Isn’t this ridiculous?

No matter how certain you are that Zhou Cheng will like you in the future, he doesn’t like you right now. Without any engagement or confession from Zhou Cheng, where did you get the nerve to act so arrogantly, like a legitimate wife catching a mistress? If Xia Xiaolan doesn’t cause trouble, she’s not afraid of it either. Being overly cautious would only encourage these people who don’t know the meaning of “shame” – her weakness would be nurturing troublemakers for society!

Xia Xiaolan wore an ambiguous smile, her expression filled with undisguised contempt:

“Whether I marry Zhou Cheng or not is between me and him. If Zhou Cheng’s family has objections, Miss Tong has no right to intervene. You have neither the qualification nor standing to act so presumptuously… To be honest, Miss Tong, you’ve disappointed me. You’re quite different from what I imagined a cadre’s child would be like.”

Though Xia Xiaolan didn’t use any vulgar language, her words targeting Tong Lili made the crowd who had come to “catch the affair” feel awkward. Zhou Yi felt it most deeply – Xia Xiaolan was clearly saying that none of them had the “dignity” expected of compound children. How embarrassing!

“You!”

“Zhou Cheng, your girlfriend has quite a sharp tongue!”

“Hey, don’t you know how to speak properly?”

The group, stung by her words, started muttering among themselves, disregarding Zhou Cheng’s presence.

Zhou Cheng wanted to applaud his woman’s excellent response, but Xia Xiaolan gently pulled away from his hand, saying, “Let’s end this meal here. I can’t eat with so many people watching.”

Huh?

Shao Guangrong glared fiercely at these uninvited guests.

They were only halfway through the Japanese meal, and he had barely started discussing important matters when these idiots burst in.

“Sister-in-law, don’t mind them!”

“Sister-in-law, let’s continue our meal somewhere else.”

“Xiaolan?”

Zhou Cheng felt panicked and tried to hold Xia Xiaolan’s hand again, but she slightly dodged it and walked toward the restaurant exit. Zhou Cheng knew this was serious – though his woman was smiling and behaving impeccably, she was angry!

“Bunch of idiots, I’ll remember all of you!”

Zhou Cheng ran after her.

Tong Lili was on the verge of tears.

The others felt somewhat guilty. Zhou Cheng wasn’t just rough; he was capable of fighting and cunning. He wouldn’t follow any code of honor when dealing with others.

So why did they come to watch this drama?

They’d seen the vixen, and she truly was bewitching, having Zhou Cheng completely mesmerized. If the vixen didn’t deal with them herself but had Zhou Cheng do it instead, wouldn’t they be finished all the same?

Kang Wei worried seriously:

“Sister Zhou Yi, look at how this turned out… ah!”

Zhou Yi wanted to scream too.

They had originally planned to “accidentally” run into them, gauge how much the vixen meant to Zhou Cheng, observe her tactics, and then privately humiliate and threaten her. They’d assessed her importance alright, but Xia Xiaolan hadn’t given them any chance to humiliate or threaten her.

Some moves were meant to be played under the table.

But Xia Xiaolan didn’t play by the rules – she directly flipped the table. How could they continue their game?

Xia Xiaolan was truly angry.

Zhou Cheng was both anxious and angry too. He was angry at Zhou Yi and Tong Lili for staging such a dramatic scene with their group. Today had been perfect – visiting Tiananmen with Xia Xiaolan, going ice skating, and though the Japanese food was just okay, it mattered who you were eating with.

Their precious reunion moment had been ruined by these idiots, how could Zhou Cheng not be angry?

He hurried after her, eager to console Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan walked ahead silently, and Zhou Cheng tried to hold her hand.

After she dodged several times, Zhou Cheng seized an opportunity and grabbed her hand, refusing to let go.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t maintain her anger in the face of his persistence.

“Fine, let’s talk properly.”

“Xiaolan, I have no interest in this Tong Lili. That woman has problems in her head… please don’t be angry with me?”

Was Zhou Cheng not smart?

He was incredibly smart.

But setting aside his intelligence and other qualities, he was still not quite 21, and this was his first time falling in love, his first relationship! He was just a young man in love, and when his girlfriend got angry, Zhou Cheng’s intelligence could instantly drop below zero! He analyzed his feelings, desperately trying to convey his heart to Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan shook her head:

“I’m not talking about Tong Lili.”

From Gao Fei whom she saw at Zhou Cheng’s workplace to Tong Lili suddenly appearing, Xia Xiaolan was certainly unhappy, but not to this extent. Of course, this was premised on knowing these women had no real connection with Zhou Cheng. She had her jealous moments like any woman in love, but she could control these irrational negative emotions.

Xia Xiaolan wanted to discuss something else, and Zhou Cheng inexplicably tensed up.

He had already guessed what Xia Xiaolan wanted to say!

Sure enough, Xia Xiaolan looked up at him, her expression particularly serious: “Zhou Cheng, I thought dating was between two people. You pursued me earnestly and showed a sincere attitude, and I didn’t dislike you – or rather, I liked you – so I followed my heart and started dating you! I had guessed your family background might be good, but now I realize it’s probably better than I imagined. Look at how different our family backgrounds are – are we suitable for each other?”

Having lived an extra lifetime gave Xia Xiaolan a unique experience, adding to her confidence and wisdom.

But confidence couldn’t change Xia Xiaolan’s origins.

She simply wasn’t as fortunate as Zhou Cheng in her birth. In her previous life, she lost her parents early and lived dependent on others; in this life, she was just a country girl. Xia Xiaolan was confident she could change her living conditions through her abilities, but wasn’t she just starting? She wanted to catch the opportunity of reform and opening up to soar and build a career, but these were all plans.

Everything was uncertain – no matter how confident she was, these achievements hadn’t been realized yet.

She couldn’t use her potential future achievements as today’s bargaining chips. Others saw her as mismatched with Zhou Cheng – today it was Zhou Cheng’s cousin and an admiring young lady who confronted her, but tomorrow, wouldn’t other members of Zhou Cheng’s family come knocking?

This situation annoyed Xia Xiaolan the most. Dating should be about mutual affection and sweet happiness, not like filming a tragedy – wasn’t it exhausting for everyone?

She felt she needed to clarify things – if they were suitable, they’d stay together; if not, they shouldn’t waste each other’s time. No matter how high the Zhou family’s standards were, she wasn’t thinking about marrying Zhou Cheng now anyway. Marriage wasn’t even in Xia Xiaolan’s next step of planning, so dealing with waves of opposition that would surely come… Xia Xiaolan found it mentally exhausting.

Zhou Cheng became anxious upon hearing this.

What did Xiaolan mean, she didn’t want to continue?

How were they not suitable? He had fallen for her at first sight, and the more time they spent together, the more Xia Xiaolan surprised him.

He liked not just Xia Xiaolan’s appearance, but her thoughts, her personality, everything about her!

Xia Xiaolan lived with remarkable clarity, not just drifting through life. She knew what she wanted and had plans to work hard for it, wanting to earn what she desired through her abilities. In contrast, Tong Lili, despite her good family background, never thought about using it to strive forward, just drifting through each day, her mind full of jealousy and rivalry… Zhou Cheng looked down on such girls.

But while his woman was independent, wasn’t she being too independent?

When Xia Xiaolan questioned their compatibility, Zhou Cheng became slightly angry:

“Xiaolan, it’s unfair to think this way about me. Could I choose my family background? You like me, which makes me extremely happy, but the me you like is who I am because I grew up in this family environment – this is the Zhou Cheng standing before you!”