Chapter 630 - 220: I Really Don’t Know About This

Ah Bing? Zhang Haoyuan was startled for a moment but didn’t give it much thought.

"Let’s go now." Zhang Haoyuan didn’t hesitate for even a second. His desperate desire to start a new life was something others couldn’t possibly understand.

"Okay." Qin Mei nodded, her gaze falling on Jie Jingjue.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, you’re not going to make me take him, are you?" Jie Jingjue asked. Her expression said it all.

"You don’t want to?" Qin Mei asked.

"I’m willing, but how should I take him?" Jie Jingjue fretted. ’By bicycle? The journey is too far, and I don’t want to ride for that long. It’d be exhausting.’

"Take him by car," Qin Mei said with a smile.

"Didn’t Dad’s car get wrecked?" Jie Jingjue asked.

"Your fourth brother said it’s already been repaired," Qin Mei said. "Ride my bicycle to the machinery factory and find him. Tell him we need the car to take Zhang Haoyuan to Ah Bing’s house."

"The car is Dad’s, so why ask Fourth Brother?" Jie Jingjue asked, confused.

"If you ask your dad for the car, he might not give it to you," Qin Mei said with certainty. "But if your fourth brother asks, he’ll definitely give it to him."

"Okay." Jie Jingjue didn’t ask any more questions. He got up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked toward the stairs.

After Jie Jingjue left, Zhang Haoyuan looked at Qin Mei, hesitating to speak.

Qin Mei pressed her lips together and said nothing. Zhang Haoyuan took a deep breath. "Sister Qin..."

"Don’t call me Sister. You’re my uncle now," Qin Mei cut him off.

"Huh?!" Zhang Haoyuan was stunned, scratching his short hair. "Isn’t it supposed to be cousin?"

Qin Mei found it hard to explain. At first, he was supposed to be a cousin, but her older brother had insisted on making him an uncle.

Qin Mei gave Zhang Haoyuan a brief explanation. Afterward, his expression was peculiar. He mulled it over for a long time before finally speaking. "That’s... not really appropriate, is it?"

"It’s perfectly fine, Uncle." Qin Mei deliberately stressed the word "Uncle." Her side of the family had no objections, and frankly, she didn’t care either way.

Zhang Haoyuan’s feelings were incredibly complicated. The fake name and the fake letter of introduction had suddenly become real. Holding the letter, he felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach, terrified it would be exposed as a forgery. He wasn’t afraid of the consequences for himself, but he was terrified of implicating Qin Mei.

His father’s students all kept their distance from the Zhang family. Qin Mei wasn’t one of them; she was just Jing Ling’s fourth sister-in-law. It was already a risk for her to secretly help his parents, let alone save him from his desperate plight.

"Before you go, do you want to say goodbye to your parents?" Qin Mei asked.

Zhang Haoyuan shook his head decisively. "No."

’It’s better not to cause her any more trouble, just in case. I’m a dead man now. If I run into an acquaintance, how would I explain it? That I came back from the dead?’

Qin Mei didn’t press the issue. This really wasn’t a good time for them to meet.

「An hour later.」

Zhang Haoyuan was in the back seat and Qin Mei was in the front passenger seat. But the person driving wasn’t Jie Jingjue—it was Jie Jingchen.

Qin Mei looked at Jie Jingchen, hesitating to speak.

"Stop holding back. Just say whatever’s on your mind." Jie Jingchen shot Qin Mei a sidelong glance. Ever since she’d gotten in the car, she’d had that look of someone who was bursting to say something but holding it in.

Qin Mei rested her arm on the car window frame, propping up her chin. She tilted her head to look at Jie Jingchen as he drove, took a deep breath, and suggested, "Jie Jingsi, why don’t you quit your job at the machinery factory?"

’When the wave of layoffs comes, Jie Jingchen will definitely be in the first batch to go.’

"Why?" Jie Jingchen asked, confused.

Qin Mei bit her lower lip. "You don’t like working at the machinery factory. You should find a job you actually like."

Jie Jingchen fell into thought. After a long moment, he said, "The machinery factory is fine."

’Ugh,’ Qin Mei thought, exasperated. ’Is the machinery factory "fine," or is it "fine" that his dad’s the factory director? Since his dad is the director, he can skip work whenever he wants without ever getting fired.’

’Although, "skipping work" is probably too harsh. He "requests leave." Every time Jie Jingchen doesn’t show up, he puts in a leave request. It doesn’t matter if it gets approved; what matters is that he asked.’

"As long as you like it." He’d already said so; what more could she say?

’Still, having a job is better than nothing. Jie Jingchen really won the birth lottery. If he’d been born into an ordinary family, would he dare to be so unenthusiastic about work? His whole family would be relying on him to put food on the table. A poor work attitude would affect his monthly pay, or even cost him his job.’

Halfway there, Qin Mei spotted a familiar figure up ahead, pedaling furiously on a bicycle as if their life depended on it.

"Jie Jingsi, look up ahead! Isn’t that Ah Bing?" Qin Mei leaned right up against the windshield, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. Then, she reached out to pat Jie Jingchen on the shoulder.

"I see him." Jie Jingchen stopped the car.

Qin Mei opened her door to get out, but just then, Ah Bing sped past on his bicycle, brushing right by the open door without any sign of stopping.