Chapter 180: Lu Tingting’s Confession

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Lu Tingting’s Confession

After dinner, Jiang Moli borrowed a conference room from the guest house and gathered the performance troupe to rehearse for the next day’s show.

To rack up more hate points, she even added a scene of public humiliation.

Rehearsal ended at 9 p.m., and everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

Lu Tingting called out to Shen Yanzhi, "Teacher Shen, can I have a moment? There’s something I need to talk to you about."

Shen Yanzhi replied, "Go ahead, Teacher Lu."

Under the dim yellow light, Shen Yanzhi’s eyes looked deep, and his figure was tall and slender. He appeared even more dashingly handsome than he did during the day.

Lu Tingting felt her heart pound like a rabbit in her chest. "Teacher Shen, I... I like you!"

Shen Yanzhi was a little surprised, but he quickly composed himself.

"Teacher Lu, I’m flattered by your feelings, but I’m very sorry. I’m not considering a relationship right now."

Although she had prepared herself for rejection, Lu Tingting couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness when it actually happened.

"Is there someone else you like? Is it that Xu Shu?"

Out in the hallway, Xu Shu tensed and pricked up her ears.

To have more time to catch up with Shen Yanzhi, Xu Siyuan had specially arranged to switch his accommodation to the municipal guest house.

After getting settled, Xu Siyuan went to find Shen Yanzhi’s room and learned from Tang Yuan that Shen Yanzhi was in the conference room rehearsing for a performance.

On their way over, Xu Siyuan had run into an acquaintance, so Xu Shu had gone on ahead to find Shen Yanzhi by herself.

Just as she arrived outside the conference room, she heard Lu Tingting’s confession from within.

When she heard Lu Tingting mention her name, her heart couldn’t help but start to pound.

She had liked Shen Yanzhi ever since she was a little girl.

When Shen Yanzhi went abroad to study, they were separated for several years. Instead of fading, her feelings had deepened into an intense secret crush.

"I do like Shushu, but it’s the way an older brother likes a younger sister. I watched Shushu grow up. In my heart, she’s no different from my own little sister."

Shen Yanzhi’s answer clearly satisfied Lu Tingting.

But for Xu Shu, who was standing outside the door, it felt like her heart had shattered into a million pieces.

Seeing Xu Shu’s retreating figure hurry away in the reflection of the glass, a look of triumph and cunning flashed in Lu Tingting’s eyes.

She had seen Xu Shu outside all along.

...

Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting were sharing a room.

Seeing Lu Tingting walk in humming a tune, Jiang Moli asked with interest, "Well now, did you finally win over your dear Teacher Shen?"

"No, he rejected me!"

"Then what are you so happy about?"

"He doesn’t like Xu Shu either!"

Jiang Moli understood. "So the main thing is, if you can’t have him, no one else can either, right?"

Lu Tingting shot her a look and huffed, "She made me miserable all day, so I had to give her a taste of what that feels like. It’s called paying her back in kind!"

Jiang Moli found this amusing. "So you’re not miserable anymore?"

"Whether I’m miserable or not is none of your business."

"True. You don’t call me ’Mom’, so I couldn’t be bothered to care about you anyway."

Lu Tingting glared at her, grabbed a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom in a huff.

The municipal guest house was quite high-end; each room had a private bathroom with a hot shower.

Shen Yanzhi had just finished washing up when Xu Siyuan came looking for him.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two went together to Xu Siyuan’s room to catch up.

Shen Yanzhi was sharing his room with Tang Yuan, and with someone else present, it wasn’t convenient to talk freely.

Hearing the door open, Xu Shu hastily wiped away her tears, but her red-rimmed eyes still gave her away.

"Shushu, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. I just got some sand in my eye."

Seeing Shen Yanzhi enter with Xu Siyuan, Xu Shu nearly burst into the tears she had been holding back.

"I... I’m going to go out for some air. You guys can talk."

With that, she rushed out the door.

"Be careful then, don’t go too far."

Watching his sister’s hasty retreat, Xu Siyuan shook his head helplessly at Shen Yanzhi. "That girl... I don’t know what’s gotten into her again."

Shen Yanzhi smiled. "Girls’ hearts tend to be a bit more sensitive and fragile."

Xu Siyuan didn’t say any more about his sister and instead put on a happy expression.

"Yanzhi, I came here this time with good news for you. Your family’s troubles will be over soon, in three to five months at most."

Seeing that Shen Yanzhi wasn’t surprised, Xu Siyuan thought he didn’t believe him and quickly added:

"I’m not just trying to comfort you. My information comes from a reliable source!"

Shen Yanzhi adjusted his glasses and smiled. "I believe you. I also knew this day would come sooner or later."

Only then did Xu Siyuan say, "I’ll keep an eye on the winds from above for you. I’ll let you know as soon as there’s any news."

"Thanks. But you need to be careful too. Don’t let anyone find something to use against you."

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

...

Jiang Dahai took a half-day off work and went back to his hometown with gifts to visit Zhang Tiesheng.

When he arrived, the Zhang Family’s gate was tightly locked.

He found Zhang Tiesheng in the fields where he was working. "Tiesheng!"

Zhang Tiesheng turned his head. When he saw Jiang Dahai, he stared blankly for a moment before putting down his work and slowly walking over.

"Dahai, what are you doing here?"

"Things were slow at the factory today, so I came to see you."

Looking at the drooping eyelid over Zhang Tiesheng’s left eye socket, Jiang Dahai felt a pang of sadness. "You just got out of the hospital a few days ago. Why aren’t you resting?"

Zhang Tiesheng turned his head away, not wanting Jiang Dahai to see his injured left eye.

"I’m fine. I’d just be idle at home anyway. Working in the fields can earn me a couple of work points."

Jiang Dahai knew he had a point, so he didn’t press the issue. "Tiesheng, I have good news for you. Xiao Qing is pregnant! You’re going to be a grandfather. Congratulations!"

Jiang Dahai didn’t stay for long before leaving.

Zhang Tiesheng shouldered his hoe, picked up the gifts Jiang Dahai had brought, and headed home.

When Jin Yulan came home from work, he told her about Jiang Qing’s pregnancy.

"How many months along is she?"

"I don’t know. Dahai didn’t say."

"Then why didn’t you ask?"

"What’s there to ask? Xiao Qing only left two months ago. It can’t be more than a month or so."

Jin Yulan’s face was cold as she snorted, "Who knows with her. That restless thing... we don’t even know if the baby in her belly is Jia Ming’s!"

Zhang Tiesheng got angry too. "What nonsense are you spouting? If it isn’t Jia Ming’s, whose could it be? And you call yourself a mother! You just can’t stand to see your son happy, can you?"

Jin Yulan stubbornly held her tongue, her neck stiff.

’It wasn’t that she couldn’t stand to see her son happy; she just hated Jiang Qing with a vengeance.’

’That damned jinx, that troublesome broom star! She’s the reason my husband is a one-eyed dragon now. Even the most vicious curses in the world wouldn’t be enough to quell the fury and hatred in my heart.’

...

The two days of performances went smoothly. Jiang Moli earned over 500 Disdain Points.

The Education Bureau was quite generous. They gave each participant an enamel mug and also provided a hundred jin of grain coupons.

Jiang Moli took the grain coupons to the grain and oil station to exchange them for rice, and everyone got a share of several jin.

On the way back, everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

...

In the morning, during the first period, the first-grade class was in an uproar.

Feng Meihua put down her work and went to the first-grade classroom, only to find no one at the teacher’s desk.

She glanced at the class schedule; this period was Jiang Qing’s.

Feng Meihua asked the students, "Where did Teacher Jiang go?"

The students all answered at once:

"Teacher Jiang didn’t come to class!"

"Teacher Jiang must have fallen into the latrine pit!"

"Haha!"

Feng Meihua tapped the desk to quiet the students down. After assigning them some classwork, she immediately went to look for Jiang Qing in her dormitory.