Lin Yueling took Cheng Lingsu along with her inside the fruit stall while chatting. The place was the same as before. Cheng Lingsu wouldn't have stepped into such a place in the past, but she did so with ease and a smile on her face now.
The weather was quite warm. By the time the sun rose up, Cheng Lingsu's forehead and nose were wet with sweat as she listened to Lin Yueling speak. Jiang Xiu wasn't interested to know about their topic of discussion, but he guessed from Cheng Lingsu's sad face that it must be related to her home going bankrupt.
It had really affected her much. The more a person felt superior due to money, the greater the hit to their psyche when they lose it. Sun Xiaohong was a standard example. She felt like there was no point in living. On the contrary, Cheng Linran appeared quite tranquil, but weird women like her who didn't care about money were less in number. Except for a few extravagant things, the state of mind was paramount. Similar to Cheng Lingsu's emotions towards her mother and sister.
Lin Yueling picked the biggest apple, planning to wash it for Cheng Lingsu to eat, but Jiang Xiu pursed his brows when he saw this and berated with a cold tone, "Are you waiting for my mother to serve you?"
Cheng Lingsu immediately roused up from the melancholic mood and panicked, "Aunt, I'll do it."
She quickly grabbed the apple from Lin Yueling's hands and ran towards to the sink outside to wash the apple with tap water. As she passed by Jiang Xiu, she asked him, "Do you want one?"
Jiang Xiu snorted.
"Stinky brat, what's with that temper? Is this how you treat Susu?" Lin Yueling glared at him, surprised by the fact that her dim-witted son treated such a pretty fiancée in such a dominant manner.
"Susu, you don't need to obey him next time. If he dares to bully you again, come to Aunt. I'll support you."
Cheng Lingsu smiled faintly.
Cheng Lingsu wasn't such a girl in Lin Yueling's memory. She was colder and had quite the individualistic personality compared to her sister. Lin Yueling sighed as she too had experienced it personally. At that time, when her family had met misfortune, her character had changed even before she knew it. Thus, she sympathized with Cheng Lingsu.
"It's all right…"
Lin Yueling comforted her. She wasn't intending to do this but couldn't bear to look at this kind of Cheng Lingsu, "Aunt will share a secret with you. Actually, my family is quite wealthy. Do you see this street? All of it is ours. The monthly rent nets around a few millions so you don't need to be anxious about living a hard life after marrying."
Cheng Lingsu still wore the same smile but revealed a little embarrassment behind it.
The problem wasn't whether she was willing to marry. The question was whether Jiang Xiu would still marry her.
"What? You don't believe me?"
"I believe Aunt's words."
Your son is Mr. Jiang who has swallowed the entire Wang family. Just the Myriad Base City Plaza project is worth a 100 million, so a street in the suburbs is nothing at all.
"Why aren't you happy then?"
Cheng Lingsu smiled, "I am."
"Are you worried about your parents?"
The people affected the most by the Cheng family going bankrupt were Cheng Lingsu's parents. The kindness on Lin Yueling's face was replaced by a cold frost when she mentioned them.
Lin Yueling considered Cheng Lingsu as a child. In fact, she was too young then so she wasn't to blame. But Lin Yueling hated her parents to the bone.
Though she didn't attack them now that they were in dire straits, she had no intentions to help them regarding money.
"It's not that…"
After this matter had happened, Jiang Yi stared out in a daze more often, staying absent-minded all day long. Although he was filled with hate, the Cheng family's development was exchanged by sacrificing his official career. In a sense, the more the Cheng family developed, the more worth his sacrifice was when Jiang Xiu married Cheng Lingsu. But now, the Cheng family was destroyed, and everything he had done was in vain.
"Don't think too much. All will be fine."
His state was worse than Cheng Lingsu at that time. He wasn't able to procure a day's meal and had to suffer all kinds of hypocrisy.
"Sister Yueling, give me some pears."
Cheng Lingsu went to ask, "Which one?"
The person who had come was an acquaintance. Ever since Jiang Xiu bought this street, almost all the people who rented stores in the street came here to buy fruits. Only those at the end of the street found it difficult to do this as it was too far.
"This one…"
Cheng Lingsu picked up the bag and worked solemnly.
She wore casual clothing today instead of wearing ostentatious ones like before yet they were equally sexy. Her pale, slender legs revealed outside, flaunting their flawlessness, glowing with a jade-like sparkle under the sunshine. Jiang Xiu's gaze was drawn over to it subconsciously.
He discovered that her legs were shaped really well and her feet didn't have a single blemish. Those tender toes on the sandals were just like blooming petals.
"Such a good girl."
Since one enjoys the riches and honor of the human world, it was also possible to receive the pain and difficulties of the human world. Lin Yueling admired this girl's ability to adapt so fast.
"Mother, sometimes you can't just look on the surface."
Lin Yueling couldn't help but laugh, "You think you've grown up enough to lecture your mother? Think you're amazing after becoming the topper?"
"Right! There are only 2 days left for filling the aspiration form. Have you decided already?"
The husband and wife had consulted about this matter for a long time. They felt quite conflicted to send Jiang Xiu to the Imperial Capital as they were anxious about him getting involved in the mess, but their son was the topper and was qualified to enter the Imperial University or the National University. There were no reasons for him to avoid choosing them. They had already thought up of an excuse and hoped to let Jiang Xiu study in Shanghai as the Shanghai University was also a top grade university, and was also a neighbor to the Jiangnan province. Naturally, the Jiangnan University was okay too.
But Jiang Xiu didn't decide even though they had waited for long, seeming even calmer than them. So she finally decided to ask him.
"Is it the Imperial University or the National University?"
Jiang Xiu naturally knew what his parents were about.
"Shanghai University and Jiangnan University are alright too as they are closer to home so we can visit you often…"
As expected, it had arrived.
After receiving the money, Cheng Lingsu entered the store again. She didn't dare to stand in front of the electric fan to hog all the wind, but her attention was on their conversation. It seemed to her that Aunt Yueling was against Jiang Xiu going to study in the Imperial Capital.
"Mother, have you ever heard of someone turning down the chance to join the Imperial University or the National University?"
Lin Yueling was conflicted too.
On the one hand, she didn't wish for Jiang Xiu to go to the Imperial Capital and get involved in a mess like them. On the other side, these two institutions were outstanding, and if he didn't go there, it would delay her son's prospects.
At this moment, Cheng Lingsu's phone which was inside her purse began to ring.
She looked at the caller ID. It was from her mother.
"Hello, Mom?"
Sun Xiaohong spoke in a sad voice, "Come to the entrance of the street. We couldn't borrow money here, so your father wants to go back to his native place and borrow money from his relative to start up a small business. You'll also come together, okay?"
Cheng Hanlin's native place was on the northern side if Jiangnan province, Ninghai City.
"Mom, can't I just stay here?"
Sun Xiaohong replied in an annoyed voice, "Are you telling me you would instead sell fruits at that fruit stall?"
Sun Xiahong had seen the scene from far.
"Uh, okay!"
She hung the call then said to Lin Yueling, "Aunt, my parents want to return to Ninghai City and want me to accompany them… I'll be leaving first then."
Lin Yueling nodded towards her then turned to Jiang Xiu, "Ninghai is too far. Little Xiu, accompany Susu there, okay? Take care of her."
"Me?"
Jiang Xiu felt gloomy, feeling that the time spent doing that would be better invested in cultivating, but he was helpless against Lin Yueling's harsh gaze.
"Okay…"
Sun Xiaohong didn't reveal anything on her face when she saw Jiang Xiu come along with her daughter and avoided him like before. She hated him even more as he felt that Jiang Xiu's ill luck was the reason for Cheng family's misfortune.
Cheng Hanlin's manners were a tad bit better, "So Little Xiu's coming along too? That's good!"
Frankly, he also didn't wish to travel together with Jiang Xiu.
Their entire family was in dire straits, so it was tough to take such a poor son-in-law along with them. But since Jiang Xiu wished to accompany them, he couldn't decline his kind intentions.
Jiang Xiu had taken utmost care when sending off Cheng Lingran but he treated the Cheng couple coldly and didn't do anything to help. They bought 4 tickets for the long-distance coach to Ninghai City, that too the one with hard seats.
The journey took around 3-4 hours.
"Will they lend money to us?" Sun Xiaohong asked anxiously.
"They will!"
Cheng Hanlin replied in a firm tone. He had a few cousins whom he had provided financial aid before and helped them start real estate companies. Though it was on a small scale, the assets were worth over 10 million.
He believed there wouldn't be an issue for them to lend him some money.