When Ye Jianguo saw Su Xiulan follow Xie Lin'an into the bookstore, he was furious. He rushed to the spot where Su Xiulan had been squatting and punched the tree trunk hard, making the trunk sway slightly.

With nowhere to vent his anger and dissatisfaction, he punched the tree trunk hard again.

From this vantage point, one could see the bookshelves inside the bookstore. Wherever the man went, Su Xiulan followed. The two chatted and laughed, and Su Xiulan's eyes didn't want to look anywhere else.

Ye Jianguo was filled with doubt and anger. Just who was this man that Su Xiulan couldn't forget?

Inside the bookstore, Su Xiulan followed Xie Lin'an with light steps and said, "Xiuju is my younger sister. She used to be one of the top students in her class. Now she works at the train station as a broadcaster."

A hint of pride lingered on her face.

When she saw Xie Lin'an take an old Chinese textbook, she quickly stopped him, saying, "We have this book at home. We found some old books at the recycling center."

As she spoke, she gently pointed to the book.

Xie Lin'an nodded and put the duplicate book back upon hearing this.

Su Xiulan followed closely, describing their family situation in detail, which was similar to what Meng Shuyun had said.

"Teacher Xie!" Xiang Shanshan exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide open. "You've changed your glasses! I almost didn't recognize you. Are you here to buy books too?" As she spoke, she also noticed Su Xiulan standing beside her.

She naturally recognized Su Xiangyang's second sister, and in front of the teacher, she still politely addressed her as "Sister Xiulan".

Upon hearing Xiang Shanshan's voice, Su Xiulan sneered inwardly, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.

She already disliked Xiang Shanshan, who was quite scheming, and now even a perfunctory greeting felt superfluous.

In the past, Su Xiangyang always addressed her with "Shanshan this, Shanshan that," and he had taken advantage of her a lot to get things from her home. Almost every time he came to her house, it was for Shanshan.

"Thank you, Teacher Xie. Please come visit us at home sometime."

Su Xiulan forced a smile, her lips slightly upturned, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.

She picked up a stack of books with both hands, turned around and walked towards the cashier, paid the bill and left the bookstore.

Xie Lin'an exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Xiang Shanshan, wearing a polite smile on his face, but his eyes revealed a hint of aloofness.

After a few polite words, he turned and left the bookstore.

As Xiang Shanshan watched Su Xiulan's departing figure, her heart was filled with resentment. She bit her lower lip so hard that her teeth almost dug into it.

She knew she was not well-liked by Su Xiangyang's family, but she never expected that Su Xiulan wouldn't even bother to give her a basic greeting.

She stormed out of the bookstore, filled with resentment and bitterness, but she didn't notice a man suddenly appearing in front of her, blocking her way.

“If you know the man in the bookstore, tell me his information, and this five yuan will be your reward.”

Ye Jianguo's eyes were sinister, as if they could drip water, and he reeked of cigarette smoke, which mixed with his sweat, making people want to vomit.

He stared intently at Xiang Shanshan, as if trying to see through her with his eyes.

Xiang Shanshan subconsciously took a step back, her eyes scanning the man who had suddenly appeared.

He wasn't bad-looking; he was the kind of person whose appearance grew on you. He had some stubble on his chin and looked to be in his thirties, but his eyes revealed a chilling ruthlessness.

Seeing that Xiang Shanshan did not respond immediately, Ye Jianguo's face grew increasingly gloomy, and his tone was tinged with impatience: "You think it's not enough? Six yuan, that's the most I can give you. You're too greedy."

As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled five-yuan note from his pocket, added a one-yuan note, and waved it in front of Shanshan.

Xiang Shanshan stared at the few banknotes, quickly weighing her options in her mind.

After hesitating for a moment, she decisively took the money and then blurted out Xie Lin'an's situation: "He is my university teacher, 32 years old this year. Many female teachers at the school like him, but his family is a bit poor. That's all I know."

I guess you want to ask why he knows Sister Xiulan, right? I just overheard that he wanted to invite Teacher Xie to his home for tutoring.

She spoke very quickly, finishing her sentence in one breath, her eyes constantly observing Ye Jianguo's expression. She noticed that his brows were furrowing deeper and deeper, and she panicked. She quickly made an excuse and hurriedly ran away.

She felt as if this man could hurt her at any moment, and dared not stay for even a second longer.

As Xiang Shanshan ran, she secretly wondered to herself: Could it be that Su Xiulan was cheating on several men, and this man found out and wanted to take revenge on Su Xiulan?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but shudder.

However, the man was quite generous; six yuan was enough for her living expenses for a month.

Compared to Su Xiangyang's previous stinginess, giving only one or two yuan each time, this is so much better.

She couldn't help but recall what Meng Shuyun had once said: if a woman can hook up with a powerful and generous man, she won't have to struggle for the rest of her life. No matter how many books she reads, it can't compare to marrying well.

She felt conflicted, but gritted her teeth and shook off these distracting thoughts. She thought that Zhang Heng would be successful in the future, which would be good for her too. She just needed to endure two more years.

...

Evening, at the Meng family home. Dim yellow light shone through the windows.

Xie Lin'an carried some gifts and walked briskly to the Meng family's house.

He was filled with anticipation when he finally met the genius boy Meng Kangshun, whom he had been longing to see.

Upon seeing Meng Kangshun, he eagerly grabbed him and asked him many questions about his studies, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

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