Chapter 522: Lu Jiaso's Apology (1)
Chapter 522: Lu Jiaso's Apology (1)
As soon as Lu Jiaxin stepped out of the plane, she was greeted by the icy cold wind that nipped at her face. Thankfully, the car arrived soon after, and she quickly climbed inside to escape the bitter chill.
Both Lu Jiaxin and Gu Xiuxiu's yards had their heating on. Upon returning to Shichahai, a wave of warmth enveloped her, and Lu Jiaxin shed her thick military coat.
Seated in a chair, Lu Jiaxin touched her still-cool face and said, "It's so cold outside. I'm not going anywhere and will just stay at home for a couple of days."
Miao Na smiled and asked, "You won't be visiting anyone else, but aren't you going to see your dad?"
Lu Jiaxin had a ready solution: "We'll bring him here, and at the same time, invite my older brother and sister-in-law over for a meal. We've always been in a rush before, and I haven't formally invited them over for a proper meal yet."
Miao Na asked curiously, "Does this mean you don't resent him anymore?"
Lu Jiaxin paused for a moment before replying, "We have a saying here: 'Only a deaf and mute person can be a good father-in-law.' In other words, there are times to be muddle-headed, and times to be shrewd. He has only me as his daughter, and he's given me all his property. If I continue to ignore him like before, people will say I have no conscience."
Miao Na didn't buy it. "Boss, you're not the type to care about gossip. Even if they accuse you of being unfilial, you wouldn't bat an eye."
Lu Jiaxin glanced at her and smiled. "Of course, there are other considerations as well."
Many parents favor their sons over their daughters because they believe that their sons will take care of them in their old age. Daughters, on the other hand, are considered a lost cause once they're married off. If she inherited the family fortune and still didn't take care of Lu Hongjun, not only would people call her heartless, but it would also reinforce the belief that daughters can't be relied upon. They would then be even more convinced that she was unworthy of their investment, neither expecting nor wanting any reciprocation in the future.
Miao Na didn't press the issue further.
After a brief rest, Lu Jiaxin called Lu Jiaguang and informed him of her return. "Aunt has been insisting on coming back. She even climbed down from the second-floor window, but sprained her ankle. It's not too serious, just painful."
Lu Jiaguang felt it was too much trouble. "Jiaxin, you have school and work. Running back and forth like this will affect your studies and career."
Lu Jiaxin reassured him with a smile. "It's fine. I won't be returning to Hong City this time. There's no cure for her condition anyway, and the doctor said that she just needs to maintain a happy mood. It doesn't matter where she is."
Lu Jiaguang felt a pang of sympathy, and at the same time, he blamed Lu Hongjun. If he hadn't been so blinded by greed, Jiaxin wouldn't have had to go to Hong City, nor would she be burdened with such a heavy responsibility.
"Big brother," Lu Jiaxin said, "I haven't invited you over since the renovation of this courtyard. Tomorrow evening, please come over to my place for dinner."
Lu Jiaguang readily agreed.
Lu Jiaxin took the initiative to bring up Lu Hongjun. "Tomorrow after school, I'll have the driver pick up Dad. You can all come together in the car."
She thought to herself that she had been foolish in the past. Why had she always gone to Chaoyang District? It would have been much simpler to just bring him here. Running back and forth was exhausting!
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiaguang suggested, "Let Jiajie bring the two kids in the car. Your sister-in-law, Zhenzhen, and I can take the bus."
Lu Jiaxin had no desire to see Lu Jiajie. Her patience had worn thin. "I've told him repeatedly that he only needs to collect dividends from the investment and must not go to the border. It's too dangerous. But he completely ignored my warnings."
"Just to find her, he spent over 200,000 yuan on intermediaries. And that's not the worst part. Ah Zhan also owes his classmate a favor because of this. Big brother, I don't have that kind of patience."
Lu Jiaguang sighed. "He said that from now on, he will only do business in the country and will never go abroad again. Even for the sake of his two children, he dares not take such risks anymore."
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to hear any more excuses. "Big brother, I don't believe him anymore. Time and again, he breaks his promises and treats his words like they're worthless."
"I told him that this is the last time. If something like this happens again, I won't get involved. Not just with him, but with anyone in the family who gets themselves into trouble. I won't help anymore."
"I have my own set of problems, and I'm busy to death every day. I don't have the time or energy to babysit them. Big brother, please convey my message to them."
Lu Jiaguang had nothing to say. If it weren't for the bond of sibling love, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to find him, from Moscow to the border, and then to Ulan Bator. He could only hope that Jiajie had learned his lesson this time. Otherwise, if something happened again, no one would come to their rescue.
In the evening, Lu Jiaso, the Second Wife of the Lu family, paid a visit.
After confirming that Lu Jiaso had come alone, Lu Jiaxin instructed, "Please invite her in."
If Lu Jiazhong had come along, she wouldn't have agreed to see them. The matter of adopting an heir had already displeased her, and she was even more upset that Tang Sufen's few words of provocation had been heeded. She had once thought him honest and dependable, but now she saw that he was merely hiding behind a facade of loyalty.
When Lu Jiaxin saw Lu Jiaso, she stood up to greet her and offered her a seat, then asked Miao Na to pour some tea.
Lu Jiaso had expected to be turned away, so she was surprised and flustered when she was immediately welcomed in and offered tea. Her face flushed as she said, "Jiaxin, I'm sorry. Your Second Uncle and I were wrong about the adoption matter. I've been wanting to apologize to you."
"When Shanzi told me that you hadn't agreed to it, I knew you didn't approve," Lu Jiaxin replied. "I also believed that it wouldn't come to pass. But, Second Aunt, for something so important, you should have discussed it with us beforehand."
She didn't hold any grudge against Lu Jiaso. However, as a couple, it wouldn't have been appropriate to invite Lu Jiazhong over for dinner and exclude Lu Jiazhong. Moreover, it was her older brother's house, and she had no right to make such decisions.
Lu Jiaso explained, "Your older sister-in-law scolded me for this as well. I admit, I didn't think it through carefully enough. Jiaxin, please forgive me this time."
"If I were truly angry," Lu Jiaxin said, "I wouldn't have let you in today. Second Aunt, if you had informed us about this from the start, none of the subsequent events would have happened."
Lu Jiaso smiled bitterly. "I was just thinking of how busy you are and didn't want to trouble you with the family's problems. Ah, you don't know how shameless the Peng family is. After Lu Yun returned, his parents started arranging another marriage for him, and the Peng family spread rumors that he was impotent."
They also said that Lu Yun was promiscuous, but since that wasn't entirely untrue, she didn't bring it up. However, spreading rumors about Lu Yun's inability to have children was truly despicable.
"Didn't your father and mother-in-law refute those rumors?" Lu Jiaxin asked.
"They did," Lu Jiaso replied. "My mother-in-law stood at the Peng family's door and scolded them for over an hour. She also told them about the 10,000 yuan we received as compensation."
If it had been any other family, they might have worried about theft. But since Lu Jiaxin had sponsored so many people, everyone knew that her family was wealthy. As for thieves, anyone daring to target the Lu family would be beaten to death by the villagers.
Lu Jiaxin could only commend her mother-in-law's boldness. However, this incident had completely severed ties between the two families. Perhaps it was for the best—people like the Peng family didn't deserve any courtesy.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report