Chapter 12
In the courtyard, Li Taohua looked at the tightly closed wooden door, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.
She couldn't understand why Xiang Wan would rather sponsor an unwanted bastard than sponsor her own son.
Her son is so outstanding, always ranking first in Lijia Village in exams. He's nowhere near as good as Chen Yan, whose parents don't even know whose bastard he is.
In the morning, Chen Yan's mother-in-law fell ill, and they drove through the village, causing quite a commotion, which Li Taohua naturally witnessed.
Thinking of the four-wheeled vehicle she had just seen, and recalling what Li Shengde had told her, her gaze fixed firmly on the wooden door. She was determined to bring Chengze to the city and let him live that kind of life.
But that bitch refused, and Li Taohua's gaze toward the wooden door grew increasingly vicious.
As if remembering something, she looked at her son beside her, her eyes suddenly lighting up. She grabbed Zhou Chengze's hand and coaxed him, "Chengze, go and hug her and cry. She's about your age, and she'll definitely take you to the city to live a good life."
Zhou Chengze, who had been somewhat embarrassed, suddenly felt as if he had been doused with cold water upon hearing his mother's words. His eyes showed subconscious resistance, and he shook his head desperately.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but unlike the girls he grew up with in the village, the girl he had just met gave him a different feeling, and he simply didn't want to kneel before her.
Li Taohua thought it was just a child being shy, and looked at him with disappointment, but she still wouldn't give up and tugged at her son's sleeve, trying to coax him some more.
Zhou Xinyi remained silent, her eyes fixed on her brother, glancing occasionally at the closed wooden door. She was only ten years old then, but a vague unease lingered in her heart; she sensed something had subtly changed.
This made her, who was already sensitive, even more insecure. She could only subconsciously take her brother's hand until he held her hand back and said, "Xinyi, don't be afraid," and only then did she gradually feel at ease.
Zhou Chengze held his sister's hand with one hand and pulled Li Taohua with the other, trying to lift her up so she wouldn't kneel: "Mom, Teacher Zhang said that with my grades, it won't be difficult for me to get into the county's key middle school."
"Mom knows you're capable. Mom just wants you to have an easier life and not suffer so much. She looks like she has money. If you go to the city with her, you can definitely avoid ten years of hard work."
"We're not related, how could they possibly agree?"
“Your Uncle Shengde said it himself, she does charity work, and it was even mentioned in the newspaper.”
Upon hearing the name 'Uncle Shengde,' Zhou Chengze frowned: 'Mom, those rumors circulating in the village…'
Some villagers said that Uncle Shengde named Li Xiaohua Xiaohua in memory of his mother. Lijia Village is so small that Zhou Chengze heard it too.
Li Taohua cupped her son's face in her palms and said gently, "Chengze, don't listen to those gossipy women in the village. They're just jealous that your mother is prettier than them."
Zhou Chengze nodded slightly, but his expression was somewhat helpless: "I know, Mom, but don't kneel down."
“Chengze, you kneel down with Mom too.”
"..."
While the mother and son were still arguing, Wang Yidong and his driver, Uncle Zhang, returned from the village chief's house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Li Taohua kneeling there, with her two children beside her.
Before they returned, the two had already seen the tire that had been punctured again, so they both looked rather unwell. However, because they were worried about the young lady being alone, they only made a phone call and then came back.
When Wang Yidong saw someone kneeling in the courtyard, she was stunned for a moment. But when Li Taohua cried and wailed in her direction, saying how outstanding her son was and asking them to sponsor him, her face fell.
She guessed what had happened, turned around and looked at the driver with a questioning gaze. Seeing Uncle Zhang scratching his head and not saying anything, she knew that he must have been bragging when he was talking to the village chief.
Wang Yidong, having lived in the slums, understood the wickedness of human nature far better than they did. She knew that people were prone to extremism when driven to desperation. The tire, clearly punctured intentionally, perfectly illustrated this point.
Her expression immediately became very alert. First, she told Uncle Zhang to go back and watch the mechanic fix the tire, and then she shouted loudly in Li Taohua's direction, indicating that if she didn't leave, she would go and ask the village chief for help.
With Zhou Chengze also trying to persuade her, Li Taohua glanced at the still tightly closed wooden door and guessed that there was no hope. Only then did she reluctantly get up and lead the two children out of the yard.
But she wasn't in a hurry to leave; instead, she observed from a distance at a leisurely pace.
Inside the wooden door, Xiang Wan also heard Wang Yidong's voice. Hearing that Li Taohua had been humiliated, her expression clearly showed some pleasure, which even Chen Yan noticed.
Not long after, Wang Yidong pushed the door open and came in. When she saw Xiang Wan, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Miss, someone punctured your tire. Uncle Zhang has already sent someone to fix it. It should be almost fixed now. Let's go back to the car."
Xiang Wan nodded, looked at Li Taohua outside the courtyard through the crack in the bricks, stared at her for a while, and then turned her gaze to Wang Yidong.
"Little devil, wait for us to go back to Beiyi together." It wasn't a discussion, but a notification.
Wang Yidong was slightly surprised to hear this, but she didn't say anything. She usually didn't interfere with the young lady's daily life, so she just responded softly to indicate that she understood.
When they left the courtyard, Li Taohua was gone. They didn't see the mother and son again when they got into the car and left Lijia Village.
With the potential threat gone, Wang Yidong breathed a sigh of relief and sat in the passenger seat, quietly discussing the route back to Beiyi with Uncle Zhang.
In the back seat, Xiang Wan rested her chin on her hand, watching the scenery rushing past the window. Although she remained silent, her expression was visibly relaxed.
Although she knew she couldn't just get rid of Zhou Chengze's family like that, at least for a long time to come, she wouldn't have to see those faces anymore.
Thinking of this made her incredibly happy, even elated. Perhaps because of her good mood, her complexion even became visibly rosier.
In the car, Xiang Wan was quietly enjoying the scenery, while Chen Yan was carefully observing her. However, he did not look at her directly, but instead glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as if it were unintentional.
Because his and his mother-in-law's future rested in the hands of this little girl, Chen Yan dared not act recklessly and even had to think twice before speaking.
He kept his head down, seemingly absent-minded, but Xiang Wan noticed his restraint: "What's wrong?"
Chen Yan looked up at her, somewhat flattered, as if he had been mentally preparing himself for a long time: "Why don't you sponsor Zhou Chengze, but you're willing to sponsor me?"
"He is the smartest child in our village."
Xiang Wan rested her chin on her hand, her index finger tapping her chin rhythmically. She knew Zhou Chengze was smart, of course. If he wasn't smart, he wouldn't have been able to swallow the entire Xiang Group at the end of the novel.
But she's just too shrewd; in this life, she hates people like that the most.
However, she couldn't possibly explain such complex human nature to a child, so she simply made up an excuse: "I don't like little boys."
Her gaze was indifferent, as if she didn't care at all, but those who heard her words took it to heart. Chen Yan's lips were dry and pale, and his eyes shattered in an instant: "...Why don't you like boys?"
“Because you can’t tame a child.” Xiang Wan closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, thus missing the turbulent emotions in his eyes.
The hope in his eyes shattered, and as if giving up the struggle, Chen Yan did not speak again.
On the other side, Xiang Wan was completely unaware of his despair. As if remembering something, she opened her eyes and looked at Chen Yan, asking another question: "Besides Zhou Chengze, are there any other special boys in your Li Family Village?"
"For example, people who are smarter."
"..."
Seeing that the little devil didn't speak, Xiang Wan glanced at him again. Seeing that he seemed to be in a daze and hadn't heard her, she didn't repeat herself.
She closed her eyes again, but what came to mind was the business tycoon from her previous life.
He disappeared after receiving financial assistance from the Xiang family to attend high school, and was not heard from again for several years. By then, he had become a rising star, no less successful than the Xiang Group.
However, his Sirong Technology and Xiang's Group did not have much interaction, so at that time Xiang Wan only had an impression of him and knew that he came from Lijia Village, but did not dig any deeper.
I wonder how that upstart business tycoon survived his youth.
Xiang Wan rarely showed curiosity about others, but after visiting Lijia Village, she began to wonder what kind of life that up-and-coming business tycoon had led in his youth.
The scenery outside the window changed rapidly, but all that came into view was barren land.
Just an hour ago it was sunny, but now it's all cloudy and raining lightly, which reminds her of the day she met that upstart in her previous life.
She remembered that it seemed to be a rainy day as well...
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