When Zhang Xiao said these words, her face was full of distress.
Chen Yunyun smiled. Zhang Xiao was a city girl and had never lived in the countryside. It was indeed unfair to her.
"If I hadn't wanted to spend more time with Zhitie, I would have gone back to the city long ago."
Chen Yunyun suppressed her smile. Zhang Xiao wouldn't stay in Xujia Village for long. It seemed she had to speed things up and let Zhang Xiao see Xu Zhitie's true colors.
She thought for a moment and then said, "Zhang Xiao, let me tell you a story."
Upon hearing that it was a story, Zhang Xiao became curious and listened attentively.
"There was once a young lady from a wealthy family who fell in love with a poor scholar."
"Her family disapproved, so the scholar persuaded her to run away from home and elope with him..."
Zhang Xiao listened very attentively, occasionally asking a few more questions.
Only after Chen Yunyun finished telling the story did Zhang Xiao frown, "How could this be? How could this scholar repay kindness with enmity?"
"When he was poor, the young lady was willing to follow him. Her family was forced to agree to marry her to him and gave her a considerable dowry."
"Without this money, how could this scholar have gone to the capital to take the imperial examination? How come he became a completely different person after passing the exam with top honors!"
"Isn't this just like Chen Shimei?!"
Seeing Zhang Xiao's angry reaction in defending the young lady in the story, Chen Yunyun laughed. It seemed that Zhang Xiao had not been completely brainwashed.
"Zhang Xiao, doesn't this story seem familiar?"
Zhang Xiao frowned. "No, I've never heard this story before."
Chen Yunyun shook her head, as if speaking in riddles, but she meant something, "No, you should be familiar with this story."
Zhang Xiao also attended high school; she and Xu Zhitie were in the same class, which gave them the opportunity to get to know each other.
Zhang Xiao frowned and went home with a lot of questions in her mind. Before she left, Chen Yunyun warned her, "This is a conversation between us girlfriends. You can't tell anyone else."
Although Zhang Xiao found it strange, she agreed.
Zhang Xiao came again the next day.
This time, after she sat down, she didn't even drink any tea and asked directly, "Sister Yunyun, the story you told yesterday, it wasn't about me and Zhitie, was it?"
Chen Yunyun remained noncommittal, but Zhang Xiao became anxious.
"Sister Yunyun, you really misunderstood Zhitie. He's not that kind of person."
“We were high school classmates, and I know his character best.”
“When I first met him, I never told him that my father was the factory manager, and he didn’t know that my family was rich.”
“At that time, my studies were very poor. He was the only one who was very gentle and attentive and always tutored me. He is really not the kind of person you described.”
Chen Yunyun shook her head. "There's a saying that goes, 'You can know a person's face but not their heart.' It's very easy to be hypocritical."
"And even if you don't tell him about your family background, anyone who pays attention will notice that your clothes are different from those of the people around you, and anyone can tell that your family is well-off."
Zhang Xiao looked at the ground and muttered, "No, it can't be."
After a long while, Zhang Xiao seemed to have finally convinced herself. She raised her head and looked directly at Chen Yunyun, "Even if he didn't have pure intentions when he first got together with me, he's very good to me now."
“He doesn’t want me to do even the slightest housework, and he takes great care of me and the children.”
“Sister Yunyun, Zhitie is my husband, and I choose to believe him.”
After uttering these powerful words, Zhang Xiao slammed the door and left.
Chen Yunyun sighed, realizing she had acted too hastily.
After leaving Chen Yunyun's courtyard, Zhang Xiao did not return to Lao Xu's house. Instead, she hid behind the courtyard wall, clutching her chest and crouching down.
Scenes of how she met Xu Zhitie flashed before her eyes.
"Hi, is anyone sitting next to you?"
"Hey classmate, it's raining today, can I lend you my umbrella?"
"Zhang Xiao, this is how you do this problem..."
"Zhang Xiao, I like you, but I'm not good enough for you."
"Xiaoxiao, I'm sorry, my family doesn't have that much money, so I might not be able to marry you."
"Xiaoxiao, you're so good to me. When I become successful, I'll treat you even better."
"Your dad doesn't approve of us being together. If we have a child, can we be together then?"
...
Zhang Xiao dared not continue recalling. She closed her eyes, wiped away her tears, pretended that nothing had happened, and returned to Old Xu's house.
After dinner, Zhang Xiao and Xu Zhitie lay down on the bed.
"Xiaoxiao, what's wrong today? Did you not have a good appetite for dinner? You didn't eat much."
Zhang Xiao had his back to Xu Zhitie and remained silent.
Xu Zhitie thought Zhang Xiao was throwing a tantrum because she felt the rural environment was bad, so Xu Zhitie patiently tried to coax her.
"Xiaoxiao, don't feel wronged. I'll be heartbroken if you get sick from getting upset." Xu Zhitie hugged Zhang Xiao from behind.
Zhang Xiao's muffled voice rang out, "Xu Zhitie, do you really love me?"
What's wrong with this woman today? Xu Zhitie was a little confused, but he still answered as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times, "Love? Of course I love you. If I don't love you, who else can I love?"
The thought that her bedmate might be plotting something and entering her dreams with her filled Zhang Xiao with a heart-wrenching pain...
"Xiaoxiao, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this question? Did someone say something to you?"
Zhang Xiao's reaction was so unusual that Xu Zhitie was afraid that his family might have accidentally revealed something, so he pressed for details.
The woman shook her head. "It's nothing, go to sleep."
Xu Zhitie had no choice but to give up the idea of asking any more questions. He thought he would ask his family members again the next day. He was too tired during the day, so he fell asleep quickly.
Listening to the continuous snoring coming from the darkness, Zhang Xiao tossed and turned.
On one side is her husband of many years, whom she deeply loves, and on the other side is her savior with whom she has no conflict of interest. Zhang Xiao has no idea who she should trust.
Zhang Xiao didn't sleep all night, and the next day she had dark circles under her eyes. Xu Zhitie got up early in the morning and asked everyone in the family. He was relieved to find out that no one had said anything out of line.
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