Liang Huan had never met a young man as handsome as Zhou Cheng. Especially since this man had achieved so much success at such a young age, and his mysterious background only added to his aura.
When Zhou Cheng shot Fan Zhenchuan’s driver in the knee and emerged unscathed, it completely captivated Liang Huan. She didn’t care that Zhou Cheng was her cousin’s husband – her thoughts aligned with her mother’s: why had Zhou Cheng chosen Xia Xiaolan?
True, Xia Xiaolan was slightly prettier than her, but that was her only advantage. Besides her looks, she only had a middle school education, a rural household registration, divorced parents, and an ambiguous reputation in the countryside… How could a man like Zhou Cheng continue to love Xia Xiaolan? Liang Huan had stopped her mother from speaking ill of Xia Xiaolan only because she didn’t want to leave a bad impression on Zhou Cheng.
Young and infatuated, she had set her sights on Zhou Cheng, racking her brains for ways to get close to him. Unfortunately, Zhou Cheng was from out of town and worked at a classified facility, leaving Liang Huan, a high school girl, temporarily out of options. After much consideration, her only path forward was to repair her relationship with Xia Xiaolan and use that connection to get closer to Zhou Cheng.
While the younger cousin was plotting to steal Xia Xiaolan’s man, the older cousin Xia Ziyu, who had already successfully stolen from Xia Xiaolan, wasn’t having the smoothest time lately, as someone else was trying to steal from her as well.
Since deciding to change her fate through education, her life has been getting better day by day. She had gotten into Beijing Normal College and won Wang Jianhua’s heart, setting Xia Ziyu on a path to success. After her graduation and Wang’s family’s rehabilitation, once Wang Jianhua had made something of himself, Xia Ziyu would have the life she had always dreamed of. She felt a subtle pride in everything she now possessed, all obtained through great effort.
This included visiting Wang Jianhua’s parents at the farm. Wang Guangping was initially cold towards her but eventually came around and changed his attitude. Ran Shuyu treated her like her own daughter, reluctant to let her do any work. Of course, she made sure to present herself well in front of her future in-laws, competing with Ran Shuyu to do household chores. Ran Shuyu said she came from a good family, and because of the start of the school term, she and Wang Jianhua couldn’t stay long at the farm. Before leaving, Ran Shuyu held Xia Ziyu’s hands:
“My dear child, following our Jianhua has brought you such hardship. If it were a few years earlier, you could have had a better life… Everything is fate. His father and I can’t help you young people much, we can only take care of ourselves and try not to burden you young ones.”
Ran Shuyu was emotional, tears falling as she spoke movingly. Xia Ziyu, feeling the roughness of Ran Shuyu’s palms in her grip, realized that this former privileged official’s wife, now relegated to the harshest farm for reformation, had hands even rougher than her mother Zhang Cui’s. Xia Ziyu’s tears began to fall:
“How could you and Uncle ever be a burden? Auntie, you must believe that better days lie ahead! If there’s anything I can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask!”
Ran Shuyu spoke hesitantly, ultimately not asking for Xia Ziyu’s help. On the way back to school, Wang Jianhua seemed preoccupied. After Xia Ziyu’s persistent questioning, he finally revealed his troubles:
“My father asked me to contact some old acquaintances…”
Xia Ziyu’s heart began to race. She had been waiting for this day since learning about Wang Jianhua’s family background. After getting into university, Wang Jianhua seemed in no hurry to help his family rebuild connections, and Xia Ziyu couldn’t overstep her bounds. Now, was Wang Jianhua finally trusting her enough to share his plans about reconnecting with old contacts?
Xia Ziyu eagerly waited for Wang Jianhua to say more, but he appeared troubled. The conversation died there.
As the new semester began, Xia Ziyu noticed Wang Jianhua becoming even more frugal with money, refusing to let her help financially. Xia Ziyu thought this was probably triggered by Xia Xiaolan’s behavior at the White Stream Temple entrance. Xia Xiaolan had been so petty, chasing after Wang Jianhua for those thirty-something yuan. When Wang Jianhua eventually succeeded, Xia Xiaolan would surely regret it bitterly.
While Xia Xiaolan was foolish, Xia Ziyu couldn’t make the same mistake. She had already invested so much in Wang Jianhua, and now when the cards were in her favor, she naturally had to keep playing her hand.
The Wang family was at their lowest point now – her cooking was like sending charcoal in snowy weather. Once the Wang family recovered their status, trying to add flowers to brocade wouldn’t have the same effect.
Xia Ziyu knew why Wang Jianhua was desperately saving money – he couldn’t visit old acquaintances empty-handed, could he? Maintaining relationships required money, not for bribes, but for normal social courtesies. Wang Jianhua’s frugality made Xia Ziyu anxious because someone else had stepped forward to help before she could!
Senior Liu, who had been publicly rejected by Wang Jianhua, didn’t mind at all. Upon hearing of Wang Jianhua’s financial difficulties, she actively helped him find work opportunities. As Wang Jianhua was considered a top student at the Normal College, Senior Liu, coming from an educated family, had connections that Xia Ziyu couldn’t match. She introduced several students who needed tutoring to Wang Jianhua.
At five yuan per lesson, with Wang Jianhua’s limited weekend time fully booked, he could earn several dozen yuan over the weekend. In a month with four weekends, eight days of work brought in over 200 yuan.
He began reconnecting with old acquaintances, and this income was sufficient for maintaining social relationships. While he no longer accepted charity, his studies were demanding, and with weekends occupied, where was the time to spend with Xia Ziyu? Conversely, his interactions with Senior Liu increased. Xia Ziyu’s roommate hesitantly mentioned seeing Wang Jianhua and Senior Liu talking alone twice.
“That’s just because of the tutoring work, which needs to be arranged through Senior Liu. There’s nothing between them,” Xia Ziyu explained to others. Her roommate sighed, “Ziyu, men’s hearts change quickly. When he spends less time with you as his girlfriend and keeps meeting with Senior Liu, you need to be careful.”
What could Xia Ziyu say? She had been in Beijing less than a year and only knew a few people at school, nowhere near the connections of a Beijing native-like Senior Liu.
She couldn’t find Wang Jianhua a part-time job paying 200 yuan monthly – she was just the daughter of a farmer from Dahe Village. Senior Liu was a professor’s daughter from an educated family, and Professor Liu’s connections meant parents seeking tutors were willing to choose Wang Jianhua – Beijing Normal College wasn’t particularly prestigious, let alone compared to Peking University and Tsinghua, even Beijing Normal University’s reputation was stronger than the College’s.
At five yuan per hour for tutoring, even Peking and Tsinghua students would compete for such work – how could a first-year student from the Normal College normally get such an opportunity?
Xia Ziyu felt her family background was holding her back. She couldn’t rest easy letting Wang Jianhua continue associating with Senior Liu. Wang Jianhua was someone who took the responsibility seriously – Xia Ziyu had already exploited this trait once. If Senior Liu used the same tactics as Xia Ziyu, who would Wang Jianhua choose?
Xia Ziyu couldn’t afford to lose and didn’t want to gamble. She couldn’t let Wang Jianhua continue mixing with Senior Liu, so she formally discussed this issue with him:
“Jianhua, I think while giving tutoring lessons isn’t a problem in the short term, it will affect your studies if it continues long-term. If you’re short on money, I still have some – why should we distinguish between yours and mine?”