The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 44 - Rival Gossip
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Rival Gossip
Chapter 44 -44: Rival Gossip
Yang Mingwei, being a grown man, got teased by his younger cousin and became embarrassed. He hurriedly said, “Stop it, I’m going to call Uncle back from the team, we’ll have lunch at my place. Keep… Sining company for me.”
“Mission accomplished.”
In the kitchen, the younger aunt instructed, “Qiuqiu, show Meng Girl around our place, the food will be ready soon.”
“Okay.”
“Aunt, let me help you with the vegetables.”
“Older Cousin’s Wife, my aunt is a great chef, we don’t need to get in her way, I’ll take you out to the yard for a walk.”
Zhou Lanqin said, “Go on, go on, I don’t need your help here.”
Meng Sining said, “Just call me Sining.”
Lu Jingqiu, linking arms with her, said, “After calling you by your name for a while, it will have to be changed anyway, might as well get used to it now.”
Meng Sining blushed at the comment and allowed herself to be led shyly out the door by Lu Jingqiu.
Lu Jingqiu first took her to her own home to get acquainted, and when she mentioned the little cat Xiao Hua, Meng Sining as a girl naturally couldn’t resist the fluffy little creature.
Hua Hua was well-behaved and unafraid of people; it didn’t struggle when held, the purr-fect cat to pet.
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Holding Hua Hua, Meng Sining visited Lu Jingqiu’s room and found out she was an art editor at a publishing house: “No wonder, the moment I saw you, I was attracted by the scholarly aura around you. You’re not only good-looking but so talented. Perhaps I’ll have the chance to see a book published by you in the future?”
“Older Cousin’s Wife, please don’t praise me too much, I’m just someone who draws.”
Meng Sining laughed in disagreement, “I often hear your older cousin praising you.”
“Ah, my older cousin praises other women in front of you, and you’re not angry, Older Cousin’s Wife?”
Lu Jingqiu’s words sent both of them into fits of laughter, and their relationship gradually grew closer.
After staying at home for a while, Meng Sining, holding Hua Hua, followed Lu Jingqiu for a walk around the courtyard. The primary reason for the older cousin’s visit this time was to introduce Meng Sining to his family; the Meng family had already met the older cousin and they liked him very much.
With things progressing to this stage, the couple’s marriage was next on the agenda.
The family was thrilled about marrying off a daughter-in-law; Uncle and the younger aunt were always ready to welcome the bride, so this visit was also about discussing the wedding date.
At the dinner table, the older cousin brought up the wedding date and asked the elders to help decide.
Both Uncle and Dad were military men, and so was the other side; naturally, they had to find a time when everyone had leave.
Since the wedding was to be held in the military district there, Uncle and the younger aunt had to go over in advance.
Eventually, they settled on a date around May Day.
After eating, the older cousin went off to play with childhood friends, pulling along his wife.
The second cousin then took her to his room.
“Second cousin, are we going to split the money now?”
“Smart cookie.” Yang Mingchao laughed as he glanced at her, then took out a camera from the bedside table: “Here, this is for you.”
“Wow, second cousin, this camera is so compact, this… what brand is it?” Silver-gray with English writing on it, it appeared to be the brand name.
“It’s a foreign brand, Oly, bought it for just over three hundred and sold it for more than seven hundred, a total of twenty-something units,” Yang Mingchao whispered to Lu Jingqiu, boasting about his recent achievements, “How’s that, impressive, right?”
“Ah, such a huge margin, and there are buyers?”
“Of course, it’s all through people introducing people, helping to spread the word. It’s just that the cycle is a bit long; mainly because we wouldn’t dare to openly sell them outside,” Yang Mingchao explained, handing the prepared money to Lu Jingqiu, “This is one thousand five hundred, for you.”
Lu Jingqiu was stunned at the sight of so much money and took a long time to come back to her senses.
Yang Mingchao laughed at her reaction and stuffed the money into her hand, “Look at you getting all scared over this little bit of money.”
“Second cousin, I gave you four hundred in the summer, and in just half a year, you’ve turned it into over one thousand? That’s too much.”
“Take it, we don’t have much capital ourselves, and if it weren’t for the money you gave, we couldn’t do well. What I gave you is actually too little, Gao Da and I took the lion’s share.”
“Bro, I don’t want the change, I just want one thousand yuan.”
“What, you also want to help me out with money like your younger aunt did, telling me to hurry up and find a partner?”
“Ah, my younger aunt helped you out?”
Yang Mingchao shrugged his shoulders, “Indeed, she thinks I’m always recklessly busy, and the money I make isn’t enough to cover my expenses, so she gave me two hundred yesterday, told me to spruce myself up.” He said this while self-consciously smoothing down his freshly cut hair. “Am I not handsome enough?”
Lu Jingqiu pursed her lips and smiled; both her cousins were quite handsome.
“Don’t be polite with me; this money is for you, and I also covered the cost of the camera for you.”
“It’s the least I could do, Second cousin. From now on, I’ll stick with you.”
“Cut it out, money-grubber.”
“Aren’t you a money-grubber too?”
“…Bro is such a money-grubber, that’s why I’m working myself to death every day, hustling around with these things. Even dating isn’t as joyful for me as making money.”
Yes, Second cousin had always been tirelessly busy making money, just like in his previous life.
The fact that Second cousin was secretly dealing in business was unknown to the family, and Lu Jingqiu, having received so much money, dared not let her father know.
She carefully hid it in her room, waiting to deposit it after the new year.
Although she was aware of many future events, she still wanted to be an ordinary office worker. She really wasn’t cut out for doing business and making a fortune.
What she could do was to save some money, buy a few houses that were due for demolition, rent them out, and then lie flat, free from worries about money. To live comfortably within one’s means was the life she wanted in the future.
In the evening, Lu Jingqiu went with her father to the army’s New Year celebration. It was a time when family members would help out in the kitchen making dumplings, and Jingqiu joined them, chatting about everyday family matters with the other soldiers’ wives.
Watching the evening party was incredibly lively, and it wasn’t until eleven o’clock that she left, still laughing with everyone.
On the first day of the new year, the Older Cousin’s Wife and her husband went to the park, but Second cousin was off who knows where causing trouble.
Her father had also gone out to drink with friends, and she hadn’t gotten out of bed although the day was already well advanced. If it weren’t for Gao Qing coming over, she would have kept sleeping until the afternoon.
Looking at Lu Jingqiu’s unkempt appearance, Gao Qing was puzzled, “Girl, you weren’t like this before. How come you’ve let yourself go now?”
“Who among us has not seen the other at their worst? Why talk about appearances?” Lu Jingqiu yawned, getting out of bed and dressing, “Why are you here at this time? Aren’t you going out to have fun?”
“I came to ask you out to have fun. I was getting so bored at home.”
“What’s up?”
“We have five rooms at home. My oldest brother and his wife, along with my nephews, share one room, my second brother and his wife another. Originally, my third brother, fourth brother, and fifth brother shared one, but now, my third and fourth brothers are forced to sleep in the living room on the floor. They can’t sleep until everyone else in the house has gone to bed, and they have to wake up earlier than the chickens. My third brother even has to come to my room to change clothes. Sigh.”
“Don’t you usually stay in the dormitory at work? It’s only these few days that you come back home.”
“Even these few days are unbearable. That Xia Lin, always picking fights with my mom. With so many people, it’s already crowded at meal times. What’s wrong with asking her to lend a hand? But no, she bluntly refused right in front of my older sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, saying she didn’t come here to be a nanny for the whole family. Sheesh, who does she think she is, coming from the countryside, acting more arrogant than my second sister-in-law? How can she even say such things?”
Lu Jingqiu’s family was small, and she couldn’t fully comprehend Gao Qing’s troubles. However, this seemed different from her previous life—back then, Xia Lin had been known as a virtuous woman and recognized as a good daughter-in-law after joining Gao Family, dutifully doing laundry and cooking.
“Aren’t your third and fourth brothers usually living in the dormitory?”
“Well, it’s New Year now, isn’t it? It was Xia Lin’s idea. She said it was her first time and she wanted to get closer to the family. Everyone came back to stay for a couple of days. Though my parents are not pleased with her, they can’t just have them divorce now that they’re married. Moreover, my fifth brother dotes on her to no end. It’s so coincidental, every time my mom mildly criticizes her, my fifth brother happens to hear it. Now he’s quite unhappy with my mom.”
“Ah?”
Lu Jingqiu woke up to the gossip of her love rival. Could it get any better?
