Zhou Cheng desperately wanted to prove his innocence with both hands and feet raised. His small eyes were filled with such resentment!
Xia Xiaolan secretly grazed his wrist with her fingertip, touching Zhou Cheng’s heartstrings. Zhou Cheng suddenly felt like laughing – was his wife trusting him or not? Her jealousy was so subtle – while readily agreeing to Jiang Yan’s suggestion verbally, she was also reminding him this matter wasn’t over.
He truly didn’t have feelings for Jiang Yan. After finishing his advanced studies at the academy, he would have even fewer chances to see Jiang Yan. On this point, Zhou Cheng was genuinely without guilt.
“Jiang Yan just said she wanted to come along. I told her she wasn’t very familiar with everyone, but she still took leave anyway,” Zhou Cheng explained frankly, not afraid to tell the truth.
Originally, Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan were supposed to ride in Jiang Yan’s car, but Kang Wei, full of brotherly sentiment, had first pulled Shan Yujun into Jiang Yan’s car. Now Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan were sharing a car with Shao Guangrong.
As soon as they got in the car, Zhou Cheng explained what had happened.
Xia Xiaolan snorted, “I see she’s keeping a close eye on you. Someone in your dormitory must have been bought by Jiang Yan – she knows every time I come to see you and always has to get involved.”
Shao Guangrong tried to mediate with a playful smile: “Sister-in-law, Brother Cheng has no shortage of admirers, but you know better than anyone where his heart truly lies!”
It didn’t matter who liked Zhou Cheng – what mattered was who Zhou Cheng liked.
Though Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan weren’t married yet, it wasn’t because Zhou Cheng didn’t want to – it was because Xia Xiaolan wanted to continue her studies.
Not only was Zhou Cheng himself satisfied, but Xia Xiaolan had also won over Zhou Cheng’s elders and gained the approval of his childhood friends. To date, everyone supported Xia Xiaolan. Shao Guangrong also believed his future sister-in-law wouldn’t be replaced, which was why he could joke about it.
His intervention made it impossible for Xia Xiaolan to maintain a stern face. Zhou Cheng patted Shao Guangrong’s shoulder: “Looking after you in fights when we were kids wasn’t wasted.”
Little You couldn’t join the conversation at all, so she just quietly looked at the scenery. Her relationship with Shao Guangrong wasn’t like that at all – they were just temporarily grouped. Little You envied Shao Guangrong’s social circle, but she couldn’t squeeze in… What made her feel comfortable was that Shao Guangrong’s friends were all easy to talk to, and although everyone knew what was between her and Shao Guangrong, they didn’t look down on her.
Xia Xiaolan had wanted to discuss Zhou Yi’s matter with Zhou Cheng, but with others present, she had to wait for another opportunity.
They rarely had chances to be together every day, so why not cherish the time when they could be together? That’s why Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t get angry over Jiang Yan.
Knowing clearly that Zhou Cheng didn’t like Jiang Yan, there was no use in constantly being angry with Zhou Cheng – unless Jiang Yan herself would back off.
They sat shoulder to shoulder in the back seat, holding hands.
They quickly arrived at the reservoir resort they had visited before, having departed from Beijing early in the morning, and everyone hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
The resort staff moved quickly, soon serving a complete fish feast.
Jiang Yan also behaved herself without causing trouble, as if she really just wanted to join for fun, and didn’t particularly try to get close to Zhou Cheng. Setting aside prejudices, Jiang Yan was indeed cheerful in personality and showed broad-mindedness in conversation. She and Xia Xiaolan each had their charm, and she wasn’t some unsavory admirer.
Kang Wei said he wanted to take Shan Yujun to feed the fish. The two walked to the reservoir’s edge, and Shan Yujun leaned against the railing:
“You’re being too obvious about disliking Jiang Yan.”
Kang Wei chuckled, “If some girl were constantly pursuing me, Brother Cheng wouldn’t give her a good face either. There are some things Brother Cheng can’t say, so don’t I need to play the bad guy? Besides, I genuinely don’t like her. People nowadays all say they have the freedom to like someone, which is true. But when others are in a good relationship, she has to interfere. Jiang Yan is causing trouble for Brother Cheng, and I can’t stand it!”
Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan usually lived in different places, one at work, and one at school.
Now Jiang Yan was doing advanced studies with Zhou Cheng at the academy, while Xia Xiaolan was alone at school.
Separated by several hours of travel, unable to be together all the time, Jiang Yan kept trying to make her presence known everywhere, and Kang Wei really couldn’t stand it.
Brother Cheng and Sister-in-law Xiaolan have a great relationship now, but what if they had a fight or something? Wouldn’t Jiang Yan take advantage of the situation? Fortunately, Sister-in-law Xiaolan wasn’t coy, otherwise they would have fought countless times over Jiang Yan. If they fought too often, wouldn’t even the best relationship be affected?
Kang Wei was a firm “Xiaolan supporter,” having evolved from initially questioning Xia Xiaolan’s reputation to becoming a devoted fan now. He absolutely wouldn’t accept any other woman becoming Zhou Cheng’s wife.
Shan Yujun giggled, “She won’t get anywhere. You don’t know what situation Xiaolan was in when she first entered school. Despite facing so much doubt, she still turned things around. I think Xiaolan isn’t afraid of anyone trying to steal her man. If she and Instructor Zhou don’t end up together, it will be her own choice.”
Shan Yujun wasn’t jealous – Kang Wei’s excessive concern underestimated Xia Xiaolan.
Including Jiang Yan, Shan Yujun generally wouldn’t look down on others, but she felt that even Little You with her rebellious style was more likable than Jiang Yan… The elite also had their pride, and while Jiang Yan’s profession deserved respect, did that mean all other professions were worthless?
Working was hard, and Qinghua University wasn’t easy to get into either.
Among millions of exam takers each year, less than 2,000 were admitted each class.
Shan Yujun’s friendliness didn’t mean she had no temper. Her intelligence made her very sensitive to Jiang Yan’s attitude.
Kang Wei glanced at Shan Yujun several times and drawled:
“Comrade Shan, you’ve surprised me too!”
Shan Yujun threw the corn kernels in her hand into the water, “There will be many more surprises for you in the future. We Qinghua girls aren’t just bookworms.”
Kang Wei felt a tickle in his heart. Senior Shan and Little Shan were the same person – his girlfriend seemed to have undiscovered sides to her. Shan Yujun patted her hands and walked toward the private room, with Kang Wei quickly following. Shan Yujun had previously given Kang Wei the impression of being unworldly, but this trip to Ji Bei Province revealed that she was quite lively, not as disconnected from reality as he had thought.
Had his girlfriend’s image crumbled?
No, no, no, this made him like her even more.
Shan Yujun walked into the private room, “Xiaolan, didn’t you say you’d take us hunting? When are we going into the mountains?”
“Zhou Cheng said we should familiarize ourselves with the hunting rifles first. Jiang Yan wants to teach us ladies, Senior Sister, what do you think?”
Shan Yujun thought for a moment: “Then please teach me and Little You, Jiang Yan, but Xiaolan should still learn from Instructor Zhou. Although I haven’t seen Instructor Zhou’s marksmanship, he must be quite skilled to be the chief military training instructor for your class.”
Little You sat quietly.
So Shan Yujun wasn’t easy to deal with either. She was just there to fill in, and whatever Shao Guangrong said, she would do… With three men and four women, this hunting group wasn’t easy to arrange. That Miss Jiang was quite pretty, but why did she have to interfere halfway? Couldn’t she see that no one truly welcomed her?
Jiang Yan smiled with an unclear meaning:
“Xia Xiaolan, what do you say yourself?”