Epiphanies of Rebirth (重生之豁然)

Chapter 5

While National Museum urgently dispatched people to pick up the valuable bronzeware, the pair of siblings in Qunnan Province thousands of miles away were so angry they couldn't sleep well for several days.

Jiang Xiaoyun couldn't figure out how to make their scheme work. If things continued like this, all her plans would fall apart.

They had to ensure they would be safe before grabbing the antiques—first, Lin Jingzhe and his mother had to get in touch. However, since that first unsuccessful attempt, they couldn't find a c.h.i.n.k in Lin Jingzhe's armor. The teenager refused to give an inch and was quite cautious: he changed the locks right after the funeral, and every time he went out, he stuck to that Gao Sheng brat. He never gave them a chance to catch him alone.

Section Head w.a.n.g called several times over the past few days, growing more and more impatient. He talked about the imminent land division in Qunnan City, implying he was prepared to pa.s.s the Jiangs over.

Now that the problem of antiques had to be resolved urgently, let alone Jiang Xiaoyun and Jiang Zhi, even Jiang Qiaqia was anxious. Suddenly, she missed her son so much she even called his school.

But of course, once he learned the name of the caller, Lin Jingzhe refused to come to the phone.

Jiang Xiaoyun was so irascible these days that every little thing made her fly into a rage. She picked a quarrel with everyone she met, hung up in the middle of discussing the situation with her brother, and poured out a torrent of verbal abuse on her husband. It helped let off a bit of steam, but except for that, she could only sit with her arms crossed and simmer with anger.

Jiang Run heard her side of the phone call. "Was it about Lin Jingzhe again, mom?"

"That little b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Jiang Xiaoyun's voice was full of hatred. "He got a couple of useless antiques and forgot all about his family and even scorned his own mother! What an ingrate!"

Jiang Run sat beside her, his face just as dark. On Monday, after the flag-raising ceremony, the vice-director pushed him out under the red flag and made him apologize to Lin Jingzhe in front of the whole school. The sneers and mocking looks made him wish the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Such a small thing made him, and the entire Jiang family, lose face.

Lin Jingzhe was a star of misfortune—every time he popped up, it brought something bad for them!

If it weren't for that demerit looming over his head, Jiang Run would've long found an opportunity to give him a beating.

However, his mother and uncle's discussion indicated that if they got Lin Jingzhe's antiques, they'd get the backing of some influential people in the provincial capital.

If that really happened, would he need to care about some demerit? He would be able to choose the best university in Qunnan Province if he wanted to, wouldn't he? Jiang Run pondered for some time, then said to his mother, "Since he's acting like this, we should stop playing nice, mom. You and Uncle shouldn't be the ones to do this though. Let me take care of it."

Hu Yu spent several days studying the books. The longer she did, the more she felt Lin Jingzhe might be on to something. Initially, she was sixty percent convinced—now she was almost certain.

She dreamt about her students getting into university, so this discovery made her unable to sit still. She prepared a revised curriculum, took the textbooks, and found the school headship.

Unfortunately, they didn't take her seriously.

Then, Hu Yu contacted the other teachers in charge of a cla.s.s. However, none of them supported her.