Xia Changzheng thought about it and realized it made sense. After all, for an Education Department official, wouldn’t arranging a child’s education be simple?

Previously, Xia Changzheng had favored his daughter Xia Ziyu, but now looking at things coldly, he saw that Ziyu’s heart had already shifted to her future in-laws. Naturally, he needed to think about his son Xia Junbao now. If Ziyu truly cared about him as her father, she should have confronted Xia Xiaolan instead of backing down again… Back in their hometown, everyone said having a university student in the family was impressive, and Xia Changzheng had once been very proud of this.

After leaving the village, he gradually understood that having a female university student wasn’t actually that remarkable. University students might be rare in the countryside, but they were common in the city!

They said they’d brought him and Zhang Cui to Beijing, but it wasn’t for an easy life – they still had to set up stalls selling snacks. They couldn’t even afford to buy a house in Beijing.

Xia Changzheng felt that whether someone attended university or not just sounded nice, but they hadn’t gained any real benefits! Just look at the house he and Zhang Cui were renting now – several families crammed into one small courtyard. If they were talking about spaciousness, it wasn’t even as good as their house back in Dahe Village.

Zhang Cui said this was Beijing, so it couldn’t be compared to their hometown, but Xia Changzheng remained dissatisfied. Girls were destined to not amount to much, and his daughter Ziyu was just focused on pleasing her in-laws. Xia Changzheng believed he could only rely on his son – when his son Junbao grew up, he wouldn’t stand by and watch his father be bullied like this. Zhang Cui’s excuse helped Xia Changzheng contain his dissatisfaction.

Looking at these people, they were all government officials. Ziyu marrying into the Wang family was indeed marrying up.

Thinking this way, Xia Changzheng showed a slight smile.

He considered himself one of the main characters at the engagement banquet, being the bride’s father, but from start to finish, who had paid any attention to him and Zhang Cui?

Everyone came to eat because of Wang Guangping’s face. They didn’t know Xia Changzheng, so who would voluntarily come to toast with him?

Throughout this meal, Xia Changzheng’s mood fluctuated between happiness and unhappiness, but overall, there was more gloom than joy.

Zhang Cui didn’t think so much about it – did it matter whether these government officials looked down on her? What mattered most was whether there would be benefits in the future!

The couple’s thoughts were completely different. While Xia Changzheng was dissatisfied, was Wang Guangping any more content? He still had to grit his teeth and hold the engagement. Having to become in-laws with a disabled man reeking of alcohol and a rural woman who couldn’t wash away the smell of cooking oil made Wang Guangping feel extremely frustrated.

Ran Shuyu had privately cried twice, feeling that the Wang family was ill-fated and that her son Wang Jianhua was being wronged.

While both sets of parents had their different thoughts, only Xia Ziyu, the person directly involved, appeared bright and refreshed. Unlike Wang Jianhua, who showed traces of worry, Xia Ziyu was truly happy. She had spent so much effort to finally reach this point – the most difficult step had been taken, and surely a bright future lay ahead.

“Jianhua, I’m so happy!”

The joy on Xia Ziyu’s face was genuine, and Wang Jianhua was deeply affected. No matter how difficult the circumstances, Ziyu truly loved him wholeheartedly and always considered his interests.

He grasped Xia Ziyu’s hand and said, “We can overcome these small troubles. You’re suffering hardships now, but I’ll definitely make it up to you double in the future and treat you well for life!”

Wasn’t she suffering hardships indeed?

The engagement was merely a transaction between the Wang family and Xia Ziyu.

Wang Guangping and Ran Shuyu hadn’t truly accepted Xia Ziyu; they just needed her to take the blame.

Wang Jianhua knew this too, but he couldn’t refuse this arrangement. He also had an urgent desire for success. Among the children from the same compound who used to move in the same circles, those whose families hadn’t encountered problems were all doing better than him now. Wang Guangping had been sent down to the farm for seven or eight years, and families that were once on the same level as the Wangs had now pulled far ahead.

Wang Jianhua had felt this acutely after going out with his old friends a few times.

Among people of similar age, no one was still studying like him.

Previously, people had called him “brother,” but now they had been working for several years and had gained some authority in their units. How could they willingly follow behind him now?

People his age had all established their careers and families, while Wang Jianhua was still studying.

What made him feel worse was that even those younger than him were reportedly doing well for themselves.

He really couldn’t afford to get entangled with that crazy woman from the He family now. Having already fallen so far behind, how could he ever catch up if there were any more disruptions?

He could only let Ziyu suffer… Wang Jianhua’s eyes flashed with pity.

Now that the engagement was announced, Xia Ziyu had been tagged as part of the Wang family, and Wang Guangping formally apologized to the He family:

“The tutoring class wasn’t started by my son; he was just helping his fiancée. Though we can’t deny there were management oversights, let’s all take a step back…”

Wang Guangping’s meaning was clear – he was handing over Xia Ziyu as the person in charge.

He Jia’s mother knew that the tutoring class had always been managed by Xia Ziyu. Her threat to send Wang Jianhua to jail was mostly intimidation. If they had gone to the police station, He Jia’s lies would have been exposed as soon as the police questioned her – it was just meant to upset the Wang family.

Without Wang Guangping’s backing, how could a female university student dare to run any tutoring class?

He Jia’s mother despised both Xia Ziyu and the Wang family. Now that she could collect some interest, it wasn’t bad – after all, it was the Wang family who had delivered Xia Ziyu to her doorstep. If she didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, wouldn’t that be wasting Director Wang’s sincerity?

Just as Xia Ziyu got engaged and Wang Guangping reached a temporary truce with the He family, the school issued public criticism:

First, Teachers College students running an off-campus tutoring class for profit violated school regulations, and all students who had taught at the tutoring class received “severe warnings.”

Second, the tutoring class’s improper profit-making meant that tuition fees had to be refunded to every student.

Third, Xia Ziyu, the initiator of the tutoring class, was placed on “academic probation.”

This was what was made public.

What wasn’t made public was that Wang Jianhua’s almost-certain selection as an outstanding student had been canceled.

This was done out of consideration for Wang Guangping.

The Teacher’s College had consulted Wang Guangping about this punishment. If Wang Guangping was afraid of the He family going crazy, how could the Teachers College not be? When the tutoring class had been reported in the newspaper, since all participants were current Teachers College students, it had benefited the college and received their support.

Now it was like mud falling into their pants – even if it wasn’t excrement, they couldn’t explain it away!

Xia Ziyu’s “academic probation” was already a very serious punishment, second only to expulsion, and it would be recorded in her file, meaning Xia Ziyu would no longer be eligible for the best jobs. This would absolutely affect her work assignment, and not just hers – those Teachers College students who had participated in the tutoring class had also received punishments and now hated Xia Ziyu to death.

Although Xia Ziyu received this punishment, she wasn’t as upset as she appeared to be. The quality of her work assignment couldn’t affect her future – even if she was assigned a poor position, the Wang family could help her transfer once things blew over. Moreover, capable people wouldn’t be restricted by their work unit!

What distressed Xia Ziyu more was having to refund all the students’ tuition fees.

The wages paid to the Teachers College students could be recovered, but how could she recover the costs spent on networking, renting venues, and various promotional activities?

After several months of hard work, not only had she failed to make money, but she had also spent a lot of what she had left.

If the Wang family hadn’t previously given her five thousand yuan, the school’s requirement to “refund tuition fees” would have driven Xia Ziyu to contemplate jumping off a building!