Chapter 66: Chapter 66: So is this Jiang Nanshu the original Jiang Nanshu? Chapter 66: Chapter 66: So is this Jiang Nanshu the original Jiang Nanshu? In memory, Ji Ze was a very bright and cheerful boy.
Not gloomy and silent like he is now, not at all like a high school student.
All of this was thanks to Jiang Nanshu.
She raised an eyebrow, “What he does has nothing to do with me.”
She sighed inwardly: “The original person really didn’t pick her issues well; no wonder everyone around her dislikes her so much. Forget it, I’m not here to curry their favor. Just let it be, bearing the brunt really is quite annoying.”
Jiang Leyi’s face showed shock, staring at Jiang Nanshu for a long time without regaining her composure.
“How can she look at me like that? Could it be that my cold-blooded ruthlessness scared her? Heh heh, everything is under my control.”
After Jiang Nanshu had eaten her fill, she followed suit and left behind a casual remark, “Aren’t you going to chase after that brat? Don’t let anything happen at school; I don’t want to be involved in any trouble.”
Not until Jiang Nanshu’s figure had disappeared
did Jiang Leyi start to piece together the inner voice she had just heard.
What does “original person” mean? What’s meant by “bearing the brunt”?
So within this body, the previous “Jiang Nanshu” truly no longer existed.
Instead, there was a ‘wandering ghost’ from who-knows-where?
But that’s not right.
If she really was a wandering ghost with unknown origins, why would her preferences be so similar to Jiang Nanshu’s from three years ago?
Loving shiny gems all the same, liking the taste of fried crispy meat all the same.
Jiang Leyi felt as though she had stumbled upon a secret that no one else should know.
She walked out of the Jing University canteen, her expression somewhat distant.
Ji Ze approached her anxiously, “Sister Le Yi, did she, did she bully you again?”
Jiang Leyi came back to her senses and gently patted his head, “No, don’t think of her as so bad. She isn’t the type to save just anyone who passes by… The other day in the alley, she only chased away those who bullied you because you were there.”
Rubbing his eyes, Ji Ze’s hand was a little wet, “Really? But she said that I should from now on pretend I don’t have a sister like her.”
Jiang Leyi could not help but laugh and cry, “So you truly severed ties with her? Xiao Ze, I know that although you don’t say it, you do care about her deep down, and the bond you’ve shared since childhood isn’t fake.”
It seemed Ji Ze thought of something and fell silent.
Jiang Leyi took him out of Jing University before slowly starting, “Tell me about your past with her. I’m quite curious about whether she’s always been the way she is now.”
“She definitely wasn’t.” Ji Ze quickly objected, “Sister wasn’t like that before. She used to like me a lot, liked our home, loved Mom’s cooking the best, loved going fishing in the river with Dad. She would never let anyone bully me.”
Thinking of the past, Ji Ze became sad, “So, when she announced she was the Jiang Family’s long-lost legitimate daughter, we didn’t believe her. But then, Sister pushed Mom down and went to Beijing. Later, after being acknowledged by the family, she started saying our parents were bad to her, that they abused her, but none of that was true. I don’t know why she’d lie.”
Ji Ze might not know, but Jiang Leyi did.
Back then, Jiang Nanshu’s temperament was the complete opposite of when she first arrived; she wanted her family to pay attention to her, so she fabricated a clumsy excuse about being mistreated by her foster parents to gain sympathy.
“What else? Besides that incident, do you think there’s anything else about her behavior that seemed unusual?”
Unusual?
A look of confusion appeared in Ji Ze’s eyes.
He thought hard,
“My parents seemed especially afraid of Sister getting sick, because once she was ill, she’d become a completely different person. When Sister was six, she had a high fever, and when she woke up the next day, she demanded we slaughter the piglet she had been raising since it was a baby.”
“Mom and Dad couldn’t talk her out of it, so they really did it. After a few days, it seemed she was sick again. When she woke up and found out her pet pig had died, she cried all day without eating.”
Ji Ze scratched his head, “I heard about this, my parents even thought Sister was possessed and went to see a spiritual woman for her. Things got better after that… I was too young at the time to fully understand.”
“Okay, I’ve got it, go back to school for your classes,” Jiang Leyi said with a smile, nudging Ji Ze to return to class.
Ji Ze’s reluctance was evident as he looked at her, “Alright… but Sister Le Yi, if she bullies you, you have to tell me.”
Jiang Leyi waved at him, “Off you go.”
Ji Ze disappeared from view.
Jiang Leyi furrowed her brows in thought, finding the situation incredibly perplexing—it was beyond her understanding.
So was this Jiang Nanshu really the Jiang Nanshu from before?
As someone from the entertainment industry, she felt the urge to sign up for some metaphysics classes.
Unable to figure it out, she didn’t want to ponder it anymore. Right now, she had something important for which she needed Jiang Nanshu’s help. She was just a person struggling through the entertainment industry; she couldn’t possibly avoid interacting with all the male celebrities.
Just to see if she could unearth some secrets tomorrow… and maybe avoid some detours.
…
Lu Family Mansion
This villa occupied an enormous plot of land, not in the city but built on the mid-slope of a hill.
A silver luxury car slowly drove into the estate.
A woman with meticulously applied makeup, wearing a high couture gown and not prone to smiling, stepped out from the car.
She was very beautiful, but her cold expression detracted from her beauty, adding a hint of harshness.
The servants along the way all stopped to greet her: “Madam.”
The lady gave them not even a glance, her high heels clicking loudly on the stone pavement.
She entered the villa’s main gate to find two others already seated inside.
One was an elderly man with white hair but still lively and ruddy-faced.
The other, even in middle age, maintained a handsome visage. The man was pouring tea for the older man with respectful tones: “Dad, have some tea.”
Old Sir Lu’s face was stern, and when he saw the lady enter, he set down his cup: “Shi Yu, you’re here.”
Lu Mother ignored Old Sir Lu and instead focused her gaze on the middle-aged man, pulling out a stack of photos from her bag and throwing them fiercely onto the man’s face: “Lu Tingzhan, take a good look at the bastard you’ve created. He’s already this big.”
Father Lu’s face was scratched with a streak of blood, and he was about to explode in anger when he caught the latter part of Lu Mother’s statement. He quickly picked up the photos to look.
This was the male model from the video, captured in a screenshot and magnified, his face bearing a resemblance to Lu Qingyan’s. His heart skipped a beat; those features were an eight-point match to his own!
Even more similar to him than Lu Qingyan was.
His heart quivered with excitement; he had another son lost out in the world, and he wasn’t limited to just choosing Lu Qingyan, the son before this woman.
Father Lu’s covert expressions hurt Lu Mother’s heart. Unable to restrain herself, she slapped his face: “You animal!”
Father Lu’s hand veins bulged, his usually gentle and elegant demeanor replaced by eyes reddening as if he would strike back the next second.
“You dare to hit me? Shang Shiyu, don’t go too far. Do you really think I wouldn’t dare to hit you?”
“Heh, I’m the excessive one,” Lu Mother ground her teeth as if she wanted to tear the man in front of her to pieces: “You fathered such a big illegitimate child, and I haven’t killed him yet. You still dare to say I’m over the line.”
“What do you want to do? Don’t touch him!” Father Lu was visibly anxious, turning his head to Old Sir Lu: “Dad, this is my own flesh and blood who’s been cast adrift. I must bring him back home!”
“You dare!”
The commotion before him gave Old Sir Lu a headache, and he slammed his cane down hard: “Enough!”
His dark gaze fell on the photo: “Since he is a Lu Family member, there is no reason for him to be cast adrift. However, there can only be one true heir to the Lu Family, and that’s Xiao Yan.”
“Tingzhan, if you agree, then let him come back. If not, let him fend for himself out there. Having Qingyan is enough for the Lu Family.”
Father Lu pondered for a while before nodding slightly, his tone unexpectedly tinged with distress: “I have no objections. It’s been hard on him, wandering outside all these years.”
Lu Mother clenched her hands tightly. Wandering? Hard?
This child was even a year older than her own son!
Before she was tricked into marrying and getting pregnant by Lu Tingzhan, he had already sown his seeds outside. Lu Mother felt physically nauseated.
She would never allow this bastard to come back and take everything that belonged to her son.
Lu Mother’s face was coldly beautiful, her eyes devoid of any emotion as she looked at Old Sir Lu: “Dad, if you insist on bringing this bastard into our home, then don’t blame me for being rude. I can nod and let him in, but only on one condition: Xiao Yan must break off his engagement with that bumpkin from the Jiang Family.”
Her eyes and brows were filled with loathing: “A country bumpkin who comes from nowhere is not worthy of my son.”