Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

“Hey, stop preaching at her.” Mr. Jiang laughed out loud. When he asked Jiang Yao if she would stay for dinner, he couldn’t help but sigh dejectedly when Jiang Yao said she would go back after a while. “Honestly, I think that you got married too soon. You already have another home after only being at home for less than two decades.”

Jiang Yao went back to the Lu family after a short visit. Mrs. Lu got off work early today. When she saw Jiang Yao, she casually asked about Lu Yuqing’s purpose for seeking her out. Jiang Yao assumed that Lu Yuqing had intended to keep the matter under wraps for the time being and handle it on her own.

Jiang Yao blurted out some excuses to get it over with. While she was helping Mrs. Lu prepare dinner, she asked about Lu Xingzhi’s friends.

“Mom, does Xingzhi have a lot of good friends in Jindo? I remember some of his friends attending our wedding.” Frankly speaking, Jiang Yao couldn’t remember what happened or the guests who had attended their wedding because back then, she wasn’t interested in Lu Xingzhi’s business. Now, however, she was intrigued and wanted to get to know him more.

It was such a rare occasion that Mrs. Lu glanced at Jiang Yao with a mix of confusion and amusement. Then, she chuckled and teased, “I see that you’ve been very interested to know about Xingzhi lately. From what I’ve observed, you’ve miss him every second since he returned to the base. I think you might have gone after him to the base if you didn’t have school, am I right?”

Jiang Yao wasn’t feeling timid and shy after being teased. Instead, she smiled and admitted, “He’s my husband, so of course I miss him. By the way, Mom, I won’t be coming home for the National Day holiday. Xingzhi has asked me to visit him at the base.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Mrs. Lu laughed gently, then added, “Xingzhi has a few close friends in Jindo. The eldest is Liang Yueze, he’s a young and successful businessman; the second eldest lives abroad, he is a professor in cultural studies or something. Xingzhi ranks third. The fourth is Zhou Weiqi, he works in the Jindo Industrial and Commercial Bureau. The youngest is Chen Xuyao, he is an architectural designer. He’s said to be very famous in his field. These fellows are from wealthy and powerful families in Jindo, and they attended your wedding.”

Jiang Yao couldn’t recall any of their looks at all, but she figured any of these people should be famously known in Jindo.

“Oh yes, there’s a girl named Luo Lauren, she’s pretty and interesting. I think she and the second buddy are a couple, I can sense that they are very close and he takes care of the girl, but I’m not sure if I’m wrong because Xingzhi never mentions anything about them.” Mrs. Lu began to gossip about Lu Xingzhi’s friends. She got even more excited when she saw Jiang Yao listen enthusiastically, so after telling her about Lu Xingzhi’s social circle, she began telling her all about Lu Xingzhi, from his childhood to his college days. Mrs. Lu shared Lu Xingzhi’s life stories with Jiang Yao.

For Jiang Yao, getting to know Lu Xingzhi was like opening the door to a whole new world. She realized that Lu Xingzhi’s dullness was au naturel. When he was born, he was very composed and calm unlike other children. He didn’t cry often, he didn’t throw tantrums, and he didn’t even laugh much. However, he was a troublemaker and more fearsome than other children.

Jiang Yao didn’t know that Lu Yuqing was preparing to deal with Zhao Zhuangzong’s extramarital affair. In the blink of an eye, her college registration was just around the corner. She and Jiang Lei went to the county town to buy a suitcase and collect the train tickets.