Chapter 275: Chapter 275

Sha Xinyu looked at Li Jianqing who was smiling very amiably. When Li Xianglu came in with a tea tray, she saw everyone sitting around Li Jianqing, so she put the tea on the machine next to them and sat down.

Sha Xinyu said with a smile, "So you are real siblings; you don’t look alike at all."

Li Xianglu frowned slightly, and Iro, who was beside her, tugged at her mother, knowing that she would say it anyway.

Li Jianqing, however, spoke up: "My sister was adopted by Grandpa Li of our clan when she was fourteen. Blood-wise, we are indeed real siblings, but my sister really doesn’t resemble anyone in our family."

Seeing how forthright the boy was, with no intention to conceal anything, Sha Xinyu began to like his honesty. However, no matter how much she liked him, she couldn’t let the two of them develop a relationship further; that would lead to suffering later on!

So she smiled and said, "Jianqing, you saved my Iro and our family is very grateful. Iro’s father would like to acknowledge you as our godson. In the future, we can also help you with your career, giving you a bit less trouble than others. This way, Iro will become your sister, just like Xiao Xiang!"

Iro widened her eyes on the side and said, "Mom, when was this decided? I had no idea."

Sha Xinyu touched her daughter’s shoulder and said with a smile, "Your father and I discussed this. You are our treasure; we are willing to do anything for you."

Li Xianglu’s brows furrowed. What does Ai Luo’s mother mean? Could it be that there’s really something between Er Ge and Iro?

But Li Jianqing smiled and said indifferently, "Auntie, I rescued Iro willingly, without any ulterior motives. Even if you don’t acknowledge me as your godson, I would still treat her like a real sister."

Sha Xinyu frowned, thinking: He doesn’t want any reward, so how can we ever repay this favor? How will he know when it’s time to retreat in the future?

Iro was already anxious on the side and shouted "Mom" several times. Sha Xinyu patted her daughter’s hand and said with a smile, "Well then, if you refuse to acknowledge me as your godmother, please accept this ten thousand yuan. This is our family’s heartfelt gratitude for saving Iro. If you don’t take it, your Uncle Ai will overthink it and assume you find it too little."

Li Jianqing suddenly raised his head with a tight frown, but he didn’t speak.

Li Xianglu laughed with anger. How shameless! Afraid of being extorted, they now try to use money to send us off after the godson proposition fails. Shameless, as if money is more important!

Li Xianglu said coldly, "Auntie, ten thousand yuan, that’s a lot. Is Uncle Ai’s salary as a commander that high?"

Sha Xinyu did not expect Li Xianglu to speak up. Upon hearing these words, her expression changed. She saw Li Xianglu stand up and say, "You should undoubtedly be aware of what my Grandpa does. To brazenly offer so much money, aren’t you afraid that I’ll get upset and tell Grandpa Li about how your family is so rich that you can use money to crush people?"

Sha Xinyu’s face turned pale upon hearing this. Of course, she knew what Li Huai Ren did - everyone in their circle knew about him. Even those who had never been under his thumb had heard of his reputation. Was this a threat? She stood up abruptly, her lips trembling as she tried to speak.

Li Xianglu, however, went to the door and said indifferently, "We have a lot of things to take care of at home, so we won’t keep you." After saying that, she left. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give Iro face; it was just that Iro’s mother was too much!

Sha Xinyu trembled with anger. Ai Luo stepped forward to hold her mother back, just about to speak, when she saw Sha Xinyu raise her foot to leave. But at that moment, Li Jianqing spoke up in time, "Auntie, please take the money away, so my sister doesn’t see it and think too much."

Hearing this, Sha Xinyu’s steps halted, and she turned her head to glare viciously at Li Jianqing. She snatched the money from the bed and pointed at him, saying, "My daughter is not someone a poor boy like you can covet!"

Ai Luo exclaimed in shock, "Mom!"

Sha Xinyu stuffed the money into her bag and hurriedly dragged Ai Luo away, their footsteps hastening as if a dog was chasing them from behind.

After walking about twenty or thirty meters outside, Sha Xinyu forcefully stopped, glaring at her daughter and said, "Ai Luo, you saw it, you saw with your own eyes how this family treats us. Remember this, you must never get involved with Li Jianqing again!"

Ai Luo pouted and said, "It’s all because you wanted to throw money at people; otherwise, Xiangxiang wouldn’t have gotten angry. What am I supposed to do now!"

Sha Xinyu pulled her daughter along and huffed, "What to do? What else can you do? From now on, have less to do with that family. They’re rude and lack upbringing!"

Meanwhile, after the Ais mother and daughter left, Li Xianglu calmed herself down before entering the living room. She brought a bottle of warm milk for her brother and placed it on the table by the bed.

Li Jianqing smiled and said, "I’m like a baby, drinking milk three times a day."

Li Xianglu laughed, "There’s calcium in milk; it’s good for your leg."

Li Jianqing knew all that his sister was saying, but he still felt bad inside. During his hospital stay, his sister had brought him food to improve his diet. If he collected junk, he might find something valuable to sell and give to his sister, but now his leg was injured, he couldn’t do that anymore and had become a burden to her.

Li Xianglu, seeing Li Jianqing’s expression unchanged, suddenly asked, "Jianqing, tell me the truth, do you like Ai Luo?"

Li Jianqing looked at his sister, then turned his gaze elsewhere for a long while before saying, "Even if I like her, what can I do about it?"

Li Xianglu, somewhat annoyed, said, "If you liked her, you should’ve said so earlier. I wouldn’t have treated her mother like that. Now look what’s happened. We’ve offended the mother of the girl. Can anything come of this now?"

Li Jianqing smirked bitterly, "Even if you hadn’t offended her mother, nothing would’ve worked out. Didn’t you see what they came for? Being clear sooner is better. Their family is not one I can aspire to marry into."

Li Xianglu wanted to say something to comfort him, but suddenly she found herself speechless. Matters of family background are hard to console. After all, it’s impossible to send Li Jianqing back to his mother’s womb to be reborn in a better family, nor could they suddenly grant Li Erfu an official position to change the family’s social status. These things are unrealistic.

In the days that followed, Li Jianqing did seem a bit dejected, but Qin Zhen was extremely busy. He had to sort through a lot of things every day. Li Jianqing had only injured the bone in his lower left leg, which didn’t hinder his movement much, so he helped organize the goods every day using crutches.

Qin Zhen was carefree about it, saying he would split the profits seventy-thirty with Li Jianqing. Li Xianglu was furious; she did most of the sorting but could only get a twenty percent share.

However, over the past half month, Qin Zhen had gotten the hang of sorting junk. He set different prices for scrap metal and used books; while the going rate was one jiao for ten catty outside, he paid five jiao for used books. With this, he managed to get a lot of old books and found many valuable items.