On New Year’s Eve, Xia Dajun finally returned home carrying his luggage.
He wasn’t lacking in strength, so he did odd jobs everywhere. On days when work was available, he could earn several yuan; when there wasn’t work, he would eat less to save money. Returning home for New Year’s, Xia Dajun had several hundred yuan in his pocket.
He felt money was easier to earn outside than tending to fields, and planned to go out for work again after the New Year.
Returning with money, everyone at home warmly welcomed Xia Dajun, moving this simpleton whose wife and daughter had both left. Especially when Xia Ziyu sweetly called him “Second Uncle” a couple of times, Xia Dajun felt like he could give her his heart and soul.
The few hundred yuan he had earned hadn’t even warmed his pocket before he handed it over to Grandmother Xia.
Grandmother Xia was just a figurehead – everyone knew the money would pass through her hands and end up with Xia Ziyu.
Wang Jianhua accompanied Xia Ziyu home, carrying bags of gifts. No one in the Xia family was left out, showing how satisfied everyone was with him. Xia Dajun even got a pair of Liberation rubber shoes, which he wore with a foolish grin.
Amid this harmonious family atmosphere, Xia Ziyu suddenly brought up Xia Xiaolan:
“I wonder how Second Aunt and Xiaolan are doing? Second Uncle, is there no way to reconcile with Second Aunt? I’ve heard that when parents divorce, people are picky about their children’s marriages… It’s not good for Xiaolan. She and Second Aunt are living at Uncle’s house, but it’s still not their own home.”
Grandmother Xia couldn’t scold her most beloved granddaughter, but her mood soured:
“It’s the New Year, why bring up those two? The house has finally been peaceful for a few days!”
Grandmother Xia thought, are you stupid? That worthless girl wanted to seduce her brother-in-law. The further she stayed from Wang Jianhua, the better. Why bring up Xia Xiaolan now?
Her sweet granddaughter Ziyu must be right – Ziyu was just too kind.
Xia Ziyu had her plans.
She thought it through – keeping Xia Xiaolan far away wouldn’t work. She needed Xiaolan under her watchful eye to feel secure.
She had started to fear Xia Xiaolan.
This person didn’t play by the rules at all. When you thought she would be trampled into the mud, she always managed to turn crisis into opportunity at crucial moments. Did luck exist? Xia Ziyu felt Xia Xiaolan was exceptionally lucky. When Wang Jianhua was sent down to Dahe Village, everyone avoided him, yet Xia Xiaolan took a liking to him.
Facts proved Wang Jianhua was truly outstanding – Xia Xiaolan had picked a potential rising star.
Then when Xia Xiaolan was surrounded by rumors, how could any other village girl turn things around? Xia Xiaolan survived unscathed, and the crackdown even got Zhang Erlai arrested!
Though she had been driven out of the Xia family, somehow Xia Xiaolan hadn’t fallen into worse circumstances and even got into County No. 1 High School… Cheating? Using connections? No, neither! Xia Ziyu was nearly driven mad by her mother’s inability to grasp the key points. If she hadn’t been in Anqing County and especially visited Principal Sun, how would she have known that Xia Xiaolan ranked second in her grade on the final exam with 514 points?
Final exams were different from college entrance exams.
Xia Xiaolan might not score above 500 on the college entrance exam.
But barring any major mistakes, her university admission was already certain.
Xia Ziyu was somewhat afraid of Xia Xiaolan’s unstoppable luck. She had tried to poison Principal Sun against Xia Xiaolan, only to hear the principal’s admiration and praise for her.
Once upon a time, such admiration and praise belonged to her, Xia Ziyu!
Xia Xiaolan, that worthless girl, had wasted her time relying on her good looks. She, Xia Ziyu, had worked a hundred times harder than that worthless girl, testing from Dahe Village into Anqing County, and from Anqing County into Beijing Normal University. From a rural village in Southern Henan to Beijing – four full years of diligent study had changed her destined fate of farming in the countryside. Yet Xia Xiaolan could obtain all this effortlessly?
Xia Ziyu couldn’t accept it.
It was this refusal to submit to fate that made Xia Ziyu a female university student.
She sat beside Grandmother Xia, and despite her internal rage and roaring, she remained outwardly the gentle girl:
“Grandmother, Xiaolan knew Jianhua first – I’m the one who wronged Xiaolan. What’s done is done, and it’s right for Xiaolan to blame me. I’m not afraid of her blame – I’ll do anything as long as she can forgive me and return to the Xia family! Grandmother, don’t be angry, please hear me out. My relationship with Jianhua is already a fact, and even though I’ve hurt Xiaolan, I can’t give Jianhua to her. But in other aspects, I only hope she’ll do better and better.”
Grandmother Xia was very displeased, but couldn’t curse openly in front of Wang Jianhua, though her face turned ashen.
Xia Dajun was very moved. He had always said his grand-niece was the most reasonable and kindest person, while that girl Xiaolan simply wouldn’t listen, causing chaos in the whole family.
Even if Xiaolan had known Wang Jianhua first, marriage still required matching status – Wang Jianhua was a university graduate, and only a fellow university student like Ziyu was worthy of him. Working odd jobs outside, with no one showing concern for his well-being, Xia Dajun’s anger about Liu Fen asking for divorce had mostly dissipated… In the countryside, who gets divorced? Women remaining faithful for life was a principle passed down from ancestors, and Xia Dajun stubbornly believed in this.
He was an uneducated man who didn’t understand the law. Even though he had signed the papers, deep down he still considered Liu Fen his wife.
He and Liu Fen had just quarreled – he had already endured her temper, what more did she want?
Xia Dajun subconsciously forgot about being beaten in Qijing Village – that was hardly glorious after all.
With Ziyu saying she didn’t blame Xiaolan and even trying to convince Grandmother Xia to let Xiaolan and her mother return, Xia Dajun felt this drama should come to an end.
Of course, while Ziyu was being magnanimous, he as Second Uncle couldn’t just let things slide – he must make that girl Xiaolan apologize to Ziyu!
Xia Ziyu seemed to know what her Second Uncle was thinking and smiled bitterly:
“Second Uncle, Xiaolan is stubborn. If she’s willing to come home, that would be better than anything. Please don’t mention anything about apologies. If anyone should apologize, it should be me apologizing to Xiaolan, asking her forgiveness for my feelings…”
Xia Ziyu didn’t finish her sentence as her gaze met Wang Jianhua’s, their loving looks suddenly creating a moment of tacit understanding between them.
Her unfinished words were “uncontrollable feelings.”
Wang Jianhua’s thoughts drifted back to the night after the college entrance exam when two strangers discussed everything from exam performance to future aspirations. Xia Ziyu could understand the pressure on his shoulders; she was an outstanding girl who could share a man’s burdens. They found themselves increasingly in sync, and with alcohol and moonlight as matchmakers, he and Xia Ziyu ultimately couldn’t control their feelings…
They say men have white roses and red roses in their hearts, and whichever one they obtain, they’ll always regret not having the other.
Xia Ziyu was the white rose, gentle and kind.
Xia Xiaolan was the red rose, both alluring and fragrant, though one could be pricked by her thorns if not careful.
Wang Jianhua also felt it wasn’t good for Xia Xiaolan to depend on others – with her personality, conflicts would inevitably arise over time. He had heard the Liu family had no influential relatives, and having spent several years in the countryside, he knew what that meant.
Families with few male members would be bullied. The Liu family had fled famine to settle in Southern Henan just decades ago, and with Xiaolan’s maternal grandparents passing early, they had no in-laws to rely on. Knowing Liu Fen had divorced and taken Xia Xiaolan to live at her parents’ home, Wang Jianhua had been worried about these issues.
But he was in no position to speak up – having Xia Ziyu raise the matter was perfect!
Seeing Wang Jianhua’s expression, Xia Ziyu knew she had done the right thing.
Though her feelings were very complicated, she suppressed her discomfort and continued with her original plan:
“Grandmother, Second Uncle, you all probably don’t know that Xiaolan recently got into County No. 1 High School?”
What?!
Wang Jingui and Xia Hongbing’s couple knew already but had to feign shock.
In this family, only Xia Dajun, Grandmother Xia, and Wang Jianhua truly didn’t know about this major news.
Grandmother Xia was also stubborn: “What’s she doing at County No. 1? Don’t tell me she’s going there to seduce all the boys!”