Chapter 73: Stabbing

After Ji Ze finished speaking, there was no response from the kitchen for a long time, and he realized something was off. His aunt, who should have been the one cooking, was standing at the kitchen door with empty hands, while his usually stern uncle was in the kitchen, wearing an apron.

Xu Li made the apron before their wedding. It has a blue base and small white flowers. The craftsmanship is excellent, and a beautiful ruffle is sewn around the edge. However, it looked too pretty and out of place on his tall, serious uncle.

For some reason, Ji Ze instinctively glanced at the shiny kitchen knife near his uncle’s hand.

Ji Duo also glanced at it but calmly took off the apron and hung it behind the kitchen door. “What’s the matter?”

“You two talk. I’ll go upstairs to get something,” Lin Qiao quickly tried to leave.

Ji Duo came out of the kitchen and gently pulled her back, “It’s not a secret. You should know about this.”

The pull was light and quick, but the intention to keep her there was clear.

Lin Qiao looked up and saw him looking at her. His military uniform sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his gaze direct and determined.

Although Ji Ze’s face still didn’t look good, he understood and quickly added, “Yes, I mentioned before that I was considering taking a loan to buy a production line, didn’t I?”

Lin Qiao lowered her gaze and turned to leave, “I really do need to get something from upstairs.”

After a while, she came back down with a book. In the living room, the uncle and nephew were sitting formally, one looking slightly uneasy, both waiting for her.

Seeing her, Ji Ze straightened up like a student called to answer a question.

Lin Qiao had no choice but to sit next to Ji Duo, who immediately poured her a glass of water and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

In the past, his mother or grandmother always did this, and Ji Ze couldn’t help but take another look.

Ji Duo remained calm, “Last time we met Yu’s fifth son, didn’t I mention that Xiao Ze wanted to take a loan to buy a production line, and Dad and I didn’t agree?”

Lin Qiao remembered, feeling something was off at the time, but when she heard Ji Ze didn’t succeed, she didn’t think much of it.

“I discussed it with Dad, and we thought the amount was too large and the risk too high. None of the Yu family relatives wanted to do this, fearing something might go wrong,” Ji Duo explained to her.

“Right,” Ji Ze nodded. “At the time, I wasn’t convinced. When I started doing business with you, I thought I’d figure things out first before making electrical appliances. That’s why I didn’t let Uncle tell you. I didn’t buy it, but Chen Weiguo did, and something really went wrong.”

When Ji Ze came in earlier, he looked upset and didn’t even pay attention to the situation, just walked straight in because of this.

“He took out a loan before the New Year, started building the factory after the New Year, and the equipment arrived at the end of last month, along with the raw materials. Production started at the beginning of this month. But the products they made were worse than domestically produced ones, completely unsellable. Several million yuan went down the drain.”

They weren’t just buying a production line but also the advanced technology it brought. Otherwise, if it could be done domestically, who would spend millions to be a fool?

Ji Ze was somewhat suppressed, “I ran into Chen Weiguo this afternoon. He hasn’t slept for several nights, his eyes are red, and he’s been looking for Yu Jin.”

“What did Yu Jin say?” Ji Duo’s voice sounded very calm.

“He said the other party had promised him recently eliminated equipment and told Chen Weiguo not to worry. He would go and clarify with the other party.”

“Do you believe him?” Ji Duo’s gaze fell lightly on him.

Ji Ze wanted to say he believed him. After all, they had been friends for over twenty years, and subconsciously, he didn’t think the other party would deceive him.

But the words stuck in his throat, and he swallowed them back, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Lin Qiao didn’t believe it either.

For a deal worth millions, who would be so proactive in helping without some benefit?

It couldn’t be just to help an old friend, right?

The money was taken, and the deal was done. Could he or the other party give up the benefits they had received?

The living room fell silent for a while. Ji Ze finally wiped his face, his voice gritting through his teeth, “We treated him as a friend, and he deceived us!”

The long-suppressed fear also surged up, “Thank goodness for Uncle and Auntie’s formula.”

Without Ji Duo stopping him and guiding him, he would have been completely unprepared for the Yu family.

Without Lin Qiao’s formula pointing him in another direction, teaching him to be grounded, he might have still been fixated on electrical appliances.

If he had bought a bunch of junk and owed the bank millions without knowing how to repay it, that would have been Ji Ze’s fate.

He looked up at the couple, “I came here today to thank you. I can’t talk about this with anyone else.”

Talking to his dad was out of the question since he had already left. Even if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to make a decision, always agreeing with whatever others said. Talking to his mom…

Ever since his dad was transferred, his mom had been lost, not knowing how to live. She would frequently call him, claiming to be sick, and then start crying, wanting him to find a stable job and urging him to marry Song Jing quickly.

It was as if, without his dad, he could stand tall again, and with a well-off daughter-in-law, she could regain her confidence.

Lin Qiao really didn’t want to comment on Ji Ze’s family.

She thought the original character wasn’t bad, so why did the book portray her that way? It turned out to be because of such a mother-in-law.

Ye Minshu looked down on the original character’s background, was forced to marry her into the family, and constantly tormented and suppressed her, urging her son to divorce her. And Ji Jun only listened to his wife. The old man and Xu Li were somewhat distant and couldn’t intervene. The original character knew she hadn’t consummated the marriage with Ji Ze and couldn’t establish herself in the family, so she desperately tried to hold onto Ji Ze, making more mistakes the tighter she held on, ultimately losing everything.

The later female lead probably had a good family background, and Ji Ze liked her enough. Otherwise, no one could have a good life with such a mother-in-law.

In the silence, Ji Duo glanced at his nephew, “Stay away from the Yu family in the future.”

Ji Ze nodded. With this lesson, he wouldn’t dare get close to them again.

Whether the Yu family genuinely didn’t know or pretended not to know about the faulty equipment, the fact that they let them buy it but not their own family members spoke volumes.

Lin Qiao thought of Yu’s fifth son, whom they had met that day, and felt that Ji Duo’s words weren’t just about Yu Jin.

“Chen Weiguo might come to you for a loan if he can’t repay his debt,” Ji Duo calmly reminded his nephew.

“I’ve thought about that too,” Ji Ze continued nodding, glancing at Lin Qiao. “If he asks me personally, I can lend him the money. After all, he helped me avoid disaster. I won’t touch the factory’s money; it’s not just mine.”

“Do you have anything else?” Ji Duo’s gaze remained fixed on him.

Ji Ze was stunned, then snapped out of his complex emotions, “No, I’ll leave now.” He quickly got up and left.

“Remember to knock next time,” Ji Duo’s voice was devoid of warmth.

“Absolutely. Next time, I’ll call first to see if it’s convenient.” Ji Ze ran as if chased by dogs. Of course, he had to run; he couldn’t wait for his uncle to remember and silence him.

Ji Duo expressionlessly turned his gaze back to the kitchen and tied on the apron again. He frowned in disdain as he picked it up and said to Lin Qiao, “Next time, don’t make it so fancy.”

Next time? He planned to use it again?

Lin Qiao rested her chin on the back of the sofa and noticed that he had done some homework, knowing to use a toothpick to devein the prawns. He carefully deveined each prawn under the light, his expression focused, his grip on the prawns and toothpick steady. He started slowly but soon became fluent.

It was clear he hadn’t done this before. After all, he disliked seafood so much. How could he have cooked it?

But Ji Duo did things without showing any awkwardness or clumsiness. Even with oil and salt, he checked everything before calmly starting the fire. There was no chaos, no mixing up sugar and salt.

After cooking, he even picked one up, peeled it, and tasted it himself, then…

Then there was no “then.”

The man directly put down the plate of prawns, “I’ll go to the canteen and buy you a portion.”

Later, when Lin Qiao tasted the prawns, she found them slightly salty and a bit overcooked, but not too bad. However, Ji Duo didn’t give them to her. For the next few days, as long as he wasn’t busy with military duties, he would buy a net bag of prawns every day and head straight to the kitchen after work.

He bought so many that even her colleagues at school asked, “Does your husband like prawns? I’ve seen him at the market every day after work, the only high-ranking officer there.”

Lin Qiao just smiled, “Did you see him or did your husband see him?”

Her colleague’s husband was a vice principal at the elementary school, with more free time than her. He often went to the market to buy groceries after work.

The colleague originally wanted to tease Lin Qiao but ended up being teased herself by Lin Qiao’s straightforwardness.

She changed the topic and asked about Lin Qiao’s chemistry competition, “The finals are coming up. How’s the preparation going?”

“Chemistry is hard to say, but for physics, Li Xiaoqiu should be fine.”

This girl had worked hard for the opportunity Lin Qiao fought for, staying up late with her light on until midnight.

Even the usually bad-tempered Teacher Li hadn’t been losing his temper lately and was cooking different dishes at home every day.

Just then, Principal Zeng came over, “Xiao Lin, come out for a moment.”

Principal Zeng, being older, didn’t manage much. Usually, Vice Principal Qi handled things. Lin Qiao quickly got up and went out.

He spoke in a low voice, “I just received a call from Qing University. They want you to go for another interview.”

Another interview?

Lin Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, “Did they say when?”

“Either tomorrow or the day after. They want you to go as soon as possible.”

“How about tomorrow afternoon?” Lin Qiao calculated her schedule. She suspected that Professor Yan had made some progress.

Otherwise, they could have just notified her that she didn’t pass or asked her to change her major. Why bother with a second interview?

Principal Zeng returned to discuss with Qing University, and they quickly set the time for the next afternoon at three o’clock.

Lin Qiao arrived a few minutes early and was surprised to find that she had been to this lab a few days ago.

Sure enough, when she knocked and heard “Come in,” she entered and saw a somewhat familiar face.

The reason he looked only somewhat familiar was that he had shaved his beard and tidied his hair, looking quite proper. He seemed busy and didn’t look up, “Come over and help me.”

Lin Qiao glanced around and saw a white lab coat hanging on the wall. She grabbed one, put on gloves, and went over to help. She worked for nearly an hour. When the man finally took off his gloves and looked at her, he suddenly smiled, “Come and report at the end of this semester.”

“Report at the end of this semester…”

“Do you mean I passed the interview?”

“If you had shown any lack of basic knowledge or patience just now, you wouldn’t have passed.”

He pulled out a few books from the table and handed them to her, “Take these back and read them. Come and report at the end of this semester; you don’t have to wait until the new term starts.”

Lin Qiao had encountered this before, where graduate advisors asked students to report early to participate in experiments or research work. She nodded in agreement, and seeing that he seemed to have finished speaking and was about to dismiss her, she couldn’t help but ask, “May I ask who you are?”

The man was momentarily stunned, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself even after the interview ended, “Zhang Changning. I’m currently working on carbon fiber materials. Didn’t you say you wanted to study materials? When Old Yan mentioned it, I guessed it might be you.”

It was quite a coincidence. Lin Qiao quickly introduced herself, “Hello, Professor. My name is Lin Qiao. I look forward to your guidance.”

As she left the lab, even Lin Qiao, who was usually composed, felt a spring in her step. Because she wanted to study materials, she looked into several professors at Qing University, and Zhang Changning was one of the top. His research direction matched what she had studied in her previous life.

It seemed everything was falling into place. She didn’t have to spend four more years in undergraduate studies and could work in her most skilled and advantageous field…

Lin Qiao jumped up, plucked a fresh ginkgo leaf from the roadside, and rode the increasingly warm spring breeze back home.

And it wasn’t just this that was going well. In May, Li Xiaoqiu won first prize in the inaugural physics competition finals.

“There are only five first prizes nationwide, and our school got one,” Vice Principal Qi, usually a scholarly person, couldn’t hide his joy upon returning.

No wonder he was happy. Li Xiaoqiu was the only student from the school who made it to the finals, and he had been personally coaching her for months. Now, the results were finally out, validating both the student’s and his own efforts.

Li Xiaoqiu was even more excited. Usually a shy girl, she ran over to Lin Qiao, “Teacher Lin!” showing her the certificate.

Lin Qiao smiled and took a look, “Well done. You deserve it after sleeping only four or five hours a night.”

“I didn’t waste the opportunity you fought for me,” the girl added softly.

“That’s right,” Lin Qiao patted her head, noticing her eyes shining like a dog finally praised.

She couldn’t help but tease, “Now, are you torn between going to Qing University or Yan University?”

Li Xiaoqiu smiled shyly, her cheeks flushed. After a moment, unable to contain her excitement, she hugged Lin Qiao and then stepped back, embarrassed.

But Lin Qiao’s words were spot on. After the results were released, both Qing University and Yan University contacted the school, intending to admit Li Xiaoqiu early. After all, there were only five first prizes nationwide, and Li Xiaoqiu’s usual grades were excellent, with only her Chinese lagging behind.

The college entrance exams had yet to start, and Lin Qiao was already helping her students decide between Qing University and Yan University. Any homeroom teacher at the school would be envious.

Li Xiaoqiu, who struggled with Chinese, might not have gotten into a good program at Yandu Institute of Technology without Lin Qiao.

The Teacher and student duo spent several days researching, considering other people’s opinions, and considering Li Xiaoqiu’s personality and interests. They ultimately decided on Yan University.

Qing University was the best choice for engineering, but Li Xiaoqiu was shy and more interested in theoretical research, making Yan University a better fit.

When the recommendation was finalized, Teacher Li invited Vice Principal Qi and Lin Qiao to dinner, saying, “Without Teacher Lin, Xiaoqiu wouldn’t have had this opportunity. Without Vice Principal Qi, Xiaoqiu wouldn’t have achieved these results. I don’t know how to thank you both for all you’ve done.”

Both politely declined, but he later brought many gifts to the office, which they couldn’t return, so they distributed them. The chemistry competition results were slightly less impressive, with Qi Huaiwen winning third prize. Although still a top achievement nationwide, with first and second prizes ahead, the schools offering direct admission weren’t as ideal.

The boy didn’t mind, saying, “If I can’t get in through recommendation, I’ll take the exam myself.”

He wasn’t just boasting. He ranked in the top five of his grade in the last mock exam. With some effort, getting into Qing or Yan University wasn’t impossible.

Around this time, Lin Qiao’s graduate admission letter from Qing University arrived at the school, causing quite a stir.

“A graduate student at Qing University?! Wasn’t Teacher Lin supposed to take the college entrance exam with us?” Junzi was in disbelief. “I wanted to take the exam with her.”

Qi Huaiwen had heard about Lin Qiao’s interview at Qing University but didn’t know she had passed until now.

Junzi didn’t know whether to be happy for Lin Qiao or sad for himself. “I thought we’d be in the same year at university, but she’s going to graduate school.”

The cheeky boy had fantasized about being classmates with Lin Qiao. When he told his family, Commander Liang and Liu Cuiying both scolded him, “Being in the same year doesn’t mean she’s not your teacher.”

After scolding their son, Liu Cuiying couldn’t help but marvel at Commander Liang, “How does Xiao Lin’s brain work? We’re not even sure if we can get into university, and she’s already going to graduate school.”

Commander Liang was more philosophical, “With our level of education, if Junzi got into graduate school, that would be abnormal.”

Liu Cuiying: “…”

Taking the admission letter home, Lin Qiao thought for a moment and decided to call the old man and Xu Li to inform them.

After all, she owed a lot to Yan Maoshan’s help, and Xu Li had supported her work and studies.

When they heard that she had been accepted into Qing University’s graduate program, the old couple was very happy. The old man, usually quite reserved, even took the phone and asked her what she wanted to eat.

The news finally reached Ye Minshu, and Ji Duo personally called to inform her.

Ye Minshu was quite surprised to receive the call, as Ji Duo was a man of few words and a cold temperament. He used to contact Ji Jun and Ji Ze occasionally, but after the incident with Lin Qiao, he hadn’t called this side at all. But she had been having a tough time lately. After Ji Jun left, the old couple didn’t even let her visit the old house. People outside weren’t blind and could see the change in the wind. Those who used to be friendly were now starting to ostracize her. Coupled with the issue with Xiao Ze, she hardly dared to leave the house recently.

When Ji Duo called, she thought he might help persuade Xiao Ze, but instead, he told her this.

Her face stiffened, “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Ji Duo seemed to know what she was thinking, “Without any help from the family, she won a gold medal at the Invention and Creation Exhibition and was noticed by Qing University.”

It was like a slap in the face, making Ye Minshu’s face burn.

Previously, when Lin Qiao made suggestions, she thought the same way. Now that Lin Qiao had been accepted into graduate school, she was left speechless.

Ji Duo’s call wasn’t over, “Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin, you heard about that, right?”

“What? Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin!” Ye Minshu’s voice rose, “Impossible! That’s impossible!”

“I thought you were so close, you would have known,” Ji Duo’s voice was calm but sounded sarcastic.

After hanging up, Ye Minshu went to the Song family and found Yu Jin having dinner there. The Song couple was treating him warmly, clearly as a prospective son-in-law. Her head buzzed, and she wanted to question them, but Song’s mother greeted her with a smile, “Your Xiao Ze’s business is doing well lately.”

It was clear they knew about Ji Ze’s transition to business.

Then she added, “And your second son, I heard his wife got into Qing University’s graduate program.”

Ye Minshu felt a chill from her feet to her heart.

The other party reminded her they knew about the Ji family’s marriage switch and wouldn’t mind revealing it if necessary.

Ye Minshu stumbled out of the Song house, feeling blind for having been friends with such a family for so many years.

And Lin Qiao, who could invent things and get into Qing University’s graduate program, if only she had known earlier…

“Is Sister-in-law sick again?”

When Lin Qiao heard about this, Ji Ling had already stayed at the old house for four or five days.

Ji Duo’s expression was unreadable, “I heard it’s because Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin, and she’s angry.” He served the braised prawns he had made.

That was indeed infuriating. After all, Ye Minshu talked about them every day, only to be stabbed in the back by the Song family.

She had always looked down on this background and that background, only to be looked down upon for her son’s prospects, leading to a complete change in attitude.

“Alright,” Ji Duo said, as usual, peeling one for himself to taste first, then peeling another and bringing it to Lin Qiao’s mouth.

Lin Qiao was still thinking about Song Jing, wondering if this time it was her own decision or another family arrangement and whether she knew about the production line issue. She absentmindedly took a bite. Unexpectedly, it was delicious, tasting very similar to the flavor at Old Gu’s place.

And he had practiced this dish for a long time…

Lin Qiao paused, then suddenly looked up, her eyes serious as she gazed at the man, “Ji Duo, I’m planning to buy a house near the school.”