“Mom, let me think about it. I’ve heard what you and Xiaolan said.”
Zhou Cheng frowned after being scolded.
Feeling sympathy for her son, Guan Hui’e softened her tone:
“Zhou Cheng, you’re my child. No parents can truly resist their children’s wishes. No matter how angry you make me, if you apologize one day, could I stay unforgiving for life?”
Guan Hui’e glanced at the guesthouse lobby, “But Xiaolan is different. You’re still boyfriend and girlfriend, not husband and wife. There’s no blood tie between you, no marriage bond. If you argue away the feelings between you, you and Xiaolan could part ways at any time.”
Could the Shi family be more important than a life partner?
Parents can’t accompany you for life, children will have their own lives eventually – only spouses can truly accompany each other!
Guan Hui’e approved of Xia Xiaolan. The first wife wasn’t chosen for being kind and simple – what use would the Zhou family have for that? She approved of Xia Xiaolan’s capabilities, knowing that whatever Zhou Cheng faced in the future, Xiaolan could handle it with him!
Zhou Cheng himself was particularly fond of her.
Such a daughter-in-law wasn’t something you could just find on the street.
Moreover, this time Xia Xiaolan was right, and Guan Hui’e was choosing justice over family ties.
Guan Hui’e left him outside, and Zhou Cheng squatted by the door to smoke a cigarette.
Getting to where they were today with Xiaolan hadn’t been easy, Zhou Cheng knew that.
His mother thought getting the Zhou family’s approval was the hardest part, but it wasn’t – the real challenge had been moving from being a nominal boyfriend to truly entering Xiaolan’s heart! If Zhou Cheng had to repeat the pursuit now, he wasn’t even sure what had touched Xiaolan’s heart… certainly, when Xiaolan first agreed to date him, she hadn’t been emotionally invested.
Zhou Cheng stood up and stubbed out his cigarette. Just as he walked in, he saw Kang Wei sweating anxiously:
“Brother Cheng, Sister-in-law says she’s packing to return to Beijing. It’s so late, the drive takes several hours, how can she leave?”
Xia Xiaolan was no longer downstairs.
Zhou Cheng paused – was she not even giving him a chance to talk?
“…Let her stay and leave tomorrow morning. I’ll head back to the academy first.”
If he rushed upstairs now and admitted his mistake, could he convince Xiaolan to stay?
Zhou Cheng knew his sweetheart wasn’t so easily persuaded – she wanted more than verbal apologies. His mind kept replaying her words about their “differences being too great, living together for decades would be torture.” Zhou Cheng couldn’t understand – he loved Xiaolan so much, and she loved him too, how could it become torture?
“Brother Cheng, you’re joking, right?!”
Kang Wei looked shocked.
Maybe the one who hit his head wasn’t him, but Zhou Cheng.
How else could Kang Wei be bouncing around while Brother Cheng was talking nonsense?
Were the Shi family really that important? Kang Wei couldn’t understand. His father was also a martyr, sacrificing himself while Kang Wei was still in Xie Yun’s womb. But after all these years, Kang Wei had never heard of his father’s former colleagues stepping up to manage his and his mother’s lives!
After his father’s sacrifice, it was his Second Uncle who stepped up to maintain the Kang family’s dignity.
Kang Wei had secretly resented his Second Uncle for many years, but now thinking about it made him blush with shame!
If his Second Uncle couldn’t manage, his mother would have had to step up.
If his mother couldn’t handle it, they certainly couldn’t rely on their married aunts.
That would mean the Kang family lacked capability, showing their decline was inevitable and beyond human control.
The same applied to the Shi family.
With Zhou Cheng’s help, the Shi family should seize this opportunity. Moving from a southwestern village to Beijing, from farmers to formal workers, their status had jumped several levels. The whole family had escaped the mountain valley – what more could they want?
Kang Wei had always been Zhou Cheng’s staunch supporter, but this time he couldn’t take his side:
“Brother Cheng, I can see Sister-in-law is angry. If it were just her saying this, that would be one thing, but even Aunt Guan says the same. Maybe there is something inappropriate about Sister-in-law Wei. You should think it through carefully.”
Kang Wei had the standing to say this, his experience matching that of Shi Kai’s two children.
Though his Second Uncle was capable, Kang Wei had always wished his mother could focus more on him, could rise, and not dwell in the past every day… In the Shi family’s case, Wei Juanhong should be the one holding up the family. She was the only normal working adult and should be the family’s role model and hope. If her resolve weakened, the Shi family had no future to speak of!
Kang Wei walked Zhou Cheng to the academy entrance.
In the streetlight’s glow, Kang Wei vaguely saw someone pass by.
It looked like Jiang Yan, who was quite distinctive in appearance.
Jiang Yan was another major concern.
While Sister-in-law and Brother Cheng were having problems, would Jiang Yan take the opportunity to cause trouble?
He wanted to mention it to Zhou Cheng, but Zhou Cheng was still thinking about the Shi family situation.
Never mind, perhaps Brother Cheng hadn’t been thinking about Jiang Yan at all – bringing it up specifically might make him remember her!
The one with a grudge against the Jiang family was Third Brother Pan, Kang Wei thought. Maybe telling Third Brother Pan directly would be better – but what could Third Brother Pan do about Jiang Yan? He had already been forced to retire by the Jiang family. With Third Brother Pan’s explosive temper and no organizational constraints, he might do something drastic like eliminating the Jiang family.
Kang Wei immediately backed down from that idea.
So why did Brother Cheng have to argue with Sister-in-law? Wasn’t everything fine as it was?
…
“Zhou Cheng!”
As Zhou Cheng walked into the academy, Jiang Yan jumped out from behind him.
She approached Zhou Cheng so suddenly that he nearly twisted her neck. Those who approach while the beast is drowsy are ill-intentioned enemies. Though Jiang Yan’s combat skills were formidable, while Zhou Cheng couldn’t beat Pan Baohua, he wouldn’t lose to Jiang Yan.
Realizing it was Jiang Yan, Zhou Cheng pushed her away.
He continued walking without a word.
He had no mood to deal with Jiang Yan now.
Jiang Yan followed behind. Clever as she was, able to track hidden enemy movements, how could she not notice the change in Zhou Cheng’s mood?
The contrast between his earlier happiness and current depression was stark.
“…Zhou Cheng, did you two fight?”
Jiang Yan had an intuition it was about Xia Xiaolan.
It couldn’t be that Zhou Cheng’s mother came to see him and they had a disagreement. The most likely possibility was Xia Xiaolan. Jiang Yan’s first impression of Xia Xiaolan hadn’t been good.
Zhou Cheng ignored her, but Jiang Yan was used to talking to herself:
“You two don’t seem very suitable. She’s not like us!”
Zhou Cheng finally registered these words. Jiang Yan was also saying he and Xiaolan weren’t suitable, as if she understood Xiaolan so well.
Zhou Cheng laughed sarcastically:
“Who am I suitable with then? Jiang Yan, without Xiaolan, it still wouldn’t be you. I’ve never seen you as a woman, but the moment I saw Xiaolan, I knew she would be my wife!”
Under the dim streetlights, Jiang Yan’s steps faltered.
“Zhou Cheng, aren’t you overthinking–“
Zhou Cheng ignored her and strode forward.
Whether he was overthinking or not didn’t matter. He had made himself clear and hoped Jiang Yan would stop hovering around him.
Seeing Jiang Yan just reminded him of Jiang Wu, and then of Third Brother Pan being forced to retire early, his promising future ruined. Jiang Yan had no right to comment on his relationship with Xiaolan!
She wasn’t even worthy of mentioning Xiaolan’s name, yet she wanted to drive a wedge between them – wasn’t Jiang Yan thinking too highly of herself?!