She stared blankly at Lin Jianxue, her mind in a mess. After a long while, she finally understood the shocking news, and then a bigger doubt emerged.

She looked at Lin Jianxue's impeccable face and stammered, "But...but, Xiaoxue, you look...so ugly..."

She really couldn't understand it.

"Isn't he... still not moved? He still wants you... to chase him?"

Lin Jianxue Lin Jianxue listened to Zhou Mei's reasonable question and sighed deeply.

"Ah... To be honest, I only found out about this recently." Her voice was a little depressed. "He... seems to have a sweetheart."

"Ah?! Sweetheart? Who?"

Lin Jianxue raised her hand and signaled her to speak in a lower voice as there were other people in the cafeteria.

"I haven't found out who it is yet, but... the news is," she paused, as if to cheer herself up, "I heard that his sweetheart... is already married."

Zhou Mei was stunned. After a while, she took in the information before stammering, "Married? Then...then you..."

"So," Lin Jianxue raised her eyes, a sly glint in them, like a little fox contemplating a battle plan. "I'm thinking, 'The closer you are to the water, the sooner you can catch the moon.' He's in the countryside now, and he can't get in touch with his married lover. And if I hang around him every day and show him some attention, maybe... he'll fall in love with someone else?"

She said this half as if she was talking to herself, and half as if she was seeking Zhou Mei's approval. The uncertainty in her tone, coupled with the rare expression of distress on her angelic face, made Zhou Mei a little dazed.

Zhou Mei looked at Lin Jianxue.

Although the girl in front of him was still so beautiful that people dared not look directly at her, the little thoughts and worries of love that she revealed at this moment suddenly diluted the sense of superiority and unreachability in her.

A thought suddenly occurred to Zhou Mei: So, Lin Jianxue wasn't some ethereal fairy who didn't care about the mundane world. Without that veneer of beauty, wasn't she, like herself, an eighteen-year-old girl who was troubled by emotional issues?

With this thought, Zhou Mei's sense of distance towards Lin Jianxue instantly dissipated. She even felt a sense of closeness and... sympathy, as a fellow "mortal"?

She couldn't help but pat her chest and said with a righteous voice, "Xiaoxue, don't worry! As the saying goes, if a girl pursues a boy, it's easy for him to win! I see you! You are so beautiful and have such good conditions, you will definitely be able to win him over! Don't worry and pursue him boldly. At worst... I can help you with some advice later!"

Hearing this, Lin Jianxue looked up at her with a hint of suspicion in her eyes: "You? Very experienced?"

Zhou Mei felt a little guilty under her gaze, but she straightened her back and muttered softly, "No, no actual combat experience... But! I've seen a lot of paintings! The talented men and beautiful women in them, the breakups and reunions, all the tricks I know!"

Lin Jianxue: “…”

She silently lowered her head and continued to chew the hard steamed bun. Her voice drifted over lightly: "...then forget it." Expecting Hua Yuzi to chase a man would only make him get further away.

Zhou Mei: "..." She seemed to be disliked.

*

Time flies, and it's Sunday.

The educated youth were not able to go to work, and Lin Jianxue was not idle either.

She went to find Master Wang and his wife, who were in charge of cooking at the educated youth canteen, gave them some money and food coupons, and asked them to help her prepare the fine grains and meat she had brought with her. She made twenty plump white dumplings stuffed with pork and cabbage, and then cooked a small pot of fragrant braised pork in a separate stove, which she packed tightly in an aluminum lunch box.

The Fu family members seemed to like the buns and vermicelli we sent last time, especially Fu Qingqing, whose eyes lit up.

Lin Jianxue's calculations were rife: "The one who's close to the water gets the moon first." Fu Zhawei was now in the countryside, and his so-called "white moonlight" was far away in the city, out of reach. Her greatest advantage now was being able to be in front of him and his family at all times.

As long as he could first max out the sensitivity of the Fu family, especially Aunt Dong and Qingqing, and make them all stand on his side, then he could take down Fu Zhewei later. Wouldn't that be twice the result with half the effort?

With such a "battle plan" in mind, Lin Jianxue walked briskly towards the most remote courtyard at the end of the village.

However, even from a distance, she sensed something was wrong.

Today, a small group of people gathered at the entrance of the Fu family's simple, fenced courtyard. They looked shadowy and seemed to be arguing about something.

A shrill and arrogant woman's loud voice came clearly from a distance:

"Hey, Aunt Dong! What are you doing? We're not robbers! This basket of eggs is all laid by our own chickens, so they're fresh! Just take it. This is an agreement between our two families, and it's a betrothal gift for Qingqing!"

"Don't be ungrateful! The Jiang family is a well-known family in our Tonghua Village! My Erniu is such an honest and hardworking son! It's a blessing for your daughter to fall in love with Qingqing! I don't know how many people want to marry their daughters to our family, but we don't want them!"

"Besides, your family's situation...tsk tsk, if Qingqing marries here, she'll definitely have a good life and won't suffer any grievances! It's better than suffering here with you guys, right?"

"Where's your daughter? Is Qingqing in the room? Why is she hiding? Come out and let me see her! I think this marriage is settled! I'm going in and talking to her right away!"

Then, Dong Yulan's voice was filled with panic, like a hen protecting her chicks, desperately trying to stop them:

"No! Don't come in!"

"We won't marry off our daughter! Qingqing is still young!"

"What are you doing? Forced buying and selling in broad daylight?! You're robbing! This is illegal! I'm going to sue you at the company!"