Ding Jing was worried that Lu Jiaxin might say something outrageous, so she said to the crowd who loved drama, "It's almost mealtime, everyone should hurry home and start cooking!"
Aunt Xue expressed that she wasn't hungry and it would be fine to make dinner later. The others also didn't want to leave, all standing there wanting to continue watching the show.
Of course, Ding Jing wouldn't let her in, and she couldn't force people to leave, so she could only give Aunt Zhao a look.
Aunt Zhao immediately said to everyone, "Let's go, let's go, Manager Lu will be back soon. We shouldn't be standing here anymore."
Lu Jiaxin felt sorry for her past self. That girl always thought Aunt Zhao was good, never dreaming that this old lady was in cahoots with Ding Jing.
The crowd, only wanting to gossip, didn't dare to offend Manager Lu and upon hearing Aunt Zhao's words, they all went downstairs. However, Aunt Xue still shouted as she left, "Jiaxin, if you have any trouble just call out."
Ding Jing's face turned dark.
After everyone had left and Ding Jing closed the door, her demeanor changed, "Jiaxin, who is this person? You're a grown girl now, don't just bring any improper people home."
Xue Mao was very angry. What did she mean by 'improper people'? This stepmother was really vicious.
Lu Jiaxin didn't bother with her and said to Xue Mao, "Help me pack up our things."
Although the valuable things in the house were taken, the bedding for winter and summer was still there. She planned to move to the house that Mrs. Lu had bought, and taking these things could save quite a bit.
Xue Mao saw her only packing the bedding and some small ornaments, and asked in confusion, "Sister Xin, aren't we taking these books with us?"
If one were to ask what was the most abundant in the room, it was naturally books. The desk, drawers, and cabinets were all crammed with them.
"They're too heavy, we'll come back for them later."
Xue Mao was surprised and asked, "Sister Xin, aren't you planning to retake the college entrance exam?"
Every minute was critical for the college entrance exam. The previous amnesia couldn't be helped, but now if she was preparing for a repeat study year, the first thing she should take would be these books. He was worried that Sister Xin wasn't planning to retake the exam, otherwise he couldn't explain her behavior.
Lu Jiaxin looked at Xue Mao and said with a smile, "Why, do you want to study? If you want to study, once we get settled, I'll arrange for you to attend night school."
She wasn't particularly smart. In her past life, in order to get into an ideal university, she drilled and drilled yet more drill questions, which led to her often dreaming, even after graduate school, that she left her college and postgraduate exams blank. There was no helping it; the shadow left behind was too deep.
According to Lu Jiaxin's own thoughts, she didn't want to set foot in a school again, but it was the expectation of Mrs. Lu and her past self. Having taken over someone's body, she had to help fulfill their wishes. So, college was still in her plans, just not now.
As soon as Xue Mao heard that, he quickly waved his hands to refuse, saying he was too old to waste money on schooling anymore.
Lu Jiaxin knew his weak spot, "Xue Mao, if you don't want to be poor for the rest of your life, you need to get an education. Otherwise, you'll even have to ask for help getting on a bus. In future business dealings, if someone plays tricks in the contract, you won't even know that you're being cheated."
Xue Mao didn't make a sound.
Lu Jiaxin stuffed the quilts on the bed into a woven bag and rolled up the bamboo mat. Seeing him still foolishly standing there, she couldn't help but shout, "Xue Mao, stop standing there like a block of wood. Hurry up and pack your things."
"Oh, okay."
Just as she finished packing the bedding, she heard a burst of hurried footsteps outside. Soon, the owner of the footsteps arrived at her door.
Lu Jiaxin turned her head to look at the person standing at her doorway. He was very tall, roughly one meter eighty, dressed in a gray Sun Yat-sen suit, with a square face, deep-set eyes, and hair that was half gray. The wrinkles on his face were more numerous than she remembered.
Lu Hongjun stood at the doorway, scrutinizing Lu Jiaxin for quite some time before finally saying with reddened eyes, "You've lost weight, and you've gotten darker."
Lu Jiaxin's expression was cold. If it weren't for him marrying that viperous woman Ding Jing, the original host wouldn't have been schemed against to death.
Seeing her expression, Lu Hongjun felt somewhat panicked.
This was when Ding Jing spoke up, "Jiaxin, it's fine if you misunderstand me and Siyi, but you shouldn't take it out on your dad. You've run away from home for more than a month now, and your dad has been unable to eat or sleep, searching for you day and night outdoors. When he heard you were abducted by human traffickers, he panicked and fainted, lying in the hospital for three days..."
"Jiaxin, your dad has cherished and doted on you so much over the years. You should also consider his health, don't be so wilful anymore."
On the surface, she seemed to be concerned about Lu Hongjun's health, but in reality, every sentence was accusing her of being unfilial. For the original host as a child, hearing these words would have likely provoked a furious outburst. Considering the gap between the levels of the two persons, it was no wonder the original host had such a bad reputation.
Lu Hongjun, grabbing her arm, said, "The child has just come back, why are you saying all this?"
Lu Jiaxin felt a dull throbbing pain in her chest, the emotion of the original host. She let out a cold laugh and said, "Everyone in the family residential building knows I have a temper, that I'm unruly and unreasonable, let her speak, the louder the better."
Ding Jing felt this was troublesome. If this had been said before, Lu Jiaxin would have been overpowered and would have retreated to her room. But now she seemed ready to go all out, and Ding Jing felt she was losing control.
Lu Hongjun hastened to appease her, "Jiaxin, don't be angry, your Aunt Ding is just worried about me..."
Every time there was a conflict, Lu Hongjun always played the mediator, and this would only make the original host angrier. But the one standing here now was not the original host, but her.
Lu Jiaxin asked, "My passbook and valuables from the room are missing, she claims you took them."
Lu Hongjun was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered, "Yes, I took them."
"Now that I'm back, give me back the passbook and my things."
Before Lu Hongjun could speak, Ding Jing said, "Jiaxin, you are still young, it's better that your dad holds on to the passbook. If you need money, just ask your dad for it."
She had seen the passbook, which had five thousand four hundred yuan in it. She had already planned to use this money to buy her daughter an apartment so she could stand tall and proud in the future.
Lu Jiaxin paid her no mind, looking straight at Lu Hongjun and asking, "What do you think?"
Lu Hongjun said, "I can give you the passbook, but you can't spend the money. Your mother said before she died, it's meant to be your dowry."
He was well aware that even if he didn't give it to her now, he would have to hand over the passbook to her eventually when his nephews arrived.
The eighties were a boon for China's economy; anyone who dared to take that step during this period mostly ended up making money. Lu Jiaxin was preparing to go into business and would consider going to college in a couple of years. Starting a business required capital, and currently, she only had a little over two hundred yuan in her pocket, which is why she intended to use the money her mother left behind as start-up funds.
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to engage in a war of words with Lu Hongjun; she simply said, "The seal is with you; even if I wanted to spend this money, I wouldn't be able to withdraw it from the bank."
First, she would get the passbook back, and once her household registration was moved out and settled under her house, she would be able to report the loss to the bank and withdraw all the money using her household registration book.