Before long, Wang Pei came to call them for dinner.
Wang Pei placed a specially prepared salt-free and oil-free chicken soup in front of Lu Jingyi. She first held Long Bao, waiting for Lu Jingyi to finish eating before taking her turn.
Lu Jingyi pulled Su Yaqin to sit down, gazing longingly at the meatballs and saying, “Yaqin, have a few more meatballs, consider it eating on my behalf.”
“Alright.”
Su Yaqin glanced at Long Bao and asked, “How do you plan to arrange Long Bao’s full-month celebration?”
“We’ll invite relatives from both sides to dine at the State-Owned Grand Hotel. Although it’s a bit far, they have a complete menu, so we won’t need to trouble ourselves.”
Su Yaqin nodded and said, “That’s quite good.”
Although things at the State-Owned Grand Hotel were expensive, for Lu Jingyi, that amount of money wasn’t really a concern.
Xu Zhijun: “No, that’s too extravagant.”
Lu Jingyi, drinking her chicken soup without looking up, said, “My daughter deserves the very best. Besides, my family can certainly afford the cost of hosting.”
“But this is the most critical time for me right now. Making such a big fuss will have a very bad impact. What will others think of me?”
Lu Jingyi said lightly, “It’s not that serious.”
She would be more than happy if Xu Zhijun remained stuck in his current position forever.
If he wanted to climb higher, he’d have to ask whether her entire family was willing.
Su Yaqin, of course, stood on Lu Jingyi’s side and also advised, “Right, that’s your private matter. Everyone knows about your family’s situation; surely it won’t be a problem.”
Xu Zhijun: “Jingyi, it’s not just for myself. Look at the other military wives—they all cook at home and invite a few comrades they usually get along with to eat. If you do something unconventional, forget about others, the Instructor will definitely reprimand me. You don’t want all my years of hard work to go to waste, do you? I also want to strive to be worthy of you.”
Lu Jingyi sneered inwardly.
His words sounded sweeter than a song.
Just then, a familiar Xiao Nai Yin sounded in her ears.
[Just host it at home. If we eat out, Dad won’t invite those people. If they don’t come, how will they know what kind of person he is?]
[Given Li Hong’s temper, she’s bound to cause trouble that day.]
Lu Jingyi raised an eyebrow.
Long Bao was right.
Only if the leaders all came and saw with their own eyes the kind of things Xu Zhijun had done could they completely cut off his path to promotion.
Lu Jingyi’s expression softened a bit. “Fine, we’ll do as you say. But I want to ask Sister-in-law Qian to help with the cooking. We need at least three tables. I also want to buy candy so everyone can share in the joy.”
Hearing her agreement, Xu Zhijun immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Whatever you say.”
He took out a stack of money from his pocket and said, “This is my subsidy for this month. Take it and buy whatever you want.”
Lu Jingyi took the money without hesitation.
Seeing her so compliant, Xu Zhijun thought she was still as easily fooled as before.
But he had no idea that if it weren’t for the few words Long Bao had spoken, Lu Jingyi would never have agreed.
Xu Zhijun ate extremely quickly. Putting down his bowl and chopsticks, he said, “Mom, let me hold Long Bao. You go ahead and eat.”
Wang Pei dodged to the side and said, “Go wash the clothes first, so you don’t have to do it in the dark later.”
“Alright then.”
Actually, Xu Zhijun was somewhat afraid of holding Long Bao now too.
Although the child looked very bright and lovely, was well-behaved and usually very obedient, whenever he held her, she would either slap him or pee on him.
He even began to wonder if he and this child were somehow incompatible.
Xu Zhijun went out to wash clothes.
Su Yaqin thought of her own husband and then looked at Xu Zhijun, who was both obedient and doting toward his wife. She sighed with emotion and said, “Jingyi, Xu Zhijun treats you so well.”
Lu Jingyi: ???
Su Yaqin looked confused, not understanding why Lu Jingyi was reacting this way.
Even Long Bao had a look of disbelief on her face.
Had she said something wrong?
Wang Pei coughed and said, “Yaqin, hurry up and eat, or the food will get cold.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lu Jingyi finished the last of the soup in her bowl, stood up, and took Long Bao. “Mom, let’s go out to eat.”
“Mm, I’ve already burped Long Bao. You can take her back to the room and play with her.”
Su Yaqin felt something was off and quickly finished her meal before following them back to the room.
She asked quietly, “Jingyi, why did you react like that earlier? Did Xu Zhijun do something to betray you?”
Lu Jingyi instinctively glanced outside.
“It’s a long story.”
[It’s just that Dad and Li Hong had a child together and wanted to swap me with their daughter, but Grandma ended up swapping me back.]
Su Yaqin: ?
She understood every word, but when put together, she couldn’t quite grasp it.
Lu Jingyi whispered, “Xu Zhijun thinks Long Bao is his and Li Hong’s child. He’s only with me because he’s after my family’s money and wants to climb the social ladder by stepping on me.”
“Isn’t Li Hong your sister-in-law?” Su Yaqin widened her eyes in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“How could he do such a thing! Does his mother know?”
Lu Jingyi smiled bitterly. “Do you think if she knew, she would side with her own son or with me?”
Su Yaqin was so angry she shot to her feet, lowering her voice as she said, “No, you can’t put up with this humiliation. I’ll get justice for you.”
“Stop.”
Su Yaqin froze.
Lu Jingyi sighed. “Evidence? What evidence is there to prove Xiao Tao is their child? You know my situation. Without evidence, I can’t divorce him. Bringing it up now would only alert him.”
“So you’re just going to endure him deceiving and using you?”
“Now that I know the truth, staying by Xu Zhijun’s side is the only way I can personally ruin his reputation and make him lose everything.” Lu Jingyi reached out her hand.
Su Yaqin sighed and walked over to hold her hand. “I’ve been so caught up in my own affairs lately that I didn’t even notice what Xu Zhijun was doing.”
“Let’s not talk about my problems. I know what I’m doing. What are you planning to do about your situation?”
When it came to her own issues, Su Yaqin deflated like a balloon. “Why is it that before marriage, everything was so perfect, but after marriage, everyone changes?”
Lu Jingyi also thought about how Xu Zhijun used to ride his bicycle to the hospital to wait for her whenever he had free time.
Even though Xu Zhijun didn’t have much money, he would pick wildflowers for her from the roadside and save up to buy her clothes. How could things have turned out like this?
[They just don’t want to pretend anymore.]
Lu Jingyi froze.
Su Yaqin tightened her grip on Lu Jingyi’s hand.
It wasn’t that they suddenly stopped loving—they had never loved at all.
Su Yaqin suddenly felt somewhat ridiculous.
Both fell silent, and the atmosphere in the room instantly grew heavy.
Suddenly, a child’s voice pierced through the oppressive silence.
Lu Jingyi and Su Yaqin instinctively looked down.
Long Bao reached out and gently separated their clasped hands.
【I love Mommy, and I love Godmother too. Please don’t be sad.】
Lu Jingyi’s eyes immediately softened as she smiled and said, “Actually, there’s no need to overthink it. If you truly like him, stay together. If you feel you can’t bear it anymore, just kick him to the curb. There’s no need to suffer.”
Su Yaqin nodded.
She pinched Long Bao’s cheek affectionately and chuckled, “Jingyi, I really envy you for having such an adorable daughter like Long Bao.”
“What do you mean? Isn’t she your daughter too?”
“Yes, yes, of course she is.”
The room instantly filled with lively warmth.