The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 115 - 113: Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen Are Each Other’s First Love

Chapter 115: Chapter 113: Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen Are Each Other’s First Love

Jiang Nanzhou said, "Actually, my father and Uncle Shen were war comrades, and both of them were high school classmates with my mom. My mom, in fact, was Uncle Shen’s first love. However, my mom later married my dad, and Uncle Shen married Aunt Liang, who is my older brother’s mother. She was a war nurse."

After my dad and Aunt Liang sacrificed their lives, at that time, my older brother was five, and I was three. When I turned six, after many families arranged and advocated for it, my mom finally married Uncle Shen.

I was still young then and didn’t want to leave my mom, so my grandparents let me live with my mom at the Shen Family.

Uncle Shen didn’t make me change the way I addressed him, and he didn’t make my older brother change either. He said we only have one set of parents, and even though he had formed a family with my mom, my father would always be Jiang Shuhuai, and the same for my brother. So, we’ve continued to address them that way over the years."

"With an elder like Uncle Shen, no wonder your family is so harmonious."

Jiang Nanzhou nodded in agreement, "That’s why we all have so much respect for him. My mom may seem cold, but she’s actually warmhearted and gentle. She’s not good at socializing and doesn’t joke around with the younger ones much."

"I noticed, during the meal, it was mostly Uncle Shen who talked while Aunt Shen didn’t speak up much. I even thought she didn’t like me."

"When my older brother and sister-in-law just got married, they also thought my mom didn’t like them because my brother wasn’t her biological son. Back then, my brother and sister-in-law’s work units hadn’t allotted them a home, so everyone lived together.

My sister-in-law was very cautious, but then one night my mom came with a property deed and one thousand yuan, and gave them to my sister-in-law, who then realized that my mom had quietly prepared an apartment for them, even near their school."

My sister-in-law mentioned it when chatting with us one time, saying she was so moved she cried.

Actually, my parents started looking for a house for them before they were married, knowing my sister-in-law was a high school teacher, they wanted to buy somewhere convenient for commuting. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find a house for sale in that area for a long time. After waiting for a year, they finally found one, but since the yard was a bit small, they gave them an extra one thousand yuan," Jiang Nanzhou continued, then turned to look at Lu Jingqiu with a touch of tenderness in his eyes, "Actually, my mom has also prepared money for me. She just asked me in secret, whether to give us money or to buy us a house. Jingqiu, I will listen to you."

Lu Jingqiu glared at him, clearly annoyed, "It’s your mom giving you, and you have the nerve to accept it?"

Jiang Nanzhou nodded with a smile, "Of course I do, she’s my mom." "Seeing you like the house, why don’t we buy it? You’re right, more and more people are moving back to the city now, it’s not like the years before. I’ll talk to Uncle Shen and mom one of these days, tell them not to wait, and start preparing for Xiao Mu and Xiao Ting."

Jiang Nanzhou was unexpectedly perceptive; with just a mention from her, he also realized it.

By the time the two of them returned to the courtyard, it was already after nine o’clock. The next morning, Jiang Nanzhou, taking Lu Jingqiu with him, went to withdraw the money first before heading to the housing management office.

Li Qi was already waiting there with the two homeowners.

Upon hearing that it was his friend interested in buying the property, Li Qi was a bit worried. Seeing Lu Jingqiu, he kindly explained the pros and cons to her, fearing she might not understand and make a purchase she’d regret.

Lu Jingqiu said she wasn’t worried about these things, so Aunt Li proceeded with the transfer with confidence.

The other homeowner also completed the transfer quite efficiently.

After they finished all this, it was already past ten o’clock. Jiang Nanzhou told Li Qi to wait for him that afternoon at the state-owned restaurant at the south city intersection, then left with Lu Jingqiu.

"I’m going to meet Cheng Yi later; he’s at the Translation Department. Do you want to come with me?"

After thinking for a moment, Lu Jingqiu said, "I want to make a trip to the military district’s newspaper office."

"The newspaper office you talked about is not far outside of the compound. I’ll take you there first and then go find Cheng Yi."

"Okay."

Lu Jingqiu needed to stop by her house first to get the "My Compound Daily" summer follow-up illustrations she had drawn the previous days.

There were two of them, and since she was now in Capital City, she decided to deliver them directly to see if they could be selected.

The People’s Liberation Army Daily office was located in two small buildings just around the corner outside the compound, not far from the military and political office buildings. After getting out of the car, Lu Jingqiu said to Jiang Nanzhou, "You go ahead, I’ll return to the compound after meeting with the editor by myself."

"Okay, if you’re bored, just let Aunt Zhang take you around the area."

"Okay."

After watching Jiang Nanzhou leave, Lu Jingqiu turned and entered the newspaper office. As soon as she entered the building, she saw a middle-aged man with glasses holding a newspaper and bustling about. She approached and asked, "Excuse me, is Editor Liu Guojun here?"

The man turned his head for a glance at her and then shouted towards an office with an open door, "Liu Guojun, someone’s looking for you." While calling, he didn’t stop moving, and once he finished speaking, he had already entered another office.

"Who’s looking for me?" The man called Liu Guojun was a young man in his twenties who peeked out of his office. Seeing a beautiful female comrade standing at the doorway, his busy figure instantly came to a halt. He quickly came out of his office, "Comrade, are you looking for me?"

"Hello, Editor Liu, I’m Lu Jingqiu from West City."

Upon hearing that it was Lu Jingqiu, a look of surprise instantly appeared on Liu Guojun’s face, "You’re Comrade Jingqiu, please come in."

Lu Jingqiu was led into the office by him. The office was large, with five or six desks piled with various files and newspapers, some spots were vacant, while a few people were engrossed in reviewing materials - it was chaotic yet orderly.

Liu Guojun offered her a stool, "Comrade Lu, please sit. What brings you to Capital City this time?"

Lu Jingqiu smiled, "I’m here to visit relatives, and also to bring you three illustrations for your consideration."

Liu Guojun said, "Comrade Lu has new works again. Most people in our agency highly recognize your art, especially the serialized series. The leaders said that it not only fits their theme but also brings joy to both the children and adults in the armed forces. I was actually planning to write you a letter to commission more."

Lu Jingqiu handed him the three illustrations she had brought, "This is about the special summer class set up for the children in our district’s compound. I found it very interesting and drew it."

Liu Guojun took out the drawings from Lu Jingqiu, which were part of the ’Compound Daily’ series. Xiao Shun’s life was depicted; one illustration showed the sweltering summer with the compound’s children training under the shade at the training ground, led by a non-commissioned officer. The children at the front executed their drills with seriousness and precision, faces red with heat, while those smaller and at the back were unsteady and awkward but did not dare slack off. The sweat on their bodies was exaggerated in Jingqiu’s drawing.

Another child stood improperly, his eyes sneaking glances at the non-commissioned officer, fearing getting caught.

Behind them, children around four or five, imitated the older ones, as if playing.

The other drawing captured a scene at the activity center during a study session, where the children wrote their homework in silence, one child sought the teacher’s help with a question, and another dozed off in the back. To prevent the children from suffering in the heat, ceiling fans had been installed.

The last illustration showed several children standing at the entrance to the compound, gesturing to an ice pop delivery tricycle, hoping to buy ice pops. However, the guards didn’t allow them to leave, so they could only stand at the doorway, longing for a treat.