The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 86 - 84: Not Following the Plot

Chapter 86: Chapter 84: Not Following the Plot

Everyone listened and asked, "What’s the matter?"

Xia Lin didn’t answer and quickly went upstairs. She came down again, holding the award certificate she had won the day before yesterday and yesterday’s newspaper, saying, "A while ago, I participated in a provincial illustration competition and won the first prize. Here’s my award certificate, and the newspaper article from yesterday."

Lu Xianrun was thrilled by the unexpected good news and excitedly stood up to examine the award certificate.

Everyone else, also excited, crowded around to see. The newspaper reported that Xia Lin’s illustrations of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms had won the first prize.

Yang Mingchao said, "You made it into the paper, Qiuqiu, you’re really something."

"Not only did I make it into the paper, but I also received a reward. The province gave me fifty yuan, and our society is going to publish a series of my illustrations, so I’m going to have a book published."

Upon hearing about the book publishing, the aunt and uncle-in-law were shocked: "Brother-in-law, the Lu Family has done something remarkable, you’re now relatives of a great literary figure."

Lu Xianrun laughed out loud, brimming with pride, "Good, good, my daughter has become successful and is even going to publish a book. The son from the Gao Family may have high scores, but he’s not as impressive as my daughter."

"Indeed, Qiuqiu’s illustrations have been serialized in our internal Liberation Newspaper recently and are very popular." After saying this, Yang Pinggui turned and patted Jiang Nanzhou on the shoulder, "You young man, are quite fortunate, you better treat my niece well in the future."

Jiang Nanzhou nodded, a faint smile on his lips. When he looked at her, his deep eyes were filled with tender warmth.

This made Xia Lin shyly lower her head.

Lu Xianrun hadn’t been home recently and hadn’t seen the newspapers, unaware of Qiuqiu’s serialization. He had to go back to his room later to check.

Tonight was all about complimenting Xia Lin; if it wasn’t about her good studies, it was about her excellent drawing, or about the deliciousness of her cooking.

In short, after eating for over an hour, she had listened to over an hour of praise.

It made her quite embarrassed in the end.

The father and uncle-in-law were a bit drunk, and the aunt and second cousin helped the uncle-in-law home first.

Jiang Nanzhou helped Xia Lin escort Lu Xianrun to bed.

He also helped Xia Lin clear the table and brought the dishes to the kitchen.

"I’ll wash the dishes, you just stand there and watch," he said.

"No need, you’re a guest, how can I let you do this?"

"We’re dating; you have to let me show off a bit, so your father approves of me," he argued.

Xia Lin laughed, "A man who can earn money and do housework, my father will certainly approve. But I’ve heard that once a man marries a woman and she becomes his wife, things change."

"How do they change?" he asked.

"Prior behavior was just to entice a woman. Once the wife is secured, all the bad habits come out."

Jiang Nanzhou thought about it and said, "I smoke, does that count as a bad habit?"

Xia Lin asked, "Do you smoke a lot usually?"

Jiang Nanzhou replied, "Not much, about two or three packs a week. Of course, I only smoke five or six by myself. The rest is for socializing. Sometimes I have a meal with teammates, we drink a little, but I don’t overindulge. Other than these, I don’t have any other vices."

Watching Jiang Nanzhou’s busy figure, Xia Lin said, "As long as you don’t hit women or gamble, everything else isn’t a problem."

Suddenly, Jiang Nanzhou turned around and stared at Xia Lin’s bright eyes, declaring earnestly, "I swear on my badge, I will not, and cannot, Comrade Jingqiu, you can choose to trust me unconditionally."

Xia Lin, flustered by his sudden declaration, looked down and nodded, "I believe you won’t."

Jiang Nanzhou, elated by Xia Lin’s response, smiled broadly and swiftly tidied up the kitchen.

"I’ve seen the illustrations you serialized in the Liberation Newspaper, they’re quite good."

"Thanks to you mentioning the Liberation Newspaper, I submitted to them five times, and three of my submissions were selected. This serial of short stories was by their invitation. And they pay more than our province does, so thanks to you, I’ve made a pretty penny. Should I treat you to a meal as thanks?" she asked.

Jiang Nanzhou said, "It’s your exceptional ability that won their recognition. Of course, if you want to treat me to a meal, I won’t refuse."

Jiang Nanzhou also didn’t dare to stay at the Lu Family’s house for too long, even though they were dating, he was afraid of gossip.

After fixing up the goose’s nest, Jiang Nanzhou left somewhat reluctantly.

Once Lu Jingqiu closed the door, she looked at the new member, the goose, and found it had obediently settled in.

"Hua Hua, look how well-behaved the goose is, and the chicks aren’t bad either. You shouldn’t wander off from now on. Help me keep an eye on them. If you do a good job, I’ll give you an egg a week, how about that?"

"Meow."

"The food today was good, the fish was fresh, and the goose egg was delicious." Lu Jingqiu touched her face, she had been drinking millet porridge for a week, and her complexion had become a lot more rosy and fair.

I forgot to buy millet yesterday, no worries, I’ll buy some next time I see it.

She had no intention of listening to her father and staying away from the Black Market.

...

At Xue Jianian’s home.

Right then, Xue Jianian was in the yard, roasting a chicken over a fire. She tore off a chicken leg, savoring it while looking at her scores.

Four hundred and fifteen points. That should secure her a spot at the local Agricultural University. She saw Lu Jingqiu’s name at the entrance of School No. 5 today.

She even scored higher than Xue Jianian had. Those things she bought today were probably for celebrating her return home.

This landlord is pretty decent, I should get to know her better in the future.

...

Early in the morning, Gao Qing barged into her home, saying, "Qiuqiu, let’s eat out today."

Knowing they were going to share their happiness, Lu Jingqiu smiled and followed her to a breakfast shop in the community.

"Yesterday, my dad and my brothers helped me analyze, and they all think I shouldn’t have any problem getting into the Capital City’s Dance Academy. Qiuqiu, guess which university my brother applied to?"

"With his grades, he could probably get into a top university in Capital City."

Gao Qing slapped her thigh and said, "Exactly, he applied to universities in Capital City for both his choices. Do you know why?"

"Good grades naturally call for applying to good universities."

Gao Qing said, "That’s not it. Xia Lin convinced him to take the university entrance exam, and she even encouraged him to apply to universities in Capital City. What do you think Xia Lin is up to?"

"Ah..." No wonder, in her previous life, Gao Yi hadn’t gone to university.

"What do you mean, ’ah’? What do you think Xia Lin is up to?"

"This... I don’t know either. Has your family divided up yet?"

"My dad brought it up, and it’s planned for next week. Moreover, my dad said that Gao Shu is his son, too. He won’t skimp on the money that should be shared. Because of the housing issue, Gao Shu will get a little less for the settlement fee."

"Isn’t your second sister-in-law causing a ruckus?"

"The Agricultural Institute has just finished building a new apartment block. They don’t qualify for a unit yet, but they can rent one. They’ve already arranged it with their workplace. This internal solution comes with a preferential policy for staff—three yuan a month for a one-bedroom apartment. My mom calculated how long it would take for my second brother to qualify for a unit, and even agreed to provide their settlement fee for renting. My second sister-in-law doesn’t have any complaints now."

"Isn’t she about to give birth? Once separated from your parents, who will help her take care of the child?"

"My second sister-in-law will take care of the baby until it’s three months old, then she’ll leave it here. My younger niece is still small, and my nephew is old enough for school. Later on, they’ll hire two nannies to take care of all three kids together here. Their parents can come visit on Sundays."

"Since everyone in your family has jobs, it can only be like this." The Gao Family could certainly afford two nannies.

"Qiuqiu, if I really get into Capital City University with my third brother, we’ll see each other less often. I’m really going to miss you."

"Stop it, stop it. The summer break is so long, we’ll still see each other."

"Well, that’s true."