Lu Jiaxin scoffed and said, "You have no relation to Ding Jing, and it's all my slander? Would you like me to list all the things you've taken for everyone to hear?"
In reality, the original self didn't know, but those who had guilty consciences couldn't withstand bluffing.
Aunt Zhao's face turned from pale to green with regret for having followed them.
Looking at the crowd gathered at the door, Lu Jiaxin said viciously, "Aunties and sisters-in-law, bear witness for me. Ding Jing and Zhao Siyi ruined my future and nearly cost me my life. They are my enemies, enemies with whom I share irreconcilable differences."
Zhao Siyi was none other than Ding Jing's daughter. Although it was the original self who had willingly run away from home, it was Zhao Siyi who was the main instigator. Hadn't she upset the original self just before the college entrance exam, with the original self's academic performance, it would have been no problem to get into a university in the Forty-nine City with steady performance.
With the original self gone, the mother and daughter owed a life. She couldn't kill the mother and daughter to avenge the original self, but she wouldn't let them live in peace ever again.
The crowd was taken aback by the hatred in her eyes. But, upon reflection, they could understand; blocking one's path to wealth was akin to killing one's parents, and hindering someone's future was even worse.
Xue Mao stepped forward and took the brick from Lu Jiaxin's hands. Everyone thought this young man seemed very sensible, but to their surprise, he continued to smash the lock. With the strength of a young man, a few hard hits loosened the lock.
Lu Jiaxin was very satisfied.
As soon as the lock was broken, Lu Jiaxin pushed the door open and walked in. Once Xue Mao was inside, she locked the door from the inside, leaving everyone else outside. As for what the people out there thought, she couldn't care less.
Xue Mao stood in the middle of the living room, looking at the clean and tidy house, along with the dazzling array of furniture, and felt he simply did not have enough eyes to take it all in.
He pointed to the box-shaped iron contraption on the cabinet, and asked puzzledly, "Sister Xin, why is your television bigger than everyone else's?"
Lu Jiaxin, who was turning on the electric fan, glanced over and replied, "That's a color TV."
After turning on the electric fan, she took out two bottles of soda from the fridge. She opened one bottle and handed it to Xue Mao, and opened the other for herself to drink. It was the end of summer and beginning of autumn, and she was so hot she thought she was about to emit smoke. The icy soda was sheer bliss in a sip.
Xue Mao didn't rush to drink the soda he had received; instead, he carefully observed the refrigerator. "Sister Xin, is this a refrigerator? It looks really nice."
Lu Jiaxin thought the refrigerator was hideous, but currently, it was a rare item that only the especially affluent would use because, aside from being expensive, the electricity it consumed was no trivial amount. She said with a laugh, "There's a lot more soda in the fridge, feel free to drink."
After Xue Mao finished a bottle of soda, he asked with some concern, "Sister Xin, what if your dad gets angry when he hears what you just said?"
From the first time he saw Lu Jiaxin in her attire during the rainy night, he knew she was from a wealthy family, as ordinary people could never afford such a dress. Indeed, Sister Xin's family was even wealthier than he had imagined.
Lu Jiaxin replied indifferently, "If he gets angry, he gets angry. If worse comes to worst, we'll have a falling out. I survived in the Ancient Capital without any support, so returning to the Forty-nine City certainly won't leave me homeless."
"Sister, but if we are kicked out, where will we stay?"
As someone who had once slept on the streets and was often chased away, Xue Mao's biggest fear was living a nomadic, homeless life.
"Don't worry, there will be a place for us to stay."
Relieved by her words, Xue Mao figured that having a place to live, even without money, wasn't scary. They knew how to make street food, so they could continue their business and earn enough for both of them to live comfortably.
Lu Jiaxin put the empty soda bottle on the table and picked up the phone to dial a number. The call was quickly connected, and she recognized Lu Hongjun's voice: "It's me, I'm back home now."
Without waiting for Lu Hongjun to speak, she hung up the phone, then quickly dialed another number. This time, the phone rang for quite a while before being answered.
Lu Jiaxin heard an unfamiliar voice and said, "I'm looking for Lu Jiaguang."
Lu Jiaguang was the original self's elder cousin, and their age difference was twenty-eight years. He joined the military at eighteen, which was one of the few ways out for sons of rural families at that time, and many were eager to join. It was ultimately thanks to Mr. Lu's help that he got the opportunity.
After enlisting, his bravery and combativeness led to a successful military career. Unfortunately, he was injured on a mission at the age of thirty-five, which meant he could no longer stay in the army. At that time, Mr. Lu was targeted and afraid to help, but it was the original self's mother who pleaded for him, allowing him to join the railway bureau in the Forty-nine City.
Lu Jiaguang was very grateful to the original self's mother, and thus he doted on her little cousin as though she were his own daughter. Whatever his children had, he made sure his little cousin had a share too.
The person who answered the phone was a secretary who, upon hearing a young woman's name, politely said, "Miss, our station master is in a meeting, if you have something to say, you can leave a message, and I'll inform the station master once his meeting is over."
Lu Jiaxin thought the secretary was quite nice, and without playing coy, stated, "I'm Lu Jiaxin. Please tell my elder brother I'm at home waiting for him."
Based on the original self's memories, this elder cousin was very fond of her. Now that Lu Jiaxin needed someone to stand by her, Lu Jiaguang was naturally the first choice.
Secretary Li was startled upon hearing Lu Jiaxin identify herself, and once composed, hastily asked, "Miss Lu, Miss Lu, where are you now?"
After Lu Jiaxin went missing, the Lu family had mobilized all their connections to look for her, only discovering that the original self had bought a ticket to her hometown before reporting to the police. The analysis by the Public Security Bureau suggested that the original self was likely abducted by human traffickers. Everyone believed that her chances of being found alive were slim; even Hongjun had given up the search, only Jiaguang was unwilling to give up and continued looking.
Feeling a touch of warmth from the secretary's anxious voice, Lu Jiaxin thought that subordinates truly mirror their leaders' urgencies and concerns. While Mr. Lu may have failed as a father, this cousin truly cared.
Lu Jiaxin cheerfully said, "I'm back now, right here at home."
Secretary Li replied urgently, "Miss Lu, please don't hang up the phone. I'm going to find the station master right now. Miss Lu, please, really, don't hang up the phone. It will take only three minutes, no, two minutes at most."
Lu Jiaxin smiled and responded, "Don't worry, I'll wait for my elder brother and won't hang up the phone."