The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 150 - 147: Caught Off Guard by the Oddity

Chapter 150: Chapter 147: Caught Off Guard by the Oddity

The dinner was tomato and egg, spicy shredded potatoes, and a cold mix of green beans.

When Dad and Nanzhou came back, they arrived just in time for dinner.

Lu Jingqiu asked the two where they had been, and upon hearing they had met with a director from the Academy Road area, she knew what was going on.

After dinner, Lu Jingqiu showed Jiang Nanzhou the drawings she had done.

Jiang Nanzhou laughed, "I must say, your drawings are really clear and beautiful."

"Is it the drawing that’s beautiful, or is it my planning?"

"Both are beautiful?"

Lu Xianrun snorted lightly; his face was almost too embarrassed to be seen, but after looking at his daughter’s drawings, he had to admit they were indeed good. Like him, she enjoyed tinkering—whether it was the house or the yard—they were both renovated by his own spending. To live a more comfortable life, the place one lived in had to be the starting point.

His daughter was like him in this regard.

Jiang Nanzhou said, "Knocking down walls won’t cost much, we just have to keep several pillars for support. Painting isn’t expensive either, but cement might be a bit pricier; the rest is just furniture."

Lu Jingqiu asked, "Is two hundred yuan enough?"

Lu Xianrun shook his head, "Two hundred yuan won’t be used up."

"We’ll also dismantle the kitchen stove; find me a mason, I want to rebuild it."

Jiang Nanzhou nodded, "Okay, I’ll find someone tomorrow."

Lu Xianrun said, "I’ll go with you tomorrow to take a look."

After settling the plan with Jiang Nanzhou, the next morning, the three of them rode two bikes to the house.

...

"Grandma, the door is locked; that wretched girl must have left," said the Shen Family’s second grandson, holding a quilt and tugging at the padlock on the door, frowning.

"It’s only been two or three days; there’s no way she could have found a place to rent so quickly. She’s definitely hiding," Old Madam Shen seemed to have anticipated this outcome and calmly said, "Now that there’s no one around, kid, pry the lock open. Let’s move in straight away. This time, I’m going to squat here and not leave."

Another youngster, holding an axe, nodded and was about to smash it down when Second Brother Shen stopped him.

"Grandma, someone’s coming."

"Quick, hide."

At this point, the three of them, as a group, were as unwelcome as rats crossing the street; the neighbors around didn’t have much regard for them.

The families living in several similar buildings nearby were all of quality and substance, and they felt that housing such families in the alley degraded their local reputation.

The people living in the front brick-and-tile houses thought such families were either thieves or hoodlums. Having them in the area meant everyone needed to be on their toes, naturally making them unwelcome.

As for Comrade Xiao Shen renting the house, everyone knew and followed the situation with interest—as long as the renter had good character and the house wasn’t taken over by Shen Er’s Grandma, it was acceptable.

Lu Xianrun, as he pushed the bike while looking around, felt that this place was indeed nice.

It was close to the house they rented out; there were three communities nearby with many residents congregating.

He knew that in the ’30s and ’40s, this area was all inhabited by the gentry.

He never imagined they could afford to live in such houses now.

Upon seeing the lock on the door, Jiang Nanzhou knew Comrade Xiao Shen must have left.

He parked his bike to the side and unlocked it.

Before Lu Xianrun had a chance to go in and take a look, several people suddenly burst out like rats and entered the yard.

They were fast, but the two military men were swifter and more agile, immediately catching the person at the back.

Jiang Nanzhou even grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up, "Who are you to trespass into someone else’s yard?"

Shen Xing, the youngest son of Old Madam Shen and Shen Er’s grandson, was the one being hoisted, "What do you mean someone else’s yard? This is our yard. Who are you guys? Put me down now!"

Lu Jingqiu and the others exchanged glances, realizing who this person was; they figured it must be one of those peculiar relatives Xiao Shen had mentioned.

Seeing an old lady had already entered the room, they hurriedly stepped inside.

"We’ve rented this house; you all need to leave immediately."

"Rented out? Who rented it, this house belongs to my family, how come we didn’t know about it?" The young man in the yard replied before turning his head and looking squarely into Lu Jingqiu’s gentle and clear eyes, as well as her fair and delicate features. His eyes were practically glued to her.

However, before the desire in his eyes could spread further, it was blocked by Jiang Nanzhou’s arm: "What do you think you’re doing?"

Feeling guilty, the man was momentarily stunned before realizing the situation and, jumping up and down, he said, "This is my own house, what are you people doing here? How do you have the keys to our house? Hand over the keys quickly, or we’ll call the police and accuse you of occupying our house without permission."

Lu Xianrun let out a scornful laugh, truly a case of the thief crying "stop thief," his guilt was palpable.

"Then go ahead and report it, I’d like to see who exactly is occupying whose house."

This statement made several people from the Shen Family pause in surprise. Though Old Madam Shen was advanced in years and had bound feet, she was more agile than her grandsons and had already made her way into the house.

Watching the argument outside, her eyes rolled around a few times, yet she did not go out, choosing instead to hide in the bedroom right by the entrance.

Lu Jingqiu knew there was another key left behind by Comrade Xiao Shen in the living room. She hastily went inside, spotted the key on the table, and quickly pocketed it.

Old Madam Shen was secretly watching her from the doorway of the bedroom and, seeing the key in her hand, quickly rushed forward to snatch it: "That’s the key to my house, give it to me."

"Old lady, we’ve already rented this house, and this key was left for us by the landlord. I advise you not to squat here."

"I’m not squatting; this has always been our house."

Lu Jingqiu, seeing that the old lady was well advanced in age, did not dare to make a move. Instead, she simply held her arm up high, keeping the key out of reach, but she underestimated the combat prowess of a feisty old woman. Seeing that she couldn’t grab the key, the old lady went directly for Lu Jingqiu’s face with her hands. When she couldn’t reach with her hands, she clawed at Lu Jingqiu’s face.

In her two lifetimes, Lu Jingqiu had never encountered such an impulsive and unreasonable person. Caught off guard, she was scratched on the cheek, leaving a bloody mark from a fingernail.

"Ah..."

Outside, Jiang Nanzhou and Lu Xianrun, hearing Lu Jingqiu’s cry, let go of the two Shen brothers and rushed into the house.

"Jingqiu, what happened?"

Jiang Nanzhou, seeing Lu Jingqiu covering her face with concern, moved her hand away only to discover a long scratch bleeding.

Lu Jingqiu, enduring the pain, said: "This old lady’s pretty quick with her hands."

In an instant, the faces of both men darkened.

Old Madam Shen didn’t believe she was in the wrong. With a crafty spin of her eyes, she sat down on the floor, slapping her thigh and crying out in a wailing tone: "Help, someone’s robbing the house, someone’s killing people, someone’s bullying the weak. Is there no justice left?"

As she spoke, she grabbed onto Jiang Nanzhou’s leg, which was closest to her, pretending to cling to him.

Lu Jingqiu had truly come to realize what a peculiar person was before her eyes. If Comrade Xiao Shen could withstand this for such a long time without letting them take the house away, she must have had more tricks up her sleeve than they did.

While the daughter and son-in-law were concerned about the fact that she was an old lady, Lu Xianrun had no such qualms. With one swift move, he picked up the old woman from Jiang Nanzhou’s side and headed straight out.

The old lady’s screams grew even more intense: "This is bullying! Two strong men picking on an old lady, there’s no justice left! Someone come!"

It was now past seven o’clock, and many people were preparing to go to work. The neighbors heard the noise and came running in.

The Shen Family people were known to them, but Lu Jingqiu and the others were strangers, and the situation was unclear at the moment.

Seeing several aunties and two middle-aged people, as well as a few young men approach, Jiang Nanzhou busied himself offering cigarettes to the men: "Are you folks neighbors from around here? We’ve just rented this place from Xiao Shen, and today we came across these people."

One of the middle-aged men took a cigarette, and with a dawning realization said, "Oh, Shen Girl rented out the house to you?" then cast a glance at the ruckus caused by Old Madam Shen and commented, "That’s going to cause quite a stir."

"Could I trouble someone to run to the neighborhood office for me and let them know there’s a disturbance here?"

One of the younger men nodded but added, "The neighborhood office people came here several times before, but they couldn’t handle them."

"Young man, please do me the favor of running to the neighborhood office. And can someone else go to the police station for me, find Director Liang, and tell him it’s the second community on Academy Road. He’ll know. My name is Jiang." As he said this, he took out two boxes of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them over.

The two quick-handed young men took the cigarettes with a smile and ran off immediately.

Lu Xianrun, carrying Old Madam Shen out, intended to throw her out of the courtyard.

Thrown out, Old Madam Shen, seeing a crowd of neighbors watching the spectacle, didn’t bother to get up and cried out instead, "Ow, ow, I’m in so much pain. Do you really not want this old lady to live anymore? These people are downright bandits!"

The two grandsons of the Shen Family, who had never seen someone with such physical strength, were momentarily stunned. But when they saw their grandmother thrown to the ground, they wouldn’t have it. Shen Xing, holding an axe, pointed it fiercely at Lu Xianrun and shouted, "Damn it, let go of my grandma! You’ll regret pissing me off; I’ll chop you down, you old brute!"

As he said this, he raised the axe he was holding, but Jiang Nanzhou’s face froze, and with a spin kick and a shoulder throw, he sent the axe crashing to the ground and swiftly pinned Shen Xing down: "It seems a lesson is needed to shut you up."

Second Brother Shen, seeing his brother at a disadvantage, attempted to take advantage of Jiang Nanzhou’s distraction and kick at him.

But Jiang Nanzhou quickly grabbed his incoming leg and slammed him to the ground.

Inside the house, Lu Jingqiu stood at the doorway, and an auntie beside her, seeing the injury on her face, exclaimed, "Girl, your face wasn’t scratched by that old lady, was it?"