Reborn as a Rich Woman in the Eighties
Chapter 187 - 186 Interrogation

Chapter 187: Chapter 186 Interrogation

Sheng Yijin asked, "Finished with the call?"

Lin Xia nodded, "Finished!"

Jiang Mingyuan sincerely thanked Lu Zheng, "Thank you, Lu Zheng! Sorry for the trouble my issues caused you..."

Lu Zheng dismissed it lightly, "No need to mention it! It was nothing!"

Jiang Mingyuan, seeing Lin Xia standing together with Lu Zheng, felt a sharp pain in his heart. Why had so many things changed just because he returned a few days late?

But at this moment, other than holding back, it seemed he could do nothing else.

"Alright then! Yijin, you go ahead with your work! I need to hurry and find my sister to take her home, my mom is worried sick!"

"Okay! Mingyuan, you better hurry then! We can catch up another time!" urged Sheng Yijin, quickly shooing him away, then waved goodbye to Lin Xia and Lu Zheng.

Jiang Mingyuan said his farewells to Lu Zheng and Lin Xia at the entrance of Sheng Yijin’s workplace.

"Lin Xia! Just leave the stuff at your place for now! I’ll come over the day after tomorrow! I heard the greenhouse project has already started..." Jiang Mingyuan had just learned from Sheng Yijin.

"Sure! Second Brother, don’t worry!" Lin Xia advised, "You should go back and rest well! The greenhouse can wait; your health is more important!"

She thought about the hardships he must have endured on his journey, surely requiring a good bath and rest upon his return.

"Fine!" Jiang Mingyuan said with a smile as he waved goodbye to them, then strode away.

Lu Zheng looked at Jiang Mingyuan’s retreating figure and said, "Lin Xia, now that he’s back, you shouldn’t worry! How about we go shopping?"

He had a train to catch in the afternoon and wished to make the most of this limited time.

Lin Xia looked up at him with arched eyebrows, questioning, "What do you want to buy?"

With her brother back, she indeed had nothing to worry about.

But accompanying him shopping just didn’t feel quite right.

Jiang Mingyuan turned his head just then and caught the image of Lin Xia looking up and Lu Zheng looking down as they spoke, a wave of pain washing over him and aching in his heart.

But he was pressed for time and couldn’t afford to dwell on his feelings or do anything; he gritted his teeth and quickly walked away.

Lu Zheng seemed to glance back unintentionally, then smirked at Lin Xia, "We don’t have to buy anything; a walk would be nice!"

"If you don’t feel like shopping, then let’s just head back," offered Lu Zheng, giving her the choice.

After all, as long as they were together, he felt happy no matter where they went.

Lin Xia weighed her options; Lin Qiu wasn’t at home, and it was just her and Lu Zheng.

It would be awkward for just the two of them to go back now. With this in mind, she decided it was better to take a stroll outside and return home around noon.

"Then a stroll would be nice!"

Meanwhile, Jiang Mingyuan hurried straight to Jiang Mingqing’s school. When Jiang Mingqing saw him, she burst into tears.

Ever since she returned home the day before, she had been worrying about what she would do, what her family would do, if something had happened to her second brother.

"Second Brother! You finally came back! Mom and I were so worried!"

Looking at her tearful face, Jiang Mingyuan sighed inwardly, but pressed on with the question he had to ask, "Xiaoqing! What did you tell Lin Xia?"

Jiang Mingqing froze, anger rising in her eyes amidst her tear stains, "Second Brother! Did she speak badly of me to you? I went to her place and apologized already! How can she still behave like this?"

Jiang Mingyuan’s gaze sharpened as he pressed her, "What did you apologize for? Tell me now!"

Knowing how strict her second brother could be, Jiang Mingqing dared not hide the truth, "I didn’t say much! Mom suddenly came to find me, saying you hadn’t returned yet, and wanted to ask Lin Xia about it.

So I took Mom there, and while she was in the bathroom, I asked Lin Xia if something had happened to you!"

Afterward, she said she didn’t know what to do but was going to find Brother Sheng! When I heard that, of course, I got angry. I’m your own sister. Shouldn’t you have told me first when something like this happened..."

"Get to the point! What exactly did you say?" Jiang Mingyuan’s temper flared up.

Jiang Mingqing hung her head, not daring to look into his eyes, "I said... even if you like her, I don’t think she’s worthy of entering our family’s home... Then I didn’t say anything else..."

Seeing Jiang Mingyuan fall silent, she cautiously raised her head and glanced at him, noticing her second brother’s face had turned livid.

She hurried to explain, "Second Brother! I really only said those things in a moment of impulse! But later, I went to find Brother Sheng, realized it was his idea, and then I specifically went back to apologize to her..."

Jiang Mingyuan clenched his fists, looking at Jiang Mingqing with disappointment. He knew Xiaoqing was proud and arrogant and didn’t think highly of Lin Xia, but he had never imagined that his sister would do something like this.

But what could he do? Hitting or scolding her would do no good.

All he could do was to hope to find a way to repair the damage in the future.

That man named Lu Zheng was indeed better than him, but it wasn’t as if he had no chance at all.

Didn’t he have more opportunities to be with Lin Xia?

Jiang Mingqing took leave, and afterward, the siblings took the bus home.

On the journey, Jiang Mingqing thought of the man she saw at Lin Xia’s home the day before.

She timidly spoke, "...Second Brother! I also saw a man at Lin Xia’s home, one who clearly wasn’t ordinary..."

Jiang Mingyuan said solemnly, "I went to Lin Xia’s home, that man is an engineer from Lin Chun’s unit!"

When Jiang Mingqing heard he was an engineer, her eyes shifted, "I thought that..." She didn’t dare to talk nonsense and tried to appease Jiang Mingyuan, "Second Brother! Why don’t you close your eyes and rest for a bit? Mom will be thrilled to see you!"

"Okay!" Jiang Mingyuan was indeed exhausted. His trip had been extremely dangerous. If not for his certain skills, he might not have made it back at all.

He endured the hardship with gritted teeth, for his family, for Lin Xia, he returned.

Yet he hadn’t anticipated receiving such a heavy blow from reality.

When he saw that man at Lin Xia’s place, he understood the gap between them.

And the intimate tone in which that man spoke to Lin Xia revealed him as a commanding and determined man.

Observing Lin Xia’s reaction closely, she didn’t seem to resist.

His sudden return, if it had been before, Lin Xia would undoubtedly have been overjoyed, but now...

Was it because of that man, or because of what Xiaoqing had said...?

Jiang Mingyuan’s mind was in turmoil the whole way, and Jiang Mingqing was also consumed with her own thoughts.

When Zhao Da Nain saw her returning son, she burst into tears and thumped his shoulders, "You rascal! Where on earth did you go? You almost scared your mother to death, do you know that?"

Jiang Mingyuan’s eyes also reddened, but he didn’t cry, allowing Zhao Da Nain to hit him while reassuring her, "Mom! Here I am, back home, aren’t I? I ran into some trouble on the road! But it’s all okay now!"

Zhao Da Nain took a good while to calm down.

"By the way, did you visit the Lin Family when you came back?"

"I did! I had breakfast at their place and left the goods there!"

Zhao Da Nain continued, "Brother Xiaolin’s colleague from work came to visit, I don’t know what for. Yesterday they even invited me to join them for the meal;

I’m not acquainted with them, so I didn’t feel right staying. So, I left! Was there any trouble or not?"

Jiang Mingyuan waved his hand dismissively, "Mom! I asked, nothing’s wrong!"

"That’s good then!" Zhao Da Nain finally felt relieved.