It was the hottest July when Meng Ting and her classmates went for their internship. Naturally, the conditions at the grassroots court were not ideal.

Fortunately, the judges were easygoing and took special care of the young ladies.

After working at the court for a while, the girls learned quite a bit. Since grassroots courts mostly deal with minor cases, Meng Ting and her peers found themselves handling divorce cases more often than not.

Property division, child custody – once the two names on the marriage certificate sat on opposite sides as plaintiff and defendant, they seemed ready to jump up and attack each other.

Song Huanhuan, after watching several such dramas daily, felt utterly dispirited: “With all this talk of mistresses and affairs, I’m losing faith in love before I’ve even been in a relationship. I’m almost developing a fear of marriage.”

Mi Lei rubbed her temples as she came out of the mediation room.

Meng Ting quickly asked, “How did it go?”

“The wife wants a divorce, but the husband disagrees. You should have heard how colorfully the wife insulted the husband’s mistress – ‘vixen’, ‘public bus’… She’s been hurling insults non-stop for twenty minutes. I couldn’t even stop her.”

Song Huanhuan asked, “And the husband just took it?”

“No way, they were arguing back and forth. But even after all that, they still won’t divorce.”

Meng Ting said, “Then we’ll have to go to trial.”

If mediation failed, the case would go to court, where there would be another attempt at mediation. It was bound to be another spectacle.

Mi Lei hugged Meng Ting. “Don’t take it to heart. That woman is in a bad place emotionally.”

“I understand.” Meng Ting finally realized that this profession still had its share of gender and appearance “discrimination”. Originally, she was supposed to be the mediator, but as soon as Meng Ting entered the room, everyone couldn’t help but stare at her. The wife almost exploded at the sight of Meng Ting’s face. Later, they switched to Mi Lei.

If it was like this working in court, it would probably be even worse as a lawyer, with people doubting her professional abilities.

Mi Lei laughed, “I’m not exaggerating, but with your beauty, you’d be top-tier even in the entertainment industry. The legal profession isn’t an easy path, you know.”

“It’s alright,” Meng Ting said optimistically. “I won’t starve.”

Song Huanhuan couldn’t stop laughing.

The office had air conditioning, but the courtroom didn’t. In the scorching heat, the girls were exhausted during the day and almost passed out as soon as they hit the bed at night.

Amid such busy days, when September came and the school reopened, everyone felt reborn.

“Studying is so much easier,” Song Huanhuan sighed.

A large patch of summer violets bloomed on campus, even though it was already late summer. The evenings were stuffy, and the second year brought many more courses. B University had big news: Qin Yang finally found a girlfriend.

He was used to being carefree, and his new girlfriend was quite pretty – a delicate beauty from the Literature Department. Qin Yang was quite generous; although he didn’t pursue her as earnestly as he had Meng Ting and Zhu Jing, he treated her well after they got together, buying her clothes, dresses, and all sorts of gifts.

Zhu Jing was also doing well. A year had passed, and her well-matched boyfriend was still treating her wonderfully.

In comparison, everyone thought the Law Department’s beauty, Meng Ting, was so unfortunate!

Her construction site boyfriend – did he even have enough to eat? Was he still building houses in the scorching summer heat?

Song Huanhuan was the angriest. However, during divorce cases at the court, the judge always said that in this world, it’s better to advise reconciliation than separation, and if one party doesn’t agree to divorce, the first trial usually results in no divorce.

The same principle applies to life; you can’t always advise people to break up.

However, Song Huanhuan truly couldn’t accept it.

Was there a better girl in the world than Meng Ting? Meng Ting never spoke ill of others behind their backs, was patient, and often helped bring meals.

She was beautiful but didn’t let it go to her head or act arrogantly. She loved to smile and was soft and adorable. She was especially easy to get along with.

But such a wonderful girl – her boyfriend with a leg problem had only visited her once last year!

Had the world gone mad? Song Huanhuan wanted to say: Just break up with him, find someone better.

People who liked Meng Ting lined up from the Law Department to the Marxism Institute. And their dear Ting Ting would go to work part-time on weekends, always dressed so ordinarily.

Several memes even became popular at B University:

#DidLawDepartmentBeautyMengTingBreakUpToday#

#DidMengTing’sConstructionSiteBoyfriendEarnEnoughForLivingExpensesToday#

#ToMatchTheBeauty’sWeirdTaste,IWantToCarryBricksToo#

Someone joked: No, brother, you need to break your leg first.

For a while, this topic became a recurring joke in the late summer.

A small portion had malicious intent, while the majority just enjoyed the gossip.

It seemed that the more refined and excellent Zhu Jing’s boyfriend was, the more pitiful Meng Ting appeared in comparison. Especially given that Meng Ting’s beauty had only increased.

But spreading faster than the gossip in small circles was the rocket-like rise in housing prices.

Those who had bought houses early made quite a profit, and real estate speculation reached a fever pitch. The nationwide real estate craze officially began.

Countless people were beating their chests in regret for not buying houses earlier, while others saw the trend and rushed to buy now.

Among those who profited most were undoubtedly the real estate developers.

The news was full of stories about housing prices, and the newly emerged real estate tycoons from various regions were all incredibly impressive.

When Meng Ting left early for her part-time job, Song Huanhuan watched the news and said, “If only we had known to scrape together every penny to buy a house back then, we could eat, drink, and be merry for life. Don’t stop me, I wonder if President Jun Yang needs a daughter-in-law?”

Mi Lei said, “President Jun Yang is over fifty, your taste is quite heavy.”

“I said, daughter-in-law! Doesn’t he have a son? Hmph.”

“Even if he has a son, the son would be a prince, you know!”

Meng Ting returned at dusk, bringing each of them a cup of milk tea gifted by her boss.

Song Huanhuan cheered happily, then exclaimed even more excitedly, “Ting Ting, there’s a bouquet on your desk.”

“Where did it come from?”

“Of course, a guy sent it, haha. He’s so dreamy, tall, with such a gentle smile. He said he’s your senior and was passing by to see you. He lives at our school. What was his name again?”

Mi Lei chimed in, “Huo Yifeng.”

“Right, right, Huo Yifeng. Even his name sounds cool.”

Meng Ting frowned, “I have a boyfriend. Don’t accept things from others in the future.”

It’s troublesome to deal with once accepted.

Song Huanhuan was afraid Meng Ting would be angry, but Huo Yifeng did seem nice. Well-mannered, well-dressed, and most importantly, when he mentioned Meng Ting, there was a sparkle in his eyes.

He said he had been waiting for Meng Ting for over two years.

Song Huanhuan became anxious, “Ting Ting, don’t be upset. If you don’t like it, I’ll return it tomorrow. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

This time, even Mi Lei didn’t say anything. Not just Song Huanhuan, even she felt that Meng Ting deserved a better man. So she tacitly allowed the flowers to stay.

Meng Ting sighed, “It’s okay. Just don’t do this next time.”

Song Huanhuan quickly promised.

However, both she and Mi Lei sighed inwardly. If Meng Ting’s boyfriend were Huo Yifeng, would those jokes still be circulating in the school?

Meng Ting didn’t go to meet Huo Yifeng.

In early October, B City had a light rain. Although it was already early autumn, the weather still carried the stuffy remnants of summer heat.

B University’s electronic bulletin board was changed to big red letters early in the morning – Welcome, President Jiang, to our school!

“Who’s President Jiang?”

“Haven’t you been watching the news? This year’s dark horse, a new real estate tycoon.”

“Real estate again? The world ultimately belongs to real estate!”

“Haha, I heard he’s young and generous. He donated five million to help build a new dormitory for the school, and he’s only in his twenties.”

“Is he handsome?”

“That’s unknown… He didn’t show his face in the news interviews, but he’s rich. The principal and Director Sun are both receiving him.”

This news spread like wildfire. By the time the Law Department heard about it, a black Bentley was already parked beneath their girls’ dormitory.

Jiang Ren pressed his lips together, feeling somewhat nervous.

In the early autumn weather, he wore a formal suit. His tie was tied meticulously.

Gao Yi had returned to B City with him. A year ago at this time, he had flown in disheveled, wearing dirty clothes covered in cement slurry, even forgetting to take off his safety helmet.

So much so that when he came again this year, he almost treated it as a ceremony.

Gao Yi nearly died laughing. President Jiang had left early in the morning, nervously adjusting his tie three times.

Gao Yi couldn’t help but tease, “It’s not like little Meng Ting hasn’t seen you before.”

Jiang Ren said, “It’s different.”

How it was different, perhaps only Jiang Ren himself understood. When he first met her, he was riding a mountain motorcycle, a vagrant hooligan. With silver hair, he was flamboyant and unruly.

Now he was in a suit, mature and capable, especially eager to see himself in her eyes.

Even Gao Yi felt it wasn’t easy. In two years, he had watched Jiang Ren transform, practically working himself to death to improve. Jiang Ren had finally established himself in H City with a real estate project called “Listening,” making him a rare new tycoon even on a national scale.

Yet here he was, coming to see a young girl, nerves taut, lips pressed tight, afraid to see even a hint of disapproval in her eyes.

Gao Yi couldn’t stop laughing, “Relax, what are you expecting to see? Her saying ‘Wow, so handsome,’ ‘So impressive,’ or what?”

Jiang Ren gave him a cold look and stepped on the gas.

When they reached her dormitory building, Jiang Ren felt his nervousness amplify to the extreme.

He had already forgotten about the principal and Sun Yi’s invitation. Since he left home this morning, his entire being had been somewhat abnormal.

Every cell in his body was screaming to see her, see her!

But when the moment came, he remembered Gao Yi’s words. What are you expecting her to say? Handsome or impressive?

He cursed softly under his breath before finally opening the car door and getting out.

As soon as the black Bentley stopped in front of the dormitory, girls started peeking out constantly.

Although not everyone knew cars, they could tell it was luxurious and expensive. They were curious about who it could be, as it was rare for someone to drive such a car onto campus, so they quietly observed.

Song Huanhuan, munching on an apple, poked her head out from the third floor, inwardly clicking her tongue.

The man wore a suit and leather shoes, but his hair was a simple, no-nonsense crew cut.

He was different from typical businessmen; his aura was cold, with a hint of untamed wildness. Because of his hard facial features, he had a very manly, rugged handsomeness.

Song Huanhuan was inwardly screaming, What a high-quality man! Last year, Jiang Ren’s face was covered in dust, and she couldn’t have recognized him even if she tried, let alone imagine him like this.

So much so that when Meng Ting happily ran down towards the man, Song Huanhuan on the upper floor was still in a daze. Wait, aren’t you still thinking about your construction site boyfriend?