6. Ban the Moments app
Ling Ling saw the sinister look Long Jia gave his father and couldn't help but elbow the outspoken Qiu Qiu. Then, she quickly redirected her attention, saying, "Hey, weren't you looking for Qing Shi and Xinhua? I think that couple twitching in the corner up ahead looks like them, either fighting or just hanging out. Let's go check it out!" Ling Ling pushed Long Jia over. Speaking of the four people in Ling Ling's dorm, she'd already met the other three. The last one was Rong Xinhua, a woman with a fairy-like face but a worldly heart. Not many people can become famous solely on their looks, but Rong Xinhua was one of them. Even now, the welcome page on their university's official website features a photo of her in her graduation gown. Back then, she was so proud and arrogant that she married Ren Qingshi, a talented man in her department—a man who wasn't particularly handsome or wealthy, but treated her incredibly well. Beyond all the sweet and heartfelt moments of campus romance, the romance between Ren Qingshi and Rong Xinhua became a legendary story within the university. The highlight was the poetry collection Ren Qingshi published for Rong Xinhua, titled "Xinhua." Ren Qingshi's forte was essays and novels, often imbued with profound thought and power, so his dedication to a lyrical collection of poetry for his beloved was all the more remarkable. In his senior year, Ren Qingshi passed the civil service exam with the highest score in his class, securing a position in a cultural department with a first-year monthly salary of 2,300 yuan. After graduation, Rong Xinhua joined a third-tier subsidiary of a central state-owned enterprise, initially earning just over 5,000 yuan a month. While living together after graduation, Rong Xinhua unexpectedly became pregnant, prompting Ren Qingshi to decisively decide to marry. Their parents, both working in a small county town in another province, pooled their money to barely cover the down payment on a house outside the Fifth Ring Road. From then on, they struggled financially, raising a child, facing hardship and a life of meager comfort and ordinary living. Beijing is a vast city, capable of accommodating your pain, frustration, and talent because any emotion can be easily drowned out by the skyscrapers, overwhelmed by the daily grind of raising children, choosing schools, paying mortgages, and the ever-more-specific and complexities of the workplace, all draining your energy. Sentimental hearts can form thick, scabby layers, no longer willing to beat, willingly trapped within them, barely surviving. "Hey, what are you old married couples doing rubbing against each other in the corner?" Long Jia, never one to spoil the fun at a dinner party, regained his spirits and teased Ren Qingshi and Rong Xinhua, who were bickering. Rong Xinhua, however, had no intention of engaging in a joke. With a sullen expression, he ran straight to Ling Ling, "Ling Ling, let's go see Qiuqiu's son." Seeing the two women leave, Long Jia felt a slight embarrassment...
Ling Ling looked at the sinister look Long Jia gave his father and couldn't help but elbow the outspoken Qiuqiu. Then she immediately shifted her focus and said, "Hey, weren't you looking for Qingshi and Xinhua? I think the couple tugging at each other in the corner up ahead look like them. They're either fighting or just hanging out. Let's go check it out!"
Ling Ling pushed the dragon armor forward.
Speaking of the four people in Lingling dormitory, the other three have already been seen, and the last one is Rong Xinhua, who has a fairy face but a worldly heart.
Not many people can become famous simply by looking good, but Rong Xinhua is one of them. Even now, the welcome page on their university's official website features a photo of her in her graduation gown. Back then, she was so proud and arrogant that she married Ren Qingshi, a talented man in her department—a man who wasn't particularly handsome or wealthy, but treated her very well.
Aside from all the sweet and heartfelt moments of campus romance, the romance between Ren Qingshi and Rong Xinhua became a legendary story throughout their university years. The highlight was the publication of a poetry collection for Rong Xinhua titled "Xin Hua." Ren Qingshi's forte was essays and novels, often imbued with profound thought and power, so his ability to write a lyrical collection of poetry for his beloved was all the more remarkable.
In his senior year, Ren Qingshi passed the civil service exam with the highest score in his grade and landed a job in a cultural department, earning 2,300 yuan a month his first year. After graduation, Rong Xinhua joined a third-tier subsidiary of a central state-owned enterprise, initially earning just over 5,000 yuan a month.
During their cohabitation after graduation, Rong Xinhua unexpectedly became pregnant, and Ren Qingshi decisively decided to get married. The two parents, who worked in a small county town in another province, pooled their money to barely pay the down payment for a house outside the Fifth Ring Road. From then on, they lived in financial difficulties, raising children, and lived a dull life.
Beijing is a vast city, capable of accommodating your pain, frustration, and talent because any emotion can be easily drowned out by the skyscrapers, overwhelmed by the day-to-day demands of raising children, choosing schools, paying mortgages, and the more concrete and complex tasks of the workplace, all of which drain your energy. A sentimental heart forms layers of thick scabs, no longer willing to beat, willing to be trapped within them, barely catching a breath.
"Hey, what are you old married couple doing rubbing against each other in the corner?" Long Jia was never the one to spoil the fun at a dinner party. He regained his energy and teased Ren Qingshi and Rong Xinhua who were having a quarrel.
Rong Xinhua, however, had no intention of joking around at all. He walked straight towards Ling Ling with a sullen face, "Ling Ling, let's go and see Qiuqiu's son."
Seeing the two women leave, Long Jia said with a bit of embarrassment: "Hey man, Rong Xinhua has become the Empress Dowager, but her princess syndrome hasn't changed at all!"
Ren Qingshi said without a trace of sadness, "Alas, just now another low-class lady provoked her. It's all because of that crappy company of theirs. The biggest characteristic of the people in it is that they are rich and cheap! They keep showing off their wealth on WeChat Moments. Today they went to the underwater restaurant in Maldives, tomorrow they went to Dubai to ride a pure gold classic car, then they went to see penguins in Antarctica, and then they went to see the northern lights in the Arctic. If you were traveling domestically, you would be embarrassed to show up. Xinhua keeps scrolling through her screen to see these things, which makes her extremely unbalanced. It's as if she is the only one in the world who has never been anywhere, and I am the only one who has nothing! In my opinion, the country should ban things like WeChat Moments to maintain family stability!"
Ren Qingshi's face flushed as he spoke, and he felt indignant.
Long Jia hooked his arm around his neck and said in a shrewd tone, "Brother, why are you so upset over such a small matter? I'll tell you a trick: find a mistress, and she'll be quiet."
"Yes, just like your father treats your mother, right?" Ren Qingshi retorted.
"Fuck, there's no point in having this conversation!" Long Jia pounded his shoulder and cursed. The two of them entered the banquet, still joking.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Qiuqiu's husband Gong Difei, also known as Mr. Gong by Lingling and the others, is chatting animatedly with various VIPs in the private reception room where one could get lost if one walked around it.
During the dinner, he was introduced to a young data analysis director by Evercore's CFO, Darren Deng.
"Hello, Mr. Gong. I'm Yu Chuanbei from Ever. Our company's recently completed overseas project has been able to progress so smoothly thanks to your care." Yu Chuanbei, wearing a high-end indigo suit, shook hands humbly with Gong Difei.
"No, no, I know very well that it was not my connections that ultimately made things successful, but your courage. My assistant Mona was stationed on site for a while, participating in your joint operations, and she kept praising you after returning home. Although this is the first time we meet today, your name is really well-known. Especially, I heard that Mr. Yu is still single." Gong Difei did not hide his admiration for Chuanbei in his joking.
Yu Chuanbei smiled modestly without saying anything. Deng Dalun took over and joked, "Mr. Gong is using the honey trap to steal my girlfriend."
Gong Difei laughed heartily and said, "Haha, everyone says I'm shrewd and calculating, but after just one sentence, President Deng saw through me. It seems President Deng is still more capable. Naturally, Chuanbei won't come over no matter how hard I try to lure him. So - please give President Deng half an hour off. I'd like to invite Chuanbei to my study to review a project proposal."
Deng Dalun shook his head, smiled, and pushed his hands away, asking them to do as they pleased.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Four women were releasing estrogen wantonly in the luxuriously equipped baby room, and for a moment, maternal love was overflowing.
Such clichés as "Your smile is so cute," "Your mouth looks like your dad, your eyes like your mom," and "Your arms look like Michelin tires"—these topics sparked waves of delighted exclamations. Just like falling in love and getting married, happiness often stems from the mundane. When we're young, we always want to be unique and different, to live a life unlike anyone else. After starting a family and building a career, we simply want to follow the rules and live like anyone else with a healthy mind and a healthy family.
"Qiuqiu, now that you've given birth to Ping'er, your mother-in-law should be nicer to you, right?" Rong Xinhua asked. Based on her experience and psychological expectations, she had always believed, or rather hoped, that marrying into a wealthy family meant going through a lot of hardship.
Qiuqiu said heartlessly, "Hey Xinhua, you've also been through confinement after childbirth, so you've experienced this feeling firsthand—a newborn and its mother, in the eyes of the mother's family, are just a little baby and a weak newborn woman; in the eyes of the mother-in-law, they are just a little baby and a cow."
Xinhua nodded excitedly.
"However, as long as you don't compare your mother-in-law with your biological mother, you won't feel so unbalanced. What's more, my husband will only be her son for another twenty years, but he will be my husband for at least forty or fifty years. Why should I compete with her?" Qiuqiu said sarcastically, "And let me tell you, the best thing about money is that it gives people the ability to be independent. Only when you are independent can you distance yourself from each other, and only when you distance yourself can the relationship improve. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is absolutely unsolvable. If anyone says that her relationship with her mother-in-law is closer than her biological mother, I can only say that her relationship with her biological mother is really bad! So the only way to ease the conflict is to reduce contact. Only money can help me reduce contact with my mother-in-law.
As for me, I hired three aunties, one for me, one for my husband, and one for my mother-in-law. So, what conflicts can there be? My mother-in-law only needs to come over occasionally to appreciate it. So, only fools would be unhappy with their rich lives!
Listening to Qiuqiu's long speech, Lingling and Shengnan criticized him fiercely, but Rong Xinhua looked gloomy.
Rong Xinhua looked at the three nannies who had been sent to the inner room of the nursery by Madam Gong because the baby was crying too hard. They were taking turns carefully comforting the swaddled baby. She couldn't help but think sourly, "Yes, there are indeed too many rich people in this world who lack wisdom. As a result, having money doesn't necessarily mean happiness. But without money, there is definitely unhappiness!"
The three women on the other side were blissfully unaware of her subtle change and continued their unbridled private conversations with their besties.
Ling Ling stroked the tight zipper on Qiu Qiu's back and asked her with concern: "Qiuqiu, aren't you still breastfeeding? Is it okay to wear a dress that is so tight on your chest?"
"How can I not protect this weapon of mine! If my breasts sag, my life will go downhill. I have to always maintain my allure to men. Even if my husband wants to cheat, I have to make him remember that I am not an abandoned wife, but someone who has the same ability and capital to cheat as him. Since I can't scare him with power, I can only threaten him with my sex appeal!" Qiuqiu said confidently.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
04-10
I've been writing this story for ten years, and so much has changed in that time—both for me and the world. In the first few chapters, paper money appears, and I've worked hard to fix that. And then there's the later system construction and development ideas for Tuowu. Technology and AI are advancing at a rapid pace, almost weekly, and I've worked hard to update the story. But perhaps it's not quite up to date yet. That's okay, let it be. Love, after all, remains the same as it was thousands of years ago.
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