"Oh, Gaoshu is here. Go on in and have a cup of tea." When Mrs Jiang heard Yang Gaoshu's question, she realized that the woman had come home with the three siblings. She looked at Yang Gaoshu with hidden displeasure in her eyes.
Yang Gaoshu did not even greet anyone when she entered the house, but she sounded excited when she heard about the sewing machine.
Mrs Jiang patted Jiang Lei's hand again. "Why didn't you inform us that we have a guest? Quickly, go and get her a cup of tea!"
"What guest? How is Gaoshu a guest?" Jiang Lei retorted unhappily. "I brought her back to see if there's anything we can do to help Sister-in-law."
Mrs Jiang's words made Yang Gaoshu's expression freeze; she felt displeased. She could tell that Mrs Jiang treated her as a guest; she did not treat her as one of her own.
However, Jiang Lei's words also made her unhappy. Did Jiang Lei treat her like a servant girl? Why did he want her to work for Wang Xian?
"Sister Wang Xian, may we go to your new room to take a look? I heard that you had decorated it very nicely. You can let me know if you need help with anything." No matter what she thought, Yang Gaoshu knew that she had to put on a good show. Furthermore, she did want to go to Wang Xian's room only to take a look, but she wanted to see the gifts that Jiang Yao had given her, especially the gold jewelry.
Yang Gaoshu knew that Wang Xian would not refuse her, and so they went to her new room. Jiang Yao snorted, but she could not say anything. Just as she was about to follow them, her cell phone in her pocket rang.
Her first reaction was that Lu Xingzhi had called her back after he had read the message, but when she picked it up, she realized that it was not from the Jindo Army, nor was it from Lu Xingzhi's cell phone.
It was an unknown number. When Jiang Yao picked it up and heard the voice, she knew it was Zhou Xiaoxia.
"Jiang Yao, are you in Nanjiang City now or back to your hometown? Are you busy?"
Zhou Xiaoxia sounded a little different. Her voice was hoarse, like she had been crying.
"I'm in my hometown; my brother is getting married the day after tomorrow. We were just waiting for the wedding day," Jiang Yao answered truthfully. Suddenly, she felt as if she could hear Zhou Xiaoxia crying. Jiang Yao was stunned, so she hurriedly asked, "Xiaoxia, is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to say Happy New Year in advance." Zhou Xiaoxia quickly denied it. "Your brother is getting married in two days, so please congratulate him on my behalf. Also, congratulations on getting a sister-in-law."
Zhou Xiaoxia was about to hang up the phone when Jiang Yao hurriedly stopped her. She said, "Xiaoxia, we're classmates, roommates, and good friends. If you need my help, you can just tell me. Don't feel embarrassed. I will help you if it's within my ability to do so."
"No, no. I'm just afraid that I'll forget, so I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year in advance. I still have to call Xue Hui and the others, so I'll hang up for now." Zhou Xiaoxia chuckled, but it sounded forced somewhere. Then, she hung up.
Jiang Yao held her hand and pondered about it. It was still too early for new year wishes; they had about 12 days until the new year. Why would she greet her so early?
Furthermore, Zhou Xiaoxia did not sound right. She sounded as if she had cried for a long time. Her voice was very hoarse. Most importantly, when she was on the phone, she heard Zhou Xiaoxia crying in the background. She seemed very sad.
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