She Belongs To Me - Chapter 22

How was Lu Xingxue’s mood after returning last night? Not angry, right? Jiang Lin pressed Jiang Ci on the chair of the outdoor cafe, eagerly speaking.

It was the next afternoon, Jiang Lin said that she was in a hurry and cheated Jiang Ci out of her work.

Jiang Ci was speechless, and for a while, she shook her head and said: “She is in a good mood, she is not angry.”

Her answer was not perfunctory, but it obviously did not convince Jiang Lin: “You left in a hurry yesterday, and there was no time to tell you that the ancestral hall in my hometown has been completed, and the time for worshipping the ancestors is fixed. I’m going there. I called Lu Xingxue before, first to tell her about it, and secondly, to see her attitude—she didn’t give me a definite reply, but said that maybe the time can’t be moved, so I’ll talk about it later. Well, the more I think about it, the more something is wrong, Ah-Ci, Lu Xingxue has never refused any request from me, not to mention such an important matter of ancestor worship! …I wondered if she had any thoughts of us in her heart?”

Jiang Ci began to get tired of hearing it halfway through, and patiently listened to Jiang Lin’s words, and sincerely made suggestions: “Mom, Lu Xingxue is just a junior. You are thinking about her over and over again, I don’t think it is appropriate.”

“She’s just a junior!? You are bolder than your dad! Who dares to treat her as a junior?” Jiang Lin said, pointing her hand at herself: “Do I? Is it possible that I can still be an elder in front of her? Put on the elder’s appearance? Do you think this is appropriate?”

…Fine.

Jiang Ci gave in: “Lu Xingxue is open-minded, she will not take the matter of last night to heart.. As for ancestor worship… I will talk with her again, she is really busy, she might not be able to make the trip, so don’t worry too much.”

“…Forget it, I won’t mention it again.” Jiang Lin waved her hand, leaning forward, her eyes piercing: “Lu Xingxue said that she is thinking about children’s matters, what are your plans? Why didn’t you say something about it?”

It’s okay if she doesn’t remind her, Jiang Ci is all awkward: “Did you take her to the Chinese medicine doctor yesterday? You have to go again in a few days?”

Jiang Lin: “What’s your expression? The doctor I asked her for is very authoritative, and I got my number in advance only after trusting the relationship.”

Jiang Ci: “Before you do this kind of thing in the future, can you at least discuss it with me?”

Jiang Lin raised her eyebrows: “Why, it’s annoying for you to take her to treat her body? When she takes care of her body, is it not you who will benefit? You don’t know what’s good or bad for yourself.”

Jiang Ci surrendered. She called a waiter and settled the bill. She stood up and said to Jiang Lin, “No, I have a lot to do without you.”

Jiang Lin calmed down and shouted to her: “I’m here now, don’t be in a hurry, accompany me to finish the coffee.”

Jiang Ci had to sit down again, and Jiang Lin also found out that Lu Xingxue was a communication barrier between herself and her daughter, so she turned around and talked about Tong Zhenni: “She found a boyfriend who specializes in fishing for prostitutes outside of the bar. Your dad found out secretly, talked to her once, and asked her to draw a clear line between her and the other party. But Tong Zhenni is a ghost, she doesn’t listen. Your dad set him up and just let her catch them on the bed. That’s why it was so fierce last night.”

Jiang Ci drank a big sip of coffee and remembered the person who picked her up when Tong Zhenni was drunk more than two months ago…what was his name? Romeo?

Jiang Lin: “But this matter, your father didn’t tell me a word about it. In these years, I haven’t treated Tong Zhenni badly, right? She has been burying me countless times in secret, and I don’t care about her. Your dad did this. Is he afraid that I will laugh at his baby girl, or afraid that I will ruin his plan?”

Jiang Lin spoke calmly, Jiang Ci moved the handle of the coffee cup, and responded very calmly: “Your position is embarrassing if you know it or not. Dad doesn’t say, maybe he doesn’t want you to worry.”

Jiang Lin was unconvinced, the mother and daughter were drinking coffee in silence, and they were surprised when they heard a voice in front: “Ah-Ci! Hey, it is you! I feel like I saw you from a distance, but I haven’t seen you for a while La!”

[zen: ‘la’ is like an emphasis sound]

Jiang Ci was familiar with the voice, and couldn’t help but follow the sound.

City G was not a big city, but it was not too small either. Jiang Ci didn’t expect to meet Madam Wang here.

——The last time they met, Madam Wang was unkind to her. This time she took the initiative to come up, not knowing what she would like to say.

Jiang Ci was prepared, and stood up to welcome her: “Auntie.”

Madam Wang: “Oh, sit, let’s sit and talk.”

Without waiting for an invitation, Madam Wang pulled out the stool and sat down at their table. At the same time, she introduced Jiang Ci to the young girl who was walking with her: “Ah-Ci, this is Yuanyuan, the daughter of Auntie’s eldest brother’s family.”

“I’m Wang Yuanyuan, just call me Yuanyuan.” Wang Yuanyuan stretched out her hand generously. She was wearing a super-season spring dress, with long black hair, bright eyes and white teeth, and she smiled with a deep dimple on her cheek.

A sweet and pleasing look.

“You and Xiaobai have been married for these years. Yuanyuan has studied abroad and came back after getting an offer from the company. So the two of you have never had a chance to meet before. She has played with Xiaobai since childhood. Yes, their relationship is good.” Madam Wang smiled and said to Jiang Ci.

“Hello.” Jiang Ci raised her hand, touched Wang Yuanyuan lightly, and then introduced them to Jiang Lin: “This is my mother.”

Wang Yuanyuan responded quickly, following Jiang Ci’s words and saying “Hello, Auntie”.

Jiang Lin smiled and gestured.

“Oh, I don’t know what the weather is doing recently. It’s always cold and hot.” Madam Wang unwrapped the silk scarf around her neck and turned to Jiang Lin: “In-law, I often wonder what kind of mother can cultivate. It’s a coincidence to have a good girl like Ah-Ci, I finally saw your mother today!”

“We met on the day of the wedding of Xiaobai and Ah-Ci. Maybe you were busy with things and forgot.” Jiang Lin smiled and said.

Madam Wang had a meal and then smiled again: “I just have a bad sight in my eyes and a bad memory, so I hope mother in-law can understand this.”

Jiang Lin gave Jiang Ci a meaningful look, and the mother and daughter tacitly picked up the coffee cups at the same time and sipped them.

The waiter came over to place the order. Madam Wang gave the menu to Wang Yuanyuan and talked with Jiang Lin with great interest: “Mother-in-law, don’t be too verbose. I have to say one more thing. Jiang Ci has been raised so well, otherwise, even if we have a marriage contract, our Xiaobai would not get married blindly.”

　　

Jiang Lin agreed: “Who said so? But I didn’t teach her well. Maybe our Ah-Ci happened to catch Xiaobai’s eye. What kind of person has Xiaobai never seen? That’s too much. Our Ah-Ci has nothing else, she’s just kind-hearted.”

“…” Madam Wang’s mouth twitched, she quickly raised her neck again. “By the way, I heard that Ah-Ci said she is working as a piano tuning consultant? When I knew a little bit about this business, it was tiring and boring. I paid it back last time. I was telling her, why didn’t I go to work in her own company? When the children are getting older, I have to train successors. Ah-Ci is the eldest daughter and should share the burden. In-laws, don’t you agree?

Displeasure flashed across Jiang Lin’s face, she lowered her head before raising it again, and resumed as usual: “It’s just a small company, and there is no succession. Since the elders have created reasonable living conditions for the children, it is better than letting them go. If the child is hanging around in areas where they are not interested, it is better to let her be free and live out her own value and joy in life. Madam Wang doesn’t understand. Ah-Ci’s dad and I have always respected the child’s own wishes.

“——Not to mention that Aci is really talented. At her age, it’s hard to say that she is the chief tuning officer in the world. Anyway, there is no second one in China.”

Watching them talk and talk, Jiang Ci felt it was funny and sad. If it weren’t for winning this battle without gunpowder, Jiang Lin would never approve of her.

After this battle, Madam Wang looked stiff. Wang Yuanyuan also noticed the embarrassment in the atmosphere, pulled her at her, pointed to the menu and asked: “Aunty, what do you drink?”

Jiang Lin took another sip of coffee, put down the cup, looked at the watch, slowly got up and said, “Sit down slowly. Today is not a coincidence. I have an appointment with a friend. Ah-Ci also has a job. We will be leaving first.”

Wang Yuanyuan followed, getting up and following them for a few steps: “Goodbye, Auntie. Sister Ah-Ci, we will get together when there is a chance in the future.”

Jiang Ci didn’t take it to heart, and said: “There will be a chance.”

Leaving the cafe, Jiang Lin sneered: “What in-laws, who is her in-laws, really takes herself seriously. Looks like a person, but she can’t stop speaking, what is it!?”

Jiang Lin became more and more angry: “Did she ridicule you like this before? You listen to me, there is no shortage of such a deliberately sultry role in society. If you are unhappy, she will succeed. You treat it as a mad dog barking, don’t pay attention to her!”

The two got into the car parked on the street, and Jiang Lin sent Jiang Ci to work.

If you don’t take it easy, she will succeed!

Until the rear of their car disappeared from the field of vision, Madam Wang was still resentful: “She’s worthy of being born in a third year. She is brazen, with sharp teeth. Don’t you know that she and her daughter are a joke?”

Wang Yuanyuan stroked her back: “Aunty, you can blame me, you mentioned Jiang Ci, I just wanted to come and see, who knows it made you angry. Oh… don’t be angry, I’ll ask you for coffee…”

……

Jiang Ci also tuned the piano for a professor today, and was delayed by Jiang Lin. When the correction was over, the professor’s granddaughter returned from kindergarten.

Seeing Jiang Ci head-on, she plunged into her mother’s arms. Her mother laughed and said, “I told you that a beautiful sister is coming to fix grandma’s piano. You also said that you want to give someone a gift. What’s wrong? Are you shy?”

The little girl is chubby and cute enough to make people want to pinch her, Jiang Ci teased her deliberately: “So are there gifts? I’m looking forward to it. What will it be?”

The little girl blushed, took out a stack of three-dimensional bubble stickers from her small backpack, and whispered: “Sister, pick one.”

There are about ten pieces of bubble stickers in various shapes.

Before the girl’s expectant eyes, Jiang Ci thanked her and chose a cat.

Leaving the professor’s house, Jiang Ci followed the gentle ramp to the subway station. A black car was driving next to her at turtle speed. Jiang Ci noticed the abnormality as she walked, and glanced sideways.

The car window was open, and Lu Xingxue sat in the driver’s seat, waving at her.

“Why are you here?” Jiang Ci opened the passenger door and got into the car with a look of surprise.

“I came to pick you up when you get off from work.” Lu Xingxue reminded her: “Take it.”

“Oh.” Jiang Ci attached the seatbelt: “I mean, how would you know I am here?”

After she asked, she remembered Jiang Lin, and she said, “Mom called me.”

Jiang Ci: “…she told you about the aunt? Or…”

Lu Xingxue: “That said, my aunt…I’m really sorry.”

Madam Wang repeated those words. Jiang Ci has experienced it and is already immune, not to mention Lu Xingxue’s encouraging words. If you become entangled again, first of all, would you be sincere about Lu Xingxue?

Jiang Ci: “No need to apologize, I didn’t take it to heart. She is her, you are you. She is not important.”

Lu Xingxue looked at her deeply, smiling.

The sun sets in the west mountains, Lu Xingxue’s clear eyes are sparkling with the light of the setting sun, a shallow bend, it is a gentle beauty that is hard to see in the world.

Jiang Ci didn’t think there was anything when she said it. After speaking, she faced such a Lu Xingxue, but her face was hot. She averted her eyes and played with the bubble stickers that the little girl gave. The cats on them were naive, standing or lying down, which was quite interesting.

She found something to do for herself, tore one off and glued it to the tuning toolbox.

Lu Xingxue: “Well… by the way, there is also the ancestor worship. On the day of the ancestor worship, I had a buyout meeting in City B. I will try my best to make it there.”

Jiang Ci paused: “There is no plane in my hometown. It takes a lot of ups and downs to travel from City B. If you can’t get the time, you don’t have to go to worship the ancestors.”

Lu Xingxue tapped the steering wheel with her fingertips, squinted at Jiang Ci, with a smile: “Are you sympathetic to my hard work, or don’t you want me to go?”

“?” Jiang Ci looked sideways: “Is my tone very weird? Did I make you uncertain?”

“Ah~” Lu Xingxue nodded: “It turned out to be considerate of me.”

Jiang Ci: “……”

Maybe I don’t want you to go, Jiang Ci complained in her heart.

Lu Xingxue didn’t know the twists in her heart, and asked her enthusiastically, “What are you playing with? Stickers?”

Jiang Ci: “Yeah.”

Lu Xingxue: “I saw this kind of sticker for the first time.”

Jiang Ci gestured to the bubble stickers in front of Lu Xingxue’s eyes so that she could see clearly.

Lu Xingxue said, “I want one.”

Jiang Ci: “Which one do you want?”

Lu Xingxue: “It’s okay, you can choose.”

Jiang Ci hesitated at the stickers full of cats, then tore off a cat with fierce eyes, and stuck it to her fingertips and asked Lu Xingxue: “Where to paste?”

The red light was on, Lu Xingxue stepped on the brakes and stepped aside to signal Jiang Ci to put on the steering wheel’s car label: “Here.”

Jiang Ci put it on, Lu Xingxue lowered her eyes and started to laugh at just one glance.

Jiang Ci: “What are you laughing at?”

Lu Xingxue: “This looks like you. I will think of you when I see it in the future.”

Jiang Ci: “……”

Jiang Ci: “I am fierce… Am I fierce to you?… You give it back to me.”

She said that she was about to move to reveal the cat that had just been glued on. Lu Xingxue immediately covered the car’s logo. The moment they met,the afternoon when they had competed for potato chips flashed in her mind. Her feet were entangled and pressed against the sofa.

“…” Jiang Ci retracted into the seat, not making a fuss.