After regaining his senses, Song Mingqian mustered his strength and nodded in response.
"The Miss Shen you mentioned is very capable. Wanwan was able to escape unharmed this time entirely thanks to her. She is a great benefactor to our family."
He glanced in the direction of the Xie family a few times, intending to visit them and express his gratitude.
But then I felt it wasn’t quite right to be empty-handed.
"I happen to be in the capital right now. When I have some free time, I'll prepare a gift and take you to see Miss Shen to thank her in person."
"I know, Uncle, but I really don't need to be so polite with the Xie family and Sister Zhihuan."
Cheng Xiangling has already moved back to her own home and doesn't have many opportunities to come to the tenement.
Since she had come all this way and happened to be passing by the Xie family's house, she decided to go and say hello first, so that it wouldn't conflict with her formal visit.
Song Mingqian also felt that Cheng Xiangling's words made a lot of sense, so he agreed.
Before the two even stepped into the Xie family's gate, they saw Zhao Haiyin, Old Master Xie, and Old Madam Xie sitting in the courtyard from afar.
It was unclear what they were saying, but the expressions on their faces were all serious.
They had been standing at the door for a while without noticing at all.
Cheng Xiangling felt something was off and looked around the courtyard a few more times. Seeing that Shen Zhihuan hadn't appeared yet, she became even more puzzled.
"Logically speaking, Sister Zhihuan should be home at this time. Why haven't I seen her today?"
Seeing that she was about to go forward to ask, Song Mingqian quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to his side.
"The Xie family clearly has important business to attend to, so they probably won't have time to entertain us right now."
"Let's not disturb them and come back another time."
"All right."
Cheng Xiangling pouted, a little disappointed.
"I haven't seen Sister Zhihuan for several days. I was thinking of taking this opportunity to report to her on her situation."
Song Mingqian was just about to tell her not to bother Shen Zhihuan with everything in the future, as it was too impolite.
But seeing how close the two girls were, he couldn't bear to say anything that might dampen their enthusiasm.
Cheng Xiangling saw through his thoughts at a glance and immediately retorted with a smile.
"Uncle, you really don't need to worry. Sister Zhihuan is such a nice person. She treats me like her own sister. I feel very close to her."
“My sister was saved by Sister Zhihuan. Even if I don’t say it, she must still remember it. It’s better to let her worry less.”
Seeing Cheng Xiangling speak so highly of that Miss Shen, Song Mingqian became even more curious.
Although the timing wasn't right today, I couldn't meet him in person.
But he thought that a girl who could be recognized and liked so much by the Xie family must be very outstanding.
Meanwhile, the Xie family was in complete chaos.
Zhao Haiyin and Grandma Xie were so anxious they were almost unable to sit still.
"Originally, it was a good thing for Zhihuan to go back to visit her teacher, but unexpectedly, it has led to such a big problem."
"Yes, Old Wang just called, and when I heard him say that the reason Zhihuan didn't go to university was because someone stole her student status, I was furious."
I never expected that something so outrageous would happen at a time like this.
When the news got back, the whole family was in an uproar.
Grandpa Xie answered the phone. Zhao Haiyin was so angry that she didn't have time to ask for more details.
Having finally recovered, she hurriedly asked:
"Dad, did Grandpa Wang explain clearly who stole Zhihuan's school registration, and what their name is?"
Grandpa Xie is usually busy with important matters and doesn't know much about the situation in the tenement.
He was simply furious that the other party was a girl, yet she acted so viciously and despicably, hence his extremely unpleasant expression.
"Old Wang said that the person's name is He Shuhui, and like Zhihuan, she also came from Panyun Village."
"What?! It's her!"
Upon hearing that familiar name, Zhao Haiyin's face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
She never really liked this shameless and emotionally inept girl.
Normally, I only pay a little attention to them out of consideration for our neighborly relationship.
She never expected the other party to be so shameless; it disgusted her.
"I never expected that the thief who took Zhihuan's place in school would actually live in the same courtyard, so close to us. It's ridiculous."
After a moment's thought, Grandma Xie matched the name with the person she remembered.
She slammed her hand on the armrest of the chair, her expression a mixture of frustration and anger; she was practically furious.
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let He Shuhui come to our house to play last time."
"I never expected that she would be so despicable in private, despite her seemingly respectable appearance!"
Thinking of Shen Zhihuan's difficult fate, Zhao Haiyin clutched her heart, feeling extremely heartbroken.
"The college entrance examination is a major event that affects a person's entire life. Such a good opportunity to go to university has been taken away by others for nothing."
"How heartbroken Zhihuan would be if she knew about this."
Zhao Haiyin has always treated Shen Zhihuan as her own daughter.
Knowing that she almost ruined her future because of someone else's selfishness, he felt like killing her.
Grandpa Xie frowned, constantly touching his head, his face contorted with anger and pain.
"It's so unfair! Zhihuan is such a sensible and well-behaved child, why is her fate so unfortunate?"
"This girl is only 19 years old this year, yet she has suffered so much. It really breaks my heart to think about it."
The old man paced irritably around the yard several times, suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice:
"Fortunately, Lan Shen is blessed to have won Zhi Huan's favor and become her husband."
“After Zhihuan marries into the Xie family, we must treat her well and not let her suffer any grievances.”
Grandma Xie was also fuming and glared at him.
"You don't need to say that. The Xie family has only had one son per generation. I don't have the good fortune to have a daughter. Since Zhihuan came to our family, she is my own granddaughter."
"I cherish her so much that I can't even hold her in my hands. If anyone dares to bully Zhihuan in the future, I'll teach them a lesson."
Knowing that his wife was angry with He Shuhui and was now taking it out on him, Old Master Xie shrank back and didn't dare to say a word.
As Zhao Haiyin watched her in-laws speak, she felt even more distressed.
"If it weren't for Old Master Wang and Old Master Tian keeping an eye on things, I would only be causing trouble if I went. Otherwise, I would really like to go with them to find them."
"It's so pitiful that Zhihuan, a girl, has to face so many shameless scoundrels."
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