Chapter 141: A Call from Hong Kong
Chapter 141: A Call from Hong Kong
Su Hexuan knew he couldn't persuade her and said, "Alright, I'll pass on your message to her. But she's your aunt, and you should change the way you address her when you meet her in the future."
This young lady certainly had a strong character. If it were anyone else, knowing that they had a rich aunt, they would be rushing to see her. Take himself as an example; when his younger aunt told him that their grandfather was in Hong Kong and quite wealthy, he did everything he could to seek him out. Then he went to great lengths to get the old man to agree to give him money to start an electronics factory.
"Okay," Su Hexuan said as he hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. If Lu Jiaxin didn't want to come, he would have to find a way to appease Ms. Gu to prevent her from giving up on Lu Jiaxin. After all, Gu's children and grandchildren were more closely related to her than Lu Jiaxin.
Su Heming twirled his pen in his hand and smiled, "Big brother, I told you that Jiaxin wouldn't come, but you didn't believe me."
Over the past few months, he had frequently brought up the topic of Lu Jiaxin visiting Pengcheng during their phone conversations, but she had always refused, even when he suggested that she could bring more medicine with her.
"I'll go to Hong Kong later to explain the situation to Ms. Gu," Su Hexuan said.
Su Heming didn't understand why his brother was so insistent on this matter. "What's there to explain? If she really cares about her granddaughter, and her health doesn't allow her to travel, she should at least send a trusted person to Si Jiu City. Instead, she's asking someone to go to Hong Kong without even showing her face or making a phone call. What's so great about having a net worth of over 100 million? Who is she putting on this show for? If I were in her position, I wouldn't go either."
He was not only dissatisfied with Ms. Gu but also with his grandfather and granduncle. Because of their actions, even though his father and brother had already met their long-lost relatives, he had never once gone to Hong Kong.
Su Hexuan looked thoughtful.
Su Heming was puzzled by his brother's insistence on having Lu Jiaxin go to Hong Kong. "Big brother, why do you want Jiaxin to go to Hong Kong so badly? The people there only care about money and have no sense of human decency. It would be so difficult for her there, being in a strange place where she doesn't know anyone and can't even communicate properly."
Su Hexuan glanced at him and said, "Do you think Lu Jiaxin is as lazy as you? That girl has been diligently studying English every day, and now she has hired two private tutors. Her English is very fluent. Moreover, she can also speak Cantonese."
"What? She can speak Cantonese? How is that possible?" Su Heming was shocked.
If it weren't for the fact that they looked alike, Su Hexuan would have suspected that this younger brother of his had been swapped at birth, as their personalities were so vastly different.
"She learned it from her aunt in Yang City. When she was younger, her aunt used to visit often, so she picked it up," Su Hexuan explained.
He didn't doubt this either, as children had the greatest capacity for language learning. And even if they hadn't spoken it in a long time, it would be easy to pick it up again.
"Huh, I've known her for so long, and she's never mentioned it to me," Su Heming said in surprise.
"Lu's mother and Lu Chunhua had a falling out and stopped interacting. After Lu's mother left, Lu Chunhua helped her son get a good job by bribing Ding Jing. Since then, Lu Jiaxin has had nothing to do with that aunt," Su Hexuan said.
Su Heming felt sorry for Lu Jiaxin. "Luckily, Dad didn't remarry, or else we probably wouldn't have grown up so peacefully either."
When his mother passed away, their family was dirt poor, and no one came to propose marriage. Later, when he and his brother started making money in business, matchmakers started approaching them. When they saw that the brothers were unmoved by these proposals, the matchmakers turned their attention to their father instead. There was even a widow with three children who tried to get close to their father, but fortunately, their father stood firm, or else they wouldn't be living such comfortable lives now.
Su Hexuan's jaw twitched, "I was already 18 years old and an adult when Mom passed away. You were 13 then too, so even if Dad remarried, you would have still grown up safely."
If the woman who entered their home had malicious intentions, he would have found a way to make her lonely. However, his parents had a good relationship, and even after all these years, his father had never considered remarrying. Now, his parents' thoughts were focused on their sons. He hadn't dared to marry in his earlier years for fear of burdening his future wife and making his children walk the same difficult path he had. With the policy change, he wanted to focus on his career first and think about marriage later.
With that in mind, he turned to Su Heming, "You're already 21 years old, and it's time for you to think about settling down. Give Dad a grandchild soon and fulfill one of his wishes."
Su Heming nearly jumped up, "I'm only 21, I'm still young! You're 26, if anyone should be getting married, it should be you! I'm warning you, don't try to push me into a pit of fire."
Su Hexuan's temples twitched, "I don't have a partner yet, and I plan to wait until my career is more stable before looking. Don't you already have a girlfriend? You've been together for more than half a year, it's time to settle down."
He intended to find a wife from a well-connected family who could help his career. With his current status, he knew he wouldn't be able to attract such a woman, but in a few years, when his net worth reached 20 or 30 million, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Why get married? I'm still young and haven't thought about that yet," Su Heming said.
Su Hexuan's face turned stern, "What do you mean by that? Do you plan on playing with the girl's feelings? If you're so irresponsible, how are you any different from Grandpa?"
Su Heming despised Old Man Su the most, and the comparison made him want to jump up, "Who's being irresponsible? We agreed before we started dating that we wouldn't consider marriage at such a young age."
"So your girlfriend doesn't want to get married either?" Su Hexuan asked.
"She's a year younger than me and isn't ready to settle down yet. She wants to enjoy her youth and definitely doesn't want to get married and have kids," Su Heming said without hesitation.
"The woman doesn't want to get married either, so Su Heyuan stopped scolding him: 'I don't care about you. When Dad comes next time, you explain it to him.'
Su Wenxing really wanted to hold his grandson. Su Heyuan, who was devoted to his career, had no plans to marry for the time being, so he pinned his hopes on Su Heming, who was in a relationship.
Su Heming felt depressed. In other families, the eldest son would be the first to marry. His older brother, who didn't have a partner, didn't rush him but kept urging him instead. He was truly fed up.
The next day, Fatty Shen came to call Lu Jiaxin to take a phone call. This time, instead of shouting from a distance, she waited for Lu Jiaxin to approach. She lowered her voice and asked, "Jiaxin, this call is from Hong Kong City. Jiaxin, do you still have any relatives there?"
Lu Jiaxin immediately thought of Gu Xiuxiu, but she didn't want her family to know about this yet. "No," she replied. "As far as I know, all of Dad's relatives are in the mainland, and Mom was an only child. She didn't get along with her stepmother's children either."
Shen's thoughts wandered, and she said, "Could it be Su's grandmother? Knowing that you're close to Su, she might want to warn you not to contact him."
If it weren't for the lack of dramatic TV shows these days, one might suspect that plump Shen spent her days binging on such soaps. Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "Su Heming's grandmother passed away over twenty years ago, and his mother also passed away twelve years ago."
Lu Jiaxin had planned to focus on her career until she was 25, and after achieving financial freedom, she would travel the world. If she happened to meet someone who was spiritually compatible or to her liking, she would consider a relationship. As for marriage, she was open to the idea but didn't actively pursue it, preferring to let nature take its course.
Upon arriving at the small shop, she waited another five minutes for the phone call. When it finally came, Lu Jiaxin answered habitually, "Hello, this is Lu Jiaxin."
A weak voice came from the other end of the line: "Lu Jiaxin, I'm Gu Xiuxiu, your maternal grandmother Gu Lanlan's elder sister. According to our generations, you should call me Aunt."
Noticing Fatty Shen eavesdropping, Lu Jiaxin covered the receiver and said, "Fatty Shen, from now on, I won't leave the number for this small shop. I'll give the number for the small shop in the neighboring alley instead."
Upon hearing this, Fatty Shen immediately walked away.
Only then did Lu Jiaxin uncover the receiver and say, "Mr. Su mentioned you before. But so many years have passed, and both my maternal grandmother and mother have passed away. What if there's a mistake?"
The probability of a mistake was low but not impossible. She didn't want to go through the embarrassment of realizing it was a case of mistaken identity after having acknowledged the relationship.
Gu Xiuxiu was a little surprised but appreciated Lu Jiaxin's cautious approach, which won her favor. If Lu Jiaxin had been overjoyed at the prospect of having a rich relative, she would have been more wary. "I've already had someone look into it," Gu Xiuxiu explained. "Your maternal grandmother is indeed my younger sister. However, if you don't believe me, we can do a DNA test."
"A blood test?" Lu Jiaxin asked. "I heard that's not very accurate."
Gu Xiuxiu smiled and said, "It's not a blood test but a new technology called DNA testing. If you are indeed my grandniece, we can take blood samples and compare our DNA to determine if we are related by blood. This method is much more accurate than a simple blood test."
Indeed, Hong Kong City was more advanced than the mainland, where such technology was still unavailable. "Ms. Gu," Lu Jiaxin said, "Mr. Su should have told you that I'm currently taking medication and can't stop. For the time being, I can't travel to Hong Kong City. As for the DNA test you mentioned, let's discuss it again after my health improves."
However, Gu Xiuxiu didn't view this as a problem. "I can send someone to Si Jiu City to collect your blood sample for the test," she offered.
Even if Lu Jiaxin hadn't mentioned her health, Gu Xiuxiu had already planned to do a DNA test. Although the investigation confirmed that Lu Jiaxin was her niece's granddaughter, she wanted to be absolutely sure. She had heard of cases where children were accidentally or maliciously switched at birth, and after her experience with Xing Yujun, she believed that adoptive children could never be as close as those related by blood. Of course, she would still need to observe and test Lu Jiaxin.
Lu Jiaxin thought this arrangement was quite good.
"Jiaxin," Gu Xiuxiu said, "it's very inconvenient for you to keep coming to someone else's home to take phone calls. You should install a phone at your house."
Although she already considered Lu Jiaxin as her relative, the DNA test was a precautionary measure. Since Lu Jiaxin couldn't come to Hong Kong City, they would likely be communicating frequently over the phone, and it wouldn't be convenient to do so from someone else's home.
"I've already applied for a phone at the telephone company," Lu Jiaxin explained. "But there are many households ahead of me on the waiting list, so I'll have to wait."
Just then, Lu Jiaxin overheard someone in the background reminding Gu Xiuxiu that it was time for her medication. After agreeing to send someone over in the next two days, Gu Xiuxiu ended the call.
After Lu Jiaxin hung up, Plump Shen approached her inquisitively. "Jiaxin, is that person really your relative?"
Since things weren't confirmed yet, Lu Jiaxin naturally denied it. "No, she's Mr. Su's housekeeper. She wanted to ask me about some things. Fatty Shen, I've spent over 400 yuan on phone calls these past few months. If you spread rumors, that money will be gone."
These 400 yuan had been well spent, as they allowed Lu Jiaxin to learn about Pengcheng and Hong Kong City. However, once the phone was installed, she wouldn't need to come to the small shop anymore.
Fat Divine laughed and scolded her. "You little rascal, do you think I'm the sort of person who gossips? When have I ever spread rumors?"
Lu Jiaxin thought to herself, "I'd never believe that."
(End of Chapter)
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