Chapter 3: Ding Jing
Chapter 3: Ding Jing
In less than two minutes, a hurried voice came on the phone, "Xinxin, is that you?"
Even though Lu Jiaguang was still looking for his sister, he had already prepared for the worst. He never expected his sister to suddenly return, and he felt both excited and afraid, fearing that his hopes would be dashed.
Lu Jiaxin's nose turned sour, and tears fell uncontrollably. She choked up and said, "Big brother, it's me. I'm back."
She could control her emotions, but this seemed to be a natural bodily reaction.
"Xinxin, where are you now?"
"I'm at home. I just called Dad, too. Big brother, come over quickly. I was set up by that woman and failed the college entrance exam, and she was the one who had me abducted. But Dad only listens to her, and I can't fight her."
Lu Jiaguang's heart trembled at these words. He had suspected this before, but he had no evidence. "I'm coming right now. Just stay at home and wait for me. Don't go anywhere."
"Okay."
Then, Lu Jiaxin called her fifth uncle, Lu Jiajie, as well as her mother's close friend, Liao Xiangmei. She had two intentions in making these calls. First, she wanted to explain that she hadn't run away from home but wanted to return to her hometown to relax. Second, she wanted these people to serve as witnesses.
After making the calls, Lu Jiaxin hung up the phone and said to Xue Mao, "I'm going inside to get something. If someone outside calls for you to open the door, don't open it without my permission."
"Okay."
Lu Jiaxin entered the original body's room. The things inside were neatly arranged, but their positions were different from what she remembered. She didn't have time to worry about that and lifted the mattress and quilt to find a key hidden in the bed frame.
This key had been given to the original body by her mother on her deathbed. Lu Jiaxin's paternal grandmother had passed away early, and her mother, Lu Hongjun's wife, had grown up enduring the mistreatment of her stepmother. Fearing that her daughter would suffer the same fate after her death, she left her daughter a set of apartment keys before she passed away. As Lu Hongjun prepared to remarry, he only cared about his new wife and paid no attention to his daughter's well-being. This apartment was meant to be a backup plan for his daughter.
The key was light, but Lu Jiaxin felt its weight as if it were a thousand pounds. Her mother had fretted so much for her daughter, yet her worst fear had come true, and the original body had passed away before even reaching adulthood.
After finding the key, Lu Jiaxin proceeded to look for the passbook. According to her memory, it should have been hidden in a book in the bottom drawer of the desk. Unfortunately, after searching through all the books in the drawer, she couldn't find it. Without a doubt, it had been taken away. Soon, she also realized that not only was the passbook missing, but so were all the valuable items in the house. Even the wardrobe, which used to be full of clothes and shoes, now only had three pairs of hole-ridden socks and shoes left.
In just over a month since the original body's disappearance, everything of value in the house had been taken away. If this situation had lasted any longer, all traces of her existence would have been erased.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The knocking on the door snapped Lu Jiaxin back to reality, and she put the key in her pocket before leaving the room.
Xue Mao saw her and said in the local dialect, "Sister Jiaxin, we should open the door. If we don't, the people outside will break it down."
As soon as he finished speaking, the knocking stopped, and a familiar voice called out, "Jiaxin, it's me, Ding Jing, your aunt. Open the door quickly."
Auntie Xue was the type to enjoy stirring up trouble. Hearing this, she replied in a mocking tone, "Ding Jing, Jiaxin just said that she would run back to her hometown alone. It's because of you and Zhao Siyu that she didn't even get into a junior college. Ding Jing, what did you and your daughter do to Jiaxin?"
Hearing this, Ding Jing's heart skipped a beat. However, since the original body hadn't said anything before, she probably wouldn't say anything now. With this thought, she quickly calmed down. "Auntie Xue, don't spread rumors here.
Jiaxin had sprained her ankle two days before the college entrance exam, which affected her performance. Everyone knew about this."
Aunt Xue fearlessly retorted, "I didn't make this up; Jiaxin said it herself. Zhao Siyu's mother was there too, and they all heard it clearly."
Naturally, Ding Jing denied the allegations: "All of this is nonsense. Jiaxin's poor performance in the exam was due to her own clumsiness, and it had nothing to do with anyone else."
Originally, Lu Jiaxin intended to wait for Lu Jiaguang and Lu Hongjun to return before opening the door, but she changed her mind.
When she opened the door, she saw Ding Jing, one of the original body's most despised persons. Even though Lu Jiaxin knew this woman had a venomous heart, she had to admit that she was indeed beautiful. Her skin was fair and delicate, her eyes were enchanting, and she wore a fitted jujube-red dress that accentuated her slender waist. Despite being nearly forty years old, she looked no different from someone in her thirties, and she exuded a mature charm.
As soon as Aunt Xue saw her, she said, "Jiaxin, you just said that your failure in the college entrance exam was caused by Ding Jing and her daughter. Jiaxin, is that true?"
Lu Jiaxin nodded and said, "My failure in the exam was indeed because of Zhao SiYi and Ding Jing."
Ding Jing could no longer maintain her graceful demeanor. "Jiaxin, I know you don't like me or SiYi, and you've had a hard time this past month. But you can't just slander us like this because you didn't get into university."
The original host valued her reputation and didn't want to expose the incident. However, Lu Jiaxin wanted nothing more than to see Zhao SiYi disgraced. "SiYi and Fan Yinuo were kissing and groping in the alley. I was so shocked and angry that I scolded her, and she pushed me, causing me to sprain my ankle..."
Fan Yinuo was the son of Liao Xiangmei, Lu Jiaxin's mother's close friend, and the original body's godbrother. The two families had arranged a child marriage, but Fan Yinuo only considered the original host as a sister, while the original host truly believed he was her future husband.
One can only imagine the shock and pain the original host felt when she saw her beloved fiance with the girl she hated. Unfortunately, the original host was a victim of circumstances and feared that exposing the incident would tarnish Fan Yinuo's reputation, so she endured it all alone. She even blamed herself for the sprained ankle, claiming it was her own clumsiness.
Now that Lu Jiaxin had transmigrated into this body, she had no such concerns. Everyone should take responsibility for their actions, and Fan Yinuo was no exception. He had to face the consequences of his actions.
The revelation that Zhao SiYi was involved with Lu Jiaxin's fiance was explosive, leaving the crowd stunned.
Ding Jing interrupted loudly, "Jiaxin, Fan Yinuo is your godbrother. How can you be so heartless as to drag him into this and slander SiYi?"
Lu Jiaxin laughed softly and said, "He and Zhao SiYi have been dating for a long time, and they often meet in secret. If you investigate this matter carefully, you'll know whether I'm slandering them or not."
"We live in a new society that values freedom in love and marriage. While the concept of child marriage is indeed a feudalistic remnant, the engagement was arranged by our elders. If you were unhappy with it, you should have ended the engagement first instead of secretly seeing Zhao SiYi behind everyone's back."
Her words resonated with the crowd. While one might disagree with the idea of child marriage, it was only right to officially end the engagement before pursuing another relationship. Fan Yinuo's actions were akin to cheating, and Zhao SiYi, knowing full well that he was her future stepfather, was not only despicable but also morally bankrupt.
Seeing the disgusted expressions on the crowd's faces, Lu Jiaxin felt a sense of satisfaction. The original host had been a naive fool, thinking that enduring the situation silently for a few years and getting into university would be enough to escape this vile mother-daughter pair. However, she had underestimated the depth of their maliciousness, as they had been plotting to remove her from the family all along.
(End of Chapter)
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