age, displaying both sharpness and ease.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and Lu Mingxiao pressed his chest, afraid that his heartbeat was too loud and would be noticed by the people next to him.
Jiang Huaiyu noticed him clutching his chest and asked anxiously, "Is your heart bothering you?"
"No, cough... it's a bit noisy." Lu Mingxiao put down his hand: "I heard it, so what? I have a clear understanding of my own abilities, okay? Such a big business, if I hand it over to you, I can still get a share of the profits and do what I want to do. Why would I want to snatch it away? If it really gets stuck in my hands, wouldn't that be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?"
“That’s because you don’t know just how big this ‘egg’ is.” Jiang Huaiyu raised an eyebrow: “Brother Xiao, how about going to Norway to see the Northern Lights during winter break? Take a private jet, let me show you the life you were supposed to be living.”
"What do you mean, Jiang Xiaoyu? Are you trying to seduce me with the glitz and glamour of the world and corrupt my pure heart?" Lu Mingxiao chuckled. "And you, after experiencing that kind of life, instead of staying by your rich parents' side to continue currying favor, you've come all the way to this shabby little place. What? Is the northwest wind in the south not as strong as the wind in the north?"
Even the quick-witted young master Jiang was stumped by the question, and finally asked with a straight face, "Do you ride in a private jet?"
Lu Mingxiao immediately flattered, "Sit down."
...
Before winter break, besides dealing with final exams, I also had to deal with Bai Hongxu and those five hooligans.
The five thugs were pure social scum, with nothing but their worthless lives. In comparison, Bai Hongxu was actually easier to deal with—the nouveau riche young master Bai was full of flaws.
Song Jingliang's secretary personally came to the small town to visit the two young masters and convey Chairman Song's concern. This secretary was not tall, considered short for a man, and not particularly good-looking. He wore a silver-gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses. This social elite sat in the Lu family's small living room, looking as if he had been pasted into the picture.
However, he was extremely polite to Lu Chuan. When Lu Chuan brought him warm water, he stood up and took it with both hands before continuing to talk to Jiang Huaiyu.
"Young Master, Chairman Song wants to ask you and the Eldest Young Master what level of resolution would be considered satisfactory." The secretary smiled gently and kindly: "Is it to let Bai Hongxu recuperate for a few days, or to allow Bai's family business to suffer some losses, or..."
Jiang Huaiyu said, "Let's make sure Bai's family has no assets."
Lu Mingxiao was secretly suppressing a laugh.
Mr. Jiang was very afraid of the cold. He was sitting on the sofa negotiating while wearing a onesie unicorn pajama. One of his fluffy little wings was pressed down behind his back, and Lu Mingxiao couldn't help but reach out to pull it out for him.
Jiang Huaiyu looked at Lu Mingxiao: "What are you doing?"
"Save the wings of Lord Unicorn..." Lu Mingxiao loosened the fluffy little wings and looked at the elite secretary: "I agree with Jiang Xiaoyu. Bai Hongxu's father seems to have been innocently implicated, but he is not innocent at all. This is not the first time Bai Hongxu has bullied his classmates. Every time, his father has quelled the trouble for him, either by using power or money. He has never given the victims justice. This is the fault of a father who has not taught his children properly. Besides, as long as Bai Hongxu's family still has money, he will not have been taught a lesson. If he stays quiet for a while, transfers to another school, or goes abroad to avoid the storm, who knows how many more people will be harmed."
The secretary listened quietly to what Young Master Lu had to say before smiling and saying, "It seems you and the young master have a very good relationship. Are you worried that I think the young master's actions are too extreme, so you're explaining for him?"
Lu Mingxiao: "...Brother, can you just not say anything even though you see through me? I do good deeds anonymously, and I feel a little embarrassed by your behavior."
Jiang Huaiyu chuckled softly.
The secretary smiled gently: "I understand what you two mean. I'll take my leave now. I'll come back to visit again once there are results."
After leaving the Lu family's residence, he went to the municipal government office building and sat there for the afternoon. In the evening, after get off work hours, he visited the offices of several bank presidents.
Some things cannot be accomplished in the blink of an eye. After Lu Mingxiao and Jiang Huaiyu returned to school after their sick leave, Bai Hongxu was still acting arrogantly at school. On the night of the attack, Jiang Huaiyu posted a clarification on the school forum, stating that she was not familiar with Duan Yueke. In his eyes, this was undoubtedly a sign that Jiang Huaiyu was backing down.
Lu Mingxiao is so popular, yet he was still beaten up. Principal Jiang Huaiyu is his darling, yet he was still beaten up too. And yet no one did anything to him.
And that little bitch Duan Yueke...
During a break in evening self-study, he cursed Duan Yue in front of the whole class, calling her a prostitute for a full fifteen minutes, and everyone pretended not to hear.
He'd like to see who can back this little bitch up.
Bai Hongxu was so arrogant that he even gave Jiang Huaiyu and Lu Mingxiao the middle finger when they met.
Lu Mingxiao looked at him like he was an idiot, while Jiang Huaiyu didn't even glance at him.
Eight or nine days passed in this way. On the day before the final exam, Bai Hongxu was having dinner with a group of his cronies in a private room at his hotel when his father suddenly burst in—and I don't mean it as a figure of speech, he literally kicked the door down.
He grabbed the drunken Bai Hongxu and unleashed a barrage of slaps, striking him with the force of someone about to kill this unfilial son.
Bai Hongxu was completely stunned by the beating. His cronies scattered in all directions, and the curious waiters outside the private room were also chased away by the manager.
"Dad, are you crazy..." Bai Hongxu was splashed with vegetables and tried to crawl away, but his father grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him up. He looked up at his father and was too scared to speak.
The usually dignified, chubby man was now covered in vegetable soup. He didn't care about making a fool of himself in front of his employees. His eyes were bloodshot, and he grabbed Bai Hongxu by the neck and asked him a question.
"Who did you offend? Who exactly did you offend?!"
Two years ago, Lao Bai planned to open a hotel next door, creating a comprehensive six-star hotel that would specifically target the high-end market.
This investment was extremely risky, but the returns were also huge. Old Bai's business was expected to reach new heights. To this end, he borrowed a large sum of money from the bank and spent a lot of money to smooth things over with various parties, all so that the project could be successfully completed.
Everything was going smoothly until I went to a very famous fortune teller for a reading, and everyone said that my fortune would be booming this year.
But everything changed after his son mentioned "728".
The project was stalled at every turn, and several procedures just wouldn't go through. Old Bai was overwhelmed with work, especially after his debt ratio had reached a staggering 75%...
The banks tightened credit, and his cash flow dried up.
Having worked hard for most of his life, and seeing that all his efforts were about to be in vain, Lao Bai became anxious. He begged and pleaded with everyone he could to find connections, but he was turned away everywhere. The few people who could be bribed in the past had all changed; they all had "clean hands and upright character" written on their foreheads.
In the end, an old friend who was on good terms with him took pity on him and secretly told him inside information.
"Old Bai, your son has offended a behemoth you can't afford to mess with." The old friend pointed upwards mysteriously: "They even have the power to reach the highest levels of government directly. Normally, we have no connection to them at all. Go ask your son how he offended them."
Old Bai wanted to ask again, but his friend refused to say anything more. He didn't even know who was messing with him.
He shook Bai Hongxu, and in the end, he managed to maintain his rationality and not strangle his unfilial son, because of the last bit of family affection he had left: "Who is it?!"
Bai Hongxu was terrified by his father's seemingly insane behavior and cried so hard that his face was covered in tears and snot.
"It's 728, I haven't dealt with anyone recently..."
He confessed everything, and then added tearfully, "Go check it out. Jiang Huaiyu and Lu Mingxiao are two penniless bastards. The place they live in isn't even as big as our toilet. How could they possibly have the ability to bankrupt you? On the contrary, you've been messing around behind my mother's back all day. Have you been having an affair with someone you shouldn't have?"
“Surname Jiang…surname Lu…surname Jiang…surname Lu…” Old Bai slumped in his chair as if possessed, muttering to himself, “I’ve never heard of anyone in this province with these two surnames…could it be one of these two?”
He stood up again and took out his belt.
Completely overshadowed by his father's presence, Bai Hongxu trembled as he asked, "What are you going to do?"
Old Bai opened his mouth wide as if he wanted to swallow him whole: "Think about it! Who else have you bullied?!"
The son rattled off one name after another, some he had heard of, some he hadn't.
At that moment, he truly regretted not raising his child properly.
The Bai family's hotel quietly changed its name. Ordinary people were unaware of the changes and continued to live their lives as usual. Most of the hotel's employees stayed in their original positions, except for Duan Yueke's parents, who lost their jobs.
Lu Mingxiao's healing ability is extraordinary; new hair has already grown on his bald scalp. He felt that his appearance was not good, so he wore a baseball cap. At this moment, the two teenagers were sitting in the VIP waiting room of the airport, waiting for their plane to take off after inspection.
"Jiang Xiaoyu, are you really taking a private jet?" Lu Mingxiao asked.
"Hmm." Jiang Huaiyu nodded reservedly: "I'll take you to drink the northwest wind of Norway, see if that's strong enough."
Author's Note:
I'm so short! I've been so busy these past few days, I'll write more for you all in a couple of days [crying emoji]
Some readers have asked about the update frequency. I update every other day, and if it's every two days, I'll update more to make up for it. Actually, it's about the same as updating 3,000 words a day...
[He ran away feeling guilty]
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