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Ye Wenyu was extremely helpless, so she had no choice but to close the Didi Chuxing app, put her phone back in her bag, and look at her mother.

Under the cover of night, her large eyes shone as black as ink. When Zhang Susu saw her daughter's eyes, her heart was filled with anxiety and panic. She was anxious because the child was ignorant and was about to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to marry a wealthy man. She was also panicked because her family was so poor, how could they have raised such an arrogant and aloof child? Ever since she was a child, when people saw Xiaoyu, they would say that she was not her daughter. She was so beautiful that she didn't look like a poor family's child, but rather like a young lady from a super rich family. Today's behavior made her, as a mother, feel a little guilty. If her family were a little richer than they were now, she wouldn't be so eager to sell her daughter and cling to this opportunity.

I've been staying at the Cai family's house for too long. It's only the Lantern Festival now, and it's even a bit early to call it early spring. So, even though it's only a little past five o'clock, the sky has darkened, and it's pitch black all around. You can't see your hand in front of your face. The evening breeze is blowing gently, like a steel knife scraping through bones, making you feel a chill.

Ye Wenyu was very fortunate that the deep, dark night prevented her mother from seeing the expression on her face.

Zhang Susu suddenly asked her, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Ye Wenyu froze, thinking of Cai Wenchuan and then Lin Tingfeng, her mind racing. She softly said, "No." She was telling the truth. In romance novels, the female lead is always surrounded by countless men, like stars around the moon. But in real life, in her impoverished existence, only two men appeared. One had changed his mind and broken up with her; the other was a married older man with a family.

Whether in her past life or this one, having lived two lifetimes, there are only these two men who can be considered as having officially pursued her.

The north wind blew softly, and the weather grew even colder.

She's so pitiful. She really wants to start a new relationship and forget the past, but fate doesn't give her that chance.

Zhang Susu gave a cold laugh and angrily asked, "Then why were you so cold and rude to Uncle Cai and Aunt Cai?!" Her tone suddenly became stern. Previously, she had thought that Shufen's refusal of Shufen's request was because Shufen had a boyfriend in college, which was understandable. If she had a boyfriend whose family was better off than the Cai family, she could reconsider; if she had a boyfriend whose family was worse off, she could break up with him first and then talk to Cai Wenchuan. If her refusal was due to having a boyfriend, Zhang Susu still thought her daughter was like her—reliable. Now, it seemed that Shufen didn't even have a boyfriend, yet she refused a family with such good conditions—was she crazy?

A surge of anger rose in Zhang Susu's heart.

Ye Wenyu was stunned. Was she being cold and rude? They had only just met, and she was already making unreasonable demands. She was highly educated and capable of working and supporting herself. Why would she marry someone who didn't love her? To become a tool for his family to get their son out of his misery? Besides, she didn't have that ability!

Her wise choice was seen as cold and rude by her mother.

Her mother was truly blinded by greed; all she saw was money.

Ye Wenyu composed herself, glanced at the pitch-black night, and said calmly, "Mom, I wasn't cold or rude. You saw what happened at the Cai family's house today. They want me to be their daughter-in-law, how could I possibly agree to that so easily?"

"Why can't I agree?!" Zhang Susu's voice was even louder, like a thunderclap in the quiet night. She stood with her hands on her hips, furious, and demanded, "What are you thinking?! You don't have a boyfriend, you're almost a junior in college, almost twenty! Do you think time will pass slowly? Do you think you have plenty of time to pick and choose, that something better is always waiting for you? Let me tell you, five years, ten years, it'll be over in the blink of an eye, even a lifetime will pass in the blink of an eye. I don't even understand how I've grown old so quickly, stuck in this messy, chaotic life, unable to escape..." "There's a chance to start over!" Zhang Susu's eyes reddened and her voice choked as she cursed. She had married into her second marriage with high hopes for a happy life. However, after two or three years, she suddenly realized that second marriage was nothing special. Old Wang treated her well, and she was still happy, but she was extremely tired. She was constantly busy with his home and his two sons, with no free time. Sometimes, she would even miss the quiet days when she was raising her daughter alone in the middle of the night. Although no man loved her, it was easy and leisurely.

Ye Wenyu was stunned.

Zhang Susu, like volcanic lava, finally found an outlet after much struggle, unleashing a barrage of insults: "You think you're young, beautiful, and highly educated? You think that once you graduate, some wonderful man will love and pursue you?! Let me tell you, in a lifetime, opportunities to change one's destiny are few and far between! For some, there's never a chance, like me. I divorced your father, raised you, and then married your Uncle Wang. Did I change my destiny? For others, there's only one, like the Cai family, who changed their impoverished fate by becoming the Lin family's steward. So, don't be delusional, thinking there are better men waiting for you. I'm telling you, there aren't. Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever. You think you can choose any man, but men won't choose you, as long as you're pretty and your family is poor?" "It's okay, you're wrong. Men are just as picky when looking for a partner. They just don't say it out loud. They also consider whether your family is poor, how heavy your burdens are, how much dowry you have, whether you have any burdens, whether you're from the countryside or the city, and whether your parents are divorced. Like my family, we couldn't afford a single dowry, and our parents divorced when you were young, leaving us without a home. What kind of good family do you think you could marry into? Now the Cai family knows our family inside and out, yet they repeatedly say they don't look down on us. Wen Chuan is a very good person; he's a professor at Q University, handsome and talented. His father bought him a house, and he treats you well. With the help of the Lin family, they're quite powerful and influential in S City. Marrying Wen Chuan and becoming their Cai family's daughter-in-law is like a godsend! Are you stupid? Why are you being so cold to me today?!"

Enraged, Zhang Susu reached out and poked Ye Wenyu's forehead. She tried desperately to reason with her daughter, her voice hoarse with effort.

Ye Wenyu took a step back and finally understood that her mother had deliberately gotten off the bus with her at Q University in order to scold her and wake her up.

She reached out and gently touched her forehead, where her mother had poked her. Her mother, having lived a long life, possessed wisdom; she saw her beloved daughter missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and was thus reminding her.