He wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of his life.
Song Jiabao looked smug as he pushed into the cinema with his friends.
Song Qiaoan withdrew her gaze.
How ridiculous Zhang Meilan still expected her precious son to get into university? With that kind of behavior, he couldn’t even manage roasting a sweet potato properly.
After her mother passed away, Song Jianren couldn’t wait to bring Zhang Meilan into the house.
She had originally thought Song Jiabao and Song Weiwei were Zhang Meilan’s children with her ex-husband. Only later did she learn that both of them were actually Song Jianren’s.
Her so-called father was really something an in-law who married into the family, cheated during marriage, and as soon as his wife died, brought his mistress and illegitimate children home.
Now that the family fortune was gone, he was planning to sell off his daughter for money.
Disgusting to the core.
When she arrived at work, as Song Qiaoan passed by the leader’s office, she happened to hear a woman’s sharp, furious questioning inside a familiar voice.
“Whose earring is this? Which woman does it belong to? Besides me, what other woman has ridden in your car?!”
“Say something, Zhang Hao! Have you been keeping a mistress outside?!”
Zhang Qing held up a pink earring, her voice sharp as she interrogated the man in front of her.
“Can you keep your voice down? Do you have to let the whole company laugh at us? You’re not ashamed, but I am!”
“You’re the one cheating and keeping a mistress, and now you’re pretending to be righteous?! Say something! Why are you acting dumb?!”
“If you won’t talk, fine I’ll go out and ask everyone one by one and see which shameless woman is blind enough to be your mistress!”
Zhang Qing clenched the earring and moved to rush out, but Zhang Hao hurriedly stopped her, grabbing her shoulders.
“Calm down! Stop making a scene!”
Zhang Qing almost laughed in anger. “I’m making a scene? You’ve done something shameful and still have the nerve to accuse me?!”
“I’m telling you, Zhang Hao I already sensed something was wrong! Last week you said you were working overtime, but I passed by the factory that night every floor was dark, even the guard had left. Where were you working overtime?”
“Working overtime on some woman?!”
Her chest heaved as she pounded his shoulder.
“And another thing I keep smelling perfume on you! You said it was from female coworkers. I’m curious how close do you have to be to someone to smell that strongly?!”
“Qingqing, calm down. Let me explain,” Zhang Hao said, his eyes shifting uneasily.
“This earring is actually… a gift I bought for you. I wanted to surprise you, but I accidentally lost one, so… I didn’t have the heart to give it to you.”
He spoke sincerely, with just the right amount of embarrassment on his face. Zhang Qing’s agitation began to ease.
“And that night you lied about working overtime?”
“I’m sorry. I did lie to you.”
Zhang Qing hadn’t expected him to admit it so directly and was about to flare up again, but Zhang Hao lowered his head with a guilty look.
“I didn’t go to work overtime. I… went drinking with friends.”
“Drinking? Don’t you throw up after just a few sips? You hate drinking,” Zhang Qing frowned.
“But your father likes to drink. I can never outdrink him, and it makes me look bad. So I thought I’d practice privately, so he’d think better of me.”
Zhang Qing knew how poor his tolerance was. Hearing that he had secretly practiced just to please her father, her heart softened immediately.
“So that’s why. You don’t have to try to please my dad for my sake. He may sound harsh, but he’s soft-hearted. He actually likes you.”
Knowing everything he did was for her, most of her anger faded.
Through the crack in the door, Song Qiaoan watched as the two exchanged a few more words, then leaned into each other and made up.
She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but that earring…
It looked familiar. Like she had seen it somewhere before.
Wait that was Song Weiwei’s earring, wasn’t it?
No wonder Song Weiwei had acted so strangely at the bank when she saw them. Song Qiaoan had been puzzled then but now it made perfect sense.
That wasn’t just a guilty reaction it was the reaction of a mistress seeing the official partner.
Everything clicked.
It wasn’t that Song Weiwei’s boyfriend couldn’t be shown in public it was that their relationship couldn’t be exposed at all.
Song Weiwei was Zhang Hao’s mistress, while Zhang Qing her direct superior was his official fiancée.
At the moment, Zhang Qing was probably suspicious, but still being deceived and manipulated by that scumbag.
Now this was interesting.
Didn’t Song Weiwei want this job? What would she do if she found out her boss was actually the man’s fiancée?
With Zhang Qing’s personality and background, she’d destroy her.
Song Qiaoan walked over to Zhou Xiaoman’s desk. The girl looked like she was working, but her ears had long perked up.
“Stop pretending. I need to ask you something.” Song Qiaoan tapped the desk lightly.
“What is it?”
Song Qiaoan motioned for her to come closer. Thinking it was gossip, Zhou Xiaoman eagerly leaned in.
“Do you know where there’s a black market?” Song Qiaoan whispered.
“The black market?!” Zhou Xiaoman almost shouted, quickly covering her mouth. “Why are you asking? That place is illegal!”
“I’m going to the countryside to find Fu Chen. I heard Jiangcheng is poor, so I want to prepare some supplies in advance.”
“What? You’re going to that awful place to find Fu Chen?!”
“To get back together with him,” Song Qiaoan said calmly.
Those four words made Zhou Xiaoman’s eyes widen in shock.
It was too much to process at once, but recalling that Song Qiaoan had said she wouldn’t marry Wang Shichang and considering her bizarre family it somehow made sense.
“Have you really thought it through?” she asked worriedly.
“Mm. I have to leave.” She nodded, saying no more but Zhou Xiaoman understood.
She knew Song Qiaoan’s situation. A marriage certificate with Fu Chen out of nowhere how could that have been voluntary?
Not to mention being forced into a marriage alliance with Wang Shichang what kind of parents would do that?
Parents who treat their daughter as a stepping stone couldn’t be good people.
If she didn’t leave, she would eventually be driven to death.
“The countryside is really hard, An’an. I won’t get to see you anymore… and we don’t even know what Fu Chen is like. What if he treats you badly…” Zhou Xiaoman started crying as she spoke.
Song Qiaoan listened quietly, wiping her tears with a tissue. “I have money. I’ll stock up on food at the black market I won’t starve.” She paused. “If Fu Chen treats me badly… I’ll come back and rely on you.”
“Mm! Write to me I’ll come get you right away!” Zhou Xiaoman sniffled. “The Fu family has already fallen, and Old Master Fu is still locked up… they wouldn’t dare mistreat you.”
She meant to comfort her, but thinking about the Fu family’s downfall only made her cry harder.
Why did her best friend have such a miserable fate?
“Alright, stop crying.” Running out of tissues, Song Qiaoan wiped her tears with her sleeve.
She felt both touched and helpless. The Fu family wouldn’t stay down once they were rehabilitated in a couple of years and reforms began, when Fu Chen took over, the family would become a true powerhouse.
“Jiangcheng is terribly poor you have to prepare a lot. I… I’ll go to the black market with you.”
“No need. Just tell me the address I’ll go alone. Two people would attract too much attention.”
Besides, she couldn’t leave just yet. If she didn’t deal with Song Jianren’s family first, how could she leave with peace of mind?
Zhou Xiaoman carefully told her the location and repeatedly explained the rules of trading in the black market before finally calming down.
At that moment, the door to Zhang Qing’s office opened. The man walked out, still holding the earring, his expression cold none of the earlier gentleness remained.
Song Qiaoan glanced at him, then lowered her eyes in thought. After a moment, she poked Zhou Xiaoman.
“I remember you have a camera, right?”