Chapter 75: So It Was a Woman?

“Hello, Aunt Guo, this is Lin Jingyue.” Lin Jingyue picked up the phone, her voice calm.

On the other end, Mrs. Guo paused for a moment upon hearing her voice. “The person you asked me to look into… isn’t ordinary.”

Lin Jingyue’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Aunt Guo, please just tell me directly.”

“She used to be neighbors with your mother—they grew up together…”

Few people still knew about this. Mrs. Guo had put in considerable effort to learn it from the old neighbors of the Wu family.

Wu Huixian and Xu Caixia were childhood neighbors, but the Wu and Xu families had always been at odds.

Twenty years ago, both women were seventeen. The Xu family, once on par with the Wu family, was struck by disaster overnight—a massive fire consumed their home. Only Xu Caixia, who happened to be at a friend’s house, survived; the rest of the family perished in the flames.

The fire spread to neighboring homes as well, and naturally, the Wu family wasn’t spared. Wu Huixian’s father, Lin Jingyue’s grandfather, risked his life to drag his family to safety.

Luckily, though they were injured, everyone survived. However, all their possessions were lost. Old Mrs. Wu seized upon Xu Caixia, the sole survivor of the Xu family, refusing to let her go and forcing her to marry her son to repay the debt.

Just as the situation reached its peak, Xu Caixia was suddenly found by her biological parents.

Only then did the neighbors realize she was not the Xu family’s own child but had been adopted, and her real parents were from a powerful family in the capital.

Wealthy and influential, they swiftly settled the matter with the Wu family—not only reimbursing them for their losses but also providing generous compensation. Other affected neighbors benefited as well.

Xu Caixia soared to new heights, returning to the capital with her parents. Over a decade ago, she returned once with her husband, but after that, there was no further news of her. Even the Xu family’s relatives, hoping to benefit from her success, found no way to contact her.

Yet this phoenix, having risen to fortune, returned this year with her whole family to An City due to her husband’s job transfer.

Upon learning of Wu Huixian’s passing, she was overwhelmed with grief and vowed to take good care of Lin Jingyue, who had lost her mother and lacked her father’s affection.

To that end, she had even exacted revenge on Lin’s father; now both he and Hu Cuiyi had been assigned to clean toilets at the street office.

Listening to Mrs. Guo, Lin Jingyue still felt something was amiss.

“That’s all I could find out. I hope it helps. Jingyue, the medicine you sent for Yutong really worked…” Mrs. Guo said with excitement.

About ten days earlier, Lin Jingyue had mailed her a prescription. She’d taken great care in preparing it—how could it not work?

“Thank you, Aunt Guo. I understand. I’ll mail the second prescription tomorrow,” Lin Jingyue replied with a smile. “But Aunt Guo, I also want to know—how does Xu Caixia treat my grandmother’s family?”

“Xiao Lin, some things…”

“I’ll send a couple more prescriptions for Yutong,” Lin Jingyue said with a laugh.

Mrs. Guo was embarrassed. “Oh, that wasn’t what I meant. Xu Caixia’s husband works for the government. The Wu family, smelling an opportunity, tried to connect with them several times. At first, Xu Caixia was indifferent, but later, for reasons unknown, she arranged work for a member of the Wu family—Wu Shanshan. She’s now a full-time worker at the textile factory.”

The message was clear enough.

Lin Jingyue understood at once. Wu Shanshan—she’d thought she’d have to go to the countryside, but luck had clearly favored her.

“Thank you, Aunt Guo. If possible, would you mind keeping an eye on them? I may need your help in the future,” Lin Jingyue replied ambiguously.

For her daughter’s sake, Mrs. Guo would not refuse.

Indeed, she agreed readily.

Guo Yutong’s condition wasn’t critical, but for a young woman, it was serious enough—her fragile health made it difficult for her to have children. That was Mrs. Guo’s greatest worry.

After hanging up, Jiang Xun handed fifty cents to the accountant, and the two of them left the brigade office.

Seeing Lin Jingyue deep in thought, he didn’t disturb her.

As they neared the youth settlement, Lin Jingyue suddenly spoke. “I plan to make a trip to An City for New Year.”

“You want to investigate in person?”

“Yes. This isn’t simple. If Xu Caixia truly was my mother’s confidante and friend, my mother would have mentioned her. And her exceptional kindness to me feels unusual.”

“Oh, right, aren’t you going home for New Year? Could you look into the Song family for me?”

The Song family was Xu Caixia’s biological family.

“You don’t need to worry about accompanying me; I can manage on my own. With my skills, what could the average person do to me?” Lin Jingyue immediately saw what Jiang Xun was hesitating about.

“I heard you didn’t go home last year.”

Jiang Xun gave a helpless smile; she’d said everything already. “Just be careful, then. I’ll look into things in the capital.”

He, too, sensed something wasn’t right after learning the whole story.

“That’s settled, then. I’m starving.” Lin Jingyue rubbed her stomach.

“Zhou Yan should have cooked by now,” Jiang Xun said with a chuckle.

When they got back, the aroma of food only made them hungrier.

Zhou Yan had stir-fried shredded potatoes with green peppers and garlic shoots with cured meat, made egg drop soup, and the staple was steamed wheat buns—leftovers from the previous day when Lin Jingyue had made them.

It was just enough for a meal.

“Time to eat,” Zhou Yan called; he’d already been waiting for a while.

“By the way, who called just now? Is something wrong? Need any help?” He put a piece of cured meat on a bun, took a big bite, and looked at Lin Jingyue.

He was generally aware of her family situation. The two illegitimate children made no effort to hide things, and Lin Jingyue herself hadn’t concealed anything.

“No trouble for now. I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Lin Jingyue replied with a smile.

Zhou Yan nodded and didn’t press further.

If she really needed help and he bypassed Jiang Xun, Jiang Xun would have his head.

After eating, the three went to take a midday rest.

Because of the autumn harvest, their rest time had shortened. Lying in bed, Lin Jingyue sorted through her memories again—her mother had indeed never mentioned Xu Caixia or anything about the Xu family.

Xu Caixia’s supposed close relationship with her… was questionable.

Lost in thought, Lin Jingyue drifted off to sleep. In her dream, she suddenly found herself back in the twenty-first century, in her own villa.

She tried to push open the door, but the moment she reached out, her hand passed right through it.

So it really was a dream.

Wait.

Lin Jingyue heard a sound behind her. She turned and was startled by a pair of serene, clear eyes.

She nearly jumped out of her skin.

She blurted out, “You walk without making a sound? Don’t you know that sneaking up on people can scare them to death?!”

The words hung in the air. Silence fell. Lin Jingyue’s pupils dilated sharply. Damn, why did this person look exactly like her?

“Lin Jingyue?” ‘She’ spoke, the voice identical. “So you’re the real owner of this body.”

“…Are you the Lin Jingyue from the seventies?” Lin Jingyue was at a loss for words.

It really was a dream.

“Yes.”

They stood in silence, face to face.

A few minutes later, they entered the house. Seeing that nothing had changed, Lin Jingyue’s eyes filled with nostalgia—her grand villa, her spacious home.