“Better hurry up,” Xie Dongmei urged. “A girl as outstanding as Ruyuan—be careful, or someone will snatch her away in the blink of an eye! You’ll regret it if you hesitate! Honestly, you should’ve snatched her from Fang Shijun earlier—whoever wins her is the one who deserves her.”
Qin Jianchuan furrowed his brow but didn’t reply.
“If you still don’t manage to win her over this time, I bet you won’t even be able to explain yourself to your grandfather.”
Other people woo their future wives easily, but he? His entire family had to be involved!
The Fang family.
On the first day Fang Jinxiu returned from studying abroad, the household wasn’t as joyful as she had expected. In fact, everyone seemed troubled. Her cousin, Fang Shijun, looked older by at least a decade with stubble on his chin, and the atmosphere at home was suffocatingly heavy.
Zhou Aihua let out a sigh, looked at her niece, and said weakly, “Jinxiu, take your luggage to your room. We’re preparing to eat.”
“Aunt, what’s going on at home?” Fang Jinxiu asked, concerned.
“Don’t ask,” Zhou Aihua waved her hand, clearly unwilling to talk about matters that would just upset her.
Fang Jinxiu couldn’t get answers immediately, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find out. While going upstairs to put away her luggage, she asked one of the housemaids and learned what had happened recently.
“Ruyuan actually broke off her engagement with my cousin?” Fang Jinxiu’s eyes widened in shock. “And she did it voluntarily?”
“Yes,” came the reply.
Fang Jinxiu let out a disdainful laugh. “Who does she think she is?”
Ruyuan marrying into the Fang family had already been a stroke of luck she’d earned in her previous life. Now she had the audacity to voluntarily break the engagement? That alone was outrageous.
Moreover, the old man had cut off the family’s living expenses, which explained why Fang Jinxiu hadn’t received money for her living costs before returning to China.
Anger flashed in Fang Jinxiu’s eyes. Her cousin really was pathetic—just getting rejected by a woman was bad enough, but now he looked like this!
“Jinxiu, you’re not leaving this time, right?” Zhou Aihua’s voice suddenly spoke, bringing Fang Jinxiu back from her thoughts.
“Aunt, my two-year study abroad is over. I won’t be leaving anymore,” Fang Jinxiu said, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips. She stepped forward and linked her arm with Zhou Aihua’s. “I’ll register at the university tomorrow.”
Fang Jinxiu and Lin Ruyuan were both students at Beijing University, and both were in the finance department.
Two years ago, Fang Jinxiu had been recommended by a professor to study abroad. Not everyone gets such an opportunity.
Her main competitor back then was Lin Ruyuan, but the Lin family couldn’t afford the two-year overseas study. That’s why Fang Jinxiu got the chance instead.
Now she had returned successfully and would continue at Beijing University, with the prestige of being a “returnee” giving her an added edge.
“Good! I’m glad you’re back. A young lady being away for so long worries me,” Zhou Aihua said gently, finally feeling some relief. She had raised this niece since birth, as if she were her own daughter.
“Jinxiu, in a few days, I’ll take you to see the old man. You’re not worse than Ruyuan in ability. The old man doesn’t like your cousin, so he should notice you. He’s old enough now—he should hand over the business to the younger generation!” Zhou Aihua pinned her hopes on Fang Jinxiu.
If the Fang family business were entrusted to Fang Jinxiu, in the end, it would still remain connected to Shijun.
Without Ruyuan, the family’s business would essentially be unmanaged. How ridiculous!
“Aunt, I think the old man’s just being confused,” Fang Jinxiu said, trying to reassure Zhou Aihua.
“Alas, what troubles me most now is that Jingzhu can’t get a divorce from the Ding family,” Zhou Aihua sighed. “The two kids can’t inherit the family name—they are still legally Dings, even though they are ours. We should change their surnames while they’re still young.”
Fang Jinxiu also learned about Ding Ziqiang’s 500,000-yuan condition for the divorce.
That was no small sum.
“If it really comes to it, we may have to sell the house,” Zhou Aihua said, contemplating selling property—but if they did, the family wouldn’t even have a place to live. That would be humiliating.
“Aunt, it’s not time to sell yet,” Fang Jinxiu quickly intervened. “We can definitely find a way.”
She thought for a moment. “Ding Ziqiang’s real goal isn’t the money. He wants the family business back on track. If we help him solve this, he’ll honestly divorce Jingzhu, and the children will return.”
Zhou Aihua knew placing her hope in her niece was wise. Fang Jinxiu was smart and could quickly think of a solution.
“The Ding family business… back on track?”
Fang Jinxiu nodded slightly. “Aunt, give me some time to think this through.”
Zhou Aihua immediately held Fang Jinxiu’s hand. “Good! Take your time. No rush. Whatever conditions you propose, I’ll agree!”
Fang Jinxiu smirked. “Aunt, you don’t have to be so formal. You raised me to this age—this is the least I can do.”
Zhou Aihua felt reassured. Her niece hadn’t been raised in vain.
Fang Jinxiu’s eyes gleamed. Helping the Fang family ultimately helped herself. She understood this simple logic.
As the Fang family improved, she would get closer to the person she desired.
“……”
Beijing University,Cafeteria.
Returning home yesterday and learning what had happened was not the most surprising thing for Fang Jinxiu.
The biggest shock? Lin Ruyuan had changed her major.
Finance was the most prestigious department at Beijing University, with endless prospects. Lin Ruyuan had to be out of her mind to switch majors on a whim!
Agriculture? Was she planning to become a farmer? Fang Jinxiu hadn’t yet seen Ruyuan in person, and her anger festered, even making her ignore classmates who tried to speak to her.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, Fang Jinxiu caught a familiar figure entering the cafeteria.
The next moment, she strode forward.
No wonder Ruyuan had sensed something was going to happen today—she was about to run into an “old acquaintance.”
Fang Jinxiu had returned.
Almost the same timing as in the previous life.
Ruyuan had been so busy studying recently that she had nearly forgotten her.
“Lin Ruyuan, you actually broke off your engagement with my cousin,” Fang Jinxiu said, arms crossed, a mocking smile on her lips, her eyes sizing Ruyuan up with ill intent. “Tsk tsk, you wouldn’t happen to have gotten yourself a man better than my cousin, would you?”
Lin Ruyuan saw she was deliberately trying to provoke her.
In their previous life, Fang Jinxiu and she had never gotten along.
Their relationship as cousins-in-law had always been tense.
Meanwhile, Fang Jinxiu had a good relationship with Bai Jingzhu.
Although Fang Jinxiu wasn’t Zhou Aihua’s biological daughter, she had been raised almost like one.
After she was married off to Fang Shijun by the old man, she no longer had energy to antagonize Lin Ruyuan, being preoccupied with her in-law relations.
Later, she died young from illness—once a fiery, ambitious girl, gone quietly.
Fang Jinxiu disliked Lin Ruyuan simply because she felt Ruyuan wasn’t good enough for Fang Shijun. She envied her high-status match.
But Fang Jinxiu was only an adopted daughter of the Fang family—she could dream of marrying well, but no one would look at her!