Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 145 - 145 142 Story

Chapter 145: Chapter 142 Story Chapter 145: Chapter 142 Story The autumn rain came swiftly and fiercely, pattering against the car windows, catching one off guard.

Jiang Yan slowed down, the windshield wipers working furiously, but the windshield remained foggy, obscuring the view ahead.

Fortunately, there was a service area not far ahead, and he steered slowly into it, only turning to look at the back seat after he parked the car steadily.

Song Jiawen had not been sleeping well; she had opened her eyes as soon as the rain started, and now, seeing the car stop, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat up.

One turned to look at the downpour outside the window; the other rested his arm on the steering wheel, turning to watch the person in the back seat.

The lights outside flickered, casting Song Jiawen’s profile in a hazy shadow, indistinct.

Originally, they had planned to take the train back, but with National Day approaching, it was near impossible to secure a ticket.

Jiang Yan then thought about the clattering green train that stopped at every station and concluded that their second-hand van was a better option.

So, as soon as military training ended on the afternoon of the 30th, the two of them immediately packed their bags and hit the road.

Because of the store, the second brother did not come along. Having spent much time with Jiang Yan and seen a lot, he could also fix some simple issues on the computer.

“What time is it now?”

Jiang Yan lifted his wrist to check his watch in the light, “Nine fifty.”

The two had left Beijing at six o’clock. Under normal circumstances (since they would have to drive slower at night), they should arrive in Yunzhou around two in the morning.

But now, with the heavy rain, they could only wait for it to stop before setting off again.

Song Jiawen looked at Jiang Yan, “You want to sleep for a bit?”

Driving at night is tiring, especially after driving for most of it.

Jiang Yan shook his head, “Not sleepy.”

He then said, “If you don’t want to continue sleeping, why not tell me about your grandmother?”

Since learning of her grandmother’s passing, she had spoken very little these past two days, mostly sitting in a daze. Dark circles under her eyes indicated she hadn’t been sleeping well either.

Mu Chenyan knew and felt sorry for her but was also helpless.

Not wanting to push her daughter away, she chose to let her handle the matters in Jianghai herself.

As for the elder, she wanted to go pay her respects, but feared Xiaosi might be upset and disturb her uncle’s family.

In the end, she had to suppress that sentiment and turn to deal with Yu Zexiao’s messy divorce case instead.

Regarding Yu Xin’s running away, no one paid attention to it anymore, except for Yu Ci.

“When I was very young, I think I was four, because at three Xie Jingying kept me locked up at home and wouldn’t allow me to go out. It wasn’t until four when my uncle came to our house and saw me that he took me to their place. My grandmother washed me in the evenings, always searching my back, and although I didn’t know what she was looking for, I could clearly see the confusion in her eyes.

So I think, by then, she must have realized that I was no longer her original granddaughter!”

Jiang Yan was slightly surprised because he knew how well her grandmother had treated her. When she went to the city’s No. 1 High School, Xie Yanhai had given her a card, which Song Jiawen initially ignored. After the college entrance exam, she wanted to return the card to Xie Yanhai.

Of course, Xie Yanhai wouldn’t take it back. Not only did he not accept it, but he also told her that the money in the account was actually from her grandmother.

Grandma didn’t let Xie Yanhai use their own money but hers.

The total amount was fifty thousand, and she had left another fifty thousand for Xie Lin.

It was as if she had split her years of savings in half!

“You never met my grandfather, he was also a very, very good man. Back then Xie Jingying wasn’t happy with me staying at Grandma’s house, so Grandpa always found various reasons to take me to stay with him for a few days. My calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting skills were all nurtured by him. I might have had some innate talent, but if no one had nurtured it, it would have been buried all the same.”

Hearing her mention her grandfather, Jiang Yan asked, “How did your grandfather pass away? Was it illness?”

Song Jiawen looked at the raindrops pattering against the windshield and said softly, “As long as I can remember, my grandfather’s leg was crippled. He used to be the principal of Jianghai Town’s junior high school, and some people in secret would call him ‘crippled principal.’ His death was due to that leg. I heard from my aunt that a piece of bone was missing in his knee during the surgery and it had already become inflamed… I don’t remember the specifics very clearly; I just know that Grandpa was in a lot of pain during that time. I begged Xie Jingying to let me stay with Grandpa at the hospital, but she didn’t agree. Later, when my sister came home, she was the one who took me there.”

At that time, the Shi Family members went to see Grandpa in the hospital but Grandma drove them out with objects, I clearly heard Grandma cursing them, ‘How dare they have the face to come?’

Jiang Yan said in surprise, “The way you say that sounds like there’s a story. Was your grandfather’s leg injury caused by your grandmother’s family?”

Song Jiawen shook her head, “I don’t know, Grandma never mentioned it. But everyone knows she hated the Shi Family and never associated with her own family. Once one of her brothers went to the school to look for my uncle, and when Grandma found out, she took a bamboo stick and whipped my uncle thirty times. She warned him not to have any more contact with the Shi Family.”

“It seems like there’s a serious feud.”

“Probably more than that.”

Jiang Yan looked at Song Jiawen, who was observing the road ahead with a pale, somber face, her eyes unfocused, her voice a bit hollow, “When I was with Grandpa at the hospital, they all thought I was asleep. I heard Grandpa and Grandma talking… Xie Jingying… she probably wasn’t Grandpa’s biological child!”

“…What do you mean?”

Jiang Yan didn’t wait for Song Jiawen to answer but caught on to the gossip’s core, “Xie Jingying is your grandmother’s biological child, but not your grandfather’s?”

Song Jiawen nodded, “If it wasn’t for the two of them saying it themselves, it would be hard for anyone to notice because my grandfather really treated Xie Jingying very well; she was genuinely heartbroken when he passed away.”

Genuine care for genuine care, quite normal.

But what Song Jiawen didn’t say was that when Grandma mentioned this matter, she spoke with an unmentionable difficulty, even her words carried a grudge that seemed to gnash teeth in anger, whereas Grandpa, on the contrary, was consoling her, even saying, ‘You gave me Yanhai, I am already content with this life.’

By that time, Song Jiawen was already ten years old and naturally understood what this sentence meant.

Leaving aside the clouded and obscure words before, just the last sentence alone was enough to prove that Xie Jingying was not Grandpa’s biological child.

“I’ve never met your grandfather, but I’ve seen your grandmother before, and every time I could sense that she had an extraordinary demeanor, she just didn’t seem like a simple country old lady at all—sure enough, there’s quite a story!”

Song Jiawen didn’t say a word. She thought to herself that if life gave a choice, Grandma would have wished to be nothing more than a genuine country old lady…

The rain outside gradually lessened, followed by a steady drizzle that lasted over half an hour.

For safety, Jiang Yan waited until the rain had stopped completely before they set off.

On October 1st, at four o’clock in the morning, Song Jiawen returned to Jianghai Town.

Jiang Yan watched her step by step into the courtyard filled with wreaths before he drove to the second brother’s internet café to sleep.

Xie Yanhai and Xie Lin were kneeling under the erected mourning hall, keeping vigil. Both father and son appeared weary, their eyes hollow as they stared at the brazier in front of them.

At that moment, someone walked into the mourning hall and fell to the ground with a thump…