Xia Xiaolan was drinking water and immediately choked.

“Du-Du Zhaohui, you promised me that after you defeated Second Young Master Du, you would hand Xia Ziyu over to me for punishment, but instead you sent her to become your stepmother?!”

Xia Ziyu was quite troublesome.

She always had been – no real abilities, but whenever she gained the slightest advantage, she’d try to control Xia Xiaolan’s affairs.

She was even more concerned than Xia Xiaolan about whether Xia Xiaolan would attend university!

She tried to get County First High School to expel Xia Xiaolan.

When that failed, she later tried to prevent Xia Xiaolan from taking the college entrance exam, first unsuccessfully through a teacher named Zhao Gang, then by having Xia Zhengfeng hire thugs.

Of course, Xia Zhengfeng gained nothing from Xia Xiaolan either – not only did he end up with a broken hand, but he and Zhang Cui were eventually imprisoned.

With Wang Jianhua’s family’s downfall removing their support, Xia Ziyu finally quieted down and fled when she saw the situation turning against her.

Xia Xiaolan had concluded one thing: people like Xia Ziyu should never be allowed to touch any power or resources – she was extremely skilled at using so-called power to make things difficult for others. As the saying goes, “The King of Hell is easy to see but minor ghosts are hard to handle” – Xia Ziyu was like those troublesome minor ghosts. Though small-minded, this woman had countless ways of making life miserable for others.

Now that she’d become Du Zhengrong’s concubine, could she have reformed?

The Du family was already semi-legitimate at best – Xia Ziyu would surely be like a fish in water!

As Xia Xiaolan grew anxious, Du Zhaohui quickly explained:

“I never said I’d break my promise. Once I defeat that wretch Du Zhaoqi, I’ll hand Xia Ziyu over to you for punishment. I’m not stupid – letting her be my stepmother to enjoy a wealthy life is just letting her serve one final purpose.”

Du Zhaohui felt uncomfortable thinking about Xia Ziyu.

He could hardly believe Xia Ziyu was Xia Xiaolan’s cousin.

One was truly capable, even more impressive than men.

The other just talked big, only thinking about relying on men.

Du Zhaohui briefly explained his dealings with Xia Ziyu. He would never mention anything about the Soviet leadership change – he’d die of embarrassment if Xia Xiaolan knew he’d nearly believed Xia Ziyu had “prophetic” abilities.

What Du Zhaohui could tell was how Xia Ziyu approached him to make a deal, gave him advice, and helped her smuggle into Hong Kong and get plastic surgery.

“Don’t hold the past against me – we weren’t partners then. I just saw that Xia Ziyu was thick-skinned enough, and a pawn that offered herself up shouldn’t go to waste.”

Xia Xiaolan listened with exasperation, “I don’t have time to dwell on the past.”

She knew what kind of person Du Zhaohui was before partnering with him.

Their relationship had been tense from the start, opposing each other from their first meeting, so it wasn’t surprising that Du Zhaohui had helped Xia Ziyu.

Xia Xiaolan was shocked by Xia Ziyu’s “suggestions.”

What kind of thinking was this – watched too many Hong Kong dramas?

She had to admire Xia Ziyu’s thick skin though.

University students were precious in the 80s, yet Xia Ziyu was willing to submit herself to a man older than Xia Zhengfeng just to get ahead.

Mature male charm?

Xia Xiaolan had met Du Zhengrong once – while his presence was imposing, he was definitely over-mature. Without the confidence his wealth provided, he was just a retirement-age old man!

Could Xia Ziyu have made such a huge sacrifice just to be Du Zhaohui’s pawn?

Xia Xiaolan didn’t dare be so optimistic:

“Du Zhaohui, if you underestimate a woman like Xia Ziyu, you’ll pay dearly. She might have needed to cling to you to survive in Hong Kong before, but now that she’s your father’s Fifth Mistress, she can find a bigger tree to climb.”

Xia Ziyu was a woman who worshipped power.

How good had she been to Wang Jianhua before?

Yet when she needed to escape, she abandoned Wang Jianhua without hesitation, leaving him to face investigation.

She’d obey Du Zhaohui when she thought he was powerful, but if she had the chance to connect with someone more powerful… Xia Ziyu would immediately switch her dependence on another man.

Du Zhaohui felt uneasy at Xia Xiaolan’s words:

“She wants to betray me? I arranged her smuggling into Hong Kong and her plastic surgeon – I naturally have ways to control her. Anyway, just wait another month or so, and I’ll hand her over to you!”

Xia Xiaolan just smiled without speaking.

Du Zhaohui was just being stubborn – forgetting a month, even a week could bring huge changes.

Whoever trusted Xia Ziyu would suffer – Xia Xiaolan had warned Du Zhaohui, but if he wouldn’t listen, there was nothing she could do.

Anyway, Xia Xiaolan no longer held much hope for Du Zhaohui handing Xia Ziyu over to her, but at least things were out in the open now. At least she knew Xia Ziyu’s whereabouts and situation – if she suddenly appeared to cause trouble in the future, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t be caught completely off guard!

This interruption left Du Zhaohui in no mood to discuss the Electronics Plaza, so they rescheduled.

After he left, Xia Xiaolan called to You Li:

“Xiao You, please collect recent Hong Kong newspapers related to the Du family for me, especially reports about the Fifth Mistress – front-page photos would be best!”

“Yes, Manager Xia.”

When the manager asked her to find newspapers, she couldn’t turn around and ask where to find them.

This was Pengcheng, just separated from Hong Kong by the Luohu customs checkpoint – with enough effort, she could definitely complete Manager Xia’s request.

Never mind Hong Kong newspapers – even if You Li was asked to collect American newspapers, she couldn’t say it was impossible!

…

“Yuan Ke, Yuan Ke has such good alcohol tolerance, have another glass?”

“Section Chief Yuan, that’s not fair – how can you only drink his toast but not mine?”

“Section Chief Yuan, I’ll drain my glass, you drink as you please!”

Yuan Han’s face was flushed red, his breath heavy with alcohol.

He had finally transferred from that remote place and become a section chief with some authority.

Was Yuan Han grateful to the Zhou family?

No!

He felt this was all rightfully his, earned through enduring humiliation.

Don’t think he didn’t know the Zhou family’s schemes – sending Zhou Yi abroad and him to the countryside was meant to sever their relationship… Yuan Han’s eyes darkened. Of those letters he wrote to Zhou Yi, not one received a reply – surely they were all intercepted by the Zhou family.

But his excellent performance in that remote place meant even Zhou Wenbang couldn’t suppress him, right? They had to give him something to pacify him – wasn’t that why he was transferred to work in Pengcheng?

Or perhaps Zhou Yi was causing too much trouble abroad. Heh, he knew it – Zhou Yi couldn’t live without him.

Did the Zhou family think sending Zhou Yi abroad would let her achieve something?

Completely useless!

Yuan Han had thoroughly studied what kind of person Zhou Yi was.

Appearing modern but is very traditional.

Seeming brave but quite timid.

He had gradually figured out all these traits. How brave Zhou Yi had been to elope with him, but when they got together, he discovered she was still a virgin – honestly, he hadn’t expected that.

Yuan Han was pleasantly surprised – a virgin was perfect, he didn’t want to wear someone else’s broken shoes anyway.

Moreover, once they’d slept together, Zhou Yi could never escape… everything afterward went exactly as he had predicted.

But if Zhou Wenbang could transfer him back to Beijing, why throw him to work in Pengcheng? Yuan Han kept pondering this question.