The young man was also looking at Xia Xiaolan.

She was even more beautiful in person than in photos – the kind of beauty that immediately caught one’s attention and left a striking impression.

Sun Tian’s boyfriend couldn’t help but look twice.

But that was all – there were many beautiful girls in the world, did he need to possess each one? He preferred Sun Tian, who was quietly eating with her head lowered.

“Is this the Xia Xiaolan classmate you often talk about?”

Sun Tian’s cheeks moved as she quickly swallowed her food. “Yes, she’s the most impressive student I’ve ever met!”

Though she was a teacher, Sun Tian wasn’t much older than Xia Xiaolan.

Her boyfriend looked at her with a smile. “Yes, I know. I can see the principal likes her, but no matter how impressive others are, we shouldn’t let that interfere with our matters… This winter break, would you like to come home with me?”

Sun Tian’s face immediately turned red.

“Go… go home with you?”

“Yes, come home with me. We’ve been together for so long now, and I’ve met your family – it’s time I took you to meet my parents too.”

Well, it was impossible not to have met her family – her uncle was the principal, and her aunt also worked at the school.

The thought of meeting his parents so soon made Sun Tian feel things were moving quickly!

Yet when he smiled at her, her cheeks grew warm.

This feeling was completely different from Zhao Gang’s persistent pursuit.

So this was what it felt like to like someone.

Though nervous, Sun Tian followed her heart and nodded:

“Alright!”

Teacher Qi gently nudged Xia Xiaolan with her elbow.

“See that? I think we’ll be drinking at Little Sun’s wedding soon.”

Teacher Qi didn’t treat Xia Xiaolan as an outsider.

It wasn’t strange for teachers and students to discuss relationships – Xia Xiaolan was already 21 years old, and there was nothing they couldn’t talk about.

Looking at Sun Tian who was deeply in love, Xia Xiaolan felt like she was being force-fed dog food again.

Sun Tian was the type of person without grand ambitions, content with her simple life – and that kind of simple, steady happiness was valid too. Not everyone had to be like Xia Xiaolan, and not everyone was as unfortunate as little You.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t envy her – Sun Tian had her happiness, and she had hers.

She just suddenly missed Zhou Cheng terribly.

“Little You, our flight back to Beijing is the day after tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, Sister Xia.”

“Can you try to change it to tomorrow afternoon?”

Why such a hurry?

“Sister Xia, you said you needed to return to the countryside-“

“We’ll head back tonight, and we can make it back to the provincial capital by tomorrow afternoon. See if you can arrange that.”

Whatever Sister Xia said goes. You Li also wanted to get back to Beijing quickly. Since she’d reported to Pengcheng, she hadn’t been back to Beijing once. Though the hospital said her mother’s condition was stable, You Li still wanted to see for herself.

The meal ended on a happy note.

Before leaving, Xia Xiaolan specifically emphasized to Sun Tian: “Teacher Sun, you must invite me to your wedding!”

Oh my, how could Xiaolan’s classmate say such things in front of everyone?

Sun Tian was very embarrassed but still nodded vigorously.

They were meeting the parents already, marriage would naturally follow.

Xia Xiaolan bid farewell to the teachers and walked away with You Li. They only got in the car after Principal Sun and the others could no longer see them.

Old Wang, drunk, asked his old friend:

“Principal, why didn’t you ask whether that ‘Qihang’ company that donated money for scholarships has anything to do with Xiaolan!”

Principal Sun was puzzled: “Just because you heard people at school say ‘President Xia,’ you think the real estate company is run by Xiaolan?”

“…Isn’t it?”

From having two bodyguards during the mock exam to the young woman following her every step now, calling her “Sister Xia” – she didn’t seem much like Xia Xiaolan’s sister.

Old Wang wasn’t blind. That wasn’t the respect of a sister for her elder sister, but rather an employee’s respect for their boss.

Principal Sun patted his old friend’s shoulder:

“Whether she’s Student Xia or Boss Xia, does it matter? Old Wang, your perspective is still lacking.”

He wanted to go try out the pen that little Xia had brought back from America – a special gift from his proud student!

Principal Sun walked away humming a tune, leaving Old Wang bewildered.

Whose perspective was lacking?

Hey Surname Sun, don’t leave, explain yourself clearly!

…

The wind whooshed, throwing snow particles against the car windows.

The driver was especially careful driving at night in the snow.

Tonight, Xia Xiaolan was supposed to stay at the Anqing guesthouse and return to Qijing Village tomorrow.

Moved by seeing Sun Tian’s couple, she suddenly really wanted to see Zhou Cheng. Love always adds a touch of impatience, but she couldn’t let the driver drive to Beijing tonight – after all, the roads weren’t as convenient as in later years, long-distance driving wasn’t easy, and long-distance bus rides weren’t comfortable.

And then there was safety… driving to Beijing wasn’t reasonable. Better to quickly finish matters in Shangdu, then she could return to Beijing two days early.

Xia Xiaolan closed her eyes, thinking if she’d forgotten anything.

The contract with Zhu Suizhou was signed.

She’d seen the teachers at Anqing No. 1 High School.

One more trip back to Qijing Village, and her return to Shangdu would be complete.

If she looked for things to do, she could certainly find them – like where to relocate the ‘Blue Phoenix’ before Building 45 was demolished and the Asia Mall was built, among other trivial matters.

But Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to manage these things. It was already generous of her to mention it to Zhu Suizhou, and that was only out of consideration for Aunt Li Fengmei.

She didn’t interact much with Li Fengmei’s family, so why should she personally teach them how to continue running the store?

She didn’t even worry about her money-making ventures, so why should she worry about theirs?

She only had so much energy – it couldn’t be divided equally among everyone, relationships had their degrees of closeness!

The car moved slowly, finally reaching Qijing Village.

The village dogs sensed their arrival before the people did. It seemed they would stay in the village tonight. Xia Xiaolan gave the keys to You Li, asking her to help clean up the house first. She walked towards the Chen family home.

The Chen family’s gate was tightly closed.

Chen Qing’s fraud of eighty thousand yuan from his family wasn’t kept secret by Chen Wangda from the family members – after all, it was the whole family’s hard-earned money.

But that was the extent of it. Chen Wangda forbade the family from breathing a word of it to outsiders.

All their anger could be vented at Chen Qing… but they couldn’t destroy him, couldn’t make it impossible for him to ever hold his head up in his hometown again. This was the way of a feudal patriarch, something only a grandfather would do. Xia Xiaolan really couldn’t judge.

“Aunt, open the door, it’s me!”

Chen’s elder sister-in-law opened the door, surprised to see Xia Xiaolan in the lamplight.

“Xiaolan, you’re back? Come in quickly.”

Then her eyes shifted evasively.

Chen Qing’s matter had put great pressure on Chen’s elder sister-in-law, and the Chen family had many complaints about her. She used to always compare Chen Qing with Xia Xiaolan – not out of malice, just the typical mindset of rural women. Their sons always smelled sweet to them, while they picked bones from eggs when it came to others’ children.

Now look what happened – Chen Qing had dealt her a heavy blow, leaving Chen’s elder sister-in-law without any face.

From such a distance, she didn’t know how that child Chen Qing was doing in America. Seeing Xia Xiaolan who had just returned from America, her heart was very anxious.

Xia Xiaolan naturally understood everything.

“Aunt, is Grandfather Chen here? There are some things I’d like to discuss with both of you present.”