Chen Qing didn’t attend the party.

He was averse to fawning over some “princess,” and fortunately, Han Jin didn’t force this point. Among all the eligible male classmates at the University of Economics and Trade, she chose Chen Qing, moved by his honest and faithful nature.

Of course, that faithfulness had been directed at Xia Xiaolan, at least initially. Whether it still was now, Han Jin believed Chen Qing hadn’t completely forgotten Xia Xiaolan, though half his affection now belonged to her.

Han Jin wasn’t in a hurry – there was still plenty of time. She was determined to win Chen Qing’s heart completely, and she rather enjoyed this emotional game of advance and retreat.

She didn’t want to cause trouble for Xia Xiaolan either – a man’s feelings depended on each woman’s own abilities.

But when Li Yong and Xiang Li wanted to extract money from Xia Xiaolan, Han Jin wouldn’t play the good person and stop them. Whether Xia Xiaolan admitted it or not, she was still Han Jin’s “love rival.”

Tonight, Han Jin had taken a major fall because of her “rival,” offending Song Minglan in the process. She returned to New York University with pent-up anger. American university dormitory management was extremely relaxed, with no lights-out time at night. That ancient Chinese story of “boring a hole to steal light for studying” would be impossible in America – if you couldn’t even use electric lights freely, what kind of American empire would that be?

Finding Chen Qing in his dorm was a sure thing. He had an American roommate who only slept in the dorm once or twice a week, which didn’t interfere with Han Jin and Chen Qing’s conversations.

Han Jin knocked and entered; Chen Qing was still studying.

“You’re back?”

“Chen Qing, can I ask you something? Can you give me an honest answer?”

Chen Qing frowned. He had been very accommodating to Han Jin lately, discussing with her how to balance entertainment and study time. He naturally disliked attending parties but agreed to other activities like shopping or weekend trips around New York.

Chen Qing thought Han Jin was upset about him not attending the party, but after sitting down on a chair, she brought up something else:

“I remember you said before that Xia Xiaolan was dating someone well-off. Do you know the specific details about her boyfriend?”

Chen Qing was surprised, “Why are you asking about this?”

Did Xiaolan attend the party tonight?

Why was Han Jin suddenly asking about Xiaolan again?

“Han Jin, you’ve always known about my feelings for Xiaolan. When we first got together, you said you didn’t mind this point. Now that we’re dating, I’m trying my best to be good to you. Can you stop dwelling on the past?”

Whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything good. Chen Qing didn’t know much anyway and wasn’t planning to share what he did know.

“The past is different from now! Before we were classmates, friends – of course, I didn’t mind if you liked someone else. Now we’re dating, how can I not be jealous when you’re carrying someone else in your heart? Stop acting like I’m out to hurt someone. I can’t hurt anyone – Xia Xiaolan is too capable for that!”

Han Jin didn’t want to be sarcastic either.

Here she was trying to please Song Minglan, while Song Minglan was friendly with Xia Xiaolan – what was going on?

She usually considered Chen Qing’s pride and wouldn’t be bossy, but now she couldn’t help it. She wouldn’t be able to rest easy without understanding Xia Xiaolan’s connections. Perhaps she’d even need Xia Xiaolan’s help to repair her relationship with Song Minglan.

If she’d known earlier, she would have been more polite to Xia Xiaolan.

Han Jin steadied herself, knowing most men respond better to gentleness than force. She covered her face with her hands:

“Chen Qing, if you don’t help me, I’ll be finished. I’ve messed up what my family entrusted me with. You know my father’s temper – he doesn’t need to do anything else, just cutting off my living expenses would be enough…”

Han Jin began crying softly.

Chen Qing froze.

The dorm was very quiet at night, with only Han Jin’s sobbing breaking the silence.

After a while, Chen Qing rubbed his tired eyes: “If you want my help, tell me what happened. Without knowing the reason, I won’t say a word more.”

Han Jin removed her hands and smiled through her tears, teardrops still clinging to her eyelashes:

“Couldn’t you have agreed earlier? Did you have to make me cry? Tonight’s situation was like this, I was also implicated…”

Han Jin briefly explained what happened at the party, naturally cleaning up her subtle role in it. She only said that Xiang Li and others wanted Xia Xiaolan to contribute to the party expenses, but unexpectedly, tonight’s guest of honor, Young Lady Song, knew Xia Xiaolan and became very angry, not only returning all the money but also giving Han Jin the cold shoulder.

Getting close to Song Minglan was Han Jin’s “political mission” from her family. Though Chen Qing didn’t know Song Minglan’s true identity, he knew about the Han family’s assignment for Han Jin. He disliked Han Jin’s need to curry favor with others but understood society’s stark reality.

Hearing that others wanted to make Xia Xiaolan a scapegoat made Chen Qing very angry.

But when Han Jin asked why Xia Xiaolan knew someone like Young Lady Song, Chen Qing couldn’t answer.

How could he answer this?

Han Jin thought Xia Xiaolan had found a boyfriend with connections.

It wasn’t like that, or at least not entirely… Before going abroad, Chen Qing had returned to Yunan during winter break. Without having to ask around, villagers were all discussing Liu Fen’s marriage to Tang Hong’en.

Chen’s sister-in-law was certainly sour about it, but Chen Wangda’s assessment was very fair. He reminded Chen Qing that the Liu family was different now – Liu Fen had married a high-ranking official, and Xia Xiaolan and Chen Qing were no longer on the same level. He told Chen Qing to keep a balanced mindset. Men shouldn’t fear taking time to build up – the Chen family was originally from the countryside, and if Chen Qing moved forward steadily step by step, in twenty or thirty years, he might have his domain!

How could he explain these things to Han Jin?

“Whatever others do, don’t get involved. I can’t tell you about Xiaolan’s family matters without her permission. It seems you don’t want to be friends with her anyway, so just stay away and don’t bother her. If you’ve done something wrong, even Uncle Han might not be able to protect you… That’s all I can tell you. Remember this: it’s not surprising whatever important people she knows, don’t judge her by ordinary student standards!”

Xia Xiaolan was far from an ordinary student.

How many people could decide to take college entrance exams years after finishing middle school, study at home for just one year, and get into Huaqing University?

There was nothing Xia Xiaolan couldn’t accomplish.

She had always been creating miracles!

Chen Qing might not know how amazing Xia Xiaolan was today, but even before, when they were still close, she was already incredibly remarkable!

Han Jin felt her teeth ache at Chen Qing’s tone.

She blinked, her eyes dry after crying.

While Chen Qing seemed to say nothing, he had revealed quite a bit. Most importantly, Xia Xiaolan’s background was stronger than hers!

Was that why Chen Qing warned her that even the Han family couldn’t smooth things over if she angered Xia Xiaolan?

Han Jin gritted her teeth – what should she do now?