Chapter 20: Going to the Countryside?

Not long after, Old Zhang arrived with a tanned, teenage boy with a big smile showing his white teeth.

The boy was Wei Jianshe, the son of Wei Ping’an’s second uncle and Wei Ping’an’s younger cousin.

As soon as Wei Jianshe saw Lu Sinian, he bypassed Old Zhang and rushed towards him.

“Si Nian Ge, what brings you here to look for me?”

From his familiar tone, it was clear that the two had a good relationship.

A faint smile appeared on Lu Sinian’s face. He sidestepped as Wei Jianshe rushed over and ignored his enthusiastic approach. Instead, he politely thanked Old Zhang, “Sorry for troubling you, Grandpa Zhang. I’ll talk to him for a bit and leave right away, just here, it won’t take long.”

Old Zhang put on a stern face and said, “Hurry up and speak, then leave quickly.” This kid used to try to butter him up with sweet words, and he had heard this kind of flattery countless times.

Every time he heard it, he fell for it.

Now, years later, hearing such words, he could only feel like he was being tricked again!

Old Zhang: “…” This kid had caused him quite a headache.

“Si Nian Ge, what’s up?” Wei Jianshe scratched his buzz cut and looked at Lu Sinian with curiosity.

Unlike the other kids in the compound, Wei Jianshe often followed Lu Sinian and Wei Ping’an around.

But unfortunately, the two of them disliked him for being too young and never took him along to play.

Lu Sinian turned around and waved at him.

Wei Jianshe instinctively leaned in closer.

Lu Sinian whispered something in his ear, and after hearing it, Wei Jianshe stood up straight with his chest out like a general who had just received a mission. His eyes flicked over to Old Zhang, a few steps behind, and in a low voice, he said,

“Si Nian Ge, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. I’ll give you a definite answer after school today.”

Lu Sinian nodded and patted his shoulder. “Go to class.”

Wei Jianshe grinned and quickly ran off towards the school, passing Old Zhang on the way and politely saying, “Grandpa Zhang, I’m going to class!”

Old Zhang nodded stiffly.

Lu Sinian approached and greeted him, “Grandpa Zhang, thank you for your trouble today. Wei Ping’an is still waiting for me to bring reinforcements, so I’ll be off now!”

Old Zhang once again nodded without expression.

After handing over the task of getting information from Lu Mingyang to Wei Jianshe, Lu Sinian’s next job was to wait for the good news in the evening.

He had a lot of faith in Wei Jianshe’s ability.

Despite his poor grades, that kid was well-liked in school.

With his social skills, it would be easy to get information from one of Lu Mingyang’s close classmates.

And indeed, Wei Jianshe didn’t let Lu Sinian down.

During the break, he whispered to Bai Wenjie, a smart student in his class, for a long time.

Bai Wenjie was a good friend of Lu Mingyang, and they often ate lunch together and went to school together.

At lunchtime, as usual, Bai Wenjie invited Lu Mingyang to the school cafeteria for a meal.

The two of them grabbed their food and sat in a quiet spot.

Bai Wenjie noticed Lu Mingyang grinning and asked, “Mingyang, did something good happen today? Your smile hasn’t left your face since we met.”

Lu Mingyang touched the corner of his mouth. “Is it that obvious?”

Bai Wenjie nodded seriously. “Your smile’s about to reach your ears.”

Lu Mingyang chuckled, “I’m in a great mood today.”

He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about how Lu Sinian was going to the countryside. He hadn’t been able to sleep the night before because he was so happy.

For years, he had lived in Lu Sinian’s shadow.

Even though he was more obedient than Lu Sinian, and more outstanding and driven, he had never received his grandfather’s affection.

Why did his grandfather only favor Lu Sinian, when they were both children of the Lu family?

He couldn’t accept it!

His mom was right—until Lu Sinian was gone, he’d never get his grandfather’s love and attention.

Since he was old enough to understand, he had been waiting for Lu Sinian to disappear.

Now, after all these years, Lu Sinian was finally leaving the house.

Once Lu Sinian was gone, everything in the Lu family would be his, and his grandfather’s attention would finally be focused on him alone.

With that thought, Lu Mingyang smiled even wider.

Bai Wenjie, noticing his increasingly wide grin, casually asked, “So, what exactly happened to make you so happy?”

Lu Mingyang mysteriously replied, “I’ll tell you in a few days!”

Lu Sinian had not yet left for the countryside, but the news that he would be going had to remain a secret, even from his closest friends.

Bai Wenjie knew Lu Mingyang’s personality—if there was something he didn’t want to talk about, no matter how much you pressed, he wouldn’t say a word.

Asking too much would only lead to Lu Mingyang getting annoyed and suspicious.

But Bai Wenjie had already promised Wei Jianshe…

Bai Wenjie’s eyes darkened as he thought to himself, Looks like I’ll have to guess on my own.

He expressed great interest and tentatively asked, “Could it have something to do with your useless brother?”

As Lu Mingyang’s good friend, and living in the same compound, Bai Wenjie knew some things about the Lu family.

Lu Mingyang often complained about his “useless” brother to him.

Lu Mingyang paused for a moment, remaining silent.

Bai Wenjie immediately knew he had guessed correctly.

He stroked his chin, pretending to think deeply, and said, “Since you won’t tell me, let me guess. Could it be that your useless brother was finally dealt with by that ‘kind-hearted’ person?”

Lu Mingyang snorted, “Who would dare deal with him? He’s lucky if he doesn’t cause trouble for others!”

Bai Wenjie frowned slightly and continued guessing, “Could it be that he’s sick?”

Lu Mingyang shook his head. The best food and drinks in the house were all consumed by Lu Sinian. Although he looked thin, his health was strong. He never got sick. In fact, he often made others sick with his actions!

Bai Wenjie rubbed his chin, recalling the many times Lu Mingyang had complained about Lu Sinian. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility.

“Could it be that your brother is leaving Beijing?” He remembered that Lu Mingyang once told him his greatest wish was for his troublemaking older brother to leave home.

Lu Mingyang’s smile faltered for a moment, but he still didn’t speak, nor did he nod or shake his head.

Seeing this, Bai Wenjie knew he had guessed right again.

He leaned in closer to Lu Mingyang and whispered, “Is your useless older brother really leaving Beijing? Did your grandfather send him to the military or something?”

As he spoke, Bai Wenjie kept a close eye on Lu Mingyang’s expressions.

Lu Mingyang’s eyes flickered, but no matter how much Bai Wenjie asked, he remained silent.

Finally, irritated by Bai Wenjie’s questions, Lu Mingyang quickly finished his meal and excused himself, claiming he had something urgent to attend to, leaving without even washing his lunchbox.

Although Bai Wenjie didn’t get any clear answers from Lu Mingyang, he had a pretty good guess now.

He shared his speculation with Wei Jianshe.

After hearing it, Wei Jianshe furrowed his brows and asked, “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? I haven’t heard anything about Si Nian Ge leaving Beijing or your grandfather sending him to the army. My cousin said that Si Nian Ge will never go to the military.”

Bai Wenjie responded confidently, “I’m sure I’m right. When I mentioned Lu Sinian leaving Beijing, Lu Mingyang paused for a moment. That was a clear sign I guessed right.”

Wei Jianshe asked, “Then where do you think Si Nian Ge is going?”

Bai Wenjie thought for a moment before guessing, “Could he be going to the countryside?”

He had an older brother who went to the countryside last year, and that idea only just crossed his mind.

Wei Jianshe froze, exclaiming, “The countryside?”

Bai Wenjie nodded, explaining his reasoning. “You said you haven’t heard that Lu Sinian was leaving Beijing or going to the military, but Lu Mingyang’s reaction confirmed that Lu Sinian is definitely leaving Beijing. Lu Sinian has a bad relationship with his family, and with Grandpa Lu not being in Beijing lately, the only thing left that could make Lu Sinian leave is the countryside.”

Wei Jianshe was confused. “What do you mean by the countryside?”

Bai Wenjie smiled lightly, “Lu Sinian’s family could be hiding the fact that they’re sending him away. The only thing that would be impossible for Lu Sinian to refuse would be being sent to the countryside.”

In this era, family members could register their children to go to the countryside on their behalf.

Lu Sinian also met the requirements.

Wei Jianshe: “…” There’s a possibility!

While Wei Jianshe wasn’t completely sure that Bai Wenjie’s analysis was correct, he couldn’t wait to tell Lu Sinian.

If Bai Wenjie’s guess was right, he needed to warn Lu Sinian as soon as possible to stop his family from sending him to the countryside.

“You go back first, I need to tell Si Nian Ge about this.”

Wei Jianshe couldn’t wait and immediately skipped class by climbing over the wall.

Unfortunately, he was one step too late.