Chapter 73: Betrayal

Chapter 73: Betrayal

After Ji Ze finished speaking, there was no response from the kitchen for a long while. It was then that he realized something was wrong.

Usually, his aunt would be the one cooking. Instead, she was standing by the kitchen door, her hands empty. Meanwhile, his usually stern-faced uncle was inside the kitchen, wearing an apron.

The apron, made before the wedding by Xu Li who had found someone to cut the fabric, was blue with white small floral patterns. The maker had been skilled, even adding a beautiful ruffled trim around the edges. But it was perhaps too pretty, and it looked completely out of place on his tall, serious-faced uncle.

For some reason, Ji Ze instinctively glanced at the gleaming kitchen knife not far from his uncle's hand.

Ji Duo also glanced at it but, as usual, took off the apron and hung it up behind the kitchen door. "What's the matter?"

"I'll go get something from upstairs," Lin Qiao said, intending to leave.

But Ji Duo pulled her back as he stepped out of the kitchen. The gesture was gentle, but the intent to keep her there was clear.

Lin Qiao looked up and met the man's gaze. His sleeves were still rolled up, and his gaze was steady and intense.

Ji Ze, still looking troubled, quickly added, "Right, I did tell you I was considering taking a loan to buy a production line, didn't I?"

But Lin Qiao lowered her eyes and turned to leave. "I really need to get something from upstairs."

After a while, she came back down with a book in her hand. In the living room, the uncle and nephew were sitting stiffly—one upright and slightly tense, both waiting for her.

The moment she walked in, Ji Ze sat up straight, like a student called on to answer a question.

Lin Qiao had no choice but to walk over and sit next to Ji Duo. He immediately poured her a glass of water and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

This was usually his mother or grandmother's job, and Ji Ze couldn't help but notice.

Ji Duo, however, remained calm. "Last time we ran into Yu Jin, didn't he mention that Ji Ze wanted to take a loan for a production line? Dad and I didn't agree to it."

Lin Qiao did remember that. At the time, she had felt something was off, but since Ji Ze hadn't gone through with it, she hadn't thought much of it.

"Dad and I were concerned about the amount of money involved and the high risk. None of the relatives in the Yu family were interested in this kind of business, and we were worried something might go wrong," Ji Duo explained to her.

"Yes," Ji Ze nodded. "At the time, I wasn't entirely happy about it. When I first started working with you, I thought that once I got the hang of things, I'd return to the electronics business. That's why I didn't tell you, Uncle. I didn't expect that I didn't buy the production line, but Chen Weiguo did, and now there's really a problem."

Ji Ze had come in looking troubled, not even paying attention to his surroundings as he headed straight inside. This was the reason why.

"He took a loan before the Lunar New Year and started building the factory in the new year. The equipment and raw materials arrived at the end of last month, and production began at the start of this month. But what we've produced isn't even as good as domestic products; no one wants them. Millions of dollars wasted."

They weren't just buying the production line; they were also getting the advanced technology that came with it. If it could be done domestically, why would anyone spend tens of millions on it?

Ji Ze was somewhat depressed. "I ran into Chen Weiguo this afternoon. He hadn't slept in days, his eyes were bloodshot, and he's been chasing after Yu Jin."

"What did Yu Jin say?" Ji Duo's voice sounded very calm.

"He said the other party clearly told him it was equipment that had just been phased out and told Chen Weiguo not to worry, that he'd go ask the other party for clarification."

"Do you really believe him?" Ji Duo's gaze lightly fell on his nephew.

Ji Ze really wanted to say he did. After all, they had been childhood friends for over twenty years, and subconsciously, he didn't think the other man would betray him.

But the words died in his throat, and he pursed his lips tightly.

Lin Qiao didn't believe him either.

No one would be so proactive in facilitating a deal worth tens of millions unless there was something in it for them.

It couldn’t be that they simply wanted to help out their childhood friend, right?

The money has been received, the deal is done—would they be willing to give up the benefits they’ve already secured, or would we be expected to give up what we’ve gained?

The living room fell into silence for a while, and after a long moment, Ji Ze wiped his face and growled, "We treated him like a childhood friend, and look how he repaid us!"

Overwhelmed by the fear he had been suppressing, he continued, "Thankfully, we had Uncle and Auntie Ye’s formula."

If Ji Duo hadn’t warned him, he wouldn’t have been prepared for the Yu family’s actions.

Without Auntie Ye’s guidance, he might have fallen back into old habits, buying useless equipment and ending up millions in debt with no way out.

He looked at the couple and said, "I came here today to say thank you. There’s no one else I can talk to about this."

If he went to his father, his father would be gone, and even if he were still around, he wouldn’t offer any useful advice, just agreeing with whatever others said. As for his mother…

Since his father’s transfer, his mother had lost her sense of purpose and seemed to have no idea how to manage her life anymore. Every few days, she’d call him, claiming she was sick, and then break down in tears, pushing him to find a stable job and marry Song Jing as soon as possible.

As if with his father gone, the only way she could hold her head high again was for him to stand on his own and have a daughter-in-law from a good family.

When it came to Ji Ze’s family, Lin Qiao really didn’t want to comment.

Lin Qiao realized that the original character’s poor behavior in the book was all because of this mother-in-law.

Ye Minshu looked down on the original character’s background and had been forced to marry her into the family. Wouldn’t she try to make her life difficult and pressure her son to divorce her?

As for Ji Jun, he only listened to his wife. Old Master and Xu Li were too distant to intervene. Knowing that she hadn’t consummated the marriage with Ji Ze, the original character felt powerless in the family and clung to him desperately.

The female lead later in the story probably came from a good family and Ji Ze liked her enough. Otherwise, anyone stuck with such a mother-in-law would have a hard time.

In the silence, Ji Duo glanced at his nephew and said, "In the future, you should keep your distance from the Yu family."

Ji Ze nodded. With this as a cautionary tale, he didn’t dare to get close to them anymore.

Whether the other party truly didn’t know about the issues with the equipment or was pretending not to, the fact that they let them buy it and didn’t have their own family purchase it spoke volumes.

Lin Qiao, however, was reminded of the time she met Yu Wu and felt that Ji Duo’s words weren’t just about Yu Jin.

"As for Chen Weiguo, if he can’t repay the loan, he might come to you for money," Ji Duo added in a calm tone.

"I’ve thought about that too," Ji Ze nodded again, this time glancing at Lin Qiao, "If he asks me personally, I can lend him some money. After all, he did help me avoid a mess."

"Is there anything else you need?" This time, Ji Duo’s gaze lingered on him.

Ji Ze blinked, snapping out of his daze, "No, I’m done here. I’ll take my leave."

"Remember to knock next time," Ji Duo said coldly.

"Definitely, definitely. Next time, I’ll call first to ask if it’s convenient."

Ji Ze bolted like a rabbit fleeing a predator. If he didn’t get out fast, who knew what his uncle might decide to do next?

Ji Duo expressionlessly withdrew his gaze and went back to the kitchen to tie his apron back on. As he picked it up, he wrinkled his nose in distaste and said to Lin Qiao, "Next time, keep it simple."

Is he planning to do this again next time?

Lin Qiao rested her chin on the back of the sofa, noticing that this man had actually done his homework. She saw that he knew to use a toothpick to remove the shrimp’s intestinal tract first.

He carefully picked through each shrimp under the light, his expression focused throughout the process. His hands, holding the shrimp and the toothpick, were steady. At first, he was a bit slow, but soon he became more fluid in the task.

This was clearly something he hadn’t done before. It made sense, given that he disliked seafood so much. How could someone who dislikes seafood know how to do this?

But that was Ji Duo for you. When he did something, there was no sign of awkwardness or clumsiness. He even checked the oil and salt before calmly starting the fire. There was none of the usual chaos like setting the oil in the pan on fire or mistaking sugar for salt. Nothing like that happened.

When the dish was done, he picked one up himself, peeled it, and tasted it. Then…

And that was it. Without offering her the shrimp, he simply put down the plate and said, “I’ll buy you a meal from the cafeteria.”

Lin Qiao later tried the shrimp. The salt was a bit heavy, and the texture was slightly overcooked, but it wasn’t inedible.

However, Ji Duo didn’t offer it to her. For the next few days, as long as he wasn’t busy with work, he brought home a net full of large shrimp every day and headed straight to the kitchen after work.

He bought so much that even her colleagues at school started asking, “Does your Captain Ji like eating shrimp? I’ve seen him at the market every day after work for the past two days. He’s the only high-ranking officer there.”

Lin Qiao just smiled, “Did you see that, or did your husband spot him?”

The other woman’s husband was the Vice Principal at the primary school, and he had more free time. Often, when they needed to buy groceries after work, it was her husband who went to the market.

The woman had tried to tease Lin Qiao but ended up getting teased herself.

She changed the subject and asked about Lin Qiao’s competition preparation, “The finals are coming up soon. How are you preparing?”

“It’s hard to say for chemistry, but for physics, Li Xiaoqiu should have it in the bag.”

This girl, who had fought for this opportunity, was giving it her all. People said that even in the middle of the night, her light was still on.

Teacher Li, who usually had a short fuse, hadn’t lost his temper as much recently. Instead, he had been going home every day to cook different meals.

Just as she was talking, Principal Zeng came to find her, “Xiao Lin, can you come out for a moment?”

Principal Zeng, being older, didn’t handle many matters anymore. Usually, it was Vice Principal Qi who took care of things. When he personally came to find someone, Lin Qiao hurried out.

He kept his voice low, “I just received a call from Tsinghua University, asking you to come for another interview.”

Another interview?

Lin Qiao’s heart stirred, “Did they say when?”

“The day after tomorrow or the day after that would work. From what I gathered, they want you to come in as soon as possible.”

“What do you think about the afternoon the day after tomorrow?” Lin Qiao calculated her schedule. She suspected that the second interview might be because of progress from Professor Yan.

Otherwise, they would have simply informed her that she didn’t make it or suggested a different major. Why go through the trouble of a second interview?

After discussing it with Tsinghua University, Principal Zeng quickly got a confirmed time, set for 3 PM the next afternoon.

Lin Qiao arrived a few minutes early and found the place but hesitated at the door. It wasn’t for any other reason but that she had been to this lab just a few days ago.

Sure enough, after knocking and hearing a “please come in,” she entered and saw a familiar face.

The reason he was only somewhat familiar was that he had shaved and tidied his hair. Without the messy look, he was actually quite handsome.

He seemed busy and didn’t look up, saying, “Could you come over and give me a hand?”

Lin Qiao glanced over and saw the white lab coat hanging on the wall. She casually grabbed one, put on some gloves, and went over to help.

The task lasted nearly an hour. When the other party removed their gloves, they looked at her and suddenly smiled, "Come and report to me when the semester ends."

Come and report to me when the semester ends...

"Do you mean that I passed the interview?"

"If you had shown any weakness in your fundamentals or lacked patience, you wouldn't have passed."

The other party retrieved a few books from the desk and handed them to her, "Take these back and have a look. Come and report when the semester ends, no need to wait until the new semester starts."

It wasn't unusual for mentors to ask grad students to start early, usually because they needed them for experiments or research work ahead of time.

Lin Qiao nodded in agreement. Seeing that the other party seemed to have finished speaking and was about to dismiss her, she couldn't help but ask, "May I ask who you are?"

The other party seemed taken aback, realizing they hadn't introduced themselves even though the interview was over, "Zhang Changning. I'm mainly working on carbon fiber materials. Didn't you say you wanted to study something material-related? When Old Yan mentioned it, I guessed it might be you."

It was quite a coincidence. Lin Qiao quickly introduced herself, "Mentor, hello. My name is Lin Qiao. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

As she left the lab, even someone as composed as Lin Qiao felt a lightness in her step.

Because she wanted to study materials, she had actually inquired about several professors at Tsinghua University who specialized in this field. Zhang Changning was definitely one of the best, and his research direction aligned perfectly with what she had studied before.

It seemed like everything was falling into place. She wouldn't need to spend an extra four years in undergraduate studies and could work in the area where she was most skilled and had the most advantages...

Lin Qiao jumped up and plucked a fresh ginkgo leaf from the roadside. With the spring breeze growing warmer, she headed back home.

And it wasn't just this one thing that had become smooth sailing. In the first battle of May, Li Xiaoqiu won first prize in the first-ever national physics competition finals.

"There were only five first prizes nationwide, and our school got one." Vice Principal Qi, a man of scholarly demeanor, couldn't help but show his joy upon returning.

It was no wonder he was happy. Li Xiaoqiu was the only student from the school to make it to the finals, and he had personally guided her for the past few months.

Now that the results were in, it felt like all their hard work had paid off.

Li Xiaoqiu was even more excited. Usually shy, she ran over to Lin Qiao, calling out, "Teacher Lin!" and showed her the certificate.

Lin Qiao smiled and took a look at it, "Not bad. You deserve it after sleeping only four or five hours a night."

"I didn't waste the opportunity you helped me secure either," the girl added softly.

"Yes, you did well," Lin Qiao rubbed the girl's head, noticing that her eyes, like a dog that had just been praised, shone even brighter.

She couldn't help but tease, "Now you must be worried about whether to go to Tsinghua University or Yandu Tech, right?"

Li Xiaoqiu smiled, her face flushed. Unable to contain her excitement, she hugged Lin Qiao before shyly stepping back.

However, Lin Qiao's words turned out to be true. After the results were announced, both Tsinghua University and Yandu Tech contacted the school, expressing interest in enrolling Li Xiaoqiu ahead of schedule. After all, there were only five first prizes nationwide, and Li Xiaoqiu's usual academic performance was excellent, except for her Chinese language scores.

Even before the college entrance exams, Lin Qiao had to help Li Xiaoqiu choose between Tsinghua University and Yandu Tech. Every homeroom teacher in the school couldn't help but envy her.

Without Lin Qiao's help, Li Xiaoqiu might not have even gotten into a good major at Yandu Tech with her Chinese scores holding her back.

The two spent several days discussing, consulting others' opinions, and considering Li Xiaoqiu's personality and preferences. They finally decided on Yandu Tech.

If she wanted to study engineering, Tsinghua University would definitely be the top choice, but Li Xiaoqiu was shy and clearly more interested in theoretical research, so Yandu Tech seemed more suitable.

On the day the official recommendation was confirmed, Teacher Li approached Vice Principal Qi and Lin Qiao, wanting to treat them to a meal, "I can't express how grateful I am to both of you for everything you've done for Xiaoqiu."

Both of them politely declined, but when the other party remained persistent, they ended up buying a lot of things and sent them to the office. Since they couldn't return the gifts, they distributed them among everyone.

In comparison, the results of this chemistry competition were a bit disappointing. Only Qi Huaiwen received a third prize.

Although it was still a remarkable achievement on a national level, with first and second prizes ahead of him, the colleges that would admit him through this result were not ideal.

The boy didn't mind, saying, "If I can't get in through a recommendation, I'll just take the exam myself."

He wasn't saying this without reason. In the last mock exam, he had already ranked in the top five of his grade. With a bit more effort, Tsinghua or Peking University could still be within reach.

Just then, Lin Qiao's master's degree admission letter officially arrived at the school, and the entire school was truly astounded.

"A Tsinghua master's student?! Teacher Lin was going to take the college entrance exam with us?" Junzi couldn't believe it. "I wanted to take the exam with Teacher Lin."

Qi Huaiwen had heard that Lin Qiao went for an interview at Tsinghua but didn't know if she got in until now.

Junzi didn't know whether to be happy for Lin Qiao or sad for himself. "I thought once we got into college, we'd be in the same year as Teacher Lin, but now she's going for her graduate studies."

Junzi had been hoping to be in the same year as Teacher Lin. When he went home and told his parents, Colonel Liang scolded him, and then Liu Cuiying joined in. "Even if she's in the same year, she'll still be your teacher."

After putting his son in his place, Colonel Liang couldn't help but sigh with Liu Cuiying, "How does someone like Xiaolin have such a sharp mind? It's hard to say if our son can even get into college."

Colonel Liang was quite open-minded. "With our level of education, it would be quite something if Junzi made it to grad school."

Liu Cuiying: "..."

When the admission letter arrived home, Lin Qiao thought about it and decided to call Old Master and Aunt Xu to let them know.

After all, this time it was thanks to Yan Maoshan's help, and Xu Li had also supported her a lot in her work and studies before.

When they heard that she had been admitted to Tsinghua's graduate program, the elderly couple was genuinely thrilled. The usually reserved Old Master even picked up the phone to ask what she'd like to eat.

The news finally reached Ye Minshu last. Ji Duo personally called to inform her.

Ye Minshu was taken aback when she received the call. After all, Ji Duo was a man of few words and a cold demeanor. He used to occasionally keep in touch with Ji Jun and Ji Ze, but after what happened with Lin Qiao, he hadn't called this side of the family again.

But she had been having a really hard time lately. After Ji Jun left, the elderly couple no longer allowed her to visit the old house. People outside could clearly see the changing dynamics. Once friendly faces now began to squeeze her out, and with what happened with Xiao Ze, she barely dared to leave the house recently.

When Ji Duo called her, she thought maybe he could help talk to Xiao Ze, but instead, Ji Duo was calling to tell her this.

Her face stiffened immediately. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Ji Duo seemed to know what she was thinking. "Without any help from the family, she won the gold prize at the national invention exhibition and was admitted to Tsinghua."

It was like a slap to the face, instantly making Ye Minshu feel a burning sensation.

When Lin Qiao made the suggestion before, she had thought the same. Now that Lin Qiao had been exceptionally admitted to graduate school, she was left speechless.

But Ji Duo wasn't done with the phone call yet. "Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin. You've heard about it, right?"

"What? Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin!" Ye Minshu heard her own voice rising. "Impossible! This is impossible!"

"I thought you were close, and you'd already know," Ji Duo's voice was calm, but it carried an ironic tone no matter how you listened to it.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Minshu went straight to the Song family, only to find Yu Jin having dinner at their house. The Song couple greeted him warmly, clearly treating him as their future son-in-law.

Her mind raced. She wanted to confront them, but Mrs. Song greeted her with a smile. "Your Xiao Ze's business is doing quite well, isn't it?"

Clearly, they knew about Ji Ze transitioning to business after leaving the military.

"And your second son, I heard his wife got into Tsinghua University's master's program."

Ye Minshu, whose hand was being held, felt a chill run from her feet to her heart.

Clearly, this was a reminder that they knew all about the Ji family's arranged marriage exchange, and if necessary, they wouldn't hesitate to spread it.

Ye Minshu left the Song family with heavy steps, regretting the years she had spent associating with them.

And then there was Lin Qiao, who could invent things and even get into Tsinghua University's master's program. If only she had known sooner...

"Is the eldest sister-in-law sick again?"

Lin Qiao heard about this when Ji Ling had already been back at the old house for four or five days.

Ji Duo's face remained unreadable. "I heard it's because Song Jing is getting engaged to Yu Jin, and it made her angry." He then served the braised prawns.

It was infuriating because Ye Minshu had always praised them, only to be betrayed by the Song family behind her back.

Moreover, she had always been critical of others' backgrounds, only to end up being looked down upon for her son's future, a complete change in attitude.

"It's done." As usual, Ji Duo peeled one prawn and tasted it first, then peeled another and offered it to Lin Qiao.

Lin Qiao was still thinking about Song Jing's situation, wondering if she had arranged it herself or if it was another family decision, and whether she knew about the production line issue. She absentmindedly took a bite.

To her surprise, it was delicious, tasting very similar to Elder Gu's cooking.

He had been practicing this dish for a long time...

Lin Qiao paused, then looked up at Ji Duo with a serious expression. "Ji Duo, I'm planning to buy a house near the university."