Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

Lu Yang knew the reason.

The unspeakable sense of guilt deep in his heart led him to silently accept "Sister Du's" polite refusal.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go directly to his sister Du, but rather that he lacked the confidence.

Back in Zhaoxian County, it was Du Lingling who introduced him, a poor young man just starting out, to Xu Changping, giving him the first major opportunity in his life.

He has always kept this kindness in his heart.

He had promised her that he would bring suitable projects and money to invest in every place she had worked.

However, it has been incredibly difficult to fulfill this promise.

The infrastructure in southern Jiangxi is too weak.

The area suffers from poor transportation, a virtually non-existent industrial base, and a shortage of human resources.

The projects he had in his hands, worth hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan, whether they were wafer fabs or other high-tech industries, were like giant whales that had been stranded in shallow waters, unable to be implemented at all, for Ganzhou at that time.

The massive investment project that's already suffocating Luzhou would only turn into a disaster if placed here.

He can't exactly bring a box of cash over and distribute it aimlessly to the people, can he?
That's not only not a solution, but it's also an insult to Du Lingling and the southern Jiangxi region she represents, which is striving to find a path of endogenous development.

“Sister Du…” Lu Yang’s heavy sigh in Luzhou seemed to pierce through time and space, echoing silently in the humid air of southern Jiangxi.

He had once harbored a sliver of hope that some of the supporting or downstream industries for the wafer fab would be located in Ganzhou, but the reality was cold and harsh: the place could not even guarantee the basic production conditions required for infrastructure.

The barriers of reality are more disheartening than emotional estrangement.

But what truly stood between the two, keeping the phone constantly busy, was neither these objective difficulties nor Lu Yang's inability to fulfill his investment promises.

Rather, it was that layer of secret that ultimately could not be kept hidden forever.

The truth will out!
The cold moonlight of a winter night in Luzhou could not illuminate the thick, leaden clouds over the Gannan Basin, thousands of miles away.

Located in southern Jiangxi Province, this is a red land surrounded by mountains. It was once a revolutionary base area, soaked in the blood of martyrs!

This area is also an economic backwater, burdened by stagnation in development.

In 1996, this land, which supports more than 700 million people, had an annual GDP of only 178 billion yuan, and its per capita GDP was a pitiful 2000 yuan. This figure was far lower than the national per capita GDP of 5576 yuan during the same period, less than half of it... It was a truly underdeveloped inland province.

Du Lingling has been serving as the deputy commissioner of this region for over a year.

She's always busy, as busy as a spinning top.

The myriad tasks at the grassroots level, the immense pressure of economic development, and the urgent need to improve people's livelihoods weighed heavily on her shoulders like an invisible burden.

Lu Yang had mentioned wanting to visit her several times on the phone, but she had declined each time with various excuses—being busy with work, the distance being too far, or the timing not being right. She hadn't even given him a specific time when they could meet.

Because she was scared.

They also started to back down.

I don't know if I should, or if I have the courage, ask that young man to come over and clarify some things.

My niece is pregnant.

My niece went abroad.

My niece gave birth to a baby girl in Singapore.

The baby girl's surname was Lu.

The bond of blood, like the sharpest carving knife, clearly and undeniably etched the relationship between that young man and her niece into reality, and also into Du Lingling's heart.

Although she had a vague premonition and had warned herself countless times, when the guess turned into an undeniable fact laid bare before her eyes, the shock and pain it brought completely shattered Du Lingling's psychological defenses.

On one hand, he was her niece whom she had watched grow up; on the other hand, he was the first man she had fallen in love with in all her years of being single. In order for them to be together forever, she had already made up her mind to give up her career and resign from her public office when her term ended, to follow the young man's arrangements and leave the mainland to have a child. But now...
The complexity and taboo of this relationship made her feel ashamed, caused her pain, and even more so, filled her with despair.

She chose the most complete escape.

They unilaterally cut off all private communication channels with Lu Yang.

They don't answer the phone, don't reply to messages, and even explicitly convey through their secretary that they are "too busy to meet with guests."

She wanted to sever this ill-fated relationship, even if it meant enduring bloody pain, to completely push that young man, along with her inappropriate feelings, out of her heart.

She needed to fill the emptiness in her heart with arduous, numbing work, and she also needed to prove her worth through her obsession with changing this impoverished land, regardless of that relationship.

Outside the office window, the street scene of southern Jiangxi city is shrouded in gray haze.

The rain, the continuous rain, has been going on for several days, soaking the entire city in a damp, cold, and gloomy atmosphere.

The rain seemed to have washed away the familiar radiance and plumpness that Du Lingling once possessed. She had lost a lot of weight, and her once full cheeks were now slightly sunken. The dark circles under her eyes spoke of long-term hard work and insomnia. Her large, dark coat wrapped around her thin body, making her appear even more pitifully frail.

Just then, there was a hurried knock on the office door.

The secretary pushed open the door, her face still wet with rain and visibly anxious: "Commissioner Du! The rain is too heavy! We just received an emergency report that schools in several counties are severely flooded, especially the Seventh Middle School in Zhanggong District, which is located in a low-lying area near the river. An old teaching building... has tilted severely! The walls are cracked, the foundation is unstable, and the situation is very dangerous!"

Du Lingling snapped out of her reverie, abruptly lifting her head from the pile of documents, her eyes instantly sharp and grave: "Where are the people? Where are the students and teachers?"

"Fortunately! Thanks to the early warning and timely evacuation, there were no casualties! However, the teaching building may collapse further at any time, students are unable to attend classes, and the teaching facilities have been severely damaged!" the secretary quickly reported.

"Get the car ready! We're going to No. 7 Middle School right now!" Du Lingling jumped up abruptly, her movements as swift as the wind.

She didn't even have time to tidy up the documents on the table; she grabbed her coat from the back of the chair and walked out.

As I approached the entrance of the government office building, the torrential rain instantly enveloped the space under the eaves in a deafening curtain of water.

The secretary quickly opened a large black umbrella and handed it over.

Du Lingling didn't even look at it, and simply raised her hand to push open the umbrella handle.

The cold rain instantly soaked her hair, cheeks, and coat.

She didn't care at all. With her head down, she quickly rushed down the steps, braving the torrential rain, and headed straight for the old Santana official car parked by the roadside. She opened the door and got in.

"Go to the Seventh Middle School! Quickly!" Her voice carried an unquestionable command and a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

The Santana's engine let out a low growl, and the wheels rolled over the puddles, splashing high into the air before quickly merging into the flow of traffic in the rain.

Just as the Santana drove away from the government compound, across the street, a low-key, composed, and sharply styled black Mercedes-Benz S600 armored sedan quietly stopped behind the rain curtain. The tinted windows shut out the outside noise and prying eyes.

Inside the car, Lu Yang's deep gaze pierced through the rain, fixing firmly on the exceptionally thin and lonely figure that flashed by in the downpour.

The rain blurred her outline, but it made her loneliness and stubbornness even clearer.

His heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by the cold rain.

"Drive." Lu Yang's voice was deep and hoarse, carrying an unquestionable command.

"Follow the car in front."

The black Mercedes, like a ghost in the rainy night, started silently and slid into the traffic, closely following the Santana speeding through the wind and rain.

The journey was bumpy and muddy.

When Lu Yang's car finally stopped outside the No. 7 Middle School in Ganzhou, the scene before him made even someone as used to grand occasions as him gasp in surprise.

The so-called "key municipal high school" was in a state of disrepair far beyond his imagination.

The low-lying terrain made the entire campus seem to be submerged in a pond, with the muddy water almost reaching above the ankles.

The three-story teaching building, which was leaning, was covered with hideous cracks in its walls, like gaping mouths of despair.

The window glass was shattered, and the exposed steel bars were twisted and deformed.

The gymnasium next door, which was temporarily used as a resettlement site, was actually just a large, dilapidated bungalow. It was crowded with students who were still in shock. They were wearing patched old clothes and huddled around equally dilapidated tables and chairs with missing arms and legs, shivering. The air was filled with damp cold, musty smells, and a suffocating atmosphere of poverty.

"Even schools in the city... are they like this?" Lu Yang muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.

If the urban areas are like this, what kind of abject poverty must schools in the truly remote mountain villages be in?
His eyes searched anxiously through the chaotic crowd.

Soon, he saw that familiar yet unfamiliar figure.

In a classroom that served as a makeshift medical room, Du Lingling was kneeling on the cold, damp cement floor.

She took off her coat, which was completely soaked by the rain, and was wearing only a thin sweater. She was carefully holding a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, who was crying and had a cut on her left leg.

She gently comforted the child while carefully wiping the blood and mud off the girl's legs with a clean handkerchief, her eyes focused and tender.

Rainwater slid down her wet temples and dripped onto the child's tender face, but she was completely unaware.

At that moment, she shed all the authority of a deputy commissioner, leaving only a maternal glow and an almost tragic focus.

Her profile appeared even thinner and paler under the dim emergency lights, but the resilience she exuded in protecting these children deeply moved Lu Yang.

Compassion rippled violently like a lake surface tossed with a pebble.

A profound sense of guilt, deep sympathy for the suffering of this land, and complex, unspoken feelings for Du Lingling intertwined instantly, forming a powerful impulse.

Since there are no suitable large-scale industrial projects here, let's do something direct and practical.

Invest in the future!

What could point to a brighter future than providing children with a safe and well-lit classroom?

Looking at Du Lingling's tired yet focused figure, Lu Yang understood that showing up now would only increase her embarrassment and pain, and might even interfere with her handling of this sudden crisis.

She clearly didn't want to see him, or even think about him.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the pounding in his heart, and made his decision.

"Let's go back to the hotel!"

Lu Yang gave instructions to the driver in a low voice, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue and determination.

The car slowly drove away from the chaotic and heartbreaking scene.

Back at his hotel, Lu Yang immediately dialed his secretary's number: "Contact the Ganzhou Regional Education Bureau immediately. Donate RMB 10 million to the Ganzhou Regional Education Bureau in the name of the 'Group Company.' Purpose: Specifically for the repair or reconstruction of school buildings damaged in this rainstorm disaster, especially dilapidated school buildings like the Seventh Middle School. It must be ensured that the new school buildings meet the latest national earthquake-resistant standards, are made of reinforced concrete, and are of high quality!"

He paused, his tone suddenly turning cold and sharp, carrying an undeniable authority: "Important note: This money must be used for its designated purpose! The group will immediately dispatch a professional finance and engineering supervision team to oversee the entire process, monitoring every penny's flow and every aspect of the project's quality. Meanwhile..."

His eyes narrowed. "Have your elder brother, 'Dajun,' come over here. Tell him personally to bring a few men and keep a close eye on things from the shadows. Both overt and covert oversight are necessary. Anyone who dares to touch this money, anyone who tries to cut corners, has him report directly to me. I don't want my money to become a luxury item in the pockets of some parasites!"

"Yes, Mr. Lu!" Lu Nini, on the other end of the phone, sensed the unusual chill in her boss's voice and immediately obeyed.

Lu Yang put down the phone and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel room.

Outside the window, the rain curtain over Ganzhou was still heavy, and the lights were blurred into a hazy ball of light in the rain.

He seemed to see Du Lingling holding the injured girl again.

"Lingling..." he whispered the name buried deep in his heart, filled with endless complex emotions, "This is all I can do for now. I hope... these classrooms can lighten the burden on your shoulders a little."

He let out a long sigh, a sigh that seemed to blend into the endless sound of rain outside the window.

Meanwhile, in a port city thousands of miles away.

Pacific Shallow Bay, a private estate of extreme luxury nestled against the mountains and overlooking the sea.

"Bang—crash!"

A sharp, piercing sound shattered the silence of the room.

A priceless Qing Dynasty Qianlong imperial kiln famille rose vase was slammed onto a gleaming Italian marble floor, instantly shattering into pieces.

Li Zekai, nicknamed "Little Superman," had a livid face, his chest heaving violently, and his eyes burning with anger and resentment.

He failed to take profits when he shorted Lianxiang this time, and ended up suffering a loss when Lianxiang rebounded sharply from its lows.

This unpleasant loss was like a knife to his heart.

And all the clues eventually pointed to that name, that rival who haunted his mind like a ghost and repeatedly ruined his plans!

"You surnamed Lu!" Li Zekai stared at the pile of expensive fragments on the ground, gritting his teeth. Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with deep-seated hatred.

"It's you again! Lu Yang! You just wait, I won't let you get away with this!" (End of Chapter)