The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 374 - 363: The Gap between Xia Lin and Gao Shu

Xia Lin was very angry and asked Gao Shu why he hadn’t told her about it, to which Gao Shu said that it was his fault for not taking good care of her.

Being beaten up by the two older brothers was warranted, a notion that moved Xia Lin to tears.

Because of this incident, the young couple hadn’t quarreled for some time, and life was getting more comfortable, so Gao Shu began to think about having a child.

On Sundays, he constantly helped Xia Lin nourish her body and even personally went to purchase traditional Chinese medicine for her from an old Chinese medicine practitioner.

Xia Lin didn’t want to drink it, but she bared the unbearable taste of the medicine and drank it once in the morning and once at night every day.

However, whenever they made love, Xia Lin was particularly resistant, which concerned Gao Shu greatly.

In addition, Xia Lin was out of the house from morning till night every Sunday, and ever since they had gotten the order from Qi Anmin’s factory, the couple had been going out for meals from time to time, which also concerned Gao Shu.

Taking both issues into account, it was hard for Gao Shu not to suspect that Xia Lin’s affections had changed.

He had been wanting to find an opportunity to talk about it but hadn’t had the time.

Primarily because he now stayed at the school from Monday to Friday, and on Sundays, Xia Lin would come home very late and leave early in the morning, so there was no chance to talk.

Xia Lin was also troubled lately because she had just received a letter from home; her second elder brother wanted to lease a pond and didn’t have enough money, so he was looking to borrow some from her. Her third elder brother was also looking to lease more land and wanted to borrow five hundred yuan from her.

Although it wasn’t a lot of money, and she had originally planned to lend it, she was still holding a grudge about them beating up Gao Shu from her last visit home, so during the phone call, she chided her two brothers a bit to express her dissatisfaction.

As a result, her third elder brother got angry, saying that he had only made matters worse by sticking up for her. He wouldn’t borrow the money; it was too much for him.

Xia Lin was at a loss for words when her kindest third elder brother suddenly became angry over just a few words from her.

When the third brother wouldn’t listen, the second brother also said to wait.

Then, after only a couple of days, her father called and sternly questioned her, saying that since she had married well and had money, she had forgotten her roots and now even dared to lecture her two brothers.

Xia Lin was already feeling uneasy, and upon being reprimanded by her loving father, she burst into tears in an instant.

She felt wronged; in an instant, her family felt less close to her.

A string of vexing matters left her frustrated and disordered, so much so that when delivering the batch of work uniforms to the steel mill, some of which were not quite up to standard, she had failed to inspect them closely. As a result, they caused complaints within the factory.

She was currently trying to resolve this issue with Factory Director Qi and hadn’t had a chance to consider Gao Shu’s feelings.

...

Time flew, and by April, the school competition proceeded round after round, with the entire school’s students and teachers casting votes; each student could vote once a week. Their paintings were exhibited in the school’s corridor, and both hers and Xinyue’s had made it into the top ten, ranking remarkably high. Jingqiu’s painting continued to lead by a significant margin, while Xinyue’s fluctuated between third and fifth place.

The two of them usually voted for each other, scoring each other’s work.

For the next round of voting, the school would invite people from external organizations, all of whom worked in fields related to illustration.

For example, their children’s publishing house, West City Daily News, the printing factory, Xinhua News Agency, Youth Palace, and staff from other newspapers.

They were all anxious, even Jingqiu, despite the votes they had secured.

This week when she returned home, to the house that had been quiet for a while, the neighbor lady suddenly came over.

"Comrade Lu, you mentioned looking for a house a while ago, are you still searching for one?"

Lu Jingqiu’s eyes lit up, "Looking? Auntie, you found one?"

The auntie smiled and said, "Yes, but it’s not in our alley, it’s the one behind ours, next to the main road, right behind your house."

Behind my house? Lu Jingqiu, who usually could see their yard from the second floor, remembered it seemed to be inhabited by a family of four, who went to school and work during the day.

"Are they moving out?"

"Yes, the man of that house works in the government and is being transferred to the county, so the house will be empty. It just so happens she knew I’d been looking for a house recently, so she came to me."

"That’s great, Auntie, when can we go see the house?"

"We can go right now, it’s Sunday today, and they’re all at home packing."

Lu Jingqiu quickly called Shen Mu to go see the house.

After leaving the alley and going to the one behind, she hadn’t really been to this side before; she mostly went to Luo Xinyue’s place, occasionally buying buns from Aunt Liu, or to see Xinyue.

The entrance to this alley appeared much the same as others.

When Lu Jingqiu arrived at the house, the entire family was packing, with two children, an older sister, and a younger brother, both likely in elementary school.

The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, exuding an air of erudition.

Upon entering, Shen Mu was surprised to recognize the male head of the household from his office; they weren’t in the same department and hadn’t spoken much, though they had seen each other a few times.

After chatting, they found out the woman was a teacher, and the man was going to work at the Public Security Bureau in the nearby county.

"The house has three rooms, with a side wing on each side—one is the west room where the sister stays, and the east is the kitchen. There’s a small vegetable garden in the back, not big, with about two meters of space front and back, and the toilet is also at the rear. How long do you plan to rent?"

Shen Mu smiled and replied, "Let’s start with a year, and don’t worry, we will definitely take good care of the house. Are you taking all the furniture with you?"

"Yes, except for the bed, we’re taking everything else."

Lu Jingqiu glanced toward the backyard and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Big brother, big sister, if we rent the house, would it be possible for us to open a small door in the backyard? Of course, at your discretion, we will make sure to restore the door to its previous state when we move out."

Her question caused the female homeowner to pause, frowning as she said, "What if, when you guys move out, you deny having made any changes? Is it good to have a back door to the house? Won’t it affect the feng shui?"

Lu Jingqiu didn’t dare to say more, understanding the dilemma—it was, after all, someone else’s house.

Shen Mu interjected, "Big brother, our house is just behind yours. The main reason we want to rent is that our elders are coming to stay, and we don’t have enough space. We’ve been seeking a nearby location for a month now, and today is a fortunate coincidence, finding a house right behind ours. We just want to make a door for the convenience of our elders coming and going."

The male homeowner seemed understanding and didn’t object much.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Lu Jingqiu was quick to reassure the female homeowner, "Big sister, rest assured, we can sign a contract. I’ll write the matter of the door into it. When we leave, I will use bricks of the same color to properly brick up the door. Besides, we’re willing to pay a month’s rent upfront as a deposit, so what is there to worry about? As for feng shui, the house’s feng shui affects whoever lives in it, don’t you think?"

On hearing this, the woman considered it made sense; they weren’t going to live there anymore, and since the renters would repair it afterward and offered a higher rent, she could accept it. They agreed to come over the next morning to sign an agreement.

Lu Jingqiu promised to pay them a year’s rent in one go, and whenever they came into the city next time, she would pay them then.

After the matter was settled, Lu Jingqiu also made sure not to forget to give the neighboring auntie five yuan for her trouble. The auntie couldn’t stop smiling upon receiving the money, feeling that this business could work.

It would be nice to have such a deal every day.