Zhou Cheng’s calm rejection of Wei Juanhong’s request didn’t surprise Shao Guangrong.

Zhou Cheng had always been a real man’s man. Many girls, beautiful or not, had tried to get his attention, but he never paid them any mind. If he softened at the sight of someone playing pitiful, in the 20 years before meeting Xia Xiaolan, other girls would have snatched him up long ago.

Shao Guangrong didn’t know about Zhou Cheng’s period of emotional instability. If Kang Wei, who knew the whole story, had been there, he would have cheered at how perfectly this was handled!

“Drop me at the corner, and go check on Little You at the hospital. Weren’t you usually quite considerate to your previous girlfriends? You’re being so harsh with Little You. She seems quite young – if you don’t want to date her, just explain it clearly.”

While stopping the car was definitely wrong, they were lucky nothing happened this time – who knew about next time?

Hearing she wasn’t even 18, Zhou Cheng thought Little You’s immaturity was normal. Not everyone could be like his wife Xiaolan, who was already so sensible at 18.

Shao Guangrong was suffering in silence – he was too embarrassed to tell Zhou Cheng that Little You wasn’t just young, he had actually brought a 16-year-old girl as his date. What a sin!

“Ah, don’t worry, Brother Cheng. I’ll take you home first, then go to the hospital. I told the doctors not to let her leave until I arrived.”

Shao Guangrong happily drove Zhou Cheng home while Wei Juanhong stood lost in the stairwell for a long time, watching until the car disappeared. The cold wind kept rushing into the stairwell, chilling her to the bone.

After who knows how long, she finally dragged her heavy feet back. Her cheeks were numb from the cold wind. Zhou Cheng had told her to stop writing letters in front of his friend – Wei Juanhong felt her face had been trampled underfoot.

How could Zhou Cheng say such things?

She hadn’t meant anything by it.

“Was it so wrong just to talk?”

Wei Juanhong felt wronged. She admitted she couldn’t handle office work well, which was embarrassing enough.

The Zhou family had such great influence – one word from them could get her position changed, yet Zhou Cheng flat-out refused!

Wei Juanhong felt both ashamed and confused. If Zhou Cheng wouldn’t help her, she had no leverage over him… Should she go cry to others that Zhou Cheng wasn’t treating the Stone family well? Wei Juanhong knew that wouldn’t work.

The Stone family was able to stay in Beijing, get work arranged, and receive housing priority – these were all thanks to Zhou Cheng’s help.

Cross-regional transfers and housing assignments were major matters for anyone. Regular people would struggle to accomplish just one of these things. Zhou Cheng had helped the Stone family achieve both. If Wei Juanhong complained to others, she’d be drowned in their spittle.

With her mind in chaos, Wei Juanhong returned home to find her mother-in-law still making shoe insoles.

A sudden burst of anger flared up: “What’s the use of making these? The Zhou family doesn’t lack such things. They have money and power – can’t they just buy insoles? He won’t even appreciate what you make—”

Aunt Stone slammed the table: “Shut your mouth! You’re the Stone family’s daughter-in-law, not anyone from the Zhou family. It’s not your place to speak about what the Zhou family thinks! Zhou Cheng liked them. If you don’t want your current job, I’ll swallow my pride and beg the Zhou family to send our whole family back home!”

Rejected by Zhou Cheng and scolded by her mother-in-law, Wei Juanhong felt deeply wronged. She opened her bedroom door and fell onto the bed crying.

To avoid disturbing her work, Aunt Stone shared a room with the two children, giving Wei Juanhong her room.

As for Stone Ping, he lived next door in a single room. The simple-minded man had gone to bed early, completely unaware of everything happening at home.

Hearing Wei Juanhong’s sobbing, Aunt Stone hardened her heart and ignored it, continuing to make the insoles slowly.

She hadn’t lied today – she needed to take care of her health. She couldn’t count on Wei Juanhong to raise the two children. Were the children even in Wei Juanhong’s thoughts? Since coming to Beijing, she had become a different person, no longer as down-to-earth and hardworking as she had been in the countryside.

Always wanting to reach the sky in one step, she had lost her basic principles.

Aunt Stone felt disappointed and hurt, her tears falling on the insole in her hands:

“Kai, as long as Mother lives, I’ll keep your wife in check, not let her shame the Stone family name or tarnish the honor of being a martyr’s family…”

…

After dropping Zhou Cheng home, Shao Guangrong drove to the hospital.

Having been deceived by Little You once, he didn’t quite trust her promises and worried she might have left.

If she had left, that would be fine – he could just ask the doctor if there were any internal injuries. If there weren’t any issues, he wouldn’t have to see that girl!

What use was seeming obedient when she had the nerve to deceive even him? Shao Guangrong firmly believed Little You wasn’t as innocent as she appeared. If she had run away, good riddance – it would spare him the irritation… If she hadn’t run, Shao Guangrong suspected he might not be able to resist slapping her.

At the hospital, Shao Guangrong realized he had overthought things.

Little You wasn’t guilty at all – she was sound asleep on the emergency room bed.

“Doctor, did you check her thoroughly? Where did she fall?”

The doctor looked at Shao Guangrong rather unkindly, “Did you hit her with your car?”

Shao Guangrong shook his head and then nodded, “No, no, no, she knows me. She suddenly ran out to greet my car and fell on her own.”

Heaven knew he hadn’t hit her.

The doctor’s expression softened slightly, “She’s fine, just some scrapes on her elbow, nothing serious. But while she wasn’t injured from the fall, she shows signs of malnutrition.”

Malnutrition?

This girl was only 16, yet she had developed curves – how could she be malnourished?

Besides, it was almost 1986 – even farmers could fill their bellies. Shao Guangrong couldn’t imagine someone in Beijing being malnourished. Was her family too poor to afford food? Then how did she have the heart to pursue him for dating?

Shao Guangrong was fuming. He settled the hospital bill and angrily woke Little You up.

“Hey, are you planning to spend the night in the hospital? Wake up quick, or I’ll leave you here to walk home!”

Little You sprang from the bed onto her feet.

Shao Guangrong couldn’t help looking her over again. She wasn’t particularly short, and while her chest wasn’t large, you could see some curves… Ahem, Shao Guangrong cursed himself silently – it’s not like he’d never seen women’s chests before, why was he looking at this dead girl?

Little You sensed his strange gaze and felt very uncomfortable:

“Young Master Shao, I didn’t leave. I apologize to you – tonight was truly my fault…”

Shao Guangrong impatiently interrupted her, “Shut up. Tonight was an accident, and it’s our last meeting, understand? I don’t want to hear your nonsense. Just quietly get in the car – once I drop you off, we’re done with each other!”

Little You disagreed with this.

But Shao Guangrong was obviously on the edge of exploding. If she persisted in clinging to him, it would likely backfire.

She remained completely quiet during the ride. When Shao Guangrong dropped her at the same alley as last time, her silent departure seemed strange to him, and he couldn’t resist asking:

“What did you do with that wild boar meat from last time?”

Over 200 jin of meat – it should have lasted a long time. How could someone eating meat daily be malnourished?

Little You was stunned for a long while, finding the question embarrassing.

“…I sold it. The wild boar meat was too gamey and people didn’t want it. I sold it for one yuan per jin and got 216 yuan total. I don’t have money to repay you – would you accept an IOU?”