After dismissing Zhou Yi, that foolish schadenfreude-loving idiot, Jiang Hong specifically went to find Guan Hue.

Throughout their conversation, she emphasized one point: “Xiaolan is wonderful. Where would Zhou Cheng find someone better after missing out on her? Whatever you do, don’t let Zhou Cheng make a foolish mistake. Some people just cause drama, taking advantage of Zhou Cheng’s guilt and sympathy… Hah, does Zhou Cheng owe the Jiang family anything? They raised a mentally ill daughter who nearly got Zhou Cheng killed, yet they turned around and claimed they saved his life. Disgraceful!”

Jiang Hong appeared thoroughly brainwashed by Xia Xiaolan.

Hearing her passionate tone, anyone who didn’t know better would think she was Xia Xiaolan’s actual aunt!

Guan Hue didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She and Jiang Hong had been sisters-in-law for many years – how could she not know what kind of person Jiang Hong was? Zhou Yi must have provoked her; Jiang Hong’s personality had completely changed.

It wasn’t that Jiang Hong had transformed entirely; she just directed all her pettiness and narrow-mindedness toward others now.

Guan Hue couldn’t help but think this was better – at least she could now distinguish between friends and foes.

“Sister-in-law, Jiang Yan is different from the rest of the Jiang family. It’s not that she’s trying to cling to Zhou Cheng; the girl isn’t the problem – her parents are.”

“Nonsense-“

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Jiang Hong nearly cursed, and her Pekinese suddenly started barking.

After spending some time calming the dog, Jiang Hong continued, “How could she not know what her parents are doing? If she doesn’t want to be part of the Jiang family anymore and is so desperate to join the Zhou family, fine! Send that Jiang Yan to my home. Wen Bang and I will adopt her, change her surname and everything – she can be Zhou Yan from now on!”

“Sister-in-law, don’t joke about this. How can we suddenly have another daughter? The family planning policy is still in effect – it would affect Brother’s career!”

Guan Hue thought Jiang Hong’s suggestion was unreasonable.

Jiang Hong was betting that Jiang Yan had ulterior motives. If she truly wanted to marry Zhou Cheng, she definitely wouldn’t agree to be registered as part of the Zhou family.

After all, how could she marry Zhou Cheng if everyone knew they were siblings? The gossip alone would drown them!

However, if Jiang Yan did agree, Jiang Hong had a plan:

“Family planning has special cases. If the first child has problems, according to policy, Wen Bang and I could have another child. At my age, I don’t want to go through having another baby, so adopting a daughter would work!”

That was indeed the policy.

But what was wrong with Zhou Yi?

Jiang Hong pointed to her head, “Isn’t there something wrong with her mind?”

“…!”

Was she trying to have Zhou Yi classified as mentally disabled?

Guan Hue shook her head: “The problem is Jiang Yan herself won’t agree.”

Jiang Hong stroked the dog’s fur, “I think she’s just after Zhou Cheng.”

She probably had been waiting for Xia Xiaolan to go abroad to take advantage of the situation!

Disgraceful! How could someone raised with every comfort be so shameless?

Jiang Hong was worried on Xia Xiaolan’s behalf.

After being snubbed by Jiang Hong, Zhou Yi returned home where Yuan Han was making soup for her.

Smelling the fragrance, Zhou Yi smiled.

She felt truly happy with her current life. During the New Year, even Yuan’s mother had returned to their hometown, leaving just her and Yuan Han to enjoy their private life. Since Yuan Han wasn’t working, he naturally doted on her in every way, cooking various delicious dishes and indulging her whims. Zhou Yi had no complaints.

Seeing her return, Yuan Han quickly asked her to sit down.

“Are you cold? Did you freeze out there? It’s only March, the weather hasn’t warmed up yet. You should wear more when you go out.”

Yuan Han warmed Zhou Yi’s hands with his own, making her heart melt with sweetness.

“I’m not cold, don’t be so worried! I went back today to ask my mother. She’ll speak up for Xia Xiaolan, but she didn’t deny this matter either. This must be true… Just wait and see, Xia Xiaolan will be gone for a year abroad, and when she returns, everything will have changed. Isn’t that amusing?”

Yuan Han showed a faint smile.

He didn’t like Xia Xiaolan either.

Because Xia Xiaolan ignored his charm and looked down on him with contempt.

More importantly, Xia Xiaolan had interfered in his relationship with Zhou Yi. Who knows what she had said to Jiang Hong and Zhou Wenbing, but their attitude toward him still hadn’t softened.

He was already Zhou Yi’s husband, yet whenever Zhou Yi visited her parents, he still couldn’t accompany her.

Unfortunately, Xia Xiaolan had better luck than him. Even after losing her chance to marry into the Zhou family, she still had a stepfather who was a Special Economic Zone mayor… At this point, Yuan Han’s eyes turned red with envy.

…

Little did Xia Xiaolan know that less than a month after she went abroad, so many people back home were “thinking” of her.

Some were concerned about her, while others hoped for her misfortune.

This weekend, having finally managed to deal with Professor McCarthy, Xia Xiaolan planned to visit New York.

She had already scheduled her next road test but had to wait until the appointed date. Without a driver’s license, the 10,000 dollars Zhou Cheng had wired her could only sit quietly in her account without a car to spend it on.

She could take the bus from Ithaca to New York, though she definitely couldn’t return the same day, so she’d need to stay overnight in New York.

However, while waiting for the bus, a silver Mercedes suddenly braked in front of her, and the window rolled down to reveal Danny.

“Are you heading to the city?”

Xia Xiaolan nodded. Danny’s car also had Nancy and another male student inside. Danny smiled, a smile so sunny it reminded Xia Xiaolan of her first meeting with Ji Jiangyuan.

“Come on, no need to take the bus. We’re all going to the city!”

Xia Xiaolan hesitated, but Nancy had already opened the car door, “Don’t worry about troubling Danny, you can always pay him for gas!”

Nancy was joking, and Xia Xiaolan couldn’t refuse such warm hospitality.

If it had been just Danny, getting in the car would have been inappropriate, but with Nancy and another male student present, Xia Xiaolan got in gracefully.

“This is perfect! Going to New York with you all means the journey won’t be boring. But you must let me treat everyone to lunch!”

Treating them to lunch was less awkward than splitting gas money.

What a polite Asian girl!

Only after getting in the car did Xia Xiaolan learn that Danny, Nancy, and the other student named Bart weren’t going to New York for fun, but to complete their assignments… While Professor McCarthy’s assignments could drive architecture students crazy, the hotel management major’s assignments seemed particularly relaxed. They had to write a comparison of New York’s five-star hotels’ management strengths and weaknesses. What better way to compare than to experience it firsthand?

“We haven’t been to some of these hotels before, and without enough data, we can’t get an A.”

What could Xia Xiaolan say to that? Were these the worries of wealthy students?

Nancy seemed to be trying to convince her companions, “Let’s go to the Wilson Hotel first. It’s different now – they got new management last year and the whole operation has improved. I had a great experience during my internship there!”

This was the second time Nancy had mentioned the Wilson Hotel.

In her previous life, Xia Xiaolan had heard of those globally famous chain hotels, like Hilton and such.

The Wilson Hotel – Xia Xiaolan had never heard of it…

“Harold Wilson?”