Chapter 597: Similarities
Chapter 597: Similarities
Gu Yue and her two companions walked out of the hall, heading toward a black sedan.
Gu Yue watched as Jiang Xia and Zhao Cheng Lei got into a jeep. She couldn't help but admire Zhao Cheng Lei as he skillfully drove the jeep past their sedan.
"I wonder if that jeep belongs to their workplace or if it's their own", Gu Yue remarked to Dong Yan.
Their family didn't own a car; the one they had was provided by her father's workplace.
Could Jiang Xia's family really afford a jeep?
But then she remembered that Jiang Xia had so many watches—she had seen at least three. This made her uncertain.
Dong Yan glanced at her husband. She thought that Jiang Xia's family background must be quite good. The woman must have married well for her daughter to be able to marry Zhao Cheng Lei and live such a comfortable life.
Zhao Cheng Lei and the Zhang Family Brothers were close, which meant he must have a significant status.
This was good. She didn't want anyone to come and disrupt her family.
If that woman had married well, she wouldn't come and ruin her family.
Gu Yue added, "Jiang Xia seems to really like watches. She has so many."
Gu Yue didn't know that Jiang Xia actually had four watches, and she changed them daily because each one held a different meaning to her.
The Plum watch was bought by her father before she got married.
The Shanghai watch was a gift from Zhao Cheng Lei on their wedding day, being the first domestically produced timepiece in New China and holding a very high collector's value. Since Zhao Cheng Lei had purchased it from the initial batch, its value was even more substantial. Jiang Xia rarely wore it, instead keeping it under her pillow and checking the time daily, reserving it for occasional wear on special occasions when it perfectly complemented her outfits.
The Longines watch was a birthday gift from her mother.
The Rolex was a gift from Jiang Dong to commemorate her university admission.
Each of these four watches held a special significance for her, and she chose which one to wear based on her outfit for the day.
Good watches had high collector's value. Among Jiang Xia's four watches, the two bought by Zhao Cheng Lei and Jiang Dong had significant collector's value.
Gu Heng was taken aback. He thought his daughter also seemed to love watches, always changing them every day.
His daughter was very fond of dressing up, and it seemed Jiang Xia was the same.
The two sisters had such similar interests. They must be biological sisters, right?
---
The road from the airport was mostly westward, and it was sunset, with the glaring sun affecting the visibility while driving. Jiang Xia took off her sunglasses and asked Zhao Cheng Lei, "Do you want to wear them?"
Zhao Cheng Lei glanced at her. "No, this section of the road is short."
He had trained to have normal vision in both darkness and strong light.
Jiang Xia had worn her sunglasses on the way because half of the journey was facing the sunset.
These sunglasses were given to her by Zhang Fuyan before they left.
She put the sunglasses back in their original place.
Zhao Cheng Lei then asked, "Did you sleep well last night? How many times did the children wake up?"
"Pretty well. The children went to bed at 7:30 and woke up once at midnight and again at 4:30. They slept until 8 in the morning. I did the same."
"It's rare for them to sleep until 8 in the morning."
"Yes, it's all thanks to you. Didn't you tell them I was on vacation and they shouldn't wake up so early?"
Zhao Cheng Lei smiled.
If only they were always this well-behaved!
"Is everything okay at home?"
The couple chatted about their family.
---
After passing the section with the glaring sun, Zhao Cheng Lei felt more relaxed and mentioned Gu Heng's situation.
He didn't go into the sad details, as they were already in the past. There was no point in making Jiang Xia feel bad since she couldn't change anything.
He simply said that years ago, Aunt had fallen and had a premature and hemorrhagic delivery, and she didn't make it.
"… At the time, Mom was also traumatized and went into premature labor, which is why you’ve always been a bit frail."
"…"
Jiang Xia had no idea; it wasn’t mentioned in the book.
Jiang Xia: "No wonder I didn’t like that Gu guy from the first glance. He’s such a pretentious jerk! A total scumbag!"
Zhao Cheng Lei had never heard the term "scumbag" before.
But it fit perfectly.
"Did my parents chase him out with a broom?"
Zhao Cheng Lei: "…"
That’s something only the women in the countryside would do.
Jiang Xia: "At the very least, they should have slapped him a few times. Slapping him would have been too lenient! Mom is pretty strong, right?"
Even more slaps wouldn’t have been enough to vent the anger!
"He had a red and swollen spot under his bangs. It looked like he was hit by an apple. There were two apples on the floor and a few more smashed ones on the table."
"An apple wouldn’t hurt enough! It’s a waste of a good apple! They should have used a teapot or a teacup!"
Zhao Cheng Lei: "The teapot and teacups are Dad’s treasures."
Jiang Xia: "…"
That’s true!
They’re more expensive than apples!
...
When they got home, the three children were cooing and babbling in "baby talk" on the laps of Jiang Dong, Zhang Fuyan, and Grandma.
After being apart for the evening, Zhao Cheng Lei approached the three kids and called out to them. They all smiled at their dad.
Grandma laughed, "They’re so happy to see their dad back?"
Grandpa: "These kids have great temperaments; they love to laugh."
Jiang Dong: "Like me! I’ve always been the happiest person around!"
Zhang Fuyan: "You’re not exactly modest, are you? Everything is just like you."
Grandma: "Laughing is good. It brings good luck."
Jiang Dong: "That’s why I have such good luck, meeting you."
Zhang Fuyan shot him a glare.
After checking on the three kids, Zhao Cheng Lei planned to take out the seafood.
But as soon as he moved away, the three little mouths puckered up and started crying!
Jiang Xia took the eldest from Zhang Fuyan’s arms and laughed, "Dad only glanced at you and didn’t even pick you up. That’s unfair, right?"
The eldest stopped crying as soon as he was in Jiang Xia’s arms.
Zhao Cheng Lei had no choice but to pick up the other two, one in each arm, and comfort them until they smiled again.
The second aunt-in-law asked Zhao Cheng Lei how he planned to handle the box of seafood.
Zhao Cheng Lei, holding the kids, told her which items to store in the fridge and which needed to be eaten that night.
He hadn’t brought much: half a mackerel (Zhou Mu had cut off the head and tail, leaving the meatiest part), three pounds of golden thread fish, and one East Star grouper. The rest had already been prepared.
Dinner was a feast: steamed oysters with garlic and chili, boiled shrimp, steamed abalone with garlic, pan-fried dragon fish, chicken and mushroom stew, Peking duck, steamed blue crab, and crucian carp and tofu soup.
Jiang Xia: "The seafood at home is always the best."
Everyone agreed.
The fresher the seafood, the sweeter it tastes.
Steaming or boiling is the best way to enjoy its natural flavor and the taste of the sea.
Less fresh seafood needs more seasoning.
*
On Monday morning, Jiang Xia went to Beijing University for a training course early.
Principal Yan arrived at the school gate right on time to wait for her.
Jiang Xia, seeing him, got off her bicycle from a distance and walked up, smiling, "Principal Yan, good morning."
"Comrade Xia, come to my office after your class."
Jiang Xia feigned worry, "Did I fail? I won’t go if I don’t get my diploma."
Principal Yan laughed, "Ha… it’s all taken care of!"
Jiang Xia checked the time, "Then I’ll go get it now, no need to wait until after class."
She wasn’t sure what else he had in store, but going to the principal’s office for a chat was a familiar routine.(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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