Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 43

Before the New Year, Jiang Rui’s maternal aunt, He Fumei, had arrived at the old Jiang family courtyard to pay her respects, bringing along her husband and their two daughters who were on winter break. At the insistent request of Jiang Rui’s mother—and more importantly, because Jiang Rui himself had asked—she stayed. He Fumei doted on her nephew and naturally wouldn’t refuse his wishes.

He Fumei was six or seven months pregnant, and her belly was terrifyingly large. Sometimes, even looking at her made Jiang Rui’s heart skip a beat. He knew that in his past life, his aunt had carried a child just like this, only to lose it in an accident during the seventh or eighth month. The mother had been saved, but the child had not.

In this life, from the very beginning of the pregnancy, Jiang Rui had been helping her condition her body both openly and secretly. He sent her spiritual honey and fruit grown in the Secret Realm, made her flower teas, and even planned to extract a drop of “Jade Tree Pith” in a few days to nourish a piece of “Pith Jade” for her to wear.

As long as they carefully navigated these next two months with Jiang Rui watching over her, there would be no issues during childbirth.

His uncle-in-law, Zhou Yongping, followed He Fumei’s every word. He didn’t dare cross her for fear that a bout of anger might startle the unborn child. Jiang Rui had always known this man treated his aunt well, but since this pregnancy began, he had truly witnessed the extent of it.

Previously, Jiang Rui had been polite but distant toward this uncle-in-law. This was not just because the man was older, on his second marriage, and had a daughter from a previous wife, but also because of events in his past life. In that life, Zhou Yongping and He Fumei had eventually divorced.

However, after spending time together recently, Jiang Rui’s prejudices against Zhou Yongping had begun to fade.

It was rare to see a man wash his wife’s undergarments by hand in the dead of winter, refusing to use a washing machine because he claimed it wouldn’t get them clean enough. He would get up seven or eight times a night just because his wife whimpered slightly in her sleep. Whenever his aunt frowned, his uncle-in-law would become frantic with worry.

Jiang Rui feared that if this continued, Zhou Yongping’s health would collapse before the baby was even born. Thus, he prepared two pieces of “Aura-Deriving Jade” for him: a pendant for calming the nerves and a ring for replenishing vital energy.

Zhou Yongping initially refused. “How can an elder take gifts from a junior? This won’t do, it won’t do at all.”

Jiang Rui’s parents, who knew nothing of jewelry, didn’t think much of it, assuming their son had just bought some trinkets with his allowance. But Zhou Yongping was different; he could tell at a glance that these items were extraordinary. However, he had heard from the Jiangs that Jiang Rui worked with a big boss who admired his plants, so he assumed they were gifts from that employer.

After some persuasion and a firm word from He Fumei, Zhou Yongping finally accepted them.

The two cousins, Zhou Xiao and Zhou Tong, had no brothers of their own. Although they didn’t see Jiang Rui often, they were inseparable from him whenever they met. Tongtong, who was still in elementary school, would act spoiled and demand that Jiang Rui carry her everywhere. She was also incredibly jealous; she wouldn’t even let her own mother or sister get too close to her cousin without throwing a tantrum.

This time, Tongtong even got jealous of her father. Seeing her cousin give her father gifts but nothing for her, she burst into tears, tugging at Jiang Rui’s sleeve. No matter how much her parents coaxed or scolded, she wouldn’t stop—until He Fumei eventually gave up in annoyance.

Jiang Rui knew the little girl was far too clever to be truly crying; she was just acting spoiled. Sure enough, while she wailed, she peeked out of the corner of her eye to see if her cousin was angry or impatient.

Jiang Rui pretended not to notice her little tricks and decided to tease her. Bracing his face into a stern expression, he said, “Tongtong, you’re so big now and still pestering your brother for things. Look how well-behaved your sister is; she never cries or makes a scene.”

Seeing her usually doting cousin looking angry, Tongtong panicked. Dropping the act, she threw her arms around his neck, acting sweet to beg for forgiveness.

Jiang Rui remained unmoved and pointed to his cheek. Tongtong immediately understood and planted several loud kisses on him.

Having achieved his goal, Jiang Rui leisurely produced a pair of “Phoenix Bracelets,” giving one to Xiaoxiao and one to Tongtong. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to give them a full pair each, but these bracelets were specially crafted with a restriction: if they were split between two people, one could sense if the other was in danger. They would recognize their master, change size to fit, and warn of danger by changing color or heating up.

The Zhou family was a dynasty of doctors. Although Zhou Yongping was from a branch of the family that didn’t practice medicine, he was a famous pharmaceutical merchant in Qing City. His family’s factory’s products were sold far and wide.

His family usually treated him with cold indifference, only calling on him when they needed something. What was most heart-wrenching was that in Jiang Rui’s past life, a member of the main Zhou family had kidnapped Tongtong to extort a shipment of drugs from Zhou Yongping. Tongtong wasn’t even ten years old then. Though she was rescued, she was broken; the once-clever girl was so traumatized she never spoke again, and one of her eyes was nearly blinded due to delayed treatment.

Zhou Yongping had taken the culprit to court, but the Zhou family had deep roots and vast connections. Due to a “lack of evidence,” the perpetrator was released after less than a month of detention. Not long after, He Fumei divorced Zhou Yongping and moved away with her daughters.

At the time of the kidnapping in his past life, Jiang Rui had been away on a business trip with Wang Chenghui. No one in the Jiang family had informed him. Furthermore, the news had been suppressed by someone powerful. Jiang Rui had been kept completely in the dark until he happened to see his aunt shopping with the girls years later.

Watching Zhou Yongping now, tickling Tongtong with his beard to make her laugh, Jiang Rui suddenly felt as though he had overlooked something crucial.

As he thought deeper, a cold sweat broke out across his back.

His mother entered the room with a fruit platter. Seeing his pale face and the sweat on his brow, she panicked, asking if he was unwell. The others looked over in concern. Zhou Yongping even worried that his daughter’s antics had made the boy sick. In his memory, Jiang Rui had always been frail, especially after that high fever two years ago that had terrified everyone.

Jiang Rui calmed himself and regained his usual composure, reassuring everyone that he was just feeling a bit stuffy from wearing too many layers. Once his mother was satisfied, he excused himself to his room, claiming he needed to study.

Lying on his bed, Jiang Rui meticulously dissected that past kidnapping case.

In his previous life, he had believed that Zhou Yongping had abandoned his wife and daughter for profit—perhaps because he wanted a son so badly that he hadn’t put in his full effort during the crisis. But seeing how much this man loved his family now, there was no way that case should have ended in a mere month of detention for the culprit.

It didn’t make sense. Zhou Yongping was a prominent figure in the business world; even if he couldn’t kill the mastermind, he should have been able to put them away for a decade.

Every doubt and every lead pointed to a single person.

In the Qing City of that time, only one man had the power to make Zhou Yongping “swallow his broken teeth,” suppress the news, and keep Jiang Rui completely in the dark. There was no need to guess a second name.

He remembered seeing Zhou Yongping once after that event. The man had looked at him with a gaze so full of hatred it felt like he wanted to devour him whole! Jiang Rui hadn’t understood it then, but soon after, Zhou Yongping disappeared from Qing City entirely.

Now, the reason for that bone-deep hatred and the man’s subsequent disappearance was crystal clear.

It wasn’t just this event. Many things from his past were coming into focus.

The man who caused trouble at the disco. The “accidental” drunken night with Ye Wenbin. The intimate photos of him and Ye Wenbin being published in the newspapers, forcing him to “come out” to his father. The vile rumors in the village that claimed Jiang Rui was a murderer and a criminal in the city. His beloved parents turning their backs on him, refusing to see him.

And what he hated most: At his mother He Fulan’s funeral, his father had said he had called and written to Jiang Rui for help when she fell ill, but never received a reply. At the time, Jiang Rui had known nothing of those letters or calls, and had even wondered if his father was making it up to spite him.

As the truth was stripped bare, the weight of it became suffocating. A fire burned in his chest, threatening to turn him to ash.

Closing his eyes, Jiang Rui told himself repeatedly: Not yet. It is not yet time.

To kill someone now would be as easy as moving a finger, but he didn’t want Wang Chenghui to die so easily. To destroy a person, a quick death is the ultimate mercy. Wang Chenghui had shown him no such mercy in two lifetimes.

Jiang Rui could give that mercy to any other enemy, but never to Wang Chenghui!

He swore in his heart that even if he were consumed by the fires of karma, he would make this man wish he were dead!