Chapter 160: Chapter 151 Passing the Buck Chapter 160: Chapter 151 Passing the Buck Lu Jiajie returned and first went to Radiance Road to share with Lu Jiaxin the gains from his trip. This time, he had brought in a batch of summer clothes, and the woman named Danny who had helped him select the merchandise was the same one as last time.
Jiaxin listened quietly to his report of the trip’s rewards. Initially, everything was normal, but as he continued, she began to furrow her brow. Half of his sentences mentioned that Danny.
When Lu Jiajie mentioned that woman named Danny again, Lu Jiaxin asked, “Fifth Brother, is this Danny very beautiful?”
Lu Jiajie replied casually, “She’s alright, I guess!”
Looking at his expression, Jiaxin thought she might be overthinking it, but she felt she still had to say, “Fifth Brother, if you really can’t continue with her, you should wait until after a divorce to start looking.”
Lu Jiajie, who was drinking water, choked and sprayed the water out on hearing this, “What nonsense are you spouting? That girl is beautiful and competent; plenty of people are pursuing her.”
Jiaxin stated, “I’m just reminding you that if it’s not working out, go for a divorce. Don’t have an affair. It’s disgusting.”
Her own parents had differing pursuits and divorced only when they could no longer get along, and the divorce was amicable without causing her any harm.
Lu Jiajie declared, “I won’t divorce your Fifth Sister-in-law. If we divorced, what would happen to Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng?”
Jiaxin couldn’t possibly urge him to divorce, nor would she encourage him to get along better with Ma Lili, “In the future, you should put more effort into the children. Fifth Sister-in-law has brainwashed her family; don’t let the kids be swayed by them too.”
Lu Jiajie had a realization and felt he indeed had to be vigilant about this matter.
An hour later, Lu Jiajie was back. Seeing his face clouded with indignation as he came in from outside, Lu Jiaxin knew there had been another argument.
Without waiting for her to ask, Lu Jiajie said, “She fired Aunt Ah Le and has brought in her father to look after the kids.”
Jiaxin had guessed that Ma Lili would dismiss Aunt Ah Le but had not expected Ma Lili would have her father come to care for the kids.
Lu Jiajie was near the brink of fury, “If her mother had come to take care of them, that would have been one thing, but her father won’t even upright a spilled oil bottle at home, how could he possibly take good care of two children?”
Jiaxin refrained from commenting. In Ma Lili’s heart, her parents were more important than her husband and children, and it wasn’t surprising that she would make such a move.
Suddenly, Lu Jiajie asserted, “If she keeps this up, I’ll bring my parents over to look after the kids.”
Jiaxin was at a loss for words. Bringing over Second Uncle and Second Aunt to look after the kids would create chaos every day. She usually wouldn’t concern herself with the couple’s affairs, but she felt sorry for the children and added another comment, “Second Uncle and Second Aunt have plenty of their own health issues. Aren’t you worried that the kids will pick up their bad habits if they take care of them?”
Lu Jiajie explained, “Of course, I wouldn’t really bring them over. I just want to scare your Fifth Sister-in-law, hoping she will care more for the kids and less for her family from now on.”
With regard to their marital issues, Lu Jiaxin now considered herself a spectator and firmly decided not to chime in.
In the evening, Ma Lili brought the two children over.
Touching Xiao Fengfeng’s thin face with pity, Jiaxin noticed the little girl had lost weight, “What would you like to eat? I’ll have Uncle Xue make it for you.”
Xiao Feng requested braised fish and meatballs, then added pitifully, “Aunt Jiaxin, Grandpa’s cooking is so bad, my brother and I couldn’t eat it. Aunt Jiaxin, can my brother and I move back in to live with you?”
Qiangqiang didn’t speak, but his face also wore a hopeful expression.
Ma Lili was embarrassingly at a loss, having never expected her daughter to say such things to Lu Jiaxin, “You girl, what kind of nonsense are you spouting in front of your aunt?”
Xiao Feng’s tears fell pitter-patter, with a pitiable look that was heart-wrenchingly sad. Lu Jiaxin brought her inside, gave some biscuits to the two children to eat.
When Ma Lili entered and didn’t see Lu Jiajie, she asked, “Jiaxin, where’s your Fifth Brother?”
Lu Jiaxin pretended to be clueless, “I don’t know? Didn’t he go home? What, he didn’t go home?”
Ma Lili, with red-rimmed eyes, said, “Jiaxin, can you please try to persuade your Fifth Brother? My parents went too far before, but they have apologized to your Fifth Brother, and they promised they’ll change in the future.”
Lu Jiaxin didn’t want the children to hear this conversation; she sent Qiangqiang with Xiao Feng outside to eat biscuits, then spoke bluntly, “If Fifth Brother still earned that same salary of a little over eighty dollars every month, would they apologize to him? No, they wouldn’t have. Not only would they not apologize, they would have looked down on him even more and scolded him worse than before.”
Ma Lili’s face turned beet red.
Lu Jiaxin hadn’t wanted to say much more, but thinking about how the two children would suffer the most if they truly got a divorce, she added a few more words, “Fifth Sister-in-law, you’ve been so focused on your own family and keep accommodating Yan Jixiang at the expense of your children. Ma Jixiang is just your nephew; Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng are the flesh and blood you carried for ten months. In the future, when you grow old, the ones to take care of you will be Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng, not Yan Jixiang.”
If she continued to be obstinate, once Lu Jiajie earned more money, there would be plenty of other women throwing themselves at him. By then, no one would help her.
Ma Lili said, “My parents, because they have no son to carry on the family line, have been ridiculed and cursed at for not having descendants. For years, they’ve endured such humiliation. They begged me over this matter, and I simply couldn’t bear to refuse them.”
Alright then, that whole speech had been for nothing.
Lu Jiaxin was too tired to repeat herself, “Fifth Brother did indeed stop by after he came home, but he didn’t stay long and left soon after. I have no idea where he is now.”
Truth be told, Ma Lili’s visit was specifically to have Lu Jiaxin help persuade Lu Jiajie. She understood perfectly well that the crux of the matter lay with Lu Jiaxin.
With teary eyes, Ma Lili said, “Jiaxin, Jiajie now only listens to you. If you convince him, he’ll surely agree, and our family can return to how it was before.”
To do what she did and not reflect or admit wrong, yet to still hope for things to go back to the way they were, is this some kind of joke?
Seeing that she remained silent, Ma Lili’s tears began to fall, “Jiaxin, I’m begging you, if you don’t help, Jiajie will definitely divorce me. If he divorces me, what will happen to Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng?”
Since that incident, Lu Jiajie hadn’t touched her again, which was an extremely dangerous sign. And the whole issue of men making money and then seeking other women was all too common. She was scared.
Lu Jiaxin completely lost her desire to continue the conversation, “It’s getting late, and it’s unsafe to walk at night. Fifth Sister-in-law, you should hurry back with the children.”
Seeing that Lu Jiaxin wouldn’t budge, Ma Lili’s tears began to well up again, “Jiaxin, can you really bear to see Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng mistreated by a stepmother?”
Lu Jiaxin thought her words were quite amusing, “Are you saying that if you and Fifth Brother end up divorcing and the children are miserable, it’ll all be because I didn’t persuade him? That I’m the main culprit?”
“You can’t differentiate between what’s important, and now you’re blaming me. Where do you get the face to say that?”
Ma Lili hurriedly explained, “Jiaxin, that’s not what I meant.”
Lu Jiaxin’s patience was worn thin; with a cold expression, she said, “For the children’s sake, I’m sparing you from harsh words. But please, from now on, don’t come here again.”