How could Xia Ziyu have seen the purchase of the Shichahai Siheyuan courtyard house?
The courtyard house near West Third Ring Road had been abandoned as a purchase option because Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui were renting there.
There was no way Xia Ziyu could know about the ones in Nanluogu Alley and Shichahai. With the current chaotic state of information registration, Xia Ziyu shouldn’t even be able to check if there were properties under her name. Xia Xiaolan knew that Xia Ziyu never spoke without purpose – she must be setting a trap!
What kind of trap?
Xia Xiaolan had a vague idea but maintained her composure to see what Xia Ziyu would do.
The others didn’t think much of it. Buying a small courtyard in a relatively remote area of Beijing would cost only twenty or thirty thousand yuan. For those who socialized with Guan Hui’e, with both spouses working normal jobs and not having to support a dozen family members on their salaries, if they lived frugally and calculated carefully, saving twenty or thirty thousand was feasible.
The higher the rank, the higher the salary. Apart from food, clothing, and monthly rent, medical care was free, so saving money was relatively easy.
What was wrong with someone from another province buying a courtyard in Beijing? It showed that Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend truly intended to settle in Beijing – from the woman’s perspective, that demonstrated sufficient sincerity!
However, Ran Shuyu knew the details of the Xia family – they had no successful relatives, all desperately poor rural people. She had previously thought Xia Ziyu’s parents were successful, but they just ran a small food stall in Beijing. Had the Zhou family bought a siheyuan for Xia Xiaolan in Beijing?
Was Zhou Cheng that satisfied with his future daughter-in-law?
“Your family treats your future daughter-in-law so well!”
Though Ran Shuyu said this, she was thinking about Xia Ziyu’s purpose in bringing this up. Was she hinting that the Wang family should buy a house to settle Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui? Dream on – even if the Wang family had the money, they wouldn’t spend it.
Guan Hui’e also caught on. Xiaolan’s cousin’s words were quite ambiguous, half-revealed, and half-hidden – wasn’t she deliberately provoking speculation?
What did she mean by seeing Xia Xiaolan buying a house with her partner? Did she think the Shichahai courtyard was bought by the Zhou family?
There was confusion in Guan Hui’e’s eyes, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t bother saving face:
“You probably haven’t met my partner yet, and discussing house purchases isn’t appropriate for this occasion, don’t you think?”
That would truly become a bragging session. Those present who couldn’t afford to buy houses were living in state-allocated housing and didn’t need to buy. Only outsiders placed such importance on house ownership – without a house, they didn’t consider themselves settled in Beijing. Xia Xiaolan had this mindset herself, so she believed Xia Ziyu would too!
Xia Ziyu smiled gently, “Jianhua saw it. Aren’t you and your partner classmates at Huaqing? I didn’t mean anything else, just that your partner treats you well, and Aunt Guan treats you well too.”
Xia Ziyu had wanted to say that it wasn’t easy for people like her and Xia Xiaolan from rural areas to buy courtyards in Beijing, but that would have been too direct and wouldn’t have achieved the desired provocative effect.
Sometimes letting others fill in the blanks themselves was more effective than spelling everything out.
Jianhua saw it?
Wasn’t that when he saw Ji Jiangyuan?
Xia Xiaolan suddenly became energetic – Xia Ziyu knew how to bring up the wrong topics!
“Aunt Guan, my cousin might be talking about Ji…”
Xia Xiaolan understood – when Wang Jianhua was at Huaqing’s gate last time, he saw her being familiar with Ji Jiangyuan and thought Ji Jiangyuan was her partner?
Xia Xiaolan tried to follow this absurd line of thinking. Her plans to buy a siheyuan had been witnessed by Xia Changzheng, so Xia Ziyu knew about it too. Xia Ziyu didn’t know whether she had bought a courtyard, so she was testing her earlier. When Xia Xiaolan didn’t deny it, Xia Ziyu confirmed that she had bought a siheyuan in Beijing.
Even the courtyard that Xia Changzheng was renting near West Third Ring Road cost several thousand, so Xia Ziyu couldn’t figure out how she had money to buy a house. She had mistaken Ji Jiangyuan for her boyfriend and thought his family had paid for it.
Ji Jiangyuan certainly looked like someone from a wealthy family!
Xia Xiaolan felt her guess was pretty close, but of all people, why did Xia Ziyu have to connect her with Ji Jiangyuan?
As soon as Xia Xiaolan spoke, Guan Hui’e understood. Indeed, as Zhou Guobin had said, the Wang family had limited vision:
“Jianhua, Auntie has watched you grow up. You used to be such a clever child, but now you can’t even recognize Zhou Cheng? You two haven’t seen each other for just a few years. Zhou Cheng works at the office, he’s not Xiaolan’s classmate… Of course, there must be people pursuing Xiaolan at school – outstanding people, whether men or women, naturally attract pursuers! But Auntie thinks some things shouldn’t be said carelessly without understanding the situation, don’t you agree?”
Wang Jianhua’s face reddened to his ears.
At the time, that Huaqing male student did appear to have a close relationship with Xia Xiaolan – Wang Jianhua didn’t believe there was anything between them.
But now, Xia Xiaolan was Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend whom he had brought home, and by the looks of it, Xia Xiaolan had gained the Zhou family’s approval. Otherwise, Guan Hui’e wouldn’t have brought her to the social gathering or be protecting her like this!
Guan Hui’e was warning him not to speak carelessly.
“Aunt Guan, I’m sorry, I didn’t explain clearly to Ziyu. She doesn’t know Zhou Cheng, so there was a misunderstanding.”
Xia Ziyu hardly dared to speak now; Guan Hui’e’s presence was truly imposing.
But Guan Hui’e wasn’t done with her, turning to say:
“We all know Xiaolan is exceptional. She got into Beijing, into Huaqing University, from a small town because she’s smart and hardworking. What’s even more impressive is that she managed to lift herself and her family out of poverty through her abilities, buying a house in Beijing. The Zhou family neither contributed money nor effort. Thank you for your concern about Xiaolan, but not clarifying these matters could lead to misunderstandings!”
Wasn’t she just trying to make others think poorly of Xia Xiaolan?
Did she think Guan Hui’e didn’t know about the house purchase?
Guan Hui’e trusted her son quite well – when they said the Shichahai courtyard was bought by Xia Xiaolan, Zhou Cheng truly hadn’t contributed a penny.
Financially, Xia Xiaolan hadn’t taken advantage of the Zhou family at all.
Just yesterday, Guan Hui’e had heard about Xia Xiaolan’s business situation – she was doing business in both Shangdu and Pengcheng, clearly capable of earning enough to buy a courtyard.
Whether Xia Ziyu didn’t recognize Zhou Cheng or was deliberately suggesting Xia Xiaolan had something going on with another man, it revealed her malicious intent!
Despite her righteous appearance, how could she harbor such thoughts?
Xia Xiaolan was right – her relationship with her biological father’s relatives was indeed full of conflicts!
This scene left Aunt Zhan and the others quite bewildered. However, they already had a favorable first impression of Xia Xiaolan, with her academic achievements being quite convincing. Xia Ziyu, arriving later with Ran Shuyu, three looked poor and bitter – the state had compensated several years of salary, yet they couldn’t even afford two sets of clothes.
As soon as Xia Ziyu arrived, she started making insinuations about Xia Xiaolan. Aunt Zhan’s impression of her was very poor.
Xia Ziyu felt others’ questioning and suspicious gazes falling on her, making her alternately hot and cold. She knew she might have misunderstood Xia Xiaolan’s situation, and her words didn’t add up. Xia Xiaolan’s future mother-in-law either didn’t believe her – or even if she had doubts, she publicly maintained Xia Xiaolan’s face, already far surpassing Ran Shuyu’s superficial kindness by leagues!
How was Xia Xiaolan’s luck still so good?