Wang Jianhua wasn’t in a hurry to confront his parents; he needed to first make up for his shortcomings.

When Wang Guangping first returned to the city, the Wang household was still in disarray. Although Xia Ziyu noticed the change in Wang Jianhua’s parents’ attitude, she couldn’t possibly throw a fit with Wang Jianhua. She believed that making scenes and causing trouble would only push Wang Jianhua’s heart further away.

Hadn’t she won over both Xia Xiaolan and Senior Liu through patience and gentle consideration before?

She still couldn’t rush things now or lose her composure.

Xia Ziyu kept encouraging herself, though truthfully, even if she wanted to make a scene, she couldn’t find Wang Jianhua anyway.

He was busy socializing with old friends who had previously lost contact.

He also had to accompany Wang Guangping to visit those who had helped their family. Just before the new semester started, Wang Jianhua finally appeared before Xia Ziyu.

“Ziyu, I need to apologize to you! I’ve neglected you lately and haven’t even visited Uncle and Auntie. I bought some things – could you take me to visit them?”

Xia Ziyu thought of their cramped rental room, packed with various items and barely any space to step – how could she bring Wang Jianhua there?

“Jianhua, actually…”

She started to make an excuse but suddenly changed her mind. There was no need to put up a strong front before Wang Jianhua now; showing vulnerability might make him feel more guilty! After all, her parents were genuinely struggling lately, and under these circumstances, she had still given their money to help Wang Guangping and Ran Shuyu return to the city – wasn’t she good enough for Wang Jianhua?

Xia Ziyu changed her tone:

“Please don’t judge – their current rental place isn’t in great condition. My mother has to manage the business while taking care of my father, so it’s quite messy. I’ve been busy with the tutoring school, so even though I brought them to Beijing to care for them, I haven’t been much help.”

Xia Ziyu lowered her head, exposing her fair, delicate neck to Wang Jianhua.

For a long time, the matter of Wang Guangping’s return to work had weighed heavily on Wang Jianhua’s mind. Even getting into university couldn’t solve his family’s troubles, making his entire freshman year difficult. Although he and Xia Ziyu had crossed boundaries under unusual circumstances, their relationship had remained purely platonic since then.

Wang Jianhua was already in his twenties and his normal physiological desires as a young man had been forcibly suppressed. Now that the mental burden was lifted, he could notice Xia Ziyu’s attractive qualities.

Xia Ziyu had an oval face – such a face should have been paired with willow-leaf eyebrows for a gentle demeanor, yet she had thick eyebrows instead.

With her thick eyebrows and large eyes, Xia Ziyu had a bold, dignified appearance.

Yet her personality was extremely gentle, one could say she was as tender as water. In other words, Xia Ziyu had looks that elders appreciated and a gentleness that men found comfortable. Wang Jianhua couldn’t help but take his girlfriend’s hand, “Who am I to judge? When I was a sent-down youth in Dahe Village, you never looked down on me! Ziyu, I know you’re good to me, and I know other boys at school have shown interest in you, but you’ve never paid them any attention. I won’t let you down.”

Xia Ziyu’s good temperament was famous throughout the Normal University.

Whose girlfriend was as gentle and understanding as her?

She saved all the good things for Wang Jianhua to eat, and waited after his classes to wash his clothes. When senior female students showed interest in Wang Jianhua, she trusted him to handle it properly. If it had been any other girl facing someone like Senior Liu openly trying to steal her boyfriend, they would have started a fight long ago.

Wang Jianhua knew his parents had different thoughts about him and Ziyu now – his father had been reluctant before, while his mother had been enthusiastic. Now that his father had returned to work, the gap between their families became more apparent. Thinking of Xia Ziyu’s generosity and understanding, Wang Jianhua felt anxious and wanted his parents to accept her.

“I’ll visit Uncle and Auntie first, then see when they can meet my parents. Let’s settle our matter first – we’ll get married right after university graduation!”

Xia Ziyu nodded obediently.

What Wang Jianhua saw was the embarrassing situation of Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui.

This was completely different from what he remembered.

An empty sleeve, the other hand bound in splints and bandages – Xia Changzheng’s injuries were so severe!

Zhang Cui, who had been such a capable woman in Anqing County, ran a shop and managed everything at “Zhang’s” with such success. How different she looked now, much more haggard, handling all the household chores alone.

“Ziyu, this—”

How had their circumstances changed so drastically?

Under these conditions, how had Ziyu managed to provide that money?

If she hadn’t given all the money to him, her parents wouldn’t have to live in such poor conditions in Beijing.

The leftover food on the table gave off a spoiled odor, and several flies buzzed around the room.

Wang Jianhua felt extremely guilty about neglecting his girlfriend for so long.

“Ziyu, they can’t stay here. I’ll find a more suitable place for Uncle and Auntie. Uncle Xia can’t recover well here, it’s bad for his mood. How did his hand get injured so severely?”

Zhang Cui’s anger immediately flared up, “It’s all because of that Xia Xiaolan!”

“Mom, don’t talk nonsense without evidence. What does this have to do with Xiaolan?”

Wang Jianhua was confused – they were talking about the hand injury, how did Xia Xiaolan come into this? Right, Xia Xiaolan took this year’s college entrance exam, didn’t she? He wondered how she did but didn’t feel it appropriate to ask Ziyu’s family.

However, the more Xia Ziyu tried to cover it up, the more Wang Jianhua pressed for answers.

Finally, Xia Ziyu couldn’t hold back any more: “It started during New Year’s, when Second Aunt attacked Second Uncle with a cleaver, and Grandmother caused a scene at the school gate – remember? In the end, all the teachers and students took Xiaolan’s side and treated our whole family like villains. After we left, business at ‘Zhang’s’ plummeted. We had been running a stable business, but suddenly people started causing all sorts of trouble, and eventually wouldn’t even rent the shop space to my parents. You know the shop could only open initially with Principal Sun from No.1 High School’s help, but Principal Sun’s attitude completely changed. My mother says… says it’s because Xiaolan told Principal Sun not to let Zhang’s stay open.”

Wang Jianhua’s mind was full of doubts.

How could a student like Xia Xiaolan influence the principal?

Xia Ziyu continued with difficulty, explaining that after “Zhang’s” closed down, her parents could only make a living selling goods on the street in the provincial capital. But misfortunes never come alone – her father was attacked one night while getting supplies.

At this point, Zhang Cui seemed possessed, repeatedly muttering: “It was Xia Xiaolan, it was her, she did it!”

Wang Jianhua grew even more confused.

Xia Ziyu gave a bitter smile, “I don’t believe Xiaolan did all these things. You know her personality – she talks tough. Plus, I wronged her first, so letting her vent a bit would be fair. But Xiaolan… you probably don’t know, Xiaolan is completely different now. She was the top science student in Yunan Province for this year’s college entrance exam, and she applied to Huaqing University. She’s probably already registered there by now!”

An ordinary student certainly couldn’t influence the principal of County No.1 High School.

But a provincial top scorer – the principal would take her side.

Xia Ziyu didn’t want to tell Wang Jianhua, but she wanted even less for Xia Xiaolan to appear gloriously before him. Beijing wasn’t that big – Wang Jianhua would find out sooner or later, better to let her tell him! The same incident could be told in different ways; it all depended on who could influence Wang Jianhua’s first impression!

And indeed, just as Xia Ziyu predicted, Wang Jianhua stood there stunned, experiencing a massive psychological shock!