“Mr. Tang, thank you.”

Upon arrival, Liu Fen quickly got out of the car – spending too much time with Tang Hong’en made it hard not to develop feelings for him.

Tang Hong’en didn’t push her. He wasn’t in a rush to marry and had plans to spend more time with Liu Fen and pace their relationship.

He needed to ensure she wouldn’t forget his existence, but also couldn’t press too hard.

“I won’t see you in then. If you need any help, feel free to call me anytime.”

Tang Hong’en slipped her a note with his office phone number, waved goodbye, and Little Wang promptly drove away.

Back then, even Xia Xiaolan, despite all her efforts at currying favor, could only get Little Wang’s number – that was the difference, and Xiaolan had no choice but to accept it.

The car drove away quickly. Liu Fen stood holding her luggage, the note burning in her hand.

She hurriedly tucked the note into a side pocket of her luggage bag, walked a few steps, then took it out again and put it in her pants pocket.

She couldn’t explain why she did this and dared not think too deeply about it as she entered the guesthouse with her bags.

She took out her introduction letter, asking for Li Fengmei.

“Room 4, second floor. Find it yourself!”

The guesthouse staff tossed Liu Fen a key, their attitude far from friendly.

Liu Fen recalled Xia Xiaolan’s sales techniques. She was used to the poor attitude of staff at guesthouses and state-run stores. It wasn’t just in Yangcheng – Shangdu was the same. Even with money, she didn’t like shopping at department stores where you had to endure people’s attitudes just to buy something. It made her uncomfortable.

She now felt Xiaolan was right – customers who spend money should be made to feel happy.

Both were selling clothes, but ‘Blue Phoenix’ shop assistants were polite and enthusiastic while department store clerks were arrogant. No wonder ‘Blue Phoenix’ did better business than department stores!

There were no unsellable clothes, only salespeople who didn’t try hard enough.

Liu Fen didn’t argue with the front desk, just took the key and went upstairs.

She hadn’t realized it, but Tang Hong’en’s affirmation had given her much more confidence!

There was no difference between handling 100,000 yuan of goods versus 10,000.

Just as Mayor Tang said, she should negotiate better terms.

If Chen Xiliang’s goods could be exchanged within the season, why couldn’t other vendors’ goods? If wholesale vendors disagreed, she could threaten to source elsewhere – the money was in her pocket, and she could buy wherever she wanted. Others didn’t know she and sister-in-law Li Fengmei operated separately now; they only saw three stores of considerable size that could sell lots of clothes in a season – they deserved preferential treatment!

…

Zhou Cheng’s return to Beijing was sudden.

He hadn’t called ahead, sent a telegram, or written.

He only settled the Shi family before going to Huaqing to wait for Xia Xiaolan.

Young couples naturally want to stick together. Though Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan had met before the New Year, events since then made him especially eager to see his woman.

He still remembered being her military training instructor, and Xiaolan even graduating with honors. Afraid of being misunderstood if seen, Zhou Cheng wore a hat as he waited below Xia Xiaolan’s dormitory.

Looking so suspicious, the dorm aunt questioned him several times.

Zhou Cheng had to take off his hat. Seeing how handsome the young man was, the aunt’s tone immediately softened: “Who are you looking for? I’ll call them down – why wait around foolishly?”

The aunt couldn’t help stealing extra glances as she spoke. He was truly handsome; even his slightly dark complexion didn’t diminish his good looks.

“Thank you! I’m looking for Xia Xiaolan from the Architecture Department. Could you help call her down?”

Looking for the prettiest girl in Architecture?

The aunt’s gaze became meaningful.

Zhou Cheng smiled, “I’m her brother, bringing her some living expenses.”

Her brother?

These siblings looked nothing alike.

But Zhou Cheng was handsome too, so the aunt didn’t ask further and went upstairs to call for him.

“Xia Xiaolan from 307, your brother’s waiting downstairs. Come down quickly!”

Xia Xiaolan was washing her hair in the dorm and found this completely baffling – she didn’t have any brother! Could it be Chen Qing? Before term started, she’d delivered things from the Chen family to the Foreign Trade College, where Chen Qing was indeed working as an assistant to a professor, now away at a conference.

Xiaolan could only leave the items for others to pass on, but couldn’t entrust them with money, so she’d taken that back.

She’d left a message for Chen Qing to come get the money when he had time.

Hastily drying her hair, Xiaolan went downstairs. The aunt pointed to the entrance, and even without seeing his full face, Xiaolan recognized him – not Chen Qing, but her Zhou Cheng!

Was Zhou Cheng’s mission finished?

Xiaolan’s heart leaped with joy at this big surprise.

She ran over, “Zhou Cheng!”

Zhou Cheng turned around, dark circles evident under his eyes – he hadn’t slept well.

“Why didn’t you dry your hair properly?”

With March temperatures still low, Zhou Cheng worried she’d catch a cold and insisted she go back up to dry her hair properly.

“Don’t rush, I’m not leaving. I’ll wait here while you dry your hair.”

Xiaolan’s hair was indeed still dripping wet. Had she known it was Zhou Cheng, she would’ve been more mindful of her appearance. Without argument, she went back up not only to dry her hair but also to change clothes.

Zhou Cheng waited in the same spot, hat covering most of his face.

“It’s 5 PM now, do you have any more classes today?”

Xiaolan shook her head, so Zhou Cheng suggested taking her out for dinner.

Xiaolan felt something was off about Zhou Cheng today – he seemed preoccupied. He’d never been this reserved during their meetings. At first, she thought it was because they were at school, but even after leaving campus and finding a restaurant, Zhou Cheng only held her hand – no kisses, no hugs. Since when had her man become so restrained?

If not for Zhou Cheng’s special job that gave him no chance to meet young women, Xiaolan would have worried her boyfriend would have developed other interests.

Xiaolan didn’t beat around the bush. While waiting for their food, she voiced her concerns:

“Zhou Cheng, did something happen? Would you like to talk about it?”

Zhou Cheng was thinner than at their last meeting, his face showing clear signs of poor sleep. What could be weighing so heavily on him? Xiaolan wanted to share his burden – their relationship wasn’t just about sharing happy moments!

Zhou Cheng enveloped her hand in his, “Dear, being with me hasn’t given you an easy life. You have to deal with my family, manage money for me, worry about me on missions… Other couples don’t have it as hard as you do. I can’t help wondering if I’m being selfish, holding onto you and leaving you no other choices.”

The more Xiaolan listened, the more wrong it felt. She pulled her hand away:

“Why do your words sound like you’re trying to break up with me?”