When Liang Huan called out to her, Xia Xiaolan didn’t recognize her at first.

Mainly because she hadn’t seen Liang Huan for a long time.

But what was that expression on Liang Huan’s face?

Xia Xiaolan felt she might be oversensitive, but Liang Huan’s expression seemed to show disdain for her—

Liang Huan immediately abandoned the young man she was walking within the park, calling out to both her cousin and cousin-in-law, her face showing excitement at the family reunion.

She was overly enthusiastic, pestering Xia Xiaolan with questions, and even wanted to accompany Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng home, saying sweetly that since her cousin was heavily pregnant, she should escort her.

It was Xia Xiaolan who frankly refused:

“No need, someone’s waiting for you, and Zhou Cheng and I have other matters to attend to.”

Liang Huan smiled shyly, “Sister Xiaolan, don’t misunderstand, he’s not my boyfriend.”

Not your boyfriend, yet walking arm in arm-in the park?

Xia Xiaolan narrowed her eyes, “There’s nothing wrong with dating, I remember you’re 25 this year.”

Liang Huan was only two years younger than her. Not only dating but even marriage and children wouldn’t be surprising. What was strange was her denial of her relationship with the young man… damn, Xia Xiaolan thought, did she think she was blind? A 25-year-old woman acting shy, who was she trying to fool?

At 25, Liang Huan was in her prime, neither too flashy nor too plain.

She certainly outshone Xia Xiaolan, who now looked like a disheveled pregnant woman.

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t cared about such things before, but whether due to pregnancy hormones or not, she had become quite sensitive lately!

Zhou Cheng noticed his wife’s low mood and quickly took her home.

Liang Huan stood there for quite a while, lost in thought.

The young man came over complaining, “Huanhuan, why didn’t you introduce me earlier? Who were those people?”

Liang Huan responded perfunctorily:

“My cousin and her husband. What’s there to introduce? We’re not at the stage of meeting relatives yet. I was almost scared to death earlier, my cousin has quite a temper.”

The young man dismissed her concerns.

“She’s just a cousin, how could she control our relationship?”

Liang Huan tucked her stray hair behind her ear, her made-up face as delicate as peach blossoms, making the young man’s heart skip a beat.

“Huanhuan, you’re so beautiful!”

This wasn’t flattery, but sincere praise.

Liang Huan knew she was beautiful.

Now that her looks were all she had left, how could she be content without maximizing this advantage?

At 25, Liang Huan desperately wanted to settle her marriage quickly, but after much searching, she couldn’t find someone with conditions like Zhou Cheng… She had met two high-ranking officials’ sons with good conditions, and though they weren’t as handsome as Zhou Cheng, she could accept that. What was most infuriating was that they only wanted to play around, not marry her!

Why was Xia Xiaolan so lucky?

When she was dating Zhou Cheng, Xia Xiaolan didn’t even have a high-ranking official as a stepfather…

Why was Zhou Cheng willing to marry Xia Xiaolan?

Liang Huan’s pretty face wrinkled as she brushed off the young man’s words and returned home alone.

Since mother and daughter had come to Beijing to ‘repeat’ their studies, Liang Huan never wanted to return to Hedong County. In the first and second years, the Liang family still had confidence in Liang Huan and continued supporting the mother and daughter’s living expenses in Beijing.

By the third year in Beijing, when Liang Huan still hadn’t passed the college entrance exam, the Liang family elders had spent considerable savings and began objecting to Liang Huan and Liu Fang staying in Beijing, repeatedly asking them to return to Hedong.

Liang Huan refused, and so did Liu Fang.

The Liang family then cut off their living expenses.

They could have asked Liu Fen for help, but Liu Fen had rarely been in Beijing these past two or three years, and Liang Huan felt ashamed. Having not done well herself, everything Liu Fen said seemed like bragging to her.

Liang Huan wouldn’t let Liu Fang seek help, so Liu Fang had to work to support the family. As for Liang Huan, she had dated several men whose family backgrounds, though not as good as Zhou Cheng’s, were better than ordinary people’s. One even arranged a job for her… They were all infatuated with her during the courtship, yet none ended in marriage. Otherwise, at 25, Liang Huan would have already married and become a “young madam.”

After today’s chance encounter in the park, Liang Huan had formed an idea.

She went home and said directly to Liu Fang:

“Mom, I met Cousin Xiaolan in the park today. She’s heavily pregnant and seems about to give birth. Should we visit Second Aunt’s house?”

Liu Fang, who hadn’t lived well these past years, spent what little money she had on Liang Huan, neglecting her appearance and looking like an ordinary housewife. She wasn’t surprised by Liang Huan’s words:

“I visited your Second Aunt last month. She said the due date is next month, and it’s twins.”

Twins?

Liang Huan became angry: “You went to Second Aunt’s house alone, why didn’t you tell me!”

Liu Fang explained carefully, “You never wanted to go before. If I had known you were willing, how could I not take you?”

Liu Fang knew why Liang Huan didn’t like going.

That year, even with Xia Xiaolan’s study materials, Liang Huan still couldn’t achieve good results in the college entrance exam. Her scores got worse each year, from being able to enter a vocational college to not even meeting that threshold. When the results came out, Liang Huan was disappointed, and when the Liang family in Hedong County said they wouldn’t support her retaking the exam, she claimed Liu Fen had given her fake materials, saying Liu Fen didn’t want her to get into university for fear she might surpass Xia Xiaolan… After a fit of rage where she tore up the study materials, she never mentioned retaking the exam, focusing solely on marrying a well-off man, hoping to improve her status through marriage.

Liang Huan hadn’t wasted all that money though. While her mind wasn’t on studies, she excelled at grooming herself, growing more beautiful by the day.

Liu Fang also wanted Liang Huan to find a son-in-law from a good family, but despite dating several men, none had worked out. In the blink of an eye, she was 25 – how many more years could she be picky based on her looks? Liu Fang was secretly anxious and had secretly visited Liu Fen two or three times behind Liang Huan’s back.

No matter how much dissatisfaction and imbalance there was, these years had worn it smooth.

Liu Fang no longer dared to have her former pride. She secretly visited Liu Fen for Liang Huan’s marriage prospects – Liang Huan couldn’t secure relationships with those from good families because of her background. If Second Sister Liu Fen were willing to help, that would be great – at least Liu Fen had better resources for introductions!

Seeing Liang Huan’s anger now, Liu Fang had to tell her daughter about her plans.

Liang Huan’s eyes flickered, and her anger turned to smiles:

“Mom, you’re thinking of me, why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? Let’s visit Second Aunt tomorrow. If we want Second Aunt to introduce potential matches to me, I need to work hard to get on her good side!”

Liu Fang was surprised – could this child put aside her pride?

Liang Huan linked arms with her.

“Don’t worry, my marriage is more important than pride. I’m not satisfied with my current boyfriend anyway. It’s perfect timing to let Second Aunt introduce someone better.”

…

After returning home, Xia Xiaolan didn’t discuss Liang Huan with Zhou Cheng. Her irritation today was triggered by Liang Huan’s coy, unspoken manner – what did that have to do with Zhou Cheng? Pregnant women could be difficult, but Xia Xiaolan still maintained her rationality.

Zhou Cheng naturally noticed her unhappiness and suggested not going to that park anymore, to walk somewhere else:

“So you won’t see people you don’t want to see, okay?”

Xia Xiaolan joked with him, “So I have to avoid Liang Huan? You’re not using your privilege at all. If it were someone else, they would forbid Liang Huan from going to that park!”

This was a joke. Zhou Cheng wasn’t at that level yet, and even if he were, the park was a public place – how could they close it just to keep Liang Huan out?

Xia Xiaolan initially wanted to ask her mother about the recent situation with Liang Huan and her mother, but then thought she might have misunderstood Liang Huan… Better to wait – if Liang Huan had other intentions, she would surely pop up soon!