Chapter 438: Three Women, One Play
"That’s the plan, then. I can’t put this off any longer."
Jiang Xinghai lowered his head in contemplation. The further he journeyed, the more he felt that the meaning of cultivation wasn’t just about possessing immense strength, but about seizing control of his own destiny!
He hadn’t seen his parents in five years!
To this day, he didn’t even know if they were alive or dead!
’Master Yao Gu, if you knew I still hadn’t found my parents after being off the mountain for so long, you’d surely laugh at your disciple, wouldn’t you?’ Jiang Xinghai looked up at the setting sun, pain etched between his brows as his heart swelled with emotion.
"Brother Hai!"
"Brother Hai!"
Just then, Shen Lingyin and Mu Jianni appeared in his line of sight, pulling suitcases behind them.
"You two came together. Good, get in the car." Jiang Xinghai snapped out of his thoughts and stubbed out his cigarette.
After the two women got in the car, they giggled to each other.
Jiang Xinghai naturally noticed something was off and teased, "What are you two giggling about? I get the feeling you’re up to no good, aren’t you?"
Mu Jianni quickly said, "It’s nothing, Brother Hai. Don’t get the wrong idea. Just drive."
"Yeah, yeah! Let’s find a restaurant, get a good meal, and then go home for some sleepy-time," Shen Lingyin added with a sly grin.
Jiang Xinghai didn’t press the issue. He started the car. "Jianni, you’re a Central State local. You pick a place."
"Then let’s go... get hot pot at Xiaofeiyang Hot Pot City, at the intersection on Central State Avenue," Mu Jianni replied after a moment’s thought.
With that, the car sped off.
On the way, Mu Jianni asked, "Brother Hai, how have you been the past few days? Where did you go? Did you go back to Jizhou?"
"The last few days? I went to the Phoenix Mountain scenic area and caught a giant python..." Jiang Xinghai briefly recounted the events of the past few days.
"A giant python..." Mu Jianni and Shen Lingyin listened, completely enthralled by the thrilling tale.
Shen Lingyin, in particular, was utterly shocked when she heard about the giant python’s incredible girth.
"I can’t believe there was actually a giant python living on Phoenix Mountain, and Brother Hai actually caught it! That’s amazing." As a Central State local, Mu Jianni had heard legends of the giant python before.
The three of them chatted and joked around on the way, and soon the car arrived at Xiaofeiyang Hot Pot City.
Just as Jiang Xinghai parked the car, a somewhat flirtatious voice suddenly called out from a distance.
"Master, what a coincidence."
It was Zhang Rui from Zhang Martial Arts Hall, the maid Jiang Xinghai had just taken on.
"You? What are you doing here?" Jiang Xinghai was also surprised by the coincidence.
Zhang Rui grabbed Jiang Xinghai’s hands. "My dad said, ’Once his maid, always his maid.’ So after you left, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I packed my bags, decided to meet up with some classmates, and then tomorrow, I’ll be ready to go to the Shen Family and focus on being a guard."
"Wait, wait, wait..."
Shen Lingyin, who was standing to the side, cut in, "You’re his... maid?"
"That’s right. And who are you?" Zhang Rui looked warily at Shen Lingyin, and at Mu Jianni, who was standing beside her with a sharp gaze.
"I am Shen Lingyin, Patriarch of the Shen Family. Who do you think I am?" Shen Lingyin tilted her head up proudly.
"You’re the... Patriarch of the Shen Family?"
Zhang Rui pointed at Shen Lingyin, then turned her head to look at Jiang Xinghai. "Master, is what she’s saying true?"
"That’s right. From now on, you can just call each other sisters," Jiang Xinghai said, rubbing his forehead.
He could already imagine what a headache it would be now that Shen Lingyin and Zhang Rui, with their similar personalities, had met.
"Hello, Patriarch Shen. I’m Zhang Rui. I’ll be in your care from now on." Zhang Rui’s confidence instantly waned.
"Seeing as you have good manners, I’ll go along with Brother Hai’s suggestion and we can call each other sisters." Shen Lingyin wasn’t an overbearing person, and besides, this was a guard Jiang Xinghai had helped recruit for the Shen Family.
"Thank you, Patriarch Shen." Zhang Rui let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Didn’t we just agree to be sisters? I’m nineteen. How about you?" Shen Lingyin asked.
"Just turned eighteen," Zhang Rui said.
"Call me Sister," Shen Lingyin said smugly.
"Sister," Zhang Rui said without hesitation.
"And this is Mu Jianni. Sister Jianni," Shen Lingyin explained.
Zhang Rui turned her head. "Sister Jianni."
"Good girl," Mu Jianni said with a smile.
And just like that, the three women met and became acquainted.
Just as Jiang Xinghai had expected, they hit it off immediately, to the point that they completely started ignoring him.
"So... should we eat together?" Jiang Xinghai asked, glancing at the time.
The sky had already grown dark.
"Master, although I’d love to serve you, I have a reunion with some classmates tonight. How about I go find you after I’m done with them? It won’t take long," Zhang Rui said, looking at Jiang Xinghai nervously.
Jiang Xinghai smiled and shook his head. "Zhang Rui, there’s no need for you to serve me tonight. Just relax and have a good time with your classmates."
"Zhang Rui, is your class reunion at this hot pot place too?" Shen Lingyin cut in to ask.
Zhang Rui said, "Yes."
"Since you’re Brother Hai’s maid, why don’t we just share a table? Then we can all go back together tonight. Wouldn’t that be nice?" Shen Lingyin said nonchalantly.
Standing beside them, Mu Jianni’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
’They say three women are enough to put on a play,’ she thought. ’Is Lingyin trying to coax Zhang Rui into joining us tonight?’