Chapter 9

As soon as these words came out, everyone’s eyes fell on her. Wang Mingfang and her children were embarrassed, while Lu Jingzhe’s disgust was undisguised.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Wang Mingfang laughed awkwardly, pulled He Shanshan over, glared at her, and said in a low voice, “This is your brother Jingzhe. What blind date are you talking about?”

“Brother Jingzhe.” He Shanshan repeated, then realized with a start, “He’s Lu Jingzhe.”

Then she looked at Wang Mingfang in disbelief and asked, “Why is he back?”

Lu Jingzhe looked at He Shanshan coldly, his eyes filled with coldness, and he asked in a deep voice:

“Do I need to report to you before I come back?”

Feeling the low pressure emanating from Lu Jingzhe and hearing the stupid words coming from her dimwitted daughter, Wang Mingfang was furious. She gave He Shanshan a wink to shut her up, and said ingratiatingly:

“Why can’t he come back? This is Jingzhe’s home after all.”

He Shanshan finally accepted this fact. Thinking about her actions just now, her face suddenly flushed red, and she felt incredibly embarrassed.

At this time, Xia Qingning, who was standing nearby, whispered to He Shanshan:

“I guess you’re disappointed. It seems I won’t have to wait another thirty or forty years.”

He Shanshan glared at her. She felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow or spit it out. She was both embarrassed and angry, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Not wanting to watch his sister continue to make a fool of herself, Lu Lidong walked over, patted Lu Jingzhe on the shoulder, and said:

“You finally decided to come home, you little rascal.” Then he took his daughter from Yao Hongmei’s hands, held her up to Lu Jingzhe, and said, “Yingying, this is your uncle. Say hello.”

“Uncle.” The three-year-old girl called out in a baby voice.

The little girl had round eyes and two little pigtails on top of her head. She was very cute. Lu Jingzhe responded and picked up the little girl. He rarely showed a smile.

At this time, Lu Lidong turned to Wang Mingfang and said:

“Mom, let’s eat.”

Hearing the word “Mom,” Lu Jingzhe’s face, which had still been slightly smiling, visibly turned cold.

The mother and son noticed the change in Lu Jingzhe’s expression, and their expressions became unnatural. Wang Mingfang reacted quickly and immediately said:

“Okay, okay, let’s eat.” Then she turned to Xia Qingning and said, “Qingning, go get Xiaoxue back. Oh, this child, once she starts playing, she won’t know to come back unless you call her.”

Soon, the table was filled with dishes, very sumptuous. There was braised pork belly, stir-fried celery with pork, braised chicken feet… and a roast chicken.

Wang Mingfang motioned for everyone to take their seats, then went to knock on He Shanshan’s door and called her to come out for dinner.

Although she had lost face just now, she still had to eat. Besides, the dishes were so good today. He Shanshan reluctantly came out of her room.

“Yingying, come to Mommy. Uncle is going to eat.” Yao Hongmei said as she took the child from Lu Jingzhe’s hands.

Lu Jingzhe took out a large denomination note and put it in Yingying’s hand, saying:

“A gift for seeing you.”

In this era, people usually gave children a few jiao as a lucky money, but to give ten yuan right away was really rare. Everyone in the room was surprised, especially He Shanshan. Her eyes widened. This was half a month’s salary for her! She was even more annoyed. Such a handsome and rich man, how could Xia Qingning get him?

Wang Mingfang was the first to react. She nudged her daughter-in-law with her shoulder. Yao Hongmei understood and quickly said to her daughter:

“Yingying, thank Uncle for the gift.”

“A little kid, a few jiao is enough, just a token of appreciation. Why give so much?” Wang Mingfang also said flattering words.

At this time, Xia Qingning came back with Lu Xiaoxue. As soon as Lu Xiaoxue entered the house, she saw the roast chicken on the table and her eyes lit up instantly:

“Wow, roast chicken.”

She ran to the table and reached out to grab it. Xia Qingning was quick and grabbed her hand, saying:

“Wash your hands first.”

She could see the sticky sugar stains and dirt on her hands. They were as dirty as could be.

Lu Xiaoxue didn’t care about that. All she could see was the roast chicken. She rolled her eyes at Xia Qingning and said rudely:

“None of your business.”

“Go wash!” Lu Jingzhe glanced at her and said in a deep voice.

Perhaps because Lu Jingzhe was wearing a military uniform and his voice was so imposing, Lu Xiaoxue, who had always been fearless, was intimidated. She reluctantly walked towards the kitchen, muttering under her breath:

“Fine, I’ll wash.”

She washed her hands symbolically and then ran out of the kitchen. She sat down at the table and unceremoniously grabbed both chicken legs. She held one in each hand and gnawed on the left and the right.

Lu Jingzhe looked at his unruly sister and his face darkened. He said in a deep voice:

“Lu Xiaoxue, give Yingying one.”

“Why? They’re all mine.” Lu Xiaoxue was very unhappy and shouted loudly.

“Let her eat, let her eat. There’s still chicken meat here. Yingying can eat chicken meat.” Wang Mingfang quickly came out to smooth things over.

Lu Xiaoxue held the chicken legs, made a face, quickly jumped off the table, and ran to the other room.

“Second brother, eat yours. Don’t worry about her.” Lu Lidong said, seemingly used to it.

Xia Qingning thought to herself, one indulges her, and the other doesn’t care. It’s no wonder she’s spoiled.

Lu Jingzhe was thoughtful but didn’t say anything more.

The meal was almost finished. The women all left the table. Lu Lidong pulled Lu Jingzhe to continue drinking. Lu Lidong seemed to be drunk. He slurred his words and said to Lu Jingzhe:

“Second brother, I know you’re not happy to see her living here, but brother really can’t help it now. Yingying is still young and can’t be separated from people. Your sister-in-law and I have to work, and we don’t have time to take care of her…”

“After all, she gave birth to me. She has been working hard in this house all these years, taking care of Xiaoxue like her own daughter. People are made of flesh and blood. I can’t just keep refusing to acknowledge her.”

When Wang Mingfang went to the state-owned restaurant to order food this afternoon, she told her son what Lu Jingzhe had said to her. So now, Lu Lidong was deliberately saying these things under the influence of alcohol.

Seeing that Lu Jingzhe still didn’t react, Lu Lidong suddenly choked up:

“You know, if Mom hadn’t left so early, how good it would have been! Sometimes I dream of her. She’s still so kind, so caring, asking me if I’m eating well and if I’m dressed warmly.”

The “Mom” he was referring to was naturally Su Hui, who had passed away.

What a man, three points drunk, acting to the point of tears. Xia Qingning listened to these sentimental words in the room and sighed. Lu Lidong was truly Wang Mingfang’s son. He must have learned his mother’s tricks from the womb.

If he really had such deep brotherly love for Lu Jingzhe, he wouldn’t have plotted against him, putting the original owner, whom he didn’t want, into his bed.

Faced with Lu Lidong’s sob story, Lu Jingzhe didn’t respond, just patted him on the back.

Xia Qingning felt bored and didn’t listen anymore. She sat on the bed and reached out to touch the jacket Lu Jingzhe had put on her today. She was about to pick it up and put it on the chair, but then she suddenly remembered something. She opened the drawer and took out a needle and thread.

It was still early. In this era, there were no phones, computers, or other entertainment options. It was boring to do nothing, so she would sew the button that had fallen off for him. It would be a way to repay him, after all, he had helped her so many times today.

For Xia Qingning, who studied fashion design, sewing a button was a piece of cake.

She found black thread that matched the color of the clothes in the box, threaded the needle, placed the button on the cuff, and stitched it with a cross stitch. In no time, it was done. She thought for a moment and then sewed all the loose buttons as well.

Just as she was almost finished sewing, Lu Jingzhe suddenly opened the door and walked in.