Fortunately, the neighborhood office had already prepared introduction letters for the educated youths. Lin Xiaxia took hers to a nearby guesthouse and spent a few cents to stay there for the night.
That evening, under the dim light, she carefully sorted through the things in her storage space. She picked out some canned food, cloth, rice, and grain that wouldn’t spoil easily and packed them into a sturdy cloth bag.
She planned to mail them ahead to the educated youth station in the countryside. That way, when it was time to leave, she would only need to carry her bedding, saving herself a lot of effort.
Early the next morning, she went to the post office and mailed the package. After paying the postage, the little money she had left dwindled even further.
She lowered her head and counted the few small-denomination bills and grain coupons remaining in her hand, wondering how she could stretch them over the next two days, when her surroundings suddenly darkened as someone blocked the light in front of her.
Lin Xiaxia instinctively stepped to the left.
The shadow moved left with her.
She stepped to the right.
The shadow followed again, stubbornly blocking her path.
“Hey, what’s your problem? Are you doing this on purpose?”
She raised her head, but her words abruptly stopped halfway.
Standing before her was a young man wearing a white shirt beneath a gray knitted sweater. He was tall and straight-backed, with a cold, distant expression that warned strangers to stay away.
Wei Changming!
Lin Xiaxia’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged.
Wei Changming frowned as he looked her up and down, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny.
“You’re Lin Xiaxia.”
“You came all the way here specifically to find me. Don’t tell me you don’t even know who I am?” Lin Xiaxia curled her lips, her tone far from polite.
“I have something to discuss with you.”
Wei Changming’s voice was flat, as though he were talking about something completely insignificant.
“I’m busy.”
Lin Xiaxia rejected him without hesitation and turned to leave.
But Wei Changming stepped forward and reached out to block her path.
“What are you doing?”
Lin Xiaxia took half a step back and looked at him warily.
“It’s broad daylight. If you keep blocking me, I’ll start shouting that you’re harassing a woman!”
Wei Changming’s brows furrowed even more deeply. Her words seemed to offend him, and his voice carried obvious disgust.
“Why are you so vulgar?”
“So what if I’m vulgar?”
Lin Xiaxia curled her lips into a cold smile, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
“What the hell does it have to do with you? Did my vulgarity eat your family’s rice or spend your family’s money? A good dog doesn’t block the road. Move!”
She tried to walk around him again, but Wei Changming stopped her with another sentence, his voice deeper than before.
“I’m Wei Changming, your fiancé.”
Lin Xiaxia stared at him as though she had just heard the greatest joke in the world before letting out a derisive laugh.
“Are you out of your mind? Since when are you my fiancé? Does Xue Baozhu know you’re standing here saying this to me?”
She remembered very clearly that in her previous life, Xue Baozhu had relied on the Wei family’s connections to live comfortably in the city. She and Wei Changming had long been regarded as a couple by everyone in their social circle.
So why had Wei Changming suddenly come to tell her that he was her fiancé?
What exactly was he planning?
“You know who I am?”
A trace of surprise flashed across Wei Changming’s face. Apparently, he hadn’t expected her to recognize him.
“Of course I do. So what?”
Lin Xiaxia raised an eyebrow, her tone casual.
Wei Changming cleared his throat and adopted a businesslike expression.
“Although Baozhu and I were betrothed when we were children, the engagement was originally an agreement between the Wei and Xue families. Strictly speaking, since you’re the Xue family’s biological daughter, you should have been the one engaged to me.”
He paused, seemingly considering his words carefully.
“As long as you promise not to make things difficult for Baozhu in the future and never bother me about this engagement, I can give you money.”
He had no other choice. His grandfather was stubborn and old-fashioned, insisting that the engagement had been made with the Xue family and demanding that he marry the Xue family’s biological daughter.
But after seeing the kind of woman Lin Xiaxia was, Wei Changming was unwilling to marry her no matter what.
That was why he had come to settle the matter personally.
Lin Xiaxia was delighted inside.
What perfect timing!
She had just been worrying about money, and now someone had practically delivered a fortune right to her doorstep.
Her expression, however, remained perfectly calm.
She deliberately drew out her words.
“One thousand yuan.”
“That’s outrageous!”
Wei Changming’s face instantly darkened, clearly stunned by the amount.
“One thousand yuan? Aren’t you asking for too much?”
“Are you even a man?”
Lin Xiaxia immediately shot back, her eyes full of ridicule.
“You’re the one who told me to name my price. Now that I’ve given you a number, you’re hesitating. Don’t tell me the mighty Wei family can’t even afford a thousand yuan?”
She shrugged.
“If you won’t pay, then there’s nothing I can do. I guess you’ll just have to suffer the misfortune of marrying me. After all, according to you, this engagement should rightfully belong to me.”
“In your dreams!”
Wei Changming reacted as though she’d stepped on his tail, his face turning livid.
“I would never fall for a woman like you in this lifetime!”
“Then pay me.”
Lin Xiaxia held out her hand with an indifferent expression.
“Either give me the money or marry me. Pick one.”
She knew perfectly well that the old master of the Wei family was stubborn and insisted on honoring the original engagement.
There was no way Wei Changming could escape paying her.
Wei Changming glared at her, his chest rising and falling heavily. After a long moment, he finally gritted his teeth.
“I can give you the money, but you have to write me a letter of guarantee. You must promise that you’ll never cause trouble for Baozhu and never bring up the engagement again.”
He paused before adding, “And preferably, write a statement declaring that you’ve severed all ties with the Xue family.”
Lin Xiaxia’s eyes darted thoughtfully before she smiled like a cat that had just stolen a fish.
“That’ll cost extra.”
“You!”
Wei Changming was so furious that he nearly choked on his words.
“How much more do you want?”
“Another thousand.”
Lin Xiaxia raised one finger, her tone firm and leaving no room for negotiation.
“The letter of guarantee and the statement severing ties with the Xue family—two thousand yuan in total. Not a cent less.”
She smiled.
“Otherwise, we can always go to your house and talk this through properly. We can ask your grandfather to judge for himself and decide who this engagement really belongs to.”
“You… you’re absolutely shameless!”
Lin Xiaxia smiled smugly.
“Whether I’m shameless or not doesn’t matter. As long as I get the money, I’m happy.”
Wei Changming’s expression changed several times. Finally, as though he had made an enormous sacrifice, he pulled a thick envelope from his pocket.
He counted the money inside, added several more bills from his wallet, then shoved the envelope into Lin Xiaxia’s hands.
“Two thousand yuan. It’s yours. Write the guarantee and the statement right now!”
Lin Xiaxia accepted the envelope and weighed it in her hand.
After taking out the money and carefully counting it, she smiled in satisfaction.
She found a stone step by the roadside and sat down before pulling some paper and a pen from her bag.
She had deliberately bought them yesterday.
Who would have thought they would come in handy so soon?
Her handwriting was quick and decisive.
First, she wrote the letter of guarantee, clearly stating that she voluntarily gave up her engagement to Wei Changming and would never use any excuse to harass Wei Changming or Xue Baozhu in the future.
Then she wrote a statement severing all ties with the Xue family, declaring that from that day forward, she had nothing to do with Xue Jianguo or Zhang Shufen. Whether they grew old or fell ill, became rich or poor, lived well or suffered hardship, none of it would have anything to do with her.
After finishing, she carefully read both documents again and pressed her fingerprint onto them.
Only after confirming that everything was in order did she hand them to Wei Changming.
Wei Changming read the documents several times. Once he was certain there were no problems, he carefully folded them and tucked them into his pocket.
He gave Lin Xiaxia one last complicated look before turning around and quickly walking away.
Lin Xiaxia held the thick, heavy envelope in her hands, practically bursting with joy.
There was only one small problem.
Having money without ration coupons was frustrating.
Even with all this cash, there wasn’t much she could actually spend it on.