Zhou Cheng wasn’t afraid of Jiang Wu.

Zhou Cheng was afraid of Jiang Wu harming Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan sat in her chair, absently eating bread.

Zhou Cheng told her there were things she didn’t know, that some people in this world didn’t commit petty crimes like Xia Ziyu – they went straight for the kill, giving no room to breathe.

Xia Xiaolan knew this.

While simplicity and enthusiasm were the main themes of the 1980s, no matter how society progressed, certain dark aspects would never disappear.

Future media would reveal that beneath the normal internet lay a “dark web” where anything could be bought for the right price. Common drugs and firearms were nothing – even living people could be sold as slaves.

That was in 2017!

In ’85, there were far too many ways to make someone disappear without a trace.

“You mean, before you deal with Jiang Wu, I must pretend to break up with you so he’ll think there’s no point in targeting me?”

Xia Xiaolan swallowed her last bite of bread.

She wanted to exchange secret signals with Zhou Cheng and throw out a coded phrase to see if someone had possessed him while she was out buying bread. How could Zhou Cheng come up with such a cliché romance drama plot?

She could understand his anxiety.

But with such a dramatic drop in competence, her boyfriend seemed like a completely different person.

“Third Brother, I’ll be careful about my safety. But I think the key isn’t me – it’s Jiang Yan. We need to figure out what she wants, whether she truly wants her cousin to fail. Zhou Cheng said Jiang Yan wants to meet Third Brother… so let her come. Why should we follow her rhythm? We should make her unable to find our rhythm!”

Hadn’t Jiang Yan said she wouldn’t provide the original documents without meeting Pan Third Brother?

Zhou Cheng kept worrying it was a trap and refused to let Jiang Yan meet Pan’s Third Brother.

Xia Xiaolan thought they should meet.

Whether donkey or horse, Jiang Yan needed to be led out for a walk. Xia Xiaolan was quite looking forward to it – once Jiang Yan directly connected with Pan Third Brother, what excuse would she have to keep finding Zhou Cheng?

If she had something to say, she could tell Pan Third Brother directly.

Xia Xiaolan rarely played such mind games with others.

“Whether Jiang Yan’s evidence is useful or not, we’ll know once we see it. Let Pan Third Brother arrange the meeting. Jiang Wu hates Third Brother to death, yet Third Brother is still doing fine, proving he has his methods. How could Jiang Yan possibly overpower Third Brother alone?”

Making Xia Xiaolan cry in fear was impossible.

Life threats were unavoidable – people walking down the street risked being hit by falling bricks. If she worried about Jiang Wu all day, how could she live?

Avoiding problems wouldn’t help, and neither would beating around the bush. They needed to actively find solutions.

Why should Xia Xiaolan confront Jiang Wu directly when Jiang Yan was there to deal with it?

Xia Xiaolan wanted to see whether Jiang Yan’s “righteousness over family ties” was genuine!

Pan Baohua found the bread too soft and unsatisfying. He squeezed it into a ball with his fist, then swallowed it whole.

This way of eating bread was unique, but Pan Baohua didn’t notice, because someone even more unique sat beside him.

“Chengzi, Jiang Yan hasn’t had many chances to interact with Sister-in-law, right?”

Zhou Cheng understood Pan Baohua’s meaning:

“They’ve only spoken once in private.”

No wonder.

Having spoken only once meant she didn’t understand Xia Xiaolan. Jiang Yan had underestimated her, whether intentionally or not. Trying to steal Xia Xiaolan’s man – Jiang Yan had likely made a mistake.

Pan Baohua wanted to laugh, and then he did laugh out loud: “Sister-in-law is right. If Jiang Yan says she’s sorry to her friend and wants to meet me, then let her come. I’ll be in Min-“

“Third Brother, wait for her in Pengcheng!”

Min Province wasn’t necessarily safer.

Xia Xiaolan trusted Pengcheng more.

In the newly established special zone, no one could claim to have particular influence yet – there hadn’t been time.

Construction sites were everywhere, and Xia Xiaolan had lived in Pengcheng for over ten years – how could she not understand it?

Whatever the contest, in Pengcheng it always came down to economic power.

The country’s doors had only opened a few years ago. With foreign capital flooding in, smugglers were making fortunes. Who had control in Pengcheng? The Great Unity was welcome, Hong Kong dollars worked too, and US dollars were best – but it certainly wasn’t the Jiang family calling the shots!

Zhou Cheng understood too. “Third Brother, let’s follow Xiaolan’s suggestion and meet in Pengcheng.”

Pan Baohua mainly operated in Min Province. Letting the Jiang family track him there would expose everything.

Pengcheng was the best choice.

The Jiang family wasn’t rich enough – Zhou Cheng found this thought quite amusing.

Ah, the Reform and Opening Up wasn’t just talk. Many people hadn’t yet realized the power of economics.

Neither Zhou Cheng nor Xia Xiaolan would harm themselves. Pan Baohua rubbed his bald head: “Then Pengcheng it is. Let Jiang Yan come to meet me!”

Xia Xiaolan raised an eyebrow. “Third Brother, she only said she’d meet you. Jiang Yan won’t come that quickly.”

She smiled mischievously at Zhou Cheng, making him very uncomfortable.

“You mean she should say she’s coming to see me?”

This would fulfill what Kang Wei said about using charm on Jiang Yan.

Zhou Cheng’s expression turned stern:

“Xiaolan, don’t joke about this. I won’t deceive Jiang Yan like that.”

As the Third Brother said, Jiang Yan was using evidence to control him. If he went along with it, he’d eventually find himself in a dilemma.

Third Brother had already said that overturning the case wasn’t that important. Zhou Cheng didn’t want to give Jiang Yan any hope.

Xia Xiaolan had wanted to make a few more jokes, but seeing Zhou Cheng’s serious expression, she kept her mouth tightly shut.

Indeed, how could such things be joked about?

Zhou Cheng must have pondered Third Brother’s case for a long time, never giving Jiang Yan an opening… Xia Xiaolan’s heart is filled with two parts sourness, three parts bitterness, and five parts sweetness.

This was Zhou Cheng.

Before, she had worried that the Zhou family’s status was too high and might look down on her, and she wouldn’t have bothered pursuing Zhou Cheng.

Even recently, she had wondered if their values were incompatible, if they might fall into arguments in the future if perhaps they were only suited for dating, not marriage.

But from beginning to end, Xia Xiaolan had never doubted the sincerity of Zhou Cheng’s feelings.

When they first met, he had straightforwardly told her uncle Liu Yong about his intentions toward her.

“I was wrong. I’ll never joke about such things again.”

Zhou Cheng’s feelings were genuine, so she should cherish them more, not tease him about other women.

Others liked Zhou Cheng showed his charm, but Zhou Cheng himself hadn’t given them any opportunity – how could that be wrong?

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t yet mastered the art of managing a husband, but even between ordinary friends, this wasn’t how to behave. She should respond to Zhou Cheng’s sincerity with emotion, joy, and encouragement – that is how relationships should develop positively!

Zhou Cheng’s heart wasn’t racing, but each beat was particularly strong.

He thought, Xiaolan finally understood.

His wife’s cleverness was usually applied elsewhere. In matters of the heart, though Zhou Cheng was also inexperienced, he felt he could be Xiaolan’s teacher.

This was exactly how it should be – no need for doubt, just trust him and follow his lead!

Neither spoke, just looking at each other, the atmosphere quiet and warm.

Pan Baohua looked at Zhou Cheng, then at Xia Xiaolan.

Just moments ago they had been speaking sharply like fighting roosters, how had they suddenly turned into gentle lambs?

So romance was young people’s business. Pan Baohua silently took another piece of bread, his large hand opening and closing, compressing the soft, lovely bread into a ball… This way of eating was truly wasteful, but Pan Baohua enjoyed it.

Who dared question him?

Weren’t they afraid he’d squeeze them like he squeezed the bread?