Compared to the Zhou family, the Xia family’s conditions were somewhat better, but they could only afford to eat meat occasionally. Having gone hungry until now, being able to eat this large bowl of rice mixed with meat and vegetables, warm and satisfying, made Xia Weiming feel thoroughly comfortable all over.
Thinking that this comfort was brought by the young man sitting opposite him, he put away his cold expression and decided to focus on eating for the time being.
A flicker of amusement flashed in Zhou Qingbai’s eyes. Different people required different approaches, and it was clear he had found the right way to deal with Xia Weiming.
When Xia Weiming was halfway through his meal, Zhou Qingbai spoke up: “Dad, who would have thought that by a twist of fate, Yingying and I would end up together? Honestly, this is something I never dared to imagine before. Everyone in the surrounding villages knows that Xia Ying, the daughter of Xia Weiming, the village chief of Xiajia Village, is both beautiful and capable. Everyone says that being able to become your son-in-law would be like having smoke rise from the ancestral graves!”
As soon as Zhou Qingbai started speaking, Xia Weiming’s face darkened, but by the time he finished, although Xia Weiming didn’t smile, his expression relaxed, and a look of pride appeared on his face.
Was there really such a thing?
Being able to marry his daughter was like having smoke rise from the ancestral graves?
Xia Weiming restrained his smile but couldn’t help boasting: “Exactly, just look at whose daughter she is! I’m not exaggerating—if our Yingying had been born into another family, she definitely wouldn’t be as popular as she is now!”
The implication was that Xia Ying’s current popularity was his doing.
Zhou Qingbai nodded in agreement: “Who says otherwise? Not only are you the village chief with a solid family background, but you also excel at educating the younger generation. You probably don’t know, but Auntie at home has been praising Yingying to the skies. She even said that once Yingying returns home after the third day of marriage, we must prepare generous gifts to properly thank you, our in-law!”
Xia Weiming couldn’t help but wave his hand and laugh: “No need to be so formal, no need.”
Xia Ying: “…”
Something felt a bit off.
Shouldn’t they be at each other’s throats, arguing fiercely? She had even prepared herself for the worst—if things went badly, she would break ties with her father today and secretly find her mother later to persuade her to divorce.
But now…
Not only was her father not angry, but he was also chatting with Zhou Qingbai, even with a smile on his face!
However, this was actually better. Without breaking ties, she would have more opportunities to persuade him.
Then, Zhou Qingbai let out a long sigh and continued: “Dad, to be honest with you, after talking with Yingying today, I really feel…” He deliberately paused, seeing Xia Weiming’s curiosity piqued as he leaned forward, before continuing: “You probably don’t know this, but in our family, it’s not just Yiming who is good at studying. Back when I was in school, my grades were no worse than his. As for why they weren’t better, I think you understand. Yiming only focuses on studying and does nothing else, but besides studying, I had to help my father with work both at home and in the fields. I had much less time to study, so in the end, I could only keep up with him. Later… my father wasn’t as capable as you. Our family was poor, and even scraping together all our savings was only enough for one person to continue studying, so I had to drop out.”
Xia Weiming nodded understandingly. As the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. It was only natural for the Zhou family to make Zhou Qingbai drop out instead of Zhou Yiming.
“But Yingying told me that you especially admire scholars, and if I wanted to study, you would definitely support me, right?” Zhou Qingbai asked. Without waiting for Xia Weiming to respond, he quickly dangled the bait, “Don’t worry, as long as you fund my education, I promise to treat Yingying well for the rest of my life. I’ll never mess around with mistresses or let anyone come and split my connections and wealth. As long as you support my studies, you and Mom will be like my own parents, and little brother will be like my own sibling. I’ll take care of everything for the Xia family from now on. I can even guarantee you this: if you fund my education, the university I get into will definitely be better than the one Yiming gets into! This isn’t something I can lie about—you’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
This was subtly throwing shade at Zhou Yiming.
Although he hadn’t known about Zhou Yiming and Jiao Qinqin before, Xia Weiming was aware that Zhou Yiming didn’t want to marry Xia Ying. And earlier, even though Zhou Zheng had tried to cover it up, Xia Weiming could read between the lines and guess what had happened.
He hadn’t thought much of it at first, but now that Zhou Qingbai mentioned it…
Yes, a person’s resources are limited. Even if Zhou Yiming really did become a big shot, he wasn’t that fond of Yingying, and if he had mistresses, he’d have to help them too. Once the resources were divided up, there wouldn’t be much left for the Xia family.
He looked up at Zhou Qingbai, who wore a sincere expression.
But Zhou Qingbai was different. He didn’t have the chance to study. If Xia Weiming helped him, he’d be his great benefactor! And… he seemed to really like Yingying. Well, of course—Yingying was his daughter, so beautiful and sensible. Only a blind man wouldn’t like her.
If he chose Zhou Qingbai, he’d get all of Zhou Qingbai’s resources.
But the key question was: Did he really have the knowledge? Could he actually get into university?
Xia Weiming asked, “But the thing is, it seems like you haven’t studied in a long time?”
Zhou Qingbai remained composed. “Yes, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to take the college entrance exam this year. Fortunately, I never completely gave up on my books these past few years, and with the solid foundation I built earlier, if I review for another year, I’m sure I can get into university.”
Zhou Qingbai was acting too convincingly.
Since he was putting in so much effort, Xia Ying naturally had to lend a hand. “That’s right, Dad. Zhou Qingbai is really smart. He has a lot of books in his room—from middle school to high school. If you don’t believe me, I can take you to see them.”
This was a big decision, and Xia Weiming really did want to go check, but Yan Lirong pulled him back. “Yingying’s dad, I think Qingbai is a good match. He and our Yingying look perfect together. And he’s not like Zhou Yiming, who can’t lift a finger or carry a load. Just look at his build—you can tell he’s someone you can rely on. Now he even has the ability to get into university. I say we go with him and make the best of this mistake.”
The key was that he seemed to really like Yingying, unlike Zhou Yiming, who, even though he hadn’t said much when they met, had an attitude that was worlds apart from Zhou Qingbai’s.
Comparing the two, Zhou Qingbai was clearly the better choice.
Xia Weiming was already leaning toward him, and seeing that both his wife and daughter supported the idea, his suspicion toward Zhou Qingbai lessened. Still, he had to make sure one last time: “You really can get into university? What if you don’t?”
Wouldn’t he end up losing both money and his daughter?
Xia Ying immediately felt a bit nervous, but before she could speak up to help, Zhou Qingbai laughed: “Dad, let’s not bother with all that empty talk. You’re the village chief, and you have a brother who serves as the town’s Party secretary. It shouldn’t be hard for you to find someone knowledgeable to test me, right? How about this—we pick a time and have someone come test me. Then everything will be clear! How could I dare lie about something like this? There’s no way I could fool you!”
Quite confident!
So it must be true—this couldn’t be faked.
But Xia Ying worried that Xia Weiming would actually find someone to test Zhou Qingbai. In both lifetimes, she had never heard of Zhou Qingbai having any talent for studying. If he were exposed, it would all be over.
Just then, the door to the East Wing Room, which had been tightly shut all this time, suddenly swung open. Zhou Yiming, having heard everything, could no longer hold back. Shaking off Jiao Qinqin, who was desperately clutching him, he rushed out and pointed at Zhou Qingbai, shouting: “Bullshit! How many years has it been since you last studied? You didn’t even finish high school—what college entrance exam are you talking about? Studying for a year and getting into college, even scoring better than me? Spouting such big lies, aren’t you afraid your tongue will snap?”
Zhou Qingbai stood up, the smile on his face vanishing completely in an instant.
But he remained standing calmly, while Zhou Yiming opposite him was flushed with anger, his face twisted and snarling, panting heavily as if he were about to leap on the spot.
The contrast between the two was stark. Yan Lirong’s heart immediately leaned toward Zhou Qingbai. She stood up as well, tugging at Xia Weiming’s sleeve: “Yingying’s dad…”
Xia Weiming turned his head, but his gaze fell on Jiao Qinqin, who had followed Zhou Yiming out. With a cold expression, he asked: “Zhou Yiming, what exactly is going on here? You’re the one supposed to marry my Yingying, so why were you in a room with another woman?”
Zhou Yiming froze, words tumbling out without thought: “Isn’t Xia Ying also with Zhou Qingbai?”
How dare he argue!
Xia Weiming’s expression darkened further: “They were outside, while the two of you—a man and a woman alone—were inside! I heard something happened last night, so have the two of you been in that room since then? Hah, your parents are really something!”
As he spoke, his sharp gaze swept over both of them.
Though he was only a small village chief, and from another village at that, in the eyes of the villagers, he was a formidable figure. Zhou Yiming could still hold his ground, but Jiao Qinqin, frightened, hid behind him, and Zhou Yiming instinctively reached out to shield her.
Seeing all this, Xia Weiming’s resolve wavered completely.
Yan Lirong was not as calm or thoughtful as he was. The moment she saw Zhou Yiming’s actions, her blood boiled with rage: “Enough! If Yingying was with Zhou Qingbai, it must have been because you set her up! My Yingying isn’t the type to fool around! But you—what were you doing hiding in a room with her? And now you’re protecting her? Who would believe there’s nothing going on between you?”
“Hmph, no need to say more. The two of them are definitely not clean!” Xia Weiming added.
Zhou Yiming panicked completely.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This wasn’t how he had imagined things unfolding.
He had envisioned that once he and Jiao Qinqin became an unchangeable fact by forcing themselves together, his parents would have no choice but to silently accept it. As for Xia Ying and Zhou Qingbai waking up together, Xia Ying would likely despise Zhou Qingbai, crying and panicking, unsure of what to do. He knew why the Xia family wanted to marry Xia Ying to him—they saw a promising future in him. Once the incident occurred, even without him saying a word, the Xia family would step in to persuade Xia Ying.
Of course, he never intended to let Xia Ying leave. In fact, he had long planned for her to become his wife.
However, the one he truly loved in his heart was Qinqin. Although she would have to endure the temporary lack of a proper status, she would be the only one in his heart. He believed she would surely agree, as his future would undoubtedly have a place for her.
He had planned it all perfectly—he wanted the money, and he wanted the person too. A perfect outcome.
But why had things turned out like this?
In reality, in his previous life, his plans had come true. Back then, Yan Lirong had been even angrier than she was today, but no matter how much she loved her daughter, it was useless—Xia Weiming simply wouldn’t listen to her. Zhou Yiming’s attitude at that time had been far worse than it was now. Yet, even under those circumstances, Xia Weiming, for the sake of future benefits, had not hesitated to beat his wife and force Xia Ying to accept the situation.
The reason things had changed now was simply because Xia Weiming believed he could gain benefits from someone else.
Such people were actually easy to deal with—like dogs obsessed with meat bones, they would run wherever the meat bones were. And in this world, Zhou Yiming wasn’t the only meat bone.
The commotion in the living room had long since alerted Zhou Zheng and Xiang Meilan. Hearing the conversation, Zhou Zheng slumped his shoulders helplessly. In just the time it took to eat a few bites of food, the situation had become irreparable.
Xiang Meilan, however, couldn’t tolerate the Xia family’s attitude. She hurriedly said, “It’s a misunderstanding! Everything is a misunderstanding! My Yiming is also a victim, really. He… he and Jiao Qinqin have nothing between them. It was all Jiao Qinqin’s shameless scheming. My Yiming is innocent—he never even touched her!”
Saying this now was nothing but a blatant lie.
No one paid her any attention. Only Jiao Qinqin couldn’t bear it and clung to Zhou Yiming, crying.
Having just become husband and wife with Jiao Qinqin, and with the person attacking her being his own mother, Zhou Yiming, no matter how heartless he was, instinctively wanted to defend Jiao Qinqin: “Mom, can you stop talking about Qinqin like that?”
Xiang Meilan was about to go mad with anger.
This foolish child—couldn’t he see the situation clearly?
Zhou Qingbai laughed out loud. Seeing Xiang Meilan glare at him immediately, he said, “Zhou Yiming is a victim? Then why, after being victimized, did he keep hiding in the room with the person who harmed him? Besides, Zhou Yiming’s stamina might not compare to mine, but he’s not so weak that he couldn’t resist being pinned down by Jiao Qinqin, right? Or was he… forced by a woman?”
Forced… by a woman?
“Zhou Qingbai, what nonsense are you talking about?! Qinqin and I are in love—we truly love each other!” Zhou Yiming’s fair face flushed bright red with anger, and he charged straight at Zhou Qingbai.
Zhou Qingbai’s eyes sharpened, and he clenched his fist.
However, halfway there, Xia Weiming intercepted him. With a burly build and years of labor under his belt, he had considerable strength. He stopped Zhou Yiming with a light push, causing him to stagger back a few steps before falling to the ground with a thud.
“Yiming!” Xiang Meilan screamed, rushing over to him.
Xia Weiming looked at his own hand, somewhat unable to believe that Zhou Yiming could be so weak. He immediately said to Zhou Zheng, “Since things have come to this, our Xia family naturally won’t force anyone. If you want Zhou Yiming to marry into the Jiao family, go ahead! After all, the two of them are in love and truly care for each other! Now that our Yingying has become your eldest son’s wife, from now on, your eldest son is my son-in-law. If he wants to study, you as his father may not be able to help much, but I hope you won’t stand in his way. Otherwise, if my son-in-law suffers any injustice, I, as his father-in-law, can’t just stand by and watch!”
“Alright… alright,” Zhou Zheng replied.
The fault lay with the Zhou family—what else could he say besides agreeing?
Both sides were equally dear to him.
And besides… was his Qingbai really cut out for studying?