Chapter 49.2

At one and a half years old, An An was already able to go without diapers. Her communication skills were getting clearer, and she could even run.

On days when Jiang Rou didn’t have many classes, she would take An An along to her lectures. An An was very well-behaved, sitting quietly without crying or fussing. She even looked up at the professor with a serious expression, listening attentively, even though she didn’t understand anything.

Jiang Rou would provide her with paper and a pen. An An would draw while softly murmuring, “Big tree, small flower, little grass…”

When her voice got a bit louder, Jiang Rou would place her index finger on her lips to signal her to be quieter. An An would mimic her mother’s gesture, placing her little chubby hand on her lips and saying “shh” before becoming silent.

Because An An was so well-behaved, none of the classmates complained. Sometimes, even before the bell rang, the teacher would come over to play with An An, asking if she understood anything.

An An would shake her head obediently, saying, “I don’t understand, An An is silly.”

The teacher would smile and pat her on the head.

An An would then smile back happily.

After the teacher left, Jiang Rou would lean in close and whisper to her, “An An isn’t silly, she’s just very young. She’ll be very smart when she grows up.”

An An would smile happily, saying, “Mommy is the smartest.”

On Wednesdays, Jiang Rou had a lab class. Although she was studying Traditional Chinese Medicine, the school also taught some Western medical knowledge. Sometimes she had to go to the lab and assist senior students.

So today, An An was with Li Xiao. Jiang Rou’s last class ended early at five in the afternoon. As she left the classroom, she was about to look for Dong Mingming. Her classmate had informed her at noon that Dong Mingming wanted to find her. Dong Mingming had gone home at noon and wasn’t in the library, but Jiang Rou had a pretty good idea of what it was about. Dong Mingming had mentioned before that her mother would be going to M Country, so she probably had a gift for Jiang Rou.

However, just a few steps away, someone called out to her, “Jiang Rou, someone is looking for you at the South Gate security office. He said that they’re your husband’s brother.”

Jiang Rou was momentarily stunned. When she heard it was Li Xiao’s brother, her first reaction was to think of Jin Dayou.

After all, other than Jin Dayou, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would come all the way here.

But Jin Dayou should have been in class; was he participating in some competition?

Jiang Rou went to the South Gate with curiosity.

As she approached, she saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance—it was Zhu Qiang.

Zhu Qiang saw her too and greeted her with a smile, “Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Rou looked at him in confusion. “Zhu Qiang? What are you doing here?”

She was quite surprised; she hadn’t expected Zhu Qiang to come here.

Zhu Qiang rubbed his head, looking a bit embarrassed, and said, “I didn’t know where Brother Xiao was, so I came to find you.”

Jiang Rou had been admitted to a prestigious university in G Province, studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. The banner celebrating her admission had hung at the No.1 High School for a long time, and everyone in the county knew about it, including Zhu Qiang.

Jiang Rou felt a bit uncomfortable, mainly because Zhu Qiang had come directly without any prior notice. If he had asked Li Xin and Aunt Wang, she and Li Xiao would have known what was going on.

But seeing his disheveled appearance, she still asked, “Have you eaten?”

Zhu Qiang shook his head. “No.”

As he spoke, his stomach grumbled from hunger. He rubbed his belly, looking embarrassed as he glanced at her.

Jiang Rou nodded. “Wait here for a moment. I’ll call Li Xiao.”

“Okay,” Zhu Qiang replied.

Jiang Rou went to the nearby security office, which had a phone that students could use for free.

She called Li Xiao and said, “Zhu Qiang has come over, and he hasn’t eaten. I’m going to take him to get something to eat at Wang Xiao’er’s restaurant. You can come over directly later.”

Li Xiao was silent for a moment before replying with a simple “Okay.”

When Jiang Rou hung up the phone, she heard An An’s sweet voice from the other end saying, “Mommy.”

It warmed her heart.

Jiang Rou returned to Zhu Qiang, who noticed her smiling face and assumed Li Xiao had said something to her. Feeling a bit more relaxed, he said, “Alright, I’ll take you up on that. I haven’t eaten all day, so I’m really hungry.”

Jiang Rou smiled and helped him carry two of his bags, noticing they were quite heavy.

They left the school gate and took a van to Wang Xiao’er’s restaurant.

The restaurant didn’t look very big from the outside, but it was quite spacious inside. It had two rooms combined into one. A few tables outside were already occupied, so Jiang Rou led Zhu Qiang to an inner room and they took a round table.

“Sit here for a moment. I’ll go order the food,” Jiang Rou said.

Zhu Qiang, still being polite, offered, “No, no, I’ll order. I have a big appetite.”

He stood up as he spoke.

Jiang Rou stopped him. “You might not understand the local way of ordering food. I’ll take care of it. You can sit down and drink some water for now.”

Jiang Rou went to the counter outside to place the order.

By the time Li Xiao and Zhou Jian arrived, most of the dishes had already been served. Jiang Rou had ordered eight dishes and a pot of rice.

Zhu Qiang hadn’t eaten yet. Despite Jiang Rou’s insistence, he remained seated and talked with her, asking about Li Xiao. Jiang Rou answered selectively, providing information as needed.

The round table was conveniently next to the window. Zhu Qiang spotted Li Xiao and Zhou Jian arriving outside, with Li Xiao holding An An while Zhou Jian sat in the driver’s seat. Zhu Qiang felt a mix of emotions; he couldn’t quite put his feelings into words but noticed that even Zhou Jian seemed to be doing better than him, as he didn’t even know how to drive a car.

Unlike Wang Tao, who blindly believed he owed millions, Zhu Qiang thought if they really owed money, it would mean they were capable of earning even more, or else they wouldn’t dare to lend money.

After a lot of thought at home, Zhu Qiang realized that money was the most important thing. He decided to take the plunge and came over.

When Li Xiao and Zhou Jian entered, Zhu Qiang quickly stood up and greeted them with a warm smile. “Welcome, both of you! Please, have a seat. We’ve been waiting for you.”

He was as enthusiastic as he could be.

Li Xiao, walking ahead, stopped and went directly to Jiang Rou. He handed over An An, who was wriggling to be held by her mother.

Jiang Rou took An An, who was grinning widely and showing off the drawings on her wrists—both hand-drawn watches that clearly looked hastily done. It was evident that her father had done it.

Jiang Rou praised her with a smile.

An An’s smile grew even brighter.

Zhu Qiang and Zhou Jian took their seats. Zhou Jian preferred not to sit next to Zhu Qiang and opted to sit on Li Xiao’s other side instead. Zhu Qiang wasn’t bothered and, once seated, complimented Jiang Rou on her child’s appearance.

Jiang Rou smiled and used her chopsticks to feed fish belly to An An.

Zhu Qiang stood up again to pour wine for Li Xiao and Zhou Jian. “It hasn’t been long since we last met, but Brother Xiao and Brother Jian already seem so different. You both look like successful people now. A few years ago, I never imagined you’d achieve so much…”

His words came off as both awkward and insincere.

Li Xiao and Zhou Jian were at a loss for how to respond.

Jiang Rou stepped in, “Let’s eat, everyone’s hungry.”

“Right, right, let’s eat,” Zhu Qiang agreed, filling his own glass.

He then added, “Before we start, I need to apologize to you both. I didn’t recognize your potential back then. If I had known how impressive my brothers would become, I wouldn’t have wasted time trying to curry favor with those idiots. I didn’t get anything out of it and ended up losing quite a bit. I hope you can forgive my past mistakes…”

Zhou Jian couldn’t help but comment, “Back then, you called them ‘noble people,’ but now they’re ‘idiots’? Does that mean that me and Brother Xiao will be considered idiots in the future?”

Jiang Rou stifled a laugh, finding Zhou Jian’s remark quite sharp.

Zhu Qiang hesitated for a moment, then slapped himself lightly, “No, no, I misspoke. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just not very good with words. Let me drink to that.”

Li Xiao gave him a brief, indifferent glance, “Just sit down and eat.”

Seeing that, Zhou Jian decided to hold his tongue and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

Zhu Qiang, feeling relieved, said, “Ah, you’re really generous, Brother. Come, let me serve you some dishes.”

Zhu Qiang served each person with dishes using serving chopsticks, despite everyone’s attempts to stop him. Once seated, he began reminiscing about how close they had been when they were younger, then criticized himself for becoming estranged from his old friends over a woman. He claimed he had regretted it for a long time.

He kept emphasizing that, ultimately, it was all his wife’s fault.

Jiang Rou glanced at Li Xiao, who was calmly eating his meal, but she could sense that he wasn’t particularly happy.

Zhou Jian also wore a serious expression.

Noticing the change in mood, Zhu Qiang tried to shift the conversation to more positive topics, praising them for their achievements. Zhou Jian seemed interested, so Zhu Qiang elaborated, even mentioning that Qin Wenguo had been arrested.

Jiang Rou looked up at Zhu Qiang when she heard this name. She knew Qin Wenguo as the person who had forced Li Xiao to stop his transportation business. According to records from her past life, Qin Wenguo would face trouble in two years’ time.

It seemed that this might be happening now.

If not for Zhu Qiang bringing it up, Jiang Rou might have almost forgotten about it.

Zhou Jian remembered how Qin Wenguo had mistreated people and muttered, “He deserves it.”

Zhu Qiang agreed, “He really does. He was just arrested when he returned to the county. It seemed like he was trying to hide, and the police had been preparing for a long time to catch him. They rounded up all his little henchmen. I don’t even know what kind of dirty deeds he was involved in.”

Zhu Qiang continued, “Qin Wenguo’s wife ran off the next day. His parents cried at home every day, and his relatives even robbed his house. All the women he had outside wanted to completely sever ties with him.”

He remembered once envying Qin Wenguo, thinking he was very successful, with money, women, a big house, and a car.

Fortunately, Li Xiao had pulled him away from that path. Zhu Qiang couldn’t help but admire Li Xiao’s decisiveness. Back then, Li Xiao had chosen to give up his transportation business rather than continue dealings with Qin Wenguo. It was a kind of resolve that most people didn’t possess.

Otherwise, they might have faced trouble themselves.

Zhu Qiang continued to praise Li Xiao’s insight, showering him with compliments.

On the way back, An An fell asleep in Jiang Rou’s arms. An An looked like an angel in her sleep, her mouth curved into a slight smile, perhaps dreaming of something delicious.

When the car stopped by the roadside, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but ask, “Are you feeling unhappy?”

Li Xiao pulled out the car key and, hearing this, turned to look at her. “Why do you say that?”

Jiang Rou bit her lip. “I noticed you were quiet during the meal and didn’t eat as much as usual.”

Li Xiao fell silent.

He didn’t want to talk about it, and Jiang Rou didn’t push him.

—o—o—o—

Back home, after washing up and lying in bed, Li Xiao tossed and turned several times before finally lying on his back with a sigh. He suddenly spoke up, “Jiang Rou, how can a person change so much? I really didn’t expect that a good friend I grew up with would one day become someone I dislike the most.”

Li Xiao continued, “I also realized that I’ve changed a lot. If it were before, I would have told Zhu Qiang to leave immediately. But during lunch this afternoon, what I was thinking about was how to get him to leave without causing any friction.”

“I’ve learned a lot since coming here, but it seems like I’ve lost a lot too.”

He no longer had the same courage or decisiveness as before, and now he often hesitated over decisions.

He wondered aloud, “Do you think one day I might become like Zhu Qiang, focused only on personal gain and nothing else?”

Jiang Rou assured him, “No, you won’t.”

Li Xiao turned to look at her, instinctively seeking reassurance.

Jiang Rou, who was lying on her side faced him. She smiled gently as she met his gaze. “Because I’m here. I won’t let you become like that.”

The reassurance that she would always be by his side seemed to ease a burden in Li Xiao’s heart. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved because he wouldn’t become someone he disliked or because of her promise to stay by his side.

He turned onto his side, pulled her into a tight embrace, and buried his face in her neck—feeling an overwhelming sense of security.

Jiang Rou stroked his head, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart. She couldn’t help but think about how he wasn’t always strong. Just the arrival of Zhu Qiang had made him reflect so much. She wondered how he had managed in his past life.

Had he also had such restless nights?

If so, he must have been very troubled, with all his thoughts kept hidden within.

—o—o—o—

Li Xiao handed Zhu Qiang over to Cao Wang, who was responsible for the progress of the factory construction. Zhu Qiang was not capable of handling other tasks, so he was given just this simple task.

When Zhu Qiang was brought over to meet Cao Wang, he smoothly remarked that they were all part of the same group and there was no need to be polite with him.

Unlike the shrewd individuals Cao Wang had dealt with before, Cao Wang was genuinely honest and could not detect any hidden meaning in Zhu Qiang’s words. He did not treat him as an outsider and arranged for him to follow him around.

Although Cao Wang was responsible for overseeing the factory construction, he felt that he could not take the money without earning it. Even if he injured his hand, he insisted on working alongside his colleagues, helping to carry bricks, and assisting with tools. He stayed on the construction site from morning till night.

Zhu Qiang followed him, gritting his teeth and working alongside him.

Since Cao Wang was Li Xiao’s subordinate and seemed to be highly valued, Zhu Qiang thought that he could not just stand by and watch.

There was no room for complaints, as Cao Wang was working even harder than he was.

In just a few days, he had become tanned and thin.

On Friday morning, Jiang Rou was standing in front of the mirror, brushing her hair and asking Li Xiao to invite Zhu Qiang to dinner at their home the next day.

Li Xiao, holding the child, stood behind and looked on.

Hearing this, he frowned, “We can just eat outside.”

Jiang Rou did not turn around, “Who am I doing this for?”

Going to a small restaurant would make Zhu Qiang feel like he wasn’t being taken seriously. Going to a high-end restaurant would be too expensive. It was more cost-effective to have the meal at home.

Li Xiao smiled, knowing it was for his sake.

He stepped forward, lowered his head, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Jiang Rou also smiled and pushed him, “Are you annoying me or what?”

After finally finishing her hair, it was now disheveled again.

Li Xiao did not move, standing by with the child and continuing to watch.

An An was holding a milk bottle and drinking, glancing at Mommy and then turning to look at Daddy. After that, instead of drinking more milk, the child lifted the bottle and hit Daddy with it.

The bottle struck Li Xiao’s chin, causing him to wince slightly. Li Xiao lowered his head and looked at the child with annoyance.

However, An An wasn’t scared at all. Instead, the child tilted his head and gave him a defiant look, as if to say, “You dare bully Mommy again.”

An An didn’t understand, but every time Jiang Rou hit Li Xiao, in her mind, it meant Mommy was being bullied.

Jiang Rou saw this in the mirror and was amused by An An’s little antics.

—o—o—o—

On Saturday evening, Jiang Rou prepared a large variety of dishes, and Zhou Jian also came.

This time, Zhu Qiang was not as talkative as he had been when he first arrived; he was too focused on eating.

Beside him, Zhou Jian could not stand it any longer and said, “Eat a bit less; you’ve eaten all the food.”

Zhu Qiang looked up and complained, “I’ve been working all day, I’m starving.”

Zhou Jian rolled his eyes, “Who isn’t tired? When I first came here, I worked two jobs—daytime work and nighttime street vending until midnight. I even drank until I ended up in the hospital, and I didn’t complain about being tired…”

Suddenly, he was kicked in the leg.

Zhou Jian stopped mid-sentence, realizing he had said something inappropriate. He glanced nervously at Jiang Rou across the table.

Jiang Rou pressed her lips together and looked at Li Xiao.

Li Xiao felt awkward and said softly, “It’s really okay now.”

After seeing the guests off, Li Xiao cleared the dishes while swearing to Jiang Rou, “It really is okay now. That incident was an accident. The project partner just liked to drink, and he would get upset if he didn’t. I had no choice but to go along with it. Since then, I’ve tried to avoid such gatherings as much as possible, and now I hardly touch alcohol at all.”

Jiang Rou did not believe him. “Take some time tomorrow morning; I’ll accompany you to the hospital for a check-up.”

“No need,” Li Xiao replied without hesitation, feeling that he was fine.

Jiang Rou said nothing and just stared at him.

Li Xiao, who was intimidated by her gaze, immediately relented. “Alright, let’s go to the hospital.”

—o—o—o—

Early the next morning, Jiang Rou took Li Xiao and the child to the hospital.

An An, knowing they were going to the hospital, pretended to be asleep in bed. No matter what Jiang Rou called, the child wouldn’t wake up. When pushed, the child even stuck out their bottom while continuing to sleep. It was only when Li Xiao, in exasperation, said, “It’s me getting the injection, not you. What are you afraid of?” that An An’s eyes opened, and the child raised their messy little head.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but laugh and cry, smoothing out the child’s tousled hair. “What a clever little thing.”

An An looked at Li Xiao with bright eyes. “Daddy is getting an injection.”

Li Xiao was both amused and annoyed. “You ungrateful little rascal.”

At the hospital, Jiang Rou took Li Xiao to the outpatient department for a check-up. After receiving the forms, they proceeded to complete each examination listed.’

There were quite a few people at the hospital, and by the time they finished the check-up and left, it was already noon. Some test results would be available later, and the doctor instructed them to return in two days to collect them.

As the family of three exited the hospital and was about to head for a meal, they ran into someone they knew right at the entrance.

Chang Yong was walking towards them, arm-in-arm with a young woman. The woman was the same one Jiang Rou had seen at the exhibit, but today she was dressed simply in a white dress and flat shoes. She occasionally touched her stomach and wore a smile.

Chang Yong was also smiling, and his whole demeanor radiated joy.

Jiang Rou’s heart sank.

Chang Yong saw them as well and took the initiative to greet Li Xiao. He knew Li Xiao’s career was thriving, so he didn’t hold back when greeting him. “Why haven’t I seen you around lately? The lady boss at Liuzhuang has asked about you several times.”

As he finished speaking, he winked playfully at Li Xiao.

In his view, since Li Xiao was now successful, he no longer needed to worry about his wife at home. After all, nothing showed off a man’s charm more than having a multiple woman by your side.

Li Xiao frowned slightly.

Jiang Rou said nothing but turned her head to glance at the man beside her.

Li Xiao remained calm and replied, “I’ve been really busy lately, not like Brother Chang, who seems full of energy with good news coming your way. Looks like I’ll be attending a wedding soon.”

Chang Yong was delighted when he heard that. “Hahaha, of course, you’ll be invited!”

This was basically an admission.

After chatting for a bit, they went their separate ways. Chang Yong eagerly took his mistress into the hospital, though it was unclear what they were there to check.

As they walked out of the hospital, Jiang Rou asked Li Xiao, “Who’s this lady boss?”

Li Xiao’s face showed a look of disgust as he spoke directly, “She’s the owner of a hotel. Her husband was paralyzed when he was young, but she kept running the place. Since she’s somewhat attractive, a lot of people liked going there to eat. Chang Yong was one of them. He would usually treat people there, and at first, I would tag along. One time, I saw someone forcing her to drink and taking advantage of her. I felt disgusted, so I stepped in to help block it. That’s all.”

He didn’t dare to mention that afterward, every time he went there, she would swap his drinks for watered-down ones, and Chang Yong and his group would always joke about the incident, making lewd and suggestive comments. He had tried to refute them a few times, but it never worked. The worst part was the woman herself, would always steal glances at him. She never explained herself when the jokes were made, almost as if she silently accepted that there was something between them.

That feeling made him sick, like being force-fed a pile of filth.

After that, Li Xiao no longer liked going there and would always try to find an excuse to avoid it. And after falling out with Chang Yong, he never went back again.

Jiang Rou felt a bit uncomfortable after hearing this. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she asked.

Li Xiao listened, completely unconcerned. “What’s there to talk about? It’s not anything important.”

Jiang Rou turned her head to look at him and saw that his expression was natural as if he genuinely thought it was a minor issue.

Feeling frustrated, she couldn’t help but add, “Well, I didn’t mention that a boy from the next class confessed to me either.”

With that, she strode ahead, holding the child.

Li Xiao was immediately unsettled by her comment and hurried to catch up, asking, “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jiang Rou didn’t even glance at him and said nonchalantly, “What’s there to say? It’s not an important matter.”

“…”

Li Xiao was caught off guard, feeling annoyed, and continued to press, “How is it not important?”

He reached out to try and pull her back.

Jiang Rou gave him an impatient look. After being pulled, she handed the child to him. “I didn’t agree, did I?”

Li Xiao took the child, feeling uncomfortable. “Is this about agreeing or not?”

“Then what else?”

Li Xiao replied, “You should have told him you have a husband.”

“Okay, I’ll say that next time.”

“…”

The next day, Jiang Rou dressed beautifully for her classes.

Li Xiao stood at the door holding the child, watching her leave. Once she was out of sight, he looked at An An with a blank expression. “Your mom looks really good.”

An An who was uninterested, wriggled in his arms, trying to get down. “Eat egg.”

Li Xiao, annoyed, said, “All you think about is eating.”