Sincere repentance?
A truly repentant person wouldn’t publicly back Xia Xiaolan into a corner!
This was an unavoidable aspect of national culture, a flaw most people shared – not understanding personal boundaries, always eager to judge from a moral high ground.
The elderly man might have meant well, or he might have been planted by Du Zhaohui.
Either way, such interference only added fuel to the fire. Of course, the one who first put Xia Xiaolan on the spot was her biological father, Xia Dajun – look at him, pulling out a thick envelope stuffed with colorful Hong Kong dollars, staging a dramatic scene of father-daughter reconciliation!
This man was truly foolish.
Or rather, he hadn’t changed at all. Before, he’d sacrificed Xia Xiaolan’s interests for Xia Ziyu and other members of the Xia family.
Now it was for Du Zhaohui!
“I won’t take the money. You probably don’t know, but when I was lying in blood waiting for someone to take me to the hospital, that was the first time in my life I desperately needed money. If I’d had money then, I wouldn’t have been waiting to die in that blood. The second time was when I carried twenty jin of sweet potatoes while being driven out of the Xia family with my mother. I had to calculate carefully how much we could eat per meal, how long that twenty jin would last us… After surviving those two hurdles, I’ve never lacked money again, let alone need to take a penny from you!”
‘Xia Xiaolan’ had truly died back then.
Because of Xia Dajun’s indulgence, the Xia family had trampled mother and daughter underfoot. Even when Liu Fen knelt and kowtowed, no one had shown enough mercy to send ‘Xia Xiaolan’ to the hospital.
When Xia Xiaolan’s soul was reborn in that body, if she could make peace with the Xia family, she’d be complicit in her murder!
Seeing the ten thousand Hong Kong dollars Xia Dajun produced, Xia Xiaolan felt no emotion. His pretentious act made her sick to her stomach.
Whispers arose around them. Those who had initially sided with Xia Dajun like the elderly man now began to think Xia Xiaolan’s unforgiving attitude must have its reasons.
Zhou Cheng’s heart tightened. Though Xiaolan spoke calmly, he felt her pain.
He remembered their first meeting, the grotesque scar on her forehead. Though the scar had faded to invisibility now, it didn’t mean the past was forgotten.
“I wish I’d known you earlier.”
Zhou Cheng muttered, shielding Xiaolan behind him. “Whatever Du Zhaohui wants, let him state it directly without beating around the bush. Mr. Xia, if you want to put on a show, you should first see if we’re willing to play along… To put it bluntly, we don’t care to give you face.”
Wasn’t all the family drama in the past because of poverty?
Xia Dajun thought now that he had money, he could resolve the conflicts caused by poverty. He hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan to completely dismiss the ten thousand Hong Kong dollars!
No, she was just being stubborn.
Even though she’d gotten into Huaqing University and made something of herself, her personality hadn’t changed one bit – still competitive and aggressive!
She’d rather reject the money than let him, her father, feel at ease.
Xia Dajun remembered Du Zhaohui’s coaching and suppressed his anger, preparing to try a different approach, but Zhou Cheng had already led Xia Xiaolan away! As Xia Dajun tried to follow in his wheelchair, the elderly man who had spoken up for him earlier blocked his path:
“Comrade, deep-seated ice doesn’t form overnight. From what your daughter said, you must have done her great wrong in the past…”
The elderly man was genuinely well-meaning, someone who could easily offer advice without bearing the consequences, eager to share his opinion on everything. He held Xia Dajun back with a long lecture.
In that short time, Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng had disappeared.
“This isn’t over. I need to ask Du Zhaohui what he’s trying to do!”
Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind airing the family’s dirty laundry – after all, the shame wasn’t hers. She could say what she wanted, and she’d never feared confronting the Xia family! What exhausted her was the process, confrontation after confrontation. Like a circus charging admission for a monkey show – why should she sacrifice herself for others’ entertainment?
“Let me talk to him.”
Zhou Cheng had originally wanted to avoid direct contact with Du Zhaohui.
Uncle Pan wasn’t a smuggler, but Du Zhaohui was a real one. The Du family was one of the most active smuggling groups. Even if Du Zhaohui didn’t personally organize smuggling activities, no one could say he was clean.
Another isolation investigation would be quite unfair to Zhou Cheng.
But if Du Zhaohui was actively provoking them, Zhou Cheng couldn’t remain indifferent.
Xia Xiaolan shared the same concerns. She didn’t want Zhou Cheng to interact with Du Zhaohui. At least now, with Zhou Cheng’s mission still incomplete, it wasn’t appropriate to get entangled with the young master of the Chengrong Group!
“Let me handle this. Once we understand what Du Zhaohui wants, we can discuss it together.”
Xia Xiaolan entered Du Zhaohui’s hospital room. This time, he wasn’t playing pitifully or lying in blood. His clothes were neat as if he’d anticipated Xia Xiaolan’s visit.
“Clever girl, you came alone!”
With Xia Xiaolan’s face swollen, her beauty was concealed. Du Zhaohui found this quite suitable – it would reduce her beauty’s bewitching effect on him.
Everyone appreciated beauty, and Du Zhaohui particularly liked beautiful women. He wanted a rational conversation, and the current situation was perfect.
“You brought Xia Dajun here just to force me to come see you, didn’t you?”
Xia Xiaolan sat unceremoniously in another chair.
She looked quite disheveled now, with injuries on her arms and face, but this didn’t prevent her from thinking clearly.
How could someone as cunning as Du Zhaohui not anticipate that bringing Xia Dajun would backfire?
Xia Xiaolan wanted to know Du Zhaohui’s purpose!
“Miss Xia, don’t be angry. You truly are a very clever girl, completely different from Xia Dajun. Give him a little benefit, and you can manipulate him easily because he’s not smart up here.”
Du Zhaohui pointed to his head.
“But you’re different! The mainland’s college entrance exam is very difficult. I’ve heard it described as millions of troops crossing a single-log bridge. Every year, millions of students wait for this exam to change their fate, and you are among the best – the leader. You were first in the province, and third in the nation last year!”
Du Zhaohui could easily obtain this information. He had access to Xia Xiaolan’s records, after all, as he was in a honeymoon period with Huaqing University, being the donor of the Chengrong Scholarship. Such small requests weren’t excessive.
He’d also seen Xia Xiaolan’s latest achievement – First Prize winner of the inaugural National College English Competition!
Du Zhaohui didn’t care about these awards; he was analyzing Xia Xiaolan through these records… A country girl smarter and more ambitious than he’d imagined.
After Du Zhaohui’s flattery, Xia Xiaolan frowned: “I don’t have time for this nonsense.”
Du Zhaohui shrugged:
“That’s too bad. You should be more patient because I’m about to get to the main point. You’re very smart, and through your efforts, you can cross class boundaries. Being as clever as you are, surely you don’t believe the mainland is all proletariat? In such a big country, there’s a privileged class, and you’ve cleverly infiltrated that circle. I truly admire you! In Hong Kong, there’s a phenomenon where beautiful actresses easily date wealthy heirs, but marrying into those families is incredibly difficult… On this point, I think I can offer you some help.”