Chapter 558: Same Name

Chapter 558: Same Name

Early July marked the beginning of the height of summer.

Jiang Yu had always hated the summer heat, but now, perhaps due to her pregnancy, she felt even worse.

At first, it wasn’t obvious, but as she approached the three-month mark, the morning sickness started.

Having seen Lin Rui and others suffer from severe nausea, she knew her own condition wasn’t too bad.

Still, the summer heat took its toll, and within days, her face looked noticeably thinner.

Wu Yue, who had been living under the same roof with her for some time, finally realized something was wrong.

"Is your sister-in-law pregnant?"

He Feiyan curled her lips into a smile. "Took you long enough."

Wu Yue chuckled. "Your family’s really good at keeping secrets."

Rumors that Jiang Yu couldn’t have children had been swirling outside, yet she hadn’t let even a whisper of her pregnancy slip.

"My eldest brother said we couldn’t say anything until after three months."

Wu Yue asked, "How far along is she?"

He Feiyan did a quick calculation. "About eleven weeks—still just a little thing."

"That means the due date will be in winter."

And not just any winter—the dead of winter, when Beicheng is especially cold.

Though there’s no choice in the matter, if possible, most people try to avoid giving birth in summer or winter.

Too cold or too hot—either way, it’s miserable.

He Feiyan rested her chin on her hand and sighed. "It’s tough being a woman."

Wu Yue nodded. "When it comes to childbirth, women just have to suffer more."

As they chatted, Jiang Yu came in from outside.

"Fei Yan, take Yueyue and go help Sixie."

He Feiyan, unaware of the task, agreed right away.

Wu Yue, however, asked, "Help with what?"

Jiang Yu replied, "A shipment of supplies just came in at his place. They need people to sort and inventory them. There’s too much to count, and his team is all rough guys who can’t even handle basic math."

Wu Yue looked puzzled. "What kind of supplies?"

He Feiyan patted her shoulder. "Let’s go. I’ll fill you in on the way."

Jiang Yu had the supplies collected quietly.

She didn’t dare mention the earthquake, afraid it would start a panic.

The moment Wu Yue left with He Feiyan, Li Nian showed up with a friend.

A couple of days ago, Factory Director Zheng asked Jiang Yu (Jiangyu) to work with the newspaper to publish an earthquake warning. After thinking it over, Jiangyu concluded that only Li Nian would have the courage to do it.

So, she came to discuss the details of the earthquake warning with Jiangyu on her day off.

But she didn’t come alone—she brought along her childhood best friend.

"My childhood friend, Jiang Yu (Jiangyu)."

Li Nian deliberately slowed her speech, wearing a mischievous smile.

Jiangyu indeed looked surprised. "We have the same name?"

Jiangyu stepped forward with a smile. "Different characters, different surname. My name is written like this."

She took out her notebook and showed her signature.

Just the sound was the same. The first time she heard it, she’d thought it was fate too.

Jiangyu smiled and shook her hand. "Hello, I’m Jiangyu."

"I’m Jiangyu."

Jiangyu asked, "Are you also from the newspaper?"

Li Nian shook her head. "No, but she has something to ask you."

Jiangyu turned to Jiangyu, puzzled. "Jiangyu, what’s your question?"

Jiangyu grew serious. "My grandfather was once a researcher at the Academy of Sciences and is now the head of the Harbin Institute of Engineering Mechanics. He previously focused on structural mechanics research but has devoted himself to earthquake engineering studies in recent years. Two years ago, he established a related research group specializing in seismic structures."

These terms were unfamiliar to Jiangyu.

But she understood the general idea—Jiangyu's grandfather was a scientist.

"I’m no earthquake expert," Jiangyu said.

She didn’t think her level of knowledge could match a conversation with Jiangyu's grandfather.

Jiangyu replied, "You might not be an expert, but you’re the only one who sounded the alarm for Huangcheng! Well, the only one outside my grandfather’s research group."

It clicked for Jiangyu. "Your grandfather had proposed it before?"

"The earthquake warning for Liaoning Province—do you remember?"

"Of course."

Jiangyu excitedly grasped her hand. "Actually, you and my grandfather have been connected long ago! The Liaoning earthquake warning was published in the newspaper because my grandfather went over his superiors’ heads and insisted on it!"

Despite the publication, the warning fell on deaf ears.

No one believed earthquakes could be predicted.

It was Jiangyu who fought hard to convince higher-ups and the Second State Cotton Mill, ultimately getting the leadership to take earthquake warnings seriously.

Two months earlier, Jiangyu’s grandfather had also proposed an earthquake warning for Hebei Province.

Hebei is a huge province, which made pinpointing it difficult. The process faced many obstacles, and they could only roughly estimate that the epicenter would likely be near Huangcheng.

Yet, history repeated itself—exactly the same story unfolded again. It was rejected once more.

Jiang Yu’s grandfather’s research team had once been shut down.

However, within just a month, the higher-ups pulled a complete 180 and began taking her grandfather's warnings seriously.

After digging around, they learned of Jiang Yu's existence.

"Jiang, if you're asking how I knew, then that's classified."

Jiang Yu had recently signed a confidentiality agreement, and no additional people were allowed to be informed about the matter.

Jiang Yu squeezed her hand. "I don’t need to know that. I just want to ask about some details."

Some things just can't be explained, and her grandfather had also told her not to ask too many questions.

But he wanted to know more details about the earthquake.

However, Jiang Yu only knew so much, and that was all she could say.

"I’ll take you to meet someone. She might be able to answer in greater detail."

That person, naturally, was Jiang Ting.

It wasn’t until Jiang Yu brought them to Nanhe Village that she learned Jiang Ting had given birth.

She had a healthy baby boy and was beaming.

Jiang Yu didn't want to come empty-handed, so she quickly slipped Jiang Ting ten yuan as a congratulatory gift.

This made Jiang Ting's day, and she eagerly shared everything she knew, bending over backwards to help.

Jiang Yu got what she wanted, and both parties were pleased.

But just as they were about to leave, Jiang Ting called out to Jiang Yu.

"I’ve had a baby, and you come empty-handed?"

Jiang Yu gave her a look. "You expect me to bring you things?"

Jiang Ting shamelessly replied, "You’re my sister—that's what sisters do! Don’t forget, you still owe me money!"

Since it was about the earthquake warning, Jiang Yu handed her another ten yuan.

"You won’t miss out."

Satisfied, Jiang Ting scooped up her crying baby to hush it.

"You should hurry up too. If you don’t have a child soon, how will you keep Section Chief He interested?"

Jiang Yu scoffed. "You have a child—whose heart have you managed to keep?"

Jiang Ting was immune to her digs and ignored the remark.

Instead, she started gossiping about the Fu family.

"I heard Fu Xiangyang got divorced! Good riddance. The wife his mother picked—what did he expect?"

Jiang Yu retorted, "Look in the mirror. Pot calling the kettle black."

Jiang Ting snorted. "At least I’m better than Xu Zhenzhen. I had this baby hoping to win Fu Xiangyang back, and I didn’t drag some brat to the Fu family to mooch off them," she added.

Jiang Yu couldn't be bothered arguing with her and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Jiang Yu paused but didn't look back.

Jiang Ting ventured timidly, "Do you think if I take the child to find Fu Xiangyang, he'd take me back?"

Jiang Yu felt she must be crazy to even stop and listen to her.

With how Jiang Ting thinks, what sensible words could she possibly say?

She smirked. "Whatever. Not my problem."

Not many people would fall into the same trap twice, but if Jiang Ting did something like that, she wouldn't find it strange at all.