The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 223 - 215: Uncle Gao’s Disappointment

Chapter 223: Chapter 215: Uncle Gao’s Disappointment

Lu Jingqiu and Luo Xinyue, after bidding farewell to Xue Jianian.

Followed their uncle and second cousin out of the police station. As they reached the door, they heard Uncle Gao say, "Gao Shu, come back with me."

He got directly into the car without so much as a glance at Xia Lin.

Gao Shu looked at Xia Lin with difficulty and finally gave her his bicycle, "You go home first."

Xia Lin opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but then she looked at Big Uncle Gao and closed it again.

Uncle Gao saw them coming out and said to Yang Pinggui, "Minister Yang, let’s go."

Yang Pinggui smiled and shook his head, "Chief Gao, I’ll take Qiuqiu to the hospital for a checkup first, we won’t be needing a lift."

Uncle Gao said, "Get the checkup done at the team’s hospital, the team will reimburse you. Pinggui, bring Xiao Qiu up here, this incident was our fault after all.

Ah Shu, you ride Xiao Qiu’s bicycle, and let Mingchao come up."

Gao Shu, who had just opened the car door, quickly closed it again and went to get Yang Mingchao’s bicycle.

Yang Mingchao chuckled, "Uncle Gao, I also rode a bicycle when I came here. How about I ride back with Gao Shu? You and my dad take Qiuqiu and go ahead."

Uncle Gao looked at Yang Mingchao, then at Gao Shu, and merely nodded without saying anything.

However, when the uncle got into the car, he gave the second cousin a meaningful glance.

Lu Jingqiu wanted to remind her cousin of a few things, but seeing her uncle urging her into the car, she didn’t have the chance to speak.

When Lu Jingqiu arrived at the compound, her uncle escorted her to the hospital, even though she hadn’t actually been at a disadvantage.

Fighting was something she was good at; her strength was honed in Ten-miles Village, and her tactics were learned from Xia Lin and the village aunts.

It was just her hair that Xia Lin had pulled, and she didn’t know how much had fallen out or if at her age it would grow back.

In any case, in her previous life, she had a full head of hair until the moment she died.

When Lu Jingqiu returned with her uncle, the cousin had also arrived, but with a slightly swollen area around his right eye, "Second cousin, you didn’t... get into a fight with Gao Shu, did you?"

Yang Mingchao didn’t deny it, "Of course I fought. His wife bullied you, and since I don’t hit women, I had to settle accounts with him."

Yang Pinggui looked at his son’s eye and said, "You still need more practice. How could you get hit by someone as frail as Gao Shu?"

Yang Mingchao said, "Dad, it’s just that I was caught off guard and he got the better of me, but he ended up worse off than I did."

Lu Jingqiu couldn’t imagine what her cousin had done to Gao Shu, but she quickly applied some ointment to her cousin’s eye, coincidentally having just received it from the doctor.

"Qiuqiu, in my opinion, you should still focus on getting proper physical training with the troops, so you can handle two attackers at once in the future. If it hadn’t been for your two friends helping you today, you would have been the one to suffer."

"Second cousin, I understand."

Yang Pinggui said, "Qiuqiu, you will run with the new recruits in the unit tomorrow."

Lu Jingqiu quickly said, "No way, Uncle! I’m injured and can’t be exposed to the wind."

Yang Pinggui glared at her and said indulgently, "With your lazy habits, how can we ever be at ease letting you out?"

"Uncle, don’t you still have you guys? Besides, I won’t be so impulsive in the future. If anyone dares to bully me, I’ll save my energy and come straight back to call for help."

Yang Mingchao nodded, "Right, a wise man does not court danger. If that Xia Lin dares to bully you again in the future, tell me, and I’ll continue to deal with Gao Shu."

"Sure."

Lu Jingqiu had not eaten since noon and it was now after eight o’clock.

Because of her, her uncle and second cousin hadn’t eaten either.

So, Lu Jingqiu simply steamed some rice at home and stir-fried a couple of dishes.

Despite some scratches on her face, Lu Jingqiu didn’t feel bothered at all. Having taught those two a lesson made her quite happy.

Lying in bed at night, she began thinking about her dad and Jiang Nanzhou again, wondering if they were safe since they hadn’t sent any letters.

After tossing and turning for a long time, she eventually drifted off to sleep.

In contrast to the Lu Family’s tranquility, the atmosphere in the Gao Family’s study was somewhat somber.

Uncle Gao, looking at the bruises on Gao Shu’s face, said only one thing, "The beating was still too light."

"Uncle..."

"Don’t make excuses. Your wife bullied someone, and since it’s not proper to confront the woman, they had to settle with you. You just have to bear it. If it had been Uncle Lu, he probably would have been harsher. Do you understand?"

Gao Shu nodded his head, "I know, Yang Mingchao only threw a few punches at me without really trying to hurt me."

Uncle Gao said, "Ah Shu, ever since you were young, I’ve taught you to study and work hard, that brothers should be united, but I never taught you how to read people.

But I’ve always known your capabilities, getting into university from the countryside made me very proud. I even thought to myself, that girl from the Lu Family going to find you might lead to some developments between you two, but instead you went ahead and brought back a wife without consulting anyone.

But this Xia Lin, the first time I saw her, I did not like her.

Do you know why?"

Gao Shu had always thought that since Big Uncle Gao didn’t say anything about his relationship with Xia Lin, it meant he supported them.

He didn’t expect Big Uncle Gao to share the same disapproval of his marriage to Xia Lin as Aunt Gao did: "Uncle, I know what Xia Lin did this time may have been a bit much, but that might not represent her true intentions.

Xia Lin has always been very understanding and kindhearted, a cheerful and nice girl.

Jingqiu used to argue and fight with Xia Lin all the time back in Ten-miles Village."

Uncle Gao said, "So they fought in Ten-miles Village, no wonder that child came back as if she had become a different person. Whom were you helping at that time? Did you make excuses for Xia Lin knowingly like you did this time?"

After saying this, Uncle Gao looked up at him, and Gao Shu stopped mid-sentence.

Uncle Gao continued, "Ah Shu, I won’t comment on your affair with Xia Lin, I see you two look quite happy, but if you’re really happy, why go and bother other people?

What exactly are your motives, that I don’t want to know, but when Uncle Lu comes back, he will definitely look for you, so you better be prepared in your heart.

I hope that when you go back, you will have a proper talk with Xia Lin.

I don’t want such incidents to happen again. As a man, you must be able to control your own wife.

It’s not like our family is particularly harmonious compared to others; your second sister-in-law is trouble enough, stirring things up but never causing problems outside nor troubling your second brother.

And she is not overly scheming either.

Xia Lin is different; she is calculative and likes to stir up trouble. If you give in to her the first time, there will be a next time, and the time after that. In the end, if she brings you some major trouble, what are you going to do? You are still studying and haven’t experienced the impact of these issues on your career.

If it continues like this once you start working, having such a wife to hold you back, you won’t get far in your career."

Gao Shu was shocked inside. He had never considered it that deeply, merely thought it was a quarrel between two people that turned into a fight, and since everyone was friends, it would be over after the fight.

He never thought about the potential severe consequences: "Uncle, it can’t be that serious, can it?"

Uncle Gao asked with a stern face, "You think it’s not serious?"

Gao Shu did not dare to speak and began to ponder.

"Do you think just because Uncle Lu’s family has no daughter-in-law left and only has Jingqiu, there’s nothing to care about?"

Gao Shu pursed his lips and said, "Uncle, I’ve never cared about the family background of Uncle Lu’s family. If I did, I wouldn’t have married Xia Lin. I don’t like those who flatter and fawn over others because of power."

Uncle Gao laughed, "It’s not that you don’t care; you despise it, don’t you? Is that why you’re so repelled by Jingqiu, preferring a rural girl rather than giving her a second look?"

As he said this, Gao Shu fell silent.

Uncle Gao suddenly laughed out loud with a hint of scorn for ignorance mixed in.

It made Gao Shu feel uncomfortable.

"What’s the matter, you don’t agree? Just now, I thought you were quite capable and promising, but now it seems you’re not even as good as Xiao Da."

"Uncle, I’m not dissatisfied," Gao Shu replied.

"I think you are. You always say you don’t like flattery, but I think you feel uncomfortable because they have a higher family status and a powerful father who can proudly demand how you should behave. This disparity makes you uneasy, so you escape and reject it.

You found a wife from the countryside in Ten-miles Village, where you enjoyed the sensation of being admired, even the village chief praised you, thus satisfying your vanity.

Isn’t that right?"

Having hit a raw nerve that Gao Shu didn’t want exposed, his face contorted uncontrollably.

Uncle Gao wasn’t trying to break him down, but to correct his current mindset: "What you’re doing is wrong. In the future, you might enter the civil service, where you’ll face those leaders who can boss you around. Are you going to keep running away? Get the situation with Jingqiu sorted out. When Uncle Lu gets back, as a leader, I have to give an explanation. Talk to your wife properly, and don’t just focus on the minor things right in front of you."

Gao Shu was so chastened by his uncle’s words he couldn’t raise his head, knowing why things had turned out this way.

He thought that since Xia Lin came from the countryside and was a college student, she would be different from those uneducated rural people with broader horizons and higher education.

But recent events made him realize Xia Lin’s many shortcomings; sometimes, he felt that Xia Lin’s insights truly differed from others, which confused him.