“Did you see what the person talking to the dean looked like?”
Zhou Fumei shook her head. “That person—well, how should I put it, it still feels very strange now. They were clearly talking, but that person was standing in the shadows around the corner the whole time. I couldn’t see his face, but I vaguely caught a glimpse of his figure.”
She gestured roughly. “Uh, a little thinner than me, and taller than the dean. Oh right, that person was wearing very elegant clothes, uh, you could say that? I…”
Zhou Fumei racked her brains to describe it, but no matter how she put it, she still found it very strange.
Very elegant? ” Then they’re not from here.”
“Fu Mei, wasn’t that person wearing a suit? Doesn’t it look like a high-end brand from Haishi?”
“Yes, yes, it’s a Haishi suit. They’re all high-necked and completely covered up, looking like they’re practically screaming ‘I’m rich.’ Wow, Lanlan is amazing, I didn’t even think of that.”
[I hope readers remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Network, for entertainment, ƚɯƙαɳ.ƈσɱ, super useful]
Haishi people, her family doesn’t know anyone from Haishi at all. However, if they do know anyone, it’s only—
“Comrade Xia Canglan, someone’s looking for you.”
Suddenly, someone from the nurses’ station called her.
Xia Canglan patted Zhou Fu Mei’s shoulder, leaned close to her ear,
“Fu Mei, thank you for telling me about this. After you leave, just pretend you don’t remember it, understand?”
After saying that, she went out. She knew Zhou Fu Mei was smart and would definitely understand what she said.
“Head Nurse, who’s looking for me—”
“Xia Canglan!!” A cold, stern male voice shouted from the doorway, his eyes practically scorning her.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to him at the door.
The man—Xia’s neighbor Song Rencai, an ordinary yet confident man—frowned, walked over, and tried to pull her hand to a secluded spot.
“Stop!” Xia Canglan snapped. “Song Rencai, are you out of your mind? Why are you calling me if you’re not sick or in pain? You even went to the hospital. Get out of here, don’t delay my work.”
With that, she turned to leave. Song Rencai stared at her in disbelief.
“You… Lanlan~”
“Lanlan, please call me Comrade Xia Canglan or Nurse Comrade. If you call me by my name again, I will report you to the G Committee for public indecent behavior. Everyone here can testify.”
The onlookers, engrossed in watching the drama unfold, froze, then awkwardly looked down at the floor, glancing up at the ceiling. ”
Wow,” they thought, “this place—it’s quite nice; this sky—it’s so white…”
Song Rencai, clutching his wound that was bleeding from what appeared to be a blow, walked out of the hospital. He couldn’t understand why everything had changed when he returned from a business trip.
Xia Zhaodi, who secretly loved him, was suddenly locked up, and
Xia Canglan, whom he liked, was glaring at him angrily. Was it really as his mother had said—that Xia Canglan no longer liked him?
The thought filled Song Rencai with disgust.
How could Xia Canglan… how could she know he liked her and then look down on him?
He was so outstanding, and he’d gotten a factory job at such a young age—why did she look down on him?
That afternoon, after saying goodbye to the others, Xia Canglan went home.
She hadn’t been gone long when she sensed someone following her.
She released her spiritual energy and saw Song Rencai hiding there sleazy. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Since reasoning with him wouldn’t work, let’s teach him a lesson.
At the Xia family home,
“I’m back.”
“Lanlan’s back! Perfect timing! Mom’s already cooked dinner. Come help Mom get the dishes and chopsticks so we can eat.”
Xia Canglan happily ran over to help, then called her grandfather and the others from the study to come out and eat.
Just then, a sharp shout erupted outside,
“Caicai, who beat you up like this? Who? Who dared to hit you?”
“Oh my god, your face is all swollen! Caicai, what happened? Didn’t you go see that girl Xia Canglan today? Could it be—she beat you up like this?”
“….. Mom, let’s go back quickly, it’s so embarrassing.”
With that, he covered his face and ran into the house, ignoring his mother’s cursing and swearing at everyone at the door. “Uh, is Song Rencai back?”
Xia’s mother cautiously glanced at her daughter, whose eyelids hadn’t even moved. “Lanlan, I heard he came to see you today?”
” Yes, he came. He immediately started scolding me in public. I yelled at him and he left. I don’t know what happened after that.”
Xia Canglan casually recounted what had happened that day. She figured even if she didn’t, Song Rencai’s mother would find out by tomorrow, and then everyone on the street would know.
“What? How could this person…” Xia’s mother was shocked. She hadn’t expected someone who seemed normal to do something so rude.
“I don’t think Song Rencai is a good person either. Lanlan, avoid him in the future. I’m afraid he might be mentally unstable,” Xia’s father said confidently.
After dinner,
Xia Canglan had just sat down to rest when her father winked at her, gesturing for her to come over.
Entering the study, she was surprised to see her grandfather there.
“Dad, did you call me here for something?”
“Lanlan’s here, sit down,” Xia’s father said, gesturing for his daughter to sit. “Lanlan, have you encountered any strange people or things lately?”
Xia Canglan raised an eyebrow. “Dad, you’re not going to tell me about Song Rencai, are you? Just say it directly, no need to beat around the bush.”
”What? Did you really hit Song Rencai, Lanlan?” Xia’s father asked in surprise.
Xia Canglan smiled, not answering, but her expression spoke volumes.
“Hahaha, not bad, calm under pressure. I don’t think that Song Rencai is a real man. Leaving aside his disregard for Lanlan’s reputation by going to the hospital to find her, he even dared to stalk her. Who else should we beat if not him?”
Grandpa Xia was the first to agree with his granddaughter’s actions. After speaking, he glared at his son, his eyes warning him, as if he would be punished with family law if he dared to say a word against it.
Xia’s father quickly raised his hands in surrender. “Dad, I haven’t said anything yet. Besides, I also think Lanlan did nothing wrong. You just spoke up earlier than me—cough cough.”
Under Grandpa Xia’s threatening glare, Xia’s father dared not continue.
“Dad, you didn’t want to talk about Song Rencai, so what do you want to say to me?” Xia Canglan asked curiously.
Mr. Xia hesitated for a moment.
“Lanlan, something bad might happen to our family in the near future. I hope that before that happens, you can get married or escape this place of trouble.”
But, in this era where even a letter of introduction is needed to travel far, where can a young girl in the prime of her life escape to alone?
The only way is to find someone to marry her off as soon as possible.
But Xia Canglan didn’t want that.
“Dad, why suddenly—did you receive some news?”