Chapter 7.2

Inside the house, Jiang Guihua noticed Lu Dashan’s anxious expression as he rushed in and immediately asked in confusion, “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Lu Dashan quickly pulled her into the inner room, lowering his voice as he recounted what had just happened.

“You say, what should we do? That brat Lu Chen is asking about this again!”

Jiang Guihua’s heart sank when she heard this, but she quickly calmed down.

She remembered how, in the past, they had always managed to come up with excuses to send Lu Chen away. She was confident they could handle it again this time.

And although others might not know, Jiang Guihua, who had watched Lu Chen grow up, understood him very well. Despite his intimidating appearance, he was actually the most easy-going person.

Especially with family, he would never say no or get angry with them.

So even if, in the future, he realized they were lying to him, he definitely wouldn’t do anything about it.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Guihua rolled her eyes at Lu Dashan and scolded, “Look at you! Can’t you show some ambition? You’re his uncle and his only elder now. Even if he finds out you’ve tricked him, what can he do about it? Is he going to beat you up and make you return his parents’ belongings?”

Besides, even if they wanted to return anything, they couldn’t.

After all, the inheritance and pension Lu Chen’s parents had left him were mostly spent already. The only things left were this house and the furniture inside.

But these things had been quietly used with the old lady’s permission while she was still alive, so they couldn’t be accused of taking them without asking.

If Lu Chen wanted to blame anyone, he could blame the old lady who was already in the grave. As for returning the money or things, they absolutely wouldn’t agree to that!

“And anyway, he only heard the old lady mention once, right before she died, that his parents had left him something. But no one really knows what it was. If he ever makes a fuss about it later, we can always just slip him something, and he’ll never know whether it’s real or not.”

Jiang Guihua thought this matter was simple.

After hearing this, Lu Dashan also felt the situation wasn’t so serious. It seemed like he had overreacted earlier.

However, when he remembered how strange Lu Chen’s gaze had been just now, he couldn’t help but shiver.

No wonder Lu Chen lost his parents right after birth—it might have something to do with his fate.

Once they got through this period, it would be better for them to keep their distance from him!

The next morning, Meng Yinyin woke up early.

While changing clothes, she hesitated for a moment.

On the left was a shirt and pants meant for work, while on the right was a pale yellow dress with a waistline. The upper part of the dress was solid-colored, but the skirt was embroidered with a camellia flower.

The red petals with green leaves, blooming at the hem, gave the dress a touch of charm, making it more vibrant than it appeared at first glance.

She was going to a banquet, but it wouldn’t start until noon. In the morning, she still needed to report to the bamboo forest.

Meng Yinyin hesitated for a long time but then decisively chose the dress.

Who cared about work clothes today? She was going to pick out a potential partner. If she went to the bamboo forest in this dress, she would be all dirty and smelly—there was no way!

So she decided to ask the brigade leader for a day off, telling him she wasn’t going to work today.

She had worked for half a month without taking a single day off, so the brigade leader should be fine with it.

Once she made up her mind, Meng Yinyin didn’t hesitate. She happily changed into the pretty dress and stepped out of the dormitory.

As soon as she stepped out of the girls’ dormitory, she immediately caught everyone’s attention.

The male educated youths and even some of the female ones couldn’t help but stare at her. Lin Xiaoxia’s face turned red with anger.

She knew it! Meng Yinyin was nothing but a fox spirit!

Who else would dress up so fancily to go to work? She wasn’t going to work, she was just trying to seduce men!

Lin Xiaoxia was dying to shake Song Yue’s shoulder and make him see Meng Yinyin’s true nature. But when she turned around, she saw Song Yue’s eyes completely locked on Meng Yinyin, not even blinking.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxia’s eyes turned red with anger, and she gritted her teeth, turning to walk away.

Yu Xiaoyu quickly snapped out of it and came over to Meng Yinyin, blocking some of the gazes. She asked curiously, “Yinyin, why are you wearing this dress today?”

Meng Yinyin smiled and asked, “Do you think this dress looks good on me?”

“It does look nice, but it’s not really suitable for working, is it?” Yu Xiaoyu said hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yinyin innocently blinked her eyes.

“But I’m not going to work today.”

“Eh?” Yu Xiaoyu was stunned.

Then she heard Meng Yinyin explain her plan.

“I’ve been working too hard lately and haven’t had a day off, so today I want to rest. I’m going to ask the brigade leader for a leave.”

Yu Xiaoyu’s expression became strange. She wanted to ask how working for just a couple of hours a day could be so exhausting.

But in order to maintain their friendship, she didn’t say what was on her mind.

Meng Yinyin didn’t mind. After a quick breakfast, she happily left.

She had to get to the brigade leader before the group gathered. Otherwise, if she asked for leave after the meeting, it would be too embarrassing with so many people around.

After all, she was no longer just a “useless female educated youth.” She was now a beautiful, graceful, and elegant young woman waiting for marriage!

Meng Yinyin quickly arrived at the brigade leader’s house, just as he was about to leave.

Seeing her dressed up in a pretty dress at his doorstep, the brigade leader frowned.

Before he could ask why she was dressed like this for work, Meng Yinyin spoke first.

“Brigade leader, I want to take the day off!”

Taking a Leave?

The brigade leader’s expression became serious, and he asked, “Did something happen?”

Meng Yinyin frowned, and then she began to speak with a straight face, making up a story: “I worked really hard yesterday, and now my whole body feels awful. I’m completely drained, so I thought I’d take a day off to rest and recharge for tomorrow.”

Brigade leader : “…”. 

If he hadn’t seen her walking so briskly when she arrived, he might have believed her.

However, recalling that Lu Chen had just come to ask for leave earlier, the brigade leader hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse. 

He waved his hand and said, “Alright, alright. Since you worked hard yesterday morning, I’ll let you take the day off. Besides, Lu Chen is also unavailable to guide you today, so I haven’t decided what to have you do yet.”

“Lu Chen? Did he also ask for leave?” Meng Yinyin asked, surprised.

The reason Lu Chen took leave wasn’t a secret, so the brigade leader didn’t hide it. He simply explained that Lu Chen was helping his cousin with wedding preparations, so he had taken the day off.

Meng Yinyin immediately understood, and then, seemingly struck by an idea, her eyes twinkled as she smiled and said, “Wedding preparations? That must be a lot of work. Since I don’t have anything to do this morning, I’ll go and see if I can help!”

Without another word, Meng Yinyin turned around and hurried off, running toward the Lu family’s house where the wedding was being held.

The brigade leader, watching her skip away like a lighthearted bird, fell silent.

So much for being “drained”!

Meanwhile, Meng Yinyin had completely forgotten about the brigade leader. Her mind was now set on going to the Lu family’s house. If she got there early, she might even grab a good spot to watch everything unfold!

Although she had never been to the Lu family’s house, she quickly found her way. After all, as Yu Xiaoyu had mentioned, the Lu family’s house was easy to locate, being the only one in the village with high brick walls. It was hard to miss.