Jiang Xiuli couldn’t stand it anymore. She came from a well-off family and was an only child, doted on since she was young.
Lin Yuxi was someone she had already claimed as a friend—there was no way she’d let her be bullied like this.
“Yuxi, let’s go eat at the cafeteria. My treat—we’ll have meat.”
In the past, Jiang Xiuli had seen Lin Yuxi gnawing on dry buns and coarse cornbread at noon. A few times, she had invited her to eat at the cafeteria together, but Lin Yuxi had never agreed.
“Sure, let’s go eat meat.”
To her surprise, Lin Yuxi agreed readily this time.
The group went to the cafeteria. Jiang Xiuli ordered two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a large bowl of egg drop soup.
Meanwhile, the Lin sisters each got a single vegetable dish. Usually, cafeteria vegetables tasted good enough to them—much better than the oil-less dishes at home.
But today, looking at the four dishes and one soup in front of Lin Yuxi, especially the glossy, red-braised pork shimmering with oil, they suddenly found their own food tasteless.
“What’s so great about it? It’s not even her own money. A penniless nobody.”
“Exactly. At her age, she’s probably only seen money that one time she got beaten up. What’s there to show off?”
Lin Yuwei and Lin Yuzhu muttered under their breath, as if putting Lin Yuxi down was the only way to assert their superiority.
Lin Yuxi and Jiang Xiuli sat at a nearby table, ignoring them, chatting as they ate.
“Yuxi, eat more meat,” Jiang Xiuli kept putting pieces of meat into Lin Yuxi’s bowl.
Over the past few days, Lin Yuxi had been cooking meat in her space every so often, so she didn’t crave it much—but Jiang Xiuli’s gesture still warmed her heart.
In her previous life, Jiang Xiuli had also been her good friend. Unfortunately, her grades weren’t great, and she didn’t get into high school.
It wasn’t until after Lin Yuxi graduated from high school that she met Jiang Xiuli again. By then, Jiang Xiuli had followed her parents to the county town—Jiangcheng.
At the time, Jiang Xiuli saw how exhausting Lin Yuxi’s temporary job was. Coincidentally, a cousin of hers had been admitted to university and wanted to sell her job position.
Jiang Xiuli pleaded and even promised certain conditions on her father’s behalf before her relatives agreed to sell the job to Lin Yuxi for 500 yuan.
Lin Yuxi only learned about all this later. Yet in the end, she let Jiang Xiuli down—the job was given by her father to her second cousin.
Later, when Jiang Xiuli found out about her relationship with Xu Jinghua, she tried to persuade her. But Lin Yuxi had been completely blinded, unable to listen to anyone.
After several failed attempts and even losing her temper at her, Jiang Xiuli eventually married and moved to the provincial capital. The two gradually lost contact.
More than ten years later, Lin Yuxi met her again while doing business in the provincial city. By then, Jiang Xiuli had already divorced.
She said her husband had been abusive. They divorced just a few years into the marriage.
As an only daughter, her life wasn’t bad after returning to her parents’ home. But her mother was very traditional, and divorce was rare back then.
Her mother couldn’t accept it and always blamed herself for not choosing a good husband for her daughter.
She became depressed day after day and passed away from illness within a few years—this became a lifelong pain in Jiang Xiuli’s heart.
She said her mother’s greatest wish had been for her to get into university.
But she hadn’t even gotten into high school. Otherwise, she would have caught the restoration of the college entrance exam.
If she had gone to high school and then university, how happy her mother would have been…
Maybe then she wouldn’t have married that abusive man, wouldn’t have divorced, and her mother wouldn’t have died.
Looking at the lively and cheerful Jiang Xiuli in front of her, and comparing her to the worn, prematurely aged woman she had seen years later, it was hard to believe they were the same person.
“Yuxi, what are you thinking about? Eat!” Jiang Xiuli added another piece of meat to her bowl.
“Xiuli, do you want to go to high school?” Lin Yuxi asked.
“I don’t really mind. With my grades, I won’t get in anyway. But my mom really hopes I can go—even to university.”
“But there aren’t any universities to attend right now. Even if I finish high school, I’ll still have to find a job. If I don’t go, I’ll work once I’m old enough anyway,” Jiang Xiuli said.
“But what if the college entrance exam is restored in a couple of years? You need to attend high school first to even have a chance at university. Otherwise, even if it’s restored, you won’t be able to take it.”
Of course, Lin Yuxi couldn’t directly tell her that the college entrance exam would be reinstated in two years. She could only encourage her to aim for high school.
“Even if it is restored, I still wouldn’t pass. Forget university—I can’t even get into high school,” Jiang Xiuli said dejectedly.
“I’ll tutor you. There’s still more than a year before the entrance exam. As long as you’re willing to work hard, you can do it.”
She felt grateful for the warmth Jiang Xiuli had shown her in her previous life, and she cherished it deeply.
Having been reborn, she wanted not only to change her own tragic fate but also her friend’s—to help her avoid marrying an abusive man, prevent her mother’s early death, and spare her a lifetime of regret.
“You’re not offering to tutor me just because I treated you to a meal, are you? Tutoring is exhausting. No need, Yuxi.”
Jiang Xiuli had invited her because she considered her a friend—she didn’t want to burden her in return.
She knew Lin Yuxi had to do chores after school every day. Adding tutoring on top of that would be too tiring.
“What are you thinking? I want to tutor you because you’re my friend. Don’t you want us to go to high school together?”
Jiang Xiuli imagined the two of them studying together in the county town… it actually sounded nice.
“Can I really do it?” she asked, lacking confidence.
“You won’t know unless you try. There’s still over a year left. Oh, right,” Lin Yuxi lowered her voice, “I’ll treat you to a meal tomorrow. No refusing.”
“But… you…” Jiang Xiuli wanted to ask where she’d get the money, but she was afraid of hurting her pride.
“Don’t worry, I have money. A few days ago, I caught a nest of rabbits in the mountains—six of them. I sold them on the black market for over twenty yuan.”
“You know my family situation—I didn’t tell anyone. So I can afford to treat you. I don’t plan to eat dry buns anymore.”
“I want to eat at the cafeteria every day from now on. Worst case, I’ll go to the mountains more often during breaks. But you’ll have to cover for me—if anyone asks, just say you paid.”
Lin Yuxi whispered as she discussed it with Jiang Xiuli, who readily agreed.
“That’s easy. Since you’re tutoring me, if anyone asks, I’ll say I’m treating you to thank you.”
“But Yuxi, that feels a bit unfair to you. How about I just treat you every day instead?”
“If my mom finds out you’re helping me with my studies, she’d definitely be more than happy to treat you to meals.”
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