Xia Xiaolan wasn’t the type of person who sought revenge for every slight. Living a life where you repay every grievance a hundredfold or thousandfold would be too exhausting. However, she wasn’t a saint who would return kindness for evil either – she couldn’t just pretend nothing happened when others had slapped her face and schemed against her.

While she treasured the family bonds she had gained across two lifetimes, she didn’t place excessive importance on relatives… The Liang family must be feeling suffocated now, their schemes have come to nothing. Watching Fan Zhenchuan being taken away today, Liang Bing’an and Liu Fang would probably live in fear of Xia Xiaolan’s revenge for a long time.

Xia Xiaolan thought this was just fine. Let that stone hang over the Liang family’s heads without falling, and let Liang Bing’an and Liu Fang lose their appetite and sleep. These opportunists deserved to suffer such torment. For some people, seeing benefits and advantages dangling right before their eyes but being unable to grasp them was more painful than death!

Both Liang Bing’an and Liu Fang understood Xia Xiaolan’s meaning.

Liu Fang couldn’t bear the provocation, “Who wants to associate with your family anyway!”

Finding a good match was supposedly such a great achievement! The better the man, the higher his family’s standards – Liu Fang recalled how she had practically begged on her knees to marry into the Liang family. Xia Xiaolan might not be so lucky, and Liu Fang was waiting to see Xia Xiaolan’s downfall. She would endure this humiliation now, so she could laugh at Xia Xiaolan when all her efforts came to nothing!

Liang Bing’an felt like his wife would be the death of him – why be stubborn at a time like this? They should be speaking soft words when necessary!

But Xia Xiaolan didn’t give Liang Bing’an the chance to save face and make amends – she left with Zhou Cheng.

The guesthouse staff were intensely curious about this room. Everyone had heard the commotion earlier – someone being taken away while others remained inside. They couldn’t even get a good look at the drama, as two men in black suits stood like door gods at the entrance, deterring anyone from peering in.

When Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan came out together, the helpful female server sidled up to Hu Yongcai:

“Manager Hu, what do you think…”

Hu Yongcai coughed twice, “Well, nobody’s going to investigate you for locking the private room door, so you can set your mind at ease.”

Fan Zhenchuan from Hedong County had been arrested, while Xia Xiaolan had walked out unscathed – anyone could figure out who had won. The female server adjusted her collar, “Who should I bill for that table of dishes?”

Hu Yongcai pointed upstairs, “Hurry up there, or they might try to skip out on the bill.”

Dining and dashing at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse – how novel!

But they’d already arrested Fan Zhenchuan here today, so one more dine-and-dash wouldn’t be too strange. The female server burst into the room to find the three Liangs still blaming each other.

More precisely, Liang Bing’an and Liang Huan were both blaming Liu Fang for speaking out of turn, while Liu Fang, enraged, had already smashed two plates from the table.

A table of good dishes untouched, now mixed into a mess of soups and sauces – how could anyone eat this?

The female server came in shouting, “Comrades, how can you waste food like this? There are still many people in this world who don’t have enough to eat. You’ve abandoned the virtue of frugality – and you’re supposed to be people’s cadres!”

The social atmosphere of the 1980s was truly simple and honest.

The era of grain shortages had just passed, and if not for the household responsibility system, grain production wouldn’t have increased so dramatically in just a few years.

Nobody would laugh at eating a lot – eating meat to your heart’s content was the common dream of the masses. But waste, such waste had never been seen at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse. Even when hosting leaders, while the dishes were abundant, portions were measured to avoid excessive leftovers! Moreover, many current cadres were truly frugal – four dishes and a soup were already considered high standard. To just smash a table of good food – even Shao Guangrong’s uncle wouldn’t do such a thing at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.

What did the female server have to fear? Small-town cadres couldn’t extend their authority to the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.

She would say whatever she wanted – wasting food was shameful!

Liang Bing’an couldn’t hold his head up after being lectured by a young server, and Liu Fang’s vicious energy had also dissipated.

What had she done? This wasn’t her rural hometown – this was the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse.

“Which one is Comrade Liu Fang? Please settle the bill, and you’ll need to pay for the broken bowls and plates too.”

Free from the pressure of being forcibly married to an old man, Xia Xiaolan felt truly refreshed.

She left the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse with Zhou Cheng, while Xiao Yu hid nearby, hardly daring to breathe. She had secretly come to Shangdu, originally hoping to see Xia Xiaolan make a fool of herself, but when asked at the guesthouse whom she was looking for, Xiao Yu had felt guilty and hadn’t dared to enter.

Earlier when Zhou Cheng went in, Xiao Yu had taken a few extra looks – the young man was truly handsome.

Later, Fan Zhenchuan was escorted out with his face covered in blood, his head pushed down as he was forced into a car. His driver was also taken away, looking even more wretched with one trouser leg soaked in blood, leaving bloody marks on the ground as he limped into the car.

Auntie Li ran out crying, asking why they were arresting her son.

How formidable Auntie Li usually was – whenever she came to the house, Xiao Yu couldn’t bear the pressure and had to hide. But even the most dignified and imposing person was just an ordinary person when panic-stricken. Fan Zhenchuan’s power made his mother confident and made her the “Auntie Li” whom everyone in Hedong County had to please. With Fan Zhenchuan arrested, Auntie Li’s world had completely collapsed!

Xiao Yu tightly covered her mouth.

How could Fan Zhenchuan be the one taken away?

Xiao Yu was also panicked and confused – Fan Zhenchuan was her support too. Without him, how could she, a woman, survive?

Xiao Yu’s heart was racing, then she remembered that Fan Zhenchuan had given her ten thousand yuan earlier and arranged a job for her… Her heart steadied slightly. No need to panic, Fan Zhenchuan might not be in real trouble – those men weren’t wearing uniforms, and they weren’t police.

Xiao Yu still lacked experience – she didn’t know that for someone like Fan Zhenchuan, being arrested by men without uniforms could be even more terrifying than being arrested by uniformed police.

While Xiao Yu was still uncertain about what to do, she saw Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan come out together intimately.

Xia Xiaolan had arrived at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse before Fan Zhenchuan and the others. Xiao Yu hadn’t crossed paths with her today, but Xia Xiaolan was dressed very differently – not at all like a village girl, more like a fashionable lady from a magazine cover. Xiao Yu felt inferior – so the young man who went in earlier was Xia Xiaolan’s boyfriend?

They both had rural household registrations and came to the city to make a living – why could Xia Xiaolan be so free and date an age-appropriate man, while she had to mix with someone like Fan Zhenchuan… Just because Xia Xiaolan was prettier than her! Xiao Yu felt both jealous and resentful.

If she were as beautiful as Xia Xiaolan, she wouldn’t need Fan Zhenchuan – she could find other, better men!

Zhou Cheng’s senses were keen, and with one sweep of his gaze, he locked onto the skulking Xiao Yu.

“Mr. Zhou?”

How could someone like Xiao Yu fool anyone? Li Dongliang and Ge Jian were also very perceptive.

Zhou Cheng shook his head – he had read the files. The person hiding was Fan Zhenchuan’s little housemaid who had an improper relationship with him, causing the death of Fan’s original wife from anger. He had obtained those incriminating materials against Fan Zhenchuan so quickly partly because of this matter.

Summer insects cannot comprehend ice – with such a housemaid, Zhou Cheng couldn’t be bothered to pursue it personally. Her level was truly too low.