Xia Xiaolan both admired and respected Yang Yonghong!
She knew that in this second life, her decision to focus seriously on her studies wasn’t wrong.
If she hadn’t gone to a top institution like Huaqing, where else would she have met so many excellent classmates like Yang Yonghong? These people’s outlook on life and ideals for the future were vastly different from Xia Xiaolan’s circle of classmates in her previous life…
Of course, she didn’t judge people by their test scores or educational background, but the higher one climbed, the more likely they were to meet friends with similar values and common goals.
Unfortunately, in her previous life, she had neither such insight nor the conditions to focus on her studies. She struggled until age 40 to achieve what others considered “success” – having a car, house, and money, plus an enviable high-income position. However, by the time she reached that point, she had already exhausted all her strength, unlike the effortlessness others assumed.
Xia Xiaolan also understood that in her previous life, her path upward had been too narrow. Her starting point had been too low, and despite working hard, she had no strength left to advance further.
But in this life, she had the chance to make up for her previous life’s shortcomings. Infected by Yang Yonghong’s fighting spirit, Xia Xiaolan was still smiling when they arrived at Xiangmihu.
“Sister Xiaolan, what are you secretly smiling about?”
There were too many people at Xiangmihu, and it was easy to lose a child if you weren’t careful.
Xia Xiaolan held Liu Zitao’s hand tightly:
“I’m happy to bring you here to play, what else would I be smiling about!”
Liu Zitao didn’t believe her, “Sister Xiaolan, why didn’t my brother-in-law come? I didn’t see him during New Year’s either.”
Liu Zitao had a good memory. Xia Xiaolan didn’t try to fool him, “His work unit gave him tasks, so he couldn’t take time off during New Year’s, and he can’t take time off now either.”
As for when he would have time off, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t answer.
She had been waiting for Zhou Cheng to resolve matters with the Shi family. They had agreed they both needed to cool down, and she could only trust that Zhou Cheng would handle things well—this might be somewhat difficult for Zhou Cheng. In terms of mental age, Xia Xiaolan considered herself more mature than Zhou Cheng; she needed to wait patiently for him to grow.
Liu Zitao vaguely felt something odd in his sister’s tone, but no matter how clever he was, he wasn’t supernatural – how could he understand adult relationship issues?
If Xia Xiaolan couldn’t even handle a child’s questions, she wouldn’t have gotten this far.
Besides, the amusement facilities at Xiangmihu Holiday Resort had Liu Zitao screaming with excitement – the water roller coaster was more thrilling than anything his parents could provide. There were too many people – they had to queue for every facility. Xia Xiaolan had been to Shanghai’s Disneyland in her previous life; in ’85, Xiangmihu was China’s Disneyland. She was worried Liu Zitao might faint from heatstroke in the crowds.
High temperature, too many people, and excitement – it was easy to become breathless.
Liu Yong and Li Fengmei had been separated by the crowd.
Xia Xiaolan felt a hand touch her waist. She turned to see a man with a rat-like face.
Xia Xiaolan didn’t show any courtesy and kicked him:
“Watch where you put your hands!”
The man hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan to be so fierce.
Usually, when women were harassed, they would choose to avoid conflict, especially in situations like this where the man could easily excuse it as an accidental touch.
However, Xia Xiaolan was too beautiful, forming a stark contrast with the man’s rat-like face.
In this looks-conscious world, it was easy for righteous people to stand up for Xia Xiaolan. Seeing several young men ready to intervene, the man could only glare viciously at Xia Xiaolan before using his small frame to squeeze through the crowd’s encirclement like a loach.
Bah! How could such a person be compared to a loach – loaches at least make good eating when cooked properly?
After this small incident, Liu Yong and Li Fengmei finally pushed their way over:
“Xiaolan, are you alright?”
Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “I’m fine, just ran into a hooligan.”
Liu Yong’s mouth twitched. The dog ran fast. Today the family had brought Liu Zitao to play, and the construction site couldn’t spare Li Dongliang’s supervision. In a public place like Xiangmihu, Liu Yong hadn’t anticipated any danger, otherwise, he would have had Li Dongliang come along.
But with people packed so tightly, some hooligans trying to take advantage – that was truly impossible to prevent.
Liu Yong took his son’s hand, “I’ll take Taotao to ride the pirate ship. You and your aunt rest over there. I see they’re selling ice cream.”
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t stand the heat either.
She could endure hardship, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed the sun.
Back then, running back and forth to the county town selling eggs under the sun – that was forced by circumstances. In less than two years, Director Xia had become worth several hundred thousand yuan. In this weather, going out requires applying sunscreen.
Though applying it didn’t help much – after standing in the sun for a while, exposed skin still felt like it was burning.
She didn’t try to act tough, “Then I’ll go have ice cream with aunt. Be careful of heatstroke yourselves, take a break after the pirate ship ride.”
The water roller coaster, pirate ship, and Ferris wheel were the entertainment center’s signature attractions. Besides couples seeking romance, many families rode the Ferris wheel too – you could see the entire resort’s scenery from up there.
Not just the resort, but the whole surrounding district.
Xia Xiaolan and Li Fengmei each bought an ice cream and sat on a bench to rest. From the corner of her eye, Xia Xiaolan noticed several people suspiciously glancing their way.
Among them was that rat-faced hooligan who had tried to grope her earlier!
The man had lost face because of Xia Xiaolan and seemed quite resentful.
Xia Xiaolan sneered. These days, perverts who harass women are more arrogant than their victims. Did they expect her to just stand there and let him grope her until he was satisfied?
This was a public place – that scoundrel certainly wouldn’t dare provoke public anger. Xia Xiaolan thought they must be sizing up the situation, looking to get even.
Indeed, Liu Yong and Li Fengmei both had Yunan accents, and she spoke Standard Mandarin – they were not locals.
A group of four – two women and a child, with the only man not looking particularly formidable. Perhaps they thought they could bully them?
“Aunt, I just remembered I forgot to tell the workers something today. I’ll go make a phone call to remind them.”
Li Fengmei, with her plump figure, was panting from the heat and remained seated on the bench.
There was a phone at the ice cream stand, just a few meters away – nobody would get lost.
…
From the Ferris wheel, one could overlook the entire resort area, including the surrounding district.
Harold wasn’t interested in Xiangmihu’s amusement facilities, but he was quite interested in this district.
They might be behind others in tourism, but what about other things?
Accompanied by Ji Jiangyuan, Harold got on the Ferris wheel for a more direct view of the surroundings. Halfway up, Ji Jiangyuan suddenly made a light exclamation.
Harold was very perceptive, with excellent vision, and immediately spotted Xia Xiaolan.
Xia Xiaolan wore a hat that covered half her face, but her figure and bearing still stood out prominently in the crowd.
Even in casual wear, her fine figure couldn’t be concealed.
“Someone you know?”
Ji Jiangyuan gave an ambiguous response.
He didn’t know Xia Xiaolan had come to Pengcheng.
Thinking of Xia Xiaolan’s close relationship with Tang Hongen, it didn’t seem strange – Xia Xiaolan’s closeness with Tang Hongen exceeded his estrangement from his birth father.
Being able to recognize her even with half her face covered showed obvious familiarity.
Harold asked curiously:
“Ji, you could go greet your friend. I see that young lady seems to be in trouble.”
From their high vantage point, it was easier to see the whole picture – several people were suspiciously following behind. Harold wasn’t blind.
Between warning Xia Xiaolan and letting Harold meet her, Ji Jiangyuan couldn’t judge which option was more dangerous!