A girlfriend for Zhou Cheng?

Although Zhou Cheng wasn’t even 21 yet, Guan Hui’e had always felt her son might end up single.

Zhou Cheng looked like Guan Hui’e – quite handsome, but with a bit of a rebellious personality. He was remarkably mature in some aspects but completely clueless about relationships. Many girls liked him, including one of Zhou Yi’s close friends who had been infatuated with him since her teens, nearly going crazy over him. Zhou Yi sided with her friend – if Zhou Cheng wasn’t going to choose her, picking a girl from another province would make everyone uncomfortable.

What was that supposed to mean? He’d rather choose a country girl than consider any of the compound girls.

Zhou Yi deliberately brought this up, feeling confident since everyone in their circle already knew, though the elders hadn’t heard yet. She might have been afraid to say this in front of Zhou Cheng, but since he couldn’t get leave this year, she held nothing back.

Seeing Guan Hui’e’s disbelief, Zhou Yi rattled off the circulating rumors with added embellishments:

“They say Cheng met her while traveling – a heroic rescue, love at first sight! The girl’s family is very poor, but she’s extremely beautiful. She’s got Cheng completely enchanted! I heard his unit had to remind him several times to return – probably because of this girlfriend. Aunt, hasn’t Cheng told you and Uncle about this?”

What could Guan Hui’e say? Under the family’s curious gaze, she could only defend Zhou Cheng:

“Zhou Yi, you’re making too much of this. Zhou Cheng is almost 21, isn’t dating normal? Dating is about getting to know each other. He mentioned it briefly to me, but it’s not time to bring her home to meet the parents yet.”

Guan Hui’e sounded so convincing that even her husband believed her, let alone others.

Zhou Yi persisted, “Zhou Cheng’s even letting her interfere with his work. I think this provincial girl is quite calculating. Aunt, if you don’t intervene now, what if Zhou Cheng brings her home asking to marry? Would you agree? In a family like ours, once a provincial girl gets her foot in the door, she won’t let go…”

Guan Hui’e was speechless against her niece’s accusations.

Old Master Zhou showed some emotion, “Zhou Yi, don’t gossip behind people’s backs. You haven’t even met Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend, so don’t judge based on hearsay. As long as her family background is clean and she’s a good person, we Zhou family aren’t that old-fashioned!”

Old Master Zhou was quite surprised that Zhou Cheng had found a girlfriend, and according to Zhou Yi, the girl’s circumstances might not be ideal.

Zhou Cheng was capable himself, and naturally, the family hoped he’d find a wife of equal standing who wouldn’t hold him back, even if she couldn’t help advance his career. But character mattered most – family background wasn’t a hard requirement. What Old Master Zhou valued most was whether the girl herself was exceptional and capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of being Zhou Cheng’s wife.

He wasn’t worried – as Guan Hui’e said, Zhou Cheng hadn’t brought her home, indicating their relationship hadn’t reached that stage yet. Zhou Cheng was only 21; marriage could wait a few years while he focused on his career.

Zhou Yi was reluctant to let it go, but once Old Master Zhou spoke, the rest of the family dropped the topic.

Though Guan Hui’e had maintained her son’s dignity, she kept thinking about this matter. After watching the Spring Festival Gala and staying up for the New Year at the old residence, on their way home, she said to her husband:

“I must go see Zhou Cheng tomorrow. Let me borrow your car.”

Zhou Cheng’s father had been resting his eyes but opened them to look at his wife: “So you didn’t know about Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend – you almost fooled me too. Do you want to question him? He’s so busy he can’t even come home for Spring Festival, and you want to disturb his work with gossip? What kind of mother does that? No need to ask – his girlfriend should be from Yunan Province.”

That little rascal had kept it well hidden.

But young people can’t help showing off their first relationship – the Xinyang Maojian tea and dates had given him away.

Guan Hui’e was too worried to think about where the dates and tea came from, only realizing after her husband’s reminder.

“You mean those dates and tea were from Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend?”

When they were gifts from her son, even lemons tasted sweet. But from a girl trying to steal her son? The dates didn’t seem so delicious anymore. Guan Hui’e’s heart was in turmoil.

What does a mother fear? When her son doesn’t date, she fears he’ll never understand love.

But once he starts dating, she fears he’ll be deceived by calculating girls, and fears Zhou Yi might be right about him being enchanted by a provincial girl. Zhou Yi said the girl’s circumstances were “very poor” – how poor could that be? How could she sleep on New Year’s Eve with such worries?

That same New Year’s Eve, Xia Xiaolan slept soundly.

She woke up after eight the next morning. They weren’t visiting relatives on New Year’s Day; instead, the family had planned to burn incense at nearby Baixi Temple.

Baixi Temple sat beside Baixi Reservoir – the same reservoir where they caught the large carp served at the state-run restaurant. The temple was quite famous in Anqing County; some believed in its efficacy, while others came for its vegetarian meals.

“This year Baixi Temple’s vegetarian meals have gone up to fifty fens per person, it was only thirty fens last year.”

Li Fengmei wasn’t concerned about the twenty-fen difference; she was just making an observation.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t particularly interested in temples, but there weren’t many entertainment options in the countryside during New Year. She didn’t need to burn incense or worship Buddha at Baixi Temple – there was a temple fair every New Year’s Day, which was quite a novel experience for her since she had never been to one in her previous life.

Today, the Baixi Temple was especially crowded. Those who owned tractors placed benches in the back and could transport twenty to thirty people at once, charging one yuan per person for a ride to Baixi Reservoir.

The tractor ride was bumpy and uncomfortable, but walking there on foot was the only alternative.

Liu Yong’s bicycle was still in Shangdu, and one bicycle between two families would be inconvenient. New bicycles wouldn’t be available until after the New Year. Xia Xiaolan had ordered two bicycles – Liu Yong wanted the classic 28-inch Phoenix, while Xia Xiaolan ordered two ladies’ bicycles. She hadn’t ordered one for Li Fengmei since her mother couldn’t maintain balance while riding.

After paying and boarding the tractor, Xia Xiaolan immediately regretted it.

The tractor’s cargo bed was so high that you couldn’t see who was up there from below. She hadn’t expected Chen Qing and his mother to be there too.

Having already paid the driver, and with Chen Qing and his mother spotting them, she had no choice but to climb aboard.

Chen’s mother was very enthusiastic, “Xiaolan, you’re going to see the temple fair too? What a coincidence! Chen Qing’s been cooped up studying all day, I finally dragged him out… Xiaolan, don’t you agree? Study is important, but people need rest too, right?”

Chen’s mother thought that since Xia Xiaolan could rank second in the grade without even attending school, could the difference between people be that great?

She suspected Xia Xiaolan had some study methods she hadn’t shared, believing that if she told Chen Qing, he could study even better than her! It wasn’t a coincidence – she had heard from Fourth Sister-in-law Chen that the Liu family was planning to visit the temple fair, so she had forcibly dragged Chen Qing out.

People develop feelings through interaction, but why would Xia Xiaolan share her study methods unreservedly with Chen Qing when they weren’t even related?

Chen’s mother was calculating, her heart set solely on her son’s future. It was human nature to want more after getting something, but Xia Xiaolan would just smile it off even if she knew… There weren’t any special study methods – she wasn’t truly a self-taught genius making miraculous progress. She was simply recalling knowledge she had already mastered but forgotten from disuse. With a solid foundation, she wasn’t afraid of exams. Even if temporarily forgotten, previously mastered knowledge could be easily regained through systematic review.

Chen Qing had been pondering a math problem’s solution, but Xia Xiaolan’s appearance disrupted his thoughts.

Unable to focus on solving problems while bouncing around on the tractor, he didn’t even know what to talk about with Xia Xiaolan.