With Zhao Er Ge helping with the school transfer and even treating them to a meal, Xu Fengshou felt he was a genuinely good person and decided to be honest with him.
Hearing the words “he likes my sister” and seeing the two chatting happily not far away, Zhao Hui said, “Go tell your sister that if we don’t leave now, the bank will close.”
Xu Fengshou obediently went over to remind his sister about the bank.
Liang Bei hadn’t finished speaking yet. “Xu Xia, are you really planning to settle in Jiangcheng and not come back?”
The Xu family hadn’t publicized the arranged marriage matter. If it fell through, it would damage Xu Xia’s reputation. They only told outsiders that Xu Xia was visiting relatives in Jiangcheng, so apart from Deputy Director Li from the Educated Youth Office, most people didn’t know Xu Xia was actually going for a matchmaking meeting.
Xu Xia told Liang Bei that her relatives had arranged a job for her in Jiangcheng. She knew Liang Bei liked her, but he lacked assertiveness, and his family looked down on her original self. That’s why Liang Bei always secretly sought out her original self.
For the original host, there were many suitors like this, but most were unreliable. Those with some capability had family complications, so Xu Xia was merely using Liang Bei to see if Zhao Hui cared.
“Yes, I’m not coming back,” Xu Xia said.
“But…” Liang Bei looked at Xu Xia, his heart feeling like it would explode. He genuinely liked Xu Xia. “Then… could you give me your address? Once my parents approve of us, I’ll come find you.”
Xu Xia didn’t expect Liang Bei to be so devoted. She glanced back at Zhao Hui in the distance, first sent her brother away, then turned to Liang Bei. “There’s no need, Liang Bei. We’ve always just been ordinary classmates. I never promised you anything, so you don’t need to cling to me. We’ll be far apart in the future, and you’ll meet someone more suitable.”
“But I only like you!Liang Bei excitedly grabbed Xu Xia’s wrist. He had liked her from the first moment he saw her. If not for his parents’ disapproval, they would have been together long ago. “Xu Xia, could you wait for me? I’ll… ah…”
Before Liang Bei could finish, a large, sturdy hand gripped his arm tightly. “Who are you?”
“Don’t lay hands on a woman. Do you believe I’ll break you?” Zhao Hui’s eyes were cold with clear anger.
Liang Bei had never encountered someone so fierce. The other man was half a head taller and nearly crushed his arm, forcing him to release Xu Xia. He then asked, “Xu Xia, who is he?””
After breaking free, Xu Xia walked away without looking back.
Was an explanation necessary?
No, they were unlikely to meet again. Thus, Xu Xia didn’t see Liang Bei’s hurt expression. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have cared.
However, Xu Xia was somewhat afraid Zhao Hui might ask about Liang Bei. Though she had wanted to test Zhao Hui’s feelings, she now felt like a cat caught stealing.
She occasionally glanced at Zhao Hui, noticing his expression remained normal, and couldn’t help but reflect: Was she not trying hard enough, or was her approach to flirting wrong? Did this man not care at all?
Xu Xia pondered this all the way to the bank. After depositing the money, she said to Zhao Hui, “I’ve taken care of all my matters. I’ll pack today, and we’ll meet at the train station tomorrow?”
Zhao Hui’s thick eyebrows rose slightly. It was still early—was she in a hurry to meet someone?
Had she not finished talking with Brother Xiao Liang?
Zhao Hui nodded. “Alright, but there’s something I should tell you. Your cousin came to see me yesterday.”
He deliberately paused, staring intently at Xu Xia, noticing a flicker of anger rise in her eyes before she quickly suppressed it.
The young woman’s eyes shifted unnaturally, clearly having formed a plan. Zhao Hui continued, “Her implication seemed to be that your behavior at home differs from how you act around us.”
“Us” referred to the Zhao family.
By this point, Xu Xia could no longer conceal her true nature. She wasn’t trained in acting—able to maintain a gentle and considerate facade at the Zhao residence but unable to keep it up once she returned to the Xu household.
However, she quickly found a justification for herself, saying indignantly, “Of course it’s different. You’ve seen what my aunt is like, and my cousin—she even went to you to speak ill of me, clearly trying to drive a wedge between us. With people like that around, if I weren’t a little fierce, how could I survive?”
Zhao Hui said, “That’s true.”
“But it’s different at the Zhao residence. Zhao Bobo and Auntie He treat me very well, caring for me in every way. I can tell they genuinely want the best for me. When others are good to me, of course I’m willing to be gentle in return.” Xu Xia looked at Zhao Hui with righteous conviction. “I don’t provoke others unless provoked—isn’t that the way to live?”
Seeing Xu Xia’s spiritedness, Zhao Hui actually smiled. He didn’t like weak, submissive people—they were too dull and uninteresting.
“Alright, I have things to attend to. I’ll see you tomorrow at the train station.” Xu Xia couldn’t swallow her anger. Since she was leaving anyway, and Zhao Hui already knew her true colors, she had no fear of him finding out.
“Are you going to confront your cousin?” Zhao Hui asked.
“That would be too boring. Since she came to you, I’ll go to her in-laws’ house. Might as well get a free meal tonight.” Just as Xu Xia was about to leave, she heard Zhao Hui say he would join her. She looked at him in surprise. “You… aren’t you afraid of losing face?”
Zhao Hui didn’t answer, only telling Xu Xia to lead the way.
Since Zhao Hui insisted on coming along, Xu Xia decided to take him directly to Xu Chun’s in-laws’ house. According to the plot in the book, Xu Chun’s father-in-law was a factory leader, and her mother-in-law, Qian Ru, was an elementary school teacher. Their family was quite well-off for the time, and both placed great importance on saving face.
At this point in the story, Xu Chun hadn’t yet qualified to join her husband in the army, so she lived with her in-laws. It was during this period that she managed to win over the elderly couple, ensuring they would always side with her in future conflicts.
When Xu Xia arrived at the Zhou residence, Xu Chun and her father-in-law were both at work, leaving only her mother-in-law, Qian Ru, at home.
Xu Xia had only met Qian Ru once, at Xu Chun’s wedding, but Qian Ru remembered her well and recognized her immediately.
“You’re Xiao Chun’s younger sister, aren’t you? I remember you—you’re such a pretty girl, I noted you back then. Are you here to see Xiao Chun?” Qian Ru warmly invited Xu Xia and her companions inside to sit. “Let me get you some sweetened water. Xiao Chun is at work and won’t be back for another two hours.”
Xu Xia said, “I’ve found a job in Jiangcheng and will be living there from now on. Since I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, I thought I’d come see how my sister is doing.”
Qian Ru brought over the sweetened water. She didn’t know about Xu Xia’s plans to move. “Why are you going to Jiangcheng all of a sudden?”
At this, Xu Xia introduced Zhao Hui. “It’s all thanks to Zhao Bobo’s help, and also the good karma my father accumulated for me and Fengshou, that I can have a job to support myself and my brother. After all, I’m not as capable as my cousin, who managed to find a job on her own. She’s truly remarkable—she came back just yesterday, right when I was about to sell the house.”
Xu Chun had always told her in-laws that her family was harmonious and happy, with no messy affairs.
Therefore, incidents like Xu Fengshou and Xu Jianshe fighting or Tian Mei seizing the house were never mentioned by Xu Chun to her husband’s family.
Qian Ru found it increasingly strange. She had never seen Xu Xia visit before, and this sudden appearance, with subtle implications in her words, felt off.
Something felt wrong to her.
“Xiao Chun is capable, but wasn’t she at work yesterday? What urgent matter made her go back to your home?” Qian Ru began probing.
“Some time ago, my cousin and my younger brother got into a fight. I rushed back because of this. My aunt said my brother is still young and asked us to temporarily give up the house for my two cousins to use for marriage. But you might not know—my brother is stubborn. He insisted the house was left by our parents and refused to budge, so the two brothers ended up fighting.”
As Xu Xia spoke, she sighed. “Ah, after our parents passed, my brother and I are the closest. I wasn’t there at the time, and thinking about it now still pains me, so I plan to take my brother away with me.”
Although Xu Xia didn’t explicitly say Tian Mei was seizing the house, using the word “give” instead, Qian Ru understood perfectly.
“But I thought, since we’re all family, it’s not good to hold grudges. I heard from Zhao Er Ge that my cousin went to see him last night. I was afraid she might have misunderstood, so I came specifically to clarify.” Xu Xia glanced at Zhao Hui as she spoke. “After all, my cousin is impeccable in how she handles people and situations—no one can find fault with her. I need to explain things to her face-to-face so it doesn’t affect our sisterly bond, don’t you agree?”
By this point, Qian Ru could no longer force a smile.
Her son wasn’t home, and her daughter-in-law had gone to see an unfamiliar young man at night—regardless of the reason, it was infuriating.
In Qian Ru’s impression, her daughter-in-law was well-behaved, sensible, and beyond reproach in her conduct. But since Xu Xia had come to their home, it seemed she wasn’t lying.
Qian Ru thought it over and could only conclude one thing: Xu Xia hadn’t come to see Xu Chun today but specifically to speak ill of her to Qian Ru.
Initially, she had agreed to Xu Chun marrying her son because she believed in Xu Chun’s character. If… Qian Ru’s mind was in turmoil. To avoid giving Xu Xia the satisfaction of seeing her upset, she made an excuse to go buy groceries. Yet Xu Xia didn’t move, seemingly not planning to leave.
“Auntie Qian, don’t mind us. Go ahead and buy groceries; we’ll wait here for my cousin to return. Don’t worry, we won’t touch anything in your home.” Xu Xia smiled sweetly at her.
Qian Ru had no choice but to force a smile and say, “Then stay for a meal, since it’s your first time here.”
“How embarrassing, but since you insist, I’ll shamelessly stay.” Xu Xia saw Qian Ru to the door. After closing it, she noticed Zhao Hui suppressing a smile and pretended to be frightened, taking a deep breath. “That scared me to death! It’s my first time doing something like this. Luckily, she values face and won’t argue, or I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Zhao Hui looked at Xu Xia. He could see through her little schemes at a glance but didn’t expose her. “If it really came to arguing, there’s no need to be afraid.”
“True, with you here, I’m not scared.” Xu Xia sat back down and continued drinking the sweet syrup. It was delicious—Qian Ru was quite generous.
A short while later, Qian Ru returned with fish and large pork bones. She had gone too late and couldn’t get any meat.
Xu Xia pretended to offer help, but Qian Ru, still concerned about appearances, told her to sit and relax. Xu Xia genuinely sat back down without lifting a finger.
When Xu Chun returned from work and saw the three extra people in the house, along with her mother-in-law’s displeased expression, she suddenly had a bad feeling, her heart pounding anxiously.
“It’s… it’s you. What brings you here today?” Xu Chun spoke stiffly, giving Xu Xia a meaningful look, signaling her to follow into the room.
But Xu Xia remained seated, squinting and smiling at Xu Chun, making her feel both flustered and afraid.