News about Xiaolan?

Chen Qing was interested in anything about Xia Xiaolan, but he wasn’t a fool – quite the opposite, he was quite clever.

“Who are you?”

He kept his distance from Xia Hongxia. There was a calculation in this girl’s eyes that Chen Qing didn’t like, and he instinctively stayed on guard.

“Never mind who I am, but everything I’m saying is true. Xia Xiaolan is no good – she ruined her reputation in the countryside and was driven out by her family. Her mother was affected too and got kicked out of the Xia family. Xia Xiaolan not only had an affair with a good-for-nothing, she even seduced her future brother-in-law. She just likes to deceive men… I’m warning you about this loose woman because I don’t want you to be tricked!”

Xia Hongxia didn’t mention she was a cousin.

Last time when she spoke ill of Xia Xiaolan in front of the security guard and school leaders, she revealed her identity, and their attitudes changed dramatically.

Unable to guess the reason, Xia Hongxia simply chose not to mention she was Xia Xiaolan’s cousin.

Having such a cousin was embarrassing, better not to be too specific.

Xia Hongxia stopped just short of swearing oaths, describing every detail clearly. Chen Qing’s dark face turned red as if about to explode. He was certainly unhappy – he had vaguely heard these rumors before, but having interacted with Xia Xiaolan, Chen Qing trusted his judgment.

His face was red with anger!

Xiaolan wasn’t like that. Being beautiful wasn’t her fault.

If she was beautiful and men liked her, was it all her fault in the end?

She hadn’t relied on her beauty to idle away her days – she worked hard and earnestly, earning money to support her family while still pursuing further education… In Chen Qing’s heart, Xia Xiaolan was the perfect image. How could he tolerate someone coming to slander her?

“Shut up!”

Chen Qing looked at Xia Hongxia with disgust. “In broad daylight, you come out to slander someone but won’t reveal your own identity – you must be up to no good. You’re just jealous of Xia Xiaolan, can’t stand seeing her have a better life… You must be from the Xia family!”

Chen Qing had an extremely poor impression of the Xia family members besides Xia Xiaolan!

Xia Dajun who beat women, Zhang Cui who thought she was always right, the unreasonable Wang Jingui. What was the Xia family like? Who in Qijing Village didn’t know? When Liu Fen divorced, everyone in Qijing Village felt relieved – she’d finally shown some backbone. Li Fengmei didn’t understand public opinion, but she took every chance to defend Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen, emphasizing how terrible the Xia family was that Liu Fen had married. Chen Qing had even helped write the divorce papers that day. When Xia Dajun was held down by villagers, he tried to jump up and hit people – Xiaolan’s life had been so bitter before!

Why couldn’t these people just leave Xiaolan alone?

Chen Qing’s feelings for Xia Xiaolan weren’t just physical attraction – her excellence made him admire her. When someone came to slander Xia Xiaolan, Chen Qing was furious! Had this person spread lies to other No. 1 High School students? Would it affect Xiaolan’s college entrance exam next year? Chen Qing was anxious and angry – if Xia Hongxia were male, he would have beaten her down!

Xia Hongxia stepped back two paces.

She was from the Xia family!

Besides Xia Xiaolan, which Xia family member was embarrassing? Her sister Ziyu was a university student, and future brother-in-law Wang Jianhua was a university student. As a Xia family member, Xia Hongxia was proud.

“You – I was worried about you being deceived, is it wrong to kindly warn you? Just ask around in Dahe Village about what kind of person Xia Xiaolan is!”

“Don’t hide behind being female. If you dare spread more lies, I’ll find someone to beat you up!”

Chen Qing turned the warning back on Xia Hongxia – everything had gone differently from what she’d expected. The school leaders, the security guard, and now Xia Xiaolan’s new boyfriend – why wouldn’t anyone believe Xia Xiaolan was loose?

Xia Hongxia simply couldn’t understand that Xia Xiaolan earned others’ respect through capability, not looks.

Xia Xiaolan’s face caused trouble, but she didn’t rely on it to survive. Others valued her because she was capable… As long as this didn’t change, reputation meant nothing!

Limited by her perspective, Xia Hongxia might never understand this point.

Having failed to achieve her goal, she pestered Chen Qing for a while. His cold attitude toward her and fierce protection of Xia Xiaolan made Xia Hongxia lose interest.

When she returned dejectedly to Zhang’s Snack Shop, Zhang Cui pulled her aside, suppressing her anger:

“Child, have you been feeling unwell lately? If you can’t handle all the work in the shop, go back to the village for a few days to rest. Your aunt worries about you, afraid you’ll get too tired…”

Though Zhang Cui’s words sounded kind, she was telling Xia Hongxia to return to Dahe Village.

Xia Hongxia suddenly woke up – the shop work was annoying, but go back to the countryside? No, life in the county town was different from Dahe Village. She didn’t want to return to the village!

“Aunt, I… I saw Xia Xiaolan a few days ago. She seems to have found a boyfriend at No. 1 High School.”

Xia Hongxia stammered.

She had completely forgotten the security guard’s words – how could Xia Xiaolan be a student at No. 1 High School? What student could miss several days of class?

Zhang Cui gripped Xia Hongxia’s hand, too tightly – Xia Hongxia winced in pain.

“Aunt! That hurts!”

“When did you see Xiaolan? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Zhang Cui noticed her expression was unpleasant and loosened her grip, adding: “How is Xiaolan doing? She found another boyfriend so quickly, the Zhang Erlai incident hasn’t even blown over… Sigh, after your second aunt took her from the Xia family, it’s hard for us to even care about Xiaolan.”

Xia Hongxia couldn’t tell good from bad.

Or perhaps Zhang Cui’s disguise was too perfect – Xia Hongxia thought Zhang Cui genuinely cared about Xia Xiaolan. Xia Hongxia was jealous and angry:

“Xia Xiaolan even tried to steal Sister Ziyu’s man, doing such shameless things, yet she thinks the Xia family wronged her… She and her mother threw the family into chaos and even made Grandmother sick. Now she gets to live a good life?”

Xia Hongxia grew more agitated as she spoke, “Even if Sister Ziyu forgives her, I won’t!”

Zhang Cui looked moved, “Your Sister Ziyu hasn’t loved you in vain. She’s the eldest sister to all of you, originally caring for everyone equally. No matter what Xiaolan did, as the eldest sister she can’t hold a grudge. Tell me about meeting Xiaolan – if she’s found a boyfriend, that’s great news. But you know Xiaolan’s temper is quick, I’m worried she’s keeping anger inside and rushing to find a boyfriend to show us, hastily choosing the wrong person…”

Zhang Cui no longer cared about sending Xia Hongxia home – she needed to extract information from her.

Xia Hongxia had kept quiet before threatening Xia Xiaolan, but since neither Xia Xiaolan nor Chen Qing cared about that, she told Zhang Cui everything in detail.

“The security guard said she’s a student at No. 1 High School?”

Zhang Cui was better at catching key points than Xia Hongxia, having lived in the county town for several years.

Xia Hongxia sneered, “Must be a lie. How could Xia Xiaolan test into No. 1 High?”

Zhang Cui also found it hard to believe.

She had seen how seriously Xia Ziyu studied. Xia Xiaolan? Zhang Cui didn’t believe it.

But what if it was true?

After Xia Hongxia’s scene, Chen Qing was in a terrible mood. Returning to Qijing Village, he found Xia Xiaolan hadn’t returned.

When Xia Xiaolan came to school that day, she hadn’t mentioned going anywhere. Chen Qing was confused.

“Why are you looking for her? Someone sent her a very thick telegram earlier, so she got an introduction letter from your grandfather and left. Listen to your mother – right now you must focus on studying. After you pass the exam next year, then we can talk about other things…”

A stranger spoke ill of Xia Xiaolan, and now his mother hinted at Xia Xiaolan’s complex social connections. Chen Qing felt everyone’s thoughts were too complicated. “Mom, I wanted to ask her about studies – her English materials were really helpful!”