Three Lives and Three Worlds [10]

However, when Yin Mingqin noticed that the Yin father and son were looking in their direction, her heart tightened imperceptibly. She discreetly grabbed onto the clothes of the Jiang couple and buried her face in their chests.

Clearly, she was aware that now was not the best time for her to return to the Yin family. Because she was a daughter, and if the truth about her birth mother’s plan to swap sons was exposed, she would surely be despised by the Yin family. The most likely scenario would be her birth mother going to jail, and after the Yin family provided her with enough money for her livelihood, they would send her far away.

Then, Yin Yunqiu would marry another well-born young lady, and if she gave birth to another beloved son, the vast wealth of the Yin family would truly have nothing to do with her. Yin Mingqin would never allow such a situation to occur. So, she would rather let Yin Minglu, the fake son, continue to stay in the Yin family, holding her position for her. After all, without a blood relationship, there would be no inheritance rights in the future. Her birth mother, An Meijun, as the head of the household, could slowly plan for her return, and the path to her return would be smoother.

Yin Mingqin thought she was being very clever in avoiding the situation, appearing like a dependent little girl who relied on her parents, fragile and endearing. But Yin Minglu saw through her immediately, and he also noticed the Jiang couple, the original owner’s biological parents.

Father Jiang Shi was only in his mid-twenties, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He also wore a pair of black-framed glasses, giving him the appearance of a scholarly student with refined features. However, from the way he effortlessly held a child in one arm and carried items with the other, it was evident that he was not as weak as he appeared.

Mother Kong Jinghua wore a simple overcoat and had a beautiful face. She tied her hair up high in a ponytail, exuding a strong and heroic aura. While her husband held their child, she was busy selecting goods nearby. Her careful and meticulous manner in choosing products from different vendors showed that she was a diligent homemaker and a capable woman who could shoulder half of the responsibilities.

She even passed on shopping tips to her son, saying, “Mingyao, when buying milk, don’t pick the ones from the outermost row. Start from the inside. Large supermarkets don’t sell expired products, but these yogurts and bread with shorter shelf lives are usually placed on the outer shelves, and their expiration dates are just a few days away. The ones inside are fresher.”

The milk-loving boy nodded seriously, picked up a bag of yogurt next to him, and confirmed that the ones on the outer row had an expiration date from two days ago, while the ones inside were produced today. He said, “Mom, you’re right,” and silently remembered it.

The boy added, “Mom, this box of fruit is really cheap. Should we buy a few?” It turned out to be a cut fruit platter with dragon fruit, watermelon, and oranges. The vibrant colors and freshness of the fruits caught the eye of almost every passing customer, but very few actually bought it. “We always buy too many fruits at home. With this box of pre-cut fruits, the quantity isn’t much, and we can finish it in one go without waste. Mom, should we buy it?”

Kong Jinghua took a casual glance and said, “Let’s not buy it. Although it’s wrapped in plastic, pre-cut fruits like these tend to lose vitamin C and oxidize easily. The fruit section in the supermarket usually doesn’t cut fresh fruits like this, so these pre-cut ones are not very fresh. They may look nice but won’t taste as good. Mingyao, what would you like to eat? Mom will buy whole fruits, and we can cut them at home. If you like fruit platters, Mom can make one for you.”

“Okay,” the boy immediately agreed.

When they were talking, they didn’t lower their voices. After hearing Kong Jinghua’s words, the young customers who were originally planning to pick up a few bags of milk and boxes of outer-row fruits also stopped and abandoned their plans.

Kong Jinghua’s conversation with her eldest son might seem trivial for wealthy families, but for an average family, it could accumulate into a small fortune. After all, there was wisdom in everyday life.

Yin Mingqin, being carried by Jiang Shi, felt embarrassed by her foster parents’ frugal and penny-pinching behavior. She wished she could bury her face in embarrassment because their family was not really struggling financially, so why were they so concerned about these small details? Everyone was staring at them, probably mocking them, and Yin Mingqin couldn’t stop complaining in her heart.

On the other hand, Yin Minglu was captivated by the conversation. Some of the things Kong Jinghua mentioned were related to the art of product placement, such as “products at eye level have the highest profit margins.” While these bits of knowledge might seem insignificant, they were actually connected to economics, and listening to them was quite enlightening.

Moreover, nobody’s life is always smooth sailing, and everyone faces challenges at some point. The original host, Yin Minglu, thought he would live a life of affluence forever and believed that he was far removed from these hardships. However, at the age of eighteen, he was expelled from his home and found himself penniless, unable to even afford a few hundred yuan. When he wandered through the supermarket back then, everything was unfamiliar, and he ended up buying products that weren’t cost-effective. It was the first time he learned about the concept of “high prices for basic necessities.”

Nobody had taught him these things, and everyone assumed that he didn’t need to know these aspects of life. However, they didn’t realize that even a prince could be cast out of the castle and forced to live among commoners. He, too, had experienced times when he couldn’t make ends meet, times when he argued with his landlord over a hundred yuan difference in rent, and times when he compared three brands of instant noodles to find the most affordable option. At that time, no one had taught him, and no one was willing to lend a helping hand. It was the hardships of life that forced him to learn these things.

If someone had taught him these life skills, perhaps when Yin Minglu was first expelled from his home, he wouldn’t have been so miserable. Maybe he would have had a little more composure in the face of adversity. These were the biological parents of the original host, and while they may not have been able to provide their children with great wealth, they could impart countless life skills and valuable knowledge. The soul of the original host, now within Yin Minglu’s body, was moved, and tears welled up in his eyes without him realizing it.

His heart was filled with the pain of having his biological parents so close but unable to recognize each other. Thoughts of his previous life, where he had fallen on hard times, tarnished his reputation, compromised his principles for survival, and ultimately met a tragic end on a busy street at the age of eighteen, constantly flashed through his mind.

Noticing the teardrops staining his suit, Yin Yunqiu felt a sense of panic in his heart. The child who had always been cheerful and smiling was now shedding tears with a cold, emotionless expression on his face. There were no cries, but the emotions of sorrow and despair were slowly seeping into Yin Yunqiu’s heart.

It reminded him of the first time the child had hugged him and cried a few months ago.

Just as he was about to pick up the child, a boy of about seven or eight years old approached them. He had a handsome face and a genuine expression of concern. He asked, “Little brother, why are you crying?”

This boy was none other than Jiang Mingyao. In fact, even earlier, although he had been taken away by his parents, his attention had always lingered on the Yin father and son. He noticed that the child seemed to be interested in them as well. The child’s innocent face listened to his conversation with his mother attentively, not even moving his little feet that were swinging back and forth, looking adorable.

The child seemed to enjoy listening to these conversations, so he continued to ask his mother about shopping experiences and tips. His mother was very accommodating and answered all his questions. The child seemed even more fascinated, despite the age difference, as if he understood everything. It was unexpectedly endearing.

Jiang Mingyao didn’t understand why he was so concerned about a stranger’s child. When the child suddenly shed tears, he immediately noticed and walked over without hesitation, offering his genuine concern. Even though the child’s father was right there, perhaps the child didn’t need care from a stranger like an adult might, but there was something about the child that made Jiang Mingyao genuinely concerned.

As he approached, he found the child even more adorable. His small face was delicate and cute, chubby, with baby fat, different from his younger sister’s thin face. His skin was as white as glutinous rice cakes, and his sparkling eyes seemed to be filled with moisture, giving them a clear and familiar appearance.

The child seemed a little surprised by someone asking him, staring blankly.

Looking at the tearstains on the child’s face, Jiang Mingyao took a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the crying child. The child still seemed dazed, holding onto the shopping cart, not reacting.

Just as Jiang Mingyao was wondering if he should take the liberty to help the young boy wipe his face, his little sister suddenly called out, “Brother!”

Seeing Jiang Mingyao and Yin Minglu so close, it seemed as if the blood connection within them was at work. This made Jiang Mingyao’s concern for the unfamiliar child seem genuine. Otherwise, even if someone had a kind heart and wanted to approach a stray cat by the roadside, wanting to get closer to someone who already had an adult by their side indicated a deep affection. It was clear that this was their first meeting.

Thinking of the past when Yin Minglu was so beloved and both families cared for him so much, it suddenly struck Yin Mingqin with fear. Her face turned pale for a moment, and she couldn’t help clutching her chest. She deliberately shouted “Brother” because she was afraid of history repeating itself, with Yin Minglu taking everything away from her.

Hearing her voice and seeing her pale face, Jiang Mingyao’s attention immediately shifted. He handed the handkerchief to the child and hurried back to his sister. After all, for him, even though Yin Minglu was crying, he was still someone else’s child. His own sister was the most important.

He held his little sister’s hand and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you suddenly not feeling well again?” Perhaps the crowded mall and lack of ventilation had caused her to have difficulty breathing momentarily, explaining her pale complexion.

Seeing that his little daughter seemed uncomfortable, Jiang Shi and his wife panicked and kept asking her, even taking out capsules they carried with them, wanting to give her some emergency relief. They almost alarmed the mall staff.

Under the overwhelming questions that Yin Mingqin found annoying, it was confirmed that her little daughter was fine. Jiang Shi and his wife finally breathed a sigh of relief but lost their mood for shopping. They quickly pushed the cart and headed to the checkout counter.

On the other side, Yin Minglu, clutching the handkerchief in his hand, felt a sharp pain in his chest. His suppressed sobs suddenly became loud, and he cried uncontrollably. Yin Yunqiu had to lift him onto his shoulder, and his large hand gently stroked his back while he comforted him.

“What’s wrong, baby? Why did you suddenly start crying?” he clumsily asked. When they saw such a young child crying, the people around him cast disapproving looks, making Yin Yunqiu feel helpless. The water stains on his suit spread even further.

With a handkerchief in his hand, the chubby little hand of the child half-hugging his father didn’t respond, and he continued to sob, almost running out of breath. Feeling the tears that had soaked his neck, Yin Yunqiu’s heart was filled with a different kind of pain. After comforting him for a long time, the child gradually calmed down and became obedient, except for the tear-stained, flushed face, which didn’t look much different from usual.

Yin Yunqiu also lost the mood to shop. He carried the child alone, and the bodyguards pushed the cart to the checkout counter.

At the checkout, the child’s attention was drawn to the jumping green numbers on the screen. Initially, he had been sulking, but now he raised his little face and stared at the screen with his jet-black eyes, showing a focused expression. He had completely forgotten about crying.

Yin Yunqiu’s previously furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and his eyes were filled with a smile.

When it came time to check out the last item, and the total amount hadn’t yet appeared on the screen, the child didn’t hesitate to blurt out the numbers, “Dad, it’s 23,561.30 yuan! We spent so much money, Dad, take a look and see if I calculated it wrong!”

The young cashier was astonished and pressed the enter key on the computer. She looked at the black screen with square numbers, and indeed, there was not a single mistake. He didn’t even make an error in the decimal places. She couldn’t help but marvel, “A child prodigy!”

The child’s father, on the other hand, seemed used to it. He just patted the child’s soft head and said, “You didn’t make a mistake, but Dad also has a membership card, so we get a 25% discount.”

“Oh.” The child lowered his head as if calculating in his mind, then raised his head and said, “So, it’s approximately 17,671 yuan.”

Sure enough, it was correct. The cashier admired him with a face full of admiration. She finally handed back the black high-level membership card to the handsome father. Her eyes were filled with hearts as she foolishly thought, “So, the ‘genius baby and cool dad’ from novels really exist! I wonder if there’s a clueless mom who runs away with the ball¹Baby after a one-night stand?”

Not far away, separated by a checkout counter, Jiang Shi saw this scene and also looked appreciative. Despite his modest achievements now, he was once a person with great talent in mathematics. His eldest son had inherited his talent.

He had initially thought that his eldest son, who could do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within ten thousand by the age of two or three, was already impressive. He didn’t expect that there were people beyond that, and from the looks of it, this child seemed to have come up with the answer in just two or three seconds.

He patted his eldest son’s shoulder and said, “Mingyao, look at that little brother. He’s so talented even at three or four years old. You can’t be complacent in the future.” He had high expectations for his eldest son and hoped that he would achieve things he had never done.

Jiang Mingyao nodded in agreement, his eyes burning with determination. He had seen child prodigies on television who could recite over a hundred ancient poems at the age of three, and he thought they were impressive. But none of them had received such intense education. Mathematics was his strong suit, not memorization. It was rare to come across a child who was so similar to him and even smarter in the field of arithmetic. He found this stranger’s child both fascinating and admirable, making him like the child even more.

On the other hand, Yin Mingqin’s face was full of jealousy. In this aspect, it was similar to her previous life. Yin Minglu had also shown amazing mathematical talent at a young age, while her own aptitude was average. Her biological mother had never studied properly in high school, especially not in mathematics, and she had inherited her mother’s weakness in this subject.

Didn’t they say that overly smart children often had weak physical health and were prone to early death? Why was Yin Minglu still alive? He looked so lively and carefree, and in his previous life, he had lived to be seventy without any worries or illnesses! It was infuriating! What was her mother doing? She should have ruined that child and preferably steered him toward arts or the entertainment industry to waste his talent for arithmetic and business!

At this moment, Yin Mingqin couldn’t help but think of her biological mother.

Meanwhile, An Meijun was waiting with a charming smile and eager anticipation for her husband’s car to pick her up.

—

The author has something to say: Anyway, the author isn’t good at math (sad)

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solutions~

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!

T/N: I’m also not good at math (ToT)

 

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