Xia Xiaolan had arrived!
Fan Zhenchuan had never heard Xia Xiaolan speak before – he had only seen her once from across the street.
But hearing that voice, he knew it was her.
The voice perfectly matched his impression of Xia Xiaolan. Though Fan Zhenchuan had been building up anger, when Xia Xiaolan finally appeared, his rage mysteriously dissipated. They say beauty is a feast for the eyes – when true beauty appears, it’s more refreshing than pulling a watermelon from a deep well on a hot summer day.
Creak.
The door was pushed open from outside.
But it wasn’t Xia Xiaolan who entered first – it was two tall men. They wore white dress shirts and black suits, with shoes polished bright enough to serve as mirrors. If they had worn sunglasses, they would have looked exactly like movie bodyguards… Even without them, they were impressive enough that Fan Zhenchuan’s driver stepped forward to stand beside his boss.
These men weren’t just for show – the driver sensed their threat and his first thought was Fan Zhenchuan’s safety.
Fan Zhenchuan’s gaze was intrigued.
Seizing the initiative – Xia Xiaolan had already achieved that. Or was it her boyfriend?
Li Dongliang and Ge Jian spread their arms in a gesture both defensive and protective of their employer, ensuring she wouldn’t be hurt by the door. Though late April weather was pleasant, Xia Xiaolan’s outfit today was particularly eye-catching. She wore a butterfly-collared white shirt with sleeves rolled up to reveal her wrists, paired with light yellow trousers. The shirt was tucked in, emphasizing her slim waist and long legs.
She had originally been 165cm tall, but after starting her business and having enough money for proper nutrition and exercise, she seemed to have grown another 2cm in these months.
Now she was 167cm barefoot, and even taller in high heels, cutting a striking figure.
Today, Xia Xiaolan had swept up her wispy bangs, revealing a smooth, full forehead. Her hairline was naturally beautiful – while wispy bangs made her look younger, the Korean-style ponytail revealed her flawlessly refined face. Her small face with perfectly proportioned features, unobscured by bangs, was so exquisite that even the worldly Fan Zhenchuan couldn’t look away.
Liang Huan bit her lip – how could a country girl look like this?
Liu Fang also felt such a face was wasted on Xia Xiaolan. With the same Liu family blood, if her daughter Liang Huan had such looks, her future would truly soar.
Li Dongliang stepped forward, pulling out a chair and placing it separately.
“Miss Xia, please.”
Li Dongliang’s performance took a simple approach – he vigorously wiped the chair with his suit sleeve before inviting Xia Xiaolan to sit, as if worried she might get even slightly dusty.
This display left the Liang family dumbfounded.
Especially Liu Fang – how could she forget what Xia Xiaolan was like a few years ago? She was her aunt, after all.
Even in their recent meetings, though Xia Xiaolan dressed well, she had never put on such airs.
Liu Fang craned her neck to look behind Xia Xiaolan but saw no sign of Zhou Cheng. She gave a fake laugh: “Xiaolan, where’s your mother? I thought you’d bring your uncle and aunt to meet the in-laws.”
Xia Xiaolan glanced at Liu Fang, suddenly breaking into a sarcastic smile:
“Aunt, pretending not to understand when you do isn’t being clever – it’s truly foolish. I never knew anything about this marriage arrangement. You made these plans yourself – did you think you could wash your hands of it?”
Liu Fang wanted to stuff all the fried meatballs on the table into Xia Xiaolan’s mouth.
Fortunately, Fan Zhenchuan didn’t mind at all.
Having just recovered from his amazement, regardless of whether the Liang family had deceived him, Fan Zhenchuan decided to forgive Liang Bing’an and his wife just for bringing Xia Xiaolan into his sight. Once he married Xia Xiaolan, they would be relatives anyway.
“You will want to marry me. I can give you everything!”
Money and power – Fan Zhenchuan lacked neither.
Converting a rural household registration to urban status would exhaust most people, but it meant nothing to Fan Zhenchuan.
In Hedong County, he sometimes felt like an emperor – he could give Xia Xiaolan anything she wanted!
Seeing Xia Xiaolan up close, from her face to her figure to her bearing, she was flawless. Only such a woman was worthy of him, Fan Zhenchuan. Compared to her, all the women from his past now seemed common and vulgar.
“You can give me everything?”
It’s like they say – a full bucket makes no noise, while a half-empty one clatters. Though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t married in her previous life, her work had brought her into contact with many exceptional men. Some self-made young entrepreneurs had built successful businesses, tech moguls who had gotten rich overnight with their innovations, and promising young leaders in their prime… Any one of them surpassed Fan Zhenchuan, yet each was more modest than him.
The higher one’s position, the more humble they tend to be.
In this life, Tang Hongen from Pengcheng was more capable than Fan Zhenchuan.
Tang Hongen’s gaze had been clear when looking at her. Even as a high-ranking official, he had been willing to eat with Xia Xiaolan at greasy roadside stalls.
But Fan Zhenchuan, having been entrenched in Hedong County for so long, had limited his vision to just that county, which Xia Xiaolan found rather amusing.
“Mr. Fan, you’re about my mother’s age, so I’ll respectfully call you Mr. Fan! This is the provincial capital’s guest house, not Hedong County. Your words are truly laughable. You say you can give me everything – that just means money or power. Money? I can earn it myself. As for power… I’m sorry if this hurts, but I’ve researched your career path, and I believe you’re likely to remain at the peak of Hedong County’s power structure. Frankly speaking, a small county that doesn’t even have a department store holds no interest in long-term residents. To be even more blunt, I find your rank too low while your boasting is too grand. Your successful peers of the same age have already left the county for higher levels, haven’t they? With so many promising options, why should I choose you?”
Xia Xiaolan’s voice was sweet yet clear. As she slowly spoke these words, before Fan Zhenchuan could react, Aunt Li nearly had a heart attack.
“You… you country girl, how dare you be so ungrateful!”
Aunt Li lost her composure, pointing at Xia Xiaolan in extreme anger. The Liang family of three was stunned – so Xia Xiaolan’s refusal was because she looked down on Fan Zhenchuan’s low rank.
But you need the ability to find someone of a higher rank!
Xia Xiaolan touched her face, “I quite like this face. Household registration and family background might limit some people, but they’re not so impressive in my eyes. You’re only superior because of your household registration and urban status, and you keep bringing these up repeatedly as if anyone cares. It’s just an urban household registration – I can solve that myself.”
Household registration? She’d get that by entering university.
A job? She’d get that by entering university too.
Xia Xiaolan didn’t consider herself particularly skilled in politics, nor had she ever planned a political career. But to suggest that she should look up to a county-level official was laughable. If she gave up applying to Huaqing University’s architecture department and chose a more targeted major, got into prestigious schools like Huaqing or Jingda, and actively aligned herself with the organization during college, she would likely be assigned to work in a ministry after graduation – everything Fan Zhenchuan had and could offer, Xia Xiaolan could obtain through her efforts. These people jumped up and down, thinking that by offering some scraps they could make her grovel and beg – what could Xia Xiaolan say?
“How will you solve your household registration – through that boyfriend of yours?”
Liu Fang’s tone was acidic.
It wasn’t that Fan Zhenchuan wasn’t angry – he was just deeply scheming and accustomed to letting his lackeys take the lead. Now Liu Fang was willingly acting as Fan Zhenchuan’s attack dog, barking at Xia Xiaolan!