《Rebirth After Being Abducted》 CH 1.1 Chapter 1.1 ¨C Abducted ¡°Is her body clean?¡± ¡°I can deceive others but would I swindle you? I got this girl from outside the city¡¯s high school. You can see she¡¯s still wearing her school uniform. I didn¡¯t even let our family Er¡¯wa touch a finger of hers all the way back to the mountain. Second Aunt, it¡¯s not that I want to say anything. It¡¯s fine as long as she can give birth, why do you care if the girl is a virgin?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand. My Xing¡¯wa has been in the city for a few years and has high standards. He insisted that I buy one with a clean body.¡± ¡°Ai, educated people are really different, so picky.¡± ********** Nightmare. Su Qin heard familiar voices and thought she was having a nightmare. Her whole body was in pain and when she moved, her bones seemed to be cracking. She was lying with her face pressed against the ground and the fetid smell of moss was under her nose. In dazed, she opened her eyes and found herself in a small woodshed that was almost completely enclosed with the only light source coming through the crack in the door. Somebody was talking outside the door. Two voices that she would never forget. These were the two women who abducted and bought her. The abductor¡¯s name was Zhang Feng while the buyer was Li Yunzhen. Even after she was rescued by the police from the mountain, married to Professor Li and started a new life, she could never forget the names or the voices of these two women. The Xing¡¯wa from Li Yunzhen¡¯s mouth was Zhang Xing, the rural man who bought her to be his wife. The pain on her body and the smell at the tip of her nose ¡­ was too real to be a dream. Su Qin was startled. Wasn¡¯t she ¡­ burned to death? Didn¡¯t she and her daughter, Baobao, burn to death at home? How could ¡­ return to the place where her nightmare began? Is she¡­ going to experience that nightmare again? Her heart was pounding so fast that it almost popped out of her throat. She tried her best to quell her heartbeat and calm herself down. Holding her breath, she listened to the conversation between the two women outside the door. Li Yunzhen said, ¡°Ah Feng, this is 6,000 yuan, count it.¡± ¡°No need, no need to count. We are family, so no need to be courteous to me.¡± Unbuttoning the cotton jacket, Zhang Feng stuffed the 6,000 yuan into the pocket lining of her jacket. She took hold of Li Yunzhen¡¯s hand and spoke solemnly once the money had been put away safely, ¡°This girl is spirited and tried to escape several times on the road and even bit my ear. Since your requirements are high, I dare not hit her hard. Second Aunt, like I said, breaks her legs before your family Xing¡¯wa returns then she can¡¯t run away anymore. Isn¡¯t your family Xing¡¯wa only wants a clean body but never mentioned about being crippled, so what do you say?¡± Li Yunzhen was still hesitating when Zhang Feng spoke again, ¡°Look at Zhang Xihua¡¯s family¡¯s daughter-in-law. Once her legs were crippled, the thought of escaping was crushed too. She is now home looking after the children and doing farm work. Look how obedient she is now.¡± Li Yunzhen¡¯s son is the head of the family while she is a sheeple. She thought about it and felt that Zhang Feng had a point. ********** The voices outside made Su Qin sure of a fact. She had been reborn back to the age of 15. Back to the day when Li Yunzhen broke her leg. On this day in her previous lifetime, Li Yunzhen listened to Zhang Feng¡¯s opinion that these two women brought in a rod and struck her leg frantically. She had her right leg broken and passed out from the pain. She had been pampered by her parents since she was a child and had never suffered any hardship, let alone getting beat up. How could she withstand being beaten like this at only 15 years of age? In the end, she submitted to fear and followed Zhang Xing to live a ¡®steadfast¡¯ life. She was placid on the surface but was always looking for opportunities to escape. Five years later, she secretly slipped tips to the outside world through Professor Li who came to teach under the education support program for underdeveloped areas in the mountain village and only then was she brought home by the police. After being rescued from Dashan, she re-enrolled at a school with the help of Professor Li and worked as a fashion designer once she graduated from the university before marrying Professor Li. Professor Li didn¡¯t mind about her past. Even when the Li family pointed fingers of blame at her, Li Chuan never disdained her. They were a loving couple and their daughter, Baobao, was very cute too. In her previous lifetime, she was set aflame by the man who bought her in Dashan. Burning to death with her was her 3-year-old daughter with Professor Li, Baobao. The image of the fire was vivid in her mind and the pain of burning flesh was as if she had just experienced it. Her daughter, Baobao was crying in her arms and telling her, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m in pain, very painful ¡­¡± She was in pain too. Her whole body hurt as her flesh burnt. With one limping leg, she was trapped halfway through her escape with her daughter in her arms. The moment she closed her eyes, she saw Li Chuan rushing in. "" The man¡¯s figure was as tall as ever and the moment she saw him, her heart felt reassured that she finally closed her eyes. ********** Closing and opening her eyes again, Su Qin was back to the day she was 15 and got abducted to Dashan. She hated the people here, loathed the village and even the air here sickened her. Her hatred for this village seeped into the marrow of her bones. She was reborn again and seemed limited in what she could do. Lacking the strength to even truss a chicken, she could not kill Zhang Xing or avenge herself. Since Heavens is giving her a second chance to return before the tragedy happened, she must simply cherish this opportunity. Unable to escape with her limbs bound, she quickly calmed down and began to recall Li Yunzhen¡¯s character. She had lived with Zhang Xing and his mother for five years in her previous lifetime, hence was well acquainted with their personalities. Losing her husband at an early age, Li Yunzhen submits blindly to her son with little assertive opinions about what she does, but she is of an overly-suspicious nature. She and Zhang Feng are relatives. As Zhang Feng is mean, she has never truly trusted this woman and often speaks ill of Zhang Feng behind her back. Zhang Xing worked in the city for several years and had attended elementary school, hence he believed that only a clean woman is worthy of him. So, when Li Yunzhen buys a daughter-in-law, the first requirement is a clean body. Hence, she can completely take advantage of this to evoke conflict between Zhang Feng and Li Yunzhen to first escape the current hurdle of getting crippled. The door to the woodshed was pushed open with a ¡®pa¡¯ sound and light poured in. Su Qin cowered inward. Her small face was deathly pale while her body trembled like a chaff and her mental state seemed quite abnormal. She looked at Zhang Feng with terror on her face and chattered away nervously, ¡°Aunty, aunty, you let me go. I will sleep properly with Brother Shitou and won¡¯t hit him in the middle of the night. Don¡¯t beat me, Aunty, don¡¯t beat me. I will surely sleep properly with Brother Shitou, sleep properly with him ¡­¡± Shitou is the given name of Zhang Feng¡¯s son who everyone usually calls him ¡°Er¡¯wa¡± and as time passes, few people know his given name is Zhang Shitou. These days, Zhang Feng never calls out her son¡¯s given name in front of her. She was surprised how this girl knew that Shitou is Er¡¯wa¡¯s name. The little girl was trembling badly with a face full of fear and looked terrified. Li Yunzhen felt uneasy immediately. She doesn¡¯t care if the girl is already unclean, instead she minded that this old lady actually deceived her. She only gave 3,000 more taking into account her son¡¯s demand but she did not expect the girl to have been touched first by Zhang Feng family¡¯s son. Li Yunzhen turned her head to look at Zhang Feng, ¡°Feng¡¯er, Second Aunt doesn¡¯t say anything when you often take advantage of others, but how could you even cheat Second Aunt too? Have you any heart? Return me the 4,000 yuan and I won¡¯t argue this matter with you.¡± Zhang Feng glared at Su Qin then turned to face Li Yunzhen as she pulled her, ¡°No, Second Aunt, this girl is talking nonsense, what sleep or not sleep. My family¡¯s Er¡¯wa absolutely did not touch her at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you take Second Aunt as a fool.¡± Li Yunzhen shook her hand off then looked at the deathly pale little girl hurdling in the corner and continued, ¡°Others might not know, but how could I not know you? We are family, so I will not bicker with you, just return the 4,000 yuan to me!¡± The more fearful Su Qin showed, the more determined Li Yunzhen was by Zhang Feng¡¯s deception. She grabbed the rod and hit Zhang Feng, ¡°Otherwise, I don¡¯t want this girl!¡± The two argued heatedly while Su Qin looked like an ignorant frightened little girl. After all, she has a 35-year-old soul in her body and in her previous lifetime, she had experienced abduction, workplace struggles and all kinds of life situations, so she still has this bit of acting skill. "" Zhang Feng¡¯s fury flared up once she got hit. Clutching the money she tucked in her chest tightly, she cursed Li Yunzhen ¡®foolish woman¡¯ all the way out of Li Yunzhen¡¯s house. Holding up the rod, Li Yunzhen stood in front of her house and cursed at the top of her voice that Zhang Feng was ¡®heartless¡¯ and ¡®a white-eyed wolf[1]¡¯ who would swindle even her own relatives. After Zhang Feng left, Li Yunzhen returned home to drink a mouthful of water and still foul-mouthed her. She then vented her anger on Su Qin by grabbing her hair and dragging her out of the woodshed like an animal before throwing her into the yard. Fortunately, it was spring and the cold had yet to pass. Dressed in a woolen sweater and pants, these had kept her from being scraped and bruised again. Dragged into the courtyard, she couldn¡¯t open her eyes and felt somewhat stung by the sunlight. With her feet and hands bound, she had no strength to fight back. Since Li Yunzhen worked on the farm all year round, she has brute strength even though she is thin. She was no match to her even if her hands and feet were not restrained. Even if she could defeat Li Yunzhen, she still couldn¡¯t run out of this village. The people in this village are used to buying wives/daughter-in-laws and whichever family¡¯s ¡®wife/daughter-in-law¡¯ tries to run away, the whole village will gather to help out. They will then break the girl¡¯s limbs and torture her with all kinds of cruel tactics, so that she can¡¯t and dare not run away again. Here, the air is clear and the sun shines brightly, but in Su Qin¡¯s eyes, this is a purgatory on earth where the air pervades with sickening evilness. A backward place with beautiful scenery that also produces unruly people. Getting thrown to the ground, all her bones felt ached as if they were smashed to pieces. In the yard, Li Yunzhen has grown some vegetables, green onions, spring celery and cilantro. Su Qin felt uncomfortable when she caught the smell of spring celery but a way to save herself flashed through her mind and the spring celery became the means that would keep her alive. Zhang Xing is a man who is afraid of contracting diseases while Li Yunzhen will not tolerate a sick daughter-in-law. So, she can use her allergy to cause the outbreak of hives. CH 1.2 Chapter 1.2 ¨C Abducted This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. In her previous lifetime, she told Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son that she was allergic to celery but they didn¡¯t believe her and forced her to eat it to the point that the hives acted up. At that time, Zhang Xing suspected she had an infectious venereal disease and wanted to sell her to someone else. How could she bear the agony of being sold again? So, she knelt to plead repeatedly and assured the mother and son that these symptoms would disappear within two days. The mother and son kept her locked up for two days until the red swellings on her body subsided before letting her out. In this lifetime, she can take advantage of her allergy to escape the immediate calamity since she was still undefiled. As for where she will be sold to next, she will make other plans then. In short, buy time for herself first. She was only one meter away from the vegetable patch. Li Yunzhen squatted down to look at her face. The girl¡¯s face was swollen, thus her original appearance could not be seen. After so many days without a bath, the body also stank and smelled no different than the pigsty. Su Qin appeared extremely terrified and mentally deranged. She persistently cowered towards the direction of the vegetable patch while her mouth nervously chanted, ¡°Don¡¯t hit me, don¡¯t hit me, I will give birth to babies, give birth to babies, don¡¯t hit me .¡­¡± With tears streaming down the girl¡¯s face and looking abnormal, she seemed to have gone mad after being subjected to the beatings. Looking at her, she was just a little girl who had not fully developed yet. If she had not been bedded by that Zhang Feng family¡¯s Er¡¯wa, how would she be able to say such words? The more Li Yunzhen thought about it, the angrier she became and was beside herself with rage over the additional 3,000 yuan that she had given! She, however, didn¡¯t think it matters if the girl is clean or not as long as she can give her grandson. She intends to bring her son, Zhang Xing, to make trouble in Zhang Feng¡¯s house and get back that additional 3,000 yuan. She doesn¡¯t want this kind of a white-eyed wolf relative! ********** While Li Yunzhen was not paying attention, Su Qin retreated towards the vegetable patch. Hiding her face, she kept a handful of celery in her mouth and even swallowed the stinky soil into her belly. At this moment, Zhang Xing came back from outside and called out, ¡°Mom¡±. As soon as the man stepped into the yard and saw a trembling girl cowering in the vegetable patch with a bloody nose and swollen face, the tips of his eyebrows unfurled with pleasant surprise. He walked over and enjoyed the sight of Su Qin like a plaything before turning his head to ask Li Yunzhen, ¡°Did Zhang Feng send this to you? How much did you pay?¡± The tone was like asking how much it cost to buy a pig. The man has been doing farm work all year round, hence he is sturdy and tall with dark glossy skin, robust features and bushy eyebrows. He was wearing a white-washed dark plaid shirt that was wrinkled with two patches sewn. Zhang Xing completed elementary schooling, who in the eyes of the villagers, is an intellectual and constituted as the most educated among the men in the village. He is 30 years old and returned after working a few years in the city, hence he is considered insightful that the villagers recommended him to be the village chief. Li Yunzhen gave an account of what happened to Zhang Xing then timidly asked her son, ¡°Do you want to break her legs? Lest she run away.¡± Although Su Qin was badly battered and it was impossible to see what she looks like, she somehow is still a woman. ¡°F*cking hell, this Zhang Feng, dare to even swindle this Laozi¡¯[1]s money? I¡¯ll look for her later!¡± Glancing at Su Qin, Zhang Xing pulled his pants and said, ¡°She is already a money-losing commodity, how uneconomical if she is lame too? Even if a pair of wings is added on her, she can¡¯t run out either. Mother, I¡¯m hungry, make me a bowl of noodles.¡± Li Yunzhen, ¡°Okay. What about her?¡± Having spent several years in the city, Zhang Xing felt a sweet sense of superiority over the people in the village. He wants to stand out from the masses and be special to the point of being exceptional from those ignorant villagers. He glanced at Su Qin and said, ¡°Toss her inside my room. I will f*ck her after I have eaten.¡± ********** Su Qin was cast inside Zhang Xing¡¯s room which was next to the main room. She could hear perfectly clear the conversation between both mother and son who were in the main room. Sitting in the main room, Zhang Xing was eating noodles and Li Yunzhen was trying to engage in small talk with him, ¡°Xing¡¯wa, why did the Liujia village¡¯s chief call you over ah?¡± Zhang Xing said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the Tongluo Township¡¯s mayor who called for a meeting with several of our villages¡¯ chiefs. Saying that a Shu¨°sh¨¬ (˶ʿ ) (master¡¯s degree holder) surnamed Li is coming to teach at Tongluo Township and asked all the children in these villages to attend classes. Not knowing where this master¡¯s degree graduate heard from after arriving at Tongluo Township saying that our village has nice scenery and insisted on coming to our village to collect .. collect cultural materials? You also know the condition of our village, how can outsiders be allowed in?¡± Li Yunzhen asked him, ¡°Su¨¯ sh¨ª (Ëøʯ ) (locked stone)? What¡¯s that? And what¡¯s that about collecting cultural materials?¡± Zhang Xing glanced at his ignorant mother with disdain, ¡°It¡¯s a master¡¯s degree! A highly intellectual. Collecting cultural materials means visiting our village.¡± Li Yunzhen made a ¡®oh¡¯ sound, ¡°Highly intellectual? Then ¡­ possibly more educated than you ah?¡± Zhang Xing slurped a mouthful of noodles, ¡°People are university graduates, what do you think?¡± ********** Listening to the voices next door, Su Qin was full of rising excitement. A master¡¯s degree graduate surnamed Li? Is it Li Chuan? Could it be Professor Li? Even after 5 years of marriage to Li Chuan, she still liked calling him ¡®Professor Li¡¯ and it was difficult to address him differently. But ¡­ the timeline was not right ah. She remembered that in her previous lifetime, it was 5 years later that Li Chuan came to teach and he was already an associate professor. Li Chuan completed his postgraduate studies at the age of 21, he became an associate professor at 26 then a full-time professor at 28. His family was well off but he gave up inheriting the family business, choosing to impart knowledge and educate people, and engaged in research. As it¡¯s spring now, Su Qin soon has an allergic reaction. Her body started to itch and dense pink swellings spread all over her body. Her neck, face and the backs of her hands were densely covered with bumps that made the onlooker¡¯s flesh creep. ********** When Zhang Xiang and Li Yunzhen came in, they saw Su Qin cowering in pain on the bed before catching sight of the swellings on her body which caused their scalps numbed. Even if a man can devour a hideous woman, how can he bring himself to take a woman with such dense swellings who looks like a monster? Li Yunzhen pulled her son and said anxiously, ¡°This Zhang Feng really deserves a thousand slashes, giving us such a sickly crazy woman. Xing¡¯wa, we don¡¯t want this girl. Let¡¯s return it! This kind of morbid crazy woman cannot give birth to any good male child. Go, let¡¯s go ask for our money back!¡± Su Qin was already frightful looking with her face beaten and swollen, in addition to the dense swellings on her arms, neck and face, which made Zhang Xing shuddered. He doesn¡¯t mind an ugly baby-bearing tool but he is afraid that this ¡®tool¡¯ might have infectious diseases. He felt that this symptom was extremely similar to that ¡­ AIDS in the city? The more Zhang Xing thought about it, the more dreadful he felt. Searching for a weapon, he went with his mother to give Zhang Feng trouble. Allegedly, Zhang Xing was said to have killed people in the city before. Zhang Feng is not afraid of Li Yunzhen but she is fearful of Zhang Xing. Zhang Feng agreed to refund them the 4,000 yuan and said, ¡°Second Aunt, Xing¡¯wa, it¡¯s not really easy to abduct a girl in the city now as enforcement has tightened. You just make do with her as long as she can give birth to a baby. Isn¡¯t it all the same bedding her with your eyes closed?¡± Recalling Su Qin¡¯s body that was full of red bumps, Zhang Xing insisted on not wanting her, ¡°No. You give Laozi the money back. Laozi doesn¡¯t want that b*tch!¡± Seeing his insistence, Zhang Feng then gave them an idea, ¡°Second Aunt, Xing¡¯wa, it was a long way to fetch her back which was not easy at all. I can¡¯t do an unprofitable business, right? Why not sell this girl to the Fool at the rear of the village. Before his father died, he left him a sum of money to buy a wife. How can their family¡¯s Fool tell if the girl is sick or not? What do you think?¡± Li Yunzhen thought that it was feasible and said, ¡°Then you go discuss with the Fool¡¯s mother. Sell them for 2,000 yuan.¡± Thumping her hand on the palm, a smile spread on Zhang Feng¡¯s face, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m on my way! [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly. CH 2 Chapter 2 - The Fool This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin was trussed up by Zhang Feng and pulled along like a cow to the Fool¡¯s house. The Fool is called Feifei, who this year is only 15 too. After his father died, his paternal grandfather and grandmother passed away one after another, leaving only him and his mother, Yun Qin. It is said that the Fool¡¯s father left some money for him to buy a wife, but Yun Qin felt the Fool is still young and could wait for another 2 years. But now that this girl who Zhang Feng delivered over was cheap, she thought it was feasible and bought Su Qin from Zhang Feng. Locked up in a room, Su Qin was so hungry that she had no more strength. When night came, someone pushed open the door and switched the light on. Holding a bowl of boiled water in his hand, the Fool stood at the door with pursed lips as he sized her up. Though the Fool is only 15 years old, he is already 1.78m tall. He was wearing a washed-out red T-shirt and baggy shorts. He is very thin but not the emaciated kind. His skin is very fair with a small palm-sized face and is considerably good-looking too. The pair of crystal-clear eyes that looked at her was like a harmless little puppy. Su Qin¡¯s eyes felt somewhat moist. As a matter of fact, she did not expect she would be resold to the Fool¡¯s home. In her previous life, she stayed in Zhang Xing¡¯s house for 5 years and was about to be sold off to a 60-year-old man in the village due to her inability to give birth. In a panic, she escaped in the middle of the night and hid in the Fool¡¯s house. The Fool discovered Su Qin under the bed when he was looking for a kitten. When Zhang Xing brought people over and asked the Fool if he had seen Su Qin, he nodded and then pointed to the backyard. Su Qin hid under the bed for three days. The Fool brought her water and steamed buns every day. The Fool¡¯s mother thought he had taken the food to feed stray cats, so she did not think much about it. Su Qin stayed under the Fool¡¯s bed for a whole week. She dared not speak or even breathe loudly while under the bed and only spoke two words ¡®thank you¡¯ to the Fool in the whole week. One night a week later, the Fool took her out of the village. They ran to Tongluo Township, where they found the teachers who were there under the educational support program. Later, the children who attended the school reported them, thus Su Qin and the Fool were caught and brought back to the village. As the Fool had violated the village¡¯s taboo, the villagers burned him alive as a punishment. When they intended to break Su Qin¡¯s limbs, they found out that she was pregnant, hence she escaped the calamity. For many years afterwards, she could not forget the scene of the Fool being burned to death. Afterwards, she was hidden away by the villagers when Professor Li rushed over with the police. Professor Li and the police didn¡¯t give up. They kept watch in the mountains for half a month before they found her trail and rescued her. Once she went back to the city, she had an abortion accompanied by her parents. Zhang Feng was arrested for human trafficking and Zhang Xing was taken into custody for having murdered someone in the city. Li Yunzhen and those villagers who bought wives/daughter-in-laws were only verbally re-educated and criticized. Besides Su Qin, other abducted girls in the village were also rescued. Some of the girls, however, chose to return there after going back to the city as they could not bear leaving their children behind. Su Qin went to the police station to report against Li Yunzhen and several relatives for intentional homicide of burning the Fool alive. When the police went to the village, the villagers said there were no such two people (the Fool and his mother) in the village. Since there was no evidence, the matter was left unresolved. ********** Compared to other abducted girls whether in the previous or this lifetime, Su Qin was lucky. At this moment, her tears could not be restrained from trickling down when she caught sight of the Fool standing alive at the door. Seeing that she was crying, the Fool hurriedly put the water on the dark cabinet then pointed his finger at the enamel bowl filled with water and walked out. The Fool is not really stupid. He is just sullen and doesn¡¯t like to talk, and only behaves foolishly in front of outsiders. He is very smart. If it was not for him in her previous lifetime, Su Qin would not be able to leave the village. Su Qin glanced at the bowl of water yet she didn¡¯t drink it. Once the Fool left the room, she poured the water under the bed. In this village, she can¡¯t actually trust anyone except the Fool. Although he brought the water in, she wasn¡¯t sure if it was drugged by his mother. Even though her throat was burning with thirstiness, she still wouldn¡¯t dare touch the bowl of water. The tiled-roofed house in the countryside is no match to the living conditions in the city. The bedroom floor is not covered in concrete, let alone ceramic tiles but rather a pitch-dark dirt floor which is humid and damp. The bedroom is dark if light is not switched on. Even the cabinets here are dark and out-dated. The bed sheets and quilt cover, though worn out, are cleanly washed with soap scent, which can be seen that the Fool¡¯s mother loves cleanliness very much. In contrast, Zhang Xing¡¯s house is a lot sloppier, with damp bedding and nauseating mustiness. Su Qin knows what kind of person the Fool is. If he is the only one in the family, she can then feel completely at ease. But he still has a mother whom she doesn¡¯t know. But crows here are generally black, his mother should be as cold-blooded and ruthless as the rest of the villagers. Otherwise, the Fool in her previous lifetime wouldn¡¯t have let her hide under the bed for as long as a week. Su Qin was very sleepy but she didn¡¯t dare to sleep. The Fool came in again at night and took a pair of scissors to cut the rope that bound her limbs. Standing by the bed, the Fool looked at her and pointed to the main room next door, ¡°Outside, waiting for you.¡± Su Qin rubbed her swollen and painful wrists. Staring at the back of his head, she called out, ¡°Feifei.¡± The fool stopped his tracks, visibly stunned as he turned back to look at her. This time, the look he gave her was no longer that of a gentle harmless puppy, but with sharp vigilance. Su Qin was startled by the sudden change of his gaze and for a moment, she felt that this big boy in front of her was no longer the simple and kind Yun Fei she had met in her previous life. Her heart pounded as she cautiously justified her words, ¡°My nickname ¡­ is Fei Fei ¡­ you can call me Fei Fei.¡± "" The Fool¡¯s gaze shifted again in a flash, resuming to the silly foolishness he usually displayed. Su Qin got out of bed to put on her shoes and followed him to the hall. In the main room, there was a portrait of Chairman Mao pasted on the wall opposite the door and a square dining table under the incandescent lamp with two dishes and a bowl of soup on it. A plate of cured meat with fried garlic sprouts, a plate of fried green-rape, a large bowl of pea shoots crispy pork soup and bowls of rice on three sides of the square table. Su Qin was really hungry. Looking at the steaming white rice, her stomach ¡®rumbled¡¯. The Fool went to the kitchen and took out three pairs of chopsticks which he handed her a pair upon returning to the main room. Su Qin appeared very scared, her body trembled as if she dared not reach out to take them. Carrying a plate of pickled radish doused with chili oil, Yun Qin saw the little girl trembling like sieving chaff and said to her, ¡°Come over and eat. Only when your stomach is full will you have the strength to be someone¡¯s wife, won¡¯t you?¡± Su Qin raised her eyes cautiously and met Yun Qin¡¯s shrewd eyes when chill ran through her bones. This woman¡¯s skin is very fair with gorgeous features. Although she was dressed in rags, her temperament is unlike those ordinary peasant women. In her previous lifetime, Su Qin had never met her as she hid under the bed and had only listened to her voice. The woman¡¯s eyes seemed able to clearly see through everything and she could be seen as an astute woman who is not easily deceived like Zhang Feng and Li Yunzhen. After sitting down, Yun Qin picked up the bowl and looked up at the girl standing at the table with her head bowed. "" The girl looked no more than 15 or 16 years old. She was wearing a school uniform with disheveled hair, a bruised face and hives that made it impossible to tell what she looked like. She took an empty bowl and ladled her a bowl of crispy meat soup, ¡°Sit down and eat.¡± Su Qin looked like she did not dare to disobey. She sat down, picked the chopsticks and held up the enamel bowl. Not daring to look anyone in the eyes, she immediately buried her face in the bowl and pretended to shove two mouthfuls of rice. Yun Qin kept staring at her and snorted a cold laugh. This cold laugh numbed Su Qin¡¯s scalp. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no drug in it. Looking like this, even my son can¡¯t open his mouth to devour you.¡± Yun Qin¡¯s comments were sarcastic yet she picked a chopstick of vegetables into her bowl, ¡°You¡¯re very lucky you are not missing an arm or a leg and being sold to my family.¡± Everyone knows her identity in the village, so those traffickers generally do not take the initiative to do business with her. She just bought Su Qin today and when she went out to pick vegetables in the evening, she found herself being watched by her neighbors. Hearing what was said, Su Qin shoved a mouthful of rice into her mouth. She dared not eat another mouthful even though she was unbearably hungry. She glanced at Yun Qin cautiously after that mouthful of rice, looking like a frightened kitten. Yun Qin asked her, ¡°Where are you from?¡± Stunned momentarily, her voice was as soft as a mosquito, ¡°Yun ¡­ yang.¡± Yun Qin stopped talking and lowered her head to eat. The dining table fell into silence and only the perfunctory sound of chopsticks hitting the enamel bowls was heard. After the meal, the Fool got up and went silently to the kitchen outside with the tableware. Once the Fool left, Yun Qin took out the half-sewn insoles from the cabinet by the side and began to do needlework. As soon as Yun Qin put on the thimble, the little girl poked her elbow with her finger, ¡°Do you need ¡­ help?¡± Yun Qin thought the little girl would take at least a few days before she dared to initiate conversation with her. She didn¡¯t expect she would start talking to her just after one meal. Smiling, she said, ¡°Oh, you girls from the city still know how to do this?¡± Su Qin nodded, ¡°En¡­ I have no family since I grew up in an orphanage and can do all kinds of manual work. I still have to be taken care of by you guys in the future. I can¡¯t eat and drink at your expense.¡± She told the other party that she was an orphan and said that she would accept their ¡®care¡¯ in the future. The implication was that she had accepted the facts. She has nothing to worry about outside and will live with them obediently, thus trying to let the other party relax their vigilance. She appeared sincere which made others hard to discern that she was feigning obedience. This girl probably suffered a lot in Zhang Xing¡¯s house, thus she was so well behaved after coming to her place. Yun Qin thought. If Yun Qin is the kind of person like Li Yunzhen, she might have grinned from ear to ear. Unfortunately, she is not. She sized Su Qin up for a while then retracted her gaze. While threading the needle, she said, ¡°I indeed don¡¯t keep freeloaders here. Do you think I¡¯ll let you stay just because you can do some work? Wait till your hives healed, I¡¯ll have Zhang Feng take you away.¡± Slightly shocked, Su Qin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This woman knew what she had was not an infectious disease, but hives, and yet she is letting Zhang Feng take her away? If she is taken away by Zhang Feng again, will she return to Zhang Xing or will she be resold to a 60-year-old man? This woman, makes Su Qin inscrutable. Doesn¡¯t she want a daughter-in-law who can give birth to a son? If not, then what did she want to do when she bought herself? After she organized her thoughts, she came up with a terrible outcome. She asked Yun Qin tentatively, ¡°You ¡­ are an outsider who was sent here?¡± Yun Qin¡¯s hand trembled and the tip of the needle stabbed into her finger. She knocked over what was in her hand and clutched Su Qin¡¯s neck unexpectedly. The blue veins on her forehead appeared suddenly, ¡°That was not called sent! It¡¯s called abduction! It¡¯s an act of banditry! Do you understand the act of banditry?¡± Su Qin was unable to breathe because of her choking. Shoving her, she struggled free from her restraint. She took several steps back when the small of her back pressed against the cabinet. Rubbing her neck, she frowned at the woman who suddenly went crazy in front of her. ¡°We have a chance to get out.¡± She coughed lightly and continued, ¡°There¡¯s a postgraduate named Li who came here to teach. He¡¯s our hope to get out of here.¡± Hearing that, Yun Qin smiled and laughed coldly, as if she had heard her telling a very naive joke. ¡°Today I heard Zhang Xing said he will come to this village to gather cultural material.¡± Su Qin paused, then continued, ¡°The people here won¡¯t let you go out, but your son is different from you. He is Dashan¡¯s child and a fool in the eyes of the villagers. No one will be wary of him. You can bicker with Zhang Xing about sending him to school.¡± Yun Qin put away her cold smile and began to re-examine the girl in front of her. Reborn once again, everything has gone differently, yet she is still surrounded by dangers. In her previous lifetime, the Fool didn¡¯t go to school. So, he attracted the attention of the students when he went to Tongluo Township, resulting in the discovery of them both. In this lifetime, if the Fool can go to school openly, she will have a way for Li Chuan to get her message. The school is built in Tongluo Township, it¡¯s said to be a township but in fact the environment is not much better. Two days ago, Li Chuan and a few university students walked from Tuling Town to Tongluo Township. They had walked the mountainous path for a day and by the time they arrived, it was already evening. The fellow students had blisters on their feet and thought they could take a good rest once they arrived but seeing the shabby dormitory, they were baffled with stupefied expressions. The dormitory is a tile-roofed house with one room for each gender. The wide beds were made from a large wooden plank and the rooms do not even have a door. The male students were fine with it but the female students were devastated that some even cried out. The students complained and regretted coming to this place. Only Li Chuan silently threw his backpack on the bed, filled a basin with toiletries and went routinely with ease to the backyard to fetch water from the well to wash up. A male student followed him blindly with a basin in his arms, patted him on the shoulder and asked, ¡°Genius Li, why on earth did you come to such a hellish place to teach ah? Is it to experience life personally?¡± The male student who spoke is called Yang Yuan, who was originally in the same grade as Li Chuan when he was in high school. Later, Li Chuan skipped grades all the way. When he just graduated from university, Li Chuan had completed his postgraduate studies. Yang Yuan intends to enter officialdom after graduation. He came to such a backward place under the education support program just to increase some political capital[1] for himself. But he could not figure out why Li Chuan would come to such a place. In his previous lifetime, Li Chuan came here to teach because he had offended someone. And in this lifetime ¡­ He wrung out the towel in his hand, wiped his face and said, ¡°To find someone.¡± [1] ÕþÖÎ×ʱ¾ (Zh¨¨ngzh¨¬ z¨©b¨§n) ¨C a metaphor used in political theory to conceptualize the accumulation of resources and power built through relationships, trust, goodwill, and influence between politicians or parties and other stakeholders, such as constituents. CH 3 Chapter 3 ¨C Li Chuan This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Yang Yuan was shocked, ¡°Looking for someone? You came to this shitty place to look for someone? Genius Li, you ¡­. are looking for who?¡± Pigs were grunting in the yard and the light was dim. Yang Yuan, who is timid, was frightened that the enamel basin in his hand clanked to the ground as he grabbed Li Chuan¡¯s arm, ¡°Ma ah! ¡­ I really don¡¯t want to stay in this hellhole for another day. I want to go home.¡± Li Chuan is 1.9m tall and is one head taller than him. While they were in high school, he assumed the highest attractiveness index in class. He is handsome, a god of learning and good-natured who treats others gently. Not only girls like him, even boys can¡¯t loathe him. There are a total of five girls who came to teach this time. Three of them enrolled and came to this backward place because of Li Chuan. During high school, Yang Yuan heard that Li Chuan¡¯s family was well off and could be considered as a rich second-generation[1], hence he could not fathom why the impressive Genius Li would come to such a place to find someone. Li Chuan frowned and took his arm out of Yang Yuan¡¯s hand but he didn¡¯t answer him. He came to find his wife from his previous lifetime, Su Qin. Lying in bed at night, Li Chuan couldn¡¯t sleep no matter what. He heard the girls crying next door. He thought of Su Qin, thought of her usually dewy eyes. The fire came to mind and the sight of Su Qin holding their daughter in her arms as he recalled their last gaze at each other amidst the flames. When he returned home from his lectures, he saw his small villa burning up with thick billowing smoke and intense fire. Li Chuan defied the obstruction of the fire controller and the property management as he charged into the sea of flames, thinking he could save the mother and daughter but he underestimated the potency of the fire and was burned to death with them. He has not forgotten the pain of burning flesh but how can the suffering of flesh match the pain of losing the mother, Su Qin and their daughter. Most likely he had never done anything bad in his previous lifetime that Heavens took pity on him and let him come back to the time before he met Su Qin. The first thing he did after he woke up was to go make inquiries at Su Qin¡¯s house. Yet, he was a step late as Su Qin had already been abducted. He went back to school to get some documents when he saw the information on the public notice board about the enlistment of fresh graduates to undergo the program of bringing education to the underdeveloped mountain villages. Li Chuan immediately applied to teach in Tongluo Township before hurriedly getting in touch with his childhood friend, Zhang Cheng, asking him to accompany him on a trip to Tongluo Township to save a girl who had been abducted to the mountains. Li Chuan heard a great deal about the village from Su Qin and had a smattering knowledge about the villagers¡¯ hooliganism. The mountain village is inaccessible by traffic and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Due to the terrain, there is only one way out of the village. The villagers are cunning. Once the police go up the mountain, they will inevitably be notified and immediately hide the abducted girls. 90% of the wives/daughter-in-laws in the village are girls abducted from everywhere. Pursuing some clues, two police officers once investigated this village but they never came out again after entering that mountain. Two police officers had disappeared. Yunyang City set up a task force to investigate all the inaccessible mountain villages near Tongluo Township but ended up empty-handed. In the vast and obscure Dashan, no villagers admitted that outsiders had come. As no evidence was found, the two police officers have been classified as missing persons till date. Li Chuan vaguely told Zhang Cheng about the dangers of the trip: the villagers are crafty and unruly, flout the law and even dare setting fire to kill people. Zhang Cheng is a criminal police officer in Yunyang City, a tough guy who alone beats ten. He was placed on mandatory leave for making a mistake in his duties a while ago. As soon as he heard about going to save a girl in the mountain, he immediately geared up for action and excited like a monkey. After listening to Li Chuan¡¯s narration, Zhang Cheng slammed his fist on the dining table, ¡°Dammit, absolutely lawless? Don¡¯t say anymore, Laozi[2] will pick the weapon and go with you!¡± ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Li Chuan was silent for a while, then said, ¡°This temper of yours, should properly restraint, lest others scathe you with underhand methods.¡± This fellow is thick-skinned and impulsive. But he will not pursue with questions of what he doesn¡¯t want to say, which is why he sought his help. ¡°Crap ¡­ Brother Chuanchuan, why do you sound ¡­ like my dad? Okay, okay, you don¡¯t have to worry about my affairs. You want to save someone, then let¡¯s handle your business first.¡± Only when he almost hung up the phone did Zhang Cheng ask, ¡°By the way, this buddy just spoke out of turn, what¡¯s the affair with the girl ah? You are usually not meddlesome, you will walk past unconcernedly when girls by the roadside are being taken liberties ¡­ ¡° Before he finished his sentence, Li Chuan had already hung up the phone. No more than ten minutes later, Zhang Cheng received a detailed ¡®operation plan¡¯ from Li Chuan. Rather than a plan, it was more a set of rules and regulations that keep him within bound. ********** Li Chuan then contacted Su Qin¡¯s parents from the phone booth, informing them of Su Qin¡¯s whereabouts as an informant. Her daughter has been missing for a week. Su Qin¡¯s mother is so anxious that her hair turned gray after several nights. They have acquired hope from Li Chuan and immediately contacted Captain Wen, who was in charge of Su Qin¡¯s missing case. As a precaution, he made another phone call as an anonymous person to the local police station to inform against the practice of human trafficking in that village. He stated that he is a villager of Zhangjia Gorge and because he despises people in the village dealing with human trade, he took the risk of violating the village taboo to make this call to report against them. He expressed in the call that he could not tell the police his identity in order to protect himself. *********** Li Chuan came with the teaching group and arrived at Tongluo Township one day earlier while Zhang Cheng rushed over the next day and stayed as the PE teacher, coaching the children here somersaults and shadowboxing. While Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng are fully prepared here, there is no movement from the police side. Li Chuan called Su Qin¡¯s parents and was told they had already notified the police but the information gotten from the police was ¡ª it was still under investigation. To wait another day meant Su Qin will be in peril for one more day. When Li Chuan proposed to the mayor about gathering cultural material in Zhangjia Gorge, he intended to go with Zhang Cheng to scout out the condition first. They are going over as teachers and the villagers have always ¡®honor¡¯ teachers and will unlikely make things difficult for them. It has been the third day since Zhang Cheng arrived here. Coaching shadowboxing and somersaults to the children are damn exhausting. After class, he rushed into the leaky office of Li Chuan and impatiently asked, ¡°My Genius Li, when are we setting out to rescue the person ah? I¡¯m almost suffocated to death!¡± The conditions here are poor and it is unbearable as it is damp and cold sleeping under the quilt. At night, the boys and girls hug in pairs when they sleep to keep each other warm. Last night, Zhang Cheng tried to squeeze into Li Chuan¡¯s quilt but was kicked out mercilessly by him. Zhang Cheng, ¡° ¡­¡­.¡± Alright, okay, you are the boss, the prince charming, Laozi doesn¡¯t yearn to share a quilt with you! Confronted with Zhang Cheng¡¯s question, Li Chuan seemed not in a hurry to pack the books up. Su Qin is trapped in the tiger¡¯s mouth, he is more anxious than Zhang Cheng. These few nights, as long as he closed his eyes, he would dream about Su Qin being subjected to tortures in the village. But without the police¡¯s support now, merely him and Zhang Cheng, it is difficult to confront a village of unruly people. He can¡¯t be impulsive nor should he act rashly. Not only would he not be able to save Su Qin, he might even risk his and Zhang Cheng¡¯s lives. In order not to rouse the villagers¡¯ suspicion, he has to find the suitable pretext to go to Zhangjia Gorge. That afternoon, the mayor came to find Li Chuan and told him, ¡°Teacher Li ah, I mentioned to Village Chief Zhang about you wanting to go Zhangjia Gorge to gather cultural material. Here¡¯s the thing, I ¡­ don¡¯t recommend you going there. The villagers don¡¯t have much inner quality, the terrain is complicated and the mountain paths are difficult to traipse through, what¡¯s there to gather? What about this, I¡¯ll arrange for you to go to Liuja Village or Xinghua Village? The scenery there is not as bad or lacking compared to Zhangjia Gorge.¡± Smiling at the mayor, Li Chuan gripped the other party¡¯s hand cordially, ¡°Mayor Li, while giving composition lessons to the children these past two days, one of the students depicted Zhangjia Gorge as a paradise on earth. I am really curious about the scenery there. Furthermore, it¡¯s precisely due to the complicated terrain and difficult mountain paths that have created its current beautiful surroundings. Mayor, you don¡¯t have to worry about me and Teacher Zhang. We have taken part in wilderness survival training and have no problem with our physical strength.¡± Seeing that the mayor was still hesitating, he added, ¡°By the way, Mayor, this is a little token of my appreciation. You take it and see how to distribute it to buy something for the children.¡± ¡°Oh? Teacher Li, this is?¡± The mayor took the thick envelope and was dumbfounded once he opened it. Inside were thick stacks of red banknotes, estimated to be around 20,000 yuan. The mayor¡¯s salary is only 800 yuan a month. If the harvest is good, he can increase a little of his household income every year. The annual household income of the mayor¡¯s family is only 10,000 yuan. He was shocked beyond words to receive more than 20,000 yuan of donations from Li Chuan In fact, the mayor also knows a little of Zhangjia Gorge¡¯s shady business. He is also clear why Zhang Xing would reject outsiders from entering the village so much. He pondered over it again. Teacher Li spares no effort coming so far to teach the children for free and even gives the children money. If he can¡¯t even do this for him, what kind of mayor is he? Mayor Li accepted the money. Cupping Li Chuan¡¯s hand, he spoke with gratitude, ¡°Teacher Li, you are a good person ah. Don¡¯t worry, I will arrange for you as soon as possible! By the way, how many days will you be going?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what I plan to do, ¡° Li Chuan said unhurriedly. ¡°Now that spring is in full bloom, there are wild flowers all over the mountain. I plan to take the children to Zhangjia Gorge for a lesson on gathering cultural materials and teach them to draw. I have bought some watercolors and drawing paper here which I will take along with me. Of course, teaching the children to draw hastily will bring no success, so it will take about a week or so.¡± ¡°Ah? Staying for a week ah?¡± Mayor Li¡¯s face turned unsightly. Li Chuan nodded and said, ¡°Mayor Li, you can arrange the accommodation for us. Teacher Zhang and I will pay for the room charge. I also know that it is not easy for the villagers, so I will pay 360 yuan per night for the room, what do you think?¡± ¡°No, no, no¡­ Teacher Li, I will be offended hearing such. If you want to stay, I will arrange your food and accommodation. It¡¯s just that ¡­ there¡¯s also no place for the children to attend classes either, what¡¯s your opinion?¡± Li Chuan looked gentle as he said with a smile, ¡°Since it¡¯s to gather cultural material, of course it will be done outdoors. The children can paint landscapes and draw houses which can be conducted outdoors. I¡¯ve learned from the children that the journey to Zhangjia Gorge is actually about 40 minutes shorter than the trip to Tongluo Township, so it¡¯s also convenient for the children. What do you think, Mayor Li?¡± Mayor Li was already enthralled by the banknotes in his hand that he nodded his head promptly hearing him say so, ¡°Yes, of course it¡¯s good ¡­ then .. Teacher Li, I will go back and make the arrangements for you. You pack your things and follow me into the mountains tomorrow. Apart from you and Teacher Zhang, other teachers are not going?¡± ¡°Other teachers do not have the fundamental knowledge of paintings and it has been hard these days, just let them have a week off.¡± Li Chuan said so. [1] ¸»¶þ´ú (F¨´ ¨¨r d¨¤i) ¨C children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping¡¯s economic reforms in the 1980s. [2] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly. CH 4 Chapter 4 ¨C Yun Fei This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that.¡± Mayor Li smiled and said, ¡°Our condition here is indeed difficult. I will ask the villagers to give the teachers a few new quilts tomorrow, so the teachers can have restful nights. I still have some business and will leave first. I will come pick you up at noon tomorrow. ¡°En.¡± Li Chuan got up and sent the mayor all the way to the door. Lin Xiaoyin, who came together to the mountain village to teach, unexpectedly jumped in through the door with books in her arms and called out a ¡®wow¡¯ intending to scare Li Chuan. The man, however, just swept her an indifferent glance without uttering a word and began to correct the students¡¯ homework once he returned to his seat. Due to the limited conditions in the mountain village and the difficulty in washing up, all the boys who came along become slovenly, except for Li Chuan, who insists on boiling water every day in the kitchen for bathing. He will change into a clean shirt every day and make himself immaculate. In front of those unkempt youths, he is like a white gardenia with a fresh temperament. Even the air around him seems to have a refreshing scent that makes the mind wander when one walks past him. Sitting in front of a simple and plain desk with a red pen in his hand, Li Chuan¡¯s head was slightly hung. Looking at him from the side, his Adam¡¯s apple, straight nose and thick long eyelashes are lethal weapons that fascinate the girls. Li Chuan was called Genius Li, mainly because of his unbelievably persistent good academic career. Tsinghua University made an exception and recruited him while he was in high school and by 21, he had already completed his postgraduate studies. Apart from that, he is remarkably good looking. Not only girls have crushes on him, even boys have confessed their love for him too. Pulling out a stool, Lin Xiaoyin sat in front of him with hand propping her head up and said to him, ¡°Genius Li, I¡¯ve heard what you just said to the mayor. Aren¡¯t you looking down on others? My watercolor painting won first prize in the Youth Contest during high school. I also want to go with you tomorrow.¡± Hearing this, the hand that was holding the pen halted as Li Chuan turned to look at her, ¡°You can¡¯t go.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s tone turned cold suddenly and his expression was extremely solemn which was completely different from the amiable discussion he had with Mayor Li just now. Lin Xiaoyin is beautiful and her family is well off too. She came to teach this time solely because of Li Chuan. In the previous lifetime, Lin Xiaoyin had pursued Li Chuan for more than 10 years. Even after Li Chuan had told her clearly that he would not divorce nor would he marry any woman other than Su Qin, Lin Xiaoyin was determined and said she would never give up as long as she was still alive. Li Chuan lectured in Nanjing University, so Lin Xiaoyin also stayed to teach at Nanjing University. With makeup on and heavily perfumed, Lin Xiaoyin blinked at Li Chuan and asked him, ¡°Why ah? Oh¡­ I know, you are worried that I will be tired, right? Genius Li, you don¡¯t have to worry. I will be fine.¡± After experiencing the tragedy of his previous lifetime, Li Chuan no longer treats others or matters with a gentle approach like he did in the previous lifetime. ¡°Classmate Lin has misunderstood.¡± He frowned and said, ¡°Although you are a woman, none of us is obligated to take care or accommodate you. Please have some self-awareness, Classmate Lin and stop trying to hold others back.¡± Arching her eyebrows, the girl held up two fingers and swore, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t hold the troop back!¡± ¡°Humph.¡± Li Chuan seemingly has had no more patience since rebirth. He recalled a phrase that the students often used and actually blurted out, ¡°Don¡¯t you have the b-figure in your heart[1] whether you will hold others back or not?¡± The words were offensive and he only hoped he could leave a very bad impression on the girl. In Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s mind, Li Chuan nevertheless treats others with politeness and courtesy even though he does not like to meddle in others¡¯ business and always keeps his distance from the female classmates. She was obviously shocked by the sudden ¡®foul language¡¯ that came out of Li Chuan¡¯s mouth. This is a popular internet slang many years later but now that Li Chuan used it, it became the most powerful word to put girls off. The rims of the girl¡¯s eyes reddened and her lips shriveled as she covered her face and cried out. She originally thought Li Chuan would comfort her with a word or two but unexpectedly, the man just abandoned the half marked homework as he got up and went out. Since the man had already left the office, the girl also stopped crying. Rubbing her red and swollen eyes, she looked at the direction where Li Chuan left and bit her lips tightly. ********** Noon of the next day. Mayor Li came to school with someone carrying a basket on the back to help carry Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng¡¯s things. Li Chuan did not bring many things. Just a few changes of clothes and toiletries while the rest were paints and drawing papers for the students. After checking the inventory, they were ready to go upstairs when Lin Xiaoyin rushed out from the dormitory in thick-soled boots and a designer shoulder bag. She waved at them from afar, ¡°Wait, wait, wait, Teacher Li , Teacher Zhang, wait for me. I¡¯m going too!¡± Lin Xiaoyin ran out and stopped in front of them. Gasping for breath, she straightened her back then raised her eyes and gazed at Li Chuan¡¯s chin, ¡°Genius Li, I am going too. I promise I will not hold you back! I certainly have ¡­ b-figure in my heart!¡± Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng exchanged a glance. Pulling Li Chuan aside, Zhang Cheng asked him, ¡°Dude, what¡¯s the matter with you? One has yet to be rescued and yet another is sent to them? You didn¡¯t tell her about the situation in that village ah?¡± ¡°Will she believe it if I told her?¡± Li Chuan raised his hand and kneaded his glabella. Taking a glance at Lin Xiaoyin, Mayor Li then looked at Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng, and asked, ¡°What? Teacher Lin also wants to go to the mountain? Teacher Lin, you don¡¯t know how to paint, so what are you doing up the mountains?¡± Lin Xiaoyin stuck out her chest. As she was wearing a low-cut v-necked sweater, the white orbs shook in wake once she stuck her chest out. She said, ¡°Who said I can¡¯t paint? My paintings have won awards before.¡± Mayor Li¡¯s gaze was fixed on her before he quickly cast a glance at Li Chuan, ¡°Teacher Li, didn¡¯t you say that the other teachers have no fundamental skills in painting?¡± Turning around, Li Chuan looked at Lin Xiaoyin, ¡°The mountain road is rugged and long. There are jackals, wolves and wild boars running amuck. As a girl, is Teacher Lin not afraid?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid! With you and Teacher Zhang around and besides, there is also the Mayor, what am I afraid of?¡± Lin Xiaoyin looked at the mayor and smiled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Mayor?¡± Mayor Li thought it might not be a bad idea to have one more teacher as it might shorten the children¡¯s lesson time and probably be able to finish in less than a week, so he let her stay too. The villagers respect teachers who come to teach in the countryside and since Lin Xiaoyin was personally brought over by Mayor Li, he reckons that those villagers will not dare to have ideas on Lin Xiaoyin. Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng did not stop her anymore but kept a distance from her all the way. Su Qin slept with Yun Qin at night. Due to the tossing and torments of the past few days, she slept until 9 o¡¯clock. Rural people are accustomed to do farm work in the field before the sun rises. When she got up in the morning, Yun Qin had already brought Feifei to work in the field and only left her alone in the house. Sitting up, she casually combed her hair with her fingers and tied it into a ponytail. When she came out and passed by the main room, she saw food left on the square table that was covered with a winnowing fan. Lifting the winnowing fan were two boiled sweet potatoes, a small dish of pickles and a bowl of mung bean porridge. She was really hungry. Due to her suspicion of Yun Qin last night, she didn¡¯t eat many mouthfuls of rice. Picking the sweet potato up, she gobbled it when it choked her and she hurriedly drank two mouthfuls of porridge to make the food stuck in her throat slide down. After finishing the meal, she packed up the dishes and went to the kitchen. The kitchen is next to the pigpen. Went out of the main room first then walked straight along the right hand side and the kitchen was at the end. It is an earthen stove kitchen where firewoods are neatly arranged around the foot of the wall. Su Qin fetched two ladles of water from the water vat to wash the dishes before going out. She caught sight of several children standing in the yard who sized her up with broad smiles. When they saw her come out, the children hid bashfully behind the tree. Two little boys made faces and threw stones at her then mockingly said, ¡°The Fool¡¯s wife is ugly and their children will be ugly too! La, la, la, la, la, la ¡­¡± The stone hit Su Qin¡¯s face which hurt her and made her click her tongue. She frowned and was about to go back into the house when a dark skinny little girl of about eight years old was seen picking up a bamboo stick to chase after the boys who threw stones at Su Qin. She hit and scolded them, ¡°Who asked you to bully people again! Bully again! Beat you to death!¡± It was worth noting that this eight-year-old girl was carrying a basket on her back which contained a babbling little sister of about one-year-old. Due to the limited conditions in the rural areas, these several children¡¯s clothes were pitch-dark while their faces and hands were all dirty, like the little beggars squatting and begging by the roadside in the city. Even though it was a distance away, she seemingly could smell their body odor. The boy jumped as he got beaten up by his elder sister when he ran and yelled, ¡°Zhang Xiuxiu, you actually dare to hit me! I¡¯m going back to tell our grandparents! Let grandpa beat you money-losing-goods[2] to death!¡± The boy soon ran out of sight. Holding the bamboo stick with her little sister, who is learning to speak, on her back, the girl approached Su Qin and apologized to her, ¡°Sorry ah Sister, my little brother is just asking to get beaten up. Next time if he hits you again, you take the stick and beat him hard!¡± Su Qin sized up the girl in front of her. She is only eight years old and still a child yet she is carrying a one-year-old on her back. At such a young age, she is actually shouldering the burden of an adult. There are very few girls in this village. Either they were drowned at birth or grown up to the age of 15 or 16 then taken by their parents to barter marriages for the boys in the family. This girl obviously can¡¯t escape the fate of being exchanged to get a wife for her younger brother in the future. Su Qin shook her head and told her, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡± before entering the house. Back in the house, she looked at her reflection in the water. Half of her face was still swollen but the hives had subsided considerably. She took a piece of cloth from Yun Qin¡¯s cabinet and wrapped it around her head. The hives and bruises will soon heal. She can¡¯t let the villagers see her original look. Although she is not exceedingly beautiful, in the eyes of the villagers, it is only normal for a Fool to match with an ugly girl. If the Fool is paired with a decent-looking wife, it is bound to attract gossip. She still has some self-confidence in her own appearance. Although she doesn¡¯t have a celebrity look, she can be considered outstanding amongst the ordinary people. Yun Qin took Yun Fei home around noon and they brought back some herbs. When Yun Qin went to cook in the kitchen, Yun Fei grinded the collected herbs into a paste and carried it in a small bowl to the main room to give Su Qin the medication. Su Qin¡¯s injuries were all on her face and she herself simply couldn¡¯t see them. Dipping his fingers into the bit of medication, he daubed it gently on her face yet she bared her teeth in pain and shrank back. There was no warmth in Yun Fei¡¯s tone, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Su Qin stopped moving to look up closely at Yun Fei and still felt surreal. She owed him too much in her previous lifetime. In this lifetime, she will take both mother and son out of this mountain village and out of the purgatory on earth no matter what. Their first move is to convince Zhang Xing to agree, letting Yun Fei follow the village children to attend school with Professor Li. Yun Qin had already told her life experience to Su Qin last night. Originally a postgraduate student at Nanjing University, she was abducted and sold here about 16 years ago. One must know that during that era of more than a decade ago, there were very few college students let alone the rarer than an exotic animal, the postgraduate. But it was just like this; a highly educated and intellectual young woman got abducted and sold to such a place. She was already a month pregnant at that time when she was abducted. Yun Qin was sold to a genuine fool and wasn¡¯t as lucky as Su Qin. In order to save the fetus in her womb, she dared not resist and endured the humiliation. The fool was really foolish and treated her really well, and she gave birth to the baby in her womb smoothly. She did not blame the fool as he didn¡¯t have the ability to distinguish right from wrong but she bitterly hated the fool¡¯s parents and everyone in the village. They were the ones who ruined her life. If it weren¡¯t for these monsters, she would now have her own family, a loving husband and a decent job. She would probably be a successful career woman who walks with the wind. She got abducted and sold here which not only ruined the happiness of a family but also squandered the country¡¯s resources. The one suffered the most is Yun Fei, who has to bear her hardships since young and even had to act dumb. [1] Äã×Ô¼ºÐÄÀïûµã±Æ(b)Êý (N¨« z¨¬j¨« x¨©nl¨« m¨¦i di¨£n b¨© sh¨´) ¨C it¡¯s an internet slang that derived from the Northern dialect which goes along the line ¡®Are you mentally retarded?¡¯ or impolitely means that aren¡¯t you overestimating yourself?. [2] ÅâÇ®»õ (P¨¦iqi¨¢n hu¨°) ¨C an old derogatory term for girls because girls couldn¡¯t go out to earn money and her family had to prepare dowry when she got married, hence the name. CH 5 Chapter 5 ¨C Up the Mountain Yun Qin¡¯s house has a large compound. Many children like to come and play with Yun Fei. "" He behaves dumbly in front of the children and has never fought back whenever he is bullied. If his family roasted any peanut kernels, he would offer to eat together with the children. The boys think that Yun Fei is very stupid. While girls feel that Yun Fei is very good, he doesn¡¯t talk much and has a good temperament. Moreover, although he is ¡®stupid¡¯, he is always neat and clean. In summer, his body has a faint soap-scent smell unlike other boys who are full of sweaty stench. At noon, the children came to Yun household¡¯s compound to play with sandbags and hopscotch. The neighboring women also brought out the insoles and needlework where they sat and sewed in their own yard, watching the children play while they chatted. Four women were engaging in small talks. Li Suhua from next door asked Yun Qin, ¡°Qin¡¯er, I heard you bought a wife for Feifei yesterday? Is she obedient?¡± On Yun Qin¡¯s lap was a wicker basket with tangled needles and threads which were slightly messy. As she sorted out the needles and threads, she replied, ¡°Not too bad. Probably scared witless from the beating. Very obedient. She helps with the dishes and work too. Hm¡­ just a little ugly. But that doesn¡¯t matter as long as she can give birth to children.¡± Li Suhuai exclaimed, ¡°Oh, fortunately she¡¯s ugly, otherwise not knowing what ruse she will kick up if she¡¯s good looking. Do you know the wife of Zhang Er¡¯wa family? Tsk, unusually beautiful but in the end, within two days, she made a fuss of wanting to kill Zhang Erwa¡¯s entire family and also wanted to report to the police. That damn girl even went as far as wanting to perish together with Zhang Er¡¯wa by using rat-poison! But guess what?¡± The other women stared in disbelief, ¡°Beaten to death?¡± ¡°In any case she was paid for, how could she be beaten to death?¡± Li Suhua took a breath and said, ¡°That ruthless Zhang Feng hacked off both her daughter-in-law¡¯s legs. I went to take a look, the original very beautiful girl has become mentally-deranged ¡­ crawling around in the pigpen and has now gone completely crazy. What a sin ah.¡± ¡°Haiz, like I say, how can Feng¡¯er be blamed for this? If it was not that girl who tried to poison others, would Feng¡¯er do such a wicked thing? Like I say, it¡¯s the girl who is ruthless, no one is to be blamed! It¡¯s benevolent that she was not dragged to the rooftop and burnt to death. But then again, isn¡¯t our Qin¡¯er also a daughter-in-law from the city? Look how kind our Qin¡¯er is and how happy she is staying here?¡± Saying that, she reached over and patted Yun Qin¡¯s shoulder. Yun Qin hung her head without saying a word while a thin smile suspended on the corners of her mouth but her stomach was churning and she felt like vomiting. She then called out towards the window, ¡°Little Qin, bring over the bunch of red thread for me.¡± Not long after, the chatting peasant women sitting in the yard saw a petite girl with a head-scarf come out with a bunch of red thread. She handed the red thread to Yun Qin with visibly trembling hands. Her raised eyes met Li Suhua¡¯s and like a startled rabbit, she hastily hung her head and quickly entered the house. Li Suhua said to everyone once she had entered the house, ¡°Just look at how well Qin¡¯er taught her daughter-in-law? It¡¯s only her first day here and she does everything she¡¯s told to do. This morning when Qin¡¯er and Feifei went out to work, the girl went into the kitchen alone to do the dishes then went back to the room herself, quite well-behaved.¡± Yun Qin laughed audibly, ¡°Although our Feifei is stupid, he nevertheless is handsome. It is also her blessing that she can marry our Feifei.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes and not only that, your family Feifei ah, is really good-looking. Even better looking than ¡­ that Xu Xian in¡¶The Legend of the White Snake¡·.¡± ¡°Yes ah, your family Feifei looks like you, it¡¯s just a pity ¡­¡± Yun Qin suddenly remembered something and asked Li Suhua, ¡°S¨£ozi[1], since the Village Chief is your nephew, can you go talk to him to allow my family Feifei to attend school too? My family Feifei has grown up working along with me and now he even has a wife but he has never had a taste of going to school. I want him to experience attending school once.¡± ¡°This ¡­ ¡° Li Suhua appeared to be in a dilemma and said, ¡°We are both mothers. Of course I know you are doing it for the good of your son. But Feifei¡¯s situation and the impossibility of leaving the village, what¡¯s the point of going to school?¡± Yun Qin gripped Li Suhua¡¯s hand and said, ¡°S¨£ozi, you don¡¯t know how envious our Feifei is sitting at the door and watching other children coming home with school bags on their backs every day. Besides, Feifei¡¯s father had never attended school. Isn¡¯t it free schooling now? Our Feifei is also a male offspring in the village, so why can¡¯t he attend school? Even if he only learns a few numbers, it will already make me look good as his mother.¡± Li Suhua was in a predicament. Su Qin let out a sigh hearing the conversation outside through the window. Although Yun Qin and Feifei were not home in the morning, the neighbors were watching her. If she had made a move of leaving the compound, Li Suhua would have definitely suggested Yun Qin to break her leg at this moment. In her previous lifetime, the reason why she dared not run away was precisely these instances of broken limbs that she heard of. Later, what led her to make the desperate attempt was when she heard Zhang Xing¡¯s intention of selling her to an old man. The escape was unsuccessful, not only was she captured back but Yun Fei was killed too. There is a rooftop used for sacrificial worship at the edge of the village. Before the Chinese economic reform[2], this was a superstitious feudal village and a young girl would be burned to death every year as a sacrificial to Heaven. After the economic reform, this phenomenon has stopped but the villagers still use it to burn those who violated the village rules. In this village, villagers must abide by the rules and be united. Whoever dares to liberate someone else¡¯s wife/daughter-in-law will certainly be burned to death as sacrificial to the mountain. And Yun Fei violated this taboo in her previous lifetime for setting Su Qin free, hence he ended up being burned to death. Yun Fei knows his own identity and just like his mother, he loathes the people in the village and also yearns for the outside world, wanting to know what his biological father looks like. At night. Yun Qin caught an old hen and went to Li Suhua¡¯s house. An old hen that can lay eggs is worth a bit of money. As such, Li Suhua relented and agreed to help the matter of letting Yun Fei attend school. Su Qin found a thumb-length pencil and a piece of rough paper at home. Relying on the bit of light from outside, Su Qin lay on the bed and drew a map from the memory of her previous lifetime. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, there is only one way out of Zhangjia Gorge. However, there is a natural cavern behind a cliff southeast of the back mountain. Water cascades along a small waterfall below the cavern that flows towards the big river in Tongluo Township. Yun Fei found that cavern in her previous lifetime. Under the pursuit of the villagers, the two of them made a desperate attempt dashing down the waterfall to float along the river to Tongluo Township by holding on to a dead tree. But that path was so treacherous that both of them almost drowned and it was by pure luck that they survived. She wasn¡¯t sure if she would have that kind of luck in this lifetime, so she dared not take that risk, let alone risk the lives of both Yun Fei and Yun Qin. This map was only drawn as a contingency. She will not consider this escape plan unless it is the last resort. The best plan now is to find a way for Yun Fei to attend school and contact Professor Li. Professor Li was a lecturer specializing in ¡®Security Countermeasure¡¯ in her previous lifetime. This specialized field was rare in China and was specifically set up by Nanjing University for the military. Nanjing University is located in Jinyang City of Dongchuan Province. As a science and technology city in China, Jinyang flourishes with the military industry. Professor Li not only taught at Nanjing University, but also provided network security for Jinyang Ninth Research Institute. Jinyang Ninth Research Institute is a highly confidential national institute for China¡¯s Academy of Physics Engineering which is the only nuclear weapons development and production unit in China. For someone who was engaged in network security, Professor Li was naturally proficient in cryptography. After Su Qin married him, the first Morse code he taught Su Qin was. ¡± ¡­ . -¡­ ¡ª ¡­ ¨C . -¡­ ¡± Which interpretation is, ¡®I love you¡¯. Su Qin didn¡¯tt learn many codes from Professor Li, but she has no problem sending a simple distress message. She believes that if a girl sends him a distress call from the remote mountains, he might come to find her out of curiosity even if he has no empathy. The herbal medication on Su Qin¡¯s face dried up quickly and needed to be washed off before reapplying it again. The herbs that Yun Fei gathered and mashed were brought into the bedroom where he sat at the edge of the bed. Putting the pencil down, Su Qin looked up at the neat and tidy boy in front of her. He dabbed a bit of the medication in the bowl with his fingers and spoke to her, ¡°Take off the face towel.¡± Taking the face towel off, Su Qin accepted the towel he brought in and wiped her face clean. The hives on her face had already faded and only a few red spots remained on her skin, while the swelling on her face had also subsided and her original palm-sized oval face revealed. Although there are still some bruises on her face, it does not affect the beauty of her whole appearance. Adorned with a pair of beautiful shapely eyebrows, her gaze is gentle and calm. There is stubbornness and also clarity in her eyes, like dewdrops shrouded by the first ray of morning sunlight which are full of ingenuity. The girl has stunning features, especially that pair of shapely and delicate eyebrows. This is the first time Yun Fei met such a beautiful girl. The girl moved her face closer when he administered the medication. Her long arched curvy eyelashes fluttered up and down like small fans while the girl¡¯s warm breath that sprinkled on his throat caused his heart to throb. The fifteen-year-old boy, who has never experienced close contact with girls of his age, suddenly blushed. As Su Qin was pondering about something, she didn¡¯t notice the boy¡¯s changes. In her mind, Feifei is her family hence she simply didn¡¯t feel anything inappropriate at all. While the boy¡¯s fingertips pressed her cheeks gently, she frowned that he immediately paused and began to blame himself ¡­ for using too much force. ¡°Can I call you Feifei?¡± Su Qin suddenly raised her eyes and asked him. Yun Fei was stunned for a moment before he nodded a while later. The fingertips that dipped with herbal medication swept across her cheekbones lightly. ¡°You can call me Sister Su-Su from now on.¡± Su Qin arched her eyebrows, causing the herbal medication to come off due to her overly expressive facial expression. Yun Fei frowned and got up very angrily all of a sudden. The enamel bowl containing the herbal medication that was in his hand was placed heavily on the cabinet before he turned around and went out. Su Qin was taken aback and wondered why the young lad lost his temper. Lowering her eyes, she saw the medication that dripped on the bed sheet and guessed ¡ª Was he angry with herself for getting the herbs on the bed sheet? Yun Fei was a little angry. He was angry at the girl, who is shorter and smaller than him, asking him to call her sister. Humph.. He definitely doesn¡¯t want to. 7:00pm is usually the time that people in the village start to close their doors to go to bed. But there were sudden beatings of gongs and drums outside while torches were lit up as if it was daylight outside. Putting her clothes on, Yun Qin slipped on her slippers and went to find out what was going on. She asked her neighbor Li Suhua at the top of her voice, ¡°S¨£ozi, what¡¯s all this banging and drumming? What¡¯s going on ah?¡± As the compound was pitch-dark and the silhouette of the other party could not be seen, Li Suhua also replied at the top of her voice, ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my family Mingming saying that Mayor Li seemed to have come to the village with a few teachers.¡± Hearing the conversation outside, Su Qin immediately sat up on the bed. Yun Qin had just returned to the house and was about to bolt the door when someone knocked on the door ¡®thud thud thud¡¯. When she opened the door, a group of men with torches stood outside. The man in lead had a sharp look and spoke gaspingly, ¡°Qin¡¯er, hurry up and call your family¡¯s daughter-in-law out. Some teachers have come to stay a few days in our village. The Village Chief said to take and hide those wives/daughter-in-laws who recently arrived from the city to the small temple on the mountain.¡± Standing at the doorway, Yun Qin blocked the door and said, ¡°My family¡¯s daughter-in-law is quite obedient, she doesn¡¯t need to go to the small temple, right?¡± ¡°No, you know the village¡¯s rules. All brides must go!¡± Wrapped in a headscarf, Su Qin came out and seeing Zhang Er¡¯wa, she instinctively hid behind Yun Qin. She grabbed Yun Qin¡¯s shoulders with her head hung low while her voice trembled badly, ¡°Mother ¡­¡± Standing in front to block Zhang Er¡¯wa, Yun Qin gripped Su Qin¡¯s hand and placated in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid and just go calmly. Mother will make a good meal for you when you come back.¡± She then raised her eyes to look at Zhang Er¡¯wa and said, ¡°Er¡¯wa, don¡¯t you try having any idea on my daughter-in-law ah. My family Feifei is stupid but I am not.¡± Zhang Er¡¯wa made a ¡®tsk¡¯ sound before sweeping a glance at Su Qin and said, ¡°Hurry up and come with me!¡± [1] É©×Ó (S¨£ozi) ¨C sister-in-law / older brother¡¯s wife / general appellation for married women CH 6 Chapter 6 ¨C Whacked While the front of the village was lively with drumming of gongs, several men were walking up the mountain with four abducted girls at the back of the village. Su Qin behaved very well. She even helped to carry quilts and bags on her own accord. The scarf that wrapped around her face slipped down a little revealing the skin under her eyelids due to vigorous movement. It was distinctly clear illuminated by the torch. Hence, Zhang Er¡¯wa kept looking at this girl who was abducted here by him and his mother, Zhang Feng. This girl is beautiful. All the way back to the mountain, he had wanted to grope, touch and bed her. However, his mother, Zhang Feng, didn¡¯t allow him to touch her for the sake of selling her at a high price to Zhang Xing. Zhang Feng would hit the back of his hand with an iron rod whenever he touched her. But he is dying of lustfulness. He originally thought he could take this opportunity to f*ck her in the mountain temple. But seeing the unidentified brown substances under her eyelids now, his scalp was numb with terror. Besides resembling a shriveled-face zombie, she also looked like an old tree bark. It seemed that Zhang Xing was right. She does indeed have a strange disease which disgustingly ruined her look. Raising the torch, he quickened his pace to move away from her. Watching Zhang Er¡¯wa sped away, Su Qin, who was walking behind with the bags and quilts, sighed in relief. She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her face and felt deeply moved that Feifei¡¯s herbal medicated ¡®mask¡¯ was useful. Suddenly, she misses the seaweed facial mask which might scare the hell out of others if it is applied on. There are four girls and three men going up the mountain together. The three girls, including Su Qin, walked on their own with their own quilts and bags while the other girl was being carried on a bamboo pole stretcher by two men. Su Qin couldn¡¯t see clearly due to the dimness of the lighting. Only after they had arrived at the temple on the mountain and under the blazing brightness from the inserted torch did Su Qin clearly see the woman carried on the bamboo pole stretcher and turn pale with horror. Not only Su Qin but the other two girls were also startled and shrieked ¡®ah¡¯ as they reflexively cowered to the corner. That¡¯s not even a human anymore. The girl is naked and the blanket that wrapped around her body had slipped to her chest, revealing the ar*olas. Both her legs and feet had been hacked off while her eye-sockets were hollowed. With her head lolled to the side, she had a dull look and the long hair that hung down her shoulders was half covering her body. Zhang Er¡¯wa then brought one of the men down the mountain and left an old man outside to keep watch. Inside, the other two girls¡¯ legs went limp and slumped to the ground when they looked at the girl who had been tortured to the point of being non-human anymore. Closing her eyes, the blue veins on Su Qin¡¯s forehead were prominent while flames of fury were seething within her chest cavity, so much so that she wanted to kill the frail old man sitting outside the door and also wanted to burn the whole village down. But even if she has the ability, she can¡¯t. The reason why this place is hellish is because it is lawless as no one abides by the law. There are no regulations here and the people here have obliterated humanity. If she is to become like that, how is she different from these monsters? Su Qin walked over to the girl and pulled the blanket up to cover her body. She also spread out the bedding on the floor and carried the girl to a warmer place. This girl can¡¯t speak nor can she see. She is crippled, muted and blinded. After settling the girl down, Su Qin took a breather and intended to sleep while the other two girls whimpered and cried. One girl picked up a piece of broken tile from the ground and slit her wrist hard when Su Qin rushed over and held her hand to stop her, ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Raising her eyes to look at Su Qin, the girl¡¯s tone was calm, ¡°Not crazy, just want to die. That home, I don¡¯t want to go back again.¡± The girl¡¯s name is Wen Mei. While working in a garment factory in one of the coastal cities a year ago, she met an elderly couple on her way back to the dormitory after work. As winter was very cold, the shabbily dressed old couple were starving and freezing, begging her to buy them a bowl of hot dumplings soup. Being soft-hearted, Wen Mei was led by the old couple to the so-called backstreet dumpling shop. Once she entered the dumpling shop, the owner immediately pulled down the roller shutter door and grabbed her. After that, she was abducted here and had regretted her own kindness. If she would have called for help first then given the money to the police to buy the dumplings, there would not be the latter incident. But where was there a chance to do it all over again? Su Qin held her wrist and lowered her voice to utter word by word, ¡°If you really want to leave, bear it first, keep your life and your limbs intact. Start afresh once you are out.¡± ¡°Leave? Are you kidding me? If you can leave, why are you still here? Look at her, do you want me to become just like her?¡± Wen Mei raised her hand to point at the crippled girl. Su Qin swallowed a mouthful of saliva and continued, ¡°Do you know why they sent us to the mountain? Because 3 teachers under the education program for the underdeveloped areas have come to the village and they are staying in Zhang Xing¡¯s house. As the mountain path is rugged, they will stay for at least two days. Someone will come up the mountain to send me bedding and clothes tomorrow and I will find a way to get her to help me deliver the message.¡± She took a glance out the door once she finished speaking. The other girl is Meng Sisi, who is only 14 this year. Seeing the two of them whispering about something, she squatted down too and moved closer to listen. Hearing the second half of the conversation, she cried out immediately, ¡°What? You ¨C¡± Su Qin covered her mouth quickly. Hearing the commotion, the old man outside the door came in to look at them and said with a sigh, ¡°Girls, go to bed early. It¡¯s cold in the mountains when it¡¯s late at night, you won¡¯t be able to sleep even if you want to.¡± As the mountains are too cold, it¡¯s unbearable asking him to guard outside all night. He reckoned these three girls are not ballsy enough to dare running down the mountain and even if they do, they still can¡¯t run away from the village. After drawing in a mouthful of the tobacco pipe, the old man went into the only bedroom in the back of the temple to sleep. Su Qin and the others could only make their beds on the floor of the temple¡¯s main hall. Su Qin breathed a sigh of relief once the old man left and frowned angrily, ¡°So loud, are you afraid that others won¡¯t know we are thinking of escaping?¡± Meng Sisi shook her head hurriedly, ¡°No¡­no.¡± Exhaling a breath, Su Qin said, ¡°Listen to me if you want to get out. You cannot trust anyone except me, understand?¡± Wen Mei¡¯s eyes somewhat carried a slightly dubious look, ¡°Why should we believe you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me, but you can¡¯t mention what I¡¯ve said tonight to anyone.¡± Su Qin¡¯s gaze was sharp while her tone was solemn, ¡°My current mother-in-law trusts me a lot. If any of you dare to snitch, I can retort with a counter charge. When the time comes, you can try to see who the villagers really believe after all.¡± Su Qin¡¯s piercing hawk-like gaze clearly frightened the two girls, one of whom is still a child and the other is only 18 years old. Someone seemingly had turned back when a dog barked outside the mountain temple. The three girls immediately got under the quilts. As the mountain temple was full of leaks, Su Qin who was afraid of the cold did not take off her head scarf which was still tightly wrapped around her. Feeling that he could not let this good opportunity slip tonight, Zhang Er¡¯wa turned back when he was halfway down the mountain. Once he pushed open the door to come in, he saw the four girls sleeping obediently on the floor and lust instantly went to the head. He then closed the front door and secured the back door before taking off his shirt. He got into the girls¡¯ quilts and pressed himself on top of Wen Mei. Wen Mei gave out a frightened shriek when Zhang Er¡¯wa¡¯s big hand covered her mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t scream. If you dare to scream, Laozi[1] will slaughter you and toss you out to feed the bear!¡± Wen Mei bit her lip and wept, letting the man take off her clothes. Meng Sisi, who was beside her, had subconsciously clutched a piece of broken tile before she got under the quilt. Listening to the movement beside her at this moment, with her eyes closed and biting her lips, she could not fall asleep no matter how. Zhang Er¡¯wa¡¯s movements were so massive that his elbow poked her waist. The sensitively nervous girl immediately sat up and whacked the back of Zhang Er¡¯wa¡¯s head hard with her eyes closed. As the man was at his defenseless moment, he became confusingly disoriented being thwacked like this. Before he could strike back, the girl seemingly went crazy and whacked his head continuously. Su Qin sat up once her outstretched hand touched a block of brick but Meng Sisi had already whacked the man unconscious. The room was deathly silent for a moment. Sitting up, Wen Mei pulled her clothes back then kicked the man, who was no longer moving. Instinctively, Su Qin went to probe Zhang Er¡¯wa¡¯s breathing before sighing a breath of relief then turned to look at them and said, ¡°Not dead, still alive.¡± Meng Sisi dropped the piece of broken tile in her hand and her heart was in a great mess as she whimpered out, ¡°What¡¯s to be done? I have hurt him. He will definitely chop off my arms and legs.¡± Wen Mei was also anxious since Meng Sisi hit Zhang Er¡¯wa because of her. The two of them were panic-stricken. If setting aside her previous lifetime, the 15-year-old Su Qin would surely be as flustered and panicked as they were. But her soul is after all a grown woman of thirties and at such a time, although panicked, she tried her best to control her emotions and calm herself down by thinking of a way out. She spoke after a moment of silence, ¡°Meng Sisi, you have the smallest built. So you stay and watch the old man. If the old man wakes up in the middle of the night, feign ignorance of our whereabouts and pretend that you have just woken up. We will come back soon.¡± Meng Sisi asked her, ¡°Where are you ¡­ going?¡± ¡°First, tied Zhang Er¡¯wa up then dragged him to the mountains to hide him. No one saw him turn back anyway.¡± Su Qin gulped and continued, ¡°Tomorrow morning, we will pretend this had never happened and we had never hit him, okay?¡± ¡°But¡­ where are we going to hide him? If the villagers find him, we will die a horrible death!¡± Wen Mei¡¯s voice was tinged with sobs. Su Qin lowered her voice and reprimanded angrily, ¡°What are you flustering about? You are not even afraid of death, but still afraid of this? It¡¯s death anyway, so why not go against the tide and defy death? Listen to me, hide him first! I know a cave. If there isn¡¯t any mishap, no one should find it.¡± Biting her lips, Wen Mei nodded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Ripping the bed sheet into strips, they tied the man¡¯s limbs and gagged his mouth. The bamboo pole stretcher that carried the crippled girl was still lying outside. The two girls lifted the man cautiously onto the stretcher then continued walking up the mountain. They lit a small torch and tied it together with the man on the stretcher. As the villagers often used the mountain path, the path surface was fairly smooth. They could still manage to find the footpath using the flame and by opening their eyes wider. The two girls are physically thin after all. After lifting for a while, both were already tired and panting heavily. A person is usually tired enough carrying a backpack on this kind of mountain path, let alone carrying a man of more than 140 pounds. They were already sweating profusely just a few steps away. Halfway, Wen Mei, who was behind, knelt on the ground due to weakened legs, and painfully making an ¡®ouch¡¯ sound. Su Qin stopped to ask her, ¡°Do you want to rest?¡± Wen Mei asked her, ¡°How much farther?¡± Fortunately, Su Qin had just drawn the map today and was familiar with the terrain. As her memory is pretty good, she still remembers that path clearly even after so many years. She glanced at the trees then the cliff by the sides and said, ¡°About an hour more to go. I can still hold on, how about you?¡± Seeing the girl who is even slightly smaller built than her could still hold on, Wen Mei gritted her teeth, ¡°I can too, go!¡± In order to survive, the two girls¡¯ were burning with fervor that they forgot about their fatigue, as if boundless ability was gushing out of their bodies. At about 4.00 am, the torch was almost burnt out and their path was blocked by a huge chain of mountains. In front of them was a bare cliff with no plant nor a way out. Wen Mei was on the verge of collapsing when she looked at the cliff, ¡°Su Qin, did we take the wrong path?¡± ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Putting the stretcher down, Su Qin ran towards a big rock that was two meters away and pushed it where a cave mouth of about one meter wide revealed behind it. Holding the torch at the cave mouth, Su Qin gestured to her, ¡°Drag him over.¡± The man is still unconscious and has not awakened yet. Following Su Qin, Wen Mei dragged the man into the cave with a hunched back. The further one goes inside the cave, the wider the cave entrance is. Ten meters later, this actually is a huge natural cave with a stream and a cliff waterfall at its end. The surrounding rock walls are blanched while the water is pure blue, just like a deity dwelling cave which is totally unlike the mortal world. Wen Mei was stunned and astonished by the beautiful scenery. Regaining his consciousness, the man opened his eyes and caught sight of the two girls. With eyes opened widely, he struggled with his gagged mouth and made the ¡®urgh, urgh, urgh¡¯ sound. Su Qin kicked him in the face, ¡°Shut up.¡± The man moved and tried to struggle more strenuously but his limbs were bound with cloth strips, and there was simply no way to break free from the restraints that he just gave up. Su Qin patted Wen Mei¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Let¡¯s go quickly. We have to get back before the old man wakes up.¡± ¡°En.¡± Before they barely took two steps, they saw a fire torch approaching the cave mouth. Their hearts instantly constricted. Holding their breaths, they looked at the cave mouth and instinctively drew back. Gripping Wen Mei¡¯s hand, Su Qin retreated to the water¡¯s edge with the intention of escaping by diving into the water at the crucial moment. Even if this is a desperate attempt, they cannot fall into the hands of that group of unruly people again. The fire torch entered gradually. Watching the thin and long shadow, the two girls¡¯ hearts were in their throats. There is only one shadow, which means that only one person is here. Su Qin lifted a watermelon-sized rock at her feet, preparing to attack. Making a ¡®woah¡¯ sound, the person jumped out suddenly with the fire torch and also assumed an attacking stance. After a short moment of staring at each other, Su Qin looked at the boy who was holding the fire torch in front of him and let out a breath, ¡°Why are you here?¡± [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly CH 7 Chapter 7 ¨C Cute Realizing that it was Su Qin, Yun Fei dropped his guard and looked warily at the girl behind her, ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡± Su Qi dropped the rock then grabbed Wen Mei¡¯s hand and told him, ¡°She is also an abducted girl. Feifei, why are you here?¡± Yun Fei often feeds stray cats on this mountain. When he came over, he noticed there was a new opening on the cliff and it appeared bright inside. The further he went, the flame was more ablaze and his heart was in his throat when he saw two figures. He felt slightly relieved to see that it was Su Qin then looking at Zhang Er¡¯wa, who was trussed up and gagged, Yun Fei frowned and asked puzzlingly, ¡°He?¡± Su Qin briefly explained what happened to him then said, ¡°Feifei, this kind of vile person should be punished by law. I planned to hide him here and give him some food and drink every few days, so that he won¡¯t starve to death and at the same time, cannot run out too. This place is hidden, no one is expected to come here except you. After we get out later, we will call the police to take him away.¡± Of course, she has no idea when she can escape, she can only plan as such first. A stray cat leapt from the cave mouth to the side of Yun Fei¡¯s feet and rubbed against the boy¡¯s ankle. He bent down and held the stray cat in his arms while his long clean fingers gently stroked the cat¡¯s body. With half squinted eyes, the cat acted like it was enjoying itself. Yun Fei pondered for a moment and said, ¡°It¡¯s not convenient for you girls. Leave it to me to deliver the water and food.¡± ¡°Then ¡­ you must be careful not to be discovered.¡± On second thought it¡¯s true, if the two girls go up the mountain too often, the chances of being discovered is very high. A person will not die of starvation and thirst for a few days .. imprisoning him here to suffer is because they have no other choice in order to protect themselves. Whether it is morality or by law, they are guiltless and this is also considered a punishment for the human trafficker. One must know that the mountains are cold and even if a person is not frozen to death in this temperature, it is tormenting enough. Yun Fei nodded and asked her again, ¡°How do you know that almost no one comes here?¡± ¡°Experience. The place is overgrown with bushes and practically pathless.¡± Seeing that it was getting late, Su Qin took Wen Mei down the mountain. Carrying the stretcher and taking advantage of daybreak, Su Qin and Wen Mei trotted all the way down the mountain. When they reached the mountain temple, the old man was not awake yet. The two girls quickly got under the blanket, wiped their sweat then looked at each other before closing their eyes and fell asleep. Meng Sisi dared not sleep. With eyes opened, she kept watch in order to avoid the reappearance of another similar situation like Zhang Er¡¯wa. After rushing around the whole night, the two girls slept until late in the morning. Once they opened their eyes again, the old man was already sitting at the door smoking un-constrainedly mouthful after mouthful of the tobacco pipe. Since cooking is not allowed in the mountain temple, they ate the steamed corn buns that were brought from ¡®home¡¯. Although it was not delicious, it was enough to fill the stomach. Su Qin broke a little piece of the steamed corn buns to feed the disabled girl, but she simply didn¡¯t eat. With her throat bobbing slightly, she emitted some ¡®gurgling¡¯ sound. Sitting at the doorway, the old man glanced in and said with a smile, ¡°Our village is not as scary as you think. As long as you are willing to stay obediently and give birth to boys, life will be easier. Don¡¯t think about running away. Your innocence is gone, what can you do if you escape? Are there still men in the city who want you, huh?¡± Holding the steamed corn buns and nibbling on it, the three girls glanced at each other without speaking. Su Qin assented, then broke half of the steamed corn bun and handed it to the old man, ¡°Grandpa, do you want to eat?¡± The old man continued to savor the tobacco pipe and waved his hand, ¡°Grandpa is full. You girls are thin, you eat.¡± He glanced at the crippled girl, sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity for this girl. That wretched Zhang Feng, can¡¯t she just give this girl a relief? Torturing a girl like this, sinful ah, will surely go to hell.¡± He continued to mull over the tobacco pipe then looked at the sky outside in a daze. Inside his turbid eyes were some accumulated complex emotions. If Su Qin remembers correctly, this old man has two granddaughters and a grandson. The boy who picked up the stones to hit her in the courtyard that day was this old man¡¯s grandson; while the girl carrying her little sister who picked up a bamboo stick to chase after her younger brother was the old man¡¯s eldest granddaughter. The old man said, ¡°Wait till my eldest granddaughter¡¯s admittance to the university, I will definitely not let them stay in the village to endure hardships. Our family Xiuxiu¡¯s essay scored full marks and the teacher lauded that she can pass the university entrance exam in the future. Later, when she goes to university and earns money, she will be able to buy a house in town for her younger brother and then he can marry a city girl openly.¡± Hearing the old man say so, Meng Sisi couldn¡¯t keep calm anymore, ¡°Grandpa, you are a good person and have granddaughters too, can you let us go? My father is very rich, you let us go, I will ask my father to give you a lot of money!¡± Su Qin pulled Meng Sisi and hinted for her to shut up. Turning his face to sweep a glance at the girl, the old man shook his head and said, ¡°Girl, you are someone else¡¯s wife, how would I dare to let you go? I will be burned to death if I release you girls. I still have a grandson and two granddaughters, what should they do if I¡¯m gone? Girls, in this lifetime, Grandpa can¡¯t help you and will work like an ox or a horse to repay this debt in the next lifetime. Don¡¯t think about going home, just stay here and live your lives at ease.¡± The old man sighed, then glanced at Su Qin and Wen Mei, and said, ¡°You two have not slept all night, go sleep a while more. If someone comes, I¡¯ll call you.¡± Su Qin¡¯s heart jolted. That¡¯s right. The main hall was so noisy last night, how could the old man not hear? He just turned a blind eye. The old man placed the pipe¡¯s butt on the threshold and knocked it then muttered, ¡°Retribution ah, retribution ah, retribution will eventually come, eventually come. I shall also not die well, shall not die well yo ¡­ ¡° With head bowed low, Su Qin was silent and stuffed mouthful after mouthful of food into her mouth. At about noon, Yun Fei went up the mountain to deliver quilts and food for her. Yun Fei then stuffed a piece of rough paper and a thumb-length pencil tip into her hand. When Li Chuan and his group arrived at the village last night, it was already very late. They were taken to stay at the village chief¡¯s house. Thinking that he would see Su Qin when they reached Zhang Xing¡¯s house, he didn¡¯t expect he had rushed over here for nothing. Early morning. The village was bustling again. Zhang Xing had slaughtered a pig and a sheep to set up a feast. In order to welcome the three teachers, more than a dozen tables each with eight big bowls of dishes were set up for the feast in the village, which was the scale of the village¡¯s weddings and funerals functions. The three teachers and Zhang Xing were at the same table. During the feast, Zhang Xing enthusiastically toasted Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng. Inside the ceramic bowls was the spiciest grain wine. Seeing the warm reception of the villagers, Lin Xiaoyin was moved by the villagers¡¯ guilelessness. Being respected by the villagers made her elated at this moment and gave rise to a sense of pride in her chest. Lin Xiaoyin was very eye-catching sitting amongst the group of men. Dressed stylishly in a pink heart-neck sweater, her well-developed chest was revealed. Her figure, appearance and dressing style were exceptionally good, and when she walked past, the wind brought along a pleasant perfume smell. Since Zhang Xing had stayed in the city before, beautiful women were not rarely seen but he never had meals at the same table with the beautiful women. At the dining table, Zhang Cheng held up a bowl of wine and had his arm around Zhang Xing¡¯s shoulder, calling him brother, ¡°Being a village chief at such a young age, Brother, you are good ah and really smart! Now that construction and development are carried out in rural areas, you village officials must have gained more or less, right?¡± Biting into the wine bowl to take a big mouthful of the strong wine, Zhang Xing smacked his lips and said, ¡°Brother, what are you saying? The government allocates funds to aid our Tuling Town every year, but what happened? The money is withheld at every level, and when it reaches our village, everything is gone. The men in our village even have to rely on themselves to get a wife!¡± Fishing out the makeup mirror from her bag to touch up her lipstick, Lin Xiaoyin looked up and asked, ¡°Village Chief Zhang, are you married? How come I don¡¯t see your wife?¡± "" ¡°Cough ¡­. What married ah, I¡¯m just an old bachelor. As for my wife, I¡¯m still looking ah.¡± Zhang Xing scratched the back of his head, looking like a silly peasant, ¡°Teacher Lin, you are so pretty, do you have a husband?¡± Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s cheeks blushed slightly as she glanced at Li Chuan and said softly, ¡°No ¡­ still single.¡± The villagers treated the teachers so warmly that even Li Chuan almost believed these ¡®guileless¡¯ villagers. As Lin Xiaoyin was on diet, she didn¡¯t eat much and left the table to go back to the house, and played games on her hand phone. Smart phones were not common yet during these years and only Nokia hand phones could install JAVA games, which was considered pretty good. She sat on a small stool while a group of children came around to look curiously at the plaything in her hands. At the dining table, Li Chuan, Zhang Cheng and Zhang Xing had yet to leave the table and were still drinking. Holding up bowls of wine, Zhang Cheng and Zhang Xing had their arms around each other¡¯s shoulders. Li Chuan sipped small mouthfuls of the white wine and looked at them indifferently. How could Zhang Xing¡¯s capacity for liquor be compared to Zhang Cheng, the rich lad who frequented bars since young? He got drunk very soon with his head leaning slanted on Zhang Cheng¡¯s shoulder and began to talk nonsense. He belched, then wrapped his arms around Zhang Cheng¡¯s neck and asked in his ear, ¡°Brother, you say, are you my brother?¡± Zhang Cheng hooked his shoulders and knocked the bowl on his wine bowl, producing a clink sound, ¡°Of course, we certainly are brothers. Village Chief Zhang is not only dashing and personable, but also young and promising ah, how can you not be my Zhang Cheng¡¯s brother?¡± Zhang Xing laughed then leaned closer to his ear and asked, ¡°Then tell me, Teacher Lin, how much are you guys willing to sell to me?¡± Zhang Cheng¡¯s smile froze on his face and was stunned for a moment before he laughed awkwardly, ¡°Brother, you are drunk.¡± ¡°Not drunk! I¡¯m not drunk!¡± He raised the wine bowl in his hand and threw it hard on the ground, shattering it to pieces. When Li Yunzhen heard that Zhang Xing was raving drunkenly here, she came hurriedly over to stop him and got two men to take him back to the house. Watching Zhang Xing being hustled away, Li Chuan put down his wine bowl and asked in a low voice, ¡°What did he say to you just now?¡± Zhang Cheng felt intense stuffiness in his chest and whispered, ¡°He asked us, how much we are willing to sell Teacher Lin.¡± The blue veins on the back of Li Chuan¡¯s hand that was clutching the wine bowl were prominent while his eyes darkened sinisterly at once, like a fierce beast born out of fire that appalled those who saw him. Zhang Cheng felt as if Li Chuan had become a different person. Such a cute nerd in the past, he invariably felt that Li Chuan is a bit abnormal recently. Facing the mayor, the villagers and the students, he was actually amiable without anything amiss. But towards him, Lin Xiaoyin and the other teachers, his eyes were always ice-cold. At times there was no temperature on his expression when he dined with him at the same dining table while the previous gentle geeky aura had all gone. When Zhang Xing came to deliver the beddings to their room last night, he was still smiling at first but a moment later, his face instantly turned cold without excessive leeway once the person turned to leave. Staring at the back of the person¡¯s head, he almost wanted to kill him with his eyes. What could be said about the current Li Chuan? Just like ¡­ a gentle and amiable big golden retriever had turned into a sly cold-faced fox with changeable faces. "" Emm ¡­ Zhang Cheng fears such a Li Chuan. He even began to wonder if he suffers mental illness and simply doubts there aren¡¯t any abducted women here. But those words that Zhang Xing said made him stand back on Li Chuan¡¯s side. He felt so disgusted ¡­ and almost threw up yesterday¡¯s supper. Every family in the village had to send a family representative to ¡®feast¡¯ as a respect to the teachers. Since Yun Qin¡¯s status is unusual, she couldn¡¯t come, so she sent Yun Fei over. Yun Fei came down from the mountain temple, took a bunch of dried corn from the wall of his house and ran all the way to the village chief¡¯s house. Carrying the corn, he deliberately tumbled face down at the door and scattered the corn all over the ground. Seeing the Fool fall flat on his face, the villagers burst out laughing and mocked. ¡°The Fool is here to feast ah? What are you doing with the bunch of dried corn?¡± ¡°You fool, don¡¯t you look where you walk ah? Just look at you.¡± An aunty helped him up and bent down to pat the dirt on his knees. The Fool looked at the crowd timidly then picked up the dried corn without uttering a word and hugged it preciously in his arms before walking cautiously towards Li Chuan, with eyes full of eagerness. Li Chuan sized up the big boy in front of him. He was about 15 or 16 years old with rather delicate features, fair skin and eyebrows quelled with a hint of timidness and pity. Pursing his thin lips slightly, the boy stood dumbly beside Li Chuan and wanted to say something but then hesitated. Li Chuan recognized him. This was the little pitiful who fled with his wife in the previous lifetime, but was burned alive. Knowing the answer, he still asked, ¡°Little friend, you are?¡± An old aunty next to him chimed in and said, ¡°Teacher Li, this is the Fool from our village. You don¡¯t need to pay attention to him.¡± Yun Fei¡¯s eyes clearly lit up, pouted and spoke in a silly tone, ¡°I¡¯m called Feifei, not the Fool.¡± Li Chuan stood up and was instantly a head taller than him. Smiling gently at Yun Fei, he reached over and caressed his little head, ¡°Little friend, what can I do for you?¡± Lowering his head again, Yun Fei pursed his lips and muttered in a low voice, ¡°I ¡­ I ¡­ want to go to school.¡± The villagers seemingly heard him joke that the courtyard roared with laughter. Yun Fei raised his eyes to look at Li Chuan and those puppy-like glistening eyes appeared before the man¡¯s eyes. The corners of Li Chuan¡¯s mouth slightly hooked up with a smile like the spring breeze and he nodded, ¡°Okay. Everyone has the right to go to school. You want to learn, then Teacher will teach you.¡± The villagers around looked at each other in blank dismay, and a while later, they began to praise. ¡°Teacher Li is really nice.¡± ¡°Yes ah, so nice.¡± ¡°The Fool is really lucky ah, to meet such a good teacher.¡± Smiling foolishly at Li Chuan, Yun Fei grinned and revealed his two small canine teeth while his pair of lovely eyes were full of twinkling stars, ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± He stuffed the bunch of corn into Li Chuan¡¯s arms and gripped his hand, ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± Propping up his chin, Zhang Cheng looked drunkenly. His eyes were obscured with a hazy filter. He looked at the silly boy who revealed two small canine teeth then glanced at his naive face. With both hands supporting his tilted head: Wow. This silly boy is too damn cute! Li Chuan¡¯s palm was obviously stuffed with a ball of stuff, yet he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to caress the child¡¯s head, ¡°The class starts tomorrow. Teacher has everything here, you don¡¯t need to bring anything.¡± The cute little canine-toothed Yun wagged his tails while the top of his head seemingly had a pair of wolf ears that moved obediently, pursed his lips and nodded, ¡°En!¡± The pair of Zhang Cheng¡¯s eyes were emitting rosy bubbles. Damn ¡­ this silly boy is just too cute! Eiks, so envious of Old Li! CH 8 Chapter 8 ¨C Encounter The air was still chilly during spring but after it got warmer suddenly, it turned cold again. Hundreds of flowers bloomed on the mountains and the yellow rapeseed flowers stretched vastly along the hillside was lushly spectacular like thousands of gradient colors. The weather was good in the afternoon since the sun was sunny and warm. Children from the neighboring villages assembled at the Village Chief¡¯s house. After Li Chuan did a headcount, he asked the children to bring the watercolors and painting papers to the mountain to pick the scenery. As he was leaving, Zhang Feng rushed into the Village Chief¡¯s house in a fluster and stumbled at the doorway. The woman was full of panic, thus Li Chuan deliberately walked slower to listen. A man named Zhang Er¡¯wa from the village had disappeared. He didn¡¯t come down after going up the mountain yesterday. Zhang Feng begged the Village Chief to bring someone up the mountain to look for Er¡¯wa as she worried something happened to him on the mountain. Just woken up, Zhang Xing was stretching and yawning in the yard when Zhang Feng rushed in. He still hasn¡¯t settled the score with Zhang Feng for selling him the ugly girl last time, so he purposely didn¡¯t want to help this time. He first greeted the children in the yard then turned to say hello to the three teachers. Finally, he turned to face Zhang Feng and said, ¡°He probably went out of the village to play, or maybe lie down to sleep somewhere. Aunt, don¡¯t worry about it. Er¡¯wa is so competent that he might even be okay if he runs into a bear.¡± He sent the person away with just a few words. There were more than 30 children in the group with the youngest being 5 and the oldest 15 years old. Since Yun Fei was familiar with the mountain terrain, he was leading the way in front of the group. Zhang Xing naturally didn¡¯t feel at ease with the outsiders and specially instructed the Fool not to let them go to the mountain temple. The big group moved along the mountain winding path like a long snake, with the teachers following behind just like a spring outing troop. The children were in high spirits since this was the first spring outing in their lives. Because they were going to pick scenery at a beautiful location, Lin Xiaoyin brought her camera and wore a beautiful white skirt with a hand-woven round hat. Zhang Xiuxiu, who was at the rear of the group, looked at Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s dress several times. Blinking her eyes, she blushed and said, ¡°Teacher Lin, your dress is so beautiful!¡± This kid ¡­ can¡¯t you compliment my beauty instead? Hmph. The corners of Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s lips curled up and the bright sunlight radiated her smile causing the peach blossoms on the mountain path to lose their color too. ¡°When Xiuxiu grows up later, Jiejie[1] will give you a beautiful dress, okay?¡± Shaking her head, Xiuxiu¡¯s eyes were filled with unwavering determination, ¡°No need. I want to make it myself. I will make many many beautiful clothes when I grow up.¡± The stubbornness and determination in the little girl¡¯s eyes reminded Li Chuan of Su Qin in his previous lifetime. There was always stubbornness and strength in her eyes. Life had given her too many tribulations, yet she had turned the potholes and mires in her life into smooth paths. A girl in her early twenties returning to the city whose parents disdained finally saved enough money for her high school tuition fees by being a waitress. She went back to school and yet was subjected to campus bullying. Though she ultimately failed to get into the undergraduate courses, she did pass the entrance exam of a technical college. She then worked as a fashion designer after she graduated since she was inspired to set foot in the fashion industry to design beautiful clothes yet suffered setbacks in the workplace. Though life was unsatisfactory, it did not bring her down. Instead, she used her remaining savings to open a tailoring shop in Yunyang and earned a passable income to live a decent life. After marrying Li Chuan, Su Qin¡¯s business didn¡¯t plummet. Thinking of Su Qin and their daughter, Baobao, Li Chuan felt stabs of throbbing pain. Li Chuan had already seen the rough paper that Yun Fei passed to him, on which a string of very simple distress Morse code was. ¡°Abducted and sold, help me. Mountain temple.¡± Due to the complexity of Morse code phrasing, even though there was a long string of ¡° . -¡±, stringing such symbols together in fact were just these few words. Not many people in modern times can still recite the Morse code chart, thus Li Chuan guessed that the other party should be a highly educated girl, who is familiar with cryptography and has a meticulous mind. The degree of literacy in the village is relatively low, hence she could just use written words or simple English. But that girl chose to use Morse code in preparation for any eventualities. If the villagers found out that the Fool had stuffed a note in Li Chuan¡¯s hand, even if they couldn¡¯t read, they could still make up what was written on it. But it was different with Morse code, since it was just symbols, it would only look like the Fool¡¯s random scrawling. Even if it was found out, it would not rouse others¡¯ suspicions. So, how did that girl know that he could read Morse code too? Could she be ¡­ an acquaintance? With the bright mountain flowers in full bloom, the children¡¯s naivety and the company of a beautiful woman, Zhang Cheng laid down on the glade to look up at the blue sky and lowered his head to look at the boundless piece of beautiful bright yellow. The children sat on the grassland with drawing boards and watercolor brushes to scrawl the beautiful scenery. As Li Chuan instructed the children how to use the watercolor, the heart of a young girl in Lin Xiaoyin almost pounced out of her chest seeing his meticulous and earnest look. She ran over with her camera and poked Li Chuan¡¯s shoulder with her finger, ¡°Teacher Li, can you help me ¡­ take a picture?¡± Looking at her with a cold and stern gaze, the black shirt made Li Chuan appear even grimmer. The man changes his clothes every day, but he has only worn black since he entered the village, which somewhat looked like ¡­ attending a funeral? But even so, he is so handsome that one can¡¯t turn their gazes away. This was not the first day Lin Xiaoyin knew him. Both their families have business collaboration and she has known him since high school. From high school to university, though the man pays no heed to the girls¡¯ affection, he is still courteous and treats others with just the right manner, and not icy-cold like this and unlikely with this kind of distancing attitude. Lin Xiaoyin was obviously frightened by the look in his eyes. Holding the camera, she asked timidly, ¡°Li ¡­ Teacher Li ¡­ did I do something wrong?¡± Shifting his gaze from the girl¡¯s face, Li Chuan looked at the landscape behind the field of bright yellow rapeseed flowers. His eyes landed on the ridge of an old building with auspicious beasts popped up on its four corners. From the visual point of view, the mountain temple is not very far yet not close either. Tenderness once again cast on the man¡¯s face in an instant when he softly asked Zhang Xiuxiu, ¡°Xiuxiu, what building is that over there?¡± Following Teacher Li¡¯s gaze, Zhang Xiuxiu said, ¡°Teacher Li that is our village¡¯s mountain temple where the burning joss sticks are abundant.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Girls, who had been abducted, are imprisoned in the mountain temple. Even if he implies wanting to go have a look, not only the children but the villagers will also try their best to stop him. Even if he managed to go, he would have beaten the grass and startled the snake, and the villagers would move the girls away again. [T/N: ´ò²Ý¾ªÉß (D¨£ c¨£o j¨©ng sh¨¦) ¨C figuratively mean inadvertently alerting the enemy] Li Chuan knitted his brows then raised his hands to cover his abdomen, revealing an expression of pain. Zhang Xiuxiu looked up at him and asked, ¡°Teacher Li, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Li Chuan, what happened to you? Feeling unwell?¡± Lin Xiaoyin asked him in a low voice. Exhaling a breath, Li Chuan spoke to the children, ¡°Teacher Li needs to go somewhere far to relieve myself. If you don¡¯t understand anything, ask Teacher Zhang and Teacher Lin.¡± The children answered in unison, ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing his ghastly face, Zhang Cheng immediately got up from the ground to grip his shoulder and asked, ¡°Old Li, are you okay?¡± Li Chuan shook his head and looked at the children behind him, ¡°You stay here. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°En.¡± They are after all friends of many years. With merely a glance, he knew what he wanted to do, ¡°Your diarrhea still hasn¡¯t improved yet? Okay, come back quickly once you have pooped ah.¡± Teacher Zhang didn¡¯t mince his words, causing the children to cover their mouths and laugh. A little boy raised his hand and asked, ¡°Teacher Zhang.¡± Zhang Cheng with a serious look of a paragon of virtue, ¡°This fellow student, do you have a problem?¡± Little boy, ¡°En ¡­ Teacher Li is so handsome, how does he look like when he poops ah?¡± Li Chuan, ¡° ¡­¡­¡­. ¡° The man who was going downhill in the distance stiffened his back and almost slipped on the steep slope. ¡°Wow. You little kid, your question is very tricky. Your Teacher Li is so handsome, he will certainly be the world¡¯s handsomest when he poops. Am I right, Teacher Lin?¡± Zhang Cheng looked at Lin Xiaoyin. Plucking a bunch of rapeseed flowers, Lin Xiaoyin stuck one behind her ear, ¡°Hmph, vulgar.¡± But Zhang Cheng was right, Genius Li surely looks outstanding even when he poops? Walking along the mountain trail, the mountain temple was about forty minutes away from where they were. If descending vertically from the rapeseed flowers field, the straight-line distance would be no more than one kilometer. Burrowing into the rapeseed flowers field, he was quickly swarmed by the bright yellow color even though he is tall in stature. Since the rapeseed flowers were terraced-fields, each level is about two meters high. The man jumped down level by level and was sweating profusely in less than 15 minutes. When he almost reached the destination, he saw the gentle swaying of the rapeseed flower stalks in front of him. Someone is here. Li Chuan reacted sharply. Crouching down like a wolf, he instinctively fished out a Swiss army knife from his pocket, with a ¡®kacha¡¯ it revealed the shape blade as he assumed an attack stance. If the person plays tricks or has misgivings about him, he will not be merciful. The image of his wife and daughter being burned to death is still vivid in his mind. He dares not forget that kind of pain nor does he dare to have compassion for the people here. The other party was completely burrowed in and parted the stalks of rapeseed flowers when suddenly ¡­ the man squatted motionless in place. As the man¡¯s face was still obstructed by the rapeseed flower stalks, she couldn¡¯t see the other person clearly. Pulling out the hatchet in her hand, she hacked at the other party with ¡®huff and puff¡¯. Facing a sudden attack, Li Chuan dodged instinctively and stabbed the other party. Since he is agile and has been trained, he immediately knocked the small skinny girl to the ground then snatched the hatchet in her hand and chopped down almost without hesitation. Su Qin was startled. There was a rampant killing intent in the man¡¯s eyes. The hatchet stopped a few centimeters from her face. Using the pair of knees, Li Chuan weighed down on the girl¡¯s not-yet fully developed chest and pushed her shoulder with one hand so that she could not struggle. Since Su Qin had a cloth wrapped around her head and was wearing Yun Fei¡¯s clothes, this caused Li Chuan to have mistaken her for a thin weak boy. Locking eyes with Su Qin for a few seconds, he asked in a deep voice, ¡°What did you want to do just now?¡± Su Qin¡¯s muddled mind finally cleared. She opened her mouth with a muted voice, ¡°Teacher ¡­ Li?¡± This voice ¡­ Li Chuan felt shaken. Throwing the hatchet in his hand away, he helped the girl up then reached out to rip off the cloth covering her head. The girl¡¯s face was smeared with some kind of medicinal herbs, but these eyebrows, the pair of lips and nose ¡­ It¡¯s his Su-su, that¡¯s right. As if having a lump stuck in his throat, the man¡¯s chest was filled with surging excitement that he couldn¡¯t utter a word for a long time. [1] ½ã½ã (Ji¨§ji¨§) ¨C Elder siste CH 9.1 Chapter 9.1 ¨C Caught Worried that Li Chuan would be frightened by the herbs on her face, Su Qin pulled the scarf up again before coughing lightly and asked in a slightly confused tone, ¡° ¡­. Li ¡­ Teacher Li.¡± ¡°Was it you who wrote the Morse code?¡± Looking at the thin little girl in front of him, his throat bobbed as he asked her, ¡°How do you know that I can read it? And how do you know my last name is Li?¡± Feeling her throat parched, Su Qin swallowed and continued, ¡°Teacher Li, as a legend in Yunyang¡¯s campus, your name is well-known.¡± Before she came squatting here, Su Qin didn¡¯t think she might have a chance to get in touch with Li Chuan alone, but she still came since she couldn¡¯t let go even a small chance. Turning a blind eye on her, the old man keeping watch in the mountain temple also deliberately let her out to get in touch with those support teachers. Su Qin knew that with Li Chuan¡¯s character, he would definitely ask how she knew Morse code when he saw her. She continued to explain, ¡°You are the striving goal of all the high school students in Yunyang. I worship you the same too, so I ¡­ research your major and also delved into Morse code. I actually only know a few words on the note and don¡¯t know the rest ¡­ When I first heard your name from the villagers, I wasn¡¯t sure if it was you, but I was 80% certain after hearing from the villagers that you are a postgraduate ¡­ As a matter of fact, I¡¯m also taking a chance since I¡¯m not completely sure.¡± The girl¡¯s voice was nervous with eyes lowered and youthfulness in her gaze. Li Chuan looked at her. On the girl¡¯s long upturned eyelashes were some yellow pollen while her eyes reflected the spring color of the mountains. Has she suffered a lot? He thought. Reaching over unrestrainedly, Li Chuan¡¯s fingers almost touched her cheek when the girl looked at him with a ¡®surprised¡¯ gaze. The way she looked at him was unfamiliar, frightened, and even ¡­ treat him as a frivolous person? Li Chuan sighed softly as his fingers brushed the pollen off the girl¡¯s eyelashes. His voice was gentle yet firm, ¡°Yatou[1], I will rescue you. You, leave with me now.¡± The man grabbed the hatchet on the ground, ready to take her away. He admitted that he was impulsive, but he could no longer bear to leave her by the devil¡¯s side. He already felt uneasy even for a minute or a second. The girl, however, crouched on the spot, shook her head and said, ¡°Innocent people will be implicated if I leave with you. Teacher Li, I came to you because I expect you to report to the police.¡± She briefly explained to him what she had seen these days. She also handed over to him the parents¡¯ contact details and keepsakes of the other three girls. Su Qin dared not count on her parents since her previous lifetime experience was still distinct. The one she could count on now is Meng Sisi¡¯s parents. Meng Sisi is a rich second-generation[2] whose parents are influential and powerful in the local community. If they know that their daughter has been abducted here, even if the police don¡¯t come, they will bring people and rush over in rage. She then slipped another piece of rough paper into Li Chuan¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Once the police arrive, the villagers will surely hide us in another place. You bring the police and go to look in these places. There are also good people in the village, regrettably for the sake of saving their own lives, there is only so much they can do to help us.¡± Reaching out to take it, Li Chuan unfolded what was a drawing of a simple map in which the markings were done very clearly. It could be seen that she had some fundamental drawing skills. Su Qin could absolutely pass this thing to him through Yun Fei, yet she didn¡¯t do so. There are risks in whatever one does and moreover, this is a dangerous matter, hence, Su Qin wanted to do it herself. Even if it was discovered, Feifei would not be implicated again. Li Chuan didn¡¯t know what had gone wrong. All inclinations seemed to have changed from the moment he entered the village. Everything did not happen according to his previous lifetime. Su Qin was not sold to Zhang Xing¡¯s family, instead she went to the Fool¡¯s, Yun Fei¡¯s house Su Qin of his previous lifetime didn¡¯t know Morse code. But in this lifetime ¡­ Everything has changed after he came to this village. Could it be that since he entered the village 5 years earlier led to the changes of this Su Qin? Su Qin didn¡¯t dare to acknowledge him for fear of being treated as crazy or psychotic. Her predestined fate with Professor Li should commence after she graduated from college and it was too early now. And Li Chuan thought the same too. Right now, Su Qin is only 15 years old and still a child. Even if he told her about their past lives, normal people would not believe these kinds of absurdities. It may even backfire and scare the little girl. Pondering for a while, Li Chuan asked her, ¡°Are there any injuries?¡± The man¡¯s voice was as gentle as ever, even when he was dealing with an unfamiliar girl. Li Chuan of the previous lifetime was probably an atypical protective man. Pursing her lips, Su Qin shook her head and spoke in a little-girl-like tone, ¡°Teacher Li, you must save us, we ¡­ wait for you.¡± The hand that fell heavily on the girl¡¯s thin shoulder gripped firmly for a minute when Li Chuan spoke seriously, ¡°I will. I will bring you home.¡± He said the same thing too in the previous lifetime. And he did. While the two of them were talking, a girl¡¯s scream came from behind them. ¡°Ah ¨C ¡° As the girl was walking down from the rapeseed field above, she didn¡¯t see the path under her feet that she mis-stepped and tumbled from the top. Fortunately the height was less than two meters. Tumbling down painfully, the girl sat up after gasping a mouthful of cold air and saw the two people in front of her. Since the two people were vaguely obscured by the dense rapeseed flowers, she couldn¡¯t see clearly. Lin Xiaoyin rubbed her knees and asked with baring teeth, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Is it ¡­ Teacher Li?¡± There was not only Teacher Li, but another person too. Fifteen minutes ago. Lin Xiaoyin heard from the students that there were bears nearby, so she dragged Zhang Cheng to go find Li Chuan. Zhang Cheng didn¡¯t bother to pay her any attention and just waved his hand, ¡°Go, go, go, women are really f*cking troublesome. Just speak frankly if you want to go peep on your male god, why speak so Holy Mother purely.¡± ¡°You! You are simply just as vulgar as the people here! Preposterous!¡± Lin Xiaoyin turned around and left in a huff. ********** [1] Ѿͷ (Y¨¡tou) ¨C Girl, servant girl or used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment. [2] ¸»¶þ´ú (F¨´ ¨¨r d¨¤i) ¨C children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping¡¯s economic reforms in the 1980s. CH 9.2 Chapter 9.2 ¨C Caught Sitting on the spot, Lin Xiaoyin hugged her injured knees and asked again, ¡°Is that Teacher Li?¡± Li Chuan and Su Qin looked at each other when he subconsciously pushed Su Qin¡¯s shoulder, signaling her to hurriedly leave. Grabbing the hatchet immediately, Su Qin jumped down the rapeseed field then shuttled through the fields like a monkey and rushed towards the mountain temple. Only after she left did Li Chuan straighten up and walk towards Lin Xiaoyin. The girl who sat on the same spot looked up at the man before glancing behind him, ¡°Teacher Li, who was that person just now?¡± ¡°Person?¡± Li Chuan¡¯s tone was cold, ¡°There was no one, you¡¯ve mistaken.¡± Lin Xiaoyin was sure that she was right. There was indeed a person squatting beside him just now. She was about to open her mouth to refute when Li Chuan interrupted her, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go back.¡± Looking at the man from where she sat, Lin Xiaoyin swallowed and said, ¡°Teacher Li ¡­ I ¡­ I fell and hurt myself.¡± Li Chuan stopped to glance at her coldly before looking around. The mountain temple was not far from here. Pondering about it, Li Chuan found a tree root for her to grab and pulled her up from the ground. As Lin Xiaoyin was injured, they could not return the same way since she couldn¡¯t climb up such an elevated slope now. After a moment of hesitation, Li Chuan pulled her up the mountain path and brought her to the mountain temple. The two of them started to walk down the mountain path, which did not seem to be the way back to the village. Feeling puzzled, Lin Xiaoyin asked him, ¡°Teacher Li, where are you ¡­ taking me?¡± ¡°In your condition, where do you want to go?¡± Li Chuan raised his jaw to point at the mountain temple not far away and told her, ¡°The road up the mountain is not easy while the road down is too long. I will first take you to rest in the mountain temple for a while, then find the villagers to send you down the mountain.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ ¡° Lin Xiaoyin grabbed the wooden stick without another word. Limping after the man, she felt really unhappy. Coming to the mountain village this man didn¡¯t seem to be here for the education program but seemingly ¡­ had other plans. The last time she saw this man at school, he was still courteous to her, but now why? She really couldn¡¯t think how she had offended him. Walking to the entrance of the mountain temple, they ran into Li Yunzhen who also intended to enter the mountain temple. Seeing the two of them, Li Yunzhen froze and her face turned pale, ¡°Li ¡­ Teacher Li? Teacher Lin? Why are you guys here?¡± Li Chuan revealed a smile with a pleasant countenance, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that. Teacher Lin sprained her foot and it¡¯s not too convenient to go down the mountain. Seeing the temple here, we just came to take a rest for a while.¡± Li Yunzhen subconsciously glanced askance inside and stammered, ¡°Is ¡­ is that so. Teacher Li, you don¡¯t know our village has rules that outsiders can¡¯t enter the mountain temple. How about this, you both rest outside for a while. I¡¯ll ask Uncle Wen to go down the mountain to get someone to send Teacher Lin back?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to just sit outside, we¡¯ll trouble you guys then.¡± Li Chuan looked towards the main hall of the mountain temple. There was an old man sitting inside savoring a tobacco pipe in his hand. The old man was called out by Li Yunzhen and after a few words, he went down the mountain while Li Yunzhen replaced him to guard the door. Li Yunzhen moved two wooden armchairs out to let them sit before going inside to pour two cups of tea. She dared not walk away but stayed outside with the two teachers, lest they would go in and run into those few hidden ¡®wives/daughters-in-laws¡¯. Taking a sip of tea, Lin Xiaoyin shot a glance inside the mountain temple while Li Yunzhen tried to converse with them and when she got excited, she grabbed Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s hand. Instinctively retracting her hand, Lin Xiaoyin couldn¡¯t control her emotion and revealed her true colors as she spoke fiercely, ¡°What are you doing ah?¡± Li Yunzhen was startled by the girl¡¯s sudden outburst. The girl then took out a handkerchief to start wiping her hands and expressing her disdain for Li Yunzhen in between her actions. Li Chuan just kept drinking his tea indifferently, as if not surprised by the girl¡¯s sudden change of face. This is what Miss Lin originally looks like. The reason why he disliked this girl after his rebirth was because he suspected she too played a part in the fire disaster in his previous lifetime Flowers bloomed all over the fields and the old building behind him was not big with glazed vermillion tiles and ridges. Entering the main hall was the courtyard where there were several rooms in the backyard. Li Chuan didn¡¯t intend to go in, so he sat here with ease and waited for the villagers to come up. Uncle Wen soon brought some people up the mountain and two villagers carried Lin Xiaoyin down with the bamboo pole stretcher. In the evening, Li Chuan stuffed the keepsakes, contact details and rough paper map to Zhang Cheng, asking him to go down the mountain to Tuling Town¡¯s police station to join the local police to rescue the people in the mountain. With a frown, Zhang Cheng sat on the bed and kicked his legs expressing his unwillingness, ¡°If I¡¯m f*cking gone, how about you? Joking, what if something happened to you, how do I explain it to Aunt Wen? You staying here alone? Haha, you don¡¯t even know how you die by then! Let¡¯s go down the mountain together and come back with the police, isn¡¯t it the same?¡± Li Chuan insisted on staying. Zhang Cheng kneaded his temples then yelled at him with lowered voice, ¡°Are you f*cking crazy?¡± As soon as his voice faltered, a girl¡¯s muffled cry came from the courtyard. The two men sitting on the bed looked at each other and got off the bed successively before slipping on their shoes and pulling open the door of the room. In the courtyard, Zhang Xing picked something up and quickly tucked it into his clothes. Li Chuan pinched Zhang Cheng¡¯s waist, whose face was leaning against the door frame, who bared his teeth and immediately asked Zhang Xing in a brotherly tone, ¡°Brother, what are you doing? What was that sound just now?¡± ¡°Oh .. my mother. She just came out with a basin of water and almost slipped at the door. Teacher Li and Teacher Zhang, still not asleep ah?¡± Zhang Cheng laughed, ¡°Not yet. Today¡¯s climb was too strenuous. I just asked Old Lai to give me a massage. Oh right, Village Chief Zhang, something happened at home, so I¡¯ll leave early tomorrow morning. Do arrange someone to send me down the mountain.¡± Hearing that Zhang Cheng was leaving, Zhang Xing breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Okay, tomorrow at five o¡¯clock, I¡¯ll call you. ********** Li Chuan felt something was not right once the door was closed and instructed Zhang Cheng, ¡°You go take a look in Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s room.¡± ¡°Crazy ah, knocking on a female teacher¡¯s door in the middle of the night? Don¡¯t you know how fierce that woman is, I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Go.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s voice was profoundly cold. Zhang Cheng who just sat on the bed got up languidly before slipping on a pair of fabric shoes then went to the opposite room and knocked, ¡°Teacher Lin, are you there?¡± There was a moment of silence. When Zhang Cheng was about to knock again, the girl¡¯s trembling voice came from inside, ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ very ¡­ very late. Teacher Zhang, let¡¯s talk tomorrow.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Heedlessly, Zhang Cheng simply didn¡¯t pay attention to what was wrong inside. Not long after Zhang Cheng left, Li Yunzhen, who held a knife around Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s neck, let out a sigh of relief. The woman lowered her voice to warn her, ¡°No screaming.¡± Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s room was interconnected with Li Yunzhen¡¯s with a door stopper in between. Together with Zhang Xing, Li Yunzhen carried Lin Xiaoyin along the room into the kitchen. They then went through the kitchen¡¯s back door and carried her to the basement in the backyard. The basement. The air was filled with mustiness and the light was dim. Thrown on the ground, Lin Xiaoyin swallowed and asked with a trembling voice, ¡°What .. what do you want to do?¡± ¡°F*ck you!¡± Zhang Xing threw the hatchet in his hand to the ground, sat on her then patted her small face and said, ¡°Heard what you shouldn¡¯t hear, don¡¯t ever think about leaving.¡± ¡°You ¡­ you get off of me!¡± Lin Xiaoyin was disgusted by this man and screamed at the top of her voice. The basement was far away from the front yard and the pit was dug deep. Even if she really screamed at the top of her lungs, it was unlikely anyone in the front yard could hear her. Li Yunzhen sensibly climbed out of the basement and squatted outside to look out for her son. Zhang Xing ripped her clothes apart and the girl¡¯s two front lumps of white flesh immediately popped out and pierced the man¡¯s eyes. Lin Xiaoyin struggled and yelled, ¡°You dare to touch me. I¡¯ll report and charge you with rape and let you stay in the prison for a lifetime! Do you know who my father is, I __ ¡° A loud slap in the face came that the girl turned dazed. Zhang Xing cursed, ¡°F*ck you, who cares who your father is. Here, I am the Heaven¡¯s king! You bitch, you don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t hear what you said to Zhang Cheng yesterday, saying that I stink? I¡¯ll let you smell Laozi[1]¡¯s c*ck! From now on, you stay here obediently. Even if the police come, you¡¯ll possibly not be found!¡± [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly CH 10 Chapter 10 ¨C Idiot This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s brain was buzzing and felt her head spinning. Her hands were still clutching the disgusting man firmly while she felt hopelessly apathetic. With the sweater neckline torn exposing a large expanse of her chest, the man who covered her body bit her shoulder and neck brutishly. Outside the basement, someone spoke, causing Zhang Xing to stiffen. Lin Yunzhen purposely raised her voice, ¡°Teacher Li, Teacher Zhang! What brought you guys to the backyard?¡± Li Chuan¡¯s low mellow voice came from outside. ¡°Since Zhang Cheng is leaving first thing in the morning, he is a bit sad to part with Village Chief Zhang. So he wanted to find and have a couple glasses of drinks with the Village Chief.¡± ¡°What a couple glasses of drinks, it¡¯s a couple of bowls!¡± Zhang Cheng walked towards Li Yunzhen and said, ¡°I went to Brother Xing¡¯s room just now but couldn¡¯t find him, so I came to the backyard to look for him.¡± Li Yunzhen was about to say that Zhang Xing had gone out to do something when Li Chuan spoke first, ¡°What¡¯s the strange noise in the basement? The Village Chief is moving things down there? Does he need our help?¡± Feeling her heart thumping, Li Yunzhen hastily said, ¡°Oh ¡­ oh, that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t Teacher Zhang leaving tomorrow? Our family, Xing¡¯wa ah, wanted to move some pumpkin ah, sweet potato ah, winter melon from the basement to let Teacher Zhang take them back to the city. As it¡¯s a backward place here, we can¡¯t take out any fine things but just these.¡± ¡°Aiya, why the courtesy ah, Brother Xing, come out and let us brothers have hearty drinks. Thinking of leaving tomorrow, Laozi[1] felt sad and especially wanted to cy. You hurry out and don¡¯t move anything ah. There is no shortage of anything in the city and I only lack a brother like you. Hurry up and come drink with me.¡± Zhang Cheng walked towards the basement but was stopped by Li Yunzhen, ¡°Teacher Zhang, don¡¯t go down. It¡¯s dirty and there are centipedes and crawling insects. The smell is unpleasant too, so don¡¯t go down. Xing¡¯wa ah, hurry out. I will move the vegetables below.¡± Zhang Xing cursed inwardly: Damn it, Brother! You f*cking wants to drink, at least pick the right timing! Taking off his sock, Zhang Xing stuffed it into Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s mouth then took the straw ropes to tie her hands and feet. Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s stomach churned by the nauseating stench but she couldn¡¯t do anything. She stared viciously at Zhang Xing, wanting to kill him. Squeezing her face then grabbing her big breast, Zhang Xing whispered, ¡°Laozi will go drink with my brother then come f*ck you tomorrow. You behave yourself or else, Laozi will break your arms and legs.¡± Once Zhang Xing left, Lin Xiaoyin sighed with relief. Just as she got up to move, she saw stars in front of her eyes. That slap from Zhang Xing was so ruthless that tears soaked her cheeks with bursts of tingling pain. If not for Li Chuan, she might have ¡­ A moment later, Li Yunzhen came down. Loading the sweet potatoes into the basket, she muttered, ¡°Don¡¯t leave in the future, this is your home. Give me a grandson, then you don¡¯t need to go do farm work.¡± Lin Xiaoyin stared at her with wide eyes. Heavens. What kind of place is this? She saw Zhang Xing enter Li Yunzhen¡¯s room half an hour ago, and both mother and son appeared sneaky. Out of curiosity, she leaned on the door with a facial mask and listened. As the door was not bolted, the door ¡®creaked¡¯ open a gap when she gently touched it. After that, she was abducted by Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son, and her innocence was almost ruined by Zhang Xing ¡­ The two men, Zhang Xing and Zhang Cheng, were drinking big bowlfuls of wine and ate cured meat in the main room. Behaving gentle and weak in front of them and being a poor drinker, Li Chuan didn¡¯t even drink two bowls when he called out his dizziness and went back to his room. Once Li Chuan had left, Zhang Cheng put his arm around Zhang Xing¡¯s shoulders and spoke after a burp, ¡°Brother, buddy me will leave tomorrow. If by chance you come to Yunyang, Brother will take you to eat delicious food, drink hard liquor and hang out with chicks! Brother is not bragging. In Yunyang, you just mention Brother¡¯s name and you won¡¯t have to pay wherever you go to pick up chicks. Brother, let me tell you, the city chicks ah, one is prettier than the others, isn¡¯t Teacher Lin pretty? Those ladies in the city are more beautiful than Teacher Lin ¨C hic ¨C hey, Brother, are there any shelled peanuts? Bring two plates over.¡± Taking care of the two men by the side, Li Yunzhen poured them wine and served them food. She was happy that her son could make such a cool city friend. Hurriedly to the kitchen to unshelled the peanuts, she then saut¨¦ed some to be served with the wine. The process of unshelled then saut¨¦ed peanuts took at least fifteen minutes. This little time was enough for Li Chuan to act. Drinking high and the remarks of Zhang Cheng warmed Zhang Xing¡¯s heart that his eyes reddened, ¡°Brother ah, why didn¡¯t I know you earlier. You don¡¯t know how hard I had been in the city before. Everyone f*cking disdained Laozi. Used to have a girlfriend in the factory, she disdained Laozi for being poor and slept with the factory chief behind Laozi¡¯s back. Damn f*cking ¨C .¡± Zhang Cheng looked at him, then ¡®wow¡¯ and lunged into his arms to cry, ¡°Brother, we both similarly got cuckolded in the world ah! My fianc¨¦e, also f*cking ran away with another man, and even had a baby too. Insufferable, really f*cking insufferable! Brother, come! Let¡¯s drink!¡± Zhang Xing spat out, ¡°Women are so f*cking cheap!¡± ¡°Cheap, cheap!¡± ********** Li Chuan stumbled out of his room window to the vegetable garden in the backyard. He then dove into the basement. As soon as Lin Xiaoyin saw him, hope immediately flared up in her eyes. The man didn¡¯t use what was in his hand to sever the binding straw ropes, instead he first looked around before his line of sight fell on a rusty hoe. He grabbed Lin Xiaoyin by the shoulder and dragged her straight to the wall. Then pointing to the hoe, he motioned to her to use the hoe to grind off the straw rope on her hands. Lin Xiaoyin was puzzled and asked him, ¡°I saw you have a knife just now, why ¡­ ¡° ¡°I don¡¯t want to die with you.¡± The man¡¯s voice was profoundly cold, ¡°Want to survive, grind it off yourself and you don¡¯t have much time.¡± Li Chuan wanted to create the illusion of Lin Xiaoyin escaping on her own. Being inexplicably frightened by the man, Lin Xiaoyin pursed her lips and began to grind the straw ropes on the hoe. Although the hoe was rusty, it was still sharp. In less than five minutes, the straw ropes snapped off. Lin Xiaoyin untied the straw rope binding her ankles. She was about to jump into the man¡¯s arms when the man straightened up then threw her a small flashlight and looked down at her, ¡°Remember, the villagers cannot be trusted. You go hide in the mountain temple for two days where no one will search there for the time being.¡± Li Chuan pondered carefully about what Su Qin said during the day. Since the girl could come out of the mountain temple, the old man must have turned a blind eye to the girl. There is nowhere safe in the village now, only that place. ¡°Mountain temple?¡± The girl wanted to cry. Looking up at the man, she tugged the man¡¯s clothes, ¡°Li Chuan, don¡¯t leave me. It¡¯s already so dark, I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Once you get there, find your own way to hide and don¡¯t come out if you don¡¯t die of hunger.¡± Li Chuan raised his wrist to look at his watch and told her ¡°At most you have five minutes to escape from here, it¡¯s up to you whether to go or to stay.¡± Li Chuan suspected she had a hand in the fire in his previous lifetime, but it was never confirmed. He saved Lin Xiaoyin because she is a girl and also because he resented scumbags. He didn¡¯t want the scumbag to succeed again. Li Chuan returned to the room and pretended as if nothing had happened. Watching Li Chuan leave, Lin Xiaoyin clambered up after him too. Standing in front of Li Chuan¡¯s window, she knocked on his window with a trembling voice, ¡°Li Chuan, will you let me in. I¡¯m so scared and I want to go home.¡± Li Chuan frowned and said solemnly, ¡°Sorry Miss Lin. Saving you is ethical but we have no obligation to die with you. You go to the mountain temple now. Perhaps you can still wait safely until Zhang Cheng brings the police back.¡± The man paused, ¡°There are only two ways either to live or to die, and you choose yourself.¡± Lin Xiaoyin felt a chill in her heart. She had regarded the man inside as her last hope, but that man ¡­ Biting her lips, she ran towards the mountain. The cold dew was heavy in the remote mountains and the few girls cuddled up together to sleep in the mountain temple. With the worship candle lit in the mountain temple¡¯s main hall, the room was slightly illuminated. Being closest to the disabled girl, Su Qin felt the icy-coldness of her body that she covered her with her own quilt before hugging her to warm her up. Since Wen Mei was not sleepy, she was the first to hear movements outside and kicked Su Qin. Halting her movement and holding her breath, she subconsciously grabbed the broken tiles. The door ¡®creaked¡¯ open from outside and a dark shadow quietly fumbled in. The person¡¯s stature was small and slender, it wasn¡¯t a man. Stepping into the main hall, Lin Xiaoyin instinctively closed and hastily bolted the door. She and Li Chuan had rested here during the day, and learned that there was only an old man here. But can she really hide and wait here until Zhang Cheng brings the police over? Will the old man here hand her over to Zhang Xing? She doesn¡¯t know. Groping in the dark, she tripped over someone sleeping on the ground and screamed. Su Qin reacted the fastest. Sitting up and pulling her, she covered her mouth and hissed in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t scream.¡± Gasping badly, Lin Xiaoyin turned to look at Su Qin¡¯s face. Since her head was wrapped in cloth, she could not see her appearance except for the pair of eyes. She then looked at the girl beside Su Qin. The girl has no eyes. Frightened with shaking hands, Lin Xiaoyin screamed out again. Su Qin immediately slapped her face and shouted, ¡°Shut up.¡± Since the slap felt warm, she was not a ghost. Dazed by the slap, Lin Xiaoyin froze on the spot and stared wide-eyed at the three girls who sat there. Seeing clearly that it was Lin Xiaoyin, Su Qin snorted coldly. Uhm. Enemies do inevitably cross paths. It¡¯s actually Teacher Lin, who was inclined to be the missus, again. She still remembered the scene when Lin Xiaoyin took a stack of old photos and newspapers to find her and Baobao in the restaurant. Lin Xiaoyin dumped the photos and newspapers on the dining table, on which Su Qin in the photo was unkempt and squatting in Zhang Xing¡¯s pigsty. It was taken by the media when the police came to rescue her. Although it was pixelated, it was not difficult to discern that it was her. Her daughter, Baobao, pointed at the photo curiously and asked, ¡°Mommy, this dirty Jiejie[2] who had no clothes on, looks like you.¡± The exquisitely make-up Lin Xiaoyin snorted coldly and said to Baobao, ¡°Baobao, this dirty woman is precisely your mother.¡± Baobao, who was mysophobia, could not tolerate any dirty things. But when she saw this photo of her mother, she froze for a moment before packing it away and tucking it into her little pink school bag. Immediately after that, like a ferocious little tiger, Baobao pushed Lin Xiaoyin, ¡°Bad woman, you sullied my mother. Bad woman, bad woman!¡± Lin Xiaoyin pushed the little girl back, ¡°You get it straight, it¡¯s your mother who is sullied. She has been a sow in the countryside for five years, so it is her who is sullied. Baobao, since your mother is so dirty, you don¡¯t follow her. Come to Auntie, Auntie will be your new mother hereafter, okay?¡± ¡°No!¡± Baobao grabbed a small bowl and smashed it on her face. Getting wounded, Lin Xiaoyin ran crying pitiably to Li Chuan and censured her for not teaching her daughter well. The events of her previous lifetime are still vivid in her mind and she is still furious when she recalls one after another of those occurrences. Su Qin¡¯s temper was fairly good in the previous lifetime and was a pushover while Professor Li treated everyone gently. They were the typical ¡®gentle couple¡¯. But getting reborn again, she seems to have figured out everything. Blind forbearance will only cause those disgusting people to reach for a yard after getting an inch*. [T/N: µÃ´ç½ø³ß (D¨¦ c¨´n j¨¬n ch¨«) ¨C literally means win an inch, want a foot / figurative for not satisfied with small gains] ********** Su Qin¡¯s tone was flat as she looked at the not properly dressed Lin Xiaoyin and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Lin Xiaoyin was sobered by the slap and asked, ¡°You ¡­ you all ¡­ are precisely those girls who ¡­ Zhang Xing said were abducted and sold here?¡± Meng Sisi asked her weakly, ¡°You were also abducted and sold here?¡± ¡°What abducted! I¡¯m not like you girls! If it weren¡¯t for you girls, I wouldn¡¯t have been kidnapped by that despicable Zhang Xing and wouldn¡¯t have almost ¡­ ¡° Feeling unbearably furious, Lin Xiaoyin asked them, ¡°Who else is here besides you girls? Li Chuan said that the police will come to rescue me in two days. Am I safe here?¡± All three girls didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Speak up ah, are you all dumb?¡± Su Qin spoke coldly, ¡°You speak louder. It will be best to draw the villagers over and better yet to let Zhang Xing know that you have run over here.¡± Lin Xiaoyin immediately shut her mouth. Su Qin threw her a cotton-padded jacket and said, ¡°You sleep here tonight. It¡¯s safe for the time being. Before dawn, you go to the backyard and hide in the woodshed. Don¡¯t stay in the main hall. Since Teacher Li told you that it is safe here, there must be a reason.¡± A gust of cold wind came from outside causing Lin Xiaoyin to shiver from the coldness. Sniffing the smelly worn-out cotton-padded jacket, she frowned, ¡°You let me wear this? Bed? Where¡¯s the bed?¡± "" Ever since this woman came in, she had been making a fuss that Meng Sisi immediately scolded her, ¡°Sleep on the floor ah, you little idiot.¡± Lin Xiaoyin spoke angrily, ¡°Who are you scolding?¡± ¡°Idiot.¡± Meng Sisi scolded again. Meng Sisi and Su Qin, who slept separately on both ends of the makeshift bed, rolled up their quilt tightly, not giving her any chance to get under the quilts. Su Qin snorted coldly in her heart. In her previous and present lifetime, Miss Lin¡¯s temper has always been very unpleasant. [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly [2] ½ã½ã (Ji¨§ji¨§) ¨C Elder siste CH 11 Chapter 11- Missing This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Lin Xiaoyin was not able to see Su Qin¡¯s appearance clearly, but Meng Sisi and Wen Mei, both didn¡¯t look grown-up either. Especially Meng Sisi, who looks like a child in every way. Miss Lin, who was scolded for being an ¡®idiot¡¯, went to the corner, leaned against the wall and fell asleep wrapped in the cotton-padded jacket. In the middle of the night, she dreamt of Zhang Xing pressing on her body and the foul odor that lingered on the tip of the nose caused her to cry unbearably. She has lived to be 20 years old and has always been the darling of her family. In school, those little sisters around her would also yield to her that she had never endured this kind of suffering. Recalling Li Chuan¡¯s indifferent tone, her chest felt a burst of tearing pain. The three girls heard her sobbing but they pretended not to hear and soon fell asleep. ********** Early the next morning, Uncle Wen, who kept watch at the temple, was startled to see Lin Xiaoyin cowering in the corner, ¡°Teacher Lin? Why are you sleeping here? Teacher Lin?¡± The old man bent down and patted her on the shoulder. Awakened from her dream, Lin Xiaoyin trembled with fear and when she saw clearly it was the old man, her face turned ghastly pale. The mottled light and shadow from the sunlight that projected through the quaint window panes fell on the girl¡¯s fair skin. Pursing her lips, she looked up at the old man and subconsciously grabbed the old man¡¯s wrist, ¡°Don¡¯t ¡­ don¡¯t send me back.¡± Since this was not already their first day here, the three girls divided the dry food into two portions like yesterday. One portion was to be eaten now, the other was wrapped up in cloth. Ready to escape at any time, these dry foods are prepared for emergencies. Meng Sisi nibbled a mouthful of the corn bun and spoke vaguely with food in her mouth, ¡°Grandpa Wen, she was forced to come up here. Last night ¡­ ¡° The little girl roughly recounted what had happened last night. Although it was not very clear, seeing Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s disheveled clothes, Uncle Wen could probably guess what had occured too. Slamming his fist on the window pane, Uncle Wen spoke angrily, ¡°This beast ah, beast ah! Even the teacher is not spared! Our village will be destroyed in his hands sooner or later ah!¡± The people in the village have always respected the support teachers who came from outside. Firstly, it is because these teachers are assigned by the township government. If there are any mishaps, perhaps no more teachers will dare to come here to teach. Then those children will not have any education and will stay in this mountain for the rest of their lives. Uncle Wen has two granddaughters. He hopes both his granddaughters will get educated then leave the mountain village and get admitted to university to earn big money, instead of staying in the mountains, get married, have babies and muddle through their lives. This Zhang Xing, he actually didn¡¯t even spare the teacher, this is driving the village to a dead end ah! Uncle Wen¡¯s son and daughter-in-law died in an accident when they went out to work last year. Uncle Wen always felt that it was a retribution for the sins committed by the villagers. Therefore, in order to accumulate virtues for his grandchildren, he turned a blind eye to these abducted girls. Knowing that Zhang Xing is bold, Uncle Wen didn¡¯t expect that stinky brat to be so gutsy to even dare get his hand on the support teacher. But if he brings Teacher Lin to condemn Zhang Xing, will the villagers help him, or Zhang Xing? Uncle Wen was uncertain. If all the villagers help Zhang Xing, then he ¡­ probably won¡¯t live long. Su Qin could see Uncle Wen¡¯s hesitation and struggling with his conscience, hence she interjected and said, ¡°Grandpa Wen, let Teacher Lin stay here for two days. If you let her go back now to make things clear, in the event that Village Chief Zhang convinces other villagers and leads them to target you, then ¡­ perhaps the other two teachers will be implicated too ah.¡± This was also what Uncle Wen worried about. Should he take Lin Xiaoyin back to condemn Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son in a big fuss, but in case the villagers are on their side then the other two teachers who learn the truth will also not be able to leave the village alive. Most of the villagers in their village have only been to Tongluo Township in their lifetime and very few people in the village have even applied for household registration and identity cards. Even if people in the village disappear, the judicial officers outside will not know about it. As for Uncle Wen, why did he insist on sending his two granddaughters to school. It was because he had gone to see the big city. When Uncle Wen went to the city to collect the bodies of his son and daughter-in-law last year, he was astonished by the prosperity of the big city. There are high-rise buildings, a never-ending flow of automobiles and everywhere is a dazzling sight. "" Uncle Wen could never forget the policewoman who received him, nor the female forensic pathologist who bought him dinner. Each and every chic working girl and how they live glamorously in the city ah ¡­ At that moment, the old man thought he would also want to let his two granddaughters come to the city in future. ********** As soon as Lin Xiaoyin heard that the old man wanted to send her back to the village, she shook her head and said, ¡°Old man, don¡¯t send me back. I¡¯ll wait here. Wait for Teacher Li and Teacher Zhang to bring the police over. Don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m here. When I go out, I will give you money, lots of money.¡± Recalling something, she added, ¡°If I remember correctly, you are Xiuxiu¡¯s grandfather, aren¡¯t you? After I go home, I will repay you. I will buy Xiuxiu beautiful clothes. As long as you can help me, I will agree to any of your conditions. My family is rich and has lots of money.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help you. You don¡¯t have to give Xiuxiu clothes.¡± Uncle Wen looked at Lin Xiaoyin who was cowering in the corner and said, ¡°Promise me that once you go back, take my Xiuxiu out of the mountain and arrange for her to go to school in the city, okay?¡± ¡°Okay! Whatever you want! My family is rich, so it¡¯s no problem to sponsor her until she goes to university!¡± Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s expression was obviously a little distorted. ¡°Okay, you come with me.¡± Uncle Wen savored a mouthful of the tobacco pipe as he said to her. Both her legs were numb when Lin Xiaoyin got up to follow Uncle Wen to the backyard. The old man took her into the woodshed. Taking out bundles of firewood, he emptied out a place for her to squat and instructed her, ¡°You stay here and don¡¯t come out these few days. I will bring you food and water regularly.¡± Lin Xiaoyin crouched there when the old man took another large basket to cover her. Lin Xiaoyin stopped him, ¡°Is this ¡­ necessary?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Uncle Wen¡¯s appearance was gentle and the wrinkles on his face moved as he spoke, ¡°They naturally could also think of the safe place that you could think of. So, it is safer to hide like this.¡± After Lin Xiaoyin squatted down properly, the old man covered her whole body with a basket, then placed layer upon layer of firewood to shield her. She asked, ¡°Squatting here ¡­ when I can come out?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Teacher Zhang will come find you?¡± The old man sighed and added, ¡°But I can only offer you shelter for ten days. If they haven¡¯t brought anyone to save you after ten days, I won¡¯t dare to keep you here either.¡± Recalling the hideous faces of Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son, Lin Xiaoyin immediately endured it. She crouched in place and did not dare to move again. At the same time, two major events alarmed the whole village. After the villagers sent Teacher Zhang away at five o¡¯clock in the morning, they found out that ¨C Teacher Lin was missing. Not only that, Zhang Er¡¯wa was missing too. Zhang Feng was so anxious that she stood in front of the Village Chief¡¯s house and rained curses, ¡°My family Er¡¯wa has disappeared but you didn¡¯t go look for him. Now it¡¯s good, even Teacher Lin has gone missing too! I¡¯ll see how you, the Village Chief, can explain to Mayor Li! And how are you going to explain this to the county government!¡± Having secret motives, Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son looked at each other and said, ¡°Like this, let¡¯s go to the mountain today to look for Er¡¯wa and Teacher Lin. Maybe the two of them are seeing each other and having a fling.¡± The villagers looked at each other in dismay and felt that it was unlikely. The eight-year-old Zhang Xiuxiu stood in the crowd with her sister on her back, heard the Village Chief¡¯s words and retorted, ¡°Impossible! Teacher Lin definitely will not like Brother Er¡¯wa. Teacher Lin likes someone like Teacher Li! Not only Teacher Lin, all of us girls like Teacher Li too!¡± Zhang Xiuxiu¡¯s younger brother slapped her forehead, ¡°Elder Sister, can¡¯t you be more restrained? Look out if Grandpa will spank your butt!¡± As two people in the village had gone missing one after the other, this caused the villagers to be in a state of anxiety. Leaning against the door frame, Li Chuan coldly sized up the group of villagers with an indifferent expression. But once someone met his sight he immediately revealed a warm gaze and smiled. The eight-year-old girl stared raptly at Li Chuan with a wandering mind. Teacher Li is the handsomest man she has ever seen. The little girl secretly swore that she would study hard in order to see Teacher Li more often in the future. Zhang Xing summoned the villagers into several groups to go up the mountain to look for the people. The back mountain which was the most dangerous and difficult part of Zhangjia gorge was assigned to Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son where Zhang Er¡¯wa just happened to be imprisoned inside a cave in that mountain too. When night came and the villagers found nothing, they became even more frightened. Someone said: ¡°It can¡¯t be that the mountain is beset with bears and has eaten Zhang Er¡¯wa and Teacher Lin, right?¡± ¡°Impossible, there hasn¡¯t been any bears seen for many years.¡± ¡°Then how do you explain the disappearance of both Teacher Lin and Er¡¯wa? I say ah, is due to the arrival of outsiders in the village that the mountain god is angry and captured Teacher Lin ¡­ ¡° The villagers then engaged in heated arguments. Having sinister motives, Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son both thought of a place at the same time. Being a city girl, Lin Xiaoyin wouldn¡¯t dare to stay overnight in the mountains, so she most likely had gone to ¡­ the mountain temple. CH 12 Chapter 12 ¨C Mountain God This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Late at night, the main room was dim with the lit candle. Zhang Xing and Li Yunzhen were discussing how to deal with Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s matter when the sound of a woman¡¯s cursing and a child¡¯s weeping came from the courtyard. The mother and son pushed open the door, and saw a woman with a 13-year-old boy outside the door. Li Yunzhen asked, ¡°Bao¡¯s mother, what are you doing? Did you beat Little Bao again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that I didn¡¯t beat him to death!¡± Li Su smacked the back of her son¡¯s head and spoke angrily, ¡°Village Chief, what the hell did those teachers teach the kids? No wonder the female teacher surnamed Lin was missing, most likely offended the mountain god and was taken to heaven to be the lord mountain god¡¯s wife.¡± Li Yunzhen asked her amiably, ¡°What happened ah?¡± Li Su huffed, ¡°Aren¡¯t I about to take Niuniu to Lijia Village to exchange a wife for him? This stinky brat, actually hid Niuniu! He even said ¡­ the teacher said there must be freedom of marriage. Girls should also go to school and it is wrong to use the family¡¯s girls to exchange marriage for the boys ¡­ is this what the teacher should teach?¡± Hearing this, Li Yunzhen looked towards Li Chuan¡¯s room and hurriedly beckoned the mother and son into the main room. Zhang Xing pulled Bao-er to sit in front of him and urged in a low voice, ¡°Bao¡¯er, then you are in the wrong. Your mother took Niuniu to Lijia Village to exchange a wife for you, why did you still hide Niuniu? Where did you hide Niuniu?¡± The boy named Bao¡¯er clasped his arms and snorted with a twisted face, ¡°Mother, Niuniu is my younger sister who was also birthed by you! Niuniu is only 10 years old, how can you be so cruel!¡± The woman twisted his ears, ¡°Stinky brat, your sister is precisely the money-losing commodity[1] who was born to exchange a marriage for you, and otherwise what¡¯s the use of her? If you weren¡¯t a boy, you would have long been thrown into the latrine pit and drowned by me!¡± The little boy knocked his mother¡¯s hand away then bit the flesh between the thumb and forefinger of his mother¡¯s hand before sliding off the bench and quickly ran out. The woman was so angry that she stomped her foot, hammered her fist on the square table and knitted her eyebrows with anger, ¡°Village Chief, according to me, those teachers were precisely here to destroy the harmony of our village on purpose which is just too exasperating! Now that Teacher Zhang has left, Teacher Lin and Er¡¯wa are missing, the whole village is in a state of anxiety, and all these happened after those teachers¡¯ arrival. The arrival of outsiders into the village might have offended the mountain gods ah!¡± The mother and son were silent. The woman added, ¡°Village Chief, tomorrow you go and talk to that teacher named Li, let him leave. My son will not attend his class anymore.¡± Thinking of Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s disappearance without a trace and if Lin Xiaoyin comes back to confront him, Teacher Lin will definitely know what he had done. So no matter which standpoint he is on, Teacher Li must leave. ¡°Okay.¡± Unfurling the furrow of his eyebrows, Zhang Xing heaved a sigh, ¡°Bao¡¯s mother, you go back first. I will discuss with Teacher Li tomorrow and ask him to leave the day after tomorrow, and go back to teach in Tongluo Township.¡± Another night passed. Before dawn, Yun Fei brought some dry food and water to the mountain temple. Yun Fei was inevitably the earliest family member to go up the mountain to deliver food for his ¡®wife¡¯ everyday, fearing that his ¡®wife¡¯ would starve. Su Qin asked him, ¡°How is it? Is there any news from Teacher Li?¡± Yun Fei shook his head with a solemn expression, ¡°When I left the village, I heard the villagers say Teacher Li will leave tomorrow.¡± ¡°What?¡± Meng Sisi looked shocked and said anxiously, ¡°Teacher Li is leaving at this time? But Teacher Zhang hasn¡¯t come back yet ah? If Teacher Li leaves, then won¡¯t we have to go back to that home again and be ¡­ ¡° The little girl couldn¡¯t speak out the word ¡®abuse¡¯. The accumulated tears within the rims of her eyes were held back from trickling down. Glancing at the disabled girl who looked like a corpse lying on the ground, Su Qin then looked at Wen Mei whose head hung low without uttering a word. It seemed the hope of many days were futile that they seemingly have to confront death again. Although they didn¡¯t have enough to eat or covered with warmth on the mountain temple these days, they were somehow safe without having to go back to be tortured and abused by their ¡®husbands¡¯. These few days have been the happiest days for the several girls in the village. Su Qin held the hands of both the girls and got silent too. After a long while, she looked up and told Yun Fei, ¡°Feifei, please go to the Village Chief¡¯s house again. I want to make sure whether Teacher Li has handed over the marked map to Teacher Zhang.¡± Although Su Qin had not personally met Zhang Chang in this lifetime, if those things had really handed over to him, then she could feel much relieved and ultimately risk everything to escape with the girls. Though Zhang Cheng is a bad-tempered policeman, he is dedicated to his duty. As long as the evidence is in his hands, he will never let go unless he is dead. ********** They would only eat a little of the dry food that the mountain¡¯s ¡®families¡¯ delivered these days which was barely enough to fill their stomachs. And the rest, they would wrap it up in cloth. The food they saved could last for about three to four days. She can no longer take the girls back. They must leave here first and hide in the cave for a few days until Zhang Cheng brings the police back. Since Zhang Cheng had brought along the important evidence, even without Meng Sisi¡¯s family pressure, the police will soon set out to rescue them. Su Qin vaguely remembered the previous lifetime¡¯s Meng Sisi, who was sold to a man 25 years older, was subjected to every possible abuse that this pampered girl of an affluent family suffered a nervous breakdown and went crazy. And Wen Mei¡¯s ending was even more tragic. She was sold to a short-tempered ugly man. Since she was obstinate in temperament, she took the scissors and cut off the genitals of the man sleeping next to her after a few nights before she ultimately commit suicide by slitting her wrists. Su Qin could not let them go back. She had to take the girls up the mountain for the time being. In her previous lifetime, Su Qin and Yun Fei were discovered by the villagers with torches who chased them all the way when they escaped to the cave. After the two of them got into the cave, they had no choice but to jump off the waterfall. But in this lifetime, they will leave the mountain temple and inevitably not alert the villagers. Even if the villagers search the mountain, they may not be able to find that cave in a few days. Since they want to escape, they can¡¯t implicate anyone. In the afternoon, Yun Fei met up with Li Chuan and was affirmed that the map had been given to Zhang Cheng. Su Qin told Uncle Wen first, asking him to feign sickness early tomorrow morning and go down the mountain to take leave from Zhang Xing, and tell Zhang Xing¡¯s mother and son that Lin Xiaoyin is actually hiding in the mountain temple. Uncle Wen was puzzled. Meng Sisi was baffled too and spoke out in surprise at once, ¡°What is this going to do? Although I don¡¯t like that woman, but ¡­I don¡¯t want her to be harmed too.¡± Su Qin explained, ¡°Not to harm her. We have to escape, but we can¡¯t implicate Grandpa Wen. Li Yunzhen and Zhang Xing, have yet to confess about Teacher Lin¡¯s matter to the villagers. Grandpa Wen will go down the mountain to ask for sick leave tomorrow morning. If both the mother and son know that Teacher Lin is here, they will certainly come up to keep watch the mountain temple themselves. When the time comes, the few of us can bring down Li Yunzhen together.¡± ¡°Li Yunzhen is Zhang Xing¡¯s mother. If we escape during her watch, can he blame his own mother?¡± The few people were understood in a flash. Wen Mei gave her a thumbs up, ¡°Su-su, it¡¯s still you who thought this through.¡± Yun Fei stared at Su Qin intently. The girl¡¯s head was wrapped up in cloth with only her pair of eyes revealed, so he stared at those eyes of hers in dazed and lost in thought. ¡°Hey, Fool, why are you staring at our sister Su Qin like this?¡± Meng Sisi poked Yun Fei¡¯s temple with her finger. Regaining his senses, Yun Fei¡¯s gaze met Su Qin¡¯s skimming glance that his heartbeat instantly accelerated and his cheeks reddened at a speed visible to the naked eyes. Su Qin coughed lightly and then said, ¡°Feifei, we will flee tomorrow night. You will come up the mountain as usual tomorrow and the morning after, you will come up early then go down the mountain in tears, telling them that we are gone. Remember, you must pretend to cry very sadly, okay? When the police arrive, we will leave together.¡± Leave together? Where to? To the outside world and find his so-called father? After all these years, is his father still waiting for him and his mother? Will he still wait? After dinner, Zhang Xing came to Li Chuan¡¯s room again to talk to him. ¡°Teacher Li, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to keep you here. Two people in our village had gone missing one after another. We¡¯re afraid we¡¯ve offended the mountain gods that we really don¡¯t dare to keep you here anymore ah. Several villagers have come to make noise during the day, saying that you have misguided their children. I really ¡­ have no reason to keep you any longer. According to the rules of you city people, I have sent someone to go down the mountain to report to the police. You can just leave the matter of finding the person to those police, what can you do by staying here?¡± Zhang Xing¡¯s words had clearly stated. Li Chuan looked at the man embarrassedly, ¡°Teacher Lin is nowhere to be found, how can I go down the mountain by myself? Village Chief ¨C ¡° The man¡¯s throat moved and he grasped Zhang Xing¡¯s hand as he choked with sobs, ¡°I have a crush on Teacher Lin for a long time, I will not leave no matter what if she is not found.¡± Zhang Xing ¡° ¡­¡­.. ¡° Li Chuan knows exactly what kind of a person Zhang Xing is. A fugitive murderer and a desperado. If he wants to stay assertively, he might provoke the man¡¯s anger and get himself killed. Li Chuan simply settled for the second choice, ¡°Village Chief Zhang, you let me stay one more day. Let me wait one more day, okay?¡± Zhang Xing looked at Li Chuan. The rims of the man¡¯s eyes actually reddened slightly. This is ¡­ going to cry? He cursed motherf*cker under his breath. The city men, are all so f*cking ¡®unreasonably zealous¡¯? Cry the fart ah. Zhang Xing spoke impatiently, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. Let you stay one more day then, but you don¡¯t take the children to the mountain tomorrow, just stay in my family¡¯s courtyard.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Fuming with anger, Zhang Xing slammed the door. He really couldn¡¯t stand the scholarly and bookish nerd. He still prefers the spontaneous and heroic type like Zhang Cheng. He and Teacher Zhang have indeed met too late! Li Chuan stared at the departing man¡¯s back and his slightly reddish eyes instantly turned into sharp cold gaze. [1] ÅâÇ®»õ (P¨¦iqi¨¢n hu¨°) ¨C an old derogatory term for girls because girls couldn¡¯t go out to earn money and her family had to prepare dowry when she got married, hence the name. CH 13 Chapter 13.1 ¨C Chest Assault This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Early the next morning, Uncle Wen went down the mountain and coughed all the way to Zhang Xing¡¯s house. Just as he stepped into the courtyard door, he bumped into the students sitting and painting in the courtyard. The students turned successively to look at him as soon as he entered the courtyard. Zhang Xiuxiu was drawing Teacher Li, who was sitting under the eaves reading a book. Wearing a black shirt, the man sitting there was carefully flipping through a book, with a gentle temperament of his own style. Seeing her grandpa entering into Zhang family¡¯s courtyard with coughs, Xiuxiu immediately put aside the pencil in her hand and rushed over to grab the corner of her grandpa¡¯s clothes. Tilting her head up, she asked him, ¡°Grandpa, what¡¯s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?¡± Xiuxiu has not seen her grandpa for several days already. And now seeing her grandpa hunching over with coughs, the rims of her eyes reddened with distress. A little boy also rushed over and stood still in front of his grandpa. Uncle Wen reached out to stroke the girl¡¯s head and urged in a low voice, ¡°Good Xiuxiu, go attend class with your little brother while I talk to the Village Chief.¡± ¡°En.¡± Zhang Xiuxiu was very obedient and pulled her little brother back to their seats to continue with the lesson. During the whole process, Li Chuan only looked up and nodded politely at Uncle Wen. ********** When Uncle Wen entered the house, Zhang Xing was looking through the genealogy record and counting the men in the village. Recently a circular was sent out from the county to all major villages, requiring each member of every household to apply for the ID card. As transportation in Zhangjia Gorge and the nearby Lijia Village are inaccessible, the villagers rarely leave their villages. Only those young people who want to go out to work will apply for the ID card. Since mountains are high and rivers are far, very few government officials come to these remote mountain villages, hence very few people in the villages have gotten their ID cards. It takes four days to travel to and from Tuling Township police station to get an ID card. Since the journey is long, very few villagers are willing to spend four days traveling for the sake of the documents. Hence, the government implemented an incentive plan. As long as the village chiefs successfully urge the villagers to apply for the documents, a reward of 50 yuan per person will be given. Without doubt, the person who applies will also receive the 50 yuan as incentive fee. In order to obtain the reward money, Zhang Xing was adding up the number of men who could go out of the mountain. Coming in from outside, Uncle Wen called out to Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing looked up and was shocked to see it was him, ¡°Yo, Uncle Wen, why did you come down the mountain? Who is guarding the temple?¡± ¡°Oh, Lin¡¯wa just went up the mountain to deliver food and I asked him to help keep watch for a moment while I came down to ask for leave.¡± Uncle Wen coughed in between his words. As his body was very thin, every time he coughed, it eventually gave the illusion that his bones were going to fall apart. Li Yunzhen came out from the kitchen and poured a bowl of tea for each of them. Uncle Wen coughed violently and added, ¡°Ai, I¡¯m old and my body is really useless. Wasn¡¯t this just sleeping a few days on the mountain and I caught a cold. Village Chief, see if you can arrange another person to go up the mountain?¡± Li Yunzhen and Zhang Xing looked at each other without saying anything. Uncle Wen glanced at the children and Li Chuan who were in the courtyard, then whispered, ¡°Yunzhen, close the main room door. I have a few words to say to the Village Chief. ¡°Okay.¡± Li Yunzhen went to close the two-panel door of the main room and inserted the door bolts. Uncle Wen sat next to Zhang Xing and spoke something close to his ear. He then coughed again before the volume of his voice resumed to before, ¡°Xing¡¯wa, I won¡¯t talk about you but how could you dare to have ideas on Teacher Lin? Ai, it¡¯s useless to talk about this now. The current situation ah, is to conceal this from Teacher Li and make Teacher Li leave our village as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Placing his hand on Uncle Wen¡¯s shoulder, Zhang Xing patted him and urged, ¡°Uncle Wen, don¡¯t tell the villagers about this beforehand. Tonight, I¡¯ll let my mother keep guard at the mountain temple and you can go back to rest properly.¡± ¡°En.¡± The old man coughed a few more times and appeared very weak. In the afternoon, Li Yunzhen brought a tool up the mountain temple. She entered the mountain temple and changed shifts with Lin¡¯wa. Once Lin¡¯wa left, she bolted the main hall door then gazed over the three girls cowering in the corner and walked straight towards the woodshed in the backyard. Bringing a bullwhip into the backyard, Li Yunzhen pulled Lin Xiaoyin out of the woodshed and dragged her to the main hall before whipping her severely. Huddling on the ground, Lin Xiaoyin screamed terrifyingly and cried, begging her not to whip her anymore. Li Yunzhen was trembling with anger as she cursed and swore, ¡°Who let you run away, who let you run away, see if I don¡¯t break your legs!¡± Saying that, the whip lashed out again. Lin Xiaoyin wailed. Pulling the bottom of her trousers, she begged her, ¡°I won¡¯t run, won¡¯t run anymore. You don¡¯t hit me, don¡¯t hit me.¡± In the corner, Wen Mei felt alarmed seeing this when she grabbed Su Qin¡¯s elbow and asked, ¡°Su-su, should we help her?¡± ¡°Wait till it gets dark. The whip at most let her suffer a little physical pain and won¡¯t crippled her.¡± Su Qin looked at the sky outside which gradually darkened yet not completely. In the main hall, the mountain gods have cordial countenances while the candlelight flickers on the altar table. The sky darkened not long after, and it was probably about 7.30pm where no one would come up the mountain. Li Yunzhen was also tired by the beating as she sat on the bench, panting for breath. Su Qin winked at Meng Sisi and Wen Mei, who both grasped intuitively and each clutched a hatchet and a rock in their hands respectively. Getting up to pour a cup of water for Li Yunzhen, Su Qin¡¯s voice was soft, ¡°Aunt Li, have a drink of water. Don¡¯t get angry, it¡¯s not good for your health.¡± Li Yunzhen took the tea bowl from her hand and turned to look at her. The girl was thin with a cloth wrapped around her head, revealing only a pair of eyes. She was surprised, ¡°You are the Fool¡¯s wife?¡± She nodded her head and hmm, ¡°Thank you Aunt Li. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have met such a good husband like Feifei.¡± Li Yunzhen turned her face away and gulped a mouthful of water to moisten her throat before she spoke to Lin Xiaoyin who was cowering and trembling on the ground, ¡°When the Fool¡¯s wife first came here, she was much more sensible than you. If you have been obedient and listened to us, would I be inclined to beat you up?¡± With tousled hair, Lin Xiaoyin hugged her head as she looked at the girl and Li Yunzhen through the messy strands of her hair. Pursing her lips, she dared not speak nor dared she even to breathe loudly while every inch of her body was burning with pain. Su Qin poured another bowl of hot water for Li Yunzhen and said, ¡°Aunt Li, when can we go home ah? I ¡­.. miss Feifei.¡± The girl¡¯s voice was soft with girlish shyness. Being someone with experience, how could Li Yunzhen not understand the girl¡¯s words? She ¡®aiyo¡¯ and looked askance at her, ¡°This only how long have you been with the Fool? Missing him already? You these little girls, tsk tsk ¡­ ¡° CH 14 Chapter 14 ¨C Baby This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Following behind with the disabled girl on his back, Su Qin helped Li Chuan carry his bag. Not knowing what was in the man¡¯s backpack as it was quite heavy. Mountain paths, especially the rocky area, were not easy to tread and bears were often reported roaming around, so the villagers rarely go over there. Many places there had no paths with overgrown brambles that required people to stride over. Su Qin¡¯s injury was not serious at first but the wound got deeper and deeper after getting scraped by the twigs. Just when everyone was worn out and couldn¡¯t go on anymore, a bare mountain cliff towering into the clouds blocked their path that even one with flying skill could not have climbed up. Illuminating the cliff with the flashlight, Meng Sisi gasped with her arms akimbo, ¡°Such a tall mountain, we may not be able to cross over even in a flying plane ah!¡± ¡°This way.¡± Leading the way, Su Qin stopped in front of a big rock and pushed it to reveal a half-person-tall hole. Lowering her body, she got in first to show everyone the way. Since the cave mouth was very narrow, Li Chuan, who is very tall, bumped on the wall several times. The inner cave gradually widened the deeper one entered and constant water flowing sound was inside. With the illumination of several flashlights, the cave brightened up at once and the white rocky walls were enchanting. The cave was very big and there was a small river which for whatever reason the water was sky blue. The rapid flow of water gathered at the other cave entrance formed a downwards cliff cascade. Meng Sisi was astonished by the white rocky walls and the blue flowing water inside the cave. Nature is such a superlative craftsman. The view here was really ¡­ unseen before and beautiful. Though Lin Xiaoyin has been to many places and has seen many beautiful scenery, the view here has also left her stunned. ¡°Wu ¡­ ¡° Zhang Er¡¯wa, who had been tied up in the cave for many days, was awakened by them and his face was filled with horror seeing these girls who he abducted and sold here. Wen Mei saw him first. Dropping the bedding in her hands, she walked towards him and kicked him hard on his face. Meng Sisi also came to beat him up. When she was tired, she squatted down in place and spoke gaspingly, ¡°You just wait, wait to eat a lifetime prison¡¯s meals! I will definitely make your life worse than death!¡± As the little girl spoke, she picked up some pebbles and smashed him in the face. Being gagged, Zhang Er¡¯wa could not speak and only grunted. His head was badly bruised, but he would not die. Su Qin spread the bedding on the floor and together with Li Chuan, they placed the disabled girl down and covered her with a quilt, so that she could not catch a chill. Li Chuan glanced at Su Qin when she went to wash her face by the edge of the water. Her face was hardly bare since it was covered in herbs and wrapped with a scarf these few days. Taking the scarf off, Su Qin put it in the water to wet it then wrung it out to wipe the herbs off her face. The rash and bruises on her face had faded with only a scabbed scar across her cheek, waiting to be healed. But even so, it did not affect her beauty. It wasn¡¯t until she washed her face clean that Lin Xiaoyin could see she was actually a 14 or 15 year old girl. She thought this girl was about her age, but seeing her now, she was just a child. Lin Xiaoyin, who had been silent all the way, asked, ¡°How long are we going to hide here?¡± ¡°We will hide until the police come looking for us.¡± Wen Mei said to her while spreading out the bedding on the ground, ¡°If you want to use the quilt tonight, come over and help.¡± Lin Xiaoyin pursed her lips and went over to help spread out the bedding. She is probably the oldest amongst these girls. As a graduate and to actually get angry with a junior high school student, she inevitably felt mocked thinking about it. She turned her face to steal a glance at Li Chuan, but found him looking at the little girl washing her face over there. The makeshift beds were done. Wen Mei asked Su Qin, ¡°Su-su, how do we sleep tonight?¡± ¡°Cramming together.¡± Meng Sisi glanced at Li Chuan and coughed lightly, ¡°There are only three quilts and we can only use them together, so ¡­ what about Teacher Li?¡± With a good temperament, good looks and a good sense of propriety, it was in fact okay to squeeze next to Li Chuan. But the problem was that ¡­ Teacher Li was just too outstanding who instead caused the girls to feel bashful and not quite dare to approach him. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep next to Teacher Li.¡± Getting up, Su Qin wiped her hair with the wet cloth and turned to look at Li Chuan, ¡°Teacher Li, you won¡¯t mind?¡± Li Chuan shook his head with tenderness in eyes, indicating that he didn¡¯t mind. Not saying anything, Lin Xiaoyin didn¡¯t feel quite good. On one hand, she felt she shouldn¡¯t be jealous of a little girl but on the other hand, she thought this girl was not that simple. With the flashlight inserted in the gap of the rocky wall, the lighting inside the cave was not very bright and the light beam happened to shine in Su Qin¡¯s direction. The girl¡¯s appearance was quite exquisite with rosy lips and white teeth. Her draping black hair hung down to her waist with ingenious her black eyes and skin as white as the spring snow. Although this 15-year-old girl is not fully grown, her attractive aura and beauty has already developed. This was the first time Meng Sisi and Wen Mei saw her true face after spending so many days together. Meng Sisi exclaimed ¡®Wow¡¯, ¡°Sister Su Qin, your skin is so fair ah.¡± Fairness covers hundreds of ugliness. Su Qin is naturally fair-skinned. Even at the age of 30, her skin was still clearly white and baby soft. Su Qin is very beautiful, and Li Chuan doesn¡¯t deny this. After rescuing Su Qin in his previous lifetime, it was many years later before they crossed paths again. At that time, Su Qin had set up a tailoring shop outside their neighborhood that specialized in altering clothes. Her craftsmanship was good and was widely renowned. Li Chuan had a suit, which was a gift from his grandmother that he was reluctant to throw away and would wear on the anniversary of his grandmother¡¯s death. But that year, Li Chuan¡¯s suit was deliberately damaged by his little cousin. Hearing the lady boss of the tailoring shop downstairs had good skills, he went to seek her out. The tailoring shop had a small storefront, decorated in white which was modern and simple, and not quite like those tailoring shops he had imagined, but rather like a very high-end designing studio. Propping her chin with one hand, the lady boss was scribbling on a white piece of paper. The woman¡¯s head was hanging low and her scattered black hair covered half of her face with only the tip of her nose, lips and lower jaw visible. She had a choker on her slender neck and a pearl pendant rested in the hollow of her collarbone. Noticing someone at the door, Su Qin looked up at him. Li Chuan met her pair of clear eyes and froze for a moment. Recognizing him, Su Qin gave him a confident and befitting smile, ¡°Hello Professor Li, long time no see.¡± Seeing him dumbfounded, Su Qin laughed and teased, ¡°Professor Li? Did you forget me? Su Qin, the girl you rescued back then.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Li Chuan handed her the suit jacket in his hand, ¡°Help me take a look, can you mend it?¡± Su Qin took the jacket from him and looked at it, ¡°En, can. You wait a moment, I¡¯ll sew it for you.¡± The suit was a haute couture that she sewed up stitch by stitch with truly excellent workmanship. With lowered eyebrows, she threaded the needle and her serious appearance reminded him of a kindly old lady. Li Chuan looked at the woman carefully. Dressed in a off-shoulder striped shirt revealing a pair of stunning shoulders, a hint of sexyness filled the room when her shoulder shrugged as she moved. He thought, should they be considered as fated? ********** Since that day, Li Chuan would often come to her with torn clothes. The clothes he brought each time were deliberately torn by cuts. It didn¡¯t matter if it was once or twice but after a long time, Su Qin began feeling sorry for those clothes of his. After all, these clothes were not cheap. The piece of clothing he brought over was most likely her monthly income. She finally spoke plainly one day, ¡°Professor Li, you know better than anyone else about my past. If you are trying to pursue me, regretfully, I don¡¯t think I am worthy of you.¡± Since his intention was discovered, the single older man, who had never pursued any girl before, was silent for a moment, then turned around and left. Li Chuan no longer came after that. Su Qin¡¯s life went on as usual, and also attended those usual blind dates, but those who had learned of her such past would just cease their pursuits. A month later, Su Qin¡¯s high school teacher introduced her to a university professor, who she originally didn¡¯t want to go meet him up with. She didn¡¯t think those teachers could accept her past. Since it was rude to refuse the teacher¡¯s good intentions, she just forced herself to go. Except the person she had a blind date with was unexpectedly ¡­. Li Chuan. In fact, both of them didn¡¯t have any common topic of conversation. The whole blind date was quite awkward but when the two people walked on the greenway after dinner, Li Chuan suddenly confessed to her, ¡°Su Qin, we are really fated. Marry me.¡± Su Qin didn¡¯t question if he liked her but merely asked him, ¡°Will you and your family mind about my past?¡± ¡°No.¡± At that time, Li Chuan had long sever ties with his family and was considered a loner. Professor Li had a stable career, good looks and a gentle temperament, making him a very suitable husband. On the contrary, half of Su Qin¡¯s life had been rough. Feeling weary, she suddenly wanted to find someone to rely on and to settle down, so she agreed. Su Qin knew that Li Chuan actually didn¡¯t like her much, but she understood that if she let Professor Li slip away, she would never meet such a good man again. So, it doesn¡¯t matter even if one spends the remaining years alone after savoring the taste of a best man, right? People around weren¡¯t optimistic about her and Li Chuan, including herself. Li Chuan had never said he liked her, nor did he say ¡®I like you¡¯ when he confessed. He merely said ¡®We are suitable¡¯. It was only after the wedding she realized that he married her only because at some point, she reminded him of his grandmother. Of course, Li Chuan had also bluntly said that she was good-looking. It sounded like the two of them just made do with their lives and got what they needed, but Li Chuan was indeed a qualified husband and father after the marriage. Even though Lin Xiaoyin had been after him for many years, he never thought of divorce. After the marriage, they mutually respected each other and their lives were harmonious too. She became pregnant with their daughter, Baobao, after a year of marriage. Su Qin was very clear that Professor Li¡¯s feelings for her were never love and after the birth of their daughter, Baobao, there was an unbreakable familial bond between them. And that kind of familial bond was far beyond romantic love. Looking back at the previous lifetime, Su Qin¡¯s youth was difficult. Her family forsaken her and her workplace was toxic, but she after all married a perfect husband and had a lovely daughter, which was considered blessed compared to other abducted girls. Having never experienced a melodramatic romance, probably was her utmost regret. At wee hours, the girls were all soundly asleep. Li Chuan slept on the far edge with Su Qin lying behind him and the girl¡¯s breathing was uniformly. The cave was pitch dark, yet he turned sideways and opened his eyes to look at the girl¡¯s face, as if he could see her features. Li Chuan wanted to hug her very badly, but he couldn¡¯t. After all, she is not his wife now but just a 15-year-old child. He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. The girl huddled up and burrowed into his arms. Su Qin¡¯s height is only about 1.6 meters while he is 1.9 meters tall. The girl curled up in his arms, like a little kitten huddling under the belly of a male lion. Falling back a little, Li Chuan¡¯s back was exposed outside the quilt. The girl then moved forward with her head pressing against his sturdy chest, like a little kitten ¡­ rubbing against him. ¡°! !¡± Li Chuan stiffened and his toes were ramrod taut. The fine hairs on the man¡¯s body shot up with accelerated heartbeats. He felt the flustered sense of losing his wits and his face was burning red. Just as he was thinking about how to push the girl away, her leg was then placed directly on his waist while her arm was on his face and was tugging ¡­ his ear in passing. Li Chuan¡¯s heart almost jumped out of his throat when his ear was tugged, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° ¡ª Baby, please let go. You are still a child. CH 15.1 Chapter 15.1 ¨C Rescued This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. No matter if it was the previous or the present lifetime, whether she was an adult or as a child, her sleeping posture has always caused others to feel helpless as such. Li Chuan, who no longer felt sleepy, got up from the ground and took off his down-windbreaker to cover Su Qin. Being a light sleeper, Su Qin was awakened by his movements and sat up subconsciously. Seeing that it was him, she brushed a handful of her hair casually. Li Chuan uttered a ¡®shh¡¯, motioning her to restrain her movement. He then carried the backpack lying at the corner and walked to the cave¡¯s entrance, and Su Qin followed in wake too. Placing the flashlight between the rocky wall, Li Chuan sat by the wall and placed the backpack on his lap. He took out a dagger from inside the bag and handed it to Su Qin. Taking the dagger, the girl was taken aback for a moment. The man whispered, ¡°You have to use a knife during the critical moment. Devils are unlikely to care.¡± The man¡¯s voice was half-absorbed by the rocky wall and half-usurped by the sound of water, thus the people resting in the cave weren¡¯t able to hear it. Sitting next to him and holding the black dagger sheath in her left hand, Su Qin pulled the dagger out with her right hand where the cold blade glinted under the flashlight. ¡°Why did you bring these things with you for the education support program?¡± Su Qin¡¯s voice was frail and sounded like a little girl. She asked while admiring the dagger. In her previous lifetime, she met Li Chuan five years later. Although Li Chuan sympathized with her at that time, he dared not offend the villagers¡¯ wrath to protect her and take her away from the village. What he did was to get the police¡¯s help. In this lifetime, she met Li Chuan five years earlier and it was also obvious that his temperament this time was different from five years later. He didn¡¯t contemplate prudently when doing deeds and he faced the enemies callously with heroic impulses and fearless bravery. Could it be that he is now too young and his youthful temperament makes him ignore the danger as he accompanied them here? ¡°It¡¯s Teacher Zhang¡¯s.¡± Li Chuan added, ¡°Teacher Zhang is a criminal police officer and is suspended for making a mistake. Since he was bored in the city, he came here with me to cultivate his body and mind.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ ¡° Su Qin accepted the dagger then leaned against the rocky wall in a daze. After a moment of silence, the man next to her took out some medical supplies from his backpack and pointed to her calf, ¡°Your injury, let me help you clean it up.¡± ¡°Oh, I almost forgot if you didn¡¯t mention it.¡± Su Qin rolled her pants up revealing that shocking wound. She turned to face the man and stared at the iodine volts in his hand and said, ¡°Teacher Li, let me ¡­ do it myself?¡± Li Chuan fished out a piece of chocolate from his backpack and handed it to her, ¡°Have something to eat. I¡¯ll do it.¡± In addition to self-defense items in his backpack, there are also cookies, chocolates and candies, all of which are to appease hunger and replenish energy. Tearing open the chocolate wrapper, Su Qin broke off a small piece then stuffed it into her mouth and sucked it. As the sweetness melted between her teeth, a burst of stinging pain came from the wound. Su Qin frowned and made a ¡®hiss¡¯ sound. Li Chuan did not stop but continued to clean her injury. He then carefully rolled down her pants after putting on the dressing, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± The man was as gentle as ever. Li Chuan¡¯s nature is as such. He is nice to everyone and won¡¯t lose his temper with anyone. It was precisely due to such a gentle temperament that led to Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s entanglement for many years in her previous lifetime. Su Qin was not without complaints, but she wouldn¡¯t voice it out since she had learned to assimilate it herself. She knew very well that she could be with Li Chuan for so many years precisely because she had never lost her temper with him. But for Su Qin, who had live through one lifetime, suddenly felt that her previous lifetime was depressive and she was utterly stupid. She should really have a big fight with him sometimes to make him realize the seriousness of the problem. And she should indeed give Lin Xiaoyin a slap when she came to pester her. When Lin Xiaoyin was beaten up soundly by Li Yunzhen today, she didn¡¯t deny that there was her own retaliation element in it since she could have spared Lin Xiaoyin from the beating. Her way of thinking and even her personality has changed after being reborn again. Will she still agree if Li Chuan still proposes to be with her in this lifetime? After pondering about it carefully, it seemed unlikely anymore. She is not willing to be ordinary and become an insignificant seamstress anymore in this lifetime. Although she married the best man in her previous lifetime, the respectful life was too dull without the least bit of excitement to speak of. Recalling Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s utterance for her to divorce Li Chuan in front of her daughter and the arrogant appearance of the woman in the previous lifetime made her feel even more disgusted. With Li Chuan¡¯s gentle personality, if he was to use harsh words to resolutely refuse a woman, Lin Xiaoyin wouldn¡¯t have tangled for so many years. Moreover, Lin Xiaoyin dared to act so willfully also due to her being wealthy. Given another lifetime again, Su Qin doesn¡¯t want to be utterly stupid again. Whether at home, in school, in the workplace or in her marriage, she wants to be formidable and stand in a position that no one dares to undermine her. ********** Li Chuan felt puzzled seeing her shaking her head and asked in a low voice, ¡°Why are you shaking your head?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking. How will the relatives and friends around look at us after we go back.¡± With the back of her head leaning against the rocky wall, Su Qin sighed, ¡°Hong-hong has become like that, what will happen after she gets out, she ¡­ ¡° Li Chuan was silent. A moment later, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gripped it as solace, ¡°These people will have their retribution.¡± Revealing a bitter smile, Su Qin whispered, ¡°I hope so.¡± These three words that came faintly out of her mouth were like a thousand pounds that weighed heavily on Li Chuan¡¯s chest. Ignorant villagers, damn human traffickers. Li Chuan once again remembered his wife and daughter who died in the fire in his previous lifetime. Perhaps it was the blow of the fire in his previous lifetime that made Li Chuan want to understand some things. He was viewed as a ¡®Considerate Professor¡¯ by his students, but isn¡¯t the title ¡®Considerate¡¯ that tagged on a husband another scumbag¡¯s quality? As a man, a husband and a father, his tenderness should only be given to his family, not to those who were insignificant. He shouldn¡¯t be tolerant and lenient towards Lin Xiaoyin. As a human, one must be selfish when need be. He had been too ¡®Saintly¡¯ in his previous lifetime. In this lifetime, he will live selfishly, not only for himself, but also for Su Qin and their future children. The next day, Yun Fei delivered food to the mountain temple as usual and saw the mess inside once he pushed open the door. When he saw Li Yunzhen tied to a chair, he appeared panicked and fumbled to untie her. Li Yunzhen grabbed his wrist weakly and said, ¡°Feifei, quick, go back to the village and call for someone. Your wife has run away.¡± Yun Fei¡¯s eyes reddened hearing this. He bit his lips and ran down the mountain in tears. He stumbled into Zhang Xing¡¯s house and grabbed Zhang Xing¡¯s wrists as he wailed, ¡°My wife has run away, my wife has run away.¡± Getting up early, Zhang Xing wanted to send Li Chuan out of the village but he couldn¡¯t find him. After hearing that the women in the mountain temple had run away, Zhang Xing immediately realized the graveness of the situation and gathered the villagers to the mountain temple. Crying heartbrokenly, Yun Fei followed behind the large crowd. An aunty who came along patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, ¡°Feifei be good, don¡¯t cry, your wife can¡¯t run away. The entrance of our village is strictly guarded, where can she go? Don¡¯t worry ah, your Brother Xing will definitely bring your wife back.¡± Pursing his mouth, Yun Fei raised the back of his hand to wipe his swollen reddened eyes, ¡°I want my wife, want my wife ¡­ ¡° He sat on the ground and began to kick up a scene and clamored about wanting his wife. Zhang Xing had someone send his injured mother down the mountain then asked several men to go up the mountain with him to go look separately. He glanced at Yun Fei, who was sitting on the ground crying, and said, ¡°Feifei, go home. I will definitely get your wife back! Okay?¡± ¡°Not okay! I¡¯m coming with you!¡± He snatched a hatchet from an uncle. His foolish face was full of stubbornness, ¡°I want to find my wife! I won¡¯t go home until I find my wife!¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine, as you wish.¡± Zhang Xing took the group of men up the mountain and began to search along the mountain paths. By evening, they found nothing, then someone proposed to go have a look around the rocky mountain cliff. Once someone proposed, there would be others who opposed. An uncle who was in the crowd said, ¡°There is practically no path in that area and bears were allegedly seen, so they won¡¯t be able to go there. We¡¯d better look elsewhere first.¡± Lowering his head and considering for a moment, Zhang Xing said, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because no one goes to that area that we must go take a look. Perhaps they are over there.¡± With accelerating heartbeats, Yun Fei looked and pretended to be ¡®in favor¡¯. Adopt whatever measures that are appropriate, hence Yun Fei had to follow them and proceed ahead. When they arrived at the rocky mountain cliff with overgrown brambles, they continued to walk in. Since the mountains were full of wild bears, villagers rarely came here. Zhang Xing had asked Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son to come here looking for Zhang Er¡¯wa after his disappearance two days ago. As those wild bears attacked swiftly, Zhang Xing who walked in front was agitated with fear. He stopped after a few steps then turned his head and spoke to the Fool behind, ¡°Feifei, you are familiar with this area, you go ahead and lead the way.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Yun Fei nodded and walked obediently in front. When they almost reached the rocky cliff, Yun Fei who was walking in front suddenly shouted ¡®Wa¡¯ then turned around and ran back. Those who didn¡¯t know what had happened, turned and ran back with a ¡®Wa¡¯ too. After running without break halfway down the mountain, the villagers stopped. Panting and halting in place, Zhang Xing stood on top of a rock to count the number of people. Finding no one was missing, he felt relieved and asked Yun Fei, ¡°Fool, did you see a bear just now?¡± ¡°I ¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Yun Fei voiced out timidly. ¡°Then why the fart did you run ah!¡± Lowering his head and playing with his fingers, Yun Fei muttered and mumbled, ¡°I ¡­ I just saw a big python tangling around the tree. I was scared ¡­ ¡° Zhang Xing, ¡° ¡­¡­ ¡° Since it was getting late and they didn¡¯t bring any torches, they couldn¡¯t stay in the mountains anymore. The villagers were clear that the girls could not run out from the mountain village and it was merely a matter of time before they were found. Perhaps they will even come down the mountain themselves when they run out of food. Zhang Xing returned with the villagers and went to all houses to speak to those who had lost their ¡®wives/daughter-in-laws¡¯. He patted his chest and guaranteed that he would definitely get them back! CH 15.2 Chapter 15.2 ¨C Rescued This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Meanwhile, Su Qin¡¯s group stayed in the cave. As they couldn¡¯t go anywhere, every second felt like years. In the afternoon, Meng Sisi was somewhat restless and began to feel panic again since the excitement of last night¡¯s escape had diminished. She said, ¡°What if the police don¡¯t come and we get caught again, what should we do?¡± Wen Mei, who was making a campfire to roast the dry buns, froze hearing that and looked subconsciously towards Su Qin who was hauling bamboo at the cave¡¯s entrance. Hearing that, Su Qin lifted her chin to gesture at the waterfall at the end of the cave, and said, ¡°As the last resort, we just risk everything and get down from there.¡± Lin Xiaoyin looked up at the end of the cave and shouted out involuntarily, ¡°Are you crazy? Do you want all of us to court death?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask Teacher Lin to jump together ah. You can stay in the village and be the villager¡¯s wife. You are beautiful as flowers. At most, they will just gouge your eyeballs out and will not bear to break your limbs.¡± Su Qin had spent the whole morning cutting down a lot of bamboo with Li Chuan. She said, ¡°We will make rafts with these bamboo. When we have to, we can use these bamboo rafts to rush down the waterfall. So, the chances of dying shouldn¡¯t be very high.¡± ¡°But such a height ¡­ the chances of dying should be great, right?¡± Meng Sisi¡¯s heart was jumping with fear. ¡°Just hear me out.¡± Su Qin took out the drawing of a bamboo raft design from her pocket to let them see, ¡°Nah, the bamboo rafts we are going to make are about the height and width of a person. We will then rip the bed sheet into strips to tie the assembled raft on our back and get washed down by the current. When we reach the river below, the buoyancy of the raft will let us float for a while and once we reach an area where the current is not rapid, we can then swim to shore.¡± ¡°Oh by the way, all of you can swim, right?¡± Everyone nodded unanimously. ¡° ¡­ This method sounded good, but .. is it really feasible?¡± Wen Mei was somewhat unconvinced, ¡°Moreover ¡­ we don¡¯t know how to make bamboo rafts.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Su Qin was trapped in the mountain village for 5 years in her previous lifetime. These kinds of manual and farming works without doubt were not difficult. She paused for a moment before adding, ¡°But, this method is just my conjecture and it is certainly dangerous. We won¡¯t use this means unless it is the last resort.¡± They were more afraid of being taken back and getting their limbs broken like Hong-hong than getting drowned. Su Qin began to pierce the rafts while Li Chuan helped her chop those bamboo, and for the sake of survival, Miss Lin began to rip the cloth strips too. At first, Su Qin was somewhat clumsy piercing the bamboo raft together, but she started to get the hang of it afterwards. Being with her for so many years, Li Chuan actually didn¡¯t know she could still do this, so he couldn¡¯t help but admire this little girl a bit more. By evening, all five bamboo rafts were pierced up and according to the original plan, Su Qin intended to tie herself together with the disabled girl and take her along when she jumped down. Li Chuan stopped her from doing so as he spoke frowningly, ¡°Your physical strength is limited, let me do this.¡± Meng Sisi also queried, ¡°Teacher Li, we are not underestimating you but do you really have the physical strength being a teacher who lacks the might to truss a chicken? You can¡¯t even do a few push-ups, right?¡± Li Chuan, who was questioned, replied solemnly, ¡°A hundred is no problem.¡± ¡°Ahem ¡­ ¡° Su Qin, who has memories of her past lifetime, actually blushed a little as her wedding night with Professor Li inexplicably flashed before her eyes. Professor Li¡¯s physical strength ¡­ is ¡­ pretty good, there is no doubt about it. Li Chuan belongs to those types who look lean with clothes on, but muscular when undressed. Although his temperament is gentle, he has undergone physical training since childhood and learned a lot of self-defense moves. Fencing and Muay Thai were his stress relief methods. ********** They were, after all, still in the enemy camp, hence they dared not relax even for a moment. At such a time Yun Fei could not go up the mountain nor could he inform them, all they could do was to prepare themselves for anything. Before going to sleep, Su Qin and Li Chuan both agreed that everyone should sleep with the bamboo raft tied to their bodies. In case the villagers find this place while they are sleeping, they can react promptly and jump down the waterfall. Even though Su Qin is a little girl, she thought from every angle. The more cautious she behaved, the more distressed Li Chuan felt for her. If she hadn¡¯t been tormented and provoked in the village, why would a young girl of only 15-year-old have such a susceptible mind? At noon the next day, the village was in utter chaos. Zhang Cheng came to the village with the police, together with the family members of the abducted girls, which were about 20 people. Those who came along were Meng Sisi¡¯s father with four bodyguards and the elder brother of the disabled girl. Zhang Xing was shocked and felt deceived by Zhang Cheng bringing the police over. He was so angry that he wanted to hack him, ¡°Zhang Cheng, Laozi[1] treats you so well yet you actually betrayed me?¡± Zhang Cheng coughed, ¡°Hey, hey, hey, speak properly, what do you mean by I betrayed you? I am a policeman and this is called undercover, do you understand? Hurry up and bring out those imprisoned girls. Confession will lead to leniency, but severe punishment will be upon those who refuse admission of crimes, and you can still have an intact corpse!¡± Captain Lu rolled his eyes at Zhang Cheng and reminded him, ¡°Little Zhang, watch your mouth since you are still under suspension.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. You speak Captain Lu, you speak.¡± Zhang Cheng stepped back and behaved like a lapdog. The leader, Captain Lu, asked Zhang Xing, ¡°You are the Village Chief here? Zhang Feng and Zhang Shitou from your village are suspected of abducting women and children. We need to bring them back, and to take away those girls who were abducted and sold here.¡± Villagers had already gathered outside the courtyard. This was the first time the villagers saw police entering their village so they were all curious. The pair of Zhang Xing¡¯s round eyes glared as he roared, ¡°What abducted girls? We don¡¯t have any here.¡± He raised his hand and pointed at the crowd, ¡°The wives here are all legally married from the few nearby villages. Officer, don¡¯t listen to this man¡¯s nonsense. We really have no abducted girls here. Moreover, we wouldn¡¯t dare to buy any even if granted with ten guts ah. We are all law-abiding good citizens.¡± The young man who came with the police rushed over and grabbed Zhang Xing¡¯s collar, ¡°Where is my sister? Hand my sister over!¡± Raising his hand, he wanted to strike him but the police pulled him back. Straightening his clothes, Zhang Xing said, ¡°We really have no abducted girls here, you can search if you don¡¯t believe ah!¡± Villagers who gathered in front of the Village Chief¡¯s house were speaking their minds and arguing enthusiastically. ¡°Right ah, all the girls in our village are legitimate. There is none abducted. Comrade police, don¡¯t wrong the innocent people ah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, even if Zhang Feng has done something illegal, this doesn¡¯t mean that we have all done it too? You go arrest Zhang Feng ah!¡± ¡°Indeed ah, Comrade police, our village is so big, go search if you don¡¯t believe ah!¡± ¡° ¡­¡­ ¡° While everyone was speaking their minds and arguing enthusiastically, Yun Fei rushed into the crowd. He walked straight up to Captain Lu and said, ¡°I know where those abducted girls are, I¡¯ll take you there.¡± Zhang Xing and the villagers stared at the Fool in a daze when an aunty came over to pull him, ¡°What are you talking about, Fool? What abducted girls? There are no abducted girls in our village!¡± Pulling his arm out of the aunty¡¯s grip, Yun Fei pushed her away and spoke to the sturdy Captain Lu, ¡°Uncle, my mother was also abducted here. I will bring you to find those girls but you must also agree to take us out of the mountain.¡± There was an uproar in the crowd as everyone looked at the Fool incredulously. Beside himself with anger, the blue veins on Zhang Xing¡¯s temples bulged, ¡°Fool, what nonsense are you talking about! Officer, don¡¯t listen to his blabbing, he is a Fool, our village¡¯s Fool, you must not believe his words!¡± Captain Lu swept his glance at the anxious Zhang Xing and looked at Yun Fei solemnly as he asked him, ¡°Can you really lead us to those girls?¡± "" Yun Fei nodded and said, ¡°En.¡± Meng Sisi¡¯s father is a middle-aged man of about forty, who is slightly stout and dressed in hiking clothes. He took a step forward and placed his hand on Yun Fei¡¯s shoulder and patted him, ¡°Young man, as long as you lead me to my daughter, I will not only take you and your mother out, but will also give you a sum of money. So please, Young Man.¡± Yun Fei nodded and prepared to lead them up the mountain. Captain Lu then dispatched two policemen to protect Yun Qin. The villagers all went home to get their hoes and hatchets to obstruct and prevent them from going up the mountain. Captain Lu immediately drew his gun out and fired a warning shot into the sky. Frightened by the loud gunfire, the villagers froze. Relying on their large number of people, Zhang Xing held up the hoe and stood on the flight of steps as he shouted, ¡°Fellow villagers! This group of police is going to wipe us out, we can¡¯t let them prevail! Let¡¯s all go together, they will not dare do anything to us! The police will not dare to shoot at the common people!¡± Instigated with righteous ardor by Zhang Xing¡¯s words, the villagers rushed toward the police. Captain Lu sweared the word ¡®m*therf*cker¡¯ and yelled at the crowd, ¡°Are you all blatantly defying the law! You want to assault the police!¡± Zhang Xing paid no heed to Captain Lu¡¯s warning as he picked up the hoe and rushed towards Zhang Cheng, wanting to smash his head. Zhang Cheng uttered out a ¡®wow¡¯, then jumped back, dodging the danger. The villagers rushed over and started to attack the group of police officers and the family members of the abducted girls with the tools in their hands. It was total chaos. Captain Lu then fired several more shots into the sky, but the villagers still didn¡¯t stop, so several ¡®bang bang¡¯ were shot on the knees of those few leading villagers. Zhang Xing got shot in the knee. With blood gushing out, it was so painful that he lay on the ground holding his knee as he screamed and wailed. The villagers immediately stopped and dared not move forward anymore. Pointing the guns at them, Captain Lu bellowed loudly, ¡°All f*cking ignorants, are you? Crouch down and put your hands behind your heads!¡± The villagers involved in the brawl obediently squatted down. Captain Lu told all these people to go back home and were not allowed to come out. He then sent people to watch the village¡¯s entrance to prevent anyone from leaving the village. Shocked by the villagers¡¯ ignorance, he lamented as he tread the mountain path, ¡°This unruly group of people! None of those who were involved in the fight just now are to be let off! Take them all back for re-education!¡± [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly CH 15.3 Chapter 15.3 ¨C Rescued This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. They arrived at the cave about two hours later. Su Qin and the others thought it was the arrival of the villagers, and were about to jump down the waterfall. Luckily, Yun Fei shouted in time to stop them from jumping off the cliff with the raft on their backs en masse. When Hong-hong¡¯s brother saw her, he almost couldn¡¯t recognize her. The brother could not believe that this disabled girl whose limbs were chopped off and tongue cut off ¡­ is his younger sister. Re-education? How would re-education be enough? Even a death of a thousand hacks is not enough! Holding Hong-hong in his arms, the brother opened his mouth wide and wept silently. His heart was aching, as if a knife was slicing inch by inch of his flesh. Meng Sisi rushed into her father¡¯s arms, and the tears she had been holding back for days finally trickled down. Glancing at the disabled girl then looking at his fully-abled daughter, Father Meng felt a little relief. At least ¡­ his daughter is physically intact. ********** The police escorted Zhang Er¡¯wa, Zhang Feng, Zhang Xing and those involved down the mountain. Since too many were involved in the assault of the police, there was not enough manpower to take everyone into custody. Captain Lu dispatched someone to guard the village¡¯s entrance, waiting for more assistance from the local county police. Not only those abducted girls were brought out of the village, Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son too. They all stayed in Tongluo Township for one night, but Hong-hong and her brother disappeared early the next morning. Continuing on their way, it was another day¡¯s trip to Tuling Town. The brick-and-tile single-storey houses in Tuling Town had been replaced by the self-built buildings of two or more storeys and the environment here is much better than in Tongluo Township. Once they arrived in town, cars were dispatched by the town police station not long after and all the people involved were then sent to Nanyi County Police Station. It was already 8pm that night when they arrived in Nanyi County. Those villagers who led the police assault and got shot were sent for medical treatment while Su Qin and the others were arranged hotel accommodation. The accommodation in the county was not as good as the city, since there was no five-star hotel here. When everyone was having dinner around the table, Father Meng touched the back of Meng Sisi¡¯s head and sighed, ¡°Sisi, just make do for tonight. Once we are back in the city, Dad will certainly let you stay in the best hotels when we go out for trips in the future. Dad will bring you out to eat the best delicacies once we return home.¡± ¡°Dad.¡± Meng Sisi was engrossed in eating and she put down her chopsticks to look at him after hearing that, ¡°Dad, the accommodation and food here are already very good. We had been eating cold stale corn buns these days. It has been a long time since we had eaten steaming hot rice and meat.¡± The rims of Father Meng¡¯s eyes reddened when he heard that. He turned his face away to surreptitiously wipe off his tears. Captain Lu reached out to pat his shoulder and spoke words of comfort, ¡°Brother, don¡¯t feel sad. Your daughter came back in good shape so do keep a good eye on her.¡± He raised his chin to look at Meng Sisi, ¡°And you little girl, don¡¯t be wilful anymore in the future. Don¡¯t ever resort to running away from home again. The most unlacking thing in the world is precisely the sinister hearts. The hell is deserted since the devils are roaming the earth ah.¡± Meng Sisi lowered her head and bit a piece of lotus root as she gave a sullen ¡®En¡¯. She felt quite reluctant when she thought about the separation from Su Qin and Wen Mei tomorrow, and asked, ¡°Sister Su Qin, Sister Wen Mei, you have to keep in touch with me often after going back ah. I will miss you both. And you Sister Su Qin, if you have any difficulties, call us. I¡¯m indebted to you since you saved me.¡± Su Qin shook her head and said, ¡°We are friends in adversity. Moreover, without you girls, it¡¯s not that easy for me to escape by myself or to tie up Zhang Er¡¯wa.¡± With Su Qin sitting on his left and Zhang Cheng on his right, Li Chuan kept putting chicken thighs into Su Qin¡¯s bowl that Zhang Cheng was green with envy, ¡°I said Old Li, you are just too partial. Only taking care of the little girl and actually didn¡¯t care about me?¡± ¡°En passant.¡± Li Chuan glanced at him indifferently, ¡°You should also lose weight.¡± Zhang Cheng puffed his cheeks and blurted a ¡®Hmph¡¯ before turning his head to pick up a big drumstick and give it to Yun Fei, ¡°Come, Feifei, this big drumstick is for you. Only someone as cute as you deserves this big drumstick ah.¡± ¡°Thank you, Teacher Zhang.¡± With his eyebrows curved, Yun Fei smiled at Zhang Cheng, revealing his two cute canine teeth. Feeling disdained, Zhang Cheng said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Teacher Zhang. Call me Zhang Cheng or Brother Zhang will do too. Oh, by the way Feifei, where are you planning to go ah?¡± Since Yun Fei led the police to find Meng Sisi, Father Meng gave the mother and son a sum of money as reward. It was not much, but enough for them to rent a house and settle down first. Yun Fei turned to face his mother, Yun Qin, who added, ¡°I plan to go to Yunyang City first to take Feifei back to see his maternal great grandma.¡± Yun Qin has no parents but only a maternal grandma, but 15 years have passed and grandma might not still be alive. After so many years, Feifei¡¯s father probably has also married and has a family of his own. Thinking of this, Su Qin actually felt sad for them. She looked at Feifei and planned to go back to find ways to earn money first, since she can only do whatever she wants if she has money. All these years in the mountain, Yun Qin has taught Yun Fei a lot of knowledge. The extent of Yun Fei¡¯s current knowledge is probably junior high school level. It should be no problem to make it up with tuition and proceed to senior high school. Yun Qin may not be able to afford the tuition and senior high school fees. After all, she was trapped in the mountain for so many years and probably not used to the city¡¯s working style. Yun Fei died for her in her previous lifetime, thus Su Qin has to find a way to earn money for Yun Fei¡¯s education in this lifetime, which will be regarded as repaying a debt of gratitude. She is someone reborn after all and the knowledge she learned is engraved in her. So it doesn¡¯t matter even if she goes back to school two years later. At this moment, she has to solve Feifei¡¯s education first. ********** Captain Lu¡¯s handphone beeped towards the end of dinner. He answered ¡®Hello¡¯ and said, ¡°What is it?¡± Captain Lu appeared solemn after listening to the call. Seeing his not-too-good expression, Su Qin asked, ¡°Did they ¡­ find Hong-hong and her brother?¡± Captain Lu did not reply. He put the phone away, paused, then took a deep breath and said, ¡°The village had caught fire and those several families who bought the abducted girls were all burned to death. Although other villagers were fine, their residences were all destroyed in the fire.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Father Meng slammed the table, ¡°This is what retribution is!¡± Su Qin didn¡¯t think this was good and her mood was heavy, since it was obvious who set the village on fire. Zhang Cheng and Li Chuan looked at each other tacitly, and asked, ¡°Then ¡­ are there any suspects?¡± ¡°Suspects? What suspects?¡± Captain Lu took a sip of wine and said, ¡°I know what you guys are thinking. Hong-hong¡¯s brother has an alibi. After he parted with us, he and his younger sister stayed with a peasant woman in Tongluo Township, and didn¡¯t return to Zhangjia Gorge again.¡± Glancing at each other, Zhang Cheng and Li Chuan didn¡¯t speak anymore. Captain Lu sighed with emotion, ¡°But this matter is not under my control. I am only responsible for the abducted persons¡¯ case.¡± ********** Though the village was gone, the three girls who were lying on the same bed couldn¡¯t feel happy at all. It is possible that in some corners of the world, there are still girls who suffered the same fate as them and are still waiting for the police to rescue them. Thinking of something, Meng Sisi sat up suddenly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to get into the police academy in the future. I want to fight those human traffickers to the end!¡± Wen Mei had come out to work for many years since her family conditions were not good. Though she had passed the university entrance exam, she couldn¡¯t attend. But now, she is unwilling to live her life like this. Su Qin gripped Wen Mei¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Mei-mei, if there are certain things that you want to do, just go ahead and do it, nothing is impossible. You are still young. You can work and make money at the same time. You can then retake the university entrance exam next year and attend university taking up the major field of study that you like. For children of poor families who have no lucky-halo shrouding us, education is our only way out.¡± ¡°But ¡­ I have left school for a long time, is it really possible?¡± Wen Mei fell into a state of self-doubt. ¡°Definitely possible.¡± Su Qin looked at her with eyes full of determination, ¡°As long as you are willing to learn, you will definitely be able to do so. What major do you want to take?¡± ¡°I ¡­ ¡° She blushed and felt a little embarrassed, ¡°Law. What about you? Su-su.¡± ¡°Me?¡± She thought for a moment and said, ¡°I want to make money, lots of money. I also want to be famous. I want to get to a level where all the top celebrities in China surround me and deem me as the center point. At that time, I can use the power of those celebrities to incite the media and make people all over China take note of ¡®anti-abduction¡¯, and get all the girls to focus on self-protection.¡± It sounds like an unattainable dream. Meng Sisi wondered and asked her, ¡°Do you want to be a starlet? But even if you become a starlet, it is still impossible to have all the celebrities to revolve around you ah.¡± Letting out a laugh, Su Qin reached out to touch the girl¡¯s head, ¡°Silly girl, it¡¯s impossible for a starlet to do that. As long as you stand at the apex of the fashion industry, there will naturally be celebrities standing next to you. When they take pictures with you, they will try to find ways to be in the limelight and to stand in the C-spot.¡± ¡°What is the C-spot?¡± Wen Mei asked her. She thought for a moment and explained in a perfunctory manner, ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ the most conspicuous spot.¡± Her previous lifetime was rough. Su Qin doesn¡¯t want to live in vain this lifetime. She wants to make money, wishes to be famous and also wants to walk on that pinnacle point that is filled with starlight. On the day Su Qin left Nanyi County, Captain Lu gave them good news. It turned out that Zhang Xing is a fugitive and a murderer. A few years ago, he killed his ex-girlfriend and the chief contractor in Weidong Province. He is remanded with double murder charges and will not escape the death penalty. Recalling Zhang Xing¡¯s previous lifetime arrest and escape, Su Qin gave Captain Lu a warning, which he bear in mind as he patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Little Sister, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let this kind of murderer escape.¡± The police had arranged someone to send the girls home. Since Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng were also going back to Yunyang City, Su Qin and Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son traveled together too. At 8 o¡¯clock in the morning, the two people left Lin Xiaoyin, who was still sleeping in the hotel, and followed Su Qin on that bus. The drive from Yinan County to Yunyang City took five hours. At the rest-stop halfway, Li Chuan got off the bus to rest and saw Su Qin turned to look out the window, while Yun Fei slept soundly against her shoulder. Su Qin didn¡¯t wake Yun Fei up and let him lean on her shoulder. When Li Chuan walked past them, he deliberately stumbled and grabbed Yun Fei¡¯s shoulder to stabilize himself. Awakened by him, Yun Fei rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at him with a confused expression. Li Chuan gripped his shoulder, ¡°Its okay, go back to sleep.¡± Yun Fei, ¡° ¡­¡­. ¡° Didn¡¯t even apologize for waking people up! Teacher Li is really rude. Hmph. CH 15.4 Chapter 15.4 ¨C Rescued This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. After Li Chuan had gotten off the bus, Yun Fei turned to face Su Qin with an aggrieved look. She felt particularly laughable seeing Feifei¡¯s aggrieved look that she reached out to touch his small head, ¡°He didn¡¯t mean it.¡± Yun Fei pouted with puffed cheeks and muttered, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± The bus arrived in Yunyang City at around 4 in the afternoon. Since Su Qin and Yun Fei had swapped seats, the big boy stuck his face on the glass window, looking out with novelty. He couldn¡¯t help sighing with the exquisite architecture here. Passing through the downtown area and going up the flyover bend, the skyscrapers around and the never-ending flow of vehicles could be seen. Yun Fei has never left the village. At this moment, he was like a transmigrated ancient man who was full of curiosity about everything. Upon arriving at the bus station, Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng sent Su Qin and Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son home respectively. Since the police had notified Su Qin¡¯s parents, they were already waiting at home. Li Chuan and the police sent Su Qin home then left after staying for a while. Su Qin was not surprised at all seeing the little boy in her mother¡¯s arms once she returned home. Her father brought this little boy back after she went missing. The little boy was a child conceived by her father with a mistress, who died of illness several years ago and the little boy had been living with his maternal grandmother. After Su Qin went missing, her father brought the little boy home and her mother loved this little boy like her own flesh and blood to deflect the pain of losing her daughter. When Su Qin came home in her previous lifetime, the little boy was already 9 years old and he never acknowledged her as his older sister. And her parents even gave all their love to this little boy. When she wanted to go back to school, her parents forbade her and arranged blind dates for her, and asked her to go out to work as they had long wanted her to leave home. She still remembered her mother¡¯s argument. ¡°Su-su, not that Mom is trying to persuade you. Although the man was married, he has a car and a house, and moreover he doesn¡¯t disdain you. You¡¯re already 20 years old and have been abducted for so many years, and you still want to attend the senior high school. Even if you are not embarrassed, Mom still minded. Listen to Mom, don¡¯t waste time studying, get married early, have children and come out early to work to earn money for your little brother¡¯s tuition.¡± F*ck, Su Qin still feels disgusted to this day with that argument. Having dinner around the table with her family after Su Qin came home, no one spoke. Halfway through dinner, Su Qin asked her mother, ¡°Mom, when can I go back to school?¡± Her mother, Wang Lin, was taken aback. Glancing at her husband, she put aside her bowl and chopsticks and said, ¡°Su-su ah, now that you have a younger brother, who has to attend kindergarten, our family probably can¡¯t afford to pay for two children. Since you have not been to school for a long time and the final exam is about to take place, you probably can¡¯t keep up with the curriculum too. How about ¡­ you don¡¯t attend school anymore. You can go to work in those coastal cities, where wages are said to be very high there.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° She just knew it would be this outcome. Su Qin did not refute her mother¡¯s words. She put down her bowl and chopsticks then said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m your biological daughter and you are obligated to raise me to adulthood. How about this, you give me the sum of the 3 years of senior high school¡¯s fees and I will move out, then you both can pretend that you have never given birth to a daughter like me, how about that?¡± Her father, Su Zhengguo, slammed the bowl down heavily on the table with a loud ¡®bang¡¯, which scared the little boy into wailing a ¡®Wa¡¯ sound. Her mother picked the little boy up and put him on her lap to coax him gently. Su Zhengguo yelled at her, ¡°Wretch, what did you say?¡± Feeling chill in her heart, Su Qin sneered, ¡°Wow, how long have I disappeared that you guys brought back a son? This is truly awesome.¡± Su Qin was missing for 5 years in her previous lifetime and returned home at the age of 20. Her relatives and neighbors pointed fingers of blame at her that her parents felt humiliated, so they tried ways to ¡®kick¡¯ her out of the house, since what the eye doesn¡¯t see, the heart doesn¡¯t grieve over. Su Zhengguo, ¡°What¡¯s with your manner of speaking? You were abducted to the countryside to be someone¡¯s wife and considered married. As a married girl, you still want to attend school? Even if you have no sense of shame, your mother and I still care about our prestige!¡± Curling her lips with a sneer, Su Qin looked at him, ¡°Dad, it turns out that daughter in your heart is never worth mentioning?¡± Wang Lin pulled her husband, gesturing him to say nothing, she after all is their biological daughter. Since Su Zhengguo is also short-tempered, he spoke angrily, ¡°You should have listened to me back then, then this money-losing commodity[1] would not have been born!¡± Su Qin continued to be engrossed with her dinner and was silent for a long time before she said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go out to work. The girl, who was rescued with me this time, is also in a coastal city, so I can go look for her. The ticket from Yunyang to there is about two hundred eighty. I need to rent a room and also expenses once I reach there, you give me a sum of money. To avoid relatives and friends back-mouthing and making you guys lose face, I will leave tomorrow.¡± Wang Lin felt relieved to see her agree to go out to work and asked her softly, ¡°That girl, is she reliable?¡± Su Qin looked at her mother rather mockingly. What can be done if she is not reliable? Hearing her say so, Su Zhengguo calmed down too and said, ¡°We don¡¯t have much money, we can only give you 1,000 yuan.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough.¡± After Su Qin finished the last bite of her meal, she got up and said, ¡°That¡¯s settled then, I¡¯ll leave tomorrow since I¡¯m afraid of being back-mouthed too. I¡¯ll go pack my things in the room, you guys have the money ready and I¡¯ll come out to get it later.¡± The husband and wife looked at each other in blank dismay as they watched their daughter walk into the room. Wang Lin said, ¡°Zhengguo, do you feel that our daughter has become much more mature? Is it too much of us to do this?¡± Su Zhengguo took out a cigarette, lit it and told his wife, ¡°Hurry up with the meals then clear up and get the money for Su-su. It¡¯s good for her to leave Yunyang to avoid the relatives and neighbors from gossiping.¡± Wang Lin nodded, thinking that her husband had a point. At five o¡¯clock the next morning, Su Qin left home with her bags and money before her parents got up. Wang Lin was the first to wake up and saw the letter her daughter left on the table, her eyes couldn¡¯t help but reddened. She is, after all, her biological daughter and the flesh that fell off her body, so it¡¯s bogus not to feel distress. She probably won¡¯t be able to see her for many years after such farewell. While she was emotionally sad, she turned to look at her husband and another woman¡¯s son, and her heart felt even more dejected. Fortunately the woman is dead and this little boy is now her son. Thinking about it this way, she didn¡¯t seem to feel that sad anymore. Fortunately, she still has a son. Su Qin didn¡¯t leave Yunyang, but rented a single room in the old city area. The location of this district was remote and the single room she rented was on the top floor, which was cramp and gloomy. The rent was 120 yuan which she still could afford at this moment. Putting down her luggage, Su Qin simply cleaned up her little den. She brought the beddings from home, so that she wouldn¡¯t need to buy new ones and kitchen utensils were slightly cheaper to buy from the nearby wholesale market. She was now in her first year of senior high school and she had learned all the senior high school curriculum in her previous lifetime, which were all engraved in her mind. She wanted to take a two-year break from school first to earn enough for her and Yun Fei¡¯s tuition fees, as it wasn¡¯t too late to return two years later. After settling down, Su Qin went to the nearby commercial street to look for a job. She wanted to find a job providing fashion styles assistance. In recent years, there are many 15 or 16 years old girls working and no one will treat her as a minor. Su Qin visited many clothing stores and finally chose a clothing store called ¡°Lovestruck¡±. She chose this clothing store for two reasons. First, the lady boss is young enough. Second, the lady boss has a good eye in selection since the clothes in the store will not be too difficult to sell. It was now 2006 and Su Qin¡¯s home was stacked with fashion magazines of various eras in her previous lifetime. If she remembers correctly, double-breasted dolly shirts, pleated cuffs clothing and flared jeans will be popular this summer. The clothes in other stores were quite mediocre, with no sense of design and fashionable elements. Only the clothes in this store have kept pace with all the fashionable elements of 2006. This store just started business without a large storefront and also lacks patronage. Compared to other clothing stores, this store is relatively deserted. It¡¯s now April and the weather is warming up. There are people wearing down-jackets and sweaters on the street, while this lady boss has already put on short-sleeved midriff and flared jeans. With a headful of explosive curly hair, the lady boss sat on a plastic stool and sized up the unsophisticated Su Qin with her legs crossed, and asked, ¡°The store next door is hiring people too and has a better patronage. Our store is hardly patronized, why didn¡¯t you go next door but come here?¡± Though Su Qin dressed unsophiscatedly, she looked indifferently calm and at ease. She revealed a decent customer-service¡¯s smile, ¡°I¡¯ve seen last month¡¯s [Vogue], your store has closely copied the many fashionable styles in the magazine. I believe that our store business will be pretty good after half a month.¡± ¡°Hey, you, this little girl even read [Vogue]? The lady boss was impressed with her. She didn¡¯t expect this unsophisticated little girl in front of her to actually read that kind of international fashion magazine. Just based on this little unsophisticated girl¡¯s appreciation of her vision in selection, the lady boss immediately decided on Su Qin and offered her a basic salary of 800 with commissions and lunches, then let her come to work the day after tomorrow. The lady boss asked her, ¡°Oh by the way, do you have an ID? Go across the street and duplicate a copy for me.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Although Su Qin is a minor, she has already gotten her ID card when she turned 15. Once her job and lodging were settled, Su Qin took the address given by the police to go find Yun Fei and Yun Qin. Crossing from the eastern part of the city to the western part, she arrived at an old laborers¡¯ community. This was a dormitory building that was previously allocated to the employees of a former state-owned electronics factory. Many retired elderly live here and Yun Qin¡¯s grandmother is no exception. Arriving at door 301, Su Qin rang the doorbell, but it was a young woman of about 30 who came to open the door. The woman asked her, ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Su Qin looked inside and asked her, ¡°I¡¯m here to find Sister Yun Qin, is she here?¡± ¡°Qin-qin ah, she¡¯s not here. She left with her son.¡± Su Qin asked, ¡°Then, do you know where they have gone to?¡± The woman shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know. They probably would never come back again. [1] ÅâÇ®»õ (P¨¦iqi¨¢n hu¨°) ¨C an old derogatory term for girls because girls couldn¡¯t go out to earn money and her family had to prepare dowry when she got married, hence the name. CH 16.1 Chapter 16.1 - Headlines This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Never coming back? Su Qin froze outside the door for a while, and asked, ¡°Then who are you to them?¡± The woman said, ¡°My husband bought this house. The owner of this house was originally an old granny, who is Yun Qin¡¯s maternal grandma. After Yun Qin disappeared, the granny¡¯s son took her away and I heard that she is living in a big villa enjoying a blessed life.¡± ********** On the way home, Su Qin felt dismally empty walking on the street. Yun Qin¡¯s grandma has no son and the old granny is all alone. So, who took the old granny away, while Yun Qin and Feifei, where did they go then? The sub districts of Yunyang City in 2006 were outdated and many of the commercial buildings in the city center had not been revamped yet, thus were not as upmarket as 19 years later. As Su Qin walked on the street, she passed by a telephone booth. Stopping for a moment, she called Meng Sisi. The person who answered the call was Meng Sisi¡¯s nanny, who called out ¡°Miss, someone is looking for you¡±, and the girl immediately snatched the phone from the nanny. ¡°Hello, is it Sister Su Qin? You finally called me, wu wu wu ¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s voice was coquettish when she added, ¡°By the way, how are you? Are your parents exceptionally happy when you return home? Let me tell you, after I got back, my brother, sister, dad, mom, grandpa and grandma almost spoiled me to the sky. I have only returned home one day, and they have bought me lots of food and clothes, Heaven, how I used to think, I am the family¡¯s pet ¡­ ¡° Hearing that she is so happy, Su Qin felt happy too and said, ¡°Such a blessing ah, really envy you.¡± The girl added, ¡°Oh right, for next year¡¯s high school exam, I probably will attend Yunyang High School. Sister Su Qin, which school are you in ah? We can see each other more often then.¡± ¡°Yunyang High School? This high school is difficult to get into.¡± Yunyang High School is the top high school in the province. Ninety eight percent of its top senior and junior students are able to attend the two elite universities in the country; Nanjing University and National Tsing Hua University. Meng Sisi said, ¡°Let¡¯s go for it. My Dad said if my grades difference is within 10 points, he¡¯ll pay up for me to get in! So this year, I¡¯m going to do well in my exams! And strive to get in! Then, I can come and play with you more often!¡± If Su Qin remembers correctly, 1 point is 10,000 yuan, so 10 points will be 100,000 yuan. In 2006, 100,000 was not a small amount. It is thus clear that Meng Sisi¡¯s family is really well-off. Losing contact with Yun Fei, Su Qin¡¯s original intention to pay for his education fell through. Under the vast sky and huge world, it is too difficult to find one person. At present, she can only bolster herself first and when she has the prerequisite, she can then find Yun Fei¡¯s mother and son. Hearing what Meng Sisi said, she actually wanted to try out Yunyang High School too. She was ranked first during junior high school in her previous lifetime, but still 30 points short of Yunyang High School¡¯s admittance score. One actually can get an exception to take the exam if one has acquaintances in Yunyang High School. Unfortunately she is now alone and knows no one, so she can only save enough for the high school fees first, then go find her junior high school¡¯s class teacher to discuss the matter of retaking the high school admittance exams. Hearing Su Qin¡¯s silence on the other end of the phone, Meng Sisi sensed something and asked her, ¡°Sister Su Qin, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Su Qin briefly described her current situation. Meng Sisi was so angry that she slammed the phone on the other end, ¡°Your dad and mom are too hateful! Sister Su Qin, how about this, you come to my home, I¡¯ll let my Dad accept you as his goddaughter. You don¡¯t go back to that home hereafter! I¡¯ll ask my Dad to pay for your education.¡± "" ¡°No need.¡± Su Qin said, ¡°I have other plans now, but you can be rest assured that I will not give up studying.¡± Meng Sisi, ¡°Sister Su Qin, don¡¯t feel embarrassed. If it weren¡¯t for you, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten out of the village either. I want to repay you since I owe you a favor.¡± ¡°If you insist on returning this favor, save it for later, there¡¯s always a chance.¡± Holding the phone, Su Qin let out a laugh, ¡°Oh right, do you have Wen Mei¡¯s number?¡± Meng Sisi, ¡°No ah, but she has mine. She should call me when she gets home. Do you have any message that you want me to pass to her?¡± Pondering for a while, Su Qin then said, ¡°En ¡­ you tell her that adversity is not bad but giving up on yourself and drifting with the tide is the worst. We are not fortunate people. For us, the lowest ebb in life is starving to death and nothing else is worth mentioning. To achieve our goal, we must go through trials and tribulations, so don¡¯t lightly give up at any time.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell her that. You also have to take care of yourself ah. If you have any difficulties, just call me, loans or anything is okay too. I have a private fund myself that has quite a lot of savings.¡± Meng Sisi said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± After hanging up the phone, Su Qin bought newspapers and fashion magazines published in recent months from the postal kiosk in passing. She then went to the market to buy a handful of dried noodles for 2.50 yuan and some cheap vegetables before returning to the rental room. Su Qin had cleaned the room tidily. The windows were hung with a floral bed sheet that could barely be used as curtains yet the outlook was pretty good. With the stove on the balcony, she simply cooked a bowl of noodles then went back to the room and began browsing through the newspapers and magazines of the past few months, and began to accept this former era. There was no WeChat or Weibo yet, and most hand phones were still using the Symbian system, an era dominated by Nokia. Most hand phones in 2006 couldn¡¯t download the QQ instant messenger, and QQ was still using the WAP web version. If someone sent a message, the page must be refreshed before it could be seen, which was far less convenient compared to a few years later. Hence, the paper media was still in its thriving period in this era. Thus to know the recent news, just read the newspaper. Su Qin spent four hours completely browsing through a month¡¯s worth of newspaper and the fashion weekly of the past three months, and also re-accepted the fact that she has been reborn back in 2006. In the following weeks, Su Qin would go to the bookstore to buy some high school revisions on her off-days. Every night after dinner, she would begin to revise and write down some test questions based on her previous memories. If there were some points that she couldn¡¯t remember, she would take note and rush to the phone booth to call Meng Sisi and ask her. She had taken into careful consideration that if she could not directly take Yunyang High School¡¯s admittance exams, she would then go look for her junior high school¡¯s class teacher and return to the former school, where she would take the high school exam with the third year junior students. Her junior high school grades were good, so there shouldn¡¯t be a major problem for her to return to school and take the exams again. Su Qin¡¯s two most important tasks at present: revision and to earn money. ********** The clothing store business was getting better after Su Qin worked here. Her image was pretty good and in order to attract customers for her lady boss, she wore the clothing in the store. Clothing store assistants in this era were far less enthusiastic compared to many years later. She brought out the service level of those shop assistants many years later, so that customers could be exposed in advance to the wonderful experience of ¡®buying clothes is seventh heaven¡¯. Wearing a very simple white T-shirt with its loose hem tied up around her waist revealing her slender waist and the popular flared-bottom pants, she looked slim and fashionable. Standing at the door, Su Qin attracted many female customers. When the passing-by female customers saw her, they would come in to take a look at the clothes. Without doubt, Su Qin wouldn¡¯t let those incoming customers go. With her previous lifetime shopping experiences, she would emulate the enthusiastic phrases used by those shop assistants and highly compliment those customers who came in. The lady boss, who was sitting and watching at the counter, stared dumbfoundedly at Su Qin who was greeting customers outside the store. She thought she was an honest unsophisticated little girl when she came for the interview but didn¡¯t expect this girl to be eloquent to this level? Su Qin would call those younger women pretty ladies; while those middle-aged women, Su Qin would sweetly call them Sister. No matter how apparently ample the clothes look on the body, Su Qin could always compliment them like the flowers. ¡°Sister, you certainly wear the right clothing that truly showcases your temperament and looks slim. See, these pleated puff-sleeves just cover your arms and the flared jeans are a little comfortably loose, coupled with the white bleaching, it presents a kind of highlighted shadow effect on your legs and from afar, wow, your legs are twice as slender as usual ah. If you don¡¯t believe me, stand back and look in the mirror again.¡± The 40-year-old aunty stood back, and sure enough, she looked very slim from a distance. The pleated puff-sleeves covered her flabby arms while the ¡®highlighted shadow effect¡¯ also made her elephant legs not so beefy. The aunty happily paid without even bothering to haggle the price. Before she left, Su Qin asked for her phone number and QQ messenger account, saying that she would recommend a new style to her in the future. [Translator¡¯s rambling: Not too sure if some of the terms translated are accurate. Do pardon me if there are any errors. ] CH 16.2 Chapter 16.2 ¨C Headlines This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Since there was no WeChat in this era, Su Qin intended to apply the operation of WeChat business with QQ instant messenger, and she will post some in-store matching styles on their MySpace where interested customers will naturally come to inquire. Currently everyone still likes using QQ space, which is equivalent to WeChat Moments many years later. Every customer who was paying, Su Qin would ask, ¡°Do leave your QQ account, I can help you match the clothes when there are new stocks in our store later.¡± Su Qin¡¯s vision is pretty good. She could match the right clothes according to the type of body shape of each customer. If some customers liked a dress which the waistline was too tight to fit, Su Qin would smile at the customer at this moment, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you just wear it like this, I¡¯ll help you alter it.¡± Seeing her pick up the needle and scissors, the customer wondered, ¡°Can it still be worn after you alter it? Goodness gracious, I won¡¯t buy it if you ruin the clothes ah.¡± Sitting at the counter, the lady boss wanted to stop her, but looking at her overly confident face, she held back. If worst comes to worst, she could just deduct from her salary. The lady boss truly wanted to see what tricks this girl could do. Though Su Qin is reborn, her dressmaking skill is still there. She has no problem altering the haute couture, let alone these bargain clothing. Su Qin cut off the buttons on the back of the dress and adjusted them a bit. She has good workmanship that those re-stitched buttons were contrary more finely attached than before. The customer was very satisfied as she wore it immediately and went to the lady boss to pay for it. In just a month¡¯s time, this clothing store became famous in this shopping street. Every customer, who had been here, feels that only the clothes in this store which make them look slim and beautiful are the most suitable for themselves Whenever there are new stocks, Su Qin will borrow the lady boss¡¯ digital camera to take photos of the newly matched outfit, and then goes to the internet cafe to upload onto the QQ space. She will incidentally send QQ messengers to the list of customers, ¡°Beloved ~ I have uploaded photos of the newly matched style in MySpace. You can go take a look. I am in an internet cafe, and the time is running out, wu wu wu, so I won¡¯t be able to reply and have to go offline now ~ bye!¡± Those female customers would feel inexplicably delighted receiving these messages. And then thought, this girl really has a skill in clothes matching and didn¡¯t expect she is such a sweet-talker and so amiable too. Every time when she came out of the internet cafe, Su Qin would sigh about the convenience of the underage access to the internet in this era, without presenting the ID cards but just taking out the wallet. ********** The lady boss is not a stingy person. Since Su Qin¡¯s performance was good, she gave her 2500 including her basic salary and the commission. To earn a salary of 2000 yuan was already pretty good in 2006. Su Qin didn¡¯t expect that her first bucket of gold in 2006 would actually be so much. The high school fee for one semester is 800, and the three years fee will be 4800. Based on this progress, her two months¡¯ salary will be enough. She has accumulated a lot of clientele on hand, and she is confident that her next month¡¯s performance will be good. Her rental is 120 per month and 300 is enough for her living expenses, which works out to be about 15,000 for three years. Hence, she will be able to go back to high school this year once she has saved 20,000 yuan. She can still work part-time during the winter and summer vacations to save some money for college fees. As long as she works harder and grits her teeth to get through this year, everything will be fine once she goes back to school next year. She can¡¯t rely on her family anymore. The moment she left home, she decided to cut ties with that family. After all, she had been exhorted of a lot of money by that so-called younger brother of hers being a softie in her previous lifetime. She didn¡¯t owe that family. So they better not think of scraping any benefit from her in this lifetime. On the other hand, Li Chuan went to Su Qin¡¯s home to look for her, but learned that she had dropped out of school and went to work in a coastal city. Li Chuan asked his coastal cities¡¯ friends to help find Su Qin, and at the same time, he also started his own business. Li Chuan¡¯s parents died early, and he was adopted by his eldest paternal uncle, whom he called father. The family has a business and his paternal grandma is the head of the family. In his previous lifetime, his grandma was so angry with his three paternal uncles that she had a sudden attack of illness and passed away unexpectedly. For the sake of getting the inheritance, the few uncles clamored heatedly in front of his grandma¡¯s remains. Li Chuan felt chilled in his heart that he did not bother to participate in the family inheritance disputes. Not wanting even a cent, he moved out of Li family and severed ties with his eldest paternal uncle. When the business grew bigger later, those several uncles reconciled and his eldest paternal uncle became the richest man in the province, and had asked him to return to the Li family many times. Bearing grudges over his grandma¡¯s death, he chose not to go back unto death, nor had he asked a penny from the Li family. Returning back to 2006, Li Chuan will not be stupid as his previous lifetime. He will inherit his well-deserved share of the family fortune, even if it is merely some shares, the annual dividends will not be less. He will also try to mediate the family relations and take good care of the old lady. In this lifetime, he will try to keep the family together and let his grandma be subjected to less anger, so that she can live a few more years. Completing his postgraduate degree, he intends to establish a security firm while studying for his PhD. With the advancement of the internet and the growth of major service provider companies, network security is now the most vital existence. In his previous lifetime, Li Chuan was the expert specialized in China¡¯s national information security vulnerability, with more than 10 years of research and development experience in the security field. He had participated in the development of several national defense projects and was considered quite an academic hacker. Li Chuan has already contacted several close friends in the hacker group from his previous lifetime, trying to convince them to join his company. With the experiences he accumulated in his previous lifetime, Li Chuan is undoubtedly the best hacker in China. Taking part in several projects while doing his postgraduate studies, he had quite a lump sum in hand. Li Chuan in this lifetime is overweening ambitious. He no longer rigidly focuses on teaching and education, but wants to develop a typical security protection software. He wants to make his product the country¡¯s most rogue security software used in computers and mobile phones for the next 10 or 20 years. Li Chuan took out 100,000 yuan from the venture fund and deposited it in a separate passbook, which he intended to give to Su Qin so that she could finish her studies without a hitch. But Su Qin had disappeared at this time, and even her own parents didn¡¯t know where she had gone. A month later, Li Chuan found Captain Lu and asked for Meng Sisi¡¯s phone number. After inquiring around, he heard about Su Qin¡¯s current situation. No wonder the people he entrusted have not found her in the coastal cities, this girl has not left Yunyang at all. There is nobody that Zhang Cheng can¡¯t find in Yunyang City. In less than 3 days, Zhang Cheng handed Su Qin¡¯s address to Li Chuan. He mocked, ¡°What? After saving people from the fire and water, Teacher Li even plans to be a good person to the end ah?¡± Li Chuan looked at the address on the piece of paper and asked Zhang Cheng with a frown, ¡°How is she doing now?¡± ¡°She is working in a clothing store. That little girl is well-known far and wide and is good at selling clothes. Now all the clothing stores¡¯ owners on that shopping street want to grab her with high salaries.¡± Seeing his brows knitted tightly, Zhang Cheng added, ¡°You really do not have to worry about this girl starving to death, she is doing well. Her salary is even higher than mine. My monthly salary is only 1,300, hers can reach 2,500, which is pretty good.¡± Folding the paper with the address and stuffed it in his wallet, Li Chuan intended to go find Su Qin after his afternoon class. Today is Su Qin¡¯s 16th birthday. The lady boss gave her a birthday fund of 50 yuan and let her go buy something delicious to celebrate. Su Qin went to the market and bought a fresh carp, tofu, a piece of pork and some vegetables, which total cost was less than 10 yuan and she felt quite content. Su Qin then bought the newspaper on her way back. Frying the palm-sized carp until it was browned on both sides, Su Qin added the chopped scallion and ginger into the oil, mixed in a bowl of water and started to boil fish soup. While waiting for the soup, Su Qin lay on the bed, browsing the newspaper as she hummed a popular tune. Seeing the photos of the front-page headline, she sat upright in shock. The headline was in large bold texts. ¨C [The highly eligible bachelor, Mo Zongyang, announced that he has married and attended the ribbon-cutting event of Yunxin Building with his 15-year-old son] This highly eligible bachelor, Mo Zongyang, is a respected rich man in Yunyang, who is over 40 yet has never married. Unexpectedly taking his 15-year-old son to attend the ribbon-cutting event of the newly built building, set off a wave of gossip in the city. People were gossiping, when did this Mo Zongyang get married? How was there a sudden appearance of a 15-year-old son? In the headline photo, the lean stature Yun Fei, dressed in a simple suit with his handsome features, took up a good portion of the front page. Putting the newspaper aside, Su Qin lay on the bed digesting the headlines. Yun Qin¡¯s grandma was most likely taken away by Mo Zongyang. And Mo Zongyang, who has been single till now, is probably waiting for the return of Yun Qin¡¯s mother and son? As Su Qin lay dazedly in bed, someone suddenly knocked on the door. She slipped on her slippers and got up. Leaning against the door, she asked warily, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Li Chuan.¡± The man¡¯s highly distinguishable low-mellow voice came through the door panel. Su Qin was puzzled. What¡¯s he doing here? CH 17 Chapter 17 ¨C Vicious Tongue This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Hesitating for a moment, Su Qin opened a gap with only half her face revealed as she looked out with timid eyes. Dressed in a black zipped up sweat suit, the man appeared very fair. He stood outside the door with both hands in his pants pockets, and his legs seemed very long in this suit. With drooping eyes that were cold without warmth, he was staring at the dilapidated door panel and seemingly to be thinking about some matters. As the little girl¡¯s timid face appeared between the gaps of the door, his gaze immediately softened. ¡°Li ¡­ Teacher Li ¡­ how do you know this place?¡± She reacted very surprised. She thought after the separation, Li Chuan would not come to find her again and it would be the same as in the previous lifetime where the two of them will only meet again a few years later. The appearance of the man in front of her door at this moment made her a little confused. Sweeping his gaze inside through the gap of the door, Li Chuan asked, ¡°You live here?¡± ¡°Yes, yes ah.¡± She was overwhelmed by Li Chuan¡¯s sudden concern. ¡°Is it convenient to let me in for a moment?¡± Li Chuan stared at the girl¡¯s eyes and tried to be as sincere as possible, ¡°If it¡¯s not convenient, I can stand outside too.¡± Su Qin opened the door after a moment of hesitation and moved sideways to let him in. Once Li Chuan entered the room, he noticed that the girl was standing at the door without coming in. She had the door opened with both hands behind her back and was leaning slightly and subconsciously pushed against the door panel. Li Chuan thought it¡¯s very good that the girl has such a self-preservation instinct, even when facing him, a man who ¡®had once shared weal and woe¡¯, hence the little girl¡¯s sense of well-being is still very strong. Su Qin actually didn¡¯t mean to guard against him. It was just a subconscious thought that it wouldn¡¯t be good for a single man and a single woman to be alone together, and it would likely arouse ambiguity if the door was closed too. Although she is still young now, she has ¡­ the mindset of a middle-aged woman ah. Ahem. Su Qin didn¡¯t know why he came here, but she also realized that after being reborn, except for the unlikely changes of the general circumstances, the direction of the several people¡¯s destiny who shared the adversity in the mountain village have all changed. Yun Fei, who was burned to death in the previous lifetime, has found his father and has a family. Meng Sisi and Wen Mei, who had tragic endings in their previous lifetime, have also started life anew. She herself has also returned to the city 5 years earlier and moved out early from the home that is full of negativity. Her current job is going well while her future goals are clear and her simple life is considered happy. But Li Chuan¡¯s direction made her rather confused. He volunteered to protect their group of girls and went with them to the cave, which could still be explained as the youth¡¯s willfulness. But now, why would he come looking for her? Li Chuan looked around her room. The room is cramped and gloomy, but kept very clean. On the small table were some junior and high school revisions, while there were magazines and newspapers on the bed. The milky white fish soup was boiling in the pot, making a ¡®gurgling¡¯ sound and wafting fragrantly. ¡°You certainly want to ask why I am here.¡± Li Chuan turned around and looked at the girl at the door. Su Qin nodded and was indeed full of curiosity. Li Chuan took out a folded newspaper from his pocket and handed it to her, ¡°This newspaper was from Captain Lu. He is very concerned about you girls and asked me to find you to hand this over to you.¡± Su Qin took the newspaper and unfolded it. The Siyang City newspaper reported that the burning of the human trafficking village had attracted the attention of the local government, which prompted a thorough investigation of neighboring villages to put an end to such act from reoccurrence. Zhang Xing, who was arrested and sentenced to death for multiple crimes including murder, has been executed by shooting. Zhang Feng and Zhang Sitou were involved in a human-trafficking gang. Several people led by Zhang Feng were sentenced to death and the rest of their accomplices were either given life sentences or imprisonment of 10 years or more. The number of women and children rescued from the abduction and human-trafficking crackdown this time was high. Since the disbandment of the criminal gangs was so huge, the major newspapers in Siyang City focused on reporting these. Su Qin took a deep breath after reading the news and felt much more relaxed. Folding the newspaper, Su Qin looked up and asked Li Chuan, ¡°How did you find this place?¡± ¡°Captain Lu learned about your recent situation from Meng Sisi and felt uneasy, so he asked Zhang Cheng and me to find and give you some help. Zhang Cheng is a criminal police officer and has lots of contacts in Yunyang, so it¡¯s not difficult to find you.¡± Li Chuan paused and added, ¡°Su Qin, we are also considered as friends who had shared adversity and life/death together, so you can tell me if you have any difficulties.¡± Su Qin didn¡¯t deny that Captain Lu is indeed a good person. After she returned home in her previous lifetime, Captain Lu often called her to send his concerns and acted as the spiritual mentor role. When Su Qin returned this time, she didn¡¯t get Captain Lu¡¯s phone number. The progress of the human trafficking case was through Meng Sisi¡¯s inquiry from Captain Lu. She didn¡¯t expect Captain Lu would ask Li Chuan and Zhang Cheng to come find her and send his concern after learning about her situation. Such a heartwarming civil police officer. The fish soup was still boiling in the pot. Walking into the balcony, Su Qin turned off the flame and spoke to Li Chuan who was in the room, ¡°Teacher Li, I¡¯m doing quite well now. You tell Captain Lu not to worry. I¡¯m working in a clothing store and the lady boss is very good at training her staff and generous too. I received a salary of 2,500 this month.¡± Following her into the balcony, Li Chuan looked at the simple stove and his gaze fell on the gas tank, ¡°Not going back to school?¡± ¡°Want to, but not now.¡± Su Qin said while serving the soup, ¡°Teacher Li, I can¡¯t afford to go to school now, so I have to work for one year first and retake the high school exam next year.¡± Su Qin carried the fish soup to the small table outside, took two bowls from the dishwashing basin in the corner of the bedroom, then turned around and asked him, ¡°Teacher Li, would you like to try the fish soup I cooked?¡± "" If Li Chuan remembered the date correctly, today should be her birthday. He came in a hurry and didn¡¯t bring anything with him. He couldn¡¯t say ¡®Happy Birthday¡¯ to the girl directly. That would appear too abrupt. He sat down at the table, nodded his head with a hm and asked her, ¡°How old are you actually? Fully 16 already? The boss who employed you could be considered using child labor.¡± ¡°No, no, no. Teacher Li, I¡¯m already 16 and it¡¯s not considered as child labor.¡± Su Qin deliberately took out her ID card from under the pillow to show it to him, ¡°Here, Teacher Li, look, exactly 16 years old.¡± Taking a look at the ID card, Li Chuan said, ¡°It¡¯s your birthday today?¡± ¡°Yes ah.¡± Su Qin ladled a bowl of fish soup and pushed it to him, ¡°So, I¡¯m treating you to fish soup and you¡¯ve come at the right time.¡± The fish soup was boiled to milky white and tasted delicious. Su Qin always has confidence in her own skill, but she still asked him with an expectant face, ¡°How is it? Is it delicious?¡± Li Chuan nodded, ¡°En. Not bad.¡± He knew that Su Qin was a good cook and thought it was a skill she learned during those years in the countryside. Now it seems that her skills ought to be forced upon by the unreliable parents at home. ¡°Happy Birthday.¡± ¡°Thank you, Teacher Li.¡± The little girl arched her eyebrows and bared her little canine teeth as she smiled. ¡°You needn¡¯t call me Teacher Li in the future, just call me by my name, Li Chuan.¡± After finishing the fish soup, he cut to the chase and asked her, ¡°Su Qin, are we, considered as friends?¡± Su Qin felt strange by the man¡¯s sudden question. Putting aside their relationship as husband and wife in their previous lifetime, in this lifetime, they had gone through adversity together, hence are worthy of being friends. She nodded and looked at him with a pair of bright eyes, ¡°Consider. Li ¡­ Brother Li, you are not only my friend, but also my benefactor. I will definitely repay you when I make money in the future.¡± Li Chuan gave a smile of relief. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°No need. Since we are friends, I should help you if you have difficulties. Listen to me, go back to school. I will sponsor your tuition fees.¡± ¡°No, no, no, no need.¡± Su Qin hurriedly waved her hands at him in a panic, ¡°Teacher Li, I know that your family background is good. You are my benefactor, how can I accept your sponsorship? If I really needed someone to sponsor my tuition fee, I would have accepted Sisi¡¯s father¡¯s kindness earlier. Teacher Li, with my current salary, I can earn enough in three months for the three years high school tuition fee. You really don¡¯t have to worry too much about me.¡± Seeing her insistence, Li Chuan was about to speak again when the little girl interrupted him directly, ¡°En, Teacher Li, you graduated from Yunyang High School, right? If you really want to help me, can you help me ask if I can still take their school exam after the first-year senior high starts in September? I¡¯ve attended half a year of first-year senior high, and I did pretty well in my junior high school exams ¡­ I want to try to take the Yunyang High School exam.¡± It¡¯s only April now. If she can go straight for the exam, she doesn¡¯t have to re-study the third year of junior high school. She can earn an extra few months¡¯ salary and by the time school starts in September, she can absolutely earn enough for 3 years tuition fees. Li Chuan asked her, ¡°How many points did you get in the high school admittance exam?¡± ¡°En ¡­ 610 points, the first place in Chengnan Middle School at that time.¡± Su Qin deliberately mentioned the first place, perhaps Yunyang High School will give her a chance to take the exam considering her first place position. However, Genius Li Chuan frowned immediately, ¡°Not good, your score is too low and is too far a gap from Yunyang High School. They won¡¯t accept mediocre students. Even if you pay for it, you will only be in the bottom league.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­¡­ ¡° A mouthful of blood stuck in her chest, and the sense of superiority of getting first place back then was struck away. Soon, Genius Li, who looked askance scornfully, smoothened his frown and his voice was low, ¡°I know the current principal of Yunyang High School (Yunzhong). I will help you ask and let you know the results.¡± The man¡¯s gaze fell on the pile of revisions that she bought. Reaching out, he flipped through casually and frowned again. Seeing his frown, Su Qin¡¯s heart ¡®dropped¡¯ and felt that this person was about to launch his vicious tongue again. Sure enough, the man spoke in a steady voice, ¡°You still think about taking the Yunzhong exam just by looking at these materials? Su Qin, are you living in a dream?¡± Crap ¡­ Su Qin looked aggrieved. Why hadn¡¯t she noticed before that her husband was so vicious-tongued? She finally knew why Teacher Li, who has good looks and is well educated, had no first love. Looking at the girl¡¯s eyes filled with grievances, Li Chuan realized that his frankness seemed to strike her a little and immediately toned down his voice, ¡°If you are not willing to accept my monetary support, then can surely accept psychological assistance?¡± ¡°En?¡± The little girl appeared confused. Li Chuan coughed lightly and asked her, ¡°When is your weekly break?¡± ¡°Only on Mondays and if it¡¯s a holiday, I can¡¯t take the day off.¡± Li Chuan nodded, ¡°Just right. I am free on Monday afternoons and your place is also not far from Nanjing University (NJU). You can come to find me in NJU every Monday afternoon and I will help tutor you. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s taxing. It¡¯s impossible to pass the Yunyang High School exam at your current level. With me tutoring you, your success rate will be much higher.¡± He is still doing his PhD and is usually engaged with research and thesis writing, and is also planning to set up a company, thus it is not easy to spare an afternoon to tutor her. Of course, in this world, only Su Qin can get this treatment. Would he squander his time for someone else? Hah, dream on. Although Li Chuan¡¯s speech was quite deflating, he did speak the truth. Su Qin¡¯s high school admittance exam was 30 points away from Yunzhong¡¯s minimum passing score. In her previous lifetime, she only managed to attend technical college with her high school scores. There is no problem taking the general high school exam in her current situation, but she has indeed overestimated her ability if she wants to take Yunyang High School¡¯s exam. Since Li Chuan agreed to help tutor her, she can¡¯t miss this opportunity. She is not worried at all that Li Chuan will be interested in her. Professor Li is like a ferocious wolf in bed and obviously likes pretty girls with big breasts. She, however, is now ¡­ ahem ¡­ like a little under-developed flat tablet. QAQ From the previous lifetime¡¯s perspective, Su Qin has to admit that Li Chuan is a good man and a good husband. But getting reborn again, she didn¡¯t want to have any emotional entanglements with Li Chuan. Both of them are entirely from different worlds and have few common topics in life. The husband is highly educated with a high income, while the wife is a technical college graduate with an average income. Their common conversational topics were daily necessities and their daughter. Putting aside Lin Xiaoyin, both of them in fact had unspoken problems for many years. One would brood and say nothing when aggrieved, while the other was just too good-natured, that both were like two clumps of cotton that were powerless to strike anyone. Both husband and wife treated each other with respect and no conflicts. But it didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any conflicts, except it just accumulated and had never blown up. Once it blew up there probably would not be peace at home and the one suffered in the end would only be their daughter. Su Qin¡¯s heart aches thinking of her daughter. Baobao was burned to death with her in the previous lifetime, which also had become a tangled knot that couldn¡¯t be unraveled. If she marries Li Chuan again and gives birth to Baobao, it will still be Baobao who suffers if their accumulated conflicts blow up. Never mind, she simply didn¡¯t want to think about these troublesome matters anymore. Since she is reborn again, she certainly wants to live her life a little more excitingly. Even if she chooses not to marry Teacher Li, she will surely befriend someone like Teacher Li. This man has many resources around him. After that day, she started calling Captain Lu every now and then to send her regards and ask about his well-being. Though Captain Lu was puzzled, he still praised the girl¡¯s consideration inwardly. Zhang Cheng¡¯s workplace is in Su Qin¡¯s residential area. He will come to see her every now and then, and will bring her some fruits and coconut milk. At first Su Qin refused to accept these things and said politely, ¡°How can I let you break the bank coming to see me?¡± Zhang Cheng put the fruit and coconut milk on the table, ¡°Laozi[1] is so poor that only money is left, so it¡¯s not breaking the bank. You just eat these freely, I will send you more two days later.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­¡­. ¡° Zhang Cheng is a warm-hearted policeman. She had heard from Li Chuan in her previous lifetime that Zhang Cheng¡¯s monthly salary was still not enough to buy things for the victims and suspects¡¯ families. Reborn in this lifetime again, she actually experienced being cared for by Young Master Zhang. It¡¯s really ¡­ special and very touching. QAQ There is a small shop below Su Qin¡¯s building. When Su Qin returned from work today, the small shop¡¯s uncle called her, ¡°Su-su, a gentleman left a box of stuff here for you.¡± Su Qin was startled and thought Zhang Cheng had come to deliver things again. Carrying the box upstairs, she opened it and was relieved to see that it was a box of study materials. She took the books out and sorted them. When she went downstairs to throw out the trash, she went to the small shop to call Li Chuan. On the other end of the phone, Li Chuan told her that the principal of Yunyang High School had agreed to give her a chance to take the exam at the beginning of June. Grasping the telephone receiver, Su Qin spoke excitedly, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°En.¡± At this moment, Su Qin wished she could hug Teacher Li and kiss him frenziedly. ¡°This opportunity is not easy to come by, you should cherish it. Remember, come and report to me every Monday. Not everyone will have this sort of opportunity.¡± The man¡¯s voice from the telephone receiver was slightly serious with a sense of realism. Suppressing her excitement, Su Qin thanked him with extreme solemnness. The man on the other end arched his eyebrows and his tone became gentle again, ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You should be mentally prepared, I¡¯m very strict with my students.¡± [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly CH 18.1 Chapter 18.1 ¨C Studies This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Although Li Chuan is a pretty good person, he will become a strict teacher once he stands on the podium. As for how serious Li Chuan tutored his students, she hadn¡¯t seen it with her own eyes, but she did hear his students mention it occasionally. Su Qin had meals with Li Chuan and his students several times in her previous lifetime. At the dining table, the students always complained to Su Qin and in his presence that ¡®Professor Li¡¯s classes are scary¡¯. At that time, Li Chuan just laughed it off. Seeing him smiling so amiably, Su Qin thought the students were joking. Now it seems that ¡­ it¡¯s really ¡®scary¡¯? Li Chuan was strict in class, but it didn¡¯t affect his personal relationship with the students, nor did it affect his status in the students¡¯ heart. It was also precisely due to his usually good-naturedness that his strictness in class was even more intimidating. Of course, Li Chuan¡¯s ¡®vicious tongue¡¯ bearing does really inspire Su Qin, allowing her to be less overly confident and making her have a clear reality-check. ********** In mid-April, the temperature in Yunyang City has risen to 30 degrees and those on the streets sweltered even in short sleeves. The first batch of summer clothes in the store has almost sold out, and the lady boss, Chen Meixin, wants to order some new clothes. She checked several avant-garde and novel styles in the fashion book, and came over to ask Su Qin¡¯s opinion, ¡°Little Su, look at these. How about I order a few pieces of these batches of summer clothes?¡± Su Qin had a certain obsession with the fashion world in her previous lifetime that she had done her homework on the fashion trends from 1998 to 2023. The lady boss has a very trendy view in selecting styles, which is one of the reasons why this new store is sought after by the customers. But this batch of summer clothes that Chen Meixin chose now, although the style is OK, the color is rather outdated. She asked, ¡°Sister Chen, I went to the bookstore the other day and looked through the fashion magazines to see the popular trend of this spring and summer fashion week. There are a lot of blue-toned clothes this year and this wave of blue craze is expected to last until winter. Why don¡¯t you choose blue for this batch of summer clothes?¡± Chen Meixin said, ¡°The big brands¡¯ counters in the department stores have a lot of blue this year and it is reckoned that blue will wane off by May. Will there still be people buying blue clothes by then?¡± Taking advantage of her previous lifetime¡¯s experience, Su Qin gave Chen Meixin a brief overview, ¡°En, the global popularity of yellow-green in 2004 has gone from the peak to decline, and the purple fever should continue. These two purple styles you chose are pretty good, so do keep it. But these few gray and yellow-green can be done away with. Last September, an internationally renowned color prognostic company anticipated that blue will be particularly popular in 2006 and this wave of blue fever is estimated to last until next year. So even if these blue styles can¡¯t be sold off this year, they can still be sold next year.¡± Chen Meixin felt that this girl has good aesthetics, hence she asked for her opinion. She didn¡¯t expect this girl to actually start analyzing this year¡¯s fashionable color and speak of it so coherently. ¡°Also, the white, pastel, metallic and gradient colors may stand out too, so you can choose a few of those.¡± Seeing that the lady boss was skeptical, Su Qin added, ¡°Sister Chen, I have nothing to do recently, so I went to the bookstore to browse some fashion magazines. Of course, the above-mentioned is my summation and opinion which you can consider. Chen Meixin hesitated for a while and felt that Su Qin had a point. So she cross-out those chosen styles and began to re-choose the colors that she suggested. Chen Meixin has her own means of getting goods, and she is very picky with the style of each piece of clothing. Three days later, Chen Meixin received the new batch of clothes. Su Qin worked overtime until late at night, ironing all the clothes, matching them well and letting the lady boss, Chen Meixin, wear them. She then complemented her with jewelry and high-quality imitation branded bags. Chen Meixin was very dissatisfied with her figure after the photos were taken, ¡°I¡¯m not in good shape. Once the clients see these photos in Myspace, will they still come to our store?¡± "" Su Qin took the SD card from the camera and inserted it into the card reader, preparing to go to the internet cafe. She reassured the lady boss, ¡°Of course these are not ready photos. I¡¯ll fix it before posting it online. Lady Boss, you wait and remember to give me a like when browsing Myspace tonight.¡± Chen Meixin didn¡¯t know what this girl had up her sleeves and let her have her way. In the evening, Su Qin took the photos to edit in the internet cafe. There weren¡¯t any beautify apps in this era, so she could only use photoshop. Due to the camera and lighting issues, Su Qin had to use ps to retouch the photos. She used ps liquefy tools to refine the lady boss¡¯ face, legs, arms and also elongated the lady boss¡¯ legs. The lady boss had no makeup on, so she dabbed the lady boss¡¯s face with the paintbrush, and after spending 2 hours, she actually touched up a magazine makeup for the lady boss. Su Qin hadn¡¯t used this set of ps skills for many years and didn¡¯t expect she was still proficient now. At 8pm with nothing to do at home, Chen Meixin surfed the internet and browsed through Myspace when she saw Su Qin updating the photo albums. Clicking in to look at the photos inside, she was dumbfounded at once. ¡°? ? ?¡± Wait ¡­ is the woman who looks like a Taobao model really her? After a few minutes, she saw more than a dozen comments under the album¡¯s commentary. [True Loving Heart]: ¡°So beautiful, how much is this set ah? 5555555[1] ¡­ it is too beautiful!¡± [Look Up the Sky at 45 degrees]: ¡°Omg ah! This dress is quite pretty, ah, how much is it?¡± [Sweet-Nothings Enthusiastic Nonsense ¦ä¦Î]: Are these the store¡¯s new clothes? Beautiful, give me a set! This dress must be pretty on me!¡± ********** That night, the lady boss¡¯ phone was jammed with calls. More than 20 clients successively called to ask the price of that clothing and how many more sets were left. The style that Su Qin posted in Myspace became a hot seller and the demand exceeded the supply. Considering that Su Qin¡¯s ¡®Myspace marketing¡¯ was doing pretty well, Chen Meixin moved her home computer to the store to facilitate her access to QQ. In order not to be disturbed by the clients¡¯ calls, Chen Meixin gave her a small handphone that wasn¡¯t in use at home, and even set up a 5 yuan monthly fee phone card for her. Having a handphone, it is also convenient for Su Qin to contact Meng Sisi and she will also often call Captain Lu. Captain Lu was moved to tears by Su Qin¡¯s frequent calls, and the sense of accomplishment at work became more exuberant that he even felt good working extra hours since being a policeman can save lives. As the people¡¯s police officer and being concerned by the civilians, that kind of feeling is extremely blessed. Having her day-off on Monday, Su Qin went to look for Teacher Li as agreed. Since her neighborhood was located in the old city district and it was difficult to take the bus, Su Qin got up early and walked to Nanjing University with her schoolbag in order to save the few dollars bus fare. The two-hour walk, she didn¡¯t feel exhausted and treated it as losing weight. Nanjing University campus, also known as Nanyi Garden, is adjacent to two famous ancient buildings in Yunyang City. After Nanjing University moved to Nanyi Garden in 1952, the foundation of the architectural classical garden was preserved and it was aptly transformed into a historical garden campus. Not only are there quaint pavilions in the campus, but also towering ancient trees and leafy shade of greenery, as well as surrounded by a beautiful landscape of mountains and water. Su Qin was no stranger to this place. Walking into the school and looking at the students coming and going in the campus, she suddenly felt a brave sense of progress. The school was filled with youthfulness. She arrived ten minutes early at NJU library and waited at the entrance for Li Chuan with the schoolbag on her back. With her hair tied in a ponytail, Su Qin wore a very plain t-shirt and jeans. Under-developed and short in stature, she could be seen like a high school student at a glance. Realizing that she attracted a bit of attention standing at the entrance, she simply entered the library and sat in the most conspicuous seat to wait for Li Chuan. Ten minutes later, Li Chuan, a doctoral student, arrived as scheduled. Dressed casually in a white short sleeves and khaki pants, the distinctive top and bottom colors made his legs look very long. With both hands hanging down, the man¡¯s fingers are clean and slender as he held a pen between his fingers and twirled it at will. Su Qin was very worried that the pen would accidentally drop and break to pieces on the ground. The attractive top-scholar¡¯s appearance in the library was a rare occurrence, and the girls all looked over the entrance and some even started to talk about it. Li Chuan¡¯s gaze swept around the library when it landed on Su Qin and he walked towards her. He stopped in front of her, placed the pen on the table first and asked her, ¡°Did you bring everything that you need?¡± Looking at the towering man above, Su Qin nodded, indicating that she had brought everything. Li Chuan pulled the bench in her direction. When the man reached out for the textbook, his arm rubbed against the tip of the girl¡¯s nose that a faint waft of his body¡¯s scent lingered on the tip of her nose. The man is a bit of a mysophobia, who must change his clothes daily and even in summer, he doesn¡¯t smell sweaty but refreshingly clean. Su Qin was drenched in sweat when she arrived at the school. Although with the fan blowing after she sat down, her body was still sticky and not as refreshingly clean like the big man, Li Chuan. ¡°Thud, thud.¡± Seeing her in a daze, Li Chuan tapped softly on the table twice, sending out the heavily muffled sound. Regaining her senses, the girl stared blankly at him. ¡°I have flowers on my face? Are you here to look at me or listen to my lesson?¡± Li Chuan had taught for many years in his previous lifetime after all, and this was something with a heavily educated sharpness that he often said to those female students in class. ¡°Sorry, Teacher Li. Let¡¯s begin.¡± Su Qin nodded slightly at the man, then took out a rollerball pen from the pencil case and pulled out pieces of draft paper. [1] 555 (ÎØÎØÎØ pinyin: w¨±w¨±w¨±) ¨C China¡¯s internet slang represent the sound of tearful crying. CH 18.2 Chapter 18.2 ¨C Studies This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Li Chuan pulled out the classical Chinese text from the books she brought over and threw it to her, asking her to first revise [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] and he would spot-check later. As she was memorizing, Li Chuan took the Yunyang High School¡¯s text to write out the math and physics questions on the draft paper. Two pieces of A4 draft papers were quickly filled on both sides. Li Chuan asked her, ¡°Are you done revising?¡± ¡°Almost done.¡± Li Chuan handed her the draft papers. Pinching the corner with his long slender fingers, he emphasized seriously, ¡°Do these questions. I want to know your current level.¡± The girl nodded obediently, ¡°Okay, Teacher Li.¡± The clear and concise ¡®Teacher Li¡¯ appellation caused Su Qin to almost consider herself truly a little girl. Li Chuan¡¯s writing is neat and the font spacing is dense yet not messy. Su Qin was still quite confident with Li Chuan¡¯s questions. After all, she has been revising the junior high and the year one senior high¡¯s questions for the past months, and deemed that his questions would not be too difficult. However, after answering a few questions, Su Qin got a slap in the face and felt her face was swollen red, as if she suddenly heard the sound of ¡®pa pa¡¯ face-slapping in the air. With one hand holding the pen and another supporting her forehead, she was trying to use her arm to shield her embarrassment and wished she could bore into a hole. Without looking back, Su Qin could feel Teacher Li¡¯s gaze that she had a sense of nervousness of being stared at by the class teacher during the exam. Heaven ¡­ it¡¯s so humiliating. Why couldn¡¯t she answer this math problem? Su Qin tried not to think about the man sitting next to her and continued to solve the question. She finally figured out the answer after spending 20 minutes. She continued to answer, and found the following questions to be relatively simple, but she was stumped again by the questions behind. Su Qin used three hours to complete an A4-sized ¡®test paper¡¯. The pride of being first place in Chengnan Middle School was all gone, and she finally experienced the taste of being a scum to a top scholar. Letting out a breath, she turned to look at Teacher Li who was sitting beside her and spoke timidly, ¡°Li ¡­ Teacher Li. I¡¯m done.¡± Li Chuan raised his wrist to look at his watch and nodded at her with a decent smile, ¡°En, better than I expected. Took 3 hours.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­¡­ ¡° __ Okay, okay, I admit I am an underachiever. Requesting the top-scholar teacher to please strike lightly. Li Chuan took out another piece of A4 draft paper and said, ¡°Write out the [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] at once.¡± Su Qin, ¡°! ! ! !¡± Her brain had been running at high speed for 3 hours and hadn¡¯t had time to rest yet. This perverse Teacher Li, actually asked her to write out [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] by memory, definitely not joking? Li Chuan added, ¡°I want to know what your error rate is writing out what you just revised after your brain ran at high speed.¡± Su Qin voiced out a ¡®Oh¡¯, changed her pen and started to write out [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission]. As she was writing, she peeked at the ¡®test paper¡¯ that Teacher Li was correcting but found a huge bright red cross on her first question. She had solved the problem for half a day, but it was unexpectedly wrong. [The Strategies of Warring States] from the [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] was not very long and Su Qin quickly completed it. She corrected it against the textbook herself and found 8 mistakes. In her previous life, apart from signing her name, Su Qin hadn¡¯t written earnestly with a pen for many years and this was also the first time she was writing since her rebirth. She found that the literary text she could memorize backwards was actually full of wrongly written characters. Many characters were either wrongly written, half-written or forgot how to write that she wished she could take out the cellphone¡¯s pinyin¡¯s keyboard. When she wrote the word ¡¯¹Ñ (Gu¨£)¡¯, she simply couldn¡¯t remember how many strokes there were in it. She handed the written [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] with shame and took the ¡®test paper¡¯ from Teacher Li. There were a lot of red crosses but she actually felt relieved seeing 60 points. At least ¡­ she passed. As she heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, Li Chuan¡¯s serious voice transmitted into her ears, ¡°There are 8 mistakes in the verse of [Tang Ju¡¯s Mission] and a test paper with a full score of 80, but you only got 60. Su Qin, your situation is worse than I thought.¡± Su Qin was really ashamed and felt that she had done all the questions foolishly for the past months. Except for recalling the junior high school¡¯s knowledge, those questions didn¡¯t improve her level at all. Realizing this problem, Su Qin felt even more ashamed. Seeing her hanging her head dispiritedly, Li Chuan half coaxed and half sterned, ¡°It¡¯s normal. After all, you¡¯ve been away from junior high school for so long and now you even have to go to work, so it¡¯s normal for your concentration to be distracted and to fall behind in your studies. As long as you have the desire to learn, I¡¯ll help you make it up. It¡¯s 4pm now, come, let¡¯s go through one problem at a time, and I¡¯ll tell you all the solution theory, so you listen carefully, okay?¡± Listening to him consoling herself, Su Qin nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± In total, there were 16 wrong answers and Li Chuan analyzed them one by one to her, and even looked through her scratch papers to tell her where she had made mistakes. In order to help the girl expand her mind, he would let the girl try to solve it in another way after he explained one problem-solving method. The process was very long, and it was equivalent to Su Qin doing it over again with Li Chuan in tow. At 7.30pm, the library became less crowded and Su Qin was still using another method to solve the last question. The moment she got the answer, Su Qin seemed to have unlocked her breakthrough meridians that her whole body felt relaxed and the sense of achievement in solving the problems was beyond words. Seeing the girl stretching, Li Chuan praised her, ¡°Not bad, your analytical skills are quick, smart and understanding without much explaining. When you practice, try different problem-solving methods, which is conducive to divergent thinking.¡± Pursing her lips, Su Qin nodded and got up to pack her books, ¡°Got it, Teacher Li and I¡¯ve troubled you. En ¡­ I¡¯m really sorry to take up your whole afternoon. I can¡¯t afford to pay you financially now, when I earn money later ¡­ ¡° Li Chuan interrupted her next words, ¡°Su Qin, I tutor and you study. It was just a humble contribution. As for me, it¡¯s an act of public service. If you really want to repay me, please study hard to attend either Nanjing University or Tsinghua National University.¡± Su Qin looked at him with gratitude. Although she and Li Chuan were husband and wife in their previous life, the two of them had no connection with each other after she was reborn. Li Chuan¡¯s willingness to help her like this was definitely worth remembering for the rest of her life. She will never forget everyone who has helped her. Feifei, Yun Qi, Li Chuan, Zhang Cheng and also Captain Lu. There is black and white, and also gray areas in this world, but there are also heroes like them. There are people like Li Chuan who lend a helping hand to the less fortunate. There are also those like Captain Lu, who deal with the shady and fight bravely in danger. The world needs heroes. The so-called tranquil years are all simply because someone is shouldering the burden forward. Li Chuan brought Su Qin to the roadside stall for dinner. Because Su Qin insisted on paying, he only ordered two dishes and a soup. This year, with 8 yuan, you could buy a plate of saut¨¦ed julienned potatoes, a plate of fried gourd and a bowl of pickled vegetable vermicelli soup. Although it is cheap, Su Qin¡¯s salary has to be saved up for tuition fees, so she can¡¯t spend extravagantly. She knew that Li Chuan was taking care of her pocket, so he deliberately ordered cheap dishes. She thought after making lots of money in the future, she will treat him to a big meal every week. Since the rice was free, Su Qin finished off four bowls of rice with the pickled vegetable vermicelli soup. The boss was shocked by her appetite, and when he served her the fourth bowl of rice, he teased, ¡°Little Brother, your little sister eats a lot, ah? Don¡¯t you usually feed her well ah?¡± After the boss turned to leave, Li Chuan coughed lightly and said, ¡°Su Qin, you don¡¯t have to invite me to dinner in the future. If you really want to repay me, then just ¡­ ¡° ¡°Just study hard?¡± Su Qin picked a chopstick of fried gourd into his bowl and said, ¡°Teacher Li, I can¡¯t give you any other payment, but I can still afford dinner. Teacher Li, I¡¯ll treat you to a big meal every week after I graduate and make money, you believe me, my word is my bond.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes shone brightly and filled with a vision for the future. Looking at her for a moment, he smiled and said, ¡°I believe you.¡± After dinner, Su Qin wanted to take the bus home but Li Chuan stopped her. ¡°There is no direct bus to your neighborhood from NJU and your area is a part of the old city district which is not very safe. I will send you back.¡± ¡°Ah? This ¡­ isn¡¯t it too troublesome?¡± After experiencing the abduction, Su Qin always carries some homemade peppery water which is more lethal than the kind sold on Taobao. Li Chuan insisted, ¡°I don¡¯t want my first student to have any accident. Okay, listen to me, I¡¯ll send you home.¡± ¡°O ¡­ okay, thank you, Teacher Li.¡± She thought Li Chuan would drive a small car to take her home, but she didn¡¯t expect Li Chuan to ride an old bicycle from the campus and arrive in front of her. The man rang the small bell then placed his long leg on the ground and stopped in front of her effortlessly. Standing in place with the school bag on her back, Su Qin looked at him, pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Teacher Li, if you send me home like this, I will be under psychological pressure and I may not even dare to eat the next time I come to see you.¡± ¡°Get on.¡± Li Chuan appeared stern and had no intention to joke with her. ¡°Wow.¡± Su Qin jumped on the back of the bicycle and tugged bashfully at the man¡¯s clothes, ¡°Teacher Li, I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°Hold on tight.¡± Su Qin gripped rather tightly. Stepping on the pedals, the bicycle sped off. Since it just started moving, Li Chuan deliberately let the bicycle do a zigzag sprint. The girl behind felt her heart constricted as her head slammed into the man¡¯s back and both her hands hugged the man¡¯s waist. At this time, there were gradually fewer pedestrians on the street and no one saw it. The man revealed ¡­ a kind of an old mother¡¯s amiable smile. CH 19 Chapter 19 ¨C Taobao This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin forgot that at this time, Li Chuan was still studying for a Ph.D and hadn¡¯t joined the workforce yet, so he certainly didn¡¯t own a car and bicycle was his only means of transportation. The man is adept in cycling which is more stable than driving a car. The old city district¡¯s streets in 2006 were dilapidated while the houses were ramshackle and crowded. At this hour, the roadside stalls for supper had already set out. Li Chuan drove her around through the streets and alleys. Looking at those fragrant snacks, Su Qin actually began to drool. Ten years later, this old city district will cease to exist, as will the old-time street snacks like the caramelized hawthorns, steamed pork bun wrapped in leaves, cold dips, cold jelly and others. Truly miss the snacks of this era. As if he knew what she was thinking, Li Chuan stopped in front of a stall. With the slim Su Qin sitting on the bicycle, the man pushed and walked ahead for a while. Seeing him get off the bicycle, Su Qin wanted to leap down too but was stopped by the man, ¡°Don¡¯t get off but sit tight. There¡¯s water puddles below.¡± Only then did she notice there were puddles under the bicycle¡¯s wheels and Li Chuan was treading on it. Recalling that he is somewhat mysophobia, an inexplicable sense of guilt rose up in Su Qin¡¯s heart. Li Chuan pushed the bicycle to a street peddler. The girl then jumped down, straightened her clothes and stood behind him. ¡°This stall¡¯s cold jelly is good, want to try it?¡± Li Chuan turned his head and asked her. Su Qin didn¡¯t want him to spend, yet looking at the bowl of cold jelly, she couldn¡¯t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva before shaking her head. Li Chuan was amused by the girl¡¯s duplicity. He handed 3 yuan to the boss, ¡°Two bowls of cold jelly please. Thanks.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The boss started to prepare the cold jelly nimbly. Seeing how handsome Li Chuan was, the boss added a little more hawthorn and raisins. The moment he took the bowls of cold jelly from the boss, Su Qin felt that she once again owed him a little more. The old-fashioned street lamps were dim. Standing at the roadside eating cold jelly, the two of them were like a harmonious scene of a brother bringing his little sister out to look for a late-night snack. When Su Qin was with Li Chuan in the previous lifetime, he was already a mature man, who attired impeccably every day with some obligations. He had never stood by the street to slurp street snacks like cold jelly with her. This is the first time. On a summer night, eating a bowl of cold jelly when the mouth was parched really swept away the day¡¯s fatigue. Su Qin took a few mouthfuls of the cold jelly and secretly looked up at Li Chuan but was caught by the man¡¯s gaze, and their eyes met. Getting caught head-on, Su Qin¡¯s face blushed inexplicably and she quickly lowered her head. Tsk. Her thirty-something soul actually blushed at Teacher Li who is in his early twenties? This is irrational. But a handsome grown boy with long legs, taking a girl out to eat cold jelly by the roadside, was indeed rather teasing. If she is truly a young girl, she might really have a crush on him. After finishing the cold jelly, Li Chuan drove her to continue the journey. The boss waved farewell to them, ¡°Little brother, come often ah, I¡¯ll give you discounts!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Li Chuan didn¡¯t look back. Holding the handlebar with one hand, he waved goodbye to the boss. On the way home, the two didn¡¯t talk much. Apart from studies, they didn¡¯t know what else to talk about. Nearing Su Qin¡¯s neighborhood, Li Chuan suddenly opened his mouth and said, ¡°Su Qin.¡± ¡°En?¡± ¡°You¡¯re 16. Girls your age have a lot on their minds. You can talk to me if you have problems in the future.¡± The man¡¯s tone was like a father educating his daughter. She was still lamenting inwardly that Li Chuan sounded mature when his next sentence almost made Su Qin choked on her saliva. Li Chuan paused for a moment and added, ¡°Do you know why, I was able to get good grades in high school and even skip grades?¡± ¡°En?¡± Could there still be some specific secret to this? Li Chuan said, ¡°When the students around followed the trend of puppy love, I devoted all my attention to studies.¡± Su Qin is not stupid, so how could she not understand the meaning of his words? Teacher Li was trying to educate and guide her. He was telling her that puppy love was a hindrance to her studies and that it would affect her dreams. __ But Teacher Li ah, how can I, an old aunt who is almost 40, fall in love with a child? You really think too much. Since Su Qin had a handphone, she exchanged phone numbers with Li Chuan. As Su Qin doesn¡¯t have a high budget monthly mobile plan, she won¡¯t take the initiative to call anyone and usually, it is others who call her. Meng Sisi would call her every day to ask about her recent studies. And Li Chuan is usually busy with writing thesis in addition to his company matters and product research development, he seldom calls her and mostly just SMS her. Every SMS is 10 cents a message and it is not convenient to type on the phone¡¯s keypad, so Su Qin doesn¡¯t reply to his SMS very often. Li Chuan sent three, she replied one. The following month, Su Qin¡¯s livelihood was quite fulfilling. Waking up at 5 every morning to cook, she began to memorize vocabs and essays. After breakfast, there was still an hour before work, she would use this time to dictate vocabs and essays. At noon, she would also take out to recite the wordings. Looking at her conscientious face, the lady boss sighed and said, ¡°Qin¡¯er ah, I know you are such a competent girl ah and you won¡¯t stuck here. What¡¯s the matter, are you planning to go abroad by memorizing words ah?¡± Su Qin closed the book, lowered her head to take a mouthful of rice before shaking her head and said, ¡°No, I plan to go to Yunyang High School.¡± ¡°Are you going back to high school ah? Even Yunyang High School?¡± Picking a piece of chicken thigh meat with the chopstick and put in her bowl, Chen Meixin said, ¡°Qin¡¯er, do you know how difficult it is to get into Yunzhong ah? If you get into their school, your life is regarded as half successful.¡± ¡°I will do my best in the exam.¡± Su Qin looked at her lady boss apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry ah, Sister Chen. No matter if I can get into Yunzhong or not, I¡¯ll go back to school. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to work here for too long.¡± ¡°You this Yatou[1], why are you apologizing for? Do you know how good my shop performance has been since you came? I calculated your salary this month, including commission, it¡¯s almost 3200. That Myspace marketing of yours is doing well, so keep up the good work. Even if you don¡¯t work in my shop anymore in the future, you can still continue to help me with Myspace. Photoshop I a bit, make my face smaller and my legs longer, so that I look like an international supermodel.¡± "" The lady boss¡¯ words actually reminded her of the online marketing that was all the rage at the moment. If she remembered correctly, 2006 will be a breakthrough for Taobao, which will soon become an indispensable basic necessity for the country. It is rather suitable to set up a Taobao store at this time. ¡°Boss, have you considered ¡­ setting up a Taobao store? You don¡¯t need to expand your shop as by then people from all over the country can buy our clothes. You have the means to purchase goods and have good taste in choosing styles, so you will definitely be able to establish yourself in Taobao.¡± Chen Meixin had also found out about Taobao, where things there were cheap. She had bought stuff there, but she was clueless ¡­ about starting up a store. Su Qin had sold her designed clothes on Taobao in her previous lifetime. She had invested 2 million and lost all of it. In that era, the competition was too great, and her own team was poached by her former partner which ultimately caused her store to cease in failure. But she has experience in setting up Taobao and has a thorough understanding of online marketing. Putting down the bowl and chopsticks, Su Qin grabbed the lady boss¡¯ hand and said, ¡°Sister Chen, you don¡¯t have to worry about this. You can leave the online merchandise to me. However, I still need Sister Chen to be the model. Don¡¯t worry, I will definitely photoshop you into a beauty! We only have two people in our shop now, there is no extra budget to hire models and art designers for the time being. You will be the model while I will do the artwork.¡± Chen Meixin was shocked speechless by the little Yatou, ¡°Qin¡¯er, tell me, what else can¡¯t you do? Aren¡¯t you a bit too remarkable? But even if we have all these, what about the clientele, where do they come from?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this. Leave it to me. I will be responsible for broadcasting and marketing.¡± ¡°Broadcasting?¡± ¡°Right, I will lure Myspace customers to Taobao, so that they don¡¯t have to call us everyday to ask about the price and if there¡¯s still stock, which they can see perfectly clear on Taobao. Once we have slowly accumulated our credibility on Taobao, more online buyers will notice our store. Of course, we can only facilitate buyers in the same city at the earlier stage. As for buyers elsewhere ¡­ we have to take it slowly and there¡¯s no hurry. Sister Chen, I went online these days to understand Taobao¡¯s development tendency. In the future, each of us is likely to have a Taobao account and will need to shop on Taobao. If we set up Taobao now, we will also make a fortune when Taobao thrives. Doing this business, we have to look forward and not just to the present.¡± In this era, Taobao¡¯s synonym is ¡®low price¡¯. Cameras are still only 5 million pixels and goods delivery is also difficult. Su Qin herself also knew that Taobao was actually not in its best period, but it didn¡¯t matter since they have a retail shop, the Taobao store would just make do incidentally. Doing Taobao now can be convenient for their accumulated Myspace customers, since they are doing it for their regulars. The little girl seemed to know very well and Chen Meixin suddenly suspected that this girl was not a human being, but a god! Seems to know everything at such a young age. At times like this, she could only sigh with emotion ¨C children of the poor manage their household at an early age. The application for the Taobao store was quickly done and Su Qin started to stock up. Su Qin and Chen Meixin made use of the evening to take photos. In the week Taobao started, Su Qin almost had no time to study except in the morning. On Monday, when Li Chuan tutored her in Nanjing University library, he found that she hadn¡¯t made much progress and didn¡¯t seem serious with self-study in the past week. Li Chuan knew that she was under a lot of work pressure recently and was very tired too. At such a time, even though Li Chuan couldn¡¯t bear it, he still frowned and spoke harshly to her, ¡°Su Qin, if you don¡¯t want to study, you can choose not to. You can support yourself too by focusing on selling clothes, so why waste my time?¡± ¡° ¡­ Teacher Li ¡­ I was wrong.¡± Acting cute and coquettishly, Su Qin raised two fingers and swore, ¡°Next week, next week I will certainly let you see my progress.¡± Since she was wrong in this matter, it was okay for Li Chuan to be angry. Teacher Li¡¯s eyebrows furrowed in a very unfriendly manner. She tugged at her own ears and sincerely admitted her mistake, ¡°How about this Teacher Li, in order to punish me and make me remember, tonight, I will drive you home instead, okay?¡± Li Chuan, ¡° ¡­¡­. ¡° Wanting him to lose face? Su Qin only sleeps 4 hours a day and spends all her time studying, as well as Taobao. Because of her clear goals, she was like injected with chicken blood* everyday, even though she didn¡¯t get enough sleep, she wasn¡¯t sleepy at all during the day. [T/N: ´òÁ˼¦Ñª (D¨£le j¨© xu¨¨) ¨C become excited/stimulated] Two weeks later, the Taobao store ¡®Yunyi Clothing House¡¯ was officially launched. When Chen Meixin switched on her Taobao store, she was really surprised to see the photos inside. Every photo was exquisitely edited. Chen Meixin never knew that she actually has the potential to be a model? Looking at these photos, Chen Meixin felt she was simply so beautiful that she confidently stuck her chest out and took a deep breath to hold her belly in. She decided to lose some weight, perhaps she can really become a model? Chen Meixin certainly is not stupid. She only believed half of Su Qin¡¯s words. This Taobao store is indeed convenient for the accumulated Myspace customers. Those customers can order online and pick it up at the retail shop themselves, which saves them from calling every day to ask about the price and whether there is any stock. At this time, Chen Meixin looked down on Taobao and felt that those who set up Taobao stores were those whimsically unemployed. [1] Ѿͷ (Y¨¡tou) ¨C is now used to describe a ¡®cute girl¡¯, but it¡¯s best to use this word only for young girl, especially those who are close to you ¡ª since it¡¯s very informal. CH 20.1 Chapter 20.1 ¨C Buying a Bicycle This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. After Taobao went online, Su Qin would log on Taobao Chat every day when she arrived at the shop. This buyers/sellers instant communication software was launched in 2004. Su Qin had read Taobao¡¯s development history when she started Taobao in her previous lifetime. In 2005, Taobao¡¯s turnover had surpassed that of Wal-Mart sales. By 2006 this year, although people around Su Qin still hadn¡¯t used Taobao much, according to the year-end-data of that year, the public were already accustomed to online ¡®shopping¡¯, with nearly 9 million people browsing Taobao every day. She believes that even if their Taobao is not doing well now, their growth will slowly improve. The lady boss, Chen Meixin, is from a well-to-do family, who has been abroad and is very generous to Su Qin. She has never skimp on Su Qin¡¯s salary nor cut back any of her commission. Not to mention in 2006, even a dozen years later, it was already pretty good that a small private shop assistant could take home a salary of over 3000 yuan. It was precisely due to the lady boss¡¯ generosity that Su Qin wanted to help her start up the Taobao store. On the contrary of boosting her sales, it was also a way to repay the lady boss for giving her a platform to make money. In mid-May, the lady boss, Chen Meixin broke up with her boyfriend of 6 years. Chen Meixin is 28 this year with a typical oval face. Although she has a double chin, her features are still attractive. She is 1.73 meters tall, stylishly dressed and could be seen as beautiful in the past. If she loses weight, she will probably look like how Su Qin has photoshop her. Nevertheless, such a lady boss was dumped by her boyfriend. Chen Meixin¡¯s boyfriend, whom she met when she traveled to Hong Kong, is barely a rich second generation[1], who Su Qin had met several times. He is not ugly but slightly pompous. On the first day of the breakup, Chen Meixin sat at the counter and cried till her eyes were red and swollen. Sobbingly, she told Su Qin about the ¡®scumbag¡¯ deeds for the whole morning. The scumbag had found a beautiful university student, hence he dumped her and called her ¡®fat woman¡¯. "" Hearing this, Su Qin hung up the clothes she was ironing in passing then turned her head and said, ¡°Fairly speaking, Sister Chen, your physique at most is a little overweight. That fat woman word doesn¡¯t match you, okay? Also Sister Chen, your features are pretty good with a small face and your height is on par. Even if you are heavier than before, your temperament is still there. Don¡¯t listen to the scumbag¡¯s nonsense and don¡¯t doubt yourself, he has just made an excuse to dump you.¡± Chen Meixin pulled out a tissue to blow her nose and her voice garbled, ¡°But I really love him ah. We¡¯ve been together for 6 years, our parents have met and we are about to get married ¡­ ¡° ¡°You should be glad that you broke up with him now, otherwise you might get scuffed and want to leave when he cheats after the marriage. Sister Chen, I knew a Jiejie[2] just like you who had been with her boyfriend for 8 years. She had given the man her youth but in the end, the man criticized that she was no longer youthful and beautiful, and that she was fat, so he dumped her. But then guess what?¡± ¡°What?¡± Chen Meixin¡¯s curiosity was piqued, like watching the 8 o¡¯clock idol drama. ¡°Later, this Jiejie was really amazing. She started her own business and made money. She then dressed up, kept fit and lost weight. Although there were signs of age on her face, her figure and temperament were awesome with many men in pursuit and lived quite splendidly.¡± Chen Meixin took a deep breath and spoke after a moment of silence, ¡°Su-su, don¡¯t come to work tomorrow. I¡¯ll take a five-day break. These 5 days, you should also take a good rest and don¡¯t study too hard.¡± Breaking up with her boyfriend of 6 years, Su Qin understood Chen Meixin¡¯s current mood and hoped that the lady boss could get over it soon. ¡°En.¡± Chen Meixin added, ¡°By the way, I¡¯ll give you the shop key. If you need to use the computer, don¡¯t go to the internet cafe and just surf online in the shop. My computer configuration is still okay and there¡¯s no problem playing games.¡± ¡°Thank you, the great lovely kind lady boss!¡± ¡°Smooth-talker. Qin¡¯er, when are you taking the Yunzhong exam ah? How many more months can you still stay with me?¡± ¡°The exam is next month. I can work till mid-August and let¡¯s see the specific date. If I can¡¯t get into Yunzhong, I¡¯ll go back to my former high school and repeat senior high year one.¡± ¡°Pooh! Pooh! Pooh! Don¡¯t speak nonsense. There¡¯s certainly no problem attending Yunzhong since you work so hard. You have a good rest these few days and I will go on a trip. Put a vacation notice and your phone number outside when you leave. If the customers have any matching inquiries, let them call you directly.¡± The lady boss paused for a moment and said, ¡°Also, I¡¯ve thought about it carefully. I will hire another girl here once you leave. I hope you can still work for me during the winter and summer vacation. After all, MySpace and Taobao marketing need you since I know nothing about these.¡± This was what Su Qin wanted to tell her. All this time, she has been handling everything and didn¡¯t teach Chen Meixin all these so that she could slack off. She wanted to be temporarily indispensable to Chen Meixin and also wanted this part-time job. Five days off was a luxury for Su Qin, but she didn¡¯t dare to relax with her current situation. On Friday morning, Su Qin was woken up by an unknown phone call. Thinking that it was a customer, she politely said, ¡°Hello, how do you do?¡± The person on the other end of the phone was obviously startled by her greeting, thinking it was a wrong number and sounded nervous. A long while later, the other end asked her, ¡°Is this ¡­ Su-su?¡± This voice ¡­ ¡°Wen Mei?¡± After returning from Tuling County, Su Qin had no contact with her and only occasionally learned some of her recent situation through Meng Sisi. Wen Mei used to do quite well in the local high school and had passed the second-tier university admission, but she didn¡¯t attend because of her family¡¯s financial situation. After she was rescued from the mountain, the media in her hometown reported the incident which also attracted the local government¡¯s attention. The teachers and principal of her former high school felt sorry for her when they learned that she couldn¡¯t attend the university after passing the admission exam and was even abducted into the remote mountains. After knowing that she wanted to retake the university admission exam, the school authority agreed to let her return to school and waived her tuition fees, allowing her to study with the year 3 senior high students to prepare for the admission exam. The university admission exam is at the beginning of next month, on the 6th, 7th and 8th of June. ¡°It¡¯s me, Su-su. I heard Sisi say this is your handphone number, so I thought of trying to call you.¡± Wen Mei took a deep breath and told her, ¡°Su-su, I¡¯m about to take the university admission exam and I have to study hard in the coming days. I¡¯m a little nervous, so I just want to chat with you. How are you doing recently?¡± ¡°Very good.¡± She responded, ¡°How about you?¡± Wen Mei laughed on the phone ¡°I¡¯m very good too. My teachers and classmates care about me very much and I¡¯m doing pretty well on every exam. I want to get into Yunyang University.¡± ¡°Not bad, ah. I remember you want to study law? Yunyang University¡¯s law faculty is ranked one of the best in the country. After all, law is Yunyang University¡¯s top major and the grade requirement is not low, are you confident?¡± ¡°En, I didn¡¯t forget what you asked Sisi to tell me. The teacher helped me analyze my previous exam results and I think I might still be able to make it. Su-su, I heard that you are going to take the Yunzhong exam, you should do your best too ah.¡± ¡°I will.¡± [1] ¸»¶þ´ú (F¨´ ¨¨r d¨¤i) ¨C children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping¡¯s economic reforms in the 1980s. [2] ½ã½ã (Ji¨§ji¨§) ¨C Elder siste CH 20.2 Chapter 20.2 ¨C Buying a Bicycle This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. The phone call lasted for over ten minutes. Su Qin got out of bed after hanging up the call. Slipping into her slippers and walking to the window, she drew back the curtains and the filtered sunlight mottled the wall. The sky outside was clear with boundless bluish. There was a community junk collector downstairs shouting, ¡°Collection ¨C scrap iron, cardboards, pull-top cans ~~.¡± Standing on the balcony, Su Qin stretched and saw the opposite grandma cooking on the balcony. This grandma surnamed Liu is the owner of the kiosk downstairs, who Su Qin is well-acquainted with. She greeted her with a smile, ¡°Good morning, Grandma.¡± Grandma Liu squinted at her and smiled, ¡°Yatou[1], you¡¯re up so early? Don¡¯t you want to sleep more?¡± ¡°Not sleeping anymore. Got up to study.¡± After breakfast, next door¡¯s Grandma Liu came to give Su Qin a handful of homegrown greens, which Su Qin took without being modest. Zhang Cheng always gave her fruits a while ago. Since there was no refrigerator at home and she couldn¡¯t finish all by herself, she gave some to Grandma Liu. In the course of time, Grandma Liu gave her some vegetables too. Su Qin was in a good mood today. The neighbors are friendly and her friends¡¯ lives are gradually on the right path, so she somehow feels a little blessed. "" At this moment, she thought of Hong-hong again. That girl? Where will her brother take her? In the end, who set fire in the village? Su Qin learned from Captain Lu that Tuling County set up a special investigation team, which would thoroughly investigate the fire incident. After all, the person who set fire did break the law and it was only a matter of time before getting apprehended. Su Qin couldn¡¯t help sighed thinking about this. This world still needs order to uphold, just like that remote and backward Zhangjia Gorge, where the villagers are ignorant who do not know and understand the law. Wanting the next generation to no longer inherit the remote mountain villagers¡¯ ignorance, only can begin by educating the children. Su Qin thought of Uncle Wen¡¯s granddaughter, Zhang Xiuxiu. Lin Xiaoyin had promised Uncle Wen that she would bring Xiuxiu to study in the city after she successfully escaped from the mountain village. Will she keep her promise? Su Qin has many things she wants to do in this lifetime and many dreams to accomplish. There are some things she is incapable of doing now, so she can only be practical and take one step at a time first. In the morning, Su Qin went through several junior high¡¯s key Chinese literature and began to sort out bills when it was almost noon. She has already received two months¡¯ salary, a total of 5,700 yuan. Minus the two months¡¯ living expenses of 600, she still has 5,100 yuan in savings. The amount is quite a lot for her now. But she still can¡¯t even spare 1.50 yuan for a bowl of cold jelly. Thinking about it carefully, is this also considered the virtue of being thrifty from her previous lifetime? Su Qin took out 400 yuan and planned to go buy a slightly better bicycle in the market. After all, she couldn¡¯t always let Li Chuan take her home, it¡¯s too strenuous for the man. The bicycle shops were concentrated in the city west, which was about 2 hours by bus. Yunyang City¡¯s subway will open Line 1 in 2010. It will be much more convenient to go to the city west from the old city district once the subway starts its service. By then, it will only take about 10 mins or more to get from the old city district to Nanjing University. "" Su Qin was reborn from the year 2025. At that time, not only were the subway routes well connected, bike-sharing and shared cars were everywhere, so one could just leave home with the mobile phone and roam around the city. Su Qin would miss the future convenience whenever she took public transportation. When she arrived at the bicycle shop in the city west, Su Qin entered a relatively reputable bicycle brand store and picked a pink bicycle. The basket in front of the bicycle was big enough for books and convenient for food from the market. She took it for a test ride, the frame was light with sensitive brakes and the jingling bell was clear. Su Qin parked the bicycle and asked the boss, ¡°Boss, how much is this small bicycle?¡± Seeing that she was a little girl and was alone, the boss deliberately increased the price, ¡°550, little girl. If you are interested, I¡¯ll give you the bicycle pump.¡± Su Qin felt it was too expensive. This small pink bicycle was worth at most 350 and the price of a bicycle pump was about 20 yuan. This boss obviously saw that she is young and wanted to swindle her. Before Su Qin opened her mouth to haggle the price, the deep voice of a middle-aged man sounded behind her. ¡°Utter rubbish, is this bicycle of yours worth 550? Who are you kidding? How much is a bicycle pump? Daylight robbery?¡± When she turned around, she saw a middle-aged man of about 1.8 meters pushing a pink bicycle of the same model over. With moussed swept-back hair, the man was fat and his round beer belly almost burst out of his belt. Dressed in a black suit with a pair of polished brown leather shoes on his feet, such a boss-like man was pushing a small chic pink bicycle. This image was somewhat contrastingly cute, a little bit like a huge Hulk carrying a small pink rabbit-eared school bag. This man looked a little familiar, but Su Qin momentarily couldn¡¯t remember where she had seen him before. The man threw the small pink bicycle to the assistant behind him, straightened his tie then walked over to the boss and said, ¡°You tell the little girl accurately, how much this bicycle of yours is!¡± ¡°Mo ¡­ Boss Mo, you this ¡­ ¡° The boss glanced at the little girl embarrassedly and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Yatou, how about I sell this bicycle to you for 350 if you really like it?¡± 350 is just about the right price, but thinking that the boss just tried to swindle her just now, Su Qin said, ¡°330 and give me the bicycle pump too?¡± ¡°Aiyo, you, this little girl, how can you haggle over a price like this? The cost of this bicycle is more than 330 and if I give you a bicycle pump, then I¡¯ll sustain a big loss ah.¡± The boss appeared in a dilemma. Su Qin raised her eyebrows and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go buy it elsewhere. The market is so big and you¡¯re not the only one selling bicycles.¡± She lifted her foot to leave, but the boss hurriedly stopped her, ¡°Okay, okay, okay, because of Boss Mo, I¡¯ll give you a low-priced 330 then and give you the bicycle pump!¡± Su Qin¡¯s eyebrows arched, ¡°Thank you boss.¡± She followed the boss to pay at the counter, and when she pushed the bicycle out, she thanked the boss surnamed Mo. Su Qin was stopped by Boss Mo again when she reached the door. Mo Zongyang, ¡°Little girl, wait.¡± "" ¡°Uncle, is something wrong.¡± Mo Zongyang was stunned and rubbed the flesh on his face, aggrieved, ¡°Uncle?¡± Su Qin¡¯s eyebrows curved very brilliantly, revealing two canine teeth then called out cutely again, ¡°This big brother, what do you want?¡± ¡° ¡­¡­ ¡° Mo Zongyang seemed to see contempt in this little girl¡¯s eyes? He scratched his head fidgetly and turned to her for help, ¡°That ¡­ little girl. Look, I helped you just now, shouldn¡¯t you have a grateful attitude?¡± Su Qin¡¯s smiling face froze and glanced at him warily. She then swept a glance at the sturdy assistant behind him before instinctively tucked her hand into her pocket to grip the homemade hot pepper water. Mo Zongyang added, ¡°My son is about to enter high school. I patted my chest to his mother saying that I will definitely pick a stylish bicycle for him, but ¡­ there are so many bicycles here which I damn think each looks good that I wanted to buy them all. But my son said he only needs one, isn¡¯t this a problem for me? You and my son are about the same age, so I want to ask you to help me pick ¡­ ¡° Su Qin glanced at the bicycle shop¡¯s owner, then looked at the pedestrians coming and going on the street. Those who come here to buy bicycles are all adults and it is rare for a little girl like to come buy a bicycle alone. Mo Zongyang had selection difficulties and he didn¡¯t quite believe the older men¡¯s esthetics. Seeing Su Qin and in a desperate plight, he thought a little kid might understand the children¡¯s notion better? Although this was the main street, Su Qin still couldn¡¯t readily trust any stranger. She kept a distance from them, raised her chin and pointed to the blue mountain bike behind Mo Zongyang. ¡°That one, all boys should like this style and the pink one you¡¯re pushing is what girls like.¡± Su Qin said. Looking at the little girl¡¯s wariness and apologetic expression, Mo Zongyang knew he had frightened her. ¡°This one then, thank you.¡± Su Qin shook her head, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± She rode her bicycle and left the shop after saying that. Passing by First High School, she bought fashion magazines and the current issue newspaper at the news-stand before her gaze swept over an eye-catching section in the newspaper. The face of that man just now was printed in the newspaper. The man¡¯s name was Mo Zongyang. Su Qin recalled that the man is Yun Fei¡¯s biological father but she didn¡¯t expect that the person himself is much fatter than the photo. [1] Ѿͷ (Y¨¡tou) ¨C is now used to describe a ¡®cute girl¡¯, but it¡¯s best to use this word only for young girl, especially those who are close to you ¡ª since it¡¯s very informal. CH 21.1 Chapter 22.1 ¨C Exams This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Taller than her, Li Chuan bent and leaned over to keep his ear parallel with the girl¡¯s mouth. The girl leaned closer to the side of his ear and spoke in a slightly bashful tone, ¡°Teacher Li, can you help me get some clothes, my ¡­ that thing is here.¡± Li Chuan was still a virgin when he got married in his previous lifetime, and seemed quite blurred about matters of men and women. Now he is only 22 years old and has no girlfriend after all, hence Su Qin didn¡¯t know ¡­ if he could comprehend. Li Chuan reacted at once. Straightening up quickly, he spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Wait for me.¡± He turned to look at the other three men, who were discussing a difficult point of the project and had an argument on the side of the road, and simply didn¡¯t notice Su Qin¡¯s abnormality. It was summer now and the nights were so stiflingly hot that no one wore coats. Li Chuan said to his roommates, ¡°You guys go back first. Su Qin is feeling a little unwell. I¡¯ll go with her to get some medicine.¡± ¡°Is she okay? I¡¯ve said I would drive her home.¡± Panda took out the keys and threw them to Li Chuan, ¡°Here¡¯s the car keys for you. You can take Little Sister home later.¡± ¡°En.¡± Li Chuan nodded to the other party. The three engineering course guys went back to school together and bumped into Lin Xiaoyin under the dormitory building. Chunchun patted Panda¡¯s shoulder and spoke roguishly, ¡°Panda, that girl is here again.¡± Panda, ¡°Dang! The girl is thick-skinned ah? Didn¡¯t the Boss spared no effort to humiliate her in the fifth dining hall the last time, why is she here again today?¡± Old Zhu lamented too, ¡°The incident in the fifth dining hall last time was big enough that there were said people still collectively condemned Li Chuan on the school forum, saying he has no tender feelings for the fairer sex and is very uncouth. Those girls who intended to pursue him have now made a detour when they saw him. This Lin Xiaoyin truly loves Li Chuan.¡± When the three of them walked to the dormitory building, Lin Xiaoyin saw them and went up to them to ask, ¡°Is Li Chuan in the dormitory?¡± ¡°It¡¯s you again? What are you looking for our Boss for?¡± Panda looked at her. Lin Xiaoyin hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Well ¡­ I¡¯m here to apologize to him and there¡¯s also something I want to talk to him about.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Old Zhu asked her. Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s approach was sincere, ¡°About his family matters. It¡¯s very important. Trouble you guys to tell him that I¡¯ll wait for him downstairs.¡± Seeing the girl¡¯s sincerity, Panda called Li Chuan as he was afraid of delaying Li Chuan¡¯s matters. After hanging up the call, Panda said, ¡°The Boss said, for you to go wait for him at the old sports field¡¯s podium. He¡¯ll be there in 10 minutes.¡± Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s knitted brows smoothened and she said ¡°Thank you¡± to the three of them, before running happily towards the old sports field. ********** After Li Chuan hung up the phone, he took a pack of sanitary napkins from the supermarket shelf and the pair of girl¡¯s pants to the counter to pay. Coming out of the supermarket, Li Chuan found the girl sitting on the bench outside. He handed her the pants and the napkins, ¡°Go change in the toilet at once and wait there, I¡¯ll drive the car over.¡± ¡°En.¡± Su Qin took the pants and sanitary napkins from him, then quickly ran into the supermarket toilet. The pants that Li Chuan bought fit her just right. Coming out of the toilet, Su Qin packed the old pants in a plastic bag and stuffed it into her bag before going out to wait for the man. She didn¡¯t expect Li Chuan to be quite adept in taking care of girls¡¯ matters at this age. He actually didn¡¯t have the slightest hesitation going to buy sanitary napkins at the supermarket; this ought not to be the first time he did this kind of thing. It¡¯s indeed true that a good person like him will meticulously and thoughtfully take care of anyone, not to mention, she is his tutored ¡®student¡¯. Thinking of this, Su Qin actually shook her head and smiled wryly. Soon, the man drove a black Santana over and stopped at the side of the road. Although Santana in 2006 was not a luxury car, it was considered a mid-to-high range car. Su Qin opened the car door and sat in the front passenger seat. Before she opened her mouth to ask about her bicycle, Li Chuan spoke first, ¡°I¡¯ve pushed the bicycle back to the school bicycle shed for you and I¡¯ll ask Zhang Cheng to ride it over for you tomorrow.¡± Zhang Cheng hadn¡¯t come to visit her for a long time. A while ago, she heard Li Chuan said he was busy with a major case. She assented, then asked, ¡°Teacher Li, how much are the pants and those?¡± ¡°When you get into Yunzhong, treat me to a nice meal and I¡¯ll pick what to eat, how about that?¡± ¡°Okay, by virtue of Teacher Li¡¯s auspicious words.¡± Li Chuan drove her to the outward district and also accompanied her all the way downstairs before driving away once seeing her go upstairs. Returning to school, he went straight to the dormitory after he parked the car and didn¡¯t keep the appointment. As for Lin Xiaoyin, she could wait however long she was willing to wait and it had nothing to do with him. The next day, Zhang Cheng drove to send Su Qin¡¯s small pink bicycle back to her. Whenever Zhang Cheng came to visit her in the past, he would just bring some fruits but this time he actually brought a rabbit and threw it into her pot, ¡°Little Sister, this rabbit was given by the victim¡¯s family and I dislike rabbit meat. It¡¯s a pity to throw it away, so I brought it over for you.¡± Li Chuan had told Zhang Cheng that he must give the little girl some nourishment. Seeing live rabbits in the market, he bought one for Su Qin. Having her period for the first time, Su Qin certainly knew the significance in taking care of her body. She had intended to go buy a chicken in the market and didn¡¯t expect Zhang Cheng to buy her the rabbit meat first. Since there was no refrigerator at home and Su Qin couldn¡¯t finish the whole rabbit, she worried that the meat would go bad, hence she salt-cured the meat and ate it for several days. After that, Zhang Cheng would use the pretext of ¡®given by the suspect¡¯s family, the victim¡¯s family, relatives¡¯ or others to deliver meat to Su Qin¡¯s home. In half a month, Su Qin gained 6 pounds and her breasts began to develop too. The scorching hot summer was spent busily. The lady boss gradually came out from the shadow of being jilted too and focused on her career. At the end of May, their Taobao shop received their first order from other provinces. Although there wasn¡¯t much profit, it was a small breakthrough for Su Qin and the lady boss. Su Qin¡¯s exam was on June 9, which was the first day after the university admission exam. "" Su Qin took three days off from her lady boss on the day of the exam. She had been doing mock-up test papers every day in the NJU laboratory and cramming the questions frantically to prepare for Yunzhong¡¯s exam. On June 9, Su Qin specially wore the new clothes given by her lady boss while her satchel bag contained only the English notebook and a compilation of the junior high Chinese literature. At six o¡¯clock in the morning, she packed up and went out, planning to take the bus to Yunzhong. When she came downstairs, she saw that Li Chuan was already waiting for her downstairs on the bicycle. The man was wearing a black tracksuit. There was a stick of youtiao, two eggs and a cup of soy milk hanging from the handlebars. Su Qin didn¡¯t expect Li Chuan to be downstairs at this hour. She thought Li Chuan would be waiting for her at Yunzhong school¡¯s entrance. The man took off the breakfast hanging on the bicycle and handed it to her, ¡°Get on, I¡¯ll send you there.¡± The girl took the breakfast from him, got on the back seat of the bicycle and heard the man explain, ¡°A stick of youtiao and two eggs to wish you perfect scores on your exam today.¡± Taking a bite of the youtiao, Su Qin vaguely said ¡°Thank you¡± to the man. In order for the girl to have her breakfast comfortably, Li Chuan rode his bicycle very steadily. When he saw any uneven grounds, he would rather spend more time going around than jolted Su Qin. Half of Li Chuan¡¯s funds were used to start a business while the other half had been used to purchase property on South Renmin Road. Once the Metro Line 1 opens, South Renmin Road and East Street will be the core axis of the entire city¡¯s development. This area will soon be redeveloped and the housing prices will skyrocket too. Although Li Chuan didn¡¯t plan to live there, it was a pretty good investment. Hence, he could only bring Su Qin on a bicycle now. Yunyang High School is located in Donglin Hill. They could no longer ride the bicycle once they reached the bottom of the hill. Su Qin got off the bike and the two of them walked up the hill together. Li Chuan pushed the bike and the girl walked alongside him silently with a book as she memorized the words. Graduated from a vocational college in her previous lifetime, her English was terrible. Being reborn, in addition to mathematics and physics, she also focused on English. Since her English was terrible in her previous lifetime, she has to work hard to learn this language well in this lifetime. CH 22.2 Chapter 22.2 ¨C Exams This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. At eight o¡¯clock, both of them arrived at Yunzhong school entrance. Yunyang High School is a century-old school, which has nurtured female astronauts, scientists and celebrities. The older generations used to say that you have succeeded a portion of your life once you got into Yunzhong; and you have already succeeded half when you entered NJU. Top students in the province are gathered in this school and many here will become the future¡¯s pillars. There are huge interpersonal connections in this school. Today is Yunyang High School¡¯s independent enrollment day. The architecture of the school entrance is quaint and rather antique. There are two large verses of gilded characters on both sides of the door. Written on the left was ¡°Let students be the masters of development¡±, while the right side was ¡°Laying the foundation for the students¡¯ lifelong advancement¡±. In the middle a banner with two rows of white text on a red background. The first row: Century-old Yunzhong where Dongchuan¡¯s outstanding students realize their dreams. The second row: Earnest commendations, Yunyang High School being the first private school in the province to admit the highest number of students for ten consecutive years. The horizontal banner in front of the school was put up very grandly. The school gate was crowded with people and more than a dozen cars parked at the entrance, where parents and their children were waiting anxiously. Su Qin knew there were a lot of independently-enrolled students in Yunzhong every year and seeing the densely number of people in front of the school, she began to feel nervous all of a sudden. ¡°Nervous?¡± Parking the bicycle on the side, Li Chuan came over to find the little girl biting her lips tensely while her hands clutched the notebook tightly, almost scratching out the page. It would be a lie to say she was not nervous. Even Su Qin, who was already 35 years old, often had nightmares. In her dream she was sitting in the exam venue, where all the students had turned in their papers yet she couldn¡¯t open her eyes no matter how and couldn¡¯t see the questions on the exam papers. She would also dream of herself looking at the questions in the exam venue, but she was unable to answer even a single question and finally woke up in anxiety. That kind of apprehension about exams has been with her for about a lifetime. Li Chuan reassured her in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Just calmly treat it as the usual test papers. Although a lot of students came today, the admission is not based on rankings but the results. Everyone can get into Yunzhong as long as they pass the passing score.¡± Su Qin took a deep breath and nodded. Yunzhong¡¯s school gate opened at 8.30. The teachers had the students and their parents queued up separately, with the students¡¯ parents standing on the left and the students standing in four rows on the right. Under the direction of the teachers, parents and students quickly split into two groups. Li Chuan was standing in line when someone patted his butt from behind. The man¡¯s face sank. He turned around and quickly grabbed that groper¡¯s hand with sinisterly ruthless eyes. Wrist grabbed by Li Chuan, Mo Zongyang was also intimidated by the other party¡¯s eyes. He smiled awkwardly, ¡°Little Li, it ¡­ it¡¯s me.¡± Seeing that it was Mo Zongyang, Li Chuan released his hand, ¡°Uncle Mo.¡± Mo Zongyang cursed ¡®motherf*cker¡¯ in his heart, but his face appeared affably. His stoutly fist punched his chest, ¡°Brat, I haven¡¯t seen you for so long and you¡¯ve become so fierce? Your reaction is so fast? What are you doing here?¡± Li Chuan, ¡°Sending someone for the exam.¡± ¡°Younger sister?¡± Li Chuan didn¡¯t deny it, except just asked rhetorically, ¡°CEO Zhong came to send your kid to school too?¡± ¡°Yes ah, Little Li, are you pursuing the PhD? Aren¡¯t you normally busy ah? After the exam, Brother will treat you to a meal?¡± ¡°Brother?¡± ¡°Calling Uncle is too old ah. I¡¯m not that old yet. Hateful.¡± Like the Li family, Mo Zongyang is also in the real estate development and he is quite acquainted with several of Li Chuan¡¯s elders. Li Chuan had also seen his article in the newspaper and knew that Yun Fei was exactly his long-lost son. Recalling Yun Fei¡¯s ending in his previous lifetime, Li Chuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh with emotion that Yun Fei has such a good father, Mo Zongyang, in this lifetime, which reckoned as the accumulated virtues from his previous lifetime. Mo Zongyang is 40 this year and was an orphan. At the age of 15, he moved bricks in a kiln factory, and by chance met Yun Qin, who was a junior high school student. Yun Qin¡¯s grandmother was the factory regular worker and the conditions at that time were not bad. Mo Zongyang often sent Yun Qin home and over time, he got to know her grandmother too. In the hot summer, the grandmother would pickle sugared tomatoes at home and take them out for the two children to eat once they reached home. Grandmother never looked down on Mo Zongyang and always thought that this youth could do great things. When Mo Zongyang was dating Yun Qin later, grandmother could not afford Yun Qin¡¯s tuition fees, so Mo Zongyang went to work in the city and sent his monthly salary back to Yun Qin. Mo Zongyang supported Yun Qin from high school and university. When Yun Qin pursued her post graduate studies, Mo Zongyang had become a chief contractor. Both of them felt that their lives were getting better and went to get a marriage certificate. "" Taking advantage of the National Day holiday, Yun Qin took a train to Mo Zongyang¡¯s city to visit him. At that time, Yun Qin was already pregnant. When Yun Qin arrived at the station, it was already 10pm which was also the day she was abducted by the human traffickers and sold to the Fool in the mountains. After Yun Qin disappeared, Mo Zongyang almost went crazy. He didn¡¯t finish the project and looked for her everywhere. If it wasn¡¯t for the old lady at home, Mo Zongyang wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on and would probably become like those parents who lost their children, pushing the scavenger carts to search for their children everywhere. Making money arduously while searching for Yun Qin, Mo Zongyang had done projects in many places and he would go look for the newspaper office to publish a missing person notice in each location. For 15 years, he had never stopped publishing the missing person notice. Since the success of his career to getting rich, there were constantly women around him and he had also tried to start a new relationship, but at the final step and facing the other woman, he would always remember Yun Qin who was pregnant at that time. He thought, if they would come home to find him one day yet he was already married with children, then ¡­ how sad would she be ah. He could not give up and waited for precisely 15 years. From lean to plumpish and from a young man to an uncle. Fortunately, Heavens took pity on him and let him wait until the day his family reunited. Li Chuan didn¡¯t know the relationship between Mo Zongyang and Yun Fei in his previous lifetime, but he remembered Mo Zongyang waited until his hair turned gray yet his wife never returned in his sixties. He didn¡¯t understand how hopeless that feeling was, nor could he comprehend the kind of love that could make a man fall into desperation for more than 30 years. That kind of feeling, probably worse than death? ********** There were about fifty students who came to take part in the independent-enrollment, and Yun Fei saw Su Qin standing in the first row at a glance. Due to his height, he was forced to stand in the last row. When the teachers asked the students to go in, his gaze never left Su Qin. The group of students were led into two separate classrooms. The students then queued at the door and the teacher at the threshold instructed, ¡°Nothing can be brought in for the exam except the pens. Place the pencil cases, school bags and materials that you brought on the tables at the door. If I find anyone taking anything other than the pens, it will be considered as cheating, do you get it?¡± The students answered in unison, ¡°Got it!¡± Teacher, ¡°Good, now go in order and sit from the back to the front. Only one person per table.¡± Su Qin took out the pens and placed the pencil case on the table. She was the first to walk into the classroom and sat down on the last row. Walking into the classroom, Yun Fei happened to be in the last row too and was only one table away from Su Qin. He couldn¡¯t hide his excitement and crumpled the tissue into a ball to throw at Su Qin, whose head was bowed and was silently reciting Chinese literature. Getting hit, Su Qin looked up towards the direction the paper came from and seeing Yun Fei, she froze for a moment, ¡°Feifei!¡± "" The stern teacher tapped the table and pointed at Su Qin with the rolled-up exam papers in hand and yelled, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, that female student? Don¡¯t you want to take the exam? Leave at once if you do not want to take the exam. Yunzhong doesn¡¯t need such a disorderly student like you. I¡¯m giving you the first verbal warning and if there¡¯s a second, you will be treated as cheating.¡± Su Qin buried her head, pursed her lips and stopped looking at Yun Fei, waiting for the teacher to hand out the exam papers. The verses and Chinese literature were not difficult for Su Qin, but reading comprehension was slightly difficult. The final essay part was a semi-narrative essay: [If I hadn¡¯t ____ ] One might fail if not careful demonstrating the essay writing style during the high school admission exam. Since she is not literary talented, she took the safest route: affecting people with emotions. Li Chuan didn¡¯t teach her how to write essays when he tutored her. For essay writing, Li Chuan taught as such: Spare no effort to showcase tragedy if you have the opportunity and it is best to make the readers cry. If an essay can reach the extent of making the marking teacher shed tears, then this essay is not far from scoring full marks. Su Qin clutched her pen firmly and filled in the blank title of the semi-narrative essay. __ [If I hadn¡¯t been abducted and sold, how beautiful would my youth be?] CH 23.1 Chapter 23.1 ¨C Exams This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. While filling in the essay title, Su Qin began to recall her past life and started to write the first paragraph. ¡°The day I left the mountain, the overcast sky weighed down that quiet mountain with heavy clouds. I will never forget the day the several girls and I were rescued by the police from the mountain.¡± ********** Su Qin used a lot of ¡®ifs¡¯. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been abducted and sold, I ought to be a happy high school student now, with a loving mother and a doting father without others criticizing behind my back. It was not my fault that I was abducted and sold, but why were the adults blaming me? I was being doubted as unclean and people around me used their disdained gazes and tones to tell me that I don¡¯t deserve a better life. Weren¡¯t those demons who should be blamed? I did nothing wrong and I never felt ¡®ashamed¡¯ of this encounter. I will always remember this profound stroke of destiny that was added to my life and I will not give up easily either. And I have one more motto in my life: there will be no downturn in my life hereafter. Unless I lose my life, unless my eyes cannot see, my ears cannot hear, my nose cannot smell and limbsless ¡­ otherwise, no setback can stop me from going forward.¡± ********** The motto in the essay is also the chicken soup that she used to give herself when she encountered setbacks in her previous lifetime. Unless she is physically disabled and unable to move, hear or see ¡­ else, she will not give up. When her business failed, she started afresh. As long as she is still alive, she will never give up. Next, she wrote a series of ¡®presumptions¡¯ about ¡®if she had not been rescued¡¯, and wrote out her previous lifetime experiences. Those memories were like pricked thorns in her heart that stifled her. The essay concluded with the following summation: ¡°Hell is empty since the devils roam the human world. How beautiful would youth be if I/we had not been abducted and sold?¡± Su Qin was the second last to turn in her paper. Once she had written the last word, she raised her hand to wipe the trickled tears from her eyes. After Su Qin left the classroom, the teacher on the podium urged Yun Fei, who was still writing, ¡°That student, you still have 5 more minutes, and you have to hurry up.¡± Yun Fei frowned and continued writing with his head buried. When the bell rang, he got up to turn in his paper. Students standing at the door were discussing the exam paper just now and a boy asked Su Qin, ¡°I saw your eyes reddened just now, were there any questions that you couldn¡¯t answer?¡± Pursing her lips into a line, Su Qin shook her head and said no. When Yun Fei came out of the exam room and saw a boy chatting with Su Qin, he subconsciously frowned. He walked over and stood in front of Su Qin to obstruct the boy¡¯s sight with his height. Getting obstructed by him, the boy laughed, ¡°You know each other?¡± Having a slight social anxiety, Yun Fei felt uneasy staying in crowded places and talking to strangers, thus he grabbed Su Qin¡¯s wrist and led her to the end of the corridor. Yun Fei has grown taller after their last meeting several months ago. He should be about 1.8 meters tall and boys of this age grow really fast. Dressed in black t-shirt, light khaki pants and a pair of comfortable sneakers, Yun Fei¡¯s face was slightly red when he held her hand and spoke to her, ¡°I miss you very much.¡± It was precisely due to the boy¡¯s words ¡°I miss you very much¡± that Su Qin couldn¡¯t hold back as the rims of her eyes reddened, ¡°Sister miss you too ah.¡± Standing on tiptoe, she reached out to pat the boy¡¯s head. Yun Fei frowned with a slightly unhappy expression, ¡°I¡¯m not a child.¡± With his brows knitted into a ¡®´¨¡¯ character, the big boy retaliated by rubbing Su Qin¡¯s hair and deliberately ruffling her ponytail. His actions made Su Qin not know whether to laugh or be annoyed as she asked him, ¡°How did the exam go? Was the exam paper difficult for you?¡± Yun Fei nodded and acted spoiled, ¡°It¡¯s very difficult.¡± Yun Fei had stayed in the mountains for so many years, he might not be able to keep up with the junior high studies, let alone the senior high. She didn¡¯t know why Mo Zongyang would send Yun Fei here. In his situation, if he couldn¡¯t pass the passing mark, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get into Yunzhong no matter how much money he spent. The second exam of the English paper was about to begin and the teachers stood at the doors urging the students to enter the exam room. Su Qin pulled Yun Fei to go in, but he stood in place. She looked back at Yun Fei, ¡°Feifei? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yun Fei spread his arms and said to her, ¡°Dad said hugs can increase good luck which enable me to pass the exam without a hitch. Su-su, I want a hug.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° This unreliable father. Is it fun to trick children? Su Qin didn¡¯t hug him, but slapped the back of the boy¡¯s head and spoke grimly, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your father¡¯s nonsense. If you can¡¯t do it, you will still fail and it has nothing to do with hugging. Hurry up, the exam will start soon.¡± Instead of getting a hug, he received a slap hence Yun Fei felt extremely aggrieved as he rubbed the back of his head and followed Su Qin into the classroom. The two of them stepped into the classroom one after another and the students who were taking the exam in the class all stared at them. Yun Fei is very good looking and with his height, it is very difficult not to attract attention. The teacher-in-charge then handed out the English exam papers. Su Qin¡¯s aural comprehension was not bad and the junior high school exam questions were not too difficult for her. She completed the exam paper very quickly and turned her head to find that Yun Fei was sleeping with the exam papers in his arms. Su Qin, ¡°? ? ?¡± Su Qin had the impulse to slap him awake. Although Yun Qin was a postgraduate, her spoken English was average and the English language she taught Yun Fei was some simple vocabulary only. His current English is still at the elementary school level. When the teacher turned on the tape recorder to play the aural part, he was totally muddled-headed. He couldn¡¯t even make sense of the following reading comprehension and some sentences. After the English exam, the girl sitting in front of Su Qin asked her to go to the toilet together and Yun Fei called out to the two girls, stating that he wanted to go with them too. Girl, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° It was the first time a boy wanted to go to the toilet together and the feeling was quite subtle. When the two girls came out of the toilet, Yun Fei was standing in front of the girls¡¯ toilet kicking the flower beds and seeing the girls, he immediately went up to them and followed them quietly without uttering a word, like a bodyguard. The girl asked Su Qin once they entered the exam room, ¡°That ¡­ is your boyfriend ah? Don¡¯t feel embarrassed, many in our school are dating early too.¡± "" Su Qin shook her head and gave out a laugh, ¡°Little brother.¡± The students were not allowed to leave the classroom building at noon and the teachers came to give out lunch boxes to the students. The sun was scorching outside and parents were waiting outside the school gate. The teacher told the parents that the students would eat in the classrooms and asked the parents not to wait outside but to come pick up their children after 4pm. Even so, no parents were willing to leave. Mo Zongyang asked his assistant to buy two lunch boxes and ate it in the car with Li Chuan. Li Chuan asked him, ¡°Do you have confidence in Yun Fei?¡± Mo Zongyang glanced at him and spewed rice into his lunch box as he spoke, ¡°No confidence.¡± Li Chuan, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Mo Zongyang stuffed a mouthful of braised pork belly into his mouth and said, ¡°I can get Feifei in even if he scores zero on the exam. I have donated half of the newly renovated classroom building and there should be an enrollment quota with half of the building, right?¡± Mo Zongyang has been doing charity work all these years and has donated a lot of money. He hopes he can accumulate more blessings and hopes that Heaven will endow him. In order to find his wife and child, he will go to the temple to light the first 100,000 sticks of incense every year. [T/N: Í·Ïã (T¨®u xi¨¡ng) ¨C the first stick of incense is believed to bring good luck esp during festivities] CH 23.2 Chapter 23.2 ¨C Exams This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. The afternoon math and physics were joint exam papers which Su Qin had no problem with. After being tutored by several doctoral students, her thinking had been broadened. Political history was also a joint exam paper which mostly were junior high ancient history studies. After all, Su Qin was a historical dramas enthusiast hence it was no big deal. The moment the students walked out of the campus after completing the exams, they seemed to feel relieved of a burden when they looked up and saw the blue sky. Parents pulled their children and asked how they did in the exams. Some students were crestfallen while some were glowing with complacent. As a large wave of students came out at once, Mo Zongyang, who was in a suit, stood on a rock and waved at Yun Fei, ¡°Son, here, Dad is here!¡± Su Qin followed Yun Fei over too, since Li Chuan was just standing behind Mo Zongyang. Once Yun Fei reached there, Mo Zongyang hugged and kissed him on the forehead, ¡°Son, did you do poorly in the exam? It doesn¡¯t matter, Dad can still get you in no matter how poorly you did. Look at you, you¡¯ve lost weight due to the exams. Let¡¯s go, Dad will bring you to eat something good.¡± Feeling disdained, Yun Fei raised his hand to wipe his forehead. Li Chuan asked Su Qin too, ¡°How did you do in the exams?¡± Su Qin smiled at him, ¡°The questions were slightly difficult, let¡¯s just see the results.¡± Looking at Li Chuan, Yun Fei¡¯s eyes immediately became detachedly cold. He didn¡¯t know why Teacher Li was with Su-su, but he had a hunch that Teacher Li had bad intentions towards Su-su. Since he couldn¡¯t tell, he instinctively wanted to protect Su Qin and stood in front of Su Qin. Due to the advantage of his height, he completely shielded Su Qin behind him and blocked Li Chuan¡¯s sight. Grabbing him and putting his arm around his shoulder, Mo Zongyang said, ¡°Son, come. Let me introduce to you, this is Li Chuan and you can call him Brother Chuan.¡± Li Chuan spoke briefly, ¡°Uncle Mo, we know each other.¡± Mo Zongyang, who was making the introduction, was confused and turned his head in shock to ask Yun Fei, ¡°Son, you know Brother Chuan?¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Teacher Li was the one who helped us contact the police, that¡¯s him.¡± ********** Once the assistant drove the car over, Mo Zongyang sat in the front passenger seat while Li Chuan, Su Qin and Yun Fei sat in the back. When the car was at the bottom of the hill, Mo Zongyang looked at Su Qin through the rearview mirror and slapped his forehead with an Ah, ¡°Are you the girl who bought a bicycle at the bicycle shop that day?¡± Su Qin arched her brows at the other party, ¡°En, hello Uncle.¡± Mo Zongyang lamented that the world was too small. But why did the world feel so big when he was looking for his wife and child previously? Mo Zongyang brought them to a hot pot restaurant called ¡®Dazhaimen¡¯, which was decorated in an ancient-themed with a horizontal inscribed plaque on the door. The square tables, long benches and the dragon-handle pots in the store were quite unique. This was also the first time that Su Qin was having hot pot after her rebirth. There were five people at the table including the driver. Everyone spoke relatively little as they were engrossed with their meals and Li Chuan would occasionally help Su Qin clamped pieces of tripe. Mo Zongyang is probably the acclaimed coddling son fanatic. ¡°Son, try this intestine, it¡¯s chewy and fresh.¡± ¡°Son, try this molasses glutinous rice cake. Dad will surely order this whenever having the hot pot!¡± ¡°Son, don¡¯t get burned. Eat slowly, eat slowly. No one is fighting with you.¡± ¡°Son, are you full? Would you like to eat some fruit-fruit?¡± ¡°Cough ¡­ ¡° Su Qin finally choked, isn¡¯t it too horrifying when a big man uses the repeated syllable? It¡¯s unimaginable when Mo Zongyang is like this at home, doesn¡¯t Sister Qin want to kill him? Li Chuan pulled out a piece of tissue and handed it to her with a slight frown, ¡°Eat slowly.¡± Raising his eyes, Yun Fei saw Li Chuan handing the tissue to Su Qin which reinforced the fact that Li Chuan had ill intentions towards Su Qin. His father filled his bowl with food that he was so stuffed with and said, ¡°I had enough, don¡¯t give me anymore.¡± Pursing his lips with instant teary-eyed, Mo Zongyang looked like a little puppy, ¡°Son, are you annoyed with Dad?¡± Yun Fei sighed, ¡°No, you eat too.¡± A smile immediately spread across the man¡¯s face as he continued to pick food into his bowl, ¡°Son, don¡¯t worry about Dad. Dad is very happy to see you eat!¡± Yun Fei, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Li Chuan could comprehend Mo Zongyang¡¯s behavior of doting on his son. Recalling Mo Zongyang¡¯s previous life-time and seeing him sitting and eating hot pot with his son at this moment, he felt happy for him too. After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Li Chuan had to go pick up his bicycle from the school, hence Mo Zongyang was responsible to send Su Qin home. When the car arrived at the old city district, Su Qin got off and Yun Fei followed too. Mo Zongyang stuck his head out of the car window and asked him, ¡°Son, what are you doing out of the car?¡± ¡°To send Su-su home.¡± The old father, Mo Zongyang, was jealous and drew his head back inside the car as his cheeks puffed out with anger, like a fat puffer fish. Folding his arms around his chest, he snorted and grumbled to the driver, ¡°Old Li, you see, my son doesn¡¯t even want to stay with his father for a moment longer once he has a little friend. There will eventually be a farewell after sending your son a thousand miles away ah.¡± Driver, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Yun Fei sent Su Qin upstairs and followed her all the way to the door. After Su Qin opened the door, she turned around and said to him, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m home. You should go back too.¡± She switched on the light and the room lit up. Yun Fei looked inside her room. This is a small room with mottled walls. There is only a bed and a table with the kitchen utensils in the corner. A very simple room. Once Su Qin took off her bag and dropped the keys, the big boy grasped her short sleeve firmly and tugged it. She raised her eyes to look at the boy, ¡°En?¡± Yun Fei whispered, ¡°I have a big bedroom, let¡¯s stay together, okay?¡± Su Qin spoke to him in a doting tone, ¡°Feifei, you are a big boy and I¡¯m a girl. We can¡¯t live together.¡± Yun Fei sounded slightly aggrieved, ¡°I take you as my wife.¡± Su Qin corrected him very seriously, ¡°Feifei, I¡¯ve always treated you as my little brother and I¡¯m your older sister. When we were in the mountain village, we had no choice but to playact for the villagers.¡± ¡°I was not playacting.¡± In his heart, Su Qin is his wife. Yun Fei was still tugging at her clothes with no intention of letting go. Su Qin¡¯s face turned cold and spoke solemnly, ¡°Feifei, I¡¯ll get angry if you keep doing this.¡± Letting it go, Yun Fei was not in a hurry. Just like mother said, wife is not bought but needs patience to pursue. Three days later, Su Qin received a call from Yunzhong¡¯s teacher while she was ironing clothes in the store. The teacher informed her over the phone that she had passed the Yunzhong exam and she needed to bring her household register booklet, ID card as well as tuition fees to report to the student affairs office next week. After hanging up the call, Su Qin took a deep breath and shared her joy with the lady boss, ¡°Sister Chen, I got in.¡± Chen Meixin was nibbling on an apple when she heard the good news and choked with excitement that she hugged her and cried tears of joy, ¡°Congratulations, Qin¡¯er, you are so sensible and smart, you deserve a better future.¡± Su Qin was very happy, but felt worried again thinking of the household register booklet. She has the ID card but no household register booklet. How should she go home and talk to her parents? [Translator¡¯s rambling: Sorry for the late update. There will be sporadic delay in uploading new chapters in coming weeks due to my busy schedule. Thank you for your understanding. (/¨Œ£Ü*)?o¡ð?] CH 24.1 Chapter 24.1 ¨C Admission This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. When Li Chuan helped to ask for her chance to take the exam, he already explained her situation to the principal. Sympathizing with her encounter, he gave her the chance. However, there is still the necessary admission process which requires documents such as the household register booklet and the ID card. Su Qin knew she would come to this step long ago. Problems nevertheless have to be addressed. Wanting to establish her own household register now is not possible, since she needs to be an adult and own a property, which she hasn¡¯t met the conditions yet. Su Qin thought about it for a long time and found a day time to make a phone call home. ¡°Mom.¡± Hearing her daughter¡¯s voice, Wang Lin was stunned and her eyes reddened, ¡°Su-su, you finally called back. There hasn¡¯t been any news from you these few months, I thought you were again being ¡­ Mom is worried sick, are you doing well over there?¡± Su Qin let out a sigh. Thinking of worrying about her now? What did they say at that time? In order to raise the mistress¡¯ child, her mother asked her to go work in the coastal city. Why didn¡¯t she worry she would be abducted and sold again? Her mother, Wang Lin, was precisely a sad existence in her previous lifetime. As she had no job, she stayed home to look after the child full-time. When her husband¡¯s business failed, she suffered hardships with him without a word of complaint. Once her daughter was abducted and sold, she completely lost her footing in the family and her husband believed it was her fault that their daughter was missing, that she didn¡¯t take good care of the family nor kept an eye on their daughter. Her husband later brought back a child from outside and she didn¡¯t dare utter a word. In order to get a good word from her husband, she began to treat this son wholeheartedly. But then what happened? The son was rebelliously disobedient during his adolescence, where he went out brawling and caused troubles. When the husband¡¯s business improved and the family gradually became well-off, the devoted woman had breast cancer and what she finally got was just a divorce paper. With no cure and didn¡¯t want to spend money on treatment, all she wanted was for her husband to accompany on the last leg of her life. Her final days were spent with her daughter, Su Qin. As a housewife, her mother Wang Lin had no source of income and no standing at home. Her whole life was centered on her husband without self-worth and whatever her husband said was right, but in the end, was what she got worthwhile? Laying on the hospital bed and staring at the ceiling during the final moment of her life, Wang Lin didn¡¯t utter a word as she passed away with her eyes wide open, presumably regretting all of it. ********** Su Qin felt that her mother in her previous lifetime was hateful and pitiful. She came back this time not only for the household register booklet, but also intended to have a good talk with her mother. Although what her mother said before was loathsome, she is after all a pitiful person and has once cared a lot about her. Taking into consideration the grace of bearing and raising her, Su Qin is obliged to have a good talk with her. On the phone, she briefly told her mother about the need for the household register booklet to be admitted to Yunzhong. Her mother was dumbfounded at the other end of the phone and then asked her, ¡°Su-su ¡­ didn¡¯t you go work in a coastal city? Why are you still in Yunyang? And you even got into Yunzhong? Su-su, are you lying to Mom?¡± Su Qin said, ¡°Mom, do you still remember the girl who was abducted with me? Her elder sister opened a clothing shop in Yunyang and happened to be hiring, so I went there. Didn¡¯t Dad mind that I was a disgrace to him by staying home? I didn¡¯t dare to let you guys know. Mom, don¡¯t tell Dad about this either, okay?¡± Wang Lin subconsciously blurted out, ¡°How can that be? Your Dad will kill me if he knows I¡¯m hiding this from him! Su-su, since you got into Yunzhong, you should also talk to your Dad about this. After all, getting into Yunzhong is a big deal and your Dad will definitely be very happy. What do you think?¡± Su Qin had guessed that Wang Lin would have such an approach. She was silent momentarily before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this in person. You send Su Wu to Aunt Wen¡¯s house next door for a while and I¡¯ll come look for you right away. Don¡¯t tell Dad about this beforehand, okay?¡± The moment Wang Lin hung up the phone, tears overflowed the rims of her eyes. She wiped it off and didn¡¯t know why she cried, but she just anyhow wanted to cry and felt that life is hard. Sitting on the sofa and playing with toys, the little boy asked her, ¡°Mom, I want to eat bubble gum.¡± ¡°Xiao Wu, Mom will go out to buy you bubble gum. You go to Aunt Wen¡¯s house to play for a while, okay?¡± Hearing he would have bubble gum, the little boy nodded in agreement and followed Wang Lin to Aunt Wen¡¯s house next door. The little boy is only 4 years old and thinks that Wang Lin is his biological mother. Calling out Mom in a baby-like voice is very pleasing to women. This was also the reason why Wang Lin agreed with her husband and urged her daughter to go work to earn money for her younger son¡¯s schooling. After all, her daughter has finished junior high school but her younger son is only 4 years old and will attend kindergarten soon. The family¡¯s condition can only afford to send one child to school. Moreover, will her daughter be able to marry into a good family in the future even if she studies after what has happened to her? Wang Lin sighed and felt that her daughter¡¯s life would be just like that. She might as well go out to work and cut down the family expenses. She thought she wouldn¡¯t be sad the moment her daughter went out but when her daughter left without saying goodbye, she still felt sad for a long time. After all, she is a piece of her own flesh who she raised herself. After such hardships and being urged by them to go work in the coastal city, she felt aggrieved for her daughter when she thought about it. But what can be done? In this family, only her husband Su Zhengguo has the power of discourse while she and Su Qin have no right to speak out. That day after Su Qin left without saying goodbye, Wang Lin had nightmares for several days, as if she was back to the days when she just lost her daughter. "" When Su Qin¡¯s father woke up in the middle of the night and saw Wang Lin crying, he would kick her impatiently, ¡°Crying my ass ah? Isn¡¯t it better to pretend she¡¯s missing and will never come back? You have a son now and are still afraid no one will provide for your old age?¡± Getting kicked off the bed, Wang Lin spoke weakly, ¡°Su-su is also your child, don¡¯t you feel distressed at all? You are also at fault that our daughter left without saying goodbye.¡± ¡°I have long deem her dead. You take care of our son and if you dare to lose him, I¡¯ll break your leg.¡± ********** Wang Lin was cooking lunch when Su Qin arrived home. She had prepared three dishes and specially took out the piece of cured pig¡¯s trotter that had been frozen for half a year which she stewed with dried kelp and daikon. Opening the door, she saw her daughter dressed in a plain white dress and the breath suspended in her heart instantly sank down. Wang Lin pulled her daughter to sit on the sofa and queried with concern. Su Qin went straight to the point and said, ¡°Mom, I came back to get the household register booklet.¡± ¡°This ¡­ Su-su, can we discuss this when your Dad comes home? Getting into Yunzhong is a big deal and won¡¯t your Dad enjoy the prestige with you attending Yunzhong ah? He will definitely provide for you to go to Yunzhong.¡± Wang Lin gripped her daughter¡¯s hand. The corners of Su Qin¡¯s lips curled up an ironic sneer. Wang Lin was startled by her smile and a slight chill ran up her back. She was used to seeing her daughter¡¯s meek appearance and suddenly felt that her daughter was particularly unfamiliar seeing her like this for the first time. Su Qin absolutely could find a ¡®work purpose¡¯ excuse to want the household register booklet, but she didn¡¯t do so. She after all is a minor now and rather has a lot of inconvenience. Even if she gets the household register booklet the first time, what about the second or the third time? Recalling Wang Lin¡¯s past life, she came to see her for the sake of the mother-daughter¡¯s affection. She hopes that her mother can soon see her father¡¯s nature, then walks away from this lopsided marriage and no longer follows the man blindly nor being subservient to her husband. She also didn¡¯t expect Wang Lin to support herself or pay for her education, but only hoped she could have a life of her own. Su Qin scanned the room to make sure that the child was not home and said, ¡°Mom, the fact that you listened to me today and sent the child away for the time being showed that you still have me in your heart. As a daughter, there are things I have to say.¡± The girl looked solemn and her manner of speaking shouldn¡¯t have the maturity of this age. ¡°First of all, you have to understand the son you gave up your daughter to raise is not your own. He was born to Dad with another woman outside, who is a mistress¡¯ child. Secondly, raising a son does not prepare for your old age. When all is said and done, your sacrifices, is it for Dad or for the mistress? And wouldn¡¯t the mistress be very happy in the netherworld? The mistress will probably feel gratified that there is still such a foolish woman in the world who doesn¡¯t care that she had vied for her husband and even helps her raise her child.¡± Wang Lin didn¡¯t expect her daughter to say these words, which precisely was what she was running away from. With her hands trembling, she came up with the usual self-comfort words and tried to brainwash her daughter, ¡°Xiao Wu doesn¡¯t know these ¡­ he regards me as his own mother.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t know?¡± Su Qin spoke with a hint of coldness in her tone, ¡°A child who is already 4 years old, even if he doesn¡¯t sense anything amiss now, are you sure he won¡¯t notice when he grows up?¡± Seeing Wang Lin¡¯s silence, Su Qin added, ¡°You married Dad in your teens and became a full-time housewife. Raising his children and doing house chores, so that he could work without worries, but what did he give you in return? He will raise his hand to hit you if he is upset and even uses you as his punching bag when his job doesn¡¯t go well. You gave him a daughter, yet he cheated on you and had a son with another woman. Once your daughter was missing and got abducted, he immediately brought a little boy back home.¡± Wang Lin diffidently, ¡°I¡¯m idle at home and have never earned a penny while he works to support the family, so his temper is a little bad due to stress which is also expected. Bringing Xiao Wu back home was because he thought you would never come back, so ¡­ ¡° ¡°Mom, you need to be clear. Are your efforts any lesser than Dad as a housewife? He earns a thousand or so a month and really regards himself as the lofty emperor. What does he treat you as? In his eyes, you are not his wife but a procreation tool to vent his anger with and also a free babysitter.¡± Her daughter¡¯s words were heartbreaking and reminded her of the days when she was beaten and scolded by her husband. Over the years, her husband¡¯s most frequent remark to her was, ¡°You should have listened to me back then, this money-losing-commodity[1] shouldn¡¯t be born!¡± Back then, her husband had an acquaintance in the town hospital. Knowing that his wife was bearing a girl, he suggested she get rid of it. At that time, Su Qin was a five-month fetus that had taken shape in the womb, so how could she be willing to rip out this piece of flesh? Su Qin added, ¡°Mom, I know you dare not resist and I also know that in your heart, your husband is a god and the lofty emperor. You wouldn¡¯t dare not do what he asked you to do nor dare to disobey his opinions either, but is this man really worth your sacrifices?¡± [1] ÅâÇ®»õ (P¨¦iqi¨¢n hu¨°) ¨C an old derogatory term for girls because girls couldn¡¯t go out to earn money and her family had to prepare dowry when she got married, hence the name. CH 24.2 Chapter 24.2 ¨C Admission This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Is he worth it? Wang Lin isn¡¯t sure herself. She was very happy when she first learned the police were going to send her daughter home, at least her daughter came back with her limbs intact. But her husband told her to talk over with Su Qin asking her to go out to work instead of staying home. She is a short-sighted housewife who dares not go against her husband¡¯s wishes. She also thought her daughter wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to get into university with her high school results. Moreover, she had that kind of encounter and perhaps wouldn¡¯t be able to marry any good man in the future, hence she went to talk with Su Qin. But she didn¡¯t expect her daughter to leave with saying goodbye the next day. Now the words her daughter said in front of her were so precious that she choked and was unable to speak out. After feeding her mother the poisonous chicken soup*, Su Qin then gave the proper honeyed date, ¡°Mom, with the way Dad treats you, it¡¯s time for you to plan for yourself. You can consider divorcing Dad.¡± [T/N: As those inspiring words are called ¡°chicken soup¡±( which is like hot chicken soup to make you feel better when you¡¯re down), ultimately the negative effects would be ¡°poisonous¡±. Hence ¶¾¼¦ÌÀ (D¨² j¨©t¨¡ng), literally means ¡°poisonous chicken soup¡±] Wang Lin immediately shuddered and stood up like an electric shock when she heard the word ¡®divorcing¡¯, ¡°Su-su, are you crazy? What should I do if I divorced your Dad? Go collect junk and beg for food?¡± Feeling headache, Su Qin took a deep breath and spoke patiently, ¡°Mom, even an underage girl like me can find a job and earn a living, how you who are only in your early thirties can¡¯t find a job to support yourself? Don¡¯t you know how advanced the world is now? Women looking for jobs are sought after. The clothing shops offer a basic salary of 800 yuan and even the server or dishwasher can get more than a thousand a month. My Dad can support you with 1500 a month, so why can¡¯t you support yourself?¡± ¡°Think about it yourself, if you have money and can support yourself, are you still afraid he can beat and scold you to vent out on you? Earning your own money to spend it on yourself and live comfortably without the need to be a suffering babysitter, won¡¯t you want to live independently? Why insist on living such an unjust miserable life? Wang Lin has no thoughts of her own and her daughter¡¯s words perturbed her state of mind. ¡°But ¡­ who will support you?¡± Su Qin felt absurd, ¡°You will provide for me? Dad will support me? Are you still daydreaming? Mom, how about I make a bet with you? Once you are sick, not only will he not take care of you, he will abandon and divorce you without regard to the previous affections.¡± ¡°Su-su, what are you talking about? Is your Dad that kind of person?¡± ¡°Dad will certainly not agree to my admission to Yunzhong, so what are your plans now? Listen to Dad, or give your own daughter a chance?¡± Wang Lin was silent for a moment and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Su-su, your Dad is not that kind of person ¡­ your Dad didn¡¯t let you continue your high school studies because firstly the family has no extra money and your former school is not good so it is hardly possible to get into a good university. Secondly, with that kind of encounter, if you fail to get into a good university, it¡¯s difficult to find a good in-laws¡¯ family. But it¡¯s different now, you¡¯ve passed Yunzhong¡¯s admission exam and the school¡¯s entrance rate to higher studies is 99% ah. Your Dad will be willing to sacrifice everything to let you go to school.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too na?ve.¡± Su Qin¡¯s voice was somewhat lower, ¡°I have worked and saved enough tuition fees, so I don¡¯t need Dad¡¯s support. How about this, you give me the household register booklet first and don¡¯t tell Dad about this beforehand. After I have enrolled, I will come back to explain this to Dad personally and you can see how he reacts, how¡¯s that?¡± Although Wang Lin kept instilling the idea that ¡®her husband is very good¡¯ to her daughter, she was abated by Su Qin¡¯s words deep in her heart. She handed the household register booklet to Su Qin and stuffed 20 yuan into her hand, ¡°Mom can¡¯t afford to pay for your tuition fees. This is the pocket money that Mom saved. You take it, don¡¯t starve yourself.¡± Su Qin in the previous lifetime probably inherited Wang Lin¡¯s soft sappy character too and always thought of others first. She sighed and shoved the 20 yuan back into Wang Lin¡¯s hand, ¡°No need, I have money. If you still treat me as your daughter, don¡¯t tell Dad about my return today. Otherwise, I won¡¯t acknowledge you as my mother in the future.¡± Wang Lin nodded her head. A few days later, Su Qin and Yun Fei arranged to go to Yunzhong together. The timing for the senior high school admission exam has not begun yet and those who have obtained this special exam are all the top students from various schools in the province. The students who passed the Yunzhong exams have been scheduled to submit the documents and tuition fees in advance, so as to prevent this group of outstanding students from being poached by competing schools. Su Qin and Yun Fei went to the student affairs office to pay the fees. When they were leaving, the teacher in-charge called out to her, ¡°Are you Su Qin? If you have time now, go to the language office and look for Teacher Tang.¡± ¡°Teacher Tang?¡± Su Qin was puzzled. The teacher in-charge smiled and nodded at her, ¡°Yes, Teacher Tang specially notified us. Go ahead, she is your senior high year one class teacher.¡± Su Qin froze for a moment. Aren¡¯t the classes still not sorted yet? Yun Fei felt uneasy with Su Qin going alone and afraid that she would probably lose her way in the school grounds or even wander off, thus he followed along too. Today is Monday and the students are attending classes. Walking into the classroom building, the two people heard the teachers¡¯ lectures and the students¡¯ recitings in the corridor. Su Qin hasn¡¯t experienced this kind of atmosphere for a long time so she felt nostalgic and moved for some reason. When she attended high school in her previous lifetime, she was twenty years old. At that time, no one in school was willing to hang out with her. Though she attended high school, she didn¡¯t enjoy the youth that a young girl should have. The language office¡¯s door was tightly shut and she knocked on the door. A woman¡¯s voice came from inside, ¡°Come in.¡± Pushing open the door, she looked inside and saw five desks and only one female teacher. She asked timidly, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Su Qin. Are you Teacher Tang?¡± Teacher Tang put down the pen in her hand, got up and waved at her with a smile, ¡°Su Qin, right? Come, come here.¡± This beckoning even brought in the little tail behind Su Qin. Teacher Tang didn¡¯t mind that much. She moved the stools for Su Qin and the little tail behind her, letting them sit in front of her. She asked Su Qin, ¡°Do you know the marks you got in the exams this time?¡± Su Qin shook her head, indicating that she didn¡¯t know. Teacher Tang said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen your particulars. You used to attend Chengnan First Middle School and it¡¯s indeed not bad to get this mark. Also, I corrected your essay this time. It¡¯s very good and this essay of yours is also very meaningful.¡± ¡°En?¡± Su Qin was puzzled. Teacher Tang is in her early forties. Wearing a pair of black-framed glasses and short bob hair, she looks like a very competent woman. Pushing up the frame of her glasses, she said, ¡°Teacher wants to use your essay as a model essay and send with other full-scored essays to publish the [2006 Full-scored High School Admission Essays]. Teacher also wants to place this essay in the school magazine and online blogs so that more adults and students can read this model essay. I wonder if you will agree? Without doubt, Teacher will make sure it¡¯s anonymous and strive for a higher contribution fee.¡± Su Qin nodded without hesitation, ¡°Okay ah. Thank you, Teacher Tang.¡± Teacher Tang probably didn¡¯t expect the young girl to agree so readily that she was slightly shocked and asked, ¡°If it¡¯s circulated as a model essay in school, your identity will likely be probed out by your classmates, aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± Su Qin smiled and said, ¡°Teacher, choosing this essay, didn¡¯t you precisely like the meaning of it? Didn¡¯t you simply want to use my essay to tell everyone that it¡¯s not ¡®Our¡¯ faults, but rather those demons? And to use this essay to tell everyone that people with ¡®Our¡¯ encounters shouldn¡¯t be pointed with blame nor be criticized behind ¡®Our¡¯ backs? Teacher, I¡¯m okay with it.¡± Teacher Tang looked relieved, ¡°Su Qin, I hope you will not let the teachers down in the days to come. Everything in the past is not important and what is important is you are able to strive in the future. Your essay is well written with positivity. I believe it can encourage many children who have had similar experiences with you.¡± ¡°You will be our class 1 student hereafter. I hope you will work hard and make extra effort to go to the top class. As long as you get into the top class, you¡¯ll have no problem attending NJU or NTHU.¡± Teacher Tang patted her shoulder, ¡°The school¡¯s military training will be around mid-August and I will call to inform you of the specific date. Teacher knows about your circumstance too and once school starts, Teacher will help you apply for the poverty allowance.¡± [T/N: NJU ¨C Nanjing University, NTHU ¨C National Tsing Hua University] With palms pressed together, Su Qin thanked Teacher Tang, ¡°Thank you, Teacher Tang.¡± ********** Su Qin was in a good mood when she came out of Teacher Tang¡¯s office. Pulling the hem of her clothes, Yun Fei followed blindly behind her. When they reached the school gate, Yun Fei¡¯s family driver had driven the car somewhere. They called the driver but the line was busy. Waiting under the shade for a while, no car came over. It has been a few months since Yun Fei came to the city but there¡¯s obviously still remnants of Dashan¡¯s way of thinking that he is a bit out of his element with the current society. Su Qin asked him, ¡°Feifei, you¡¯ve been back for so long, have you ever gone roaming around the school?¡± He shook his head. Su Qin dragged him to the back street of the school. The classes were not over yet, thus the back street was quite deserted. Passing by the small shops, Su Qin went in and bought a ¡®Wangwang Popsicle¡¯ which she broke in half and shared it with Feifei. Yun Fei quite liked the feeling of ¡®half for you and half for me¡¯ that he felt pleasantly sweet as he bit into the popsicle. In this city, Su Qin is his only good companion besides his parents. Together with Su Qin, he will feel very happy and reluctant to be parted with her and he wants to stick to her all the time. There are many milk tea, bookstores and stationery shops on both sides of the back streets. It was as if regaining her missing youth, Su Qin bit into the popsicle and walked side by side on the back street with the young boy. The 16-year-old days ought to be like this; walking while biting into a popsicle and eating spicy snack sticks, instead of being trapped in the mountains and being urged to give birth every day. Passing by a photo sticker booth shop, Su Qin pulled Yun Fei in. Photo sticker booths are very popular in this era and one can take 20 photos for 5 yuan. The boss thought they were little sweethearts and recommended the ¡®cute couple¡¯ background package for them. Su Qin however felt that the pink heart series was too unfitting for Yun Fei and herself, so she chose the ¡®unorthodox¡¯ background series that kids nowadays like. The background of the twenty photos was all black in color, with novel crosses, exotic vampires and also bizarre bloody images. After the background was chosen, Su Qin pulled Feifei into the booth where their big heads appeared together on the booth screen. Yun Fei¡¯s eyes widened in surprise: How cool! In order for their big heads to fit in the screen, the two heads met and two unorthodox were frozen in frame as such. The first background was the cross with Su Qin making a ¡®six¡¯ gesture on Feifei¡¯s head. Feifei¡¯s gaze was dull and appeared quite aloof. Around the two big heads was the outlandish background and a row of radical distressed text written below. ¡°The world is so filthy, who has the right to act aggrieved.¡± Yun Fei, who got the photo stickers, stared at the text on the photo and suddenly fell into silence like a depressed prince. CH 24.3 Chapter 24.3 ¨C Admission This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin felt that in addition to the photo stickers, adolescents must also go to a place. __ Internet cafes. She took Yun Fei into an internet cafe in the back street, which was filled with youngsters who were not very old, but were smoking on the chairs which led to smokiness inside. The two asked for the same row seats and sat next to each other. This is the first time Su Qin played games since her rebirth. She found the ¡®Audition Dance Battle¡¯ icon on the desktop, clicked into the main interface and registered an account. Entering the game hall, Yun Fei was stunned by the captivating sight. He opened his eyes wide and asked Su Qin, ¡°How to get in?¡± Yun Fei has a computer at home, but he has only played the ¡®Minesweeper¡¯ game. This was the first time he saw such a colorful game and felt novel. Su Qin chose the 85 slow number and said, ¡°Watch me play it once and you try it yourself later.¡± ¡°En.¡± Yun Fei leaned over and watched Su Qin play the game seriously. Although Su Qin chose a very slow tune, her hands speed was not slow; ¡®up, down, left and right keys¡¯ were quickly pressed and each round was ¡®perfect¡¯. "" Su Qin¡¯s character danced perfectly on the screen, which was cool and sassy. Watching it, Yun Fei got excited and inexplicably wanted to dance too. This was the coolest dance he had ever seen and none other. After completing the dance, Su Qin leaned over and held Yun Fei¡¯s mouse to click on the game for him. Yun Fei learned very quickly. He first chose the ¡®65¡¯ slow speed number and after familiarizing himself with the maneuver, he began to dance the ¡®85¡¯ number. Dancing a few in a row, Yun Fei was carefree and had never felt so happy. The two of them spent 3 hours in the internet cafe, during which the driver called three times. Only after the driver found the internet cafe and stared at them did they quit. When Su Qin exited QQ, she found that Yun Fei had changed his username and profile picture. She clicked on it and saw that Yun Fei had changed his username from ¡®Feifei¡¯ to ¡®Prince of Superiority¡¯ and his punchline was also very distinctive: ¡°The world is so filthy, who has the right to act aggrieved.¡± Su Qin: ¡­¡­¡­ QAQ ¡­. Feifei ¡­. really fly. On the way to sending Su Qin home, Yun Fei was still immersed in the joy of the game. His fingers couldn¡¯t help tapping on his thigh, imitating the action of clicking the ¡®up, down, left and right keys¡¯ while his other hand was striking the ¡®spacebar¡¯ action. Su Qin was a little worried about making Yun Fei into a nonconformist internet addicted youth. She ¡­ is not a qualified elder sister. When approaching Su Qin¡¯s home, Yun Fei turned and asked her, ¡°Su-su, I will learn to dance and show you once I master it, okay?¡± ¡°Street dance? Street dancing is very tiring.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Yun Fei arched his eyebrows and revealed his cute little canine teeth, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of being tired.¡± Su Qin only thought he was on a whim and didn¡¯t take it seriously. The driver sent her to the downstairs of the district. Since this was her parents¡¯ home, she didn¡¯t let Yun Fei go upstairs but asked him to go home first. Walking to the door, Su Qin took a deep breath. She knew today¡¯s trip would definitely be hostile and she was mentally prepared. She has made a copy of the household register booklet and won¡¯t have to go home to get it again for university. Standing at the door, she put the household register booklet back in her bag before knocking on the door. ¡°Thud, thud, thud __ ¡° It was already 7 pm and her father had already got off work. The person who came to the door was her father, Su Zhengguo. Opening the door and seeing Su Qin standing outside the door, Su Zhengguo was stunned, ¡°Su-su?¡± Wang Lin had promised not to tell her husband about Su Qin¡¯s current situation. Su Zhenggo, who was busy with work these days, didn¡¯t even realize that the household register booklet had been taken away. Su Qin walked into the house and spoke immediately after her father had closed the door, ¡°Dad, I got into Yunzhong.¡± She calmly recounted what she had told her mother to Su Zhengguo again. As expected, Su Zhengguo was not only unhappy, he was instead so angry that he raised his hand to slap her as he spoke angrily, ¡°You¡¯ve grown up and become capable? Lying about going to work to your family yet you¡¯ve been hiding in Yunyang? Even went behind our back to take the Yunzhong exam? Stinky brat, do you think I, your father is dead!¡± Su Qin deemed she should endure this slap. This slap would sever the last bit of father and daughter¡¯s affection. The younger son, Su Wu who was sitting and playing with toys on the sofa, stared blankly at them. Cooking in the kitchen, Wang Lin hastily turned off the flame and came out when she heard the commotion outside. She pulled Su Qin to shield her behind her back, ¡°It¡¯s good that Su-su got into Yunzhong. Why did you hit her? Isn¡¯t this an honor ah? You should be happy ah. Getting into Yunzhong will definitely enable Su-su to get into a university in the future and will surely find a good job that makes money.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± Su Zhengguo was shaking with anger as he pointed at Su Qin and said, ¡°What can this stinky brat do even if she goes to university? Can she still find a good husband? Why do girls go to university? For the sake of finding a good man to marry! Who in the neighborhood doesn¡¯t know her situation now? Even if she gets into a good university, will her in-laws give us the betrothal gift with her situation? Dream on!¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° With her husband acting out violently, Wang Lin¡¯s shoulders shuddered with fear, but she remembered what her daughter said to her that day. Mustering up her courage, she spoke a word or two on behalf of Su Qin, ¡°I have nothing to say if you said she couldn¡¯t find a good husband studying in the former high school. But this is Yunzhong ah, how many children bend over yet couldn¡¯t get into the place and Su-su got in with great difficulty, so just let her study. Besides ¡­ Xiao Wu is only 4 years old now, you can let him attend a substandard kindergarten and put Su-su through university first, what do you think?¡± ¡°Do you know how much it costs to attend high school and university? What if she can¡¯t get married in the future, won¡¯t this money of mine be wasted?¡± Su Zhengguo sat down on the sofa angrily and held his son on his lap ¡°Okay, don¡¯t talk about it. You¡¯re not allowed to go even if you pass the exam.¡± Frightened, Wang LIn¡¯s hands were shaking when she spoke to her husband. Su Qin grasped her hand and she regained her courage, ¡°Zhengguo. You just let Su-su go, Yunzhong is the school that turned out female astronauts. What if Su-su becomes a female astronaut in the future? At that time, she can also subsidize the family with the money she earns, so you just let her go ¡­ ¡° She still wanted to speak more when Su Zhengguo grabbed the enamel cup on the coffee table and smashed it at Wang Lin. This time, it hit Wang Lin¡¯s eye socket causing her to let out a painful cry and she couldn¡¯t open her eyes for a long time. This was the first time Su Qin saw her father lay hands on her mother and her heart palpitated wildly. Su Qin finally knew why her mother was always submissive. She was afraid, afraid of getting beaten by her husband, afraid of losing her ¡®comfortable¡¯ life being abandoned by her husband. Although Su Qin had hated her mother, she began to sympathize with her this time and felt sorry for her. She hugged her mother and yelled at her father, ¡°Dad, you are going too far. Let me ask you, do you still acknowledge me as your daughter hereafter?¡± ¡°Scram!¡± Su Zhengguo roared irritably. Su Qin revealed a relieved smile and blocked her father¡¯s view with her body. She took out the household register booklet and stuffed it into her mother¡¯s apron composedly. She turned around and looked at Su Zhengguo, ¡°I won¡¯t ask the family for help in the future. Dad, I¡¯ll call you Dad for the last time. From now on, I¡¯m no longer your daughter and you don¡¯t come look for me either. I will remember what you said today and your ¡®Scram¡¯ will be engraved in my heart. Also, I¡¯ve never thought that a woman must depend on a man to live. If a woman can only live relying on a man, she is doomed to become a maggot who is unable to see the glory and radiance of the outside world.¡± Su Qin left home and Wang Lin didn¡¯t even dare to chase after her. Staring at her daughter¡¯s departing back, she suddenly felt a sense of sorrow in her heart. What had she done after all? Forcing her daughter away to stay by the side of a devil-like husband and acting as a maggot to help him take care of his mistress¡¯ child. What ¡­ exactly had she done? Late at night. The husband beside her began to snore while Wang Lin¡¯s eye socket hurt so much that she couldn¡¯t sleep. Wang Lin got up and went to the kitchen. She took out the household register booklet that Su Qin stuffed into her apron pocket and noticed that the thickness was amiss. Unfolding it, she found a thousand yuan stuffed inside. There was also her daughter¡¯s handwritten note inside. ¡°A mother who abandons her daughter is not qualified to be a mother. If you want to be a maggot, stay. If you don¡¯t want to be a maggot, then leave.¡± Wang Lin was stunned. She then squatted in the kitchen and cried silently. When the 2006 high school admission results were announced, it was exactly time for the Dongchuan Province¡¯s junior high exams. Many students who participated in the special admission exams of Yunyang High School participated in the junior high exams again in order to get a sense of achievement and Yun Fei was no exception too. On the first day after junior high exams, Su Qin received a QQ message from Wen Mei while she was chatting online with the customers. [A stem of plum]: Su-su, I got into Yunyang University and also the top liberal arts¡¯ scholar this year! Su Qin didn¡¯t reply to Wen Mei immediately after receiving her message as she forgot to type in front of the computer screen and smiled like a big fool. The lady boss came over and slapped the back of her head, ¡°What are you doing Qin¡¯er? Cyber-dating?¡± Su Qin shook her head, ¡°No, I saw a joke.¡± "" The lady boss didn¡¯t believe her nonsense, so she sat next to her and asked her, ¡°Su-su, have you thought about the part-time job? We can talk about the salary?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the salary.¡± Su Qin said. ¡°No salary?¡± The lady boss reached out to touch her forehead and spoke in surprise, ¡°You having a fever? Even if you don¡¯t want to get paid, I can¡¯t be that stingy either?¡± Su Qin shook her head and said, ¡°After spending my effort on setting up Taobao, I will still come to help sell clothes in the shop during the winter and summer vacations, but I will not take a cent of your salary. I want 30% of Taobao¡¯s shares. In other words, you will give me a 30% cut on every Taobao finalized order and I don¡¯t want a cent of your basic salary, how about that?¡± Chen Meixin lowered her head to calculate. She agreed to set up a Taobao store initially, mainly for the convenience of those regular customers who were too lazy to go out shopping. The first month¡¯s transaction volume was indeed good with 30 orders in a single month. But the courier was slow and the postage was high too. Those regular customers would rather come to the shop to buy after finding it suitable browsing the style and price on Taobao. So, the Taobao sales for this month was only 2. Looking at such dismal sales, Chen Meixin has gradually lost interest in Taobao. Su Qin continued, ¡°Lady boss, I told you before when we started Taobao that I would build up Taobao and make profit for you, but the Taobao sales now are not as good as the beginning and this is considered the goal I set for myself. You give me full control of Taobao. As for the sales, I will not let you lose money. If the clothes are sold for 100 in the retail shop, I will sell it at 125 in Taobao. I will get the money if that¡¯s profit and if there¡¯s no profit, I will have no money then. What do you think?¡± Chen Meixin believes the monthly turnover volume will not exceed 10 at most and each piece of clothing calculated based on a 100 yuan, her cuts will only be 300 yuan, while her monthly minimum wage of summer job will be 1,500. Chen Meixin felt that Su Qin is crazy. Seeing the girl¡¯s stubbornness, she agreed yet she didn¡¯t have much expectations for this Taobao. But Su Qin already has a plan in mind. In the afternoon, Su Qin went out to type up a contract and brought it back for the lady boss to sign. Chen Meixin didn¡¯t even bother to read the contract and signed it ¡®swishly¡¯. Chen Meixin felt that Su Qin, this Yatou, had begun to go over the top and became whimsical after getting into Yunzhong. She doesn¡¯t believe that she can sell 100 yuan clothes for 125 on Taobao. CH 25.1 Chapter 25.1 ¨C Modeling This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. The next 2 months after Yunzhong¡¯s exam Su Qin could relax and focus on Taobao. Su Qin went to the internet cafe to work overtime every night and came home around 11 or 12. Although she would take the main street on her way home and also carry the pepper water and dagger with her, she still felt uneasy. As a single girl, it¡¯s really unsafe to always walk home like this during the night. Once Su Qin got home, she took the few months¡¯ salary from under the mattress to carefully count them. Deducting the living expenses, rents, tuition fees and money given to her mother, she now has only over 6,000 left. She didn¡¯t dare use this 6,000 over yuan. If by any chance she couldn¡¯t work part-time after schooling due to any circumstances that would mean she had no income to pay the tuition fees. Holding the money, Su Qin sat on the bed for a long time and finally decided to buy a laptop. But even after she was reborn, she still didn¡¯t know much about the computer¡¯s configuration or the brand. In particular, she was afraid of being scammed buying a computer in this era. So she sent a text message to Li Chuan to ask if he was free tomorrow. Su Qin, ¡°Teacher Li, are you free tomorrow? It¡¯s not safe for me to go to the internet cafe every night. I want to buy a laptop. If you are free, can you accompany me to the computer city?¡± Li Chuan¡¯s text message came quickly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you consider a desktop computer? It¡¯s comparatively cheaper.¡± Su Qin, ¡°En ¡­ for convenience sake, a laptop is easier to carry.¡± Since she decided to buy a computer, she basically didn¡¯t take desktop computers into consideration. She can still bring the laptop to school, but not the desktop computer. Li Chuan was puzzled by her behavior. He merely thought the young girl was rather spendthrift after earning some money and wanting to buy a computer for the convenience of playing games. He also thought Su Qin would have very little money left after buying a laptop. Yet Li Chuan didn¡¯t stop her. The young girl is spending her own hard-earned money and he has no right to preach whatever she buys. He replied, ¡°I have a 90% new laptop here, which I can pass on to you for 2000, including repair if there are any hardware problems later, are you interested?¡± Su Qin has always been ignorant with the computer configuration, so she sent a text message to ask him, ¡°Which brand is it?¡± ¡°Acer and the configuration is Intel CeleronM 420, 256MB RAM, and 60GB hard disk with integrated graphics card.¡± Looking at the series of configuration terms on the phone screen, Su Qin subconsciously felt that this Celeron processor was indeed very low. While attending university in her previous lifetime, she was ridiculed by her classmates for buying a Pentium processor laptop and the Celeron processor was inferior to Pentium. More than a decade later, the lowest processor on the laptops market is Core i3. But considering this era, she believed Li Chuan would not cheat her and agreed to the deal immediately. When Li Chuan received the young girl¡¯s text message, he was working overtime in the company. Li Chuan¡¯s company has launched the ¡¯31 Antivirus software¡¯ recently. This free antivirus software received pretty good responses and was widely acclaimed. Without doubt, in terms of functionality, there is still room for further upgrades and optimizations. Kneading his glabella, Li Chuan eased up his day¡¯s stress. He turned his head, patted Panda¡¯s shoulder and asked him, ¡°Do you still have your Acer laptop?¡± ¡°Yes ah, why not? Didn¡¯t I bring it to play games yesterday?¡± ¡°Sell it to me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Panda was puzzled by Li Chuan¡¯s behavior and muttered, ¡°You want it? Why don¡¯t you buy a new one?¡± ¡°That Yatou, Su Qin wants to buy a laptop, but a brand new one is too expensive. I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t afford it.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s slender fingers tapped on the tabletop as he spoke solemnly, ¡°You sell it cheaply.¡± Staring with eyes wide open, Panda raised his chubby hand and gestured a ¡®2¡¯ and a ¡®5¡¯, ¡°If Little Sister Su Qin wants to buy it, then I will sell it at 2,500 but others will have to pay 3,000. I¡¯m giving her 500 cheaper.¡± Li Chuan, ¡°2,000.¡± Panda snorted, ¡°You have to give me more year-end bonus, I can¡¯t let you benefit at my expense.¡± Li Chuan patted him on the shoulder, indicating there¡¯s no problem. Even if Li Chuan didn¡¯t speak out himself, his three dorm mates-cum-partners could see that he is exceptionally accommodating to Su Qin. Free tutoring and even taking care of her livelihood, which wasn¡¯t like doing public welfare, but more like raising a young wife. Although Su Qin is earning wages with a considerable mature mindset, once everyone thought she was only a minor, many jokes and teasing couldn¡¯t be spoken out. Since Li Chuan is nice to Su Qin, they will just be nice to Su Qin without saying much. Getting along within the norm, Li Chuan and Su Qin never cross the borderline. Even when he wanted to express the affection of a man and a woman to Su Qin, his conscience and morality stopped him. After all, the young girl is only 16 years old who is still a child with unformed perspectives. He can¡¯t lead her on the ambiguity of a man and a woman nor drive a child astray. He wanted to wait a little longer. Waiting for his career stability and for Su Qin to be an adult. Thinking about this, Li Chuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh emotionally. When he married Su Qin in his previous lifetime, he didn¡¯t feel there was such a big age gap between them. But at this moment, their age gap was immediately reflected. She is in high school while he is already pursuing a PhD. She is still a naive girl while he has already started his own business. He now has the ability to provide a better life for the girl, yet he doesn¡¯t have the right identity. Even openly funding her schooling is a kind of luxury. The next afternoon, Li Chuan and Su Qin arranged to meet at a milk tea store. When he pushed the door in, there weren¡¯t many people inside. Sitting down for just a while, the store was full of people who were mostly girls. The school girls were either reading, doing their homework or eating BBQ inside. This milk tea store is not big, but the drinks and snacks taste pretty good. He thought young girls should like this kind of place. Once Su Qin pushed open the milk tea store¡¯s door, the wind chimes at the door ¡®jingled¡¯ melodiously. Looking over, the corners of Li Chuan¡¯s lips smiled gently but once he saw the little tail behind Su Qin, his face sank subconsciously. With his hair permed, Yun Fei had bleached and dyed the fringe of his hair. Dressed in a black skull T-shirt and a cross necklace around his neck with a thumb-sized chain suspended from the waistband of his ripped jeans, he was quite ¡®fashionable¡¯ and was very in line with the current trend. The young lad is already 1.8 meters tall, dressed coolly and handsome. As soon as he entered the door, he attracted the attention of the group of girls. Yun Fei and Li Chuan¡¯s attractiveness are comparable, both of which are eye-catching. Seeing the boy go to Li Chuan¡¯s table, all the girls wailed, ¡°Why do all the outstanding men know Li Chuan?¡± Li Chuan had his degree at National Tsing Hua University and is pursuing his PhD at NJU. His reputation during the first year of PhD was still pretty good, as he would tenderly reason whenever he rejected the female pursuers. But since Li Chuan came back from the education support program, his attitude has changed a lot. He is not as tender with the pursuers in school as before, detachedly aloof and will mercilessly carry out hellish mental blows to those pursuers. Many girls had started to study frantically after getting shocked by him. As a result, the girls in NJU now daren¡¯t have any thoughts about him and fewer girls are willing to go seek oppression and humiliation. Having said that, Li Chuan¡¯s admirers however didn¡¯t get lesser, instead it was increasing. Although many girls used to like his good look, they disliked his amiable attitude towards every pursuer. After all, which girl doesn¡¯t want her boyfriend to be ¡®tender¡¯ only to herself and aloof towards other girls? Who doesn¡¯t want to experience the sense of accomplishment being the one who he ¡®only takes a dipper drink from the three thousand miles Ruo River¡¯? [T/N: ÈõË®ÈýǧֻȡһưÒû (Ru¨° shu¨« s¨¡nqi¨¡n zh¨« q¨³ y¨© pi¨¢o y¨«n) ¨C a metaphor choosing only one companion out of all potential mates.] The more aloof Li Chuan is, the more those outstanding female students of NJU want to conquer him. But fewer people dare to confess to him now. The girls who like him silently start to study harder. There is even a motto in the girls¡¯ dormitory: Getting first place in every exam to someday bed Genius Li. Secretly scrutinized the little handsome youth who sat opposite Genius Li, the girls¡¯ gazes voluntarily blocked the young girl, Su Qin as they quietly admired the handsome guys. Some girls took out their handphones to secretly take photos. Su Qin lamented that no matter in whichever era, handsome guys are popular. "" Su Qin and Yun Fei seated together, while Li Chuan sized up the boy. The boy¡¯s style of dressing was completely different from before. Along with the computer bag, Li Chuan handed over the laptop to Su Qin and said, ¡°I have cleared out the laptop that you want and also included a six-month network card for you. Turn it on and see if it works.¡± Su Qin opened the heavy laptop. The base panel and the screen had indeed been wiped clean. She turned her head and instructed Yun Fei, ¡°Feifei, give the money.¡± After all, 2,000 cash was not a small amount for Su Qin and she really didn¡¯t feel safe carrying so much money herself. It just happened that Yun Fei came to play with her for the summer vacation, hence she brought him along. Yun Fei took 2,000 yuan from the back of his jeans and handed it to Li Chuan, ¡°Teacher Li, are they looking at you or me?¡± Taking the money from him, Li Chuan coughed softly, ¡°Looking at you.¡± Recently, Yun Fei has been the center of attention everywhere he went and some girls even asked for his QQ, but he paid them no heed. However the feeling of being noticed thrilled him a bit. Su Qin turned on the laptop to inspect it. Seeing that there was no problem, she looked up and asked Li Chuan, ¡°Has Teacher Li had lunch yet? Let me treat you and Feifei to lunch.¡± ¡°Okay. The usual place, Fifth cafeteria?¡± ¡°En.¡± CH 25.2 Chapter 25.2 ¨C Modeling This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Li Chuan helped Su Qin carry the laptop on his back then walked side by side with her in front, and asked her how things were settled at home? He remembered when Su Qin married him in his previous lifetime, like him, she had family members who she couldn¡¯t invite. The two of them found a workday to get their marriage certificate then booked three tables in the hotel and subtly invited their friends for a meal and were done with it. Since there was no wedding ceremony, Su Qin didn¡¯t even wear a wedding dress. Later, after the birth of their daughter, Baobao, the family of three went for a family photo-shoot where Su Qin got to wear a wedding dress for the first time. Thinking about this, Li Chuan suddenly realized he actually owed Su Qin a lot in his previous lifetime. Su Qin nodded and said, ¡°En, it¡¯s settled. Anyway, having family members is the same as not having any. They are not even as reliable as all these friends.¡± As the two walked and talked side by side in front, Yun Fei, who was walking coolly behind with hands in his jeans¡¯ pockets, was in a slightly bad mood, thus he rushed forward to squeeze in between them and became their divider. Once they arrived at the cafeteria, Panda and several of his buddies were there too. When Su Qin kept putting food into Yun Fei¡¯s bowl, Li Chuan looked on as usual but his heart was full of mixed feelings. He then ¡®accidentally¡¯ spilled a bowl of soup and just as he stood up, Su Qin immediately took tissues out of her bag and walked around the table to wipe his pants as she asked him nervously, ¡°Did you get scalded?¡± Li Chuan shook his head with a gentle smile, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Nibbling the chopsticks, Panda watched his Boss¡¯ ¡®foul play¡¯ and condemned him 10,000 times in his heart for being a beast. Wasn¡¯t it too purposely obvious? Keeping in mind that Su Qin was just a young girl, Panda suppressed the urge to mock. The young lad sitting across from him also knocked over his soup bowl and called out, ¡°Aiya¡±. Su Qin turned to look at Yun Fei and saw the big boy grasping his hands with brows knitted in pain. Su Qin left Li Chuan to sit back in place before grabbing Yun Fei¡¯s hand to give him a blow and asked nervously, ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°It hurts.¡± Su Qin held his hand and gave it a few more blows, ¡°Is it better?¡± Yun Fei with a spoiled tone, ¡°Blow two more times, it might get slightly better.¡± Li Chuan, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Only then did he realize that the butterfly effect of being reborn would probably lead to him not being Su Qin¡¯s husband in this lifetime.¡± Yun Fei was burned to death in the previous lifetime and Su Qin tried to uphold justice for him. She never stopped looking for evidence to get legal sanction against the abductor villagers. Even after Su Qin married him later, she didn¡¯t give up seeking justice for Yun Fei too. He sometimes wondered, who after all weighed the most in her heart, himself or the dead Fool? The answer was obvious, it was Yun Fei. Li Chuan continued to eat with his head down and the pressure around him lowered. Panda and Chunchun, who were sitting on his left and right respectively, looked at each other and felt that a gale was about to blow. They actually couldn¡¯t understand why Li Chuan would have a crush on a minor. Although Su Qin is self-reliant and mentally not a child, she is still a young girl. Apart from the unyielding qualities of poor children, she has no other merits. In all fairness, any girl in NJU is better than Su Qin. Thinking so in their hearts, they dared not ask. After all, one is a minor while the other is a doctoral student. Although there is not much gap with their age, the grade jumps had more or less seemed absurdly breached the normal ethical standards. Just at this moment, here came the thick-skinned Miss Lin again. Lin Xiaoyin just got her meal from the window. When she saw Li Chuan, she walked straight over, put her tray on the table heavily and yelled at him, ¡°Li Chuan, do you think it¡¯s funny to fool people around? I waited for you in the sports ground all night, why didn¡¯t you come? Do you know I had a fever for several days staying up all night to wait for you in the back sports ground? Last week your Grandma arranged for us to meet and you didn¡¯t come either. What do you take me for? Do you feel it¡¯s fulfilling to play with other¡¯s feelings?¡± Miss Lin was condescending, as if accusing Chen Shimei*. Su Qin was blowing on Yun Fei¡¯s hand when she heard Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s voice and frowned. [T/N: ³ÂÊÀÃÀ (Ch¨¦n Sh¨¬m¨§i) ¨C a notorious character in Chinese opera who now is a derisive title for a man who deserts his wife after successfully climbed the social ladder.] Miss Lin¡¯s stalking really lived up to her reputation. Li Chuan, as usual, lowered his head and took a mouthful of rice. Looking up, he gave Su Qin the chicken drumstick from Panda¡¯s tray as if Lin Xiaoyin did not exist. Swallowing his saliva, Panda watched his chicken drumstick being taken away. Lin Xiaoyin was slightly shocked to see Su Qin and Yun Fei too, ¡°Su Qin?¡± ¡°Hello, Teacher Lin.¡± She flashed a smile at the other party. In Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s eyes, this smile was an eyesore. She remembered a while ago she heard someone say a young girl often came in and out of Li Chuan¡¯s lab, so she must be Su Qin. Seemingly noticing something, her gaze fell on Li Chuan¡¯s face and she snorted coldly, ¡°Li Chuan, I didn¡¯t expect you to like this type. I asked you out and you stood me up. Your Grandma arranged our blind date and you went missing simply because of her?¡± Li Chuan frowned severely. ¡°Li Chuan, are you a man? Is it amusing for you to keep avoiding me? You took all the letters and things that I gave you, yet ignore me? What the hell do you mean?¡± Panda and Chunchun kept making the ¡®stop¡¯ and ¡®shh¡¯ gestures to her, but not only had she ignored them, her shrew haughtiness intensified. Seeing that Li Chuan was still ignoring her and just putting food into Su Qin¡¯s bowl as if nothing had happened, she was so angry that she knocked the chopsticks out of Li Chuan¡¯s hand. When Li Chuan¡¯s chopsticks were knocked off, his hand stopped in mid-air then gradually clenched into a fist and he finally raised his gaze to look at her. The man¡¯s expression was ice-cold and his gaze was frigid, just like a swordsman who kills without batting an eyelid. His gaze could rapidly kill, making the others feel fearful. Li Chuan¡¯s words came out between his teeth, ¡°First, I didn¡¯t receive any letters or things from you. Secondly, you are the one who kept pestering me incessantly and even tried to use my family to pressurize me. Miss Lin, you are very competent, giving up your dignity to behave atrociously in front of me again and again. What? Do you feel that you didn¡¯t publicly lose enough face the last time? Want to experience being taunted again?¡± Glancing at Panda and Chunchun, Lin Xiaoyin questioned them, ¡°I asked you guys to give him the things, didn¡¯t you do it for me?¡± Panda whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me ah. I told you the Boss wouldn¡¯t accept and I had already asked your dorm mate to take them back. Not handing back to you it¡¯s their business which has nothing to do with me ah.¡± Lin Xiaoyin bit her lips. She has always been at odds with those girls in the dormitory. They most likely had thrown away the things she gave to Li Chuan. Glancing at the schoolmates around her, she was stuck in an embarrassing situation. She publicly lost face again and felt begrudged. She looked at Li Chuan¡¯s aloofness and her heart felt cold too, ¡°Li Chuan, I¡¯ll ask you one thing, you really have no good feelings towards me at all?¡± ¡°Have.¡± Li Chuan raised his gaze at her, ¡°Minus one hundred of good feelings, does that count?¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Miss Lin, I don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve got the courage to come and express your feelings to me again and again. I¡¯m not a nice person, but there¡¯s one thing I have to draw your attention to, your brashness as well as looking like this, frowning and biting your lips is like a toad which is not moving at all.¡± Panda covered his heart, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Chunchun covered his heart, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Even Yun Fei and Su Qin looked increduly at Li Chuan, feeling that the man¡¯s ruthlessness was a little scary. Unlike the gentle Teacher Li they usually knew, he was like a different person. Yun Fei was frightened by Li Chuan¡¯s ¡®two faces¡¯ as he tugged Su Qin¡¯s sleeve. Su Qin was evidently frightened by Li Chuan¡¯s ¡®two faces¡¯ too and could not believe these words would come out of his mouth. The person in front ¡­ was indeed not possessed by another soul? Is he really Li Chuan? Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s face turned pale. She instinctively raised her hand to touch her own eyebrows and cheeks with reddened eyes and overflowing tears. Precisely at this moment, the corners of Li Chuan¡¯s lips curled up mockingly, ¡°Please also pay attention to your appearance when you cry, you have already spoiled our appetites.¡± The crowd, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Usually when Li Chuan rejected the girls, he would merely criticize their studies and never condemned the girls¡¯ appearance that destroyed the other party¡¯s self-confidence. But this time, Li Chuan however ¡­ Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. Perhaps geniuses are simply like this. Their eyes are on the crown of their heads and look down on everyone. Lin Xiaoyin ran away crying. Panda breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, ¡°Boss, you won¡¯t have any girlfriend being like this.¡± Su Qin looked at him incredulously, ¡°Teacher Li, you will really be single by your ability. So you are not afraid that no girl will dare to marry you in the future?¡± The man¡¯s character is simply exceedingly in contrast to the previous lifetime. The one in the previous lifetime was too gentle, while this lifetime¡¯s one is too sharp-tongued. Su Qin wasn¡¯t sure why Li Chuan had such a change, either it was the butterfly effect, or Li Chuan was precisely possessed by a ¡®vicious-tongue¡¯s¡¯ soul and the person in his body was not him, rather another person with a completely opposite personality. CH 25.3 Chapter 25.3 ¨C Model This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Having the laptop, Su Qin¡¯s daily job is much more convenient. The wireless network card was a yearly unlimited package and the network speed was slightly slower than broadband, but it didn¡¯t hinder her from using QQ and Taobao. In order to make the new clothes look better, Su Qin bought plain white cloth from the market which she hung on the wall when she took the lady boss¡¯ photos. This way, it would be more convenient for her to photoshop more quality photos later. After the lady boss got jilted, she lost 3 kg in a month and her modeling qualities gradually emerged too. The exquisite quality of the photos in the Taobao store was elevated again. She would also prominently photoshop the red wordings ¡®original price 399, after discount 159¡¯ on the lower right corner of each photo. This substantial discount attracted Taobao¡¯s consumers and the featured page that Su Qin wrote was even more exciting: ¡°Amani original design, original price 399 yuan. To reciprocate our regular customers, only 159 yuan today. Discount deadline till 24:00 tonight.¡± How could the customers who shopped for bargains on Taobao know what ¡®Amani¡¯ was? A glance at the original design wording with the classy clothes in the picture and such a discount, they were somewhat intrigued. Realizing that the discount would end at 12:00 am, they hastily snatched it first. Those female customers who bought Su Qin¡¯s clothes at the price of ¡®159 yuan¡¯ felt they had reaped a great bargain. Putting on the clothes, they felt pretty good and even truly thought they had bought a big brand that they started to show off to the people around, ¡°See, these 399 clothes in the department store which I just got on Taobao for 159 yuan.¡± Immediately afterwards, those around the customer couldn¡¯t resist to ask curiously, ¡°Really ah? Which Taobao store? Send me the link!¡± The customer¡¯s friends then went online and found that although the set of clothes was no longer on discount, several other pieces were marked down a lot too! The original branded price of 699 yuan in the departmental store was actually only 99 yuan! Everyone was shocked by the store¡¯s discount, but when they saw the seller¡¯s heartfelt messages, they believed it and placed the order! The Taobao sales volume actually reached as many as 50 orders in a week. The lady boss felt somewhat unreal when she calculated the profit made from Taobao. She went to take a look on Taobao and was subdued by Su Qin¡¯s tactics. The list price of 56 yuan dresses became the high-end departmental store goods with ¡®selling price of 599, discounted to 99¡¯ once uploaded on Taobao by Su Qin. The overall pants with the sale price of 100 yuan once uploaded on Taobao became the original design of ¡®market price at 399 which marked down to 159¡¯. Even so, the customers still acclaimed unanimously, saying that the clothes were worth the value and highly gorgeous. The message was even more maddening: ¡°The seller¡¯s retail shop is closing down and has run away with her husband. She owed me eight months of unpaid wages which I have no choice but to use Taobao to deal with these goods at a low price. Do bid for those who like it, there¡¯s not much of such opportunity.¡± Chen Meixin with a mouthful of blood, the level of making up this wild story ¡­ Yet looking at the profit she had really made, she had nothing to say but to obediently give 30% commission to Su Qin. Since Su Qin helped her sell at higher prices than the retail shop with increased volume, she made a lot of profit too. Just this week alone, Su Qin made about a thousand yuan. At the end of June, Su Qin decided to offer the entire store a big ¡®55¡¯ sales promotion. Being an entrepreneur, Chen Meixin certainly refuses to do business at a loss that she immediately rejected, ¡°No, 55 for the entire store, I will lose all my capital. If you want to live on air, please don¡¯t take me along.¡± Su Qin tugged her sleeve and spoke as she laughed, ¡°Good Boss, don¡¯t we have a lot of outdated unsold summer clothes in our warehouse? We will take them out for a look.¡± Those old stocks in the warehouse were all left behind by the previous shop owner. Chen Meixin thought those clothes were too hideous but she was reluctant to throw them away and intended to find an opportunity to give them to the children in the mountain area. Hearing that Su Qin wanted to sell those clothes on Taobao, she was the first to object, ¡°Those can¡¯t even be sold in the retail store but can be sold online? Qin¡¯er, I usually praise your capabilities but you can¡¯t get so pompous and overestimate your own abilities, right?¡± ¡°Sister Chen, you trust me. You can¡¯t sell those goods anyway, why don¡¯t you give them all to me? If I sell them, you still give me the 30% and if I can¡¯t sell them, it¡¯s my business. You won¡¯t lose out either way ah.¡± Su Qin clasped her hands together to plead earnestly, ¡°Sister Chen, give me a chance. What if you can easily earn ten millions a year in the future because of this opportunity that you gave me? You just let me take those clothes home, okay?¡± Chen Meixin pushed her glabella with her finger, ¡°Be off with you, even earning ten million a year? I¡¯ll be thankful if you don¡¯t lose my money. How can you alone take those hundreds of pieces of clothes in the warehouse?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to move them!¡± Rolling her eyes, Chen Meixin threw her the upstairs warehouse¡¯s keys, ¡°I¡¯m off tomorrow, you take the warehouse keys and don¡¯t lose it.¡± Su Qin caught the keys, ¡°Thank you Boss!¡± Su Qin then called Yun Fei immediately and asked if he could borrow a car from his father to transport those hundreds of pieces of clothes. As for Li Chuan ¡­ she undoubtedly chose to overlook. Mr. Li after all was too busy with his studies and work, thus would have no time to help her do this. As a result, the next day, Yun Fei borrowed a pickup truck from his father and had the driver drive it to the storefront. With the help of Yun Fei and the driver, the several hundred pieces of clothes were quickly moved onto the truck. Su Qin closed the shop¡¯s door then got into the truck and had the driver drive towards her house. Su Qin had long borrowed the sewing machine from the grandma next door and all the stuff that should be put away in the room had been stowed away on the balcony. She spread a blanket on the floor and more than 300 pieces of clothes were piled up in her room. She left 200 stacked up in the corner and only grouped those 100 pieces of clothes and threw them on the bed. With no place to sit, Yun Fei squatted on the floor to look up at the girl sitting on the chair who was ready to step on the sewing machine, ¡°Su-su, what are you doing?¡± Su Qin shook out a denim jacket and handed it to Yun Fei, ¡°Come, Feifei, try this one on.¡± ¡° ¡­.. Su-su, this is women¡¯s clothing.¡± ¡°Just wear it for me to see, okay? I¡¯ll treat you to cold jelly tonight.¡± Su Qin pleaded with him. Yun Fei certainly couldn¡¯t refuse her request and put it on for her to see. Su Qin asked Yun Fei to put on this old denim jacket and instantly got inspired. The outdated denim jacket was the 1990s design which is no longer trendy now, but if it¡¯s remade into a high-waisted style, it will look very fashionable. With this inspiration, Su Qin began to work and soon altered the denim jacket into a novel high-waisted pattern. The autumn ripped jeans were much easier to modify. Based on the current trend, it¡¯s very chic to rip holes while those dowdy T-shirts of various colors, she either modified them into off-shoulders, one shoulder or crossed back crop tops styles. After all, Su Qin had worked in a factory in her previous lifetime and was quite nimble-fingered that the T-shirt alterations took almost ten minutes a piece. While the girl concentrated on clothes alteration, Yun Fei squatted quietly beside her. As night approached, Yun Fei was tired. So he just sat on the ground and fell asleep on the pile of clothes. At 10 pm, Yun Fei was woken up by Mo Zongyang¡¯s phone call. He yawned and called out ¡°Dad¡±. Mo Zongyang heard from the driver that his son had stayed at Su Qin¡¯s house for the whole day, that he was still upstairs and hadn¡¯t come down yet. He somewhat felt if his son had done something bad. He asked cautiously, ¡°Son, what are you doing? Dad is here to pick you up.¡± Yun Fei glanced at Su Qin, who was still altering clothes, and muttered in a low voice, ¡°You come tomorrow, I¡¯m so sleepy that I¡¯ll sleep again.¡± Getting hung up by his son, Mo Zongyang was crestfallen. He asked the driver to stay downstairs to wait for his son, while he went home to report to his wife. When Mo Zongyang reached home, his wife was watching TV on the sofa. Hearing movements in the entrance hall, Yun Qin looked over and saw he came home alone. She frowned and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Feifei?¡± Mo Zongyang told his wife about their son staying over at a female classmate¡¯s house. He didn¡¯t know Su Qin and Yun Fei¡¯s previous relationship, and only treated Su Qin as the female classmate that his son met when he was taking the Yunzhong exam. Feeling complicated, he held Yun Qin¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Wifey, next time let¡¯s stuff condoms in our son¡¯s school bag. What if he knocks up the female classmate, it¡¯s a bad impact.¡± Yun Qin frowned and shoved him, ¡°How did you become a father? Your son is still so young, how can he take responsibility for the girl? Zongyang, I know you are trying very hard to be a father, but tonight, you honestly do not act like one. You should have brought your son home instead of letting him stay at the female classmate¡¯s house, do you know?¡± Mo Zongyang got up, ¡° ¡­.. Then I¡¯ll go pick him up at once.¡± ¡°You sit down for me!¡± Yun Qin took a deep breath and told him, ¡°What¡¯s the use of you going now? Wait for him to come back tomorrow and then have a good chat with him.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ ¡° Mo Zongyang looked at his wife aggrievedly and poked her chest, ¡°Wifey, shall we go to sleep too?¡± Yun Fei, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° The housekeepers were all very sensible to have retreated from the living room and gone to their respective rooms. Since there was no one in the living room, Mo Zongyang pressed Yun Qin under him and kissed her intently. Under him, Yun Qin had softened into a puddle of water and spoke gaspingly, ¡°Our son ¡­ our son is like you. He doesn¡¯t follow good examples at a young age, but goes with a female classmate ¡­ um ¡­ damn fatty, take it easy.¡± At 3 am, Su Qin finally altered the 100 pieces of clothes. Bustling the whole day, she didn¡¯t eat or drink. When she got up and saw Yun Fei sleeping on the ground, only then did she remember that this guy had not gone home yet. Looking at the time, she was startled too. It was actually three o¡¯clock? Su Qin pushed Yun Fei awake, ¡°Feifei? Feifei?¡± Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Yun Fei sat up and asked her, ¡°Su-su, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You go to the bed, don¡¯t sleep on the floor, it¡¯s cold.¡± Su Qin dragged him up from the floor and forcibly pushed him onto the bed. Yun Fei was so sleepy that he staggered onto the bed and fell back asleep again. Su Qin took off his shoes and placed his legs on the bed. Looking back at the pile of clothes on the floor, Su Qin finally heaved a sigh of relief then began to sort and match them one by one. The matching sets were folded together and placed neatly on the floor. After all these were done, it was already four o¡¯clock. Using the clothes as a pillow, Su Qin lay asleep on the floor. Since there was merely a flimsy layer of cloth on the floor, it was pleasantly cool on this summer day. The window and the balcony door were open. The breezing wind was refreshing and cool. Su Qin slept until 9 am. When she woke up, Yun Fei had already woken up. As soon as she opened her eyes, the aroma of vegetable porridge assailed her nostrils. Yun Fei had cooked porridge and took the pickled radish from Su Qin¡¯s preserved jar. He cut it into pieces then poured some spicy oil on it, which added a distinctive flavor to the porridge. On the balcony, Su Qin had planted some cilantro that Yun Fei picked a handful to chop finely to fry cilantro egg pancake for Su Qin. Staying up almost the whole night yesterday, when Su Qin woke up and smelled the cooked rice aroma, she was so hungry that her chest stuck to the back. The room was a mess with so many clothes that they had no place to eat. Yun Fei put two bowls of porridge, a plate of pickles and a plate of pancakes on the balcony brick railing. As soon as Su Qin came over, she picked up the bowl and started to eat. Yun Fei¡¯s skill was pretty good. The porridge was so delectably cooked that Su Qin even finished three whole bowls. This was also the first time Yun Fei felt so accomplished with his cooking. Since his return, he has housekeepers at home and has lived a ¡®pampered¡¯ life. This was the first time he cooked after returning home. Su Qin began to take photos of the clothes after the meal. She had matched a total of 45 sets which are all goods for the ¡®55¡¯ sales promotion. Without doubt, ¡®55¡¯ is only for a single piece and not a set. If the customer wants to buy a set, it will add up to two ¡®55¡¯ for the top and the bottom. Su Qin may not be able to hold up all these clothes. Dragging her lady boss here now to model for the photoshoot, she probably won¡¯t come. She pinched her chin and thought about how to solve the modeling matters for a while when her eyes suddenly fixed on the boy standing to stretch on the balcony. Raising his hands to stretch, Yun Fei¡¯s clothes were pulled upwards revealing a slim narrow waist. The boy is very thin and well-built, hence he can absolutely model well. Su Qin snapped her fingers and waved at Yun Fei, who was on the balcony, ¡°Feifei, come here.¡± Yun Fei felt something was slightly off with Su Qin¡¯s gaze. He walked towards her and asked cautiously, ¡°Su-su, why are you looking at me like this?¡± Su Qin held up a piece of women¡¯s clothing on him, ¡°You be my model and I¡¯ll take your photos.¡± ¡°! ! I¡¯m a boy!¡± Yun Fei flared up and jumped back reflexively. He even crossed his arms with a ¡®unyielding to death¡¯ look. ¡°Feifei, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t show your face. You just need to flaunt the part below the neck to show your body only.¡± Yun Fei clutched his chest tenaciously, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Su Qin, ¡°Feifei? Don¡¯t you want more people to look at your good figure?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t want.¡± Su Qin felt discouraged and no longer forced him too. She began to spread the clothes on the floor and shot them one by one. But clothes photographed this way were far from the 3-D effect on a person. Feeling distressed that she stayed up all night yesterday and didn¡¯t want her efforts to go down the drain, Yun Fei then said, ¡°You can shoot, but make sure not to show my face.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Su Qin went across the neighborhood to buy a wavy hairpiece and asked Yun Fei to wear it for the photoshoot. After Yun Fei had changed the clothes and put on the wavy hairpiece, Su Qin realized that ¡­ Feifei is actually a top-notch cross-dresser. Beautiful ¡­ very beautiful ¡­ CH 26.1 Rebirth After Being Abducted ¨C Chapter 26.1 Translated by: Oinkoink Names mentioned in this chapter: ¨C ËÕÇØ (S¨± Q¨ªn) ¨C Female Lead ¨C Àè´¨ (L¨ª Chu¨¡n) / Àè½ÌÊÚ (L¨ª ji¨¤osh¨°u) ¨C Male Lead ¨C ·Ç·Ç (F¨¥if¨¥i) / ÔÆ·Ç (Y¨²n f¨¥i) ¨C The Fool ¨C Ī×ÚÑô (M¨° Z¨­ngy¨¢ng) ¨C Yun Fei¡¯s father Chapter 26.1 ¨C Divorce This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Putting on the shoulder-length wavy hairpiece, the tips of which just touched his collarbone. His figure is so good that he presented the sense of a runway model in the off-shoulder T-shirt. Below his slender fair neck, there is a deep prominent clavicle and further down was the sexy breastbone. Since the boy has no breasts, the clothes appeared just right and below was a pair of ripped jeans where the torn parts were very skillfully handled. Moreover the boy has slender legs that had reached a very good effect without the Photoshop. This perfect model effect surprised Su Qin. She suddenly remembered an editor-in-chief of [Vogue] once revealed the inside story of a model in her autobiography, unbeknownst when ¡®skeletal¡¯ beauty became popular in the industry. In order to make themselves appear more photogenic and gain better opportunities, some female models practically stopped eating to make themselves as thin as skeletons and what if they are really hungry? Eat tissue papers. The tissue papers will expand in the stomach and can provide some sense of satiety. Thinking about this, Su Qin couldn¡¯t help but lament about Yun Fei¡¯s figure. Boys generally have thinner legs than girls and most boys in their youth are grain-stalk who eat meat without putting on flesh. Yun Fei is of no exception. A full-grown older man like Li Chuan who workout year-round will look muscular when stripped yet thin with his clothes on, and has no lack of pectoral and abs muscles. While Yun Fei at this age, has no extra muscles except for thinness. Even though he spent years doing farm work in the countryside, his skin isn¡¯t the peasant wheat-color but still very fair. Su Qin is extremely envious of those who don¡¯t get fat no matter how much they eat and those who don¡¯t get tan basking under the sun. Yun Fei stood for a while and asked her with a dark face, ¡°Not shooting? I¡¯m taking off my clothes.¡± ¡°Shoot, shoot. Give me a moment.¡± Su Qin began to fiddle with the camera. After adjusting the equipment, she let Yun Fei stand on the suspended white cloth. Yun Fei stood over obediently and posed according to Su Qin¡¯s gestures. The boy is innately cold in temperament. Even without revealing his face, the body posture gave out a kind of aloof manner. It was already 1pm when Su Qin and Yun Fei finished their photoshoot. Mo Zongyang learned from the driver that the two were still upstairs and hadn¡¯t come down, so he mustered up his courage to knock on the door, intending to have a good talk with his son. Even though Yun Fei could get married at this age in the mountain village before, he after all had left that kind of life. Returning to the big city, he should live according to the city etiquettes. At 16 years of age, he ought to study hard and not fall in love with his female classmates. Mo Zongyang put himself in his shoes and thought; he and Yun Qin were also in love at 16, but the two of them just held hands and never spent the night together at that time. He thought, could he have thought too much? His son and the female classmates probably just do homework the whole night? Or perhaps talk and chat about something? Is he overthinking from an adult¡¯s point of view? And over complicated it? The more Mo Zongyang thought about it, the more confused it was. Finally, he bought lunch downstairs for the two children and decided to go knock on the door. The door opened very quickly. When he caught sight of his son in women¡¯s clothing and posing in the corner with a wig, he was even more baffled. He realized, these two children were playing a game of house? Seeing his father standing at the door, Yun Fei quickly took off the hairpiece and called out ¡°Dad¡±. Mo Zongyang stood at the door with lunch and looked at the mountain of clothes inside as well as the women¡¯s clothes on his son¡¯s body, he was stunned for a moment before hooking up the lunch in his hand and said to the two children, ¡°Son, I heard Uncle Liu said you haven¡¯t gone downstairs since last night. Dad is afraid that you will be hungry hence came to send you food.¡± ¡®Uncle Liu¡¯ was precisely the driver who waited downstairs all night. After a busy day, Yun Fei was really hungry. Taking the lunch boxes from Mo Zongyang¡¯s hand, Su Qin put away the clothes scrap at the door and cleared a way for him to come in, ¡°Uncle Mo, come in and sit.¡± Last night Yun Fei did not go home the whole night, Su Qin as an ¡®adult¡¯, certainly would think from Mo Zongyang¡¯s point of view. In order not to let Mo Zongyang misunderstand her relationship with Yun Fei, she said while clearing up a seating place for Mo Zongyang, ¡°Uncle Mo, I¡¯m sorry ah. Last night Yun Fei helped me sort out the clothes and couldn¡¯t go home, you all must be worried sick? Uncle Mo, you are so lucky to have such a helpful son like Feifei. As a matter of fact, he helped me all night last night and even stayed here to model for me today.¡± Sitting on the bed, Mo Zongyang was stunned and looked at this sensible young girl in front of him when he suddenly felt he had really thought too much. He knew the young girl¡¯s situation. She was driven out of her parents¡¯ home to work, earning tuition fees in a clothing store, and was admitted to Yunzhong by her own efforts. It was also precisely his admiration of her spirit that Mo Zongyang agreed to let his son play with her. Hearing what the girl said, Mo Zongyang suddenly felt he had somewhat ¡®used the despicable mind to gauge a person of good character¡¯. He glanced at the room full of clothes and the scraps all over the floor, then asked, ¡°Little Su, did you alter all these clothes? You are really competent.¡± ¡°Children from poor families take charge early to support themselves, so these skills are still needed. Without Yun Fei¡¯s help, I wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish such a large quantity myself.¡± Su Qin clasped her hands together and spoke gratefully, ¡°Thanks to Uncle Mo for giving birth to such a helpful son.¡± At the side, Yun Fei¡¯s face sank and made a ¡®humph¡¯ sound. He is not stupid. He certainly knew that Su-su was praising him as such and at the same time, telling his father that their relationship was innocent. Yun Fei was very displeased. He took off the denim skirt first and began to undress. Catching a glimpse of his son taking his clothes off, Mo Zongyang stopped him, ¡°Son, stop, what are you doing?¡± Yun Fei had already pulled up his T-shirt, revealing his narrow waist and bony chest. Hearing what was said, he paused, ¡°Taking off my clothes ah.¡± ¡°Go, go, go undress in the bathroom. How can a man expose his chest and abs in front of a girl? Remember, you can¡¯t do that in the future, understand?¡± Mo Zongyang educated his son with the tone of a doting father. "" ¡°I¡¯m a boy.¡± The bathroom was in the corridor outside. The corners of Yun Fei¡¯s mouth pursed impatiently as he went out unwillingly to the bathroom. Mo Zongyang left with Yun Fei after the meal. Once they got in the car, he still tried to instill in his son the idea of ¡®he can¡¯t spend the night at the female classmate¡¯s house in the future¡¯. Yun Fei felt particularly annoyed listening to his father¡¯s chattering. He turned on the mp4, put on the earplugs and started listening to songs. His head turned towards the window with his legs shook like a rebellious teenager. Mo Zongyang glanced askance at his son and felt that his son at this moment, isn¡¯t exactly a rebellious teenager? When the car backed out of the parking space, it almost hit a woman. The driver slammed on the brake and Yun Fei¡¯s body leaned forward abruptly while his forehead hit the car seat. Mo Zongyang bumped his head too, but he went first to check and concernedly ask if his precious son, Yun Fei was okay. Yun Fei shook his head and looked at the woman standing outside the car who kept apologizing and bowing to them. This woman has gray hair on her temples and looks very old, but she looks like someone. While rubbing his son¡¯s head, Mo Zongyang instructed the driver, ¡°Old Liu, get off and ask if you have bumped the aunty.¡± The driver got out and asked, the other party said she was fine and they drove away. When the car reached the highway, Yun Fei recalled who the woman looked like. __ Su Qin. Sorting out all the photos, Su Qin packed the clothes separately then placed them all over the house and began to Photoshop the photos. There were nearly 50 modeling photos. She first made a ¡®batch files¡¯ of color-mixed functions and then began to edit them one by one. She edited off the parts above Yun Fei¡¯s throat, leaving only the boy¡¯s collarbone and the tips of his wavy hairpiece. After the ps process, the low-quality wavy hairpiece became realistic and the boy¡¯s clothes were also edited to the magazine¡¯s quality. The boy¡¯s legs and body are proportionate. Without the need to Photoshop a lot, the ascetic ¡®female¡¯ model photos came out of nowhere with only a little editing. Su Qin placed these photos into a folder to upload to Taobao and then typed out ¡®Entire Store 55¡¯ notice and also amended the message. ¡°Dear Customers, I am customer service Su-su. The store will start the entire 55 yuan event at 24:00 in the evening. The tops, pants and other single pieces are all 55 yuan. You can rest assured that the quality and style are definitely the same as the model¡¯s photos. Our regular customers probably know why the clothes in this small store are so cheap. The boss had gone bankrupt and ran away with several months of unpaid wages. Su-su still has a younger brother at home waiting for the money to attend school, hence taking these clothes as compensation. The original price of the clothes are hundreds yuan branded goods and Su-su has tagged 55 yuan to sell them off. The quantity is limited. You can place an order if you like it while stocks last. Su-su is looking for a new job during the day, hence can¡¯t be online 24 hours a day and I will reply to everyone in the evening. Thank you for your support.¡± When the customers saw the clothes on the model, they all thought it was good and all believed that the clothes in store were indeed big brands as Su Qin said. After all, if it were not big brands, how could there be such stylish model photos? This sort of model photos were precisely big brands at a glance! No matter which era, women¡¯s desire to shop is fueled by the so-called great discounts. With such a great discount, both regular and new customers are eager to rush online and wait for twelve o¡¯clock tonight. One hundred items with nearly fifty matching sets. In fact, Su Qin was ready to fight a prolonged battle. She felt that these stocks would at least sell for a month anyway or maybe couldn¡¯t be sold off in a month. And this month, she can focus on altering the remaining 200 pieces of clothing, where she can spend more time and effort to restyle some quality designs. Su Qin didn¡¯t go to work today. The lady boss had called twice to complain to her about too many customers in the shop and told her to go work in the shop tomorrow. Su Qin said OK, she will definitely go back to help in the shop. It¡¯s not even evening yet, but customers have been asking her one after another if she can start the ¡®Entire Store 55¡¯ event earlier? Su Qin said no, since it is an activity, it must comply with the event rules, so as to have a sense of excitement. It was already 6pm once Su Qin finished up. She actually had backache and spinal pain when she got up. She lamented she actually started to have the first sign of cervical spondylosis symptoms at her ¡®young age¡¯. It seemed that she still needed to pay attention to exercising. She can¡¯t treat her body lightly while making money, otherwise the loss will just outweigh the gain. CH 26.2 Rebirth After Being Abducted ¨C Chapter 26.2 Translated by: Oinkoink Names mentioned in this chapter: ¨C ËÕÇØ (S¨± Q¨ªn) ¨C Female Lead ¨C Àè´¨ (L¨ª Chu¨¡n) / Àè½ÌÊÚ (L¨ª ji¨¤osh¨°u) ¨C Male Lead ¨C ÍõÁÕ (W¨¢ng L¨ªn) ¨C FL¡¯s mother ¨C ËÕÕý¹ú (S¨± Zh¨¨nggu¨®) ¨C FL¡¯s father ¨C ³ÂÃÀÐÄ (Chen Meixin) ¨C Su Qin¡¯s lady boss Chapter 26.2 ¨C Divorce This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Resting in bed at 6pm, Su Qin heard Grandma Liu¡¯s voice outside the door. ¡°I see you¡¯ve been standing in the corridor all afternoon. Are you looking for someone?¡± ¡°I ¡­ I ¡­ just stand for a while.¡± ¡°You¡¯re Su Qin¡¯s someone? That girl has been home all along. Try knocking on the door.¡± Before Wang Lin knocked on the door, Grandma Liu took the lead and shouted, ¡°Su-su ah, someone is looking for you, are you home?¡± Hearing the voices outside, Su Qin had a slight idea in her heart, thinking that it might be Wang Lin who was looking for her. When she stuffed the money and slip of paper into Wang Lin¡¯s apron last time, she left an address too. She was not afraid at all that Wang Lin would stick to her like plaster. She knew this woman, whose husband had been her focal point for too long and the more she detested her husband, the more she felt indebted to her daughter. Either she will not come looking for Su Qin and continue to suffer in silence, else she has made up her mind to leave her husband and be obligated to come see her daughter. Now that Wang Lin had come over and stood outside the door all afternoon, thus eighty percent had decided to leave her husband, Su Zhengguo. Opening the door, Su Qin saw a woman with graying at the temples who had bruises around her eyes and lips that she felt a shred of distress. Wang Lin is only in her thirties, but already has gray hair and looks like a woman in her forties or fifties. ¡°Come in.¡± Su Qin stepped aside to make way and let her in. Wang Lin entered her room that was full of clothes and found an empty seat beside the bed to sit down. Su Qin poured her a glass of water and sat down beside her. Raising her hand to lift the hair around her ear, she found a noticeable scar under her ear. She sighed, ¡°Beaten by that man?¡± In Su Qin¡¯s heart at this moment, Su Zhengguo no longer qualified to be a father and a husband. Wang Lin nodded and said with a sigh, ¡°Last night I proposed to divorce your father during dinner and he flew into a rage. Not only did he disagree, he even beat me up. Su-su, you are right. There¡¯s no way to continue living like this. I plan to come out to work, washing or serving dishes is fine which eventually won¡¯t starve myself to death. If he doesn¡¯t agree to divorce, I¡¯ll move out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s troublesome if you delay getting divorced like this. Even if you file a lawsuit, you still need the process.¡± Su Qin was silent for a while and began to think of a way for her mother. After about fifteen minutes, she said, ¡°What about this, I will find someone to falsify a fake cancer diagnosis for you and you can stay with me for a week, then you will go home with the diagnosis. Tell him you don¡¯t want to get divorced and you have cancer. When he finds out that you have cancer, he will definitely try to divorce you.¡± Wang Lin asked, ¡°Is that workable? But what if he doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then it means he still has a conscience. However, Mom, you know better than me what kind of person he is, so you don¡¯t need to deceive yourself. If he learns that you have cancer, even if you don¡¯t file for divorce, he will find an excuse to divorce you too.¡± Wang Lin¡¯s breast cancer in the previous lifetime was due to anger. If she divorced earlier in this lifetime, she might not get that illness. She after all is her biological mother and also a pitiful person. In view of the ten months¡¯ pregnancy and giving birth to her, Su Qin couldn¡¯t ignore her. Wang Lin stayed here with Su Qin for the time being. In the evening, Wang Lin took the initiative to go out and buy food, planning to cook a delicious meal for her daughter. She didn¡¯t spend the one thousand yuan that her daughter gave her. Although she has no spunk, she still has a brain. When she left home, she only left one thousand yuan in cash for Su Zhengguo, taking away the family¡¯s bankbook and the household register booklet. There isn¡¯t much money in the family¡¯s bankbook but it is enough for her and her daughter¡¯s living expenses these few months. For dinner, Wang Lin fried five-spiced pork liver, double-cooked pork and stewed a pot of white radish old duck soup. The pork liver was cooked deliciously tender with full-flavored sauce. The double-cooked pork complemented the stir fried watercress and even the noodles inside were quite tasty. With these two dishes, Su Qin ate five bowls of rice and drank three bowls of old duck soup. She put down the tableware, held her belly, leaned against the white wall, burped and felt very satisfied. Dropping the tableware, Su Qin ran to the computer to continue chatting with the customers. There are still 3 hours until 12 o¡¯clock. More and more customers came to urge her to start the event earlier. Wang Lin glanced at her daughter who was busy in front of the computer and wanted to ask where she got the computer from, but she swallowed the words she was about to say. She silently got up to clean the dishes. Coming back from the balcony, Wang Lin felt there was nothing for her to do. So she tidied up the clothes on the floor, making the original messy room look more spacious. Her daughter sat in front of the computer until 12 am and so she stayed with her until twelve. When Su Qin finished up and got up to get ready to wash up for bed, she found that the original messy room had changed beyond recognition and became tidiedly neat. Even the clothes she casually tossed in the simple wardrobe were neatly folded by Wang Lin. Wang Lin sat on the bed and helped her sew her satchel. The glue of the Mickey cloth sticker on Su Qin¡¯s bag was a little off, so Wang Lin took the needle and thread to stitch it up for her. Wang Lin, after all, is a housewife and her workmanship is good. The stitches were neat and tidy, as if machine-sewn. Su Qin went to wash her face and came back, but her mother still hadn¡¯t slept yet, so she asked her, ¡°Why are you still awake?¡± She got into bed as she asked, and turned off the light in passing, leaving the room in total darkness. In the dark, she merely heard Wang Lin sighed, ¡°Su-su, do you hate Mom?¡± ¡°Hated before.¡± Su Qin rolled over to put her hand on her mother¡¯s body and patted her, ¡°But I can understand you. Okay, go to sleep. Good night.¡± While her daughter was sleeping next to her, Wang Lin¡¯s tears trickled down her cheeks. She was determined to leave that devil. Instead of giving the rest of her life to that irresponsible man, it would be better to stake it all and take care of the daughter who she carried for ten months. For the following week, besides looking for a job, Wang Lin would cook for her daughter and help her pack the clothes to post them by mail. Su Qin originally thought it would take at least a month to sell all the clothes, but unexpectedly all were snatched up within three days. Nearly 50 sets and 100 pieces of items, with not a single piece left. This was much better than what Su Qin had first envisioned. The goods postage was borne by the customers and many of them would choose to buy more pieces in order to be more cost-effective. In just three days, Chen Meixin earned an additional 5,500 yuan, which deducted 1,650 yuan for Su Qin; she still earned 3,850 yuan. This batch of goods was precisely worthless clothes that could not be sold and intended for donation, but unexpectedly sold by Su Qin for additional income. Chen Meixin was certainly overjoyed. After this Taobao store opened, she simply didn¡¯t manage it at all and was entirely set up and run by Su Qin single-handedly. Chen Meixin just lay down and collected the money. She even felt a little embarrassed. Every single item for the ¡®Entire Store 55 yuan¡¯ had gone, but other items in the store were still selling. The Taobao store¡¯s credibility has increased and a lot more new customers have come to their store to buy clothes. In order to improve the customers¡¯ favorable impression, Su Qin would stuff a handwritten message into the package when she dispatched every shipment. ¡°Esteemed Customer, Hello ah ~ I¡¯m Su-su from Yunyi Clothing House. Thank you for supporting my Taobao store. The original intention of doing this Taobao is just to sell goods. But many regular customers think Su-su has a pretty good matching vision, hence they encourage Su-su to continue the Taobao store. In order not to let everyone down, Su-su will match you with better styles in the future. The quality of clothes will also be reviewed strictly for everyone. Please rest assured that Su-su will not let the esteemed customers suffer a loss. The profit of a small store is meager, so please don¡¯t haggle, otherwise Su-su and her mother really will live on air. Thank you everyone ~¡± At the end of the letter, Su Qin would draw a cute ¡®kiss¡¯ expression. Customers who received this message felt that the store owner, Su-su, was particularly friendly. The clothes she matches are nice-looking and the person is so cute. This left them with a favorable impression on her and this Taobao store. Two weeks later, Su Qin¡¯s scumbag father and Wang Lin got divorced. The couple has no property and only 1,500 yuan in the bankbook, so there was no such existence as dividing the family fortune. Days after the divorce, Su Zhengguo went missing with his son for a few days as he was afraid that his ex-wife, who was suffering from cancer, would look for him and ask him for money. Su Qin had already guessed this would be the result, while Wang Lin cried all night because of this. When Su Qin woke up the next day, she saw her mother with red and swollen eyes, ready to go out to look for a job, so she stopped her, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t look for a job for the time being.¡± Hearing this, Wang Lin with tears in her eyes was about to cry again, ¡°If Mom doesn¡¯t go out to work, who will support you when you go to school?¡± Su Qin pulled her to sit down at the dining table. She turned on the computer and said to her, ¡°Starting today, I will teach you how to use the computer and you will help me manage the Taobao store in the future. This certainly makes more money than having you go out to serve dishes. Earning a fortune without leaving home.¡± Wang Lin was skeptical, ¡°Is there such a good thing?¡± Su Qin immediately switched on the Taobao interface and gave her the previous days¡¯ sales, ¡°Mom, look. These are the goods I sold in the past 2 weeks. I get 30% commission for each order. You reckon, how much did I earn?¡± CH 27 Oinkoink14-18 minutes 14.01.2022 Rebirth After Being Abducted ¨C Chapter 27 Translated by: Oinkoink Names mentioned in this chapter: ¨C ËÕÇØ (S¨± Q¨ªn) ¨C Female Lead ¨C Àè´¨ (L¨ª Chu¨¡n) / Àè½ÌÊÚ (L¨ª ji¨¤osh¨°u) ¨C Male Lead ¨C ³ÂÃÀÐÄ (Chen Meixin) ¨C Su Qin¡¯s lady boss ¨C ÍõÁÕ (W¨¢ng L¨ªn) ¨C FL¡¯s mother ¨C ËÕÕý¹ú (S¨± Zh¨¨nggu¨®) ¨C FL¡¯s father ¨C ÃÏ˼˼ (M¨¨ng S¨©s¨©) ¨C Abductee ¨C °ü°ü (B¨¡o b¨¡o) ¨C daughter of the Female Lead with the Male Lead Chapter 27 ¨C School Admission This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Having attended high school, her mother, Wang Lin, has no difficulty typing pinyin. Although she can only use the ¡®index fingers¡¯ to tap one letter at a time, Su Qin has confidence in her as practice makes perfect. What she wants is to build-up her mother¡¯s customer service skills. Whether her age or perhaps her mentality, her mother, Wang Lin who is already in her thirties, is downright an ¡®old woman¡¯. Yet Su Qin intends to train her mother to be a ¡®young customer service¡¯. During the first two days, Wang Lin was unable to act cute whenever she tried chatting with the customers. Su Qin, who was beside her, brainwashed and cheered her on, ¡°Mom, you have to visualize yourself as a young girl and when the customers have enquiries, your intuitiveness must be cute.¡± Biting her lips, Wang Lin said, ¡°I¡¯m already this age, how can I still have the gall to act like you young girls?¡± ¡°Mom, who knows who you are on the internet?¡± Su Qin reassured her patiently. ¡°In the cyber-world, you can pretend to be a beauty, a lady-killer and all kinds of characters you want to be. Open-up. In any case, the customers won¡¯t charge to our home to see if you are a man or a woman, right?¡± Hearing what her daughter said, Wang Lin was actually a little relieved that she gritted her teeth and started to act cute. Su Qin went to help the lady boss sell clothes in the store during the day, while Wang Lin stayed home to help her manage Taobao. Every night she would check her mother¡¯s ¡®assignment¡¯ once she returned home. She realized that Wang Lin performed relatively better when she was not around. To improve her chatting skills, Wang Lin registered a QQ account and added many online friends to chat with. She met a male user called ¡®Wandering Saber¡¯ and chatted with him every day as a young girl. She felt happy whenever he complimented her ¡®lovely as a flower¡¯. The cyber-world is indeed too wondrous. Wang Lin only realized how wonderful the outside world actually is after leaving her husband, Su Zhengguo. After spending a month with her daughter, Wang Lin felt as if she had returned to the days before she got married and the freedom of being single. Every day she is busy until noon and goes to buy groceries then cook before her daughter gets off work. Due to the hot summer, Wang Lin went to buy an electric fan in the wholesale market to set it at home. With the blowing fan, the quality sleep of mother and daughter was much better at night. Su Qin would buy two bowls of cold jelly when she came home from work every night. Not mentioning how happy the days were for both mother and daughter to eat cold jelly with the electric fan blowing on the stifling hot evenings. Her daughter gave her 1200 for the first month¡¯s salary, which she alone couldn¡¯t spend it all. After deducting their living expenses, she saved all up. Using her mother¡¯s ID card to get a bank card, Su Qin deposited all she earned into the account since she wasn¡¯t at ease leaving so much money at home. Adding up the July sales, the lady boss noticed that Taobao sales had already surpassed the retail shop sales. But, just at this moment, some regular customers called one after another, asking Su Qin what actually happened with their Taobao store? Why were there always huge discounts? Even talks about the boss running off? Chen Meixin had worried about this from the beginning, but since Taobao sales were not particularly good at that time and there was also no feedback from the regular customers, she wasn¡¯t concerned then. When Taobao sales gradually increased later, she forgot about it as she was too immersed in the joy of making profit while lying down. While Chen Meixin and Su Qin were attending to some customers today, a regular customer dashed into the shop overbearingly. Being a northerner, the customer was almost as big and tall as a 1.8 meters man. The moment she opened her mouth, the entire shop seemed to shake. ¡°Boss Chen, aren¡¯t you guys rather dishonest doing business like this? Your shop is properly here, yet the boss was said to have run off online? Furthermore, the clothes you sell online are so cheap while the clothes in the retail shop are so expensive, isn¡¯t this intentional deception?¡± Rendered speechless momentarily, Chen Meixin glanced at Su Qin. Su Qin calmly explained, ¡°Sister Zhang, you are also our shop¡¯s regular customer, how can you not know how ethical our business is? We have already given our Taobao store to others and the current seller is my sister. She just helps sell our retail shop clothing and at the same time also sells those 55 yuan low-priced clothes. Those bargains are not available in our shop.¡± Looking around, Sister Zhang, indeed, didn¡¯t see any of those 55 yuan clothes in the shop. Yet there were several of those ¡®original price 399, now at 159¡¯ clothes in store. The price listed on Taobao was much higher than the store, which displeased her too. What if she had bought those 159 clothes on Taobao to realize it was actually only a 100 in the retail shop, wouldn¡¯t she suffer big losses? Su Qin then added, ¡°Sister Zhang, how can we cheat you since you are also our regular customer? You see, as long as you fancy those discounted 159 clothes, you can get it in the shop. We never charge you any pricier and even give you a discount over discount each time and you can get it for 100 yuan. This is an exclusive benefit for our VIP customers which is not avail to the Taobao customers. Online we are unable to tell if it¡¯s Sister Zhang yourself, thus we certainly are not able to give such a discount.¡± Hearing her say so, Sister Zhang felt more at ease. Not only does she buy cheaper than those on Taobao, she actually is also an exclusive VIP customer and her heart is bouncing with joy. After getting soothed by Su Qin, Sister Zhang glanced at those new clothes in store before asking Su Qin, ¡°Little Su ah, I liked one 55 yuan clothing on Taobao, can you get it for me? Sister went to bed early that day and couldn¡¯t manage to grab it, thus I have felt exasperated for a long time.¡± Shaking her head, Su Qin said, ¡°I really wanted to help but I can¡¯t. My sister said, there is really none left once those are sold out. We do have some new styles in store, why don¡¯t you take another look?¡± Sister Zhang sighed. Lacking interest, she then left without choosing a single piece of clothing. When regular customers came to ask Sister Zhang¡¯s similar questions later, Su Qin and Chen Meixin responded the same too. There is already business on their Taobao store now, thus it¡¯s not appealing doing regular customers¡¯ business. Without doubt, Su Qin is aware this method of ¡®misery marketing¡¯ can¡¯t last long. Hence she has started preparing to slowly transform the store. She has discussed it with Chen Meixin. Once she has altered those 200 pieces of clothing into quality clothes and sells them all out, the store will slowly move to ¡®boutique¡¯ styles. Hereafter, they both must jointly review the Taobao store¡¯s selection before uploading online. In order to standardize the store¡¯s clothing style, Su Qin precisely set the ¡®novelty trend¡¯ for their Taobao. Due to the distinct style perspective, this Taobao store will leave the impression of ¡®trendy-avant-garde¡¯, ¡®fashionable novelty¡¯ and ¡®effective cost production¡¯ to the customers. Su Qin had her own brand in her previous lifetime and knew the importance of these ¡®labeling¡¯. Once these labeling are deeply rooted in the customers¡¯ minds, customers will first think of their Taobao store when they want to buy novelty avant-garde and cost production clothes in the future. Su Qin received a call from the school in early August. The high school year-one students must report to school on August 22 since the school will begin the integrated military training. In her previous lifetime, Su Qin returned to the city at the age of 20 and attended high school as a ¡®special student¡¯, hence she didn¡¯t experience military training in high school. She didn¡¯t know if there were any differences between high school military training and military training in the university. As Li Chuan is busy venturing his business and Su Qin is also busy with work, they haven¡¯t met for half a month though they keep in touch every day. With the thriving Taobao business, Su Qin has made some money too, so she plans to treat Li Chuan for a meal before school starts. She called, but Li Chuan¡¯s phone was always engaged and he didn¡¯t reply to her QQ messages either. Worried that something might have happened, she messaged Panda¡¯s QQ and asked what was going on with Li Chuan. Online 24 hours a day, Panda quickly replied to her, ¡°Boss has just arrived in the USA and should be in a meeting. Just wait, he will contact you himself once he is free.¡± Su Qin was puzzled, ¡°USA? What¡¯s he doing in the USA?¡± Panda, ¡°To discuss joint ventures. You little Yatou[1] won¡¯t understand even if I tell you. Wait for Boss¡¯ triumphant return, then you can extort him for a nice meal and make him take you to eat the most sumptuous meal in all of Yunyang!¡± Disappeared for the whole half month, Li Chuan didn¡¯t even make a single call to Su Qin. He merely messaged Su Qin, ¡°I¡¯ll call you once I¡¯m done.¡± Half a month later, Su Qin packed her luggage to report to school. In order not to lose her daughter¡¯s face, Wang Lin specially went to the hairdresser to dye her gray hair black and tidied herself befittingly poised. Yunyang High School is a century-old school with a tree-lined avenue at the entrance that lets people feel refreshed once they enter the campus. The campus is also well landscaped with stylishly built classroom buildings. Going to the dormitory building, they passed by the rear field and were shocked by Yunzhong¡¯s impressive sports field. There are asphalt tracks, a turfed football field, even a basketball and a tennis court. There is a swimming pool and a fully equipped indoor gym behind the boys¡¯ dormitory. Compared to Su Qin¡¯s former Chengnan First Middle School, the two schools are not on the same level at all. Her former school doesn¡¯t even have an asphalt track, let alone a turfed football field. When she and her mother arrived at the dormitory, there was not a soul in sight. This is a four-person room with two desks and a wardrobe. Worried about being disturbed at night, Su Qin chose the top bunk by the window. Wang Lin climbed onto the bed to spread her bedding while she organized her clothes below. She had just opened the wardrobe when the phone in her pocket rang and the caller was ¡°Li Chuanchuan¡±. [T/N: ´®´® (Chu¨¤n chu¨¤n) ¨C this chuan (´®) means string together/skewer, while L¨ª Chu¨¡n (´¨) mean province] In the previous lifetime, when Su Qin typed Li Chuan¡¯s name, her hands shook and keyed in ¡®Li Chuanchuan¡¯, and she never changed it. Because of this, Li Chuan relentlessly carried out his ¡®revenge¡¯ by tossing her all night while she begged for mercy the whole night after he noticed Su Qin¡¯s typeface. As a result the next morning, their four-year-old Baobao sat on a high stool with her little chubby legs dangling as she crossed her arms and questioned Li Chuan with a ¡®fierce¡¯ frown, ¡°Chuanchuan! Did you bully Su-su again? I don¡¯t have such a Daddy like you and Baobao won¡¯t acknowledge you as my Daddy! Unless you apologize to Su-su, then Baobao will forgive you.¡± Li Chuan spoke good-naturedly, ¡°Baobao, Daddy didn¡¯t bully Su-su.¡± Baobao knitted her brows more severely and had both hands akimbo, ¡°You¡¯re lying! I heard mommy¡¯s screams last night! You must have bitten mommy, right?¡± Li Chuan went to hug his daughter, but the little girl persistently punched his chest with her small chubby fist, ¡°Bad Daddy Chuanchuan, you let me go, let me go!¡± From then on, Su Qin and Li Chuan no longer dare to make much noise at night. Thinking about these past matters, Su Qin actually found it laughable. With the corners of her lips curved up, Su Qin answered the call, ¡°Hello, is your business going well? CEO Li who is far away in the USA.¡± The young girl¡¯s tone made Li Chuan on the other end of the phone stunned for a moment. He had gotten used to the young girl calling him ¡®Teacher Li¡¯ and the sudden ¡®CEO Li¡¯ made him feel unfamiliar and quite formal. Li Chuan laughed at the other end of the phone, ¡°Of course.¡± The man¡¯s voice was clear and mellow without a trace of modesty. As if there is nothing that this man can¡¯t do in this world. Li Chuan¡¯s ¡®31 Antivirus Software¡¯ was renamed ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯. His trip to the USA was to form a strategic partnership with the global antivirus manufacturer, Castle. ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ has taken the country by storm in just three months, surpassing Golden Shield Antivirus in one fell swoop and becoming the most downloaded security system software. Going to the USA this time, he had successfully obtained the joint investment from American Top Point Investment, The Force Investment, Red Parachute Investment and MIJ. Now Li Chuan¡¯s worth is different from the past. In fact, as early as a month ago, Li Chuan¡¯s company was elected as ¡®2006 Most Valuable Investment¡¯ company. He had lived up to the expectations going to the USA this time. Li Chuan asked her, ¡°Is school starting today?¡± ¡°En.¡± Su Qin held the phone between her ear and her shoulder while stuffing clothes into the wardrobe, ¡°This evening, the night coaching teacher will check attendance and give out the military camo uniform, and the campus military training will start tomorrow.¡± Li Chuan said, ¡°I¡¯ve arrived outside your school. I¡¯m waiting for you at Starry Word milk tea shop on the back street. I¡¯ve brought you a gift from the USA.¡± ¡°A gift? You don¡¯t have to do that.¡± Li Chuan laughed, ¡°Everyone has one, and the privilege is not yours only.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­.. ¡° It seemed she had made a fool of herself. They agreed to meet at the off-campus milk tea shop in fifteen minutes. Su Qin dropped what she was holding and looked up at her mother, ¡°Mom, Teacher Li is waiting for me at the milk tea shop outside. I¡¯ll go meet him.¡± ¡°Teacher Li is here? Aiyo, then you can¡¯t go empty-handed. Su-su, bring the one kg of apples that Mom bought for you this morning to Teacher Li. People are here to see you, so you should know the etiquette.¡± Su Qin thought her mother had a point, so she carried the apples and prepared to go out. Just as she reached the door, a long-legged girl who was half a head taller than her rushed in and the two people collided. Su Qin¡¯s forehead bumped the girl¡¯s nose. The other party rubbed her nose and almost cried out as she asked in a slightly weepy voice, ¡°Are you okay?¡± This voice ¡­ Su Qin looked up and met the girl¡¯s line of sight when they both called out almost the same time, ¡°Sisi!¡± ¡°Sister Su Qin!¡± [1] Ѿͷ (Y¨¡tou) ¨C is now used to describe a ¡®cute girl¡¯, but it¡¯s best to use this word only for young girl, especially those who are close to you ¡ª since it¡¯s very informal. CH 28.1 Chapter 28.1- Instructor This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. As soon as Su Qin¡¯s voice faltered, Meng Sisi embraced and spun her around the dormitory twice. She felt a little dizzy once the girl put her down. Holding her forehead, she said, ¡°Sisi, you are really super strong now. I am not light-weighted ah.¡± Feeling a little embarrassed, Meng Sisi scratched the back of her head and spoke earnestly, ¡°I have been training my stamina these few months as the fundamentals of entering the police academy in the future. After all, I am a woman who wants to protect and defend our country, so how can my stamina lose to a man. Am I right?¡± The young girl¡¯s physique has grown a lot after not seeing her for a few months and her temperament has significant changes too. She is noticeably more sturdy than before and her dressing is also on the unisex side. With a casual ponytail, the girl wore a camo short-sleeved tucked into ripped jeans with slender and straight legs. The temperament of an affluent pampered girl had totally disappeared and a lot more of the carefree heroic girl disposition. Su Qin is clear that although the girl is doted on by her family in every possible way after returning home, she is unable to let go of the mountain village¡¯s shadow. She subconsciously wants to become stronger, disgusted with her former weak self and hopes to be able to protect more people someday. Su Qin knew Meng Sisi passed Yunzhong¡¯s exam, but she didn¡¯t expect it would be so coincidental. Meng Sisi¡¯s family driver was right behind her. The driver put the bedding and luggage on the table and asked her, ¡°Sisi, you intend to sleep on which bed?¡± The girl scanned around the remaining three vacant beds and pointed to the upper bunk opposite Su Qin and said, ¡°Over there. Uncle Lin please help me make my bed. Mere thanks cannot express my gratitude.¡± The girl heroically cupped her hands to the driver, with quite a jianghu¡¯s dignified aura. Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° It seems this girl is all set to develop in the direction of a ¡®heroine¡¯. Hearing the conversation between the two girls, Wang Lin stuck her head out from the upper bunk and asked Su Qin, ¡°Su-su, you know each other ah?¡± ¡°Old classmate.¡± Su Qin replied to her mother and turned to the girl, ¡°Sisi, which class were you assigned to?¡± Meng Sisi said regretfully, ¡°The bottom Class 12, how about you?¡± Su Qin said, ¡°Class 1.¡± Meng Sisi hooked her arm over her shoulder and punched her chest with her fist, ¡°Sister Su Qin, you did it ah.¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± Getting punched on the chest by the girl, Su Qin felt a little pain and spoke as she rubbed her chest, ¡°Dear Heroine Sisi, you, be gentle.¡± Meng Sisi let her go, ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± Teacher Tang was in-charge of both Class 1 and Class 12. The class division was according to the entrance exam result and except the Whiz Class, they were respectively placed in the first and last class. In order to let the good students in Class 1 influence the ¡®weak¡¯ students in Class 12, Teacher Tang deliberately mixed the boys and girls from the two classes to live together. The dormitories were four-person rooms, so each dormitory has two students from Class 1 and two from Class 12. With pouty lips, Meng Sisi took Su Qin¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I envy you. My entrance exam result is pretty bad. I was short of 5 points and my dad spent 50,000 just to get me a place. Class 12 is the bottom class which is a million miles apart from your Class 1.¡± The two girls exchanged pleasantries for a while and half an hour later, Su Qin slapped her head and remembered, ¡°Teacher Li is still waiting for me in the milk tea shop at the back street. I¡¯ll go there first.¡± ¡°Teacher Li?¡± Meng Sisi threw her schoolbag on the table and grabbed her, ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Sitting in the milk tea shop, Li Chuan waited 40 minutes patiently for Su Qin. During this period, he kept taking out the gift he bought for Su Qin to check if the packaging was damaged. After repeatedly checking a dozen times, Su Qin finally came. He thought he could be alone with the young girl, but found another little tail behind Su Qin. Fortunately, this little tail was not Yun Fei so he felt slightly comforted. When Meng Sisi saw Li Chuan, she exclaimed excitedly, ¡°Teacher Li, long time no see!¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± The man got up to greet the two girls, pulled out the stools for them in a gentlemanly manner and beckoned the boss to bring the menu over. Meng Sisi ordered a cup of pearl milk tea and Su Qin asked for a cup of honey yuzu tea. ¡°This is a gift I bought for you from the USA.¡± Li Chuan handed Su Qin an exquisite shopping bag, then turned to look at Meng Sisi and spoke apologetically, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here too, I¡¯ll make it up for you next time.¡± Meng Sisi waved her hand casually, ¡°Aiya Teacher Li, you¡¯re too courteous. There¡¯s no need to make up any gift for me. I lack nothing.¡± As Su Qin couldn¡¯t unwrap the gift in front of Li Chuan and Sisi, she put the shopping bag aside. Biting the straw, she took a sip of the sweet and sour yuzu tea, raised her gaze and asked the man, ¡°Is Teacher Li free tonight? You have been abroad for half a month. I haven¡¯t treated you to the ¡®thank you meal¡¯ which I owed you and you have now given me so many things, I don¡¯t know when I can repay all the favors that I owed you.¡± Li Chuan paused for a while and spoke calmly in a preachy tone, ¡°If you want to pay back those favors, please study hard. You adolescent girls are susceptible to all kinds of various temptations, so I hope you will not forget your original aspiration and be able to work hard in your three years of high school.¡± Su Qin nodded, looking as if she had benefited from the advice. However, in her heart, she started to complain about the tone of the old man who instilled in her ¡®the idea of studying hard¡¯, like an old father. Ahem ¡­ Li Chuan added, ¡°You should work even harder and not slack off after school starts. Once school starts, come to my company every weekend morning for tutoring and I will send you back to school in the afternoon.¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Choking on a mouthful of drink, Su Qin coughed, ¡°No ¡­ that¡¯s needless?¡± Li Chuan frowned and his whole aura turned cold, ¡°Afraid of hard work?¡± After coughing for a while, Su Qin shook her head abruptly, ¡°No, no, no, no ¡­ I¡¯ve now been admitted to Yunzhong, it is okay to just study with everyone. Letting you tutor me again will hold up your time.¡± Li Chuan took a sip of coffee, his throat bobbed and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Su Qin, from the moment you accepted my tutoring, you are precisely my student. I don¡¯t like giving up halfway. Before you get into the university, I am responsible for your studies, this is my ethical benchmark. Moreover, Yunzhong has gathered the province¡¯s top students, do you think they are all geniuses? Many of them will intensify their studies through tutorials. So, you can¡¯t fall behind either, understand?¡± Meng Sisi, who was unable to interrupt, raised her hand to express, ¡°I agree with this. You can¡¯t slack off after getting admitted to Yunzhong and must work harder to intensify your studies. My dad has already helped me contact a good tutor. I will be tutored every weekend thereafter. In the next three years, I feel like I have no time to play. Haiz ¡­ ¡° Su Qin looked at the solemn-faced Li Chuan, compromised and cupped her hands at him, ¡°Strict master produces brilliant disciples. This disciple admires the master¡¯s persistence and will definitely live up to the master¡¯s expectations.¡± Although these were teasing words, Su Qin indeed admired Li Chuan heartily, a man who always carried things through. If it was her, she might not be able to withstand the pressure of work to make time to tutor others. She doesn¡¯t understand the world of geniuses, nor does she understand the way these geniuses think, who deserve to succeed. Li Chuan was amused by her dead earnest flattering appearance. The man with a long-face a moment ago now has a gentle smile on his face, as if becoming quite a different person. "" Meng Sisi lowered her head to sip two mouthfuls of milk tea, sizing up the expressions of the two people who smiled at each other and had already begun to visualize a 100,000 words romance novel. Meng Sisi has long known about Li Chuan tutoring Su Qin. She merely thought it was Li Chuan¡¯s public service act. But after watching their interaction, she couldn¡¯t help but suspect that Teacher Li has ulterior motives against Su Qin. Li Chuan is good in every aspect and is the yearning object of many young girls¡¯ romantic love. Meng Sisi could feel that although Li Chuan was courteous to her, there was clearly a sense of alienation that he was unwilling to get close to. Yet he treats Su Qin differently. Under the seriousness, there clearly inhibited a sense of doting in his eyes. Adolescent girls think differently from adult men. She thinks that as long as it is true love, it doesn¡¯t matter even if there is an age gap. Sisi sized up the outstanding man in front of her and envied his different stance towards Su Qin. An uncle and a Lolita ¡­ make her feel very loving. Thinking as such, Meng Sisi immediately left the milk tea shop with the pretext of ¡®going back to catch up on sleep¡¯ and no longer disturbing the two people¡¯s ¡®date¡¯. Su Qin can¡¯t treat the man to eat roadside stalls as the ¡®thank you meal¡¯ since sincerity is still required. So she picked a Chinese restaurant not far from the school, with tasteful surroundings and a fair price. After the two were seated, Su Qin handed the menu to Li Chuan but the man ordered all her favorite dishes. Li Chuan ordered four dishes; mullet with pickled vegetables, stir-fried meat, five spice pork liver and pot-wrapped pork. These are not only Su Qin¡¯s favorites, but also the ones she cooks best. She said to Li Chuan, ¡°These dishes that Teacher Li ordered happen to be what I am good at. If there is a chance, I will cook them for Teacher Li.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Li Chuan arched his eyebrows, ¡°Coincidentally, I¡¯m also good at cooking these dishes.¡± Su Qin snorted, questioning the man¡¯s words, ¡°No way? Teacher Li is so busy with myriads of work that you can even cook?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll give you a chance to validate it someday.¡± Li Chuan put a piece of her favorite pork liver in her bowl. Su Qin had gotten so used to Li Chuan serving her dishes that she didn¡¯t feel anything amiss. Biting the chopsticks, she questioned again, ¡°Teacher Li, you really know how to cook ah?¡± ¡°Yes. And good at it.¡± Su Qin remembered Li Chuan didn¡¯t know how to cook in the previous lifetime. After they got married, the man was busy with work and Su Qin intuitively took over the household chores. Being married for many years, Li Chuan had never truly cooked before. But in this lifetime, things are not quite the same. Not only did Li Chuan know how to cook, even his career path was different too. He didn¡¯t opt to be a teacher but started a company and his company¡¯s prospects are clearly seen. Su Qin vaguely remembered there was no ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ software in the previous lifetime and the security protection software that dominated Chinese computers¡¯ users at that time was ¡®Golden Shield Antivirus¡¯. In the previous lifetime, there was no security protection software that could surpass ¡®Golden Shield Antivirus¡¯ and the founder of Golden Shield would rely on this software to become a cyberspace mogul worth hundreds of billions. However, in this lifetime, Li Chuan¡¯s ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ actually seized the ¡®Golden Shield Antivirus¡¯ market in 2006 and became the top one ranking ¡®security protection software¡¯. CH 28.2 Chapter 28.2- Instructor This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. After her rebirth, she had also installed ¡®Golden Shield Antivirus¡¯ as she subconsciously felt that it was the best antivirus software. But once she knew that Li Chuan had also developed an antivirus software, she installed the ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ with the supportive approach and uninstalled the Golden Shield, yet unexpectedly realized that 31 has a better user interface compared to that of Golden Shield. If ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ can persistently maintain its reputation, then, in the next 10 years or so, the founder of Golden Shield will no longer be worth hundreds of billions, but Li Chuan. Thinking of this, Su Qin suddenly felt the horror of the butterfly effect. As she has changed the fate of several people, even Li Chuan¡¯s fate has changed and the future development of cyberspace trends has also changed. The occasional fluttering wings of a South America rainforest butterfly could cause a tornado in Texas, USA after two weeks. Hence, it didn¡¯t seem an exaggeration either that such changes now were the result from her alteration of several people¡¯s fate. Small butterflies, big effects. Perhaps there will be more unimaginable events happening in the future. Envisaging Mr. Li might become a pivotal figure in the cyberspace area in the future, Su Qin felt she would really let him down if she didn¡¯t study well. After all, she is also considered the private disciple of a future billionaire mogul. Not to mention others, she must earn at least 10 million for her future annual salary to be worthy of the man¡¯s tutoring, right? Thinking as such, she began to wonder again if Li Chuan in this lifetime had ever thought of being a teacher. Su Qin asked probingly, ¡°Teacher Li, you are so responsible for your students, don¡¯t you have the intention of becoming a teacher?¡± Li Chuan shook his head, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I have achieved a great sense of accomplishment teaching you as my student. Besides, my company has good development prospects, so why do I want to be a teacher?¡± Li Chuan put down his chopsticks with a face full of confidence, ¡°I have confidence in this industry.¡± Whew. Su Qin took a deep breath. She flatteringly used tea to replace the wine, ¡°Don¡¯t forget your friend when you become rich.¡± With lips curled, Li Chuan clinked her cup, ¡°I won¡¯t forget.¡± He understood that as long as he is wealthy enough; fame and power will naturally come to him. The more powerful he is, there will be more power of discourse in this society and also more capable to protect his family, which naturally can give Su Qin and his future daughter a better safer life. His annual salary was only a million in his previous lifetime. He was able to purchase a car and a villa in a common neighborhood, but had no discourse power in that society, nor could he afford to buy a deluxe villa with better security. In that society, even though he was a young talent, there were too many people richer than him. He wants money, power and also absolute power of discourse. And all these are impossible for a professor, thus he can only give up his former career to start a business. Su Qin was suddenly full of curiosity about the kind of woman Li Chuan likes in this lifetime. With both hands propped under her chin, she looked at Li Chuan and asked him, ¡°My esteemed master, your disciple is especially curious, what kind of woman does a man as outstanding as you like? Are there any girls who you like in school ah? What requirements would a genius like you have for your other half or sought after?¡± ¡°I was so focused on my studies when I was in school that I had no energy to have crooked thoughts.¡± Li Chuan answered her seriously, ¡°As for the requirements ¡­ the notion is very vague, at least I don¡¯t have a definite characterization now. When I meet the right person, the requirements for the other half will naturally depend on her.¡± ¡°Wow. Teacher Li, your answer makes me feel very romantic. Looking forward to the early appearance of my future master¡¯s wife.¡± Su Qin¡¯s tone was like a young girl as she tried her best to act na?ve. In the previous lifetime, Li Chuan was a teacher and his actions conformed with the norms of society. While Li Chuan in this lifetime is a businessman, the person he chooses should also be someone who is evenly matched with him, not her anymore. The two of them after all were a couple in their previous lifetime, and Li Chuan helped her so much that Su Qin sincerely hoped Li Chuan will have a good home. Looking at her in silence for a moment, Li Chuan asked her too, ¡°Why are you asking me this? You too have your own criteria for choosing a spouse?¡± ¡°Teacher Li, I¡¯m not qualified to talk about this with my situation.¡± Shaking her head with her face cupped, Su Qin¡¯s eyes were bright and she spoke with heartfelt emotion, ¡°However, I ¡­ will either marry for love or marry my career. I will not blindly choose a spouse because of my age or customary view.¡± Li Chuan put down the glass in his hand and nodded, ¡°Such a young age and has thought quite far.¡± Su Qin gave a beaming smile, ¡°Of course, I also hope that Teacher Li will marry for love too.¡± Li Chuan laughed, ¡°Marry for love?¡± Su Qin said, ¡°Oh no, Teacher Li should get married to love!¡± The man looked at the girl¡¯s youthful face and suddenly froze for a moment. After a while, he smiled at the girl and said, ¡°Of course.¡± Li Chuan sent Su Qin back to school after dinner. At the school gate, the girl waved goodbye to him, ¡°Goodbye Teacher Li, see you after the military training.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Li Chuan nodded at the girl and watched her walk into the campus. Watching the girl turn her head and her ponytail gently flicked in the air, Li Chuan had an indescribable feeling in his heart. He worried that the girl and Yun Fei would develop feelings for each other, and also worried about her future marriage, where the other half would no longer be him. Due to the girl¡¯s age, he could not express any feelings to her. Fate has a way of messing with people. He sighed silently. Su-su, enjoy your youth. I¡¯ll wait for you to become an adult. What I couldn¡¯t give you in the previous lifetime, I will give it to you this lifetime and I will also try my best to let you marry for love. Su Qin just arrived at the dormitory door when she heard voices of girls talking inside before entering the door. ¡°I went to eat in the canteen just now and saw many soldiers! They queued up neatly to get food and sat there to eat with their chests and back straight. OMG, so handsome!¡± Meng Sisi said with a serious face, ¡°Hope the instructor will be stern with us girls.¡± Another girl¡¯s voice was cold, ¡°Classmate Sisi, this kind of thinking of yours is awful. Just because you want to be maltreated doesn¡¯t mean everyone wants to suffer along with you.¡± Stepping into the dormitory, Su Qin put the things in her hand on the table, smiled at the three girls and introduced herself, ¡°Hello, I am Su Qin and hope to get more of your guidance in the future.¡± Meng Sisi smiled at her, ¡°Su-su, how was your date with Teacher Li?¡± Su Qin¡¯s expression became serious suddenly, ¡°Can¡¯t make this kind of joke indiscriminately.¡± Sticking her tongue out, Meng Sisi raised two fingers to swear, ¡°Okay, promise not to make such a joke again.¡± ¡°Already dating in your first year of high school? You are in Class 1? I hope you won¡¯t hold our class back in the future, I hate those who drag the class down.¡± Su Qin¡¯s gaze fell on the girl who spoke. The girl¡¯s name is Yu Wen, who is about 1.75 meter tall and the tallest girl in the dormitory. She has waist-length wavy hair with profound features. Although she is not the traditional oval face beauty, she is exquisitely refined with a kind of aloof temperament, who is an exceptional cold beauty. Su Qin sighed with emotion, this kind of beauty, it doesn¡¯t matter if she is a little bad-tempered as long as her behavior is not excessive and her core values are not crooked, right? ¡°Classmate Su Qin, why are you staring at Yu Wen like this? Your gaze is so love-struck.¡± The one who spoke was another roommate, Yan Yixiao. This girl is less than 1.6 meters tall, with two tied-up hair buns and was wearing an anime Lolita costume. Although she is a little chubby, her voice is very cute. Lolita costumes are not popular in this era. Daring to wear like this, Yan Yixiao needs a lot of courage too? The school had issued a circular that students must change into their camo uniforms by six o¡¯clock then proceed as a unit per dormitory to the back sports ground to find their own classes and assemble as a team. As the same teacher is in-charge of both Class 1 and Class 12, they were assigned into a big group for the military training and led by two instructors together. Since one dormitory was a unit, Su Qin, Meng Sisi and Yan Yixiao, who had long changed their clothes, waited patiently at the door for Yu Wen, who took an hour to change her clothes. Yu Wen disdained the ugly military uniform and struggled for a long time on how to wear it trendier. Finally, she simply threw the cap away, tied the camo jacket around her waist and followed the other three roommates to the back sports ground. However, the four girls were half an hour late. On the sports ground, more than a dozen dense square arrays had lined up neatly and thousands of students stared at the four girls who were late. When Su Qin and her three roommates were looking for their classes, they were stopped by the Chief Instructor. ¡°You four! Get over here!¡± The Chief Instructor¡¯s voice was so loud it shook the entire ground into dead silence. The four people led by Su Qin were so frightened by the voice that they leapt up. The Chief Instructor looked no more than 25 or 26 years old, with a pair of ink-black eyebrows. His eyes were knife-like sharp with dark skin and sturdy physique, a tough man full of masculinity. Standing there the man was not angry but compelling. Su Qin just stared at his eyes and shuddered. The four girls lined up and stood neatly in a row. The Chief Instructor glanced over. The four girls happened to stand from short to tall. The little plump girl at the end of the row looked at him timidly and spoke coquettishly, ¡°Instructor, we are students of Class 12, may I ask where our class is ah?¡± The young girl¡¯s voice was so sweet that it was gooey. The Instructor glanced over, ¡°Did I let you speak?¡± This sound caused Su Qin¡¯s shoulders to tremble. Not to mention a young girl, even she, a woman possessing a grown-up¡¯s soul, felt that this Chief Instructor was terrifyingly fierce. The young girl pouted her small mouth and muttered unknowingly, ¡° ¡­ you didn¡¯t tell me not to talk either.¡± Su Qin tugged the hem of the young girl¡¯s coat, motioning her not to talk. The Chief Instructor saw Su Qin¡¯s small movements and yelled at her, ¡°You, step out.¡± Su Qin looked around, pointed to the tip of her own nose and asked, ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Step out!¡± Su Qin took a step forward. Chief Instructor, ¡°Like to meddle? One hundred push-ups!¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° She was about to lie prone on the ground to do one hundred push-ups when a boy wandered casually into everyone¡¯s field of vision to block in front of Su Qin and asked the Chief Instructor recklessly, ¡°Why are you so fierce?¡± All those present were in an uproar. Thousands pairs of eyes stared at that big boy who wasn¡¯t wearing the camo uniform and who was as tall as the Chief Instructor. While everyone admired him, they were also silently praying for him. Su Qin took a deep breath too and stared at Yun Fei with wide eyes. Young lad. You probably haven¡¯t heard about the cruelty of military training instructors? The Chief Instructor raised his gaze and looked face to face at Yun Fei for a long time before he laughed scornfully. He turned around and said to the crowd of students, ¡°For the next 12 days, I don¡¯t care if you are the wealthy young master or pampered young miss, when you are here, you are simply my soldiers!¡± His voice was resonantly loud. Holding their breaths, the students looked at him and no one dared to speak. The Chief Instructor turned around unexpectedly and knocked the big boy over with a shoulder-throw. All the students sucked in a cold breath. The Chief Instructor pointed to Yun Fei on the ground and said, ¡°This is what happens when you violate discipline and disobey orders! Don¡¯t worry, in the next half a month, I absolutely will not let you die, I will make you feel worse than death!¡± Su Qin looked at the stern Chief Instructor, swallowed a mouthful of saliva and then obediently lied prone to do push-ups. She ¡­ would submit to this vicious big shot. ¡°Report to the Instructor!¡± Meng Sisi stepped forward too and said to the Chief Instructor, ¡°I request to share half of her push-ups!¡± Chief Instructor, ¡°You, two hundred!¡± Meng Sisi pursed the corners of her mouth. Chief Instructor, ¡°Unwilling to concede? Three hundred!¡± Meng Sisi, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° CH 29 Military Training This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin could still feign the first ten push-ups, and simply lay prone on the ground after that or just propped her body up with her hands but not moving, yet her mouth was still counting. She barely did a hundred bogus push-ups, which was already her limit. The Chief Instructor, Xu Hang, appeared stern, but he was actually lenient to the girls. If one really counted, Su Qin probably did only twenty. However, Meng Sisi did every single push-up quite conforming. Once she reached the 100th, Xu Hang called out stop and let her return to the team. Classmate Meng Sisi spoke gaspingly, ¡°Report to the Instructor! I can still do a 100 more!¡± After all, her months of intense physical training was not for nothing and the muscles on her arms did not develop in vain. Chief Instructor Xu Hang, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° The male students below: Wow ¡­ a tough woman. Su Qin also thought that Sisi was crazy. She had lived for more than thirty years and this was the first time seeing such a tough girl. Able to transform a pampered girl of an affluent family into a tough girl, it could be seen how very provoking that incident was to her. The number of students for Class 1 and Class 12 was a lot. Beside the typical instructor named Zhang Xinchuan, there was also Chief Instructor, Xu Hang. The students of Class 1 and Class 12 were about to cry, they had the most fierce Chief Instructor leading them and they would lose half of their lives if they didn¡¯t die in the next half month. On the first night of military training, the instructors didn¡¯t drill them, rather let the students sit down and taught them to sing army songs. While the Chief Instructor, Xu Hang, went to the toilet, Instructor Zhang Xinchuan quietly told the students, ¡°Fellow schoolmates ah, you all must behave well these two weeks ah. Do you know what Instructor Xu does?¡± In the crowd, Yun Fei snorted coldly, ¡°Fly the rocket?¡± ¡°Unlikely that exaggerate as flying a rocket.¡± Instructor Zhang pointed at him and said, ¡°You kid offended him as soon as you are here, you will have a hard time later. Instructor Xu and Instructor Wu next door are both members of the Elite Special Forces, one codenamed Flying Wolf and the other Falcon. Do you all know the Elite Special Forces?¡± A boy asked, ¡°So remarkable, then why are they here being our instructors? Don¡¯t Special Forces officers have special tasks and are very busy?¡± Instructor Zhang explained, ¡°Instructor Xu and Instructor Wu were injured during a mission and they are both recuperating from their injuries. Neither of them wished to take leave, so they were given the task to come here and take charge of the students¡¯ military training. You are all outstanding students of Yunzhong and are all pillars of the country. The leader said if the youth is strong then the country will be strong and let us train you well. How about that? Having the Special Forces leading you, don¡¯t you guys feel twice as lucky?¡± Meng Sisi felt that Xu Hang was exceptional when they joined the team and was sure enough. She tugged at Su Qin¡¯s sleeve and whispered, ¡°Sister Su Qin, I¡¯ve decided.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°In the future, I will go to the military academy and try to get into the Special Forces. Only then can I show my value.¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. Don¡¯t you want to be a police officer?¡± Meng Sisi waved her hand, ¡°It¡¯s all the same, it¡¯s all for the country and the people. Female Special Forces sound more impressive, don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°Eiks ¡­ female special forces will have their heads shaved and also will get tanned.¡± Yan Yixiao imagined the life of a female Special Forces officer and found it unacceptable. Playing with the tip of her hair, Yu Wen said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather die if I were to cut my hair.¡± ********** The team immediately fell silent once Instructor Xu returned from the toilet. He swept over the students and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you all relax tonight. Are there any schoolmates here who want to show off their talents? To liven up the atmosphere?¡± One after another students in the crowd raised their hands and went up to sing and break-dancing. Looking at the schoolmate who break-dance awkwardly, Yun Fei tugged Su Qin¡¯s ponytail and whispered, ¡°Su-su, I can dance better than him.¡± Ponytail tugged by the boy, Su Qin turned around and slapped him on his knee, ¡°Don¡¯t pull my hair.¡± Yu Wen particularly hated boys who pulled others¡¯ hair, also turned around to assist her roommate to glare at Yun Fei and admonished, ¡°Little white face, don¡¯t you feel ashamed tugging girl¡¯s hair?¡± Yun Fei glared back at the girl but didn¡¯t speak. The boy¡¯s gaze made Yu Wen unhappy and the two of them just stared at each other like that, no one gave in to anyone. Finally it was Su Qin who mediated and said, ¡°Feifei, don¡¯t stare at girls so fiercely, like a little rascal.¡± Yun Fei, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Him? Who is a rascal? Soon, the surrounding students discovered Yun Fei¡¯s peculiarity. This male student refused to talk to anyone except Su Qin. Su Qin noticed this problem and felt that it was not a good sign. She had long worried that Yun Fei might have a social disorder and now, seeing that there was almost no interaction between him and his classmates, she started to worry again. Turning sideways, Su Qin whispered to Yun Fei who was behind her, ¡°Feifei, Su-su wants to see you dance, why don¡¯t you go and try?¡± Hearing her say so, the boy¡¯s eyes lit up immediately and nodded seriously as he responded ¡°En.¡± When Xu Hang asked who else would like to come up and perform their talent, Yu Fei raised his hand high. Seeing that it was the prick who he just dealt with, Xu Hang let him on stage with great interest. This was the first time Yun Fei danced in front of so many people, but he automatically blocked out everyone¡¯s presence and his gaze was fixed on Su Qin. Taking out the handphone in his pocket and holding it in his hand, Yun Fei¡¯s body twisted, turned and swayed along with the beat of the dynamic music. His moonwalk was as smooth and natural akin to sliding on a skateboard. The students off the stage clapped and applauded, Su Qin also started to clap her hands. Yun Fei flipped a somersault and used his hand as support to make several turns in a row. These virtuosic movements caused the students to cheer more loudly and the young girls were subjugated by Yun Fei¡¯s handsomeness as they too cheered and applauded. Clapping her hands, Meng Sisi spoke ruefully, ¡°Sister Su, isn¡¯t Feifei too amazing? In just a few months, he has transformed into a cool and handsome youth? Too amazing ah.¡± Su Qin coughed lightly, ¡°It shows that he has the talent to dance.¡± Yan Yixiao hugged Su Qin¡¯s arm with starry-eyes, ¡°Classmate Su Qin, tell me honestly, what is the relationship between the two of you?¡± ¡°Younger brother.¡± Yan Yixiao, ¡°Ahhhhh, so lucky to have such a handsome younger brother? Classmate Su Qin, what do you think about me being your sister-in-law?¡± Yu Wen, who was sitting on Su Qin¡¯s right hand side, snorted, ¡°Little love-struck fool, you were subjugated by just a dance? Are you here to study or here to date? No wonder you are in Class 12, not doing your duties well.¡± Yan Yixiao pursed the corners of her mouth, ¡°I was just joking and didn¡¯t really intend to court puppy love. I¡¯m actually a good student. Hmph.¡± Yun Fei became the most dazzling presence in class, but he was labeled as ¡®aloof¡¯ by his classmates due to his fear to interact with his classmates. The following few days of military training, no one dared to challenge Instructor Xu¡¯s strictness. The students all hated this Instructor Xu, and the boys often grumbled Xu Hang as the ¡®old devil¡¯ inaudibly when they came down. Under the scorching sun, the students, who had been standing-at-attention for forty minutes, were somewhat unable to endure it anymore. Standing in front of Su Qin, Yu Wen had passed out and Xu Hang fixed his gaze on the tallest Yun Fei, ¡°Yun Fei, carry this female student to the infirmary.¡± Yun Fei stood still and refused the instructor¡¯s request. Xu Hang yelled, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear?¡± Yun Fei¡¯s mouth pursed, ¡°Even if you kill me, I won¡¯t carry other girls.¡± Without doubt, classmate Yun Fei, who blatantly defied the military order, was not killed, but was sent to run ten laps in the field. Xu Hang ordered him to shout ¡°Cherish the female classmates of Team 1¡± as he ran laps. The assembly of Class 1 and Class 12 was known as Team 1. Later, some male students asked him, ¡°Yun Fei, why? You¡¯ve wasted such a good opportunity to carry the class beauty, aren¡¯t you stupid?¡± There is no class beauty in Yun Fei¡¯s eyes, he only has Su Qin in his eyes. A female classmate had passed out. Xu Hang led the team to the trees¡¯ shade, but his face remained expressionless, ¡°Attention! Sit ¨C .¡± The whole group ¡®collapsed¡¯ and the students sat down in relief. They looked at Yun Fei running in circles on the field and they all felt rather amusing. As Yun Fei ran, he shouted, ¡°Cherish the female classmates of Team 1.¡± When Xu Hang took the students of Team 1 to eat in the canteen every afternoon, he would ask the male students to show consideration and let the female students entered first, and also ask the male students to shout out the slogan ¡°Cherish the female classmates of Team 1 and request the female students to eat first.¡± Due to this, the female students had a special fondness for Xu hang, the iron-clad instructor. He appeared strict, but when the female students couldn¡¯t hold out anymore, he would also lead the team to rest under the trees¡¯ shade. The seventh day of military training, at dusk. Su Qin was folding up the military quilts with Meng Sisi, getting ready to be inspected by the school leaders and instructors when Yan Yixiao ran in suddenly and said gaspingly, ¡°Not good, Su Qin. Yun Fei was taken away by Instructor Wu of Team 2!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Su Qin was startled, thinking that Yun Fei had gotten into some big trouble. Team 2 was the assembly of Class 2 and Class 3. Their Instructor Wu Yang often leads the team and mutually ¡®resent¡¯ their team. For instance, when Team 1 trained military boxing, Team 2 would also do that and even wanted to train more vigorously than them. For instance, when Team 1 sang the army song, Team 2 would sing too and their voices were louder than them until they overpowered them. Although Xu Hang is the Chief Instructor, Team 2¡¯s instructor¡¯s background seems to be not simple too and he mutually resents Xu Hang. Xu Hang has long warned his students that they should detour when they see Team 2¡¯s instructors. Su Qin wondered, how did ¡­ Yun Fei provoked Team 2¡¯s instructor? When she and her roommates found Yun Fei, there were already quite a few students around and Yun Fei had been punished by running fifteen laps with sandbags tied on him. Yun Fei obviously could not hold out anymore, his legs went limp and fell prone to the ground to catch his breath. Wu Yang asked him, ¡°Apologize or not!¡± ¡°No!¡± Instructor Wu picked the big boy up and threw him onto the track, ¡°Keep running!¡± Yun Fei got up and continued to run with eyes full of stubbornness. Only two steps away, he retched and vomited a mouthful of white bile. Looking at the pale-faced Yun Fei, Su Qin rushed onto the track to help him despite her roommates¡¯ obtrusion and spoke with distress, ¡°Feifei, don¡¯t run anymore.¡± With no physical strength left, the big boy fell limply on top of Su Qin and rested his chin on her shoulder like a well-behaved big golden retriever. Hugging Yun Fei, Su Qin scowled at Instructor Wu, ¡°Instructor Wu, what did our team¡¯s Yun Fei do wrong, why are you punishing him like this?¡± ¡°Beating up our team¡¯s students and you still want me to treat him kindly? Since your Instructor Xu doesn¡¯t know how to teach his students I¡¯ll do it for him.¡± Wu Yang raised his eyebrows and said coldly. Yun Fei rubbed the tip of his nose on Su Qin¡¯s neck and spoke in a very aggrieved tone, ¡°Su-su, they called me a fool.¡± Eyes widened, Su Qin¡¯s temperament was no less than any man¡¯s, ¡°Instructor Wu, did you hear that? It was your student who verbally vilified my younger brother first, if you want to punish, your team¡¯s students must also be punished together!¡± Both sides were at each other¡¯s throat and the arrows were drawn. There is a credit system for military training. If any student fails to meet the standard or is reported by an instructor, he or she will be at risk of being reported on the school¡¯s bulletin or would be expelled. This is Yunzhong and this school has strict rules, attaches importance to morality, intellectuals and students¡¯ physique. Romantic courtship and fighting are forbidden in this school. Once found, one will be expelled with no room for negotiation. If Yun Fei¡¯s action of beating up others was brought to the Academic Affairs office, he will certainly be expelled and Su Qin will also face punishment for publicly criticizing the instructor. Seeing that the situation was bad, Yu Wen quickly turned her head to instruct Yan Yixiao and Meng Sisi, ¡°You guys quickly go find Instructor Xu, I¡¯ll go help Su Qin.¡± The two girls turned and ran towards the instructors¡¯ dormitory building as soon as the words faltered. Yu Wen stepped forward to pull Su Qin and asked her to speak less. If this matter gets to the Academic Affairs office, it will be she who suffers. Su Qin also knew it was not easy for her to get the special quota to be admitted to Yunzhong, but she really couldn¡¯t bear to see Yun Fei being bullied. Heaving her chest and looking straight at Wu Yang, Su Qin¡¯s aura did not vanquish at all, ¡°Instructor Wu, your team¡¯s students insulted my younger brother as a fool, why couldn¡¯t he retorted? He is in the wrong, weren¡¯t your team¡¯s students wrong too? I have nothing to say if you want to train the students, but wasn¡¯t your partially too obvious? It was your students who caused trouble first, and even if you imposed punishment, your students must also be severely punished.¡± The Team 2¡¯s students who were beaten up by Yun Fei stepped forward to quibble, ¡°No matter what, it was him who started first!¡± The surrounding students of Team 1 couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and came up to speak for Yun Fei, ¡°Is it still justifiable for your Team 2¡¯s students to bully others? And you guys have the courtesy to scold others?¡± Students of both sides argued. Wu Yang frowned, bringing out the instructor¡¯s aura and yelled, ¡°You all want to fail the military training? Team 1, Attention ¨C ¡° All the students of Team 1 reflexively stood still in place. Wu Yang, ¡°50 push-ups!¡± Team 1¡¯s students looked at each other and felt that it was not fair at all. Team 2 students even watched the fun smugly. Su Qin was gritting her teeth with anger. The instructors during her university military training in her previous lifetime were amiable. It was the first time she had seen such an instructor. Just when Team 1 students were doing push-ups aggrievedly, Xu Hang¡¯s loud voice came from behind. ¡°All the babies of Team 1, Attention ¨C.¡± "" The voice was stern, and the last syllable was elongated, ¡°Get up!¡± Hearing Xu Hang¡¯s voice, the students were all moved to tears. ¨C It¡¯s still their own instructor who is the dearest ah. CH 30.1 As soon as Team 1 students heard their instructor¡¯s voice, they immediately got up and looked at him with joy. Xu Hang came over, helped Yun Fei up, then turned towards Wu Yang and stopped in front of him. ¡°Instructor Wu, since you are teaching my students, then, shouldn¡¯t your students be taught by me?¡± Xu Hang looked straight at him coldly with a compelling aura. The two men¡¯s gazes were like drawn sharp knives, ripping a long gash in the air. Staring at him, Wu Yang said, ¡°Instructor Xu, no matter whatever reason, students are not allowed to lash out first, this is the rule. Your students broke the rules, are you treating the rules as dirt too?¡± Xu Hang did not argue about who is more at fault with him, but just said, ¡°Since both sides are at fault, both must be punished. What are the reasons for Instructor Wu to favor and side your students?¡± Wu Yang¡¯s tone was firm, ¡°From the beginning to the end, I never said I would favor my students. Instructor Xu, my students did not abide by the rules, the fault lies with me. I will take the responsibility and run 30 laps with the weight for my students.¡± Staying in the countryside for many years, Yun Fei¡¯s stamina is much better than his city-dweller¡¯s classmates. But he has really reached his limit running 15 laps, so tired that he vomited white bile. If Instructor Wu really ran 30 laps for those classmates who called him a ¡®fool¡¯, he could willingly accept and called him a ¡®Joe¡¯. Xu Hang is also fiercely protective of his students and cannot allow his students to be bullied. He said, ¡°How about this Instructor Wu, your team likes to compete with ours so much, why don¡¯t we have a stamina match. If you lose, let your students apologize to my students.¡± Wu Yang raised his hand and halted in the air as Xu Hang gave him a high-five. Looking at the two instructors running laps in the field, Meng Sisi tugged at Su Qin¡¯s clothes with a worried look, ¡°Didn¡¯t Instructor Zhang say that Instructor Wu sustained injuries? Will this cause his injury to worsen ah?¡± ¡°Else? You still want to run for him ah?¡± Yu Wen felt her heart seized too as she turned to look at Su Qin, ¡°You were really impulsive just now. Not to mention others, it¡¯s not easy for us to get into Yunzhong, if Instructor Wu makes a big fuss about this, don¡¯t you ever think about starting school.¡± Su Qin understood the reasoning, but also knew that no matter how ¡®wicked¡¯ the instructor named Wu is, he won¡¯t really lodge a complaint to get her and Yun Fei be expelled. A man who is able to become a special force, even if his personality is eccentric, will not be nasty to that extent. Hearing that the instructors of Team 1 and Team 2 were having a stamina match, and this matter implicated the honor of the whole team, the students who were folding quilts in the dormitory building ran out and gathered around the field-track to cheer on the two instructors. Getting bullied, Yun Fei couldn¡¯t swallow this anger. After a short rest, he grabbed the camo jacket and waved it in the air, ¡°Instructor Xu, come on!¡± Due to the excessive avidity, the veins of the boy¡¯s forehead protrude. Students of Team 1 were all startled by Yun Fei¡¯s shout. They all thought he was aloof and introverted, thus didn¡¯t expect his ¡®cheering¡¯ could be so fervent. The students were all spiritedly driven, especially the male students and they started yelling, ¡°Come on, Instructor Xu.¡± Students of Team 2, certainly unwilling to lag behind, also shouted, ¡°Go, Instructor Wu¡±, with a fervor of wanting to surpass them. Both sides¡¯ enthusiasm was so intense that neither side was willing to give way. The bald headed Administrator Zhao of the Academic Affairs Office heard the thunderous shouts on the sports field and came over with hands behind his back. He stood beside a student and asked in a low voice, ¡°Student, what¡¯s the situation here?¡± Meng Sisi didn¡¯t look back as she grabbed Administrator Zhao¡¯s hand and began to shake it, ¡°Never mind what the situation is, just follow us sisters and shout ¡®Come on, Instructor Xu¡¯!¡± Hand grabbed and shook by Meng Sisi, Administrator Zhao used his other free hand to hold the frame of his glasses and coughed lightly, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Administrator Zhao asked unhurriedly again, ¡°Are you guys engaging in fellowship bonding?¡± This voice ¡­.. The surrounding students turned back to look at Administrator Zhao. Some of the boys were so frightened that they couldn¡¯t control themselves and called out ¡°Bald-head Zhao¡±. Meng Sisi, who was holding and waving Administrator Zhao¡¯s arm, was also stunned when she heard the voice. Turning her head and seeing the old man she was grabbing on, she laughed awkwardly and put his arm down slowly, ¡°Zhao ¡­ Administrator Zhao.¡± The past few days of military training, old man Zhao has come over to inspect often and the students have nicknamed him, ¡°Bald-head Zhao¡±. As if not hearing the students call him ¡°Bald-head Zhao¡±, Administrator Zhao glanced at the two instructors on the field and asked, ¡°Are you guys having a fellowship bonding event? Such a huge spectacle.¡± The students looked at each other in dismay, no one dared to tell the real situation. Seeing that the students were not forthcoming, Administrator Zhao glanced around and asked, ¡°Who is your teams¡¯ acting captain?¡± The small built, Yan Yixiao, stepped out of the crowd and raised her chubby hand, ¡°Me ¡­ me ¡­ ¡° Administrator Zhao, ¡°What¡¯s this situation is ah?¡± Yan Yixiao coughed lightly, ¡°Report ¡­ report to Administrator Zhao, the two instructors are having a stamina match and the students of both teams are cheering on their instructor!¡± The two beady eyes of Administrator Zhao narrowed slightly, ¡°Really?¡± All the students answered in unison, ¡°Yes!¡± After a few days of military training, the students not only improved a bit of their physical fitness but had also learned to be united. Even though the male students didn¡¯t like Yun Fei very much, during moments like this, they all started to protect him and no one snitched. Many minutes later. On both sides of the sports field track, students from Team 1 and Team 2 stood on each side while old man Zhao stood in the middle as the boundary line. He raised his fist and shouted after the students, ¡°Come one, Instructor Xu!¡± All students of Team 2 turned their heads to look at him with faces full of grudges. Administrator Zhao could only raise his fist again and shouted, ¡°Come on, Instructor Wu!¡± In the end, neither won the competition. As both were injured, they were urged to stop by another instructor. Wu Yang¡¯s students felt guilt-stricken because their instructor was punished for helping them and they took the initiative to apologize to Yun Fei. At 8 p.m, the night breeze was gentle on the sports field. Students of both teams sat opposite each other and sang songs on the sports field. What they sang was not the military song, but the current pop song by Shin band, [Love till death]. The captain of Team 2 got up to lead the song, regardless whether he was in tune or not, he shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°I want to love even after death, not content if without restraint!¡± According to the rules, the captain of Team 1 had to stand up to counter too and then both the teams would sing together. Yan Yixiao is lovely with a soft voice and her stature is small. She is the class¡¯ Pikachu elfie. Facing the big boy of Team 2, she blushed and couldn¡¯t utter a single lyric for a long time. Her classmates cheered her on: ¡°Come on ah, Team Captain, show your strength!¡± ¡°Team Captain! If you don¡¯t have the vigor, use your sweet voice to fight back!¡± ¡°Come on, Team Captain! Just try your best! Leave the rest to us!¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Clenching a pair of small fists, Yan Yixiao took a deep breath and shouted out, ¡°How deep is the feeling, only then, can I express it! Out!¡± Although she didn¡¯t sound as loud as the other party¡¯s, at least she took out ¡®top of the lung¡¯ fervid. Students of both sides sang loudly too and no one gave way to anybody, the vehement was superb. Sitting cross-legged too, Xu Hang and Wu Yang looked at each other and felt proud of their own students. "" After the singing and a short break, Xu Hang started to tell the students about being a soldier. Meng Sisi listened earnestly and asked him, ¡°Instructor Xu, why did you choose to be a soldier ah? It¡¯s a peaceful time now, there isn¡¯t a need to go to war.¡± Tilting her head to lean on Su Qin¡¯s shoulder, Yu Wen heaved a sigh, ¡°Instructor Xu, we are not going to be soldiers nor going to war, so why should we have military training ah?¡± Su Qin nodded her head too and complained, ¡°What¡¯s the point of torturing a bunch of kids?¡± The students then discussed their opinion actively. Glancing at the students, Xu Hang¡¯s gaze was blazing like a torch and his words were resounding. ¡°Iron-blooded men, cannot just think about sticking the bayonets in the ground, but also must think about grabbing the weapons to defend the country. Our country had been bullied because we were weak. If we want peace, we must improve our own strength. Is the military training just to torture you all?¡± ¡°No. Military training can enhance your physique and at the same time let you all know that your willpower can be so resilient. Of course, from the perspective of our national defense strategy, it¡¯s to improve your survival ability in times of war. At least when confronted with a real war, you will not add additional burden to the military, medical and other departments.¡± ¡°Only the strong can stop the war.¡± ¡°With wise youth, the nation is astute; with abundant youth, the nation prosper; with strong youth, the nation is powerful; and with independent youth, the nation can stand on its own. We soldiers protect and defend the country while you students study hard.¡± The phrase ¡°Only the strong can stop the war¡± caused Su Qin¡¯s heart to pound. She looked carefully at that Instructor Xu in front of her and suddenly felt that the image of this person had become lofty. Xu Hang fished out a bullet necklace on his neck and said, ¡°This bullet was taken out from my body. It was the first time in my life that I was shot and it¡¯s very memorable.¡± Seeing Yu Wen leaned her head on Su Qin¡¯s shoulder, Yun Fei pushed her head away, with an expression of ¡®don¡¯t lean on my Su-su¡¯s shoulder¡¯. Yu Wen, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° wants to hit people. Meng Sisi raised her hand and asked him, ¡°That ¡­ Instructor Xu, I think my physique is pretty good. I want to go to the military academy and become a specialized troop in the future. Can ¡­ can you give me the bullet necklace ah? Take it as a little encouragement to me, I will go to the Special Forces to find you in the future!¡± Xu Hang looked at the young girl. The corners of his mouth curved up as he took off the necklace and spread it in the palm of his hand before handing it to the young girl. The students looked enviously and shouted, ¡°I want it too, Instructor!¡± Meng Sisi took the necklace and put it around her neck happily. Xu Hang spread his hands at the students and smiled, ¡°You guys study hard. Instructor will give it to you all if there¡¯s a chance in the future!¡± Having said that, Xu Hang looked at this group of children and knew that he might not have a chance to meet them again. This military training and the most profound impression was of course the first group of students who he personally ¡®punished¡¯, the four girls and one boy. Su Qin looked at that instructor, who she initially had a bad impression of, but now, there is somewhat a change of view. CH 30.2 Chapter 30.2 ¨C Tanned Person This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. The instructor revealed an initial display of authority and it was inevitably a ¡®100 push-ups¡¯ when he opened his mouth. But when it was time to do it, as long as the students did the first twenty seriously, he still let the students cheat with various methods later. Without doubt, Meng Sisi is the most bizarre existence in the class. Before the military training is over, she gains the title ¡®Brother Si¡¯. After the past few days of military training, the revolutionary friendship between Class 1 and Class 12 was profound, and the students who didn¡¯t get along at the beginning became good friends unexpectedly. Xu Hang was relatively strict with the students. In addition to goose-step and square formation practices, he also taught fistfight, and the seizing-and-grappling tactics. The girls in the class were all delicate, so Xu Hang often called Meng Sisi to the stage and asked her to demonstrate self-defense techniques to the female students with him. The girls learned two moves and started to practice against each other, but because they were too ¡®menacing¡¯, the boys liked to complain to the instructor, ¡°Instructor Xu, aren¡¯t the skills you teach too menacing? What if the girls in our class use this against us in the future?¡± Xu Hang spoke with a serious face, ¡°These are self-defense skills, boys should not slack off too, do you think bad guys will only attack the girls? Think too much. Boys are not allowed to watch from the side, learn together!¡± ************ The students were always woken up by the whistle in the middle of the night and had to go downstairs for an emergency gathering. In half a month¡¯s time, both boys and girls have all tanned by a degree. At the beginning of the military training, the class beauty, Yu Wen, would comb and dab her hair nicely every day. But when the military training was almost over, she just tied her hair with a rubber band and was so tired that she didn¡¯t even want to apply sunscreen. Su Qin was also tired and felt that the military training was more painstaking and tiring than her studies and work. Every night after she talked to her mother on the phone, she would also make a phone call to Li Chuan. She would always fall sound asleep after saying just a few words. Listening to the girl¡¯s breathing on the other end of the phone, Li Chuan would take the initiative to hang up. It¡¯s good to hear the young girl¡¯s voice every day and he doesn¡¯t ask for much. Military training was hard and gradually, the students felt that there was joy in suffering. On the day of graduation, the heat subsided and the sky was overcast with drizzling rain. The students in the squad stood like pines, as still as stone tablets. After the flag-raising ceremony, the freshmen of high-school-year-one began the military training parade. They marched neatly across the podium and accepted the leaders¡¯ inspections. After the end of the parade, the instructors¡¯ vehicle had parked at the entrance and the instructors stood in line at the school gate with bags behind their backs, ready to get on the vehicle. These past ten days or more, Su Qin was also very tired. She intends to go home to take a good bath and checks her mother¡¯s ¡®assignment¡¯ for the past two weeks. After the team disbanded, Su Qin walked towards the dormitory building and found that she had become solitary, as she was the only one walking towards the dormitory. Other students were gathering in a large group to go to the school entrance. Su Qin followed and found her three roommates choking with sobs around the instructors. She suddenly felt if she was too heartless? She has lived a lifetime and knows that some people are just passers-by in life. Even if you are all tears now, after a few years or a decade, these people will fade away in your life. She liked this instructor, Xu Hang, very much, but when faced with this kind of separation, she couldn¡¯t cry out. Su Qin turned to look at Yun Fei, and even this lad was secretly wiping his tears too. Reaching over, she patted his shoulder and comforted, ¡°You¡¯ll meet again in the future, don¡¯t be so emotional.¡± Yun Fei bit his lips, ¡°Not emotional.¡± Su Qin was amused by his duplicitous appearance and continued to watch her classmates send the instructors off. Yu Wen and Yan Yixiao stuffed apples and gifts into the instructor¡¯ hands, red-eyed and biting their lips without uttering a word. Xu Hang comforted the two girls, ¡°What¡¯s there to cry about? Forgot how I punished you all at first?¡± The two young girls didn¡¯t forget his stern appearance at that time, but they also didn¡¯t forget the instructor¡¯s partiality towards his students and the way he let them cheat. This man who always takes ¡®100 push-ups¡¯ as his mantra, also provided them with lots of positivity. Just as the students each said something and stuffed gifts into the instructors¡¯ hands, Meng Sisi hugged the man and cried tearfully. Her voice stammered, ¡°Instructor Xu, what you said to me last night, I will not forget, never will. As long as the hurdle in life is a hurdle, it certainly will pass. Instructor Xu, wait for me.¡± Feeling that ¡®Brother Si¡¯ dominated the instructor too much, the male students pushed Meng Sisi aside and scrambled to hug Instructor Xu, each crying like the little daughter-in-laws. The boys¡¯ hugs were not as gentle as the girls¡¯, and Xu Hang was almost suffocated by the boys¡¯ embraces. Looking at these children, Su Qin couldn¡¯t help laughing and the corners of her lips hooked up genuinely at ease. This is the group of children¡¯s youth, as if, she doesn¡¯t remember she is already an ¡®old woman¡¯. Compared to the ups and downs of her previous lifetime, her chest was full of sadness at this moment. This kind of youth is really good. Xu Hang waved goodbye to his students, got on the vehicle, then met the gaze of the instructor sitting opposite him, he turned his face away and the rims of his eyes slightly reddened. In front of the students, the instructors dared not be too sentimental, but once they got on the vehicle, the atmosphere quietened down and the instructors began to secretly wipe their tears. The military vehicle drove out of the campus and gradually got further away. Through the iron door, Xu Hang looked at the girl who climbed on the gate trying to wave at him. He couldn¡¯t help but curl up the corners of his lips and waved goodbye to her. The little mischievous students. This group of students are probably his fondest memories of the past twenty-five years? Back in the dormitory, Su Qin glanced at the time and hurriedly stuffed dirty clothes into her bag as she bid farewell to the several other girls, ¡°Girls, I¡¯ll go first. See you once school starts.¡± Yu Wen, who was looking in the mirror, called out to her, ¡°We intend to dine together, won¡¯t you join us?¡± ¡°Nah! Someone is waiting for me, I¡¯ll go first!¡± Su Qin flung the backpack over her shoulder, waved at them without looking back as she ran out of the dormitory. Meng Sisi was still sitting on the bed crying. Staring at the bullet necklace spread out in her hand, she was choking with sobs. Seeing her crying so sadly, Yan Yixiao jumped up, knocked on the bed and said to her, ¡°Brother Si, don¡¯t cry. If you really like Instructor Xu, go after him in the future ah.¡± She understood this reasoning, but Instructor Xu didn¡¯t even leave her any contact details. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yu Wen stared at her tanned self in the mirror and cried out, ¡°Heavens, how did my face become like this? I¡¯m going to die, I don¡¯t want to live anymore!¡± Yan Yixiao turned around and comforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, you are still fine. Look at Su Qin, tanned like a piece of charcoal and she didn¡¯t even utter a word!¡± Thinking about that piece of ¡®charcoal¡¯ Su Qin, Yu Wen felt slightly better. ********** Outside the school, there were mountains of people and waves of cars. The long queue of cars lined up from the top to the bottom of the hill. The traffic jam was spectacular and parents who came to pick up the students had directly caused the traffic to standstill. Standing in front of the school gate, Su Qin looked around but didn¡¯t see Li Chuan. He agreed to pick her up to have a meal together, why couldn¡¯t she see him for a long while? Su Qin was about to take out her handphone to call Li Chuan, but saw the man standing ten meters away from her and was looking around. Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, Li Chuan seemed to have just gotten off work and didn¡¯t have time to go back to change his clothes. In the stream of people, he was solemnly aloof. Su Qin jumped up and waved to the man, but the other party was as if she didn¡¯t exist. She walked over and slapped the man on the shoulder. The man¡¯s cold, sharp gaze shifted to her face, and was obviously stunned for a moment, before his expression resumed its gentleness. Li Chuan sized up the tanned girl with short ear-length hair in front of him. After a while, he frowned and said, ¡°Su Qin?¡± Why ¡­. so tanned? He almost couldn¡¯t recognize her. CH 31.1 Chapter 31.1 ¨C Stationery Su Qin thought it was normal to get tanned during military training but she didn¡¯t realize how tanned she was. When she saw Li Chuan¡¯s surprised look, she seemed to realize that she might have really been ¡­ too tanned? She smiled at the other party, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, ¡°What? Teacher Li doesn¡¯t recognize me anymore after not seeing me for half a month?¡± With her mouthful of white teeth shown, the young girl appeared much tanner. She obviously didn¡¯t use the sunscreen lotion he gave her. Li Chuan laughed and brought her to the parking spot, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll send you home.¡± From the man¡¯s eyes, Su Qin could see ¡­ disdain? Knowing there would be traffic jams today, Li Chuan deliberately rode a battery-assisted bike. Taking the bag off Su Qin¡¯s shoulder, he put it in front, took the helmet and handed it to Su Qin, then instructed her to put it on. As Su Qin put on the helmet, she looked at the man dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, yet riding a battery-assisted bike, and felt a little amused. ¡°Get on.¡± Buckling his helmet, the man¡¯s voice was low. These two brief words endowed with an irresistible force. Mounting on the back seat, Su Qin was at a loss of where to put her hands. She couldn¡¯t grab his shoulders, nor his shirt, for fear of creasing the man¡¯s white shirt. Catching sight of the girl¡¯s perplexed look in the rearview mirror, Li Chuan called her attention, ¡°Grab whatever you want.¡± ¡°En ¡­ afraid of getting palm prints on your white shirt.¡± She lowered her hands and just held the storage box behind her. Carrying Su Qin on the battery-assisted bike, Li Chuan rode all the way through the gaps of cars without hindrance. On the back seat, Su Qin could smell the man¡¯s faint scent and felt inexplicably relaxed. She stretched out her hand to feel the gush of wind when she recalled someone once described the wind sensation with her bra-cup size that she looked down at her own chest, which was so flat that she could hardly look straight at it. The man¡¯s stern voice reached her ears along with the wind. ¡°Take your hand back, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± She took her hand back, obediently like a little black cat. Looking ahead, Su Qin caught sight of Li Chuan and her own face in the rearview mirror. Without comparison she didn¡¯t know and was startled by the contrast. Everyone in school was equally tanned so she didn¡¯t think her face was so obvious. But now compared with the man¡¯s skin tone, the difference was distinct. The two of them were completely two shades of tone. With Li Chuan as backdrop, she could pass off as Judge Bao* if she drew a crescent moon shape on her forehead. [T/N: °ü¹« (B¨¡o G¨­ng) ¨C Lord Bao/Judge Bao, an official in the Song Dynasty who was immortalized in stories as a model of honesty and justice] Li Chuan drove her through the city center, then stopped outside a bookstore and asked if she wanted to buy some stationery? She almost forgot if he didn¡¯t mention it. Students would go buy stationery before school starts. Pens, book covers and so on. There is a large stationery department below the bookstore, which is very cheap selling at wholesale price and cost effective. Li Chuan bought his stationery here too when he started school. This is a student¡¯s paradise. Pondering for a moment, Su Qin asked Li Chuan, ¡°Teacher Li, if you still have work to do, we won¡¯t shop then.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Li Chuan smiled at the young girl and said, ¡°Teacher Li has not taken a break for half a month, so don¡¯t mention about work again during this half-day leave.¡± ¡°No break for half a month? You¡¯re not tired ah?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t feel tired if you are making money.¡± Getting off the bike, Li Chuan took off his helmet and hung it on the handlebars. Under the scorching sun and after comparing her skin tone with Mr. Li, Su Qin, who felt somewhat inferior, covered her forehead with her hands and waited for the man to lock the bike. Looking at the man squatting on the ground locking the bike, she felt really amusing and felt that Professor Li was particularly down-to-earth at this moment. Professor Li in her previous lifetime lived like a prince in a villa and drove a mid to high-range car. His suit must be of high quality and his neckties were also tastefully chosen. From the standpoint of his previous lifetime, Su Qin definitely couldn¡¯t imagine Professor Li would ride a battery-assisted bike or even squatted here in a white shirt and pants to lock the bike. Compared to the gentle and sophisticated Li Chuan of the previous lifetime, Su Qin prefers such a down-to-earth man in front of her, who carries her on a battery-assisted bike through the city streets and lanes. This kind of person, even as friends, is easy and especially comfortable to get along with. He will not make people feel there is a social gap and also won¡¯t prompt inferiority feelings in others. After locking the bike, Li Chuan used his body to block the sun for her and asked for a pamphlet, which he held above the girl¡¯s head to shade her from the sun. The two of them entered the bookstore and took the elevator down to the basement. The stationery department is very huge, with pen racks densely packed with pens and shelves full of stationery that is a feast for the eyes. Since it was the school opening¡¯s peak season, the store was very crowded and the pen rack area was surrounded by girls. Feeling embarrassed to squeeze in between a group of young girls, Su Qin stood aside to wait for the girls in front to finish their selection before she moved closer again. However, Mr. Li, whose arms and legs are long, reached over the young girls¡¯ head, grabbed a few pens and handed them to Su Qin, ¡°This brand of rollerball pens is pretty good, try it out.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s action caused the girls in front to all turn their heads back. Seeing such a handsome big brother, the young girls were smitten and moved aside. Taking this opportunity, Su Qin approached the pen stand, unscrewed the cap of the pen and tried writing on the white paper. Smooth with sufficient ink, worthy of the pen chosen by Genius Li, excellent. The few young girls stood around Li Chuan and a girl struck up a conversation with him. ¡°Big Brother, are you from the nearby university?¡± ¡°You look a lot like the genius who was on our school bulletin board, the one who skipped grades all the way. Is that you?¡± ¡°It must be, it must be! Not only look exactly alike, but exactly the same!¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° After the girls finished ¡®chattering¡¯, Li Chuan replied with a cold face, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The girls looked at each other and sighed, ¡°Okay. We¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡± The few girls were about to leave. One of them turned back after a few steps, sticking her tongue out at Li Chuan, ¡°Big Brother, you are really handsome, even more handsome than Long Riyi!¡± ¡° ¡­¡­¡­. ¡° Li Chuan knitted his eyebrows tightly, feeling that he could not quite understand the brain circuits of these girls. Taking the initiative to talk to a stranger? Didn¡¯t their parents tell them that this is a very dangerous behavior? Looking at these young girls, Li Chuan thought of his daughter and fell melancholy silent. How wonderful if they can be reunited with Baobao in this lifetime? Once those girls left, Su Qin teased him, ¡°Big Brother is very handsome, oh, even more handsome than Long Riyi!¡± Li Chuan held his forehead embarrassingly and sighed silently. Su Qin continued to choose the pens. The man standing behind her was a little bored, so he took out his handphone, switched to QQ and sent a message to Panda who knows-all, ¡°Who is Long Riyi?¡± Panda replied with a string of ¡° ¡­¡­¡­. ¡° After a while, Panda sent him a popular Chinese drama, ¡°[Long Riyi, You¡¯re dead], you haven¡¯t heard it ah? All the female doctorates of our department are reading this romance novel. It is so popular across the country¡¯s campuses. Long Riyi, a school bully who was a rich second-generation* of a super wealthy family, flew a helicopter to the campus to deliver flowers to the female lead ¡­ ¡° [T/N: ¸»¶þ´ú (F¨´ ¨¨r d¨¤i) ¨C children of entrepreneurs who became wealthy under Deng Xiaoping¡¯s economic reforms in the 1980s] This plot made Li Chuan frown and he asked, ¡°Young girls like these kinds of pompous stuff?¡± ¡°Exactly ¡­ Boss, just imagine. If a girl flew and hovered a helicopter over the campus and then shouted with a loudspeaker, ¡°Boss Li, I like you¡±, you¡¯d probably be moved to tears and marry her right away, right?¡± Li Chuan put himself in the setting and thought about it. If the girl flying the helicopter is not Su Qin, not only will he be unmoved, he will even feel physiologically disgusted. Isn¡¯t this crazy ¡­ Wait ¡­ why would Su Qin fly a helicopter over the school to confess to him? Sensing a headache, Li Chuan felt he had been with the young girl for too long and was slightly afflicted by Mara (the demon of temptation). Holding the phone, Li Chuan followed Su Qin closely through various stationery racks. Su Qin stopped in front of the figurine rack, turned back and poked the back of the man¡¯s hand, ¡°Teacher Li, is that Teacher Lin? Looks very much alike.¡± Li Chuan followed Su Qin¡¯s line of sight and saw two young women choosing some notebooks in front of the shelf ahead. He glanced over indifferently then withdrew his gaze and asked her, ¡°What else do you still need?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve almost picked out the pens. I want to buy notebooks and book covers.¡± CH 31.2 Chapter 31.2 ¨C Stationery Su Qin spread out her hand, several pens of different colors lay in the palm of her hand, which were quite girly. Li Chuan was perturbed by the few cute pens in the young girl¡¯s palm. He felt that Su Qin at this age is really a little zestful and cute, hence he couldn¡¯t help but reach out to rub her short hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go over there.¡± Once the two of them left, the female classmate of Lin Xiaoyin said, ¡°It¡¯s Li Chuan and that young girl again, they have no liaison? I don¡¯t believe it. Yinyin, do you need me to check out that girl for you?¡± Last time Li Chuan had publicly commented in the Fifth cafeteria that she looked like a ¡®toad spirit¡¯, which was a big blow to her. She disappeared for a few months and went abroad to fix her facial features. When she came back, she changed a lot in appearance, with a sharp chin, upturned nose and sexy lips. The fact that Li Chuan didn¡¯t recognize her was normal as he simply didn¡¯t look carefully at atll. ********** Su Qin¡¯s youth had long passed in her previous lifetime, and she was closer to her daughter¡¯s childhood. She often hung out with her daughter, watching animations with her, telling her fairy tales and would also bring her daughter to stroll around toy stores and stationery shops. Probably influenced by children¡¯s fondness, the stationery she chose was also rather childish. Those she picked were little kids¡¯ cartoon book covers and the notebook covers were also dazzling animated girls. Li Chuan was profoundly aware of the age gap with his future wife. He coughed lightly and asked her, ¡°Do you like cartoons?¡± ¡°Yes ah. At home when I have nothing to do, I like to be with ¡­ ¡° Su Qin almost had a slip of tongue, ¡°Watch it with my mother. When Teacher Li was young, didn¡¯t you watch cartoons?¡± ¡°Yes, but not this kind.¡± ¡°Huh? What kind of cartoon does Teacher Li like?¡± ¡°Saint Seiya.¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ all of us girls will watch Sailor Moon.¡± Su Qin then bought some cartoon stickers, which were all Baobao¡¯s favorite characters. Looking at these cute things was just like seeing her adorable daughter. Even though she doesn¡¯t have the courage to bring her to this world again, but, she doesn¡¯t want to forget her. If she forgets Baobao, won¡¯t the little girl feel very sad? Li Chuan glanced at the stickers in her hand, which happened to be his daughter, Baobao¡¯s favorite [Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep] and he took a few more glances at it. In his previous lifetime, his daughter liked to stick the pink pig on Su Qin¡¯s face and the little sheep on Li Chuan¡¯s, then patted their cheeks with her chubby hands and spoke in a babyish voice, ¡°Su-su and Chuanchuan will be Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep la ~ you guys have to love each other and not fight, okay? From now on, you have to go hand-in-hand to school and eat hand-in-hand!¡± Li Chuan always looked helpless. He was a university professor who was tormented by his daughter like this, it was rather humiliating. Yet Su Qin still liked to drag him to take photos together and posted them on WeChat Moments, where those of friends would tease him. ********** Seeing Li Chuan kept staring at the pink pig stickers, Su Qin said to him, ¡°Teacher Li, give me the back of your fist.¡± With a puzzled look, Li Chuan clenched his hand and reached over. The girl took off a pink pig then ¡®slapped¡¯ it on the back of his fist and also stuck the sheep on the back of her hand. She then bumped her sheep sticker fist with the man¡¯s fist. Su Qin said, ¡°Teacher Li, isn¡¯t your handphone able to take photos? Come, take one and send it to me later.¡± Li Chuan didn¡¯t understand her reason for doing so. Su Qin explained, ¡°A testimony of our friendship!¡± Li Chuan was stunned, laughed out loud and took out his handphone to take a photo. The girl¡¯s fist was small and tanned while the man¡¯s was big and fair. The contrast between the two was as distinct as a marinated stewed egg and a hard-boiled egg. It was obviously a childish act that he held in contempt, yet he somehow found it sweet and cute. One hour later, Li Chuan returned to the company for a meeting. The company has expanded from three rooms with two foyers to a building, and the number of staff has also multiplied from dozens at first to over hundreds, which is no longer small scale. The company¡¯s flagship product ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯ has basically stood firm. As long as the subsequent collaborating negotiations with the computer manufacturers and several large internet companies are finalized, the market share of the product will be even greater. Able to manage a new company to achieve such a level in half a year¡¯s time, even his few fraternity brothers could not help but suspect that this guy had cheated as he had actually trampled on Golden Shield ¡®easily¡¯. In the previous lifetime, the founder of Golden Shield stole his research results and Li Chuan, who had lived one lifetime, has accumulated a lot of experiences that every step taken was clear and stable. His business plan for the company was also very distinct and he would not take the similar path as Golden Shield. In the future, it will be increasingly difficult for Golden Shield to survive under the attack of several internet companies, and Li Chuan believes that if he wants this path to go smoothly, he must develop other businesses. In the future world, network security is relevant to everyone. He intends to gradually develop smart living security, intelligence home security and household management safety services under the premise of ¡®31 Security Safeguard¡¯. The heads of various departments entered the conference room and Li Chuan turned on the projector. Holding the back of the chair and hadn¡¯t even opened his mouth yet, ¡°Boss, the pink pig on your hand?¡± Li Chuan instinctively flung his hand behind and coughed lightly, ¡°Each department hands in their KPI first.¡± Mr. Li¡¯s image as a cold-faced boss in the company is obvious to all and when everyone saw the pink pig on the back of his hand, they wanted to laugh but dared not and almost suffered internal injuries. When the meeting was over, the others left the conference room and only a few founding members remained, Chunchun asked Li Chuan, ¡°Boss didn¡¯t you buy a new car? Why are you still riding Old Zhu¡¯s battery-assisted bike?¡± Panda raised his eyebrows, ¡°What do you know ah. The boss is recalling the sorrows of the past and savoring the joys of the present. Owning a luxury car but still riding the battery-assisted bike, this is the highest level of pretentiousness!¡± Su Qin returned home with big and small bags. Seeing her with short hair and ¡®tanned¡¯, Wang Lin felt incessantly heart ached. One fair and delicate girl got sun-tanned into this. Knowing her daughter is coming back today, Wang Lin specially cooked a table of dishes. While Wang Lin filled the bowls with rice on the balcony, Su Qin sat in front of the computer to check the ¡®assignment¡¯ that she left for her mother. Taobao¡¯s sales have been pretty good these past two weeks. Although the boutique style clothes she altered did not sell as fast as those ¡®Entire Store 55¡¯, they did earn a lot since the price was there. Sixty nine pieces were sold in half a month with a total sales of over 10,000 and the commission she received was over 3,000. Deducting her mother¡¯s salary, she still had more than a thousand left. According to the current development, she has saved enough money for three years of high school fees. However ¡­? This money is sufficient to feed a family well, but to her, it is still far from enough. In this era, there is no Weibo, no WeChat and major live telecasts have yet to be launched. The internet trend has yet to come and she felt extremely difficult to market Taobao now. Holding the rice bowl, Su Qin was lost in thought for half an hour when she suddenly thought of something. She took two mouthfuls then abandoned the bowl and went to the computer. Wang Lin saw her daughter¡¯s preoccupation and thought she was going to chat online so she urged her, ¡°Su-su, eat first and then play with the computer later.¡± ¡°You eat, I have to hurry up and write a detailed plan.¡± Wang Lin felt that her daughter seemed to have changed since returning to the city. Seeing her slumped in front of the computer and scribbling speedily, she no longer urged her and let her be. Su Qin spent half an hour writing out a rough plan and got stuck. Feeling bored, she turned on QQ and saw that Li Chuan had sent her a message. The man sent the photo to her via QQ. Peppa Pig and Suzy Sheep, one small tanned and one big fair fists. Su Qin curled up the corners of her lips and sent him a message back, ¡°Thank you, Teacher Li.¡± Li Chuan replied with a ¡®cute¡¯ emoji. Su Qin thought, if Baobao was here and saw these two adults acting so ¡®childish¡¯, would she laugh at them? On the other side, Li Chuan, who was sitting in the boss¡¯ chair, stared at the pink pig on the back of his hand and was also thinking about this. CH 32 Chapter 32 ¨C Design Li Chuan was curious; Su Qin is more mature compared to other girls, why does she like Peppa Pig, this sort of kiddy cartoon. Isn¡¯t this what little kids love to watch? "" ********** After saving the photo sent by Li Chuan, Su Qin stretched and began to refine her plan. Taobao¡¯s publicity cannot be limited to on-site ads, but also requires other means of exposure. Advertising on various major forums is needed and top search publicity is needed too. The brand positioning of her Taobao store is clear, focusing on ¡®trendy avant-garde¡¯ and ¡®high cost effective¡¯, Her advantage is that hers is more fashionable than the departmental store¡¯s with better quality and cheaper prices. In order to make the Taobao store more compelling, she decided to start brand packaging, including logo and boxing packages. An up-to-par company must have its own corporate culture. She probed around the design forum and found someone named ¡®Designer Li Xian¡¯. This designer, she had a recollection, who later became an overnight success and China¡¯s most acclaimed graphic designer. The official blog of the People¡¯s Daily republished a set of his Chinese-style creativity, making him the internet¡¯s household name and his value had skyrocketed since then. After that, his designs were even harder to get. Li Xian posted a lengthy Weibo after he became popular, which roughly depicted his despondency and dire straits in those early years, and fed the netizens a lot of chicken soup. At this moment, Li Xian was still in the stage of ¡®disheartened and starving¡¯. She found Li Xian¡¯s QQ in the forum and added him. The other side consented very quickly and before Su Qin typed the word ¡®Hello¡¯, she received a message first, ¡°I don¡¯t accept design changes based on your own vision and I don¡¯t accept the unreasonable requests of ¡®must be red¡¯ or ¡®want it bigger¡¯. If you are not happy, go find someone else!¡± Su Qin, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° She seemed to know why this famous Designer Li was such a dire straits in his early years. Su Qin typed a sentence, ¡°You have misunderstood. The design I need doesn¡¯t require red or in large fonts either. I want you to help me design a logo, clothing boxes and packaging bags. My requirements are very simple; highlight the pretentious style* of my store¡¯s clothing. As for whatever the design, I have no boundary. I¡¯ve seen your work and I trust your vision.¡± [T/N: ±Æ¸ñ (B¨© g¨¦) ¨C it¡¯s an internet slang used to denote expertise in pretense/hypocrisy; such as the reference to the comprehensive of the artists¡¯ creativity or style] Li Xian on the other side of the computer was obviously dumbfounded, ¡°Pretentious style?¡± Su Qin mulled over for a moment and explained, ¡°It¡¯s the approach, highlighting the upscale style of my store¡¯s clothing. What do you think of the packaging design of Chanel, Dior, YSL and other brands? I want my customers to feel that this is high-end goods as soon as they see the packaging.¡± Li Xian, ¡° ¡­.. Ma¡¯am, are you from Yunyang?¡± Su Qin nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Li Xian, ¡°Tomorrow at 12 noon. Come to the Numbing Dumpling Shop in the backstreets of NJU for a face-to-face meeting.¡± Su Qin asked him, ¡°Huh ¡­ how about we communicate on QQ now? Once the discussion is almost finalized, then we can talk about the price in person? What do you think?¡± ¡°I prefer to talk in person.¡± Considering Designer Li¡¯s future status, Su Qin thinks face-to-face meetings are probably more sincere? After exchanging the phone numbers, Li Xian went offline. Mother Wang Lin had cleared up the dishes and Su Qin beckoned Wang Lin over to sit down, ¡°Mom, come here. Let¡¯s have a meeting. I will give you next month¡¯s tasks.¡± ¡°What tasks?¡± Wang Lin asked as she sat down next to her daughter with an apple and a fruit knife, peeling the fruit for her while doing so. Su Qin showed her the business plan and also specially made a KPI for her mother, which included the tasks her mother had to accomplish every day. For instance, go to forums to promote their Taobao store. Su Qin had written the publicity copy while Wang Lin just needed to post and serve as small ads on the main forums. Publicity is a huge bottomless pit that can¡¯t cease. Coupled with on-site ads, the accumulation of off-site ads is always helpful for the volume of traffic. These are not complicated to implement, which just require human effort to do. Wang Lin cherishes this career very much. She can take home a salary of 1,200 every month without leaving the house, a good job which is not easy to find. And seeing her daughter doing Taobao so arduously, she dared not slacken off. Thinking that if she works harder, her daughter will be able to spend less energy and to study harder. Early the next morning, Su Qin went to the shop to talk to her lady boss about the Taobao store and they held a brief meeting together. To sum up, Su Qin proposed that the packaging and marketing costs should be shared by the two of them. The Taobao store has indeed achieved a little success in Su Qin¡¯s hands. Wanting to make money, Chen Meixin naturally understands that she has to invest money in it. Su Qin made a list of expenses related to advertising, marketing and design for the store, and handed it to Chen Meixin for inspection. Scanning it carefully, Chen Meixin said, ¡°Qin¡¯er, isn¡¯t the estimated design cost too high? And also these packaging boxes and paper bags, our Taobao does not sell clothes like the retail shops since we pack in a plastic bag for the customers to take away. Why does Taobao even need packaging boxes?¡± Su Qin explained, ¡°Sister Chen, we have to have long-term vision. Since we are doing it, then do it well. Every single good is to be packed in an exquisite box and a thank-you note is attached to each shipment, so that in the long run, customers will have a good impression of us. Moreover, with the improved packaging quality, isn¡¯t this more like high-end goods? Sometimes when women go shopping, they will really take on a new look at the store and have a change of mind due to some small details and vanity.¡± ¡°Also, Sister Chen, if we are doing the packaging, then we must do it well. To what extent? After the customers buy our clothes, they will opt to use our packaging bags to pack their daily stuff, isn¡¯t this imperceptibly advertising for us?¡± Chen Meixin hesitated, ¡°But ¡­ the cost will also go up ah, is this necessary?¡± ¡°Why are we afraid of costs going up? It doesn¡¯t matter if we profit one or two dollars less? After all, the wool still comes from the sheep¡¯s back*, what are we afraid of?¡± [T/N: Ñòë³öÔÚÑòÉíÉÏ (Y¨¢ng m¨¢o ch¨± z¨¤i y¨¢ng sh¨¥n shang) ¨C Price has to be paid for one benefit / Nothing comes for free] Seeing her so closely reasoned and well argued, and remembering the girl¡¯s previous actions, she then nodded in agreement and asked her, ¡°By the way, your mother¡¯s Taobao store is doing quite well recently. You don¡¯t have to bear your mother¡¯s salary alone, we both share it equally. As for you, besides studying, you can think about the future development of our store.¡± Su Qin certainly wouldn¡¯t be courteous with her since she deserved every penny earned. There was no homework for the three days break after military training and Su Qin didn¡¯t go to Li Chuan¡¯s for tutoring either. She had to make good use of these three days, at least during her school days, Taobao would not be neglected. That afternoon, Su Qin cycled to the ¡®Numbing Dumpling Shop¡¯ in the backstreets of NJU. It was after all to discuss collaboration with others, so Su Qin deliberately dressed up more maturely and went to style an inward curve for her short bob hair at the hair salon. She bought a colored lipstick and dabbed on a little. She didn¡¯t pay attention to skincare routine during the military training and her skin was very tanned, thus she deliberately bought foundation to put a layer on her face, which turned her face slightly fairer. She walked into the ¡®Numbing Dumpling¡¯ shop where people came and went. Looking around, she saw a man with glasses and a blue shirt sitting in the corner. Su Qin made a call to him. Until he answered the phone with a ¡®Hello, Su Qin, who was standing at the door waved to him. Straightening the frame of his glasses, Li Xian raised his head and saw a short-haired girl dressed in a one piece fitting dress, white sneakers with a shoulder bag at the door, and felt slightly startled. He thought the other party was a plucky woman in her thirties. He didn¡¯t expect her to be a girl who looked younger than himself. About 18 or 19 years old? Hanging up the call, Su Qin walked towards him, sat down opposite him at the table, smiled and politely extended her hand, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m a staff member of Taobao¡¯s Yunyi Clothing House, Su Qin. I¡¯m here to talk to you about our collaboration.¡± Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, Li Xian is not fair but has pretty good features. Many years later, he is not only the highest paid designer in China, he also won the title of ¡°the most handsome in the designing circle¡±. After looking at Li Chuan and Feifei¡¯s faces every day then seeing the face of ¡°the most handsome in the designing circle¡±, she thought ¡­ only so so. Li Xian appeared a little slow-witted. After straightening the frame of his glasses, he nodded slightly at the girl, ¡°Hello, Hello. I¡¯m hungry, let¡¯s order first.¡± Su Qin raised her hand to call the boss and ordered two bowls of dumplings. The waitress looked at Li Xian, then at Su Qin. Her attitude was not very nice. She raised her chin and pointed at the counter, ¡°Pay first before ordering the dumplings.¡± The waitress¡¯ attitude made Su Qin frowned, yet she wasn¡¯t in the mood to say anything as she got up to pay for the two bowls of dumplings at the counter. While she was paying, the lady boss at the cashier reminded her in a low voice, ¡°Yo, girl, why are you having meals with this kind of man? He owes nine meals in our shop without paying, yet still has the nerves to come with a girl for a meal and he actually lets you pay? If you want to befriend him, I advise you to leave before it¡¯s too late.¡± Su Qin looked back at Li Xian and could see that the man was extremely self-abased. He didn¡¯t even dare to look up at the people around him and just sat there with his head hung down. ¡°How much does he owe your shop for meals?¡± Su Qin asked. Lady boss, ¡°46.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± Su Qin took out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to the lady boss, ¡°En, keep the change and you can deduct it directly when he comes again next time.¡± Seeing that she was so generous to the man, the lady boss knew there must be something fishy, so she didn¡¯t say anything more. Su Qin returned to her previous seat and tapped her fingers on the table, ¡°Li Xian is it? Let¡¯s talk about the collaboration. Did you bring any pen and paper? You should probably write down my requirements.¡± Dumbfounded, Li Xian quickly took out a sketchbook and pencil from his computer bag. Once he flipped open the book, Su Qin said, ¡°I want a total of three designs; logo, packaging box and packaging bag. Although our store¡¯s clothing is not a renowned international brand, I hope your design can surpass those famous international brands. At least after looking at the packaging, the consumers will feel that the item is worth the price and feel that they have bought good stuff. As for the design, it is precisely trendy.¡± Li Xian¡¯s gaze behind his glasses were inarticulately dull, a bit like the male lead¡¯s ¡®dead fish eyes¡¯ in anime. ¡°These are my requirements and as for the rest, you can decide. I will not interfere with your design envision. I hope you can make good use of your talents and radiate your potential a bit. I¡¯ve seen your work, it¡¯s very spiritual.¡± Li Xian was obviously stunned. After he graduated, he was never complimented again. This was the first time someone praised him on his talent since he entered the society and praised his work for its spirituality. The big man bit his lips with a little excitement and the rims of his eyes became slightly warm. Su Qin thought something was not right with him and asked him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there a problem?¡± Then two bowls of dumplings were served. Su Qin took out two pairs of chopsticks and handed him a pair, ¡°If you have any difficulties, you can tell me.¡± The man took the chopsticks from her, shook his head and said, ¡°No, no problem.¡± Su Qin laughed. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she stuffed a mouthful of dumplings in her mouth. With food in her mouth, she vaguely said, ¡°Then good, name me your price.¡± Although the girl was tanned, she has beautiful features. When she smiles at you, she can make you drop all your guards and let you feel at ease. Hadn¡¯t eaten for two days, Li Xian was obviously hungry. With his stomach feeling out of sorts, he didn¡¯t dare to gobble up and simply drank two mouthfuls of warm soup first. In terms of price, he didn¡¯t know how to name it. Until his stomach felt a little satisfied, he raised his eyes and said to Su Qin, ¡°The price, you name it.¡± Su Qin¡¯s budget was 1,200, but she couldn¡¯t just simply name that price. She said, ¡°600, okay?¡± ¡°Cough ¡­ ¡° Li Xian choked on a mouthful of dumplings. Seeing such a big reaction from him, Su Qin thought that the price was too little, ¡°720?¡± Li Xian swallowed the hot dumplings and hurriedly said, ¡°De, deal!¡± "" ¡°Huh?¡± Su Qin had overestimated Mr. Li¡¯s current financial condition. She didn¡¯t expect the future acclaimed designer would compromise at 720. After the meals, the two chatted for a while. Li Xian drew a rough sketch of their logo and asked if she liked this design. Su Qin lamented that the drawing skills of this man, who was a student of NJU¡¯s design faculty, is indeed not a facade. The two discussed for a while before Su Qin knew why Li Xian was in such dire straits. Fresh graduates work as assistants during their internships. Not only do they serve drinks and do all kinds of work, they also work tirelessly to help the designers¡¯ drafts. The drafts they drew not only do not have their names, but they even have to be the scapegoats. He didn¡¯t get the least bit of gain when customers were satisfied with his draftings. Yet the boss would curse angrily right in his face if the customers were dissatisfied. Li Xian had endured all of this. The company had a bidding project and the boss of his immediate boss took Li Xian¡¯s work to participate in the bidding. As a result, not only did he not include Li Xian¡¯s name after winning the bid, he (LX) did not even get the remuneration that he deserved. For this reason, he fought with the boss of his immediate boss and was fired. He was even blacklisted by several large advertising companies in Yunyang. Having a big heart, Li Xian went to interviews with several small advertising agencies, but how could a high achiever endure the clients¡¯ torments? Those golden phrases of the clients still lingered in his ears: ¡°It has to be a red background, a red background! The fonts need to be big! Big!¡± ¡°Who can see such artistic ¡®Big Clearance¡¯ words?¡± ¡°I asked you to design a logo, tell me, how can you tell our company culture with this design?¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° The proud and ambitious Li Xian had quit for a month and with no more savings, thus he asked the other party to meet offline when he came across someone who looked for him to discuss business online. Even if the deal did not work out, his stomach was filled up first. ********** After listening to Designer Li¡¯s narration, Su Qin felt that he was really too pitiful. Speaking of his own experiences, the rims of Li Xian¡¯s eyes reddened slightly. Yet Su Qin added fuel to the fire, ¡°You deserve it ah. You¡¯re already starving to death and still can¡¯t lower your principles.¡± Li Xian, ¡° ¡­.. Miss Su, your words are very hurtful.¡± ¡°Then, when can you turn in my design? After this, I may still need some of your work so that we can have a long-term collaboration.¡± Setting up Taobao, the artworks are indispensable. Although Su Qin can also use the graphic design software herself, but after all, she is not a professional in this area. ¡°Give me a week.¡± Su Qin took out 300 yuan from her bag and handed it to him, ¡°Here¡¯s the deposit. I want to see the first draft next Saturday.¡± ¡°You ¡­ aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll take your money and run away?¡± Li Xian looked at the young tanned girl in front of him. She grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, ¡°I believe in your character.¡± Li Xian, a big man, was actually moved to tears by the other party¡¯s bravado. He, who was the high achiever graduated from NJU, seemed to have finally ushered in his own talent scout. When Su Qin and Li Xian came out of the Numbing Dumplings shop, the passing-by students looked at her strangely. Li Xian felt puzzled too. It felt weird to be gawked at by passers-by. ¡°Hey, you guys look at that girl, does she look like the girl reported in the bulletin board system?¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°She¡¯s precisely Li Chuan¡¯s underage girlfriend ah!¡± ¡°Dang! Indeed, they look alike. Hey, I really can¡¯t discern that Li Chuan is this kind of person. In any case, he is an adult but is actually hooking up with a high school girl, who is a minor and whose worldview is not even bolstered yet, and he can actually do it.¡± CH 33 Chapter 33 ¨C Retribution This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. NJU¡¯s BBS is very popular and the number of users is not low. This time someone reported news about Li Chuan and the gossipy female students were attracted to it. Even the teachers and heads of the university paid great attention to this explosive allegation post. [T/N: BBS here should be the school or uni¡¯s Bulletin Board Forum] A post titled ¡®Genius Doctoral Student Li Chuan¡¯s Harassment of Minors¡¯ had appeared on the NJU BBS homepage. This post quickly attracted the attention of the students and someone named ¡®Anonymous¡¯ alleged it. This anonymous person posted: ¡°Let¡¯s break the news for everyone today. The 22-year-old Genius doctoral student of our school, Li Chuan, has a sordid personality and is known to often insult female students in public. Moreover, Li Chuan also has a peculiar obsession. He met a female student during the support teaching program and then used the pretext of tutoring the underage girl to harass her, duping and luring her into having a relationship with him, and even brainwashed the underage girl. Originally I didn¡¯t want to report this, since it¡¯s everyone¡¯s freedom to fall in love but this girl is only in the first year of high school and Li Chuan could really put his hand on her. Li Chuan is also very conspicuous to have brought this year-one-high-school girl in and out of our school, to the cafeteria and get-a-room in the backstreet which is a common occurrence too.¡± This post quickly drew attention. There were even many photos of Li Chuan and Su Qin having meals together in the cafeteria, and Su Qin¡¯s face was clearly photographed. It doesn¡¯t matter if Li Chuan¡¯s love object is an adult, at most, those girls who liked him would just cry privately and the matter would be over. But his lady love is actually a minor? Still a year-one-high-school student? Even took the little girl to get-a-room? Isn¡¯t this too much? ? ? The discussion on BBS was very lively. In less than an hour, there were already hundreds of threads. There were a jumble of good and bad in this forum. This was supposed to be the campus forum, but in actuality there were also people of the community. ¡°If I were a senior-high-school student, I would actually feel very happy to have such a big brother boyfriend. But looking from the adult¡¯s point of view, I feel that Li Chuan has gone too far in this matter. As an adult, he took advantage of the senior-high-school girl¡¯s naivety and the little girl¡¯s ignorance of yearning for beautiful things; this is too terrifying.¡± ¡°Yes ah, even if the girl is interested in him, as an adult, shouldn¡¯t he have a sense of propriety? He actually took the girl to get-a-room? My God, I instantly felt that this ¡®Genius¡¯ is very scary, somewhat with the potential of being a perverted murderer.¡± ¡°En ¡­ aside from ethics, he¡¯s indeed a little perverted. Is it possible to satisfy his vanity by looking for a senior-high-school girlfriend? If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s fine. But taking a child to get-a-room is really too much. I always thought Li Chuan doesn¡¯t care about mundane affairs, but only now that I know he is a pervert. A year-one-high-school student is only 15 years old? The above thread-writer, please tell me which school this girl is from, and save this girl!¡± ¡°Looking at this gossip, I think Li Chuan is so perverted. Our dormitory still regards him as Mr. Perfect. He has a really gilded exterior but foul within and totally rotten inside. 555555 ¡­ ¡° [T/N: 55555 ¨C internet slang represents ¡®wuwuwu¡¯ the sound of tearful crying] ¡°He is a genius and handsome enough, except where in this world is the perfect person? Okay, okay, everybody disperse. The Genius likes underage girls and he has a peculiar obsession, what¡¯s that have to do with you all? Why are you all making a fuss here? I think you group of girls are simply unbearable and too busy gossiping all day long, and I think this post is also made up, saw people go get-a-room? Where is the evidence? Which room did he get?¡± ¡°Hey, thread-writer above, are you Li Chuan himself? Otherwise it¡¯s his schoolmate.¡± ********** In the post, the squabbles were overwhelming. After staying up all night working, Li Chuan was lying in the office resting. While he was sleeping soundly, Panda rushed through the door and yelled, ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not good.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s mind was slightly muddled as he rubbed his glabella and opened his eyes. Sizing Panda who rushed into his office sluggishly, ¡°Huh?¡± Panda came in with his laptop and placed it on the table in front of him, then pointed at the screen and said, ¡°Someone scolded you, saying you are a pervert who go get-a-room with a minor.¡± Li Chuan took the laptop and roughly scanned over it. The vicious speculations and malicious discourses on it were disgusting. ¡°Should we hack this post?¡± Panda asked him. Li Chuan waved his hand, ¡°Do something for me.¡± He behaved very calmly without ripples on his expression at all. But the calmer he was, the more terrifying Panda felt and thought this person was going to plan a big move. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Panda asked, ¡°Bo ¡­ Boss, what do you intend to let me do?¡± After coming out of the backstreet, Su Qin asked Li Xian to help find out what happened in order to figure out the situation. Li Xian pulled a schoolmate to inquire and told her when he came back, ¡°The students of our school posted on BBS. Do you know Li Chuan?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an internet cafe right in front. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll go take a look with you.¡± Su Qin nodded and followed the man into the internet cafe. Li Xian logged into BBS and as soon as he entered the page, he saw the slanderous post on the top. Li Xian browsed through one by one and then looked at Su Qin to compare the photos. The girl in the photo had a long ponytail and very fair skin. While Su Qin¡¯s hair is ear-length short with tanned skin and looks more mature than the girl in the photo too. Other than that, they were really identical. Li Xian asked her, ¡°Is this ¡­ your twin sister?¡± It can¡¯t be the same person, right? Otherwise, how to explain one with long hair while the other¡¯s short hair, one looks young and the other is mature, while one with fair skin and the other is tanned? "" Su Qin rotated the mouse without uttering a word and just scrolled down to browse page after page. Her brows creased more intensely and she could even guess who posted this. The mention of ¡®female student met during support teaching program¡¯, besides Lin Xiaoyin, who else would it be? She originally thought after being insulted by Li Chuan last time, this girl could completely stop having ideas about him, but she didn¡¯t expect she (LXY) would actually use this method to attack a doctoral student out of hatred for unrequited love. Not to mention whether this post will reach her school, but it has already caused a sensation merely in NJU campus and also a big impact on Li Chuan. Su Qin asked Li Xian, ¡°This post, besides affecting his reputation, will it impact his graduation?¡± Li Xian, after all, is a graduate of NJU and still knows the school regulations quite well. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes. Their doctoral students do research and projects every day. If this is true, the doctoral supervisor will certainly consider handing important projects over to others. The impact is still quite huge. But the year-one-high-school student ¡­ get-a-room this sort of thing ¡­ depends on how old she is. If she is under 14 years old, it¡¯s against the law and he will go to jail.¡± ¡° ¡­.. The first photo and the content are all made up. Do you all really believe this kind of nonsense allegation? Are you really a top student?¡± Su Qin was almost retarded with anger by this group of NJU students. Su Qin got the contact details of the NJU¡¯s heads from Li Xian and sent an email to them with a parental tone. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the mother of the girl in your school¡¯s BBS post ¡®Genius Doctoral Student Li Chuan¡¯s Harassment of Minors¡¯. The explosive allegations of the anonymous person in your prestigious school are not true and have seriously harmed my daughter. Teacher Li was a volunteer teacher in Dashan, who saved my daughter and sympathized with my daughter¡¯s circumstances after returning to Yunyang City. He helped her make up for her missed lessons and assisted her to get into Yunyang High School. There is, after all, merely a six-year age gap between Teacher Li and my daughter. During the tutoring period, he is very careful about the sense of propriety. Worrying about the neighbors¡¯ gossip, he tutors in public places, such as your school¡¯s library, laboratory etc. You and your prestigious students will know about these after a little inquiry. Teacher Li tutoring my daughter despite his busy schedule was an act of public service and out of kindness, yet was distorted as such by the students of your school which really saddened me. I hope you will handle this incident appropriately and minimize the damage done to my daughter, and to thoroughly investigate and severely punish the anonymous person who posted this.¡± After sending this email, Su Qin roughly told her mother what had happened and asked her to go to NJU tomorrow to exert pressure on the university heads. Seeing those rumor posts on the internet, Wang Lin slammed the table with anger, ¡°These people are too much. They actually slandered Teacher Li. Teacher Li is such a good person ah? This person is really black-hearted.¡± ¡°Oh right.¡± Su Qin took a hundred yuan from under the pillow and stuffed it to her mother, ¡°I will call the newspaper reporter tomorrow. When you go to NJU, stop by the advertising company across the street to make a banner to send to Teacher Li. A commendation to praise Teacher Li¡¯s act of public service and also to thank Teacher Li for rescuing us from Dashan, so that all the NJU students know that Teacher Li saved a few of our girls. Also, my name can be mentioned, but not Sisi and Wen Mei¡¯s name. If the reporter interviews you, you just bring up again that Lin Xiaoyin was also one of the rescued girls.¡± Wang Lin was puzzled, ¡°Why mention Lin ¡­ what Yin?¡± ¡°Lin Xiaoyin, a student of NJU, one of the support teachers.¡± Although she didn¡¯t understand why it was important to mention ¡®Lin Xiaoyin¡¯, in Wang Lin¡¯s mind, Su Qin is already a big girl and has her own resolution. Even if she asked something clearly, she might not be able to understand, so she simply didn¡¯t ask. Early the next morning, Wang Lin took the banner to NJU and stormed into the university head¡¯s office. When she arrived, the reporter of [Southern Weekly] had arrived too and the two of them walked into the head¡¯s office together. The director who received them was surnamed Zhao. Director Zhao asked the reporter and Wang Lin to sit down then respectively made them cups of tea. The reporter had done his homework before he came. He had learned that the ¡®Heroic Support Teacher¡¯ had been deliberately slandered on the campus¡¯ BBS. Moreover, this heroic support teacher was even the top high-school student who made headlines in Yunyang and a genius. Feeling there was sensational news, he came to NJU for an interview. Director Zhao has also paid attention to the post these days and instructed the teachers to check the matter. He had indeed found out that Li Chuan often brought the little girl in and out of campus. Director Zhao was about to ¡®warn¡¯ Li Chuan to restrain his behavior when he received Su Qin¡¯s email. After reading the email, Director Zhao fell into silence. He was thinking about how to deal with this matter when the reporter and the girl¡¯s mother came looking for him. This matter has obviously become a big deal. The reporter asked Wang Lin, ¡°Mdm. Wang, have you read the BBS posts? As such, have you ever suspected the relationship between your daughter and Li Chuan?¡± Wang Lin herself is not good with words. She, after all, has been a housewife for many years. Su Qin had taught her a lot last night and she took them all to heart. Facing the reporter at this moment, she sat upright and said: ¡°My daughter has a pure relationship with Teacher Li at present. The two of them are just a teacher-student relationship. Teacher Li is a good person and my daughter is already 16 years old. Even if she worships Teacher Li, it is a normal matter too. But what those people said on the internet are just beyond reasonable. They said Teacher Li took her to a hotel for the night, that he is a pervert? This sort of thing is purely non-existent. I know my daughter and I also know that my daughter has never spent the night out.¡± The reporter also added, ¡°Then if your daughter is really in love with Li Chuan, will you oppose?¡± Wang Lin, ¡°My daughter is already 16 years old and has her own mind, she will also tell me if she has any opinions. If she really has that idea about Teacher Li, I will guide her to study hard first and if she really likes him, then it¡¯s not too late to go steady after getting into the university. I am here now merely to ask the school to do justice to Teacher Li. As a parent, I really can¡¯t bear to see such a good child being slandered like this. When Teacher Li rescued four girls from Dashan at that time, my daughter is one of them and another is also a student from your school, called ¡­. Lin Xiaoyin, right Lin Xiaoyin. It¡¯s okay even if your school doesn¡¯t praise this kind of hero, but to actually let others start such a rumor and be slandered.¡± The more Wang Lin spoke, the angrier she became and the reporter felt infuriated too listening to her. Director Zhao frowned severely and spoke comfortingly to Wang Lin, ¡°Mdm Wang, you can be rest assured that our school will investigate this matter thoroughly. The post will be deleted as soon as possible to give justice to Student Li Chuan. The banner you delivered will be handed over to Student Li Chuan.¡± ********** After sending the reporter and Wang Lin away, Director Zhao was considering how to investigate this matter when a teacher knocked on the office door. Looking at the teacher who knocked on the door, Director Zhao asked, ¡°Teacher Zhang, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Teacher Zhang, who still had his laptop in his hand, pointed to the computer and said, ¡°The anonymous person who started and posted the rumor has been found. Director Zhao, you must take a look at this matter, it¡¯s simply a disgrace to our school¡¯s reputation!¡± Director Zhao beckoned to Teacher Zhang to bring the laptop over and frowned more severely as he browsed through one after another explosive post. Teacher Zhang punched the palm of his hand and said, ¡°This ¡®Plastic Surgery Toad Girl¡¯ is our school post graduate student. She has bad influential behavior and must be expelled!¡± The campus¡¯ BBS had been hacked and a sentence hovered at the top ads banner: Panda Warrior slay and eliminate the evil, reporting two to three despicable matters of the Female Toad Monster. The top post [Genius Doctoral Student Li Chuan¡¯s Harassment of Minors] became [Plastic Surgery Toad Girl Requited Kindness with Enmity]. The content was very simple. It roughly talked about Lin Xiaoyin being ¡®abducted¡¯ in Dashan and then saved by Li Chuan. Then this ¡®Panda Warrior¡¯ hacked into Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s computer, exposing the evidence of her allegations and found many secretly photographs of Li Chuan from her computer, which amounted to thousands and comparable to a perverted stalker. ********** Below were a few forum threads: [Plastic Surgery Toad Girl¡¯s high-profile pursuit of the school grass, yet get-a-room with 4 different men in a week] It¡¯s normal for adults to have needs, but it¡¯s outrageous for her to still pursue Li Chuan in a high-profile manner while get-a-room with others and even posted slanders and requited kindness with enmity. Panda Warrior hacked Lin Xiaoyin¡¯s computer and exposed all the evidence he could find. The school forum was hacked and one stone stirred up a thousand waves. Those students who had previously scolded ¡®Li Chuan as pervert¡¯ were now getting slaps in the face. They looked at the evidence exposed online and couldn¡¯t react for a long time. CH 34 Chapter 34 ¨C Boy This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. The next day, a pragmatic article on ¡®Li Chuan¡¯s Heroic¡¯ by [Southern Weekly] was published on BBS. Netizens who had condemned Li Chuan in the forum were slapped in the face and after a night of silence, some netizens came out to apologize. Comment 1: ¡°After this incident, I really dared not believe too much of BBS allegations. Starting with the photo and the content that was all made up, which discredit a hero into a pervert. I¡¯m here to apologize to Li Chuan. You are not only a Genius but also our school¡¯s epitome who is worthy of praise and someone to learn from.¡± Comment 2: ¡°I¡¯m also here to admit my mistake. I¡¯m a student of NJU and dare to acknowledge my mistake. I hereby swear that I will never readily believe online rumors in the future.¡± Comment 3: ¡°No one can guarantee what Panda Warrior reported is true, right? And this Panda Warrior is really too much, he actually exposed such private matters of the girl. In Li Chuan¡¯s case, it¡¯s freedom to choose one¡¯s partner and the school is not likely to render any disciplinary action, at most just losing a few projects. But what about Schoolmate Lin Xiaoyin? Once this matter is exposed, she may lose her academic record! She is still a postgraduate student ah!¡± Comment 4: ¡°Commenter above, are you here to jest around? Your comment reminded me of the well-known phrase in Aunt Qiong Yao¡¯s book. ¨C What you lost is only a leg, but what about Zi Ling! What she lost was love!¡± Comment 5: Is Commenter #3 a fool? What benefit did Lin Xiaoyin give you? This kind of girl really corrupts the school morale. Trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the grain used to lure it and getting enmeshed in the web of her own spinning!¡± Comment 6: ¡°Am I the only one who wants to say that this Lin Xiaoyin is too much? The mother in the interview also clearly said that Lin Xiaoyin was one of the rescued girls too, thus it was evident that Panda Warrior¡¯s revelation yesterday was true. She is really too much. Failed to pursue Li Chuan, she actually wanted to fabricate false charges and even implicated a year-one-high-school girl. Won¡¯t this grieve the young girl seeing this post?¡± Comment 7: ¡°Sensational news, sensational news! Lin Xiaoyin was taken away by the police for starting a rumor and slandering!¡± Those who spoke for Lin Xiaoyin in the forum immediately disappeared without a trace. Lin Xiaoyin was invited for questioning at the police station for starting a rumor and slandering. Because of this, Li Chuan received a call from home. On the other end of the phone, Li Chuan¡¯s eldest paternal uncle urged him earnestly to let the matter go as the two families still need future dealings. Curling up the corners of his mouth with a smile, Li Chuan said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± Listening to this child¡¯s cynical voice on the phone, Li Jianjun said angrily, ¡°Stinky brat, what¡¯s with your tone? Okay, stop making trouble. Let¡¯s just forget about this matter. Yin-yin is playful but she didn¡¯t mean to harm you and that little girl.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s parents passed away early while his eldest paternal uncle and his wife had no son of their own, so Li Jianjun adopted Li Chuan, and he addressed him as father since childhood. ¡°Playful?¡± There wasn¡¯t much warmth in Li Chuan¡¯s tone, ¡°This matter is not negotiable. Grown-ups should be responsible for their own actions. Don¡¯t worry, she will be out in ten days at most.¡± ¡°Yin-yin is still doing her doctorate program. Isn¡¯t what you are doing similar to ruining her life?¡± Li Jianjun was so angry with him that his liver hurt, ¡°Little Chuan, the family can be nonchalant with what you are doing outside or whatever business you are involved in. But this matter, you must do as I say. What Yin-yin did was wrong, but as an Elder Brother, shouldn¡¯t you give in to her?¡± Li Chuan¡¯s voice was very cold, ¡°That¡¯s it, and I¡¯m hanging up. I will be home on time for dinner on Friday, and tell Grandma I will cook for her when I get home.¡± Li Jianjun still wanted to say something else, but the connection over the other end was cut off. The three-day break after military training ended quickly. Su Qin had barely rested as it consumed a lot of her time to teach her mother to post on major forums and to choose models with Chen Meixin. After Su Qin arranged the work for next month, she could finally relax a little and took the bus back to school. It took about fifty minutes to arrive at the last stop from the old city district to Yunyang High School and another ten minutes¡¯ walk to their school¡¯s entrance. Today was the day before the term began. The backstreet of the school was very lively; stationery shops, bookstores, snack bars and milk tea shops were crowded with students. "" Year-two and year-three high school students had changed into their school uniforms. Passing by the entrance of a snack bar, she saw several boys in school uniforms squatting on the curb eating roast sausages. The way the boys feasted on their food greatly whet Su Qin¡¯s appetite, hence she walked into the milk tea shop and bought a crispy skewer of roast sausage. She was about to turn around when someone behind leaned over and pushed her forward. The big boy behind her nestled and slid his lower jaw against her shoulder before biting into the roast sausage she was holding. Su Qin was dumbfounded. Resting his chin on her shoulder, the big boy said in a coquettish tone, ¡°Su-su, I still want to eat.¡± Su Qin laughed with annoyance and stuffed the rest of the roast sausage into his mouth, ¡°Eat, eat, eat all for me and don¡¯t leave a single bite!¡± Yun Fei bit into the roast sausage and stood up straight. Seeing that she was carrying a large backpack and a canvas bag in her hand, which looked quite heavy, he took the initiative to take the schoolbag off her shoulder and also carried the bag of fruit for her, and asked her, ¡°Su-su, have you eaten yet?¡± With the burden removed, Su Qin felt a lot lighter. As the two walked side by side towards the school, she shook her head, ¡°No, how about you?¡± ¡°Me neither, I¡¯m waiting for you to eat with me.¡± Dressed dashingly cool, the big boy was tall too and attracted the gazes of many students along the way. Yunyang High School has a rule that school uniforms must be worn on the day of admission. Students like Yun Fei and Su Qin who dressed casually looked like the year-one-high-school students. Su Qin turned to ask him, ¡°Then what do you want to eat? Sister will treat you.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s drop off our stuff and go try every single thing in the backstreet, okay?¡± ¡°Huh? There are so many delicacies, can you eat them all ah? Won¡¯t you be full to the point of bursting?¡± The boy is a head taller than her, but when he talked to her, his tone was sweetly coquettish and even looked at her like a little puppy. Unable to stand the gaze of this boy, she couldn¡¯t help but stand on tiptoe to tug at the boy¡¯s ear, ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t look at me with such pitiful eyes. I¡¯ll just bring you to eat. You wait downstairs for me. I¡¯ll come down after I put my stuff in the dormitory.¡± ¡°En, en.¡± Once they arrived at the downstairs of the girls¡¯ dormitory, Su Qin took her stuff from Yun Fei, then took a bag of apples from the canvas bag and stuffed it to Yun Fei, ¡°Here, eat more fruit. I bought you a bag which is enough for a week.¡± Hugging the fruit, Yun Fei felt warm. After the girl went upstairs, he wagged his tail and walked towards his dorm room. Dormitory 303. Laying on the bed, Yan Yixiao raised her pair of short legs and pushed against the bed-board of the bunk bed as she lamented, ¡°School is starting tomorrow. I heard from the year-two-high-school senior sister that Teacher Tang looks gentle on the surface, but is actually super fierce. And she said there will be a class test tomorrow. After military training, I have almost forgotten my junior high knowledge. What should I do? I¡¯m a little nervous.¡± ¡°We are having a test?¡± Su Qin came in from outside with large and small bags and felt uncertain when she heard Yan Yixiao¡¯s words. Sitting on the other lower bunk bed, Yu Wen was looking in the mirror as she dabbed moisturizer and hummed in acknowledgement, ¡°Every class has a test for the new term and ours is no exception. Su Qin, I¡¯m curious about how many points you got for the senior high-school entrance exam?¡± Su Qin didn¡¯t get a view of her exam score at all. Teacher Tang only informed her that she was accepted and got a perfect score in the essay writing. As for the subject scores as well as the total points, Teacher Tang seemed to have forgotten to tell her and she forgot to ask too. Kneeling on the top bunk folding her clothes, Meng Sisi said, ¡°Su-su was admitted before the senior high-school entrance exam, so she doesn¡¯t know her score. Hey, Mosquito, what¡¯s your score?¡± The girl who got called ¡®Mosquito¡¯ looked up at Meng Sisi who was on the opposite top bunk, ¡°Who are you calling Mosquito? Such an unpleasant nickname, I don¡¯t want it!¡± [T/N: ÎÃ×Ó (W¨¦nzi) ¨C Mosquito] ¡°Mosquito, Mosquito, Mosquito, it¡¯s pretty nice ah, catchy and easy to remember.¡± Meng Sisi stuck out her tongue at her. Su Qin took out three apples from the bag, put them in a small dish and went to the bathroom to wash them before bringing them back and gave one to each of her three roommates. After giving the apples to the three girls, Su Qin went downstairs. Yu Wen called out to her when she left, ¡°Su Qin, you¡¯re not going to have dinner with us? Let¡¯s at least get together ah.¡± ¡°No thanks. Let¡¯s eat together tomorrow. I¡¯ll bring Yun Fei out to buy some stationery.¡± ¡°Eh, okay.¡± After Su Qin left, Yu Wen gossiped with Meng Sisi, ¡°Are they really siblings ah? What I see, not likely ah?¡± ¡°A very complicated relationship, you better not know.¡± Even though Meng Sisi tried very hard to forget everything in Dashan, she was hurt after all and engraved in the marrow of her bones which could not be forgotten. She tried very hard to use ¡®joy¡¯ to conceal those painful experiences, but she can¡¯t forget those kinds of encounters and will never get over it for the rest of her life. The relationship between Yun Fei and Su Qin is too complicated. If she really wants to talk about it, she is bound to mention what happened to the girls in Dashan. In the backstreet of the school, the stationery store was crowded with people. Yun Fei still hasn¡¯t bought any stationery, so he pulled Su Qin to squeeze in. Yun Fei has become obsessed with Ultraman recently; notebooks and pencil cases were of similar merchandise. In the corner of the stationery store, Su Qin was choosing the ball pens for the boy. When she turned around, she saw the big boy¡¯s arms were covered with paper-scratched tattoos. Azure dragon tattoo on the left arm. White tiger tattoo on the right arm. Clenching his fists like the hulk, he hooked his arms, ¡°Su-su, handsome?¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° The corners of Su Qin¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°I don¡¯t see any handsomeness, instead a little degraded. I picked out a few pens for you, which should be enough for you to use for a while. What else do you need?¡± Yun Fei pointed to the celebrity posters and stickers hanging on the wall and asked her, ¡°Why would anyone buy these things?¡± Su Qin explained to him patiently, ¡°These are celebrities. Many students will buy their idol¡¯s posters to paste them on the wall for daily admiration. As for the small stickers, you can paste them on your notebooks.¡± Raising his hand to point at one of the celebrities, Yun Fei asked her, ¡°Su-su, who is handsome, me or him?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s the celebrity. No matter how handsome you are, are you as popular as the celebrity?¡± Su Qin brought him to the counter to queue up for payment. Counting the items in hand, she roughly calculated the amount and fished out fifty yuan from her pocket. Yun Fei pursed the corners of his mouth, feeling quite discontented and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m obviously more handsome than him. Su-su, you are lying through your teeth.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, okay. You are handsome, you are handsome.¡± Su Qin counted the handful of change and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or to cry at the big boy¡¯s reaction. Yun Fei snorted out of his throat, ¡°You wait, and I¡¯m going to make all the girls in school buy my posters in the future.¡± Su Qin handed the boss the money, but the big boy grabbed her hand back and scrambled to give the boss the hundred yuan bill first. With knitted brows, he spoke word by word to Su Qin, ¡°Su-su, why are you always rushing to pay? Why are you acting like a tycoon in front of me? Su-su, I¡¯m not happy when you are like this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much. Su-su can afford it ah.¡± Su Qin glanced at him with an amused look and explained, ¡°Feifei, you have to remember that Su-su¡¯s life was saved by you. In the future, no matter how much Su-su earns and how much you spend, that is what Su-su ought to give you. This is not acting like a tycoon, this is called repayment of gratitude, understand?¡± The boss handed over the change and the bag of stationery to them. The students behind who were waiting in line to pay urged them, ¡°The two year-one in front, hurry up. There are people waiting behind you!¡± ¡°Okay, sorry, sorry. We¡¯re almost done.¡± Su Qin took the stuff from the boss, grabbed the boy¡¯s wrist and dragged him out of the stationery shop. After buying the stationery, Su Qin took Yun Fei to taste half a street of snacks. Grilled chicken wings, cold dips, cold jelly, chicken cutlet, fried chicken skins ¡­ until their stomachs were stuffed to the brim before heading back. There was self-study at 6.30 pm and the two of them did not reckon the time properly. As soon as they entered the school, the bell rang. At precisely the same time, Su Qin received a text message from Yu Wen: ¨C Hurry back. Teacher Tang is already in the class. Teacher Tang said those who are late will be heavily punished, so you¡¯re on your own. Mulling over Teacher Tang¡¯s amiable face, Su Qin felt that the gentle teacher should not punish her too ghastly considering today was the first day of self-study, right? Bringing Yun Fei with her, she ran wildly all the way to the door of the year-one classroom. She stood still at the door and called out ¡°Report¡± to Teacher Tang on the platform. Su Qin was so nervous because she was late that she forgot Yun Fei was still behind her. Teacher Tang is gentle after class, but stern in class, and could never let off any student who was late. Turning her head, she saw Su Qin and the little tail behind her. Teacher Tang said with a cold face, ¡°Come in.¡± Walking into the classroom, Su Qin stood at the door and scanned the seats in the class. There are four rows of eight seats in the classroom and only one seat left on the last row. She was about to walk over when Teacher Tang spoke up, and her stern voice caused a chill on Su Qin¡¯s spine. ¡°Yun Fei? What are you doing trailing behind?¡± Yun Fei was taken aback and looked at Teacher Tang, ¡°I want to be with Su-su.¡± Since the teacher in-charge of Class 12 is on maternity leave, Teacher Tang is now in-charge of Class 1 and Class 12. Yun Fei is a student of Class 12 and she has heard a little about this child. During the exam, he handed in a blank answer sheet for English but did pretty well in the physics and mathematics exam. He couldn¡¯t get into Yunzhong, but relying on his father¡¯s connections, he was accepted to Yunzhong. Yunyang High School is very strict in accepting students. If his father hadn¡¯t done a lot of charitable deeds and donated half of the classroom building, he might not have been able to get into the school. Teacher Tang has also found out about this student privately. There is no problem with his IQ, but he rarely communicates with other students. He followed Su Qin like a small tail all day long. Teacher Tang asked him, ¡°Are you a student of Class 1? You are the Class 12 student, you should go to Class 12!¡± Other students burst into laughter. Being laughed at, Yun Fei felt very uncomfortable and he didn¡¯t quite understand the school¡¯s logic. Why does he have to go to Class 12? Can¡¯t he stay in Class 1? Seeing Yun Fei¡¯s rigidness, Su Qin grabbed him and spoke to the teacher, ¡°Teacher Tang, Yun Fei¡¯s situation is a bit special and he doesn¡¯t quite understand the school rules. I¡¯ll send him to Class 12.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Teacher Tang nodded and reminded, ¡°Class 12 is upstairs, turn left at the end.¡± Only after Su Qin left Class 1 with Yun Fei did someone discussed: ¡°Is Yun Fei really stupid?¡± ¡°He is usually smart, doesn¡¯t look stupid ah?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, he¡¯s weird anyway. Su Qin and he don¡¯t share the same surname, they¡¯re simply not siblings, right?¡± ¡°Quiet!¡± Teacher Tang slammed a ruler on the desk to stop everyone from talking. Su Qin returned from Class 12 after sending Yun Fei and took her seat when Teacher Tang chastised her by name, ¡°Su Qin, being late for self-study tonight, you will be punished do class cleaning for a week.¡± ¡°Yes ¡­ ¡° Su Qin exhaled a breath. Some students whispered in class. Teacher Tang coughed lightly and there was absolute silence immediately. She said, ¡°Everyone do revision tonight. The teachers of each subject will hand out tests tomorrow. We will select the class representative and arrange the seats according to the result ranking. Here, I want to remind some students that you can get into this school because the school gave you a special grant and being able to get into this class is also because I gave you an extra chance. Otherwise, based on your grades, if you want to enter Class 1, you are still way behind.¡± Teacher Tang¡¯s words clearly meant something. The students looked at one another and had misgivings in their hearts. Who is Teacher Tang talking about? CH 35.1 Chapter 35.1 ¨C Li Xian This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin washed up once she returned to the dorm in the evening. Fetching the clothes from the opened wardrobe, she saw a gift box inside. This was the gift Li Chuan brought back from the USA, which she hadn¡¯t opened up to look at since she was previously busy with military training. Taking the gift box and the pajamas, she climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged and started to unwrap the gift box. It was a simple all white packaging. Inside was a sunscreen lotion, a bottle of moisturizing milk, a pen and a notebook too. Su Qin took out the notebook and flipped through two pages. Taking the pen from the pencil case, she wrote down her name, Su Qin, on the front page. However, she didn¡¯t notice a string of neat words written by a man at the bottom right corner on the last page of this notebook. ¨C Little Su Qin, be happy. (Li Chuan) It was a leather cover notebook, which was very thick and suitable to use as a diary. Su Qin took out Yun Fei¡¯s photo booth sticker from the pencil case and stuck it on the notebook¡¯s first page. Is this regarded as youth? Su Qin intends to use this notebook to jot down some trivial tasks and also use it to scribble some creative inspiration. Although she does not have the ardor to design women¡¯s clothing now, she can note down the styling insight to discuss it with Chen Meixin when she has time in the future. Having only a 30% stake in Taobao store, Su Qin considers her efforts to be far more than that. If she designs women¡¯s clothing in the future, then she must own at least half of Taobao store¡¯s shares. And the management rights must be in her hands in order to manage the original creativity with confidence. Taking out a pencil, Su Qin sketched some patterns and then heard Yu Wen speak from the lower bunk, ¡°Su Qin, you say, who the person that Teacher Tang mentioned is ah? Special grant? Also, not qualified to be in Class 1 yet got into Class 1? I¡¯m curious about who it is.¡± Yu Wen asked while applying hand cream from the lower bunk. ¡°It¡¯s probably me.¡± Su Qin did not hide at all and she didn¡¯t stop her sketching. ¡°Ah?¡± Yu Wen was obviously shocked. Su Qin sighed and said, ¡°I was not qualified to take the exam at first, but the school gave me a special grant. The person Teacher Tang was talking about is probably me. Most likely I didn¡¯t do well in the exam and wasn¡¯t qualified to enter Class 1, but because of my perfect essay, I was valued by Teacher Tang who brought me into Class 1.¡± Yu Wen obviously didn¡¯t expect her to be so straightforward. She has been the class monitor since she was a child and most dislikes those students who hold the class back. If it was before the military training, she would surely loathe Su Qin to death, but now, she only feels worried about her. Yu Wen frowned and stated the fact, ¡°Then you are done for. Our Class 1 is ranked highest besides the Whizz Classes. I¡¯ve seen the exam admittance results of everyone except you. Do you know how many points difference between the last place in our class and the last place of Whizz class?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Yu Wen told her, ¡°8 points.¡± Su Qin was shocked by the points¡¯ disparity, which showed how competitive it was. Yu Wen added, ¡°Moreover, the learning progress of our Class 1 is similar to that of Whizz classes, so you should be mentally prepared for this too. If the one Teacher Tang mentioned was really you, then you are in danger.¡± Su Qin¡¯s chest felt suppressed. Immersing in the geniuses¡¯ world made her feel extremely pressured. Even though she was rebirthed, she had only spent a brief few months reviewing her junior school¡¯s knowledge. Moreover, she had slackened off after the exam as she was busy with Taobao during the summer vacation and simply didn¡¯t study at all. During the evening self-study just now, Teacher Tang had already let her off gently. She had left school for a long time and also had no concept of the evening self-study. As an adult, she has almost forgotten the harsh system and pressure of her school days. Thinking of this, Su Qin felt ashamed again and also felt a little sorry for Teacher Tang and Li Chuan. Meng Sisi came back from the bathroom after washing up. Putting down the basin and climbing up the iron bunk, she comforted Su Qin when she saw Su Qin¡¯s solemn face, ¡°Su-su, come to Class 12 if you really can¡¯t do it. How wonderful would it be if I, you and Yun Fei are in the same class ah?¡± Su Qin had even more headaches thinking about Yun Fei. What to do after all to make Feifei mingle with the group faster? The dormitory lights were turned off. The dorm-supervising aunt called out in the corridor when she patrolled the building, ¡°Sleep ah. No one is allowed to talk. If I hear anyone in whichever dorm is talking, the whole dormitory will not sleep but to come out and be punished to stand for half an hour before going back to sleep! 306, who is talking? Come out! Everybody come out! Stand for half an hour and then go back to sleep!¡± Hearing the voices outside, Su Qin, who was dialing Li Chuan¡¯s phone, silently hung up and cowered into her blanket before sending a text message to Li Chuan, ¡°Teacher Li, good night.¡± Li Chuan reckoned that the young girl should be asleep at this hour, stared at his phone from time to time and indeed, received her text message punctually. The corners of the man¡¯s lips raised up slightly as he took his phone and replied, ¡°Good night.¡± Su Qin¡¯s handphone screen lit up once the text message popped out. Fortunately she had set it to mute, otherwise if the dorm-supervising aunt outside heard the sound, she might drag everyone in the dormitory out and punish them. Yunzhong is very strict in managing their students¡¯ bedtime too. Students are not allowed to talk after lights out. The dorm-supervising aunt is the dormitory building¡¯s infamous ¡®Old Witch¡¯, who waves the chicken feather as token of authority, showing off her dominance and will even administer corporal punishment to the students. After yesterday¡¯s bitter lesson, Su Qin dared not be late again. She got up at 6.30 to wash up, took the three roommates¡¯ meal cards and went to the cafeteria to help them grab soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks. Soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks are one of the most favorite breakfast items among students; not to mention how delicious it was soaking the crispy deep-fried dough sticks in the soy milk. But the supply is limited and will be gone if one is late. Su Qin helped to get breakfast for her three roommates and Yun Fei, which she placed all on the table. Yun Fei and the three roommates entered the cafeteria together. Meng Sisi and Yu Wen greeted him, but he ignored them and walked straight towards Su Qin, then sat down opposite her. The three roommates also sat down one after another. Yu Wen looked at the ¡®siblings¡¯ sitting opposite each other and teased, ¡°Su Qin, why is your family Feifei ignoring us ah? We didn¡¯t offend him.¡± Su Qin laughed at Yu Wen, ¡°It¡¯s not the first day you know him, and he¡¯s shy.¡± Taking the egg from Su Qin¡¯s plate, Yun Fei took the initiative to help her peel and put it on her plate. The big boy didn¡¯t say anything all along and Su Qin felt too perilous to go on like this, hence she opened her mouth, ¡°Feifei, how¡¯s your relationship with the boys in your dormitory?¡± He shook his head, indicating that it was not good. Su Qin mulled over for a moment and spoke to him in a soft voice, ¡°Feifei, do something for me, okay?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Yun Fei raised his gaze and looked at her with a puzzled look. ¡°From tomorrow morning onwards, you take the initiative to take your roommates¡¯ meal cards and help them get breakfast downstairs. Can you do this for me?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask why, just say if you can do it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Although Yun Fei didn¡¯t know why, he believed that Su Qin would not let him do this for no reason. There must be a reason for it. Since Su-su didn¡¯t want to say it, he didn¡¯t ask. The first lesson was Math. The Math teacher, surnamed Yu, is a fat middle-aged man in his forties wearing a black-framed glasses and he walked in from outside with a stack of test papers. Standing on the podium, he cleared his throat and said, ¡°Hello students, I am your Math teacher, Yu Qing.¡± Teacher Yu turned around, wrote his name on the blackboard then handed out the test papers to the students without much words. ¡°This is your junior high¡¯s questions, mainly to test your level. Good luck, Students. The test paper is not difficult and I hope you will all get a perfect score.¡± Before the teacher¡¯s voice faltered, the students below had already started to answer the questions earnestly. The test paper was indeed not difficult but it was not easy either. Su Qin thought Teacher Yu¡¯s ¡®strive for a perfect score¡¯ was just a mantra to encourage the students, unexpectedly she heard the classmates in front and behind her talk after the exam. ¡°Isn¡¯t this test paper too easy? Zhang Zhenzhen, do you have any questions that you can¡¯t answer?¡± ¡°No ah, I should be able to get a perfect score?¡± ¡°I think I can get a perfect score too!¡± The male classmate who spoke turned his head and asked Su Qin, ¡°Su Qin, what about you? Do you have any questions that you couldn¡¯t answer?¡± Su Qin was too embarrassed to reply. She couldn¡¯t answer one key question, thus making it impossible to get a perfect score. In the next three periods, there were Chinese, English and Physics tests respectively. The three periods in the afternoon were the Chemistry, Political Science and History tests. That evening, the students revised in their classrooms while the teachers of various subjects sat in the office to mark the test papers. After the Math teacher finished marking the Class 1 test papers, he said while sorting them out, ¡°Teacher Tang, that Su Qin in your class is quite poor in Math. Is her grades very good in other subjects? A total of 48 students in the class, three of them didn¡¯t get full marks and she is one of them, and also the one with the lowest score.¡± Hearing that, the Political Science teacher smiled and also said, ¡°Su Qin? She actually scored quite well in Political Science, highest in class.¡± The Physics teacher sitting opposite the Political Science teacher frowned, ¡°It seems that this girl is somewhat subjects-partial. My Physics paper is not difficult and she is the only one in the class who did not score above 95 points. Also, the Chemistry paper I helped Teacher Liu marked, she is also the lowest in class. Her grades in these two subjects are not even as good as other students in Classes 5, 6 and 7.¡± Teacher Tang was marking Su Qin¡¯s test paper. Hearing the complaints from the Physics and Math teachers, she didn¡¯t respond, instead looked closely at her essay. Su Qin¡¯s Chinese grades are still pretty good and her writing style is considered not bad among the high school students. Her writing seems to be endowed with experiences and slices of life, simple short sentences that are able to move others. An essay of [Listen to Mother¡¯s word] once again warmed the rims of Teacher Tang¡¯s eyes. Su Qin¡¯s Chinese grade ranked first in the class, yet unable to thwart the serious subjects-partiality as her overall score was not good. Teacher Tang put down the red pen in her hand and said to the two ¡®complaining¡¯ Science teachers, ¡°Teacher Yu, Teacher Qin, this student¡¯s situation is a little special. According to her admittance exam results, she should go to Class 7, but her essay writing is amazing. It¡¯s sort of a little selfishness on my part, I think this student can be cultivated.¡± ¡°Teacher Tang, this is where you¡¯ve gone too far. Her subjects-partiality is so serious, it will drag the grades of the entire class.¡± Teacher Yu tapped his knuckles on the table and said angrily, ¡°Send her back to Class 7 since the term has yet to begin. Our Class 1 is going to PK with the Whizz Classes. Did you forget the goals we set ourselves? Strive to teach a regular class that surpasses the Whizz Classes.¡± [T/N: PK ¨C refer to player knocked-out] CH 35.2 Chapter 35.2 ¨C Li Xian This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. After pondering for a moment, Teacher Tang spoke a little about Su Qin¡¯s situation, ¡°This child had a peculiar encounter and she dropped out of school for a period of time. Do you all still remember Li Chuan?¡± Teacher Yu pushed the frame of his glasses on his nose bridge, ¡°Remember. That little Genius. An unprecedented 21-year-old post graduate.¡± Teacher Tang continued, ¡°She originally was Chengnan First Middle School¡¯s year-one student, but she dropped out of school for half a year because of family reasons. Later, Li Chuan tutored her for two months before she attended our school¡¯s admittance exam. She had no chance to take our school exam at first but the principal granted her for Li Chuan¡¯s sake. Originally, I didn¡¯t expect much from this child, but her grades exceeded my expectations and her essay even surprised the entire language department.¡± ¡°About the matter of her coming to Class 1, several Academic Affairs Office teachers and I have analyzed too. She used to study in Chengnan First Middle School and granted that she ranked first in the school, there was still a certain gap from our school. Even if she repeats another year in the previous school, it is unlikely for her to get into our school. But she actually got in after two months of Li Chuan¡¯s tutoring. What does this mean? This shows that this child is promising and the previous school teachers were lacking, resulting in a waste of such a good seedling.¡± Teacher Yu understood and sighed, ¡°Then let her go to Class 7, it¡¯s the same too.¡± With a woebegone look and appearing to plead with Teacher Yu, ¡°Teacher Yu, just give her a chance. I want to see if this girl has potential to improve. If her midterm and final grades are not good, it¡¯s still not too late to let her go to Class 7.¡± The teacher-in-charge of Class 7 listened to their conversation for a while, raised his head and teased, ¡°If you guys don¡¯t want this student, then I¡¯ll take over.¡± Seeing that Teacher Tang insisted on keeping Su Qin, the Math and Physics teachers didn¡¯t say anything else but just let out a soft sigh. Perhaps it¡¯s already a leap and bound capability for a student from Chengnan First Middle School to be able to go to Class 7 and she probably can¡¯t muddle away in Class 1. This matter of studying doesn¡¯t mean one can obtain good results with just hard work. Some people, who put in tenfold more effort than others, may not be able to get good grades too. While some can easily get first place, for instance the once Yunyang High School¡¯s legendary ¨C Li Chuan. When the test results came out, Su Qin¡¯s total score ranked bottom and was second last in the class. Looking at the results ranking, Su Qin held her forehead and her old face flushed as she felt sorry for Li Chuan. Su Qin has already drawn up a plan for herself. She will study without delay when it¡¯s time to study. She will go back to deal with the job every Saturday and go tutoring on weekends. Although it¡¯s strenuous, there is no other way. In her previous lifetime, Su Qin had already learned the curriculum once and attending classes was different from tutoring, so it was relatively much easier. She would listen carefully to the subjects¡¯ main points, treating it as revision of what she had learned in her previous lifetime. Yunzhong teachers¡¯ teaching methods are completely different from that of First Middle School. She understood more in-depth listening to the certain main points taught by the Yunzhong teachers. Yunzhong has its own teaching materials, workbooks, academic compilations, etc, all of which are crucial points compiled by the school teachers themselves. During the evening self-study, Su Qin would also review lessons that the teacher has yet to teach, besides doing that day¡¯s assigned homework She would leave out questions that she couldn¡¯t answer and after listening to what the teacher taught, she would read the questions carefully again without any problem then. Su Qin studied this month¡¯s curriculum effortlessly. Worried that her mid-term exam would drag the class behind, Teacher Yu deliberately talked to her several times and asked if she understood and so forth. In order to leave a good impression in front of the Math teacher, she would also take the initiative to ask the Math teacher questions, despite knowing those answers. At the same time, Yun Fei did follow Su Qin¡¯s instruction and helped his roommates get their meals every morning. Su Qin would send fruit and snacks to Yun Fei every morning, not for his consumption rather to let him share with his roommates. Yun Fei showed much disapproval over this and was a little jealous. Half a month later, the roommates became much closer to Yun Fei. They would call him along for meals and also ask him out whenever they went to buy stuff outside the school. If anyone dared to call Yun Fei a ¡®fool¡¯, the whole dormitory would grab the stools and brooms then rush over with the tendency to fight. Every Saturday, Su Qin would not go play with her classmates, but went straight home to hold meetings with her mother and Chen Meixin for Taobao store¡¯s weekly summation. Thanks to her mother, Wang Lin¡¯s efforts, the Taobao sales have increased a lot. All those two hundred pieces of rejected clothing that were exclusively altered were completely sold out. Those sold in the Taobao store now are all those jointly selected by Su Qin and Chen Meixin. Taobao¡¯s sales are stable and the recent month¡¯s gross revenue has actually reached 38,000 yuan. Su Qin received more than 10,000 yuan and gave her mother, Wang Lin a 200 yuan incentive. Su Qin would ride to Li Chuan¡¯s company every Sunday for tutoring. Since Su Qin had studied the high school curriculums in her previous lifetime, coupled with her earnest attention during classes, she basically grasped the main points pretty well. She could almost answer all the questions given by Li Chuan, Panda and the others. Every Sunday afternoon, Li Chuan would drive Su Qin across the city streets on his battery-assisted bike and send her back to school. He would buy a lot of nutritional supplements and snacks then stuffed them to the young girl every Sunday. Su Qin would eat half of these items and give half away. The girls in her dormitory could not eat all of them, so she gave them to Yun Fei and let him share them with his roommates. At the end of the month, there was a seven-day National Day holiday. As soon as Su Qin got home and turned on her computer, she received an email from Li Xian. Li Xian sent her all the completed design images of the logo, packaging and packaging bag. The logo design was very creative. Seven-colored triangles formed the word ¡®Yunyi¡¯. Due to the angles of the graphics, it looked immaculate and simple. And because the colors were bright and striking, it was memorable and very avant-garde. For the packaging box and bag design, Li Xian scrapped the top brand¡¯s ¡®minimalist¡¯ style. The packaging box and bag were full of colorful triangles while white rectangles with the colorful Yunyi logo filled the center part of the triangles, followed by two rows of black font below. ¡°Come to Taobao¡¯s Yunyi Clothing House to get trendy clothes. Our matchings grasp the ¨¤ la mode more.¡± The amazing part about this design was the color mixtures, which were not messy. Though there were many color elements, it didn¡¯t arouse complexity. Moreover, this kind of design was simply memorable. The bright colors really attracted women¡¯s attention and also seized the onlookers¡¯ eyes. On the other side of the computer, Li Xian asked her nervously, ¡°Take a look, if this set is okay? Otherwise, I¡¯ll think of another design.¡± ¡°This is it!¡± Su Qin¡¯s heart was full of excitement that she couldn¡¯t control her emotion and typed out a sentence, ¡°Li Xian! I love you so much!¡± Li Xian was drinking water when he saw this and stared dumbfounded at the computer. Su Qin, ¡°Your works are too amazing! In the future, you will definitely become the number one graphic designer in China!¡± "" Staring at the words on the screen, Li Xian¡¯s nose felt sour. He couldn¡¯t hold back and two streaks of hot tears trickled down. Su Qin was the first, the first person who believed in him so much. Her encouragement filled him with strength. ¡°By the way, I want to use non-woven fabric for the packaging bag, do you think it is feasible? Can this pattern be printed on non-woven fabric?¡± ¡°Non-woven fabric?¡± Li Xian was silent for a moment and said, ¡°The effect is definitely not as good as the paper bag. Due to the extremely bright color pattern, I¡¯m afraid it will have an inferior vision if printed on non-woven fabric. Why do you insist on using non-woven fabric?¡± ¡°Because of its durability. What I want is not only a clothing tote bag, I hope it can be durable and be used frequently in daily life. Is there a way to solve the inferior vision problem after printing?¡± Li Xian on the other end of the computer was silent for a long time, ¡°Not sure. Are you free tomorrow? I can accompany you to the factory for a look. Perhaps their experts have a way to solve this problem.¡± ¡°Okay. Then what time shall we meet tomorrow morning?¡± Li Xian said, ¡°The factory is in the suburban district. It¡¯s very far. Get up early and we will leave at six o¡¯clock. Where do you live? I¡¯ll come pick you up.¡± CH 36.1 Chapter 36.1 ¨C Human Traffickers This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Su Qin was not familiar with Li Xian in her previous lifetime, hence she didn¡¯t know about his virtue. She actually dared not trust men too much, moreover it was such a remote outskirts area. If by chance something happens, she will be up the creek*. [T/N: ½ÐÌìÌì²»Ó¦, ½ÐµØµØ²»Áé (Ji¨¤o ti¨¡nti¨¡n b¨´ y¨¬ng, ji¨¤o de d¨¬ b¨´ l¨ªng) ¨C Literally meant ¨C Cry out to the heavens, but the heavens don¡¯t respond. Cry out to the earth, but the earth is impervious/be in severe trouble with no means of extricating oneself from it] Su Qin and Li Xian arranged to meet at the bus terminal at six o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. Talking over with her mother, she asked her to post a day-off on Taobao store tomorrow and asked her mother to go with her. After the other party went offline, Su Qin saw the QQ group flashing. This QQ group called ¡®A Litter of Piglets¡¯ was set up for the National Day¡¯s trip by Yan Yixiao. During the seven-day National Day holiday, Yan Yixiao organized a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. This trip was chaperoned by Yan Yixiao¡¯s father. Besides Meng Sisi and Yu Wen, there were also several boys from Yun Fei¡¯s dormitory. Yun Fei hesitated whether to go, so he asked Su Qin in the group, ¡°Su-su, are you going?¡± [One Su]: I¡¯m not going. Everyone go and have fun. I have to help my Mother with something and go tuition too. I don¡¯t have time to have fun and will also spend a lot of money going to Hong Kong. My family is not well-off, so I won¡¯t go. You guys have fun. [Angel of the Heart]: Su Qin, I¡¯ll bring back a gift for you! [Sisi]: Sister Su Qin, then don¡¯t tire yourself out these few days. Take note to rest. [Yu Wen]: What about Yun Fei? Not going? Yun Fei didn¡¯t speak again but poked Su Qin privately, ¡°Su-su, if you¡¯re not going, I won¡¯t go either.¡± This is a good opportunity to bond with the classmates, so Su Qin urged him, ¡°Feifei, this is a good opportunity to experience the big world. I heard that Hong Kong Disneyland is a very fun place and you have never been on a plane, right? You should go experience it. Feifei, previously in the village, although you pretended to be foolish, you never rejected talking to other children ah. On the contrary, why did you refuse to play with everyone after coming to the city?¡± Yun Fei was silent for a long time on the other side of the computer. When he first came home, he was curious about everything; the buildings in the city, computers, handphones ¡­ His father took him to meet some friends, brought him to befriend other children, and to make amends, he bought him a lot of toys that he had never played before. Thinking that he no longer had to act foolish anymore, he could play with other children unrestrainedly. He took the initiative to befriend other people and came forward to play games with some children at the parties. He tried very hard to make friends with the children, but those about the same age were unwilling to play with him. He later found out he was so out of touch with the society that he didn¡¯t understand anything, and he couldn¡¯t even maneuver the video games the children were playing. He was pointed at and ridiculed by a group of children, and was called a fool by those outspoken children. He wanted to have friends. But the harder he tried, the more he was disdained. He brought the toys that his father bought him to play with those younger children, wanting to share with them and felt it would be easier to befriend them. But when he looked for them with those stuff, he heard those mocking words. Those mocking words still resound in his ears. ¡°He¡¯s so stupid ah and don¡¯t even know that? Is he a country bumpkin from the countryside?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t want to play with him. I definitely don¡¯t want to play with such a country bumpkin who doesn¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? As a matter of fact, Yun Fei was brought back by his father. He is precisely a countryside¡¯s bumpkin.¡± ¡°Not only is he a country bumpkin, he¡¯s also a fool. I definitely don¡¯t want to play with him. I pretended to play with him as he always brings us a lot of new toys.¡± ¡°Hahahahahaha ¡­ ¡° He truly took those kids as his friends, but why were they just taking advantage of him? Fool, country bumpkin. These mocking words were like brambles and thorns on his backs, making him depressed. Gradually, he began to reject socializing, spurning those children and felt hostile to any stranger around him. Only after meeting Su Qin again did he regain the feeling of having friends. The girl does not shun him and caresses his head with her hand. He felt Su-su¡¯s kindness to him was genuine. Getting along with Su Qin, he doesn¡¯t have to deliberately fawn, even when he acts spoiled, she will just dismiss it with a smile. He enjoys being around Su Qin, as if she is the only one in this world who is really nice to him. Su Qin realized the problems from Yun Fei¡¯s disjointed words. The boy could not speak out those words that were buried in his heart, yet he could express them in writing. She spoke comfortingly, ¡°Feifei, there are some circles that you can¡¯t blend into, it¡¯s because you¡¯re not cut out of the same cloth. They¡¯re just a bunch of white-eyed wolves* who don¡¯t deserve to be your friends. But think about your roommates, you treat them well, aren¡¯t they good to you too? This type is exactly friends ah. Sisi, Yan Yixiao, Yu Wen, they all want to be your friends too. It¡¯s just that, you shut yourself off, that¡¯s why no one is able to enter your world.¡± [T/N: °×ÑÛÀÇ (B¨¢iy¨£n l¨¢ng) ¨C metaphor for ungrateful and thankless wretch / ingrate] ¡°Feifei, go with them on this trip. You are the oldest and tallest boy among them. You must play the role of a big brother, taking the initiative to protect and take care of them, just like you did when you were in the mountain village, like taking care of me, okay?¡± Yun Fei, ¡°I¡¯m afraid.¡± Su Qin said, ¡°Just take things as they come. If you can¡¯t get along, then be a passer-by. Life is so long, it¡¯s okay to be alone and it¡¯s enough to cherish and appreciate those around you.¡± Yun Fei pondered for a moment and responded with an ¡°En¡±. ¡°It¡¯s your first trip, so enjoy it. Time will give you what you want. Don¡¯t shut yourself off because you¡¯ve been hurt. Don¡¯t be afraid of being alone too. There are billions of people with different personalities in this world and there is always someone willing to be your friend.¡± Yun Fei responded with an ¡°En¡± again. Six o¡¯clock the next morning, Su Qin and her mother arrived at the bus terminal on time. Carrying a computer bag over one shoulder, Li Xian, who was in a shirt and long pants, waved at the mother and daughter under the street light at the terminal¡¯s entrance. Wang Lin who was walking beside her daughter asked in a low voice, ¡°Su-su, will there be any issue with this man? Going to such a remote area.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, he is alone and there are two of us. Didn¡¯t we bring the self-defense items with us? Don¡¯t be afraid, Mom, you are an adult, show your aura.¡± Wang Lin nodded and immediately showed her imposing aura as she walked in front of her daughter. Wearing a woman¡¯s suit and a pair of low-heeled shoes today, her hair was tied up high and she strode with great momentum. Su Qin gave her a heavy makeup and red lipstick. When Wang Lin didn¡¯t speak, she did have a bit of the female boss¡¯ aura. Walking up to Li Xian, Wang Lin smiled at the young man and took the initiative to extend her hand as instructed by her daughter, ¡°Hello, my last name is Wang, Wang Lin.¡± Li Xian, who just graduated not long again, usually socializes with designers and this was the first time he met such an imposing female boss that he felt somewhat intimidated at once. Both his arms trembled when he shook the female boss¡¯ hand, ¡°He ¡­ Hello.¡± Wang Lin was amused with arching eyebrows seeing the young man¡¯s nervousness, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, young man, I don¡¯t eat people.¡± The woman smiled amiably, but under the heavy makeup, the smile was more like a knife hidden in cotton. ********** The bus was driven out of the city and onto the dirt road, swaying all the way. En route, Su Qin felt car-sick and vomited several times. Two hours later, they arrived at the printing factory in Sangzao Town. The factory was not big and rudimentary, enclosed by red bricks on all sides. There was a row of workshops directly opposite the gate, which were filled with dust due to workers carrying all kinds of printing materials. The machines were operated mechanically, while the workers were responsible for sub-assembly and transmission. The three of them were brought into a simple office next to the workshop by the boss where the dust was somewhat less. There was a thick layer of dust on the table and chairs, which no one dared to sit on. The owner of the printing factory is a middle-aged man. Wearing a pair of slippers and a blackened white T-shirt, he spoke with a mouthful of black teeth and a wrinkled smile, and was quite easy-going. The boss has already made samples of the packaging box as well as two types of packaging bags. Placed on the workbench for comparison, the aesthetic of the paper bag is indeed better than the non-woven fabric. The pattern on the non-woven fabric appeared dull color with a profound shoddy imitation. The boss said, ¡°The pattern of your non-woven tote bag is too novel, which is not conventional and the price is 50 cents more than the general non-woven tote bag. Furthermore, your paper bag is not using the twine but ribbon handle, which of course is pricier, about 30 cents more.¡± Su Qin picked up the samples for a look. The paper bag¡¯s effect was indeed quite high-grade, plus the ribbon handle, this style was not the least inferior to those souvenir stores¡¯ gift bags. ¡°Little Su, the paper bag¡¯s effect is indeed better, looking even more upscale than Dior, Chanel¡¯s paper bags. How about we just order this one?¡± The satin ribbon tote was proposed by Su Qin and Li Xian had to admit that the girl¡¯s aesthetic taste was as avant-garde as his. Su Qin did not rush to make the final decision, but turned around and asked her mother, ¡°Mom, from your standpoint, if you are going shopping, which one of these two totes would you choose?¡± Wang Lin, who did not speak from the beginning, heard her daughter¡¯s question and replied after thinking about it for a while, ¡°If it were me, I would choose the non-woven one. Although it is not as nice looking as the paper bag, it is better in sturdiness. If a woman usually goes to work, she can take this bag to pack vegetables, rice packets as well as other items. But this paper bag can¡¯t hold heavy items after all, so it might be a little ¡­ useless?¡± ¡°Madam Wang, let me interrupt, ¡° Li Xian, who has a different standpoint, interrupted her and said, ¡°Our paper bag looks very upscale and you women all have vanity, won¡¯t you be in high-esteem carrying such a bag out? Right? So, I am more in favor of using paper bags.¡± Li Xian realized that he seemed to have remarked improperly thus shut his mouth immediately and looked at Su Qin. Su Qin looked up and asked the boss, ¡°Boss, can this non-woven fabric be coated? If it is coated, will it appear more upscale?¡± ¡°This color and design of yours is indeed better if it is coated. But with a quantity of 1000, the printing plate and machinery fees will add up to a thousand, which is not cost-effective.¡± The boss paused and pointed to the paper tote bag and said, ¡°I personally recommend that you better use the paper bags.¡± "" Su Qin made a prompt decision, ¡°Can you make one non-woven coated bag for us to see?¡± The boss nodded, ¡°No problem, but it will probably be done in the afternoon. I¡¯m afraid you will have no transport to go back, do you really want to do it?¡± ¡°En, do it. Can we get accommodation here? We can pay for the boarding and meals ourselves.¡± Su Qin asked. Boss, ¡°Yes, there is, but the conditions are not that great. There are a lot of mosquitoes this season, you guys better be mentally prepared.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll trouble the boss.¡± At five o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the boss delivered the coated sample to their common room. Paper, uncoated non-woven fabric, coated non-woven fabric, three types were laid out together for a comparison. After the coating, the color on the non-woven fabric was no longer so dull and the tactile quality had improved too. If it was an ordinary design, even if the non-woven fabric was coated as such, it probably would not have the upscale quality but this design of Li Xian, the distinctiveness was the use of colors, which could instantly seize women¡¯s favorable impression. However, the cost of a non-woven coated bag is nearly a yuan more than she predicted. Su Qin hesitated again and again, then clapped her hands, ¡°Make a thousand non-woven totes and five hundred paper bags first.¡± After 5.30 pm, there is no transport back to Yunyang City from Sangzao Town. Although it is a town, it is actually a rural village with convenient transportation. The residences behind the factory are still all tile-roofed houses, with a few scattered self-built buildings. The boss is a kind and honest person, who served them a dinner of wild rabbit from the mountain back. After a contented dinner, he brought the three of them for a stroll in the mountain back and picked some seasonal fruits to let them bring back to the city tomorrow. Outside the tile-roofed house, there are many planted jujube trees with branches full of bright red jujubes, all thumb-sized and look heartening. Li Xian climbed the tree happily. Pulling his shirt out of his belt and lifting it revealing his belly, he used his shirt to pocket the jujube. Wang Lin looked at him amusingly, ¡°This young fellow appears gently quiet, but was like a monkey climbing the tree.¡± Su Qin was also speechless looking at the person on the tree. She didn¡¯t expect Designer Li would not pay attention to his appearance as such? Li Xian was picking the jujubes from the tree and the boss climbed up too, and also pocket the big jujubes with his clothes. The two big men were having a great time picking the fruits. At this moment, a young girl with tousled hair and dirty face rushed out of the tile-roofed house on the side and a big wolfhound was chasing after her. Mother Wang Lin was badly frightened and hugged her daughter to hide aside. Catching sight of Su Qin¡¯s group, the girl seemed to see hope as she rushed towards them then grabbed Su Qin and hid behind her, ¡°Sister, save me, save me.¡± The big wolfhound pounced towards Su Qin¡¯s group. Practically instinctively, Su Qin pushed away her mother, who was hugging her, and the young girl, who was grabbing her, and quickly took out the homemade chili water from her pocket and sprayed it towards the big wolfhound. With chili water in its eyes and nose, the wolfhound madly circled in place with its tail tucked down and howled, ¡°Ow ow ow.¡± "" Li Xian, who was picking fruit from the tree, was so frightened that he cried out ¡°Wow wow¡±. He, who is always afraid of dogs, almost slipped and tumbled due to apprehension. Picking up a wooden stick, Su Qin hit the wolfhound¡¯s head. Striking it hard, there was a ruthless aura in her eyes. Su Qin only stopped when the big wolfhound ceased moving. Due to exerting herself too much, her arms were shaken numb. Jumping down from the tree, Li Xian pushed the spectacle¡¯s frame on the bridge of his nose before grabbing the boss¡¯ arm with tremble, ¡°Bo ¡­ boss, don¡¯t the people here leash their dogs ah?¡± That young girl knelt down with a thud in front of Su Qin. Pulling her clothes, she spoke sobbingly, ¡°Sister, you save me, save me. I was tricked here.¡± The boss was the first to notice the oddity that he glanced at the house before beckoning to Su Qin and the others, ¡°Go, hurry back.¡± Su Qin perceived it too and pulled the girl to go back. Not knowing what was going on, Li Xian glanced at the vicious dog¡¯s body and quickly followed them out of here too. Wang Lin followed her daughter blankly. Staring at the back of Su Qin¡¯s head, she felt even more unfamiliar about this daughter. CH 36.2 Back at the factory, the boss quickly chained the iron gate of the factory and brought them back to the common room. The boss pulled out a low stool and sat down. Taking a breath, he sized up the people in the room, ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± "" Su Qin shook her head then turned to ask her mother, ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡± The scene of her daughter hitting the dog with a wooden stick just now frightened Wang Lin. She stared at her daughter now and even began to wonder if this girl in front of her was her daughter. She shook her head, ¡°No.¡± The unkempt young girl kept pulling Su Qin and refused to let go. Su Qin brought the girl to sit on the stool and asked her in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why was there a dog chasing you?¡± The girl glanced at Su Qin, then looked at the others. With tears around the rims of her eyes, she pursed her lips and said, ¡°I ¡­ ¡° With convenient transportation, factories and backward constructions, there are many migrant workers and crooks who blend in with the honest folks in Sangzao Town. The tile-roofed house where Su Qin and the others picking jujubes just now was a human trafficking¡¯s transit hub. The traffickers there had gone to another place for a ¡®meeting¡¯ today. This girl named Bobo, who raised a dog before, temporarily gained the dog¡¯s trust. But when she escaped, the well-trained German shepherd chased after her. After that, it was the scene Su Qin and the others saw. The boss punched his palm and cursed, ¡°Damn, I have long felt that the group of people behind our factory is abnormal, but I didn¡¯t expect there is really a problem. I had only heard earlier there was prostitution in that den, but didn¡¯t expect they were human traffickers!¡± The boss himself has two adorable daughters too. Once he heard what happened to the girls, it became so closely related to himself that he trembled with anger, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t let my two daughters come here in the future, it¡¯s too damn dangerous.¡± "" The boss often takes his two daughters there to pick jujubes too and sometimes he even felt at ease to let them go pick by themselves. The thought of that residential house behind the factory being a transit hub for human trafficking, chilled his spine. Frowned, Su Qin took out her handphone and intended to make a call. Li Xian stopped her, ¡®Little Su, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Calling the police.¡± ¡°You¡¯re calling the police now, what if they come over with retaliation? It¡¯s too dangerous. It¡¯s okay to just take this girl away but don¡¯t mess with that group of people.¡± Su Qin almost shouted out, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what Bobo said? There are still other girls in there! If we don¡¯t call the police, they will be transported to other places!¡± The rims of the girl¡¯s eyes reddened, just like a whiny vicious beast. Li Xian was startled by her and then spoke with appeasement, ¡°I ¡­ I was thinking ¡­ ¡° Okay, he is simply cowardly, afraid of offending the criminal gang. ¡°If we delay a moment longer, a girl may be sent away.¡± Su Qin calmed down and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to make a phone call first. You guys wait for me.¡± The boss agreed to first call the police too. He said, ¡°Damn it, the thought of a hornet¡¯s nest behind my back unsettled me. Fortunately, my two daughters are smart and didn¡¯t let them prevail!¡± Holding the phone in her hand, Su Qin thanked the boss with joined palms, ¡°Thank you, boss.¡± "" The sudden thanks puzzled the boss. Scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he said, ¡°Why are you thanking me, you¡¯re not the one being trafficked. Go make the call quickly.¡± ¡°En.¡± Knowing what her daughter had experienced, Wang Lin watched her daughter walk out of the room then looked at the young girl Bobo who was sitting on the low stool and felt a burst of ripping pain in her heart. When her daughter was abducted and sold at that time, was she in such a plight too? Thinking of this, Wang Lin¡¯s eyes filled with tears that trickled down. Li Xian was fidgety, so scared that he didn¡¯t know where to place his hands. His hands could not stop shaking thinking of those criminal gangs. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Walking out of the room, Su Qin pressed the two ¡®11¡¯ numbers on the numeric keypad, then deleted it. She searched for Zhang Cheng¡¯s number and called him. Unable to get through Zhang Cheng¡¯s phone, Su Qin paced in place with anxiety. Calling 110 to report to the police was not a very good choice, she dared not trust the police here in Sangzao Town. Sangzao Town is only so big, it makes no sense that there is such a large human trafficking¡¯s transit hub here yet no one knows about it, hence she has reason to suspect that there are shady police in this area. Many of these minot local police stations are not regiments from the police academy; some are retired or discharged military armies while some are influential local gangsters. Thinking of this, Su Qin was even more afraid to call 110. For safety¡¯s sake, she wanted to call Zhang Cheng first and listen to his opinion. "" But Zhang Cheng¡¯s phone could not be reached, thus she was anxious like ants in the sizzling pan. Just at this moment, Li Chuan called. She took a few deep breaths then put the call through and said, ¡°Hello.¡± Thinking of the girl in the house and the thought of the human trafficking¡¯s transit hub behind the factory, Su Qin recalled all of her past lifetime. Unable to find a reliable person to save those girls, she felt even more anxious. Li Chuan heard the slight abnormality of her voice and asked with a frown, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Li Chuan.¡± The girl¡¯s voice trembled even more. She usually called him ¡°Teacher Li, Teacher Li¡± and he rarely heard her call him by his name as far as he could remember. Li Chuan noticed her heavy fluctuating emotions and the graveness of her voice, ¡°Su Qin, did you come across something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in Sangzao Town.¡± Su Qin took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, ¡°Quanxin Printing Factory.¡± On the other end of the phone, Li Chuan stood in front of the office¡¯s french window with one hand in his pocket and the other holding the phone. He looked at the city¡¯s night view without uttering a word and didn¡¯t intend to interrupt the girl on the phone. He listened quietly to her and calmly heard the girl¡¯s fluctuating breathing. ¡°Behind the factory, there is a human trafficking¡¯s transit hub and there is a girl with me now. I don¡¯t trust the police here. I called Zhang Cheng, but I couldn¡¯t get through.¡± Sinister aura filled Li Chuan¡¯s eyes, ¡°Are you safe now?¡± ¡°There are dozens of people in the factory. It¡¯s safe at the moment.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s voice was cold yet steady, ¡°Stay there and also don¡¯t go anywhere. Wait for Zhang Cheng and my arrival.¡± Hearing the man¡¯s steady voice, Su Qin¡¯s heart calmed down at once. Su Qin stood outside for a while after hanging up the call. She took a few deep breaths of fresh air then leapt in place a few times to calm herself down. Only after she had regained her composure did she push open the door to go inside and said to everyone with a relaxed expression, ¡°I¡¯ve already reported to the police. Someone will come over soon.¡± The boss tapped his knee, then remembered something and shouted out, ¡°Oh no.¡± Startled by him, Li Xian swallowed his saliva and asked nervously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The boss said, ¡°Most of our police here are local gangsters, who got in through connections. Collecting protection fees and so on are their usual business. I suspect those lair of human traffickers have friendly connections with the police here, so our police report is completely worthless ah.¡± Su Qin had long thought of this, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My friend is the city police. I will let him bring someone here. With the city police¡¯s assistance, even if the local police have tenfold of guts, they would not dare to let the lair of criminals go.¡± Outside, it was already dark and there were faint noises of insects¡¯ sound and frogs¡¯ croak. Fearing of dogs, Li Xian thought of that vicious dog beaten off by Su Qin that he couldn¡¯t help shivering and said, ¡°When the human traffickers come back and find that a girl has escaped, won¡¯t they send dogs to track her? Dogs have the keenest senses, what if ¡­ ¡° He swallowed his saliva and just as his words faltered, dogs barking were heard outside and someone slammed the factory¡¯s big iron gate with a ¡®bang¡¯ sound. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± Everyone in the room shuddered in fear. Su Qin knew the group of human traffickers were devilish and utterly vicious. She calmed down then quickly came up with a way to deal with the situation and asked the boss, ¡°Boss, go get some work clothes and also help ask the female compatriots in the factory to borrow a set of clothes for this girl to put on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The boss quickly went to the next common room to ask the workers for a set of women¡¯s clothes, and instructed the workers not to come out later. Su Qin and the others quickly changed into work clothes with masks and hats on, then went to the workshop pretending to carry stuff. The boss feigned sleepiness and went to open the iron gate, ¡°Coming, coming! Knock, knock, knock. What¡¯s with the knocking in the middle of the night? What¡¯s wrong with you? Won¡¯t you let people sleep?¡± Drawing back the iron bolt, the men outside rushed in with a few German shepherds. The boss was so frightened that his butt hit the ground and pointed at them, ¡°You ¡­ What are you guys doing? Don¡¯t mess around ah!¡± A total of ten men rushed in, each leading a big wolfhound. The man in lead was pulling a fierce haughty German shepherd. He looked around before saying, ¡°Boss, we are here looking for a girl. My younger sister who is insensibly young and rebellious. Did she come over here?¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ you mean that young girl with disheveled hair ah? She came to our factory before it was dark and said a bunch of nonsense to my workers, so we drove her away.¡± The boss got up from the ground and poked his temple with the finger, ¡°Is your sister badly agitated? She doesn¡¯t seem well here. But Sangzao Town is only so big, a girl like her can¡¯t run very far away, you bring your dogs to go look for her.¡± The man looked at the boss skeptically. The dog he was leading barked at the workshop and he said, ¡°Boss, do you mind if we take a look?¡± Taken aback, the boss glanced at the dozen or so vicious dogs. He pulled the shirt draped over his shoulders and nodded with a forceful composure, ¡°Inside are all finished printed products. What¡¯s to be done if your bunch of dogs go in and dirty it up?¡± The man smiled beamingly, ¡°I¡¯ll go in alone.¡± The boss dared not stop him, and let him in. There were three women and a frail man in the workshop. The four of them were dressed in work clothes with white gloves, white masks and hats, and only could roughly see their figures but not able to see their appearances clearly. The man frowned as he sized them up. The dog on leash sniffed carefully and barked at one of the girls. The man and the dog rushed over. Grabbing the girl by the shoulder, he pressed her petite body against the wall. The girl looked terrified. With eyes widened, she struggled and screamed, ¡°You ¡­ What are you doing! Hubby! Save me Hubby!¡± The man pulled Su Qin¡¯s mask off. Stunned for a moment, he then let her go and lowered his head to verbally curse the dog ¡°Stupid¡±. The dog seemed to understand as it lowered its head and ¡°Ow¡± very aggrievedly. Su Qin secretly breathed out a sigh of relief too, fortunately she wore Bobo¡¯s clothes inside. Standing not too far, Bobo¡¯s body moved as a gust of wind sent her scent towards the dog¡¯s nose. Sensing the smell, the dog turned around abruptly and barked at Bobo. Just when the man was about to lead his dog over, Li Xian grabbed a paper bag, rushed towards the man and smashed it on the man¡¯s forehead. He scolded as he smashed him, ¡°Damn it, you dare to bully Laozi[1]¡¯s wife! Laozi will beat you to death! Having a dog is so terrific! Laozi will kill you bastard! Get out of here!¡± The protective dog bit him. Li Xian shrieked in pain and as he shrieked, he yelled, ¡°Dare to let your dog bite me, Laozi will send you to the police station and let the police execute your dog! Damn it, bite ah, bite ah. The harder you bite, the more compensation you will pay Laozi!¡± Such a big man shrieked madly and cried rather crazily, his cheeks were wet with tears. The human trafficker obviously didn¡¯t want to stir up trouble, so he shouted ¡°Black Bear let go¡± and the well-trained dog immediately let go. In order not to stir up more trouble, the human trafficker pulled a stack of 100-yuan bills from his pocket and threw them at Li Xian, ¡°Brother, sorry. I¡¯m looking for my younger sister. This dog protects its master and bit you. I¡¯m really sorry. Take this money and get an injection.¡± Saying that, he led the dog and left with the others. Once the group of traffickers left, the boss hastily locked the gate and returned to the workshop to carry Li Xian back to the room with Su Qin. Lying on the bed, Li Xian cried loudly as he grabbed the boss¡¯ hand and asked, ¡°Boss, am I going to die? Will I get rabies? ¡­ I don¡¯t want to die yet. I still haven¡¯t become a famous designer yet, I haven¡¯t made any money and haven¡¯t found a wife yet. I don¡¯t want to die just like this.¡± Su Qin helped roll up his pants and the dog¡¯s bite marks were deep. She turned her head and asked the boss, ¡°Boss, do you have iodine or perhaps alcohol here?¡± The boss nodded, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I¡¯ll go get it now.¡± Su Qin then instructed her mother, ¡°Mom, go bring a basin of water and find a bar of soap.¡± ¡°En.¡± Wang Lin went to the kitchen to get a basin of water, then went to the common room next door and asked the workers for a bar of soap. Su Qin first cleaned Li Xian¡¯s wound with soapy water and then disinfected his wound with the iodine. But one could not be negligent after bitten by a dog, Su Qin asked the boss, ¡°Boss, is there a rabies vaccination place in Sangzao Town?¡± The boss replied, ¡°The town¡¯s hospital has gotten off work already, so we can only wait for tomorrow morning.¡± Wang Lin wet a towel, wrung it dry and handed it to Su Qin, ¡°Su-su, let¡¯s leave this place first thing tomorrow morning and don¡¯t ever come back again.¡± When the boss heard that they would not come again, he perceived he would lose a big business and spoke hurriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your safety will be guaranteed when you come to my place. I will hire some security guards tomorrow and also keep a few dogs. I won¡¯t believe those bastards will dare do anything to me.¡± ¡°Boss, we will not forgo our cooperation with you because of this matter. Don¡¯t worry, we will definitely come to you when we need printed matters in the future.¡± Su Qin said while wiping her hands. Although Su Qin looked the youngest, the boss had spent an afternoon with the three of them thus more or less knew that this girl was the one in charge. Dressing up quite maturely today, with sensible speech and thoughts, she gave the impression of being in her early 20s. Li Xian was obviously terrified as he lay in bed and cried sobbingly. About two hours later, there was the sound of cars rolling over the muddy dirt road outside the factory and followed by the car horn. The handphone in Su Qin¡¯s pocket rang and the caller was Li Chuan. Picking up the call, she held it against her ear and said, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Open the door.¡± Stunned for a moment, Su Qin hurriedly said ¡°Oh¡± then went to open the door for Li Chuan. Once the big iron gate was opened, the car¡¯s glaring light outside blinded Su Qin that she couldn¡¯t open her eyes. Standing outside the door, the man was dressed in a short-sleeves camouflage and trousers that tucked into his boots. On the man¡¯s waist was a sharp-blade leather pouch, which should hold a military dagger inside. Li Chuan seldom wears short-sleeved T-shirts, but more of long-sleeved gym suits or long-sleeved shirts. The short-sleeved camouflage T-shirt on his upper body at this moment clung to his torso, revealing the man¡¯s very sturdy chest. His arms are buff too, roughly twice thicker than Su Qin¡¯s arms. The tendons are solidly taut, appearing very vigorous. Dressed in long-sleeves usually, it is impossible to see that his figure is actually more strapping than it appears. There was a dense dark haze in the man¡¯s eyes. Due to his clenched fists, the muscles in his arms were bursting tautly with blue veins faintly visible on his forearms. Glancing at Su Qin, his gaze softened instantly as he strode forward and looped around the thin shoulders, then restrained himself when he was about to gather her in his arms. Su Qin raised her gaze to look at the man, her apprehensive heart immediately settled as she weakly called out ¡°Teacher Li¡±. The man gripped her shoulders tightly and only spoke after a long moment, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Su Qin smiled at him, then glanced at the two police cars parked behind him, ¡°Thank you.¡± Throat bobbed, Li Chuan patted the girl¡¯s shoulder lightly. Wanting to say something, yet he didn¡¯t utter a word. The boss came out of the factory too and briefed the police about the ¡®human trafficking¡¯s transit hub¡¯ behind the factory. Zhang Cheng brought along five police officers. Due to cross-district operations, there were three local police officers who came with them. Once the police left, a fat guy got out of the SUV behind. The fat guy had several military knives on him. Grabbing a dagger in his hand, he walked towards Su Qin and seeing that the young girl was fine, he raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, ¡°Sister Su Qin, it¡¯s good that you are fine, but you scared us to death.¡± Li Chuan was not familiar with the journey to Sangzao Town, so he dragged Panda along to be the driver. Hearing there was a threat, this guy hung all his usual collection of blades on himself. He had been hiding in the car just now. Having watched too many shoot-out movies, he worried about the occurrence of shoot-out outside. With profuse sweating, Panda let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°This place is too remote. Sister Su Qin, why are you here? Let¡¯s go quickly and leave this to the police.¡± Su Qin dared not stay here any longer too, fearing retaliation by the human traffickers. She went back to the house to call her mother and the young girl named Bobo, and supported Li Xian into the car with Li Chuan¡¯s help. With six people in the car, it was a little crowded. Panda was driving the car while Li Xian with a leg injury sat on the front passenger seat. Li Chuan, Su Qin, Wang Lin and the girl named Bobo sat in the back. Hitting the road, the dirt road was bumpy and jolting. Next to Li Chuan, Su Qin realized she was sitting on the man¡¯s leg and instinctively grabbed the front seat to support her body up to a half-squatting position. Noticing the young girl¡¯s subtle movement, Li Chuan grabbed her shoulder and pressed her body downward. Under such pressure, half of Su Qin¡¯s butt was sitting on the man¡¯s lap while the other half was on the small seat space. Wang Lin noticed her daughter¡¯s squirm and pulled her, ¡°Su-su, sit on Mom¡¯s lap.¡± ¡°En.¡± Sitting on her mother¡¯s lap, Su Qin¡¯s face blushed up. Not knowing why, her heart was beating very fast. The moment she opened the big iron gate and saw Li Chuan, there was a peculiar sense of dependence looping in her heart that she even wanted to throw herself into his arms. The handphone in Li Chuan¡¯s pants pocket rang. Groping the phone out, he put it through and coldly said, ¡°Hello¡±. The man¡¯s brows knitted even more tightly. After hanging up the call, Su Qin asked him, ¡°Is that Zhang Cheng¡¯s calling?¡± ¡°En.¡± Li Chuan took a deep breath and said, ¡°The human traffickers seemed to have received the news and they had all escaped. The good news is that they couldn¡¯t take the girls they locked inside when they escaped. A total of eleven girls have been rescued.¡± ¡°Eleven?¡± Su Qin covered her wildly beating heart and still felt her scalp tingle when she heard such an inconceivable number. When she was about to lament that ¡®Fortunately the police were timely, she heard Li Chuan spoke again, ¡°Since it is a human trafficking¡¯s transit hub, there must be a large human trafficking ring involved.¡± Li Chuan dared not think too profoundly. Merely hearing the number ¡®eleven¡¯ made him shudder. Putting his hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder again, he grasped her thin shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t run around after school in the future. I¡¯ll pick you up on Saturday. If you come across this kind of situation again, keep calm and call me immediately, okay?¡± Su Qin¡¯s ears were slightly muddled. Her grip on the driver¡¯s back seat became even more tighter. The number ¡®eleven¡¯ made her too scared to think about it. Bobo, who was silent all along, whispered, ¡°We are all a group of underage orphans, who no one will notice if we are missing. Those people want to send us abroad.¡± Su Qin¡¯s mind ¡®boom¡¯, as if something exploded. Abducted and sold in her previous lifetime, she had all along been paying close attention to reports related to ¡®trafficking of women and children¡¯ after she was rescued. She remembered there were several NGO formed by retired special forces which were specifically responsible for rescuing women and children who were trafficked abroad in her previous lifetime. Due to transborder involvement and difficulty for police operation, many parents were willing to give them money to save their daughters. The domestic media had reported several times, thus Su Qin knew that parents of some girls who could not afford so much money would contact this organization on their own accord to give them money so that they could at least rescue even one by one. Su Qin¡¯s financial resources however were limited after all, and the earnings from her tailoring shop was paltry too, hence the girls rescued were only a few. But that NGO often provided her information. The criminal syndicate of transborder human trafficking was far more terrifying that she could imagine. Girls who were sold to the mountains to give birth were considered ¡®lucky¡¯ and the worst were those girls who were sold to the red-light district in Thailand to be child prostitutes. [1] ÀÏ×Ó (L¨£ozi) ¨C in this context it¡¯s self-proclaimed for I, used arrogantly or jocularly. CH 37.1 Names mentioned in this chapter: ¨C ËÕÇØ (S¨± Q¨ªn) ¨C Female Lead ¨C Àè´¨ (L¨ª Chu¨¡n) / Àè½ÌÊÚ (L¨ª ji¨¤osh¨°u) ¨C Male Lead ¨C ÕÂ³Ì (Zh¨¡ng Ch¨¦ng) ¨C Li Chuan¡¯s childhood friend ¨C ÍõÁÕ (W¨¢ng L¨ªn) ¨C FL¡¯s mother ¨C ËÕÕý¹ú (S¨± Zh¨¨nggu¨®) ¨C FL¡¯s father ¨C ²¨²¨ (B¨­ b¨­) ¨C Abductee ¨C ÀîÐãÀ¼ (L¨« Xi¨´l¨¢n) ¨C FL¡¯s stepmother Chapter 37.1 ¨C The Truth This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Back in Yunyang City, they accompanied the girl, Bobo, to the police station to make a statement that night. Since the girl has no family and nowhere to go for the time being, Su Qin and her mother brought her home. As their home was very small and the room was quite narrow, Su Qin slept on the floor in the evening. Spreading a layer of padded mattress on the floor and laying on a woven mat, it was pleasantly cool too. Seeing Su Qin sleeping on the floor, Bobo felt a twinge of guilt and said timidly, ¡°Sister Su-su, you sleep on the bed. I¡¯ll sleep on the floor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. The floor is cooling. Go to sleep, it¡¯s late.¡± Saying that, she switched off the light. Although it was already October, the room was still very warm. With the electric fan oscillating, it breezed towards Su Qin from time to time. Laying on the floor, she couldn¡¯t sleep. So she took out her handphone and chatted with Li Chuan via texting. She and Li Chuan chatted about this and that, then unexpectedly talked about a crucial point. It was possible that all the abducted girls in Yunyang City were sent there. There are many factories in Sangzao Town and it has a thriving transportation system. From there, it is very convenient to smuggle the girls all over the country. Su Qin fell into silence and recalled when she was abducted in her previous lifetime. She was knocked unconscious outside the school and took a long time to wake up after receiving the heavy blow to the head. She couldn¡¯t remember if she had been to that transfer hub, but judging from what happened today, she was most likely transported there as well. From what Bobo said, most of the pretty and well-behaved girls stayed in the country, and were sent to various mountain villages. While those orphans and misbehaved girls were sent abroad by any means. And Su Qin was probably the former, who was sold to the mountain village. Bobo said when she was there, what she prayed for every day was not to escape but to be sold to the mountain village. Thinking of this, Su Qin felt a surge of frost in her heart. Su Qin sent a long text message to Li Chuan, and her tears couldn¡¯t resist trickling. ¡°Teacher Li, how many black-hearted people do you think there are in this society, don¡¯t they have a family of their own? Why are they doing such evil things? We girls, we just want to live our lives mediocrely, we just want to get by peacefully, what did we do wrong?¡± Li Chuan was silent for a long time and told her, ¡°You girls have done nothing wrong.¡± Su Qin¡¯s grip on the phone tightened. There are inevitably evil people who are above the law, and even a bullet can¡¯t offset the sins they committed. That person who set fire to the abductors¡¯ village, was probably afraid that these devils would exploit the legal loopholes too? Su Qin thought she could let go of everything in that village, believing it was precisely a hellhole. But Bobo¡¯s incident made her realize there are eighteen levels in hell, every level is unbearably hellish, and the nethermost is the worst. She couldn¡¯t remember how she fell asleep. Waking up the next morning, her cheeks were dry as if soaked in tears the whole night. Her mother was already sitting in front of the computer and started working, while Bobo was washing dishes on the balcony. Seeing that she was awake, Wang Lin raised her hand and pointed at the covered food on the table and said, ¡°Su-su, I left you some porridge and steamed buns. The steamed buns should still be warm, so eat them quickly.¡± Su Qin got up and casually ruffled her short hair. She then pulled out a chair and sat down at the dining table. Wang Lin told her as she typed, ¡°Su-su, I sent our store¡¯s well-matched clothes to Tianya Forum and also changed the content of your article. I didn¡¯t expect the response to be pretty good. Everyone complimented how well we matched them and wanted us to post more match-up photos.¡± ¡°Tianya?¡± Su Qin was stunned as she chewed the steamed bun in her mouth. Wang Lin turned the computer over to show her, ¡°Look, many commented below, clamoring for us to post more of these match-up clothes. But my writing skills are not very good, and I can¡¯t write a good article ¡­ otherwise, it should attract even more people.¡± Su Qin was thinking of matters as she engrossed with her meal. Right, she was reborn from the future and only saw the popularity of Weibo and WeChat marketing platforms, yet forgot about the once Tianya and Douban, whose traffic were also very vast and comparable to the later Weibo and WeChat public platform. She remembered there were several skincare brands that became continuously popular in Tianya. There were several forum moderators in Tianya who specialized in promoting these Taobao goods. If she brings the future fashion experience that focuses on clothes matching to capture the aspects of women, then finds those moderators to discuss the marketing price, won¡¯t she get twice the result with half the effort? Su Qin is precisely the astute kind who acts on her ideas. She asked her mother to bring Bobo to the internet cafe to teach her how to use Taobao incidentally. Bobo was homeless and wanted to go out looking for a job, but Su Qin kept her, hoping she would stay and work for her with a salary of 800 yuan. With the increasing sales on Taobao, one customer-service is obviously not enough and two are just right, no more nor less. Although Su Qin¡¯s place is small here, she usually stays on campus and only comes back on weekends. Coming back to stay only one night a week, Bobo didn¡¯t need to go find a place at all. She gave Bobo an internship salary of 500 yuan with meals and lodging, turning full-time a month later with 800 yuan commission. Bobo is only 15 years old, and she was not good at studying previously. She left the orphanage to work before high school. She was at the age where no one would hire her if she went out to look for a job, but Su Qin was willing to take her in, providing her with food, lodging and even pay her salary, so she was extremely happy. After Wang Lin took Bobo to the internet cafe, Su Qin was left alone at home, hence she started editing the fashion article. The first fashion article was [2006 Early Autumn Match-Up, Qi Peipei dressed as such too]. Qi Peipei is an actress who became popular from a martial arts drama last year. Her every move has attracted a lot of attention at Tianya. In this article, Su Qin taught everyone how to match the current trendy styles and predicted the upcoming sought-after styles. She only advertised their store¡¯s trendy designs at the end of the article. Once the article was uploaded, it attracted the attention of many netizens within two hours. Seeing that the traffic was good, Su Qin found a moderator and paid the ads fees to help push her posts. At twelve o¡¯clock in the evening, Su Qin¡¯s post was refined and became popular throughout the forum. This post was just Su Qin¡¯s trial, but it was well received and could be said to be a great success. Early next morning, Wang Lin announced the good news, ¡°Su-su, our store¡¯s sales are up all of a sudden! The customers said our clothes are very well matched and asked us to put up more new styles!¡± After two nights on the floor, Su Qin¡¯s back was sore. Rubbing her eyes as she sat up, she glanced at the posting on Tianya and the popularity was beyond expectation. Su Qin¡¯s ID ¡®Yunyi Clothing House¡¯ became modestly popular in Tianya. Her post was transferred to Douban where there was no marketing, yet the traffic was pretty good too. Su Qin counted the money on hand. Minus the packaging and marketing, she has less than 10,000 but can still buy a computer. She told Wang Lin to post up a day-off notice and to accompany her to go buy a second-hand desktop. Seeing that the two of them were going out, Bobo spoke nervously, ¡°I won¡¯t go then? I can stay and help you guys keep an eye on the computer at home. Although I am slow at typing, I can still respond to the customers.¡± Bobo is a girl from the coastal area who is feebly thin with naturally dark skin. She is a little taller than Su Qin, about 168cm. Su Qin took out some clothes from the simple closet and stuffed it to her, ¡°Change your clothes. We will go out together and bring you to stroll around, and buy some daily necessities on the way.¡± Hugging the clothes, the girl pursed her lips and was moved to tears, ¡°Su-su ¡­.. Thank you.¡± Su Qin grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We are predestined and it¡¯s within my power to help you. A kind person helped me and I just help those who are really in need within the scope of my ability. Society¡¯s compassion needs to be passed on, isn¡¯t it so?¡± Although the words were somewhat corny, it was indeed true. On the bus, Su Qin saw Zhang Cheng¡¯s message. Those eleven girls were either sent back to the orphanage or arranged to go to school by the local government. Back to school? Su Qin wondered if those girls could come out of the shadows after being trafficked. Having no parents and no one around to actuate them, perhaps it is difficult for them to get out of the predicament on their own. Su Qin turned her head to look out the window, the sky outside was cloudless blue. Under this clear sky, there is no shortage of surging undercurrents and shady entanglements. No amount of heroes is enough, right? Computer City. Su Qin¡¯s group found a small shop that sells second-hand computers. Although the shopfront was not big, there were quite a lot of second-hand computers on the racks. Su Qin looked left and right, and finally chose a tower desktop and asked the boss for the price. With his head bowed, the boss was fixing a mainframe. Seeing the three women, he didn¡¯t quote a high price and said, ¡°One thousand one, I will give you the keyboard, mouse and headset.¡± ¡°One thousand one? So expensive? My monthly salary is not even that much!¡±, Wang Lin haggled like buying vegetables by the roadside and bargained, ¡°Eight hundred at most!¡± The boss put down the tools in his hand and got a little agitated, ¡°You think you¡¯re buying roadside vegetables? Eight hundred? I even replaced the hard drive of this computer! Eight hundred? Why don¡¯t you snatch by the roadside?¡± The boss was a straight technical guy and he spoke frankly without beating the bush. Seeing that the boss was so fierce, Wang Lin pushed her chest out and said loudly, ¡°Vicious, vicious, what¡¯s with the viciousness? Don¡¯t sell if you don¡¯t like it! Su-su, Bobo, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Lin pulled the two girls out. Before one foot had stepped out the door, the boss called out again, ¡°Eight hundred! Not including keyboard, mouse and headset.¡± Wang Lin turned around and spoke unyieldingly, ¡°Eight hundred with everything and not a thing less!¡± The boss, ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Wang Lin saw the boss¡¯ hesitation and said, ¡°Never mind if you don¡¯t sell, don¡¯t think I can¡¯t even find cheaper than yours in such a big market?¡± She dragged the two girls and just stepped out when she was stopped by the boss again, ¡°Okay, okay, okay, I¡¯m really afraid of you. Come and pay!¡± Wang Lin smiled and walked back. With a grin, she took out the money, ¡°Delivery and installation are included, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The boss took out a business card and handed it to Wang Lin, ¡°Big Sister, next time when you have business, come back to us again ah.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After taking the business card, Wang Lin took the receipt and gave the boss their address, asking him to deliver it to the address at six o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Coming out of the computer city, Su Qin gave her mother a thumbs up, ¡°Mom, you have become more and more beautiful since your divorce. How is it? Do you feel particularly carefree now?¡± ¡°En, with my good daughter by my side, I¡¯m content. I¡¯ll never look for stinky men again!¡± Wang Lin said, and sighed with emotion, wanting to travel back to slap herself hard. Was her brain muddled with shit previously? Actually wanted to take care of the mistress¡¯ son wholeheartedly! Thinking of the past, Wang Lin was filled with guilt. She held Su Qin¡¯s hand, gritted her teeth and vowed to work hard. Work hard to learn new things from the internet and help her daughter to bring Taobao up! Next to the computer city was exactly Kaiyuan Mall. Since they were at the mall entrance and doing Taobao clothing, there was no reason not to go look at those clothing retail shops¡¯ and also to check out the market. Kaiyuan Mall sold jewelry on the first floor, clothing on the second floor and culinary delicacies on the third floor. The three women went up the escalator to the second floor and when they passed by a clothing shop, Wang Lin suddenly halted on the spot. She looked inside through the glass window. Her eyes widened with an expression as if she had seen a ghost. Su Qin thought she saw something. Looking through the glass window, she saw her father with his son and a woman picking out clothes inside. Su Zhengguo had a brilliant business career in his early years. Although he was downtrodden, he was very particular about his clothing. He now works in a state-owned enterprise. He likes to dress up in shirts, suit pants and brown leather shoes. With his good looks, there¡¯s naturally no shortage of women around him after the divorce. The son was sitting on a low stool with toys in his hand. And the woman was taking out a dress and gesturing to herself. In the thirties the woman is bosomy, but her face is only palm-sized with an entrancing outlook, the type that men like. Su Qin remembered that woman, who was Su Zhengguo¡¯s second wife, Li Xiulan. In her previous lifetime, not long after Su Qin¡¯s mother died of cancer, Su Zhengguo married this wife. When they got married, Su Qin did not attend and did not even give any red packet nor her blessing. When Su Zhengguo was running a factory, he met Li Xiulan, a young and beautiful woman who worked there. After the business failed, Su Zhengguo lied about having no money in the family. In actuality, he not only left with a sum of money but also took the state subsidy. At that time, the mistress birthed him a son so he took the money to support Li Xiulan and her son. In order to keep Wang Lin from suspicion, he told Wang Lin Li Xiulan had died of illness. And brainwashed Wang Lin by instilling the idea that ¡®the third party is dead and the child is innocent¡¯. Gradually, Wang Lin¡¯s heart actually softened. But considering that her daughter could not accept this younger brother, she did not relented too. With Su Zhengguo¡¯s character, he could certainly bring the child back without notice. But he was worried about angering the woman. After all, rabbits would still bite if nettled. The woman dared not confront him, but won¡¯t she abuse a child? Su Zhengguo often went on business trips, so he didn¡¯t dare to just bring his son home for Wang Lin to take care of. Hence, he brainwashed her slowly and entrenched at every step. Li Xiulan is a shrewd person. She thought of ridding Su Zhengguo¡¯s legal wife, and also pondered if Su Zhengguo wouldn¡¯t marry her, after all she couldn¡¯t be such a grass widow all her life, right? She had to think about her son. So, she hid the fact of being an unmarried mother and once her son weaned, she just cast him to her mother, while she stayed to work in Sangzao Town¡¯s factory. Working in a state-owned enterprise, Su Zhengguo would often go to Sangzao Town¡¯s factories for work, thus he took advantage of this opportunity to reunite with Li Xiulan. Su Zhengguo also knew that Li Xiulan hooked up with other men in the factory, but he just turned a blind eye and didn¡¯t say anything, though he was well aware of it. This was also one of the reasons why he was unwilling to divorce Wang Lin and marry Li Xiulan. Su Zhengguo enjoyed Wang Lin¡¯s obedience and also relished having a free nanny. He would not have divorce if it wasn¡¯t for Wang Lin¡¯s ¡®cancer¡¯. After divorcing Wang Lin, he had no excuse not to get married. Moreover, Li Xiulan¡¯s salary was higher than his, who earned tens of thousands of yuan in a few months, so he married Li Xiulan thinking he still has to live his life in the future. CH 37.2 Names mentioned in this chapter: ¨C ËÕÇØ (S¨± Q¨ªn) ¨C Female Lead ¨C Àè´¨ (L¨ª Chu¨¡n) / Àè½ÌÊÚ (L¨ª ji¨¤osh¨°u) ¨C Male Lead ¨C ÍõÁÕ (W¨¢ng L¨ªn) ¨C FL¡¯s mother ¨C ËÕÕý¹ú (S¨± Zh¨¨nggu¨®) ¨C FL¡¯s father ¨C ²¨²¨ (B¨­ b¨­) ¨C Abductee ¨C ÀîÐãÀ¼ (L¨« Xi¨´l¨¢n) ¨C FL¡¯s stepmother ¨C ÃÏ˼˼ (M¨¨ng S¨©s¨©) ¨C Abductee ¨C ÓÚö© (Y¨² W¨¦n) ¨C Su Qin¡¯s dorm mate/ classmate ¨C ÑÔÒ»Ïþ (Y¨¢n Y¨©xi¨£o) ¨C Su Qin¡¯s dorm mate "" ¨C Ð캽 (X¨² H¨¢ng) ¨C Military Training Chief Instructor Chapter 37.2 ¨C The Truth This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Being a woman after all, although Li Xiulan is selfish, she has feelings for her son and Su Zhengguo too. As soon as Su Zhengguo got divorced, she clung on to him immediately and the two got married promptly. Wang Lin was evidently not surprised to meet Su Zhengguo, but was obviously frightened. She grabbed Su Qin¡¯s wrist, her palm was sweaty and she was shaking like a chaff. Seeing Wang Lin¡¯s oddity, Bobo put her arms around her shoulder and asked, ¡°Aunty Wang? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Su Qin gripped her mother¡¯s hand too and asked, ¡°Mom? What¡¯s wrong? Are you afraid of him? Don¡¯t be afraid, you¡¯re divorced now, he won¡¯t dare to do anything to you. It¡¯s good that he has a new life, at least he won¡¯t bother us anymore.¡± Wang Lin was so frightened that her lips turned purple. She pointed inside, opened her mouth wide yet unable to utter a sound for a long time. Inside, Su Zhengguo soon caught sight of his daughter and ex-wife outside the window, and was shocked too. Following her husband¡¯s line of sight, Li Xiulan saw his daughter and ex-wife. Li Xiulan dropped the clothes and was about to walk out, but was pulled back by her husband. Li Xiulan spoke cynically, ¡°Su Zhengguo, why? Are you feeling guilty? Do you have a conscience? For you, I have avoided her for so many years and now that you are divorced, and have nothing to do with her, you are still partial towards her?¡± Su Zhengguo lowered his voice, ¡°Xiulan, she has cancer and is dying. Don¡¯t agitate her.¡± He is a human after all. Being husband and wife for so many years, and thinking that she is dying, softened his heart a little. Li Xiulan shrugged off the man¡¯s hand and strode towards the door. She looked smilingly at the petrified-face Wang Lin at the door, ¡°Sister Lin, long time no see ah. I¡¯ve married Zhengguo and will have the wedding banquet next month. Should I send you a wedding invitation?¡± Wang Lin was so angry that she couldn¡¯t breath and pointed at her ¡°You, you, you¡± for a long time yet unable to utter a word while her hands shook violently. Seeing her mother so angry that she was about to faint, Su Qin quickly stroked her back to calm her down and said, ¡°Mom, be strong. Have you forgotten what I usually told you? The more downtrodden you are, the more pleased those who loathe you. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Wang Lin took a breath and tried to calm herself, but her voice couldn¡¯t help trembling, ¡°You ¡­ Li Xiulan, aren¡¯t you dead?¡± ¡°Dead?¡± Li Xiulan laughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t I standing well here?¡± Wang Lin was trembling with anger. Heavens! She had been deceived by her husband for so many years! This mistress simply did not die of illness, simply did not die of illness at all! She even sent her own son to let her raise him! This vicious woman! While the two were talking, the little boy came out of the store, threw himself into Wang Lin¡¯s arms, hugged her thigh and happily called out, ¡°Mommy.¡± Li Xiulan pulled her son and scolded him in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m your mother, you stinky brat. What nonsense are you yelling about?¡± Wang Lin looked down and stared at the little boy, when an inconceivable notion suddenly set off in her mind. When her daughter went missing at that time, her husband just brought this little boy back. Wasn¡¯t all this too coincidental? A woman¡¯s instinct can be terrifyingly accurate sometimes. The four-year-old child hasn¡¯t developed well, so he can¡¯t speak very well and is even more ignorant about those adults¡¯ matters. After Su Zhengguo brought him home, he let him call Wang Lin mommy and he did so obediently. Wang Lin treated him very well and in actuality, Wang Lin was closer than his biological mother in the four-year-old child¡¯s heart. Wang Lin¡¯s glaring eyes were bloodred with anger, like a balloon on the verge to explode, ¡°You, you! It was you who had my Su-su abducted and sold, right? Only when my Su-su disappeared that you were able to send your son over, isn¡¯t it? You, this vicious woman!¡± She raised her hand and slapped Li Xiulan on the face. The slap was so hard that blood seeped out of the corner of Li Xiulan¡¯s mouth and her cheek was burning hot with several fingerprints, obviously confused by the slap. Li Xiulan reacted and wanted to hit Wang Lin like crazy, but was pulled back by her husband Su Zhengguo. ¡°How could you possibly think people are so vicious? Is Xiulan that kind of person?¡± Su Zhengguo grabbed the agitated Li Xiulan and shouted at Wang Lin. Wang Lin¡¯s teeth chattered, ¡°She can even do such a thing of seducing other¡¯s husbands, what vicious things can¡¯t she do?¡± Su Qin looked at her father and the mistress. Her heart was in turmoil. Staring at the mistress, she couldn¡¯t calm down for a long time. If it was really as her mother guessed, then all her previous lifetime¡¯s misery was because of this mistress? The absurdity was that in her previous lifetime, she had lived half her life and until her death, she didn¡¯t know that this Li Xiulan, was actually the one who caused her a lifetime of frustrations and dashed hopes. ¡°Su Zhengguo.¡± Su Qin¡¯s tone lacked fluctuating emotions, and her gaze was as cold as ice too. Su Zhengguo looked at this daughter in front of him and eventually felt as if she was someone different, especially those eyes, which were cold and hollow, as if filled with a dark aura. ¡°Su-su, take good care of your mother. Dad will come to see you another day.¡± Su Zhengguo said and was about to drag Li Xiulan away. Su Qin¡¯s hand reached into her pocket and took out the peppery water. While the two were not paying attention, she sprayed it into Li Xiulan¡¯s eyes. Leaning into her husband¡¯s arms, the woman covered her eyes and screamed out. Hugging Li Xiulan, Su Zhengguo said angrily, ¡°Su-su, what are you doing! How can you treat your stepmother like this!¡± ¡°Stepmother?¡± Su Qin looked coldly at her once father, and the corners of her lips hooked up in a sneer, ¡°Su Zhengguo, I have already said you are no longer my father and this woman, also degraded the word mother.¡± The mall was crowded and people around soon came to watch. Su Qin turned to pull her mother, ¡°Mom, Bobo, let¡¯s go.¡± Until they walked out of the mall, Wang Lin¡¯s face was still deathly pale. She couldn¡¯t stop trembling. Recalling the past, she felt herself stupid and dull-witted like a pig, being used without even realizing it. She simply couldn¡¯t believe her former self was actually devoted to raising the mistress¡¯ child? In fact listened to her husband and let her daughter, who just returned home with great difficulty, go to work. How stupid was she in the past? Everyone, including Su Qin herself, didn¡¯t know what Li Xiulan did at that time to send her son back ¡®home¡¯. She mingled openly in Sangzao Town and hooked up with the group of traffickers, and it was also she who bragged to the traffickers about Su Qin¡¯s beauty, kind-heartedness, easy to abduct and also a clean little girl who had never come into contact with men. Su Qin of the previous lifetime didn¡¯t know all these, and when she was reborn, she didn¡¯t know either. In this lifetime, if she did not accept her mother, didn¡¯t urge her mother to divorce and also did not meet Li Xiulan with her mother, she probably would be kept in the dark forever and might never know the ¡®died of illness¡¯ mistress was precisely Li Xiulan. Is this what Heavens¡¯ purpose in having her reborn? To let her see the truth of everything? Once back home, her mother Wang Lin sat on the bed crying, while Su Qin went to take a breather on the balcony in an attempt to digest the shocking information. Fortunately she was reborn in this lifetime and also luckily by chance, she went to the factory¡¯s vicinity and met Bobo. All of this seemed like a divine arrangement that tied their fates tightly together. The human trafficking transfer hub, Sangzao Town, Li Xiulan, abduction ¡­ connecting these clues together, twisted into an unexpected truth. The human traffickers at the transfer hub had escaped, they inevitably would move their lair and after a period of silence, they were bound to start once again. Thinking of this, Su Qin¡¯s heart could not calm down for a long time. She wants to do something, but her ability is limited. Su Qin remembered Li Xiulan in her previous lifetime, the owner of a small factory in Sangzao Town. Thinking of this, she called the printing factory¡¯s owner and asked him to help inquire about Li Xiulan. The boss recited the name again before saying, ¡°She ah. Our Sangzao Town¡¯s flower ah, who doesn¡¯t know her here? Little Su, there is something I have to tell you, this woman is not a good person. She often mingled with those hooligans in the factory.¡± ¡°Then, did she have any contact with the traffickers?¡± The boss said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, why are you asking about this?¡± ¡°Oh, wasn¡¯t my father and my mother divorced? The partner he found is precisely that Li Xiulan. I want to know if her background is clean and as long as she doesn¡¯t do anything illegal, I will accept her.¡± "" The boss rather sympathized with her, ¡°How about this, let me call and ask my nephew. He mingled in those circles too and has some connections, I will ask him to ask around for you.¡± Su Qin, ¡°He has connections? How about this boss, you tell him that I¡¯ll call him personally, how about that?¡± The boss sent her his nephew, Xiao Shu¡¯s phone number. Su Qin texted a message to ask if the other party was the boss¡¯ nephew. Only after the other party confirmed did Su Qin get to the point. She wanted Xiao Shu to help check Li Xiulan has connection with the human traffickers. If there is, Li Xiulan is clearly the reputed ¡®mastermind¡¯. Sangzao Town isn¡¯t big and it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to find out if there are some connections. There is no impermeable wall* in this world. Daring to take root there, those people must also have a ¡®social circle¡¯ locally. [T/N: ûÓв»Í¸·çµÄǽ (M¨¦iy¨¯u b¨´ t¨°uf¨¥ng de qi¨¢ng) ¨C the walls have ears; no secret can be kept forever] In order to let Xiao Shu do his best to help her investigate these matters, Su Qin agreed to give Xiao Shu a thousand yuan. Money can make the devil turn a millstone. Xiao Shu certainly would not refuse. Moreover he is the boss¡¯ nephew, who is unlikely to swindle her. Just based on the boss¡¯ heroism in saving Bobo, Su Qin trusts the boss¡¯ character. After Wang Lin finished crying, she called Su Qin in, held her hands and said, ¡°Su-su, Mom has let you down. It must be that woman. That woman caused your abduction, otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence in the world? Mom was wrong, had been wrong from the very beginning. Selfishly thinking that by listening to him and properly managing that household for him, he would be able to treat me as well as before ¡­ I was truly wrong, helping the mistress to raise her son and even driving my own daughter away ¡­ ¡° Su Qin hugged her mother. Patting the back of her shoulders, she said comfortingly, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s all in the past. What we have to do now is to make money quickly and become formidable. Only by making ourselves formidable, we will have the ability and means to punish those two scums in the future.¡± Thinking of the mistress¡¯ family, Wang Lin hated them with a passion. Although she had the courage to divorce, she didn¡¯t have the courage to retaliate against her husband as she thought they would be unrelated in the future and each would live their own lives. But today, Li Xiulan¡¯s appearance caused mass hatred to rise in her heart. As the mother and daughter were talking, Bobo stared at the computer screen and exclaimed pleasantly, ¡°Sister Su-su, Aunty Wang! Our match-up post is ablaze! Even MySpace has escalated too.¡± Bobo has added all kinds of netizens to her QQ, and she had simply cyber-dating where she was tricked by human traffickers to Sangzao Town. Her space has a mixture of people from all over the country. She was shocked at once when she saw Su Qin¡¯s match-up post in MySpace and hurriedly told Su Qin the good news. In the current QQ space, the daily log function is very popular. Netizens like to forward articles on the internet to their own space to enhance the space¡¯s pretentiousness. This post of Su Qin mentioned the actress Qi Peipei and the substance was good enough too. Even if many netizens didn¡¯t like fashion styling, they were willing to forward it for their favorite celebrities. The match-up post was hugely popular, which had a lot to do with the fact of her seizing the opportunity. She brought the people¡¯s future concept to the present, while the novel descriptions and avant-garde match-ups in the article were naturally sought after by everyone. With two computers at home, Su Qin and Wang Lin shared the work. One served as Taobao¡¯s customer service and the other as the match-up articles¡¯ editing, while Bobo was responsible to cook for the two as she watched and learned from the sidelines. Su Qin has experiences accumulated in her previous lifetime. The fashion styling articles were written quickly and in order to cultivate the users¡¯ reading habits, she intends to update them once a week. With Bobo¡¯s help managing Taobao, she can use the spare time to write match-ups articles and business plans when she returns home every week. During this seven-day vacation, Su Qin ¡®rested¡¯ for three days. On the fourth day, she began to bring her books and stationery to Li Chuan¡¯s company to ask him for tutoring. Every night, Li Chuan would ride the battery-assisted bike to take the girl home. After the incident in Sangzao Town, Su Qin would notice the hard bulge in his trouser pocket whenever he rode the battery-assisted bike. On the last day of the National Day holiday, Li Chuan sent the girl back to school. There was a fruit cart peddler selling in front of the school gate, so he brought Su Qin over, parked the bike on the roadside and walked towards the fruit stand. Taking off the helmet, Su Qin followed him in small steps with her backpack. Li Chuan picked up a fist-sized orange, took out the foldable army knife from his pocket, cut out a small piece then turned around and handed it to Su Qin, ¡°Taste it, is it sweet?¡± Su Qin carefully took the piece of orange, lest the sharp blade would cut her fingers. Stuffing the orange into her mouth and tasting it, she sucked it lightly and murmured, ¡°Sweet.¡± Li Chuan shoved the knife into Su Qin¡¯s hand, took out his wallet and said to the boss, ¡°Six pounds of oranges and six pounds of grapes.¡± Su Qin hurriedly said, ¡°Teacher Li, that¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to eat more fruits.¡± Li Chuan took out a few hundred yuan from his wallet and stuffed it into her hand, ¡°Pocket money.¡± ¡° ¡­.. ¡° Su Qin was shocked by the man¡¯s actions. He had never given her any money in the past, at most bought her something. But now, what¡¯s the situation with stuffing her the money? She shied away hurriedly and stuffed the few hundred yuan back into Li Chuan¡¯s hand, ¡°Teacher Li, you¡¯ve been so good to me that I don¡¯t know how to repay you already and you still gave me money. Really ¡­ I can¡¯t accept it.¡± ¡°Take it.¡± Li Chuan stuffed the money with the heavy fruits into her hand, his tone was not very courteous, with irresistible sternness, ¡°Worry less about your work in the future. I will take more care of your livelihood. Take the money as a loan and pay me back when you make money later, this is not for nothing. You are my student, isn¡¯t it perfectly justified for the master to treat the student well?¡± Seeing the man¡¯s stubbornness, Su Qin no longer refused. She intended to save all this money and recorded everything in the notebook he gave her. When she made money in the future, she would pay him back slowly. If she is not a soul in her thirties, she probably would have pledged herself to him already? Su Qin didn¡¯t know what Li Chuan thinks, but she could sense that Li Chuan¡¯s treatment was not as simple as doing a long-lasting public welfare, more like ¡­ She dared not ponder deeper. After all, Li Chuan is very outstanding and she didn¡¯t think Li Chuan would like a little young girl like her. Li Chuan sent her to the school¡¯s entrance and told her, ¡°By the way, come to my company if you have any problems in the future. I have already applied for a study deferral from the school, so I would not be there anymore.¡± ¡°Ah? Study deferral? But you¡¯ve just started your PhD ah.¡± The man¡¯s behavior shocked Su Qin. Li Chuan smiled and said, ¡°The company is too busy and I can¡¯t attend to other things at the same time.¡± ¡°Then, will you still go back to study later?¡± ¡°It depends. We will talk about it when we have time.¡± Li Chuan¡¯s gaze fell on the girl¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Take the knife and carry it with you at all times, okay?¡± Mentioning this, Su Qin realized that she was still clutching Li Chuan¡¯s knife in her hand. Su Qin thought of the situation in Sangzao Town, sucked a breath and nodded, ¡°Got it. Teacher Li, you should go back early too and pay attention to safety on the road.¡± ¡°En.¡± Li Chuan watched the young girl enter the school before turning around and walking towards the parking place. The phone in his pocket rang. Gripping the handphone between his ear and shoulder, he took the helmet hanging on the handlebar and said, ¡°Hello.¡± Zhang Cheng on the other end of the phone said, ¡°Old Li, the top has suppressed this matter. The newspapers are not allowed to report on the current matter of this human trafficking transfer hub. According to my investigation, that human trafficking transfer hub is really connected to a trans-border trafficking syndicate.¡± ¡°Why are they not allowed to report it?¡± ¡°After all, the human trafficking transfer hub was located near Yunyang City and even the culprits had escaped, which caused communal panic.¡± Li Chuan could not understand this kind of news suppression, presenting a false sense of peace? Won¡¯t this kind of news raise parents and children safety awareness? Those groups of children who are protected in the ivory tower are naive and simple. How could the school¡¯s [Safety Handbook] supervise them? Perhaps those children have already fed up with the [Safety Handbook] and the teachers¡¯ advice. If they are not made aware of the sense of crisis, they won¡¯t understand that danger is lurking around them and will feel that the hammer can¡¯t bash them. Zhang Cheng added, ¡°By the way, Old Li, I stayed in Sangzao Town for a few days and found that Su Qin¡¯s stepmother is really not a thing.¡± [T/N: ²»ÊǸö¶«Î÷ (B¨´sh¨¬ g¨¨ d¨­ngx¨©) ¨C condemn words implicating you are not even a thing nor a person.] ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I look for informants to inquire about the matters, those informants know a little and told me that Su Qin¡¯s stepmother has extensive connections. I looked for her to ask about some information and she actually charged me a thousand yuan! This old woman, a bloodsucker, pei. Luckily Su Qin and Aunty have moved out now, otherwise, they might be tormented.¡± Li Chuan didn¡¯t know that Su Qin actually had a stepmother. Su Qin returned to the dormitory with big and small bags. After washing the fruits, she put them in the enamel bowls and waited for her roommates¡¯ return. Meng Sisi and Yu Wen went upstairs with their bags. The two girls were ¡®chattering¡¯ about something and Su Qin could hear their voices from afar. As soon as the two came in, they saw Su Qin sitting at her desk doing homework and dropped their things excitedly to go hug her. Sitting beside her, Meng Sisi wrapped her arms around her neck and said excitedly, ¡°Ahhhhhh, Sister Su Qin, guess who I met in Hong Kong this time?¡± ¡°TVB¡¯s peerless superstar?¡± ¡°No, no, no, no ¡­. Xu Hang, Instructor Xu!¡± Meng Sisi spoke with delight, ¡°Heavens, Sister Su, you don¡¯t know how handsome my Instructor Xu is in a suit! He! Is! Too! Handsome!¡± Yu Wen on the side rolled her eyes and said to Su Qin helplessly, ¡°She has been harping on about this since the plane landed this morning. She, has gone crazy!¡± ¡°And I¡¯ve even got Instructor Xu¡¯s phone number! He even wrapped his arm around my shoulder at that time in the mall and walked for a while, but he just disappeared soon. Hey, no matter what, I think, I still have predestined fate with him!¡± "" Su Qin thought about the situation she described, perhaps Xu Hang was on a special mission at that time? Yan Yixiao grabbed a few copies of the [Safety Manual] delivered by the dormitory superintendent Aunty and rushed in with a backpack on her back as she muttered, ¡°Annoyed to death, annoyed to death. Some of our dormitory leaders were called over by the dormitory superintendent Aunty to listen to her nagging about safety issues. I don¡¯t get it, what¡¯s the point of issuing the [Safety Handbook] once a month ah? What walking in a group after school, so annoying ah? I just don¡¯t believe someone can abduct me in broad daylight, just know that¡¯s alarmist talk. Really ¡­.. ¡° ¡°If the human traffickers want to abduct you, there are really ways to make you disappear under the public gaze.¡± CH 38.1 Chapter 38.1 ¨C Evidence This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. This phrase caused the atmosphere in the dormitory to become strangely serious. Looking at Su Qin who was talking, Yan Yixiao placed the [Safety Handbook] on the desk and put down her school bag. She shivered inexplicably seeing Su Qin¡¯s serious expression, ¡°Su-su, why do I find your words so grim.¡± Su Qin pushed the washed fruit to the middle of the desk and said, ¡°You should not think that the human traffickers and abductions are far from you. Those devils are actually lurking around you.¡± Even Meng Sisi stopped smiling too and said, ¡°Yes, this didn¡¯t happen to you, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s non-existent. Yanyan, Mosquito, you should be careful when traveling in the future. It would be better not to walk alone in remote places at night, and don¡¯t easily trust some needy people who ask for help, and more so not to go anywhere remote with them. You can help them by seeking assistance from the police for anything, don¡¯t trust any needy people too easily.¡± Seeing the two roommates became serious so suddenly, caused Yu Wen and Yan Yixiao to gaze at each other in dismay. A gust of wind blew in the dormitory and the room was filled with a sense of eeriness, making them both shudder. Finally, it was the happy-go-lucky Yan Yixiao who broke the silence and said, ¡°Aiya, please don¡¯t discuss such a terrifying topic, okay.¡± Yu Wen also said, ¡°Mid of next month is the midterm exams and there is not much time left now. Since everyone had enough fun, we should focus and do well. Yanyan, your grades are better than Sisi¡¯s, and you¡¯re both in the same class, so help her with her homework. If you don¡¯t understand anything, just ask me, okay?¡± Yu Wen is the student-in-charge of class studies, and also the English class representative. She usually cares about everyone¡¯s study besides being fashionable. After Yun Fei returned from Hong Kong, he became obsessed playing basketball with his roommates, and the number of times he clung to Su Qin gradually decreased as he started to have his own social circles and friends. Sometimes when Su Qin went to Class 12 to wait for him to go to the canteen for dinner, that fellow would come out of the class with a basketball and told her he wanted to go play basketball, then ran off with a group of boys. Watching the teen, who was holding the basketball, led and ran very fast away with other male classmates, Su Qin felt angry and gratified too. Angry because this guy was being ¡®rebellious¡¯, he actually ran to play basketball without even having his meals and for not caring about his own health at all. Perhaps he was afraid of being inculcated by her, so he ran very fast. Feeling gratified because Yun Fei seems to have mingled with the circle of boys. He is the tallest and has become the focal of their class basketball team. Although he still doesn¡¯t speak much to the female classmates, he is able to mingle with the male classmates. After the National Day, the class¡¯ studies became very intense. Su Qin, after all, had studied the high-school syllabus once, hence she was able to understand better as revision listening to the teachers during class again. Sometimes she would do the new syllabus courseworks as prep study during the evening self-study, to find out where her weaknesses were, and would ask more questions in class to fully grasp the key points. After all, she had gone through high school and was learning the course again, thus it was no longer a preparatory revision. Hence, her studies had progressed rapidly in Li Chuan¡¯s eyes, who shortened his tutoring from four hours to two. This year¡¯s Class 1 wanted to compete with the Whiz Classes, and the teachers of each subject paid great attention to the performance of each student. Su Qin has a serious subject-partiality, thus becoming the focus of the science teachers. After every lesson, the few science teachers would call her name to ask if there was anything she didn¡¯t understand. In order to allow the teachers of various subjects to pay less attention to her, Su Qin would take the initiative to ask questions. She would go ask even if there weren¡¯t any questions to ask. The teachers like to focus on calling her to ask ¡°How¡¯s your study¡±, and she herself often goes to ask the teachers questions too. In the course of time, some top students in class began to ¡®dislike¡¯ her, thinking that she who has bad grades still pretends to be a good student and show off her diligence in front of the teachers. Because Su Qin asked Teacher Yu a few difficult math problems a few days ago and she managed to work out those latter, Teacher Yu felt slightly at ease with her. After the math lesson today, Teacher Yu left the classroom immediately with books in his hand and unlike normally, he didn¡¯t call out Su Qin¡¯s name to ask if she had anything she didn¡¯t understand. As a result, this instead caused the students to feel strange. When Yu Wen asked Su Qin to go to the toilet together during class break, other classmates gathered around to talk about it. ¡°The math teacher today didn¡¯t even ask Su Qin if she understood. You said, is it because she is too stupid? Causing Teacher Yu to give up on her?¡± ¡°How smart can she be to get ranked second last in class? Zhang Tao, who was ranked bottom, has already moved to Class 7, so why is she still in Class 1? She will surely drag our class down during the midterm exam.¡± A girl named Long Xiaoxue, who was doing her homework, heard her deskmate discussing Su Qin with two classmates behind, stopped writing too as she turned around to joined the gossipy group: ¡°I heard that Su Qin came in through special means. Yun Fei from Class 12, didn¡¯t his father donate half of the building? Aren¡¯t he and Su Qin cousins? I guess that¡¯s how they got in. Half a building hey, isn¡¯t that worth two special places?¡± Su Qin¡¯s deskmate is a fatty named Guan Dongdong. Hearing the group of classmates discussing his deskmate behind her back, he got very upset and yelled at them, ¡°Hey, you guys are discussing your classmate behind her back, aren¡¯t you embarrassed? You guys somehow are Class 1¡¯s students, have some dispositions of Class 1 students, okay?¡± The girl named Long Xiaoxue snorted, raised her eyebrows and scolded him, ¡°Damn fatty, you are unlikely to have a crush on Su Qin, are you? I saw you bought two packs of spicy strips yesterday and shared one with Su Qin. Being such a stingy fatty, if you don¡¯t like her, would you give her the spicy strips?¡± As soon as Su Qin and Yu Wen stepped into the class, they heard Long Xiaoxue¡¯s words. Yu Wen was so angry that she wanted to step forward to argue but was pulled back by Su Qin. Seeing Su Qin, the group who discussed her quietened down like chickens and buried their heads in homeworks. The embarrassment of being caught speaking ill of others made them all fall into silence. The bell rang and the teacher had yet to come, but the class reigned with absolute silence. Su Qin did not fight back. She knew she was the weakest in the class now and one who held the class back. No matter what she said, no one in class would stand by her. Only by improving her midterm exam result would she have some right to speak out. Arguing with others now would be arduous and fruitless, which most likely caused her classmates to say ¡°Su Qin, you¡¯re the only one with loads of sh*t.¡± During physics lesson, Su Qin was praised for completing her assignment well, which resulted in someone whispering, ¡°Did she copy it?¡± ¡°Definitely copied. Sharing the dormitory with the student-in-charge of studies is precisely relaxed and henceforth not afraid of making mistakes.¡± The physics teacher was in fact dubious with Su Qin¡¯s assignment, but when he recalled how she usually asked questions actively, the doubts existed but he didn¡¯t express them. Addition to the attentiveness of students¡¯ literacy, Yunzhong also attaches importance to their hobbies as well as physical development. There were three P.E classes and three computer classes every week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays evening self-study, students could opt to go to the computer room or the library after completing their homework. The teacher in the computer class teached the students Office software, which posed no problem for Su Qin. She would take this opportunity to use QQ to communicate with Wang Lin and Bobo about work matters. Wang Lin had already gotten up to speed with those matters. When she usually has time, Wang Lin will stroll around the shopping malls, browse through fashion magazines looking at the fashion trends and start to learn clothes matching. When Su Qin returned home every week, she could notice her mother¡¯s changes. First her mother cut her long hair and dyed it light-colored. Then her mother started wearing high-heels frequently and attempted trendy apparels. Her mother¡¯s temperament has changed a lot too. Her mother started using some basic skin care products and cosmetics, and would even follow the magazines¡¯ beauty tips, applying cucumber on her face and washing her hair with the rice water. "" Su Qin usually doesn¡¯t like to dress up, but she is really good-looking. Even when she is tanned with short hair, she is still a little beauty and there are many boys in class who have a crush on her. But because of her poor studies, they dared not express it for fear of being disdained. Being inherently beautiful, her mother Wang Lin is naturally not bad either. After she learned how to dress up, her temperament and attractiveness caught up too. Whenever she went shopping, the salespersons thought she was a rich Taitai. Wang Lin didn¡¯t shed a tear again since crying after meeting the mistress that day, and her state of mind got better day by day. These days, although she never mentioned Li Xiulan and her ex-husband, it doesn¡¯t mean that she doesn¡¯t mind and has let go of the past. She has kept it all in her heart. Living with Su Qin for a period of time, Wang Lin¡¯s thought is almost close to Su Qin¡¯s and has the mind of a liberated woman. Moreover, Su Qin¡¯s weekly meeting will talk to her about some marketing methods too, hence she then has a plan. Su Qin often said that those online ads shouldn¡¯t be a hard-sell tactic but must be flexible, and the best was to advertise unostentatiously. While Su Qin was away at school, Wang Lin had an idea. After discussing it with Bobo, she thought it was feasible and went to write an article online to test the water. Wang Lin uploaded the before and after transformation photos on the internet using the ID ¡®Su-su¡¯s Mom¡¯, and posted a thread titled [Husband cheated while Mistress got upgraded, and I being the Initial Wife ¡­]. Seeing this thread, the netizens with the mindset of watching melodramatic family gossip clicked on it. After clicking on it, it appeared to be a confession which briefly narrated how her husband cheated and the domestic violence she endured, while the mistress pretended to be dead and sent her child to her side. She even posted a previous photo of her life vicissitudes with gray hair on the temples. This realistic encounter, coupled with the vicissitudes appearance of a woman with graying at the temples, made netizens so angry that they cursed ¡°Let the bitch stay forever with the dog¡±. This thread became popular in Tianya later. Wang Lin also began to update the post unendingly and live-stream the changes in her life after the divorce. She said she could not cave in and decided to stand up, so she started to work hard to transform herself and make herself more beautiful! After that, she uploaded a lot of her transformation photos. In the previous photo, the woman had long unkempt hair, graying at the temples, dull lifeless eyes and the vicissitudes of a fifty-year old. The later photos, she had her hair cut short and dyed it light-colored, with red lips and white teeth, as well as with a rosy complexion. Although she had a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she smiled confidently. Dressed in trendy clothes, her whole person was very classy, like a celebrity. She posted 15 photos of her transformation, with six of them carrying Taobao store ¡®Yunyi Clothing House¡¯ tote bags. As the design was good and looked like branded with a visual appeal too, some netizens then noted down ¡®Yunyi Clothing House¡¯ and even searched what that brands on Baidu. Bobo, who was impersonating a netizen, started the momentum below and pretended to ask, ¡°Su-su¡¯s Mom, what clothing brand are you wearing ah? It¡¯s so beautiful. As you said, you have a monthly salary of more than a thousand, where do you get the money to buy so many beautiful clothes ah?¡± [Su-su¡¯s Mom] replied to [BoboGril], ¡°It¡¯s because the clothes are not expensive ah.¡± [BoboGirl], ¡°Is it? These clothes look quite exquisite, does it cost more than 500 a piece?¡± [Su-su¡¯s Mom] replied to [BoboGirl], ¡°It¡¯s not expensive. The clothes on me don¡¯t even exceed 200, I bought them on Taobao. As a matter of fact, I¡¯ve been a housewife for so many years, I¡¯m not good at matching clothes. I bought all these from Yunyi Clothing House and their complete sets all matched well.¡± Due to the post¡¯s massive traffic, many netizens immediately went to search ¡®Yunyi Clothing House¡¯ when they saw the replies to this comment below. As Wang Lin had previously posted small ads for the Taobao stores on many forums, many relevant information popped up once netizens searched on Baidu and from the advertisement links, they then entered the Taobao store. Su Qin was shocked when she saw this thread in the school¡¯s computer room. She did not expect her mother could write such a good ¡®advertorial¡¯. Thanks to this era, the public still has no concept of ¡®advertorial marketing¡¯ at this moment and without doubt, there would not be any ostracizing, instead most people were taken into the ¡®gully¡¯. Wang Lin¡¯s writing style was not particularly good. Her narration was very simple and mixed with lots of emotions, precisely prompting others¡¯ sense of empathy. The netizens were furious for her and took up the butcher knife for her; they were also happy for her and encouraged her to enliven her life. Ultimately, it actually turned into a motivational thread. Driven by the popularity of the previous ¡®Fashion Match-up¡¯ and the subsequent ¡®Abandoned Woman¡¯s Counterattack¡¯ posts, Yunyi Clothing House was considered sensationalized a little too. When revenue was added up at the beginning of November and that previous month, Taobao¡¯s sales volume actually exceeded 2,000. With a net profit of about 30% a piece, Su Qin got more than 25,000 after deducting the staff wages. Chen Meixin, however, was greatly surprised by this sales volume, which had far exceeded her imagination. Taobao store sales are still rising steadily. Since Taobao¡¯s marketing and all matters are managed by Su Qin, she is tantamount to being the group¡¯s leader. And Chen Meixin just assumed the role of assisting in fashion selection and purchasing the merchandise in passing. As Taobao¡¯s volume gradually increased, Chen Meixin will go to the factory to choose the styles based on Su Qin¡¯s requirements when she has time. After all, she is holding 70% of Taobao¡¯s shares and nevertheless has to pay some attention to the Taobao store. The frequency of new styles on Taobao is not fast at all, plus Chen Meixin has her own connections. So even if Su Qin goes with her to select styles in the factory, it will not waste too much time either which can be done on just one Saturday. Without doubt, having more sales on Taobao, there are also occasional bad reviews. At such a moment, Bobo will use the method taught by Su Qin which is ¡®pestering¡¯ customers mode. Using her soft little sweet voice to speak coquettishly on the phone, telling the customers that bad reviews will cause her salary deduction, while she has elderly as well as younger brothers to support, her life is not easy, and in hope that the customers will be lenient. They can return the goods if they are not satisfied or change if the sizes are incorrect. Customers will generally relent and change their reviews. In just half a month from the end of October to mid-November, Taoabo¡¯s sales have exceeded 2,000 and the sales volume is still rising. Su Qin designated Bobo and Wang Lin the positions of Customer Service Manager and Marketing Manager respectively. Although it was rather funny, the two were downright driven having these ¡®titles¡¯ and they were looking forward to Taobao¡¯s growth, so they could quickly recruit people and become the veritable ¡®Manager¡¯. As the head of the marketing department, Wang Lin spares no effort doing online marketing and publicity. Due to the increase of the store¡¯s sales volume, their workloads increased too and they were so busy every day that they only slept for two hours on their busiest days. But Wang Lin is not afraid of tiredness as she treats it as her own career while Bobo is more fearless. It¡¯s okay if she is exhausted since she is at home anyway and she cherishes this job very much too. When it was payroll time, Wang Lin and Bobo received double wages and also overtime pay. Wang Lin didn¡¯t care much and Bobo felt particularly content. Due to the increased amount of merchandise, more than 200 pieces had to be packed every day. Wang Lin and Bobo were too busy, so they looked for the idle elderly who lived in this building to help them pack the merchandise in the warehouse and paid them 2 yuan per order. Making money and even having something to do, these elderly were all delighted to do so. The two women are extremely hardworking, serving the customers during the day and checking the packages in the warehouse at night before letting Chen Meixin get the courier to pick up the goods the next day. CH 38.2 Chapter 38.2 ¨C Evidence This novel is only hosted on Foxaholic, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. In mid-November, the year-one high school had their midterm exam. The day after the exam was a Saturday afternoon. Chen Meixin came to pick her up from school to have dinner in the city and to incidentally discuss recruitment. Chen Meixin¡¯s family is well-off, and since Su Qin has helped her make a lot of money on Taobao, she has changed to a BMW recently. Chen Meixin started working out to lose weight after being jilted, so she is now slenderly tall. She was a picturesque standing beside the BMW with the sunglasses on and Su Qin could see her from afar. Li Chuan usually comes to pick her up after school and he would stand in unnoticeable places that are normally not seen by her classmates. While Chen Meixin drove a BMW and simply stood in the most conspicuous place at the school entrance, she waved at Su Qin once she caught sight of her. Su Qin came out with her classmates. Yan Yixiao teased, ¡°Su Qin, who is that? Your sister? She looks so pretty ah.¡± Yun Fei was happy when he learned that Li Chuan would not come to pick up Su Qin today and he planned to ask his driver to take her home. However, once he saw Chen Meixin, his heart sank and his plan to send Su-su home was foiled again. "" After Su Qin left with Chen Meixin, Yan Yixiao and Yu Wen waited for taxis by the roadside . Their parents were busy this week, so they had to take taxis home by themselves. But the road from the school to the foot of the hill was rather congested and taxis didn¡¯t even want to come up. Recently the school teachers and the dormitory superintendent aunty have been stressing about safety, and Su Qin had also told him about the ¡®human trafficker¡¯s transit hub¡¯, thus he was a little worried about the two girls. So he stayed behind to accompany them at the school gate. When Su Qin was not around, Yun Fei hardly spoke and he stood beside the two girls with non-presence. About fifteen minutes later, the two girls still hadn¡¯t gotten any taxis. Yu Wen turned and asked the boy behind her, ¡°Yun Fei, isn¡¯t that your family car? Why are you still here? Aren¡¯t you leaving yet?¡± Yun Fei looked passively at Yu Wen and his tone was quite indifferent, ¡°What would Su-su think of me if she knew I left you two girls behind?¡± It was getting late now. He took out his handphone to check the time and said, ¡°It¡¯s very late, I¡¯ll send you gals off.¡± Yan Yixiao hugged Yu Wen¡¯s arm and spoke as she looked at Yun Fei, ¡°But Yun Fei, doesn¡¯t your family live in Xin¡¯an District? Mosquito and my home are in two completely opposite directions. Moreover Yingnan Road there is under maintenance, so it will take you almost three hours to get home after meandering in circles.¡± Yun Fei shook his head and beckoned the driver across the road to drive over. He then opened the back door for the two girls and beckoned, ¡°Get in.¡± The two girls looked at each other and got into the car. Sitting in the front passenger seat after getting into the car, Yun Fei told the driver the girls¡¯ home addresses, then put on his headphones and began listening to songs. He didn¡¯t speak to the girls behind during the whole journey. They were often with Su Qin and knew that Yun Fei liked to act spoiled with Su Qin. In front of Su Qin, he is like a child. But once away from Su Qin, he talked little and appeared aloof when facing other girls. But it¡¯s also such a Yun Fei that lets Yu Wen have a favorable impression about him. Yu Wen peeked at the boy¡¯s side profile and saw him leaning against the back of the seat with his eyes closed, his thick eyelashes were curvy and long. Something quietly sprouted in the girl¡¯s soft heart. Downtown, in the private room of a Chinese restaurant. After ordering, Su Qin handed Chen Meixin the recruitment form she prepared in her spare time. They want to recruit two more customer service staff, who can work shifts with a salary of 1200. They also need to recruit 3 dependable warehouse personnel, responsible for packing, inventory taking, documenting the warehouse records etc, with a basic salary of 1200 too. As for the artwork, Su Qin has entrusted all to Designer Li, who is now downtrodden. Since Su Qin does not hamper his style, Li Xian has designed unique advertisements for Taobao. As a result, as soon as others see this ad, they will know that this is a ¡®Yunyi¡¯ store¡¯s ad. Chen Meixin felt there was no problem and the recruitment matters were finalized. As the customer service department¡¯s office, it was tentatively arranged in Chen Meixin¡¯s retail shop. Chen Meixin had cleaned up the second floor which reluctantly became the customer service department. Bobo and Wang Lin would go work there every now and then, and also to train the newcomers. The warehouse personnel were all ladies who were Wang Lin¡¯s previous acquaintances and the three of them were all divorc¨¦es. After their divorce, they were servers and dish-washers outside, with extreme self-doubts. So Wang Lin recruited them and motivated them every day. Originally they could only get 800 yuan a month being dish-washers, but here, they got 400 more, and the boss also promised to surely pay overtime for extra shifts. All will get bonuses if the sales volume increases and everyone¡¯s interests are protected, hence everyone naturally works harder. The Taobao store is on the right track, and Su Qin¡¯s studies does not fall behind too. On the morning of the midterm results, Teacher Tang walked into the classroom with a stack of report cards. Stepping on high heels into the classroom, she looked extremely serious. The students in class all sat upright with apprehension. Seeing Teacher Tang¡¯s expression, everyone could guess that their class¡¯ results were not very satisfactory this time. Dropping the stack of report cards heavily on the table, Teacher Tang¡¯s eyes swept over the class and said, ¡°I¡¯m very disappointed with your results this time. Let¡¯s not talk about the Whizz Classes. The average grade of our class¡¯ language result is even lower than Class 12. Think about it yourselves, what does this mean?¡± When the students in the class heard this, they all hung their heads successively, not daring to look straight at the class teacher¡¯s gaze. This means that they are not even as good as the second bottom class this year. From the moment Teacher Tang got the overall report cards last night, she was so angry that she couldn¡¯t sleep and didn¡¯t even eat her breakfast. She had high hopes for this class, yet their language results were actually not as good as Class 12, wasn¡¯t this too absurd? Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Teacher Tang still looked solemn, ¡°You guys, are the worst students I have ever taught and none others.¡± These words were like a nuclear bomb, exploding in the students¡¯ ears. Yes, not only Teacher Tang, even they themselves felt ashamed. Even the average score of Class 12¡¯s language was higher than theirs, so they must be the problem. This time, Class 12¡¯s language grade ranked the highest, second only to the Whizz Classes. Yunzhong is a major high school, with a large number of top students. The students in top classes are all inclined towards science subjects, and Class 1¡¯s students are as such too. They themselves focus more on the science subjects¡¯ results and are relatively weak in liberal arts subjects. After criticizing the students, Teacher Tang began to hand out the report cards, ¡°Next, I will hand out the report cards according to the class ranking, and the students whose names are called out will come up to take it.¡± The most exciting moment has come. This midterm exam was the exam since they started high school, and they were all eager to find out who ranked first. Could it be Yu Wen? Everyone was still in doubts when Teacher Tang called out, ¡°Su Qin.¡± The students in class made an uproar and successively shifted their attention to Su Qin. Some even started to whisper. ¡°Bottom first?¡± Teacher Tang tapped the table with the blackboard eraser, ¡°Quiet. Su Qin, first in class and ranked 67th in the whole grade.¡± There was another commotion as everyone looked at Su Qin incredulously. Su Qin walked to the podium under the entire class¡¯ watchful eyes and accepted the report card with both hands. She returned to her seat with the report card and her deskmate, Guan Dongdong leaned over to see her results. Seeing his own ranking at 24th, Guan Dongdong wanted to die and decided to punish himself by eating two less packs of spicy strips. ¡°Yu Wen, second place and ranked 89th in the whole grade.¡± Yu Wen took a deep breath too. She did not expect her rival would be Su Qin and felt inexplicably excited. The moment everyone in class got their results, they all felt unfathomable. Su Qin was twenty points more than Yu Wen. All those classmates who used to discuss Su Qin privately got slapped in the face. The language lesson in the morning, Teacher Tang asked the students to analyze the reasons for the setbacks of this exam. The conclusion was that this midterm Classical Chinese exam tested what they normally thought was not significant. They usually focus on math, physics and chemistry, and thought that language could be memorized. As a result, they did not expect the teacher to differ this time and came up with many unpopular as well as uncommon poems and classical texts. There was even [Shu Dao¡¯s Difficulty] which they will only learn next semester. Someone complained, ¡°Teacher Tang, you really can¡¯t blame us this time. In order to compete with the Whizz Classes, our Class 1 focused mostly on physics and chemistry. Who knew the teacher would come up with those unpopular classical texts and we haven¡¯t even learned [Shu Dao¡¯s Difficulty] ah.¡± The one who complained was none other than Long Xiaoxue who had privately bad-mouthed Su Qin. Su Qin directly censured back, ¡°This further shows that we don¡¯t usually focus on the language subjects. In the future, whether we are divided to liberal arts or science, language is a compulsory subject. We should memorize the key points that Teacher Tang usually teaches us yet should we just skip those minor points? We should think of a way to improve at once.¡± Teacher Tang added, ¡°Su Qin is right. The points our class loses this time should be memorized and if you pay attention to this, you should have no problem in the next exam. How about this, you will recite two pieces of classical text every week from now on. If you don¡¯t want to recite Classical text, then recite six poems. You can choose what you want to recite, within the high-school syllabus.¡± All the students around wailed. Long Xiaoxue, who is the language representative, bargained with the teacher for herself and for her classmates¡¯ sake, ¡°Teacher Tang, isn¡¯t this a bit stressful? We have so much homework every day and we ¡­.. ¡° This was indeed a problem. While Teacher Tang was still hesitating, Su Qin raised her hand and spoke as she stood up, ¡°Teacher Tang, can I make a suggestion?¡± ¡°En?¡± The whole class looked at Su Qin. Su Qin said, ¡°All the students in our class are partial towards science, so we should find a way to increase interest in language subjects. My suggestion is that we learn a classical pop song every week hereafter. So in the course of time, won¡¯t everyone be interested in classical text and poems?¡± ¡°Classical pop songs?¡± The students in the class were all dumbfounded, what kind of song was that? Su Qin forgot that the classical pop songs were still not popular at this moment. She explained, ¡°It is simply using the classical text and old poem to sing a cover version of a popular song melody.¡± The class started whispering again, thinking that it was a big project and they might as well memorize it by rote. Only to hear Su Qin say again, ¡°I did learn a lot of classical pop songs with my friends, and I can teach everyone. ********* So for the next week during every lesson interval, resounding singing could be heard from the high-school year one Class 1. ¡°The silkworm bushes and the fish mallards, what a daze for the country¡¯s founding! Forty eight thousand years since then, no connection with the Qin Dynasty. With a steep dangerous trail from Taibai in the west that could traverse to Emei¡¯s peak. Crumbling the mountains and destroying the warriors, Heaven¡¯s stairway is linked to the stony cliff ¡­¡± Passing by year-one Class 1 to the toilet, students of other classes would find a boy standing on the desks in class with a guitar as he swayed like rock and roll, singing the classical pop song [Shu Dao¡¯s Difficult] when they looked through the windows. Since the song was pretty good, many students crowded outside of Class 1¡¯s door and window to listen and watch. The melody was not difficult and the students with musical talent could directly make out the musical scores. After another week, their class¡¯ [Shu Dao¡¯s Difficulty] song became [Everlasting Regret], and their chorus was extremely fascinating. Sometimes Teacher Yu, who was waiting to attend lessons, could not help but run back to the office to get his flute to play for this group of students. After class every day, there was a resounding singing from Class 1 in the high-school building. The unique learning method of Class 1 amazed the entire grade. Many teachers who taught Class 1 would pick up their own musical instruments first and go to play for the students before their lessons. Even ¡­ the PE teacher was no exception either. The students were shocked. Their PE teacher can actually play the erhu! Class 1¡¯s unique learning method also alerted the school¡¯s Academic Affairs Department. There was a cultural performance in Yunyang City on New Year¡¯s Day and students from Yunyang High School were invited to perform. Originally the principal was still hesitating about which class to choose, but after listening to Class 1¡¯s classical pop songs for two weeks, the school decided to let Class 1 participate in the performance. Originally, some people in the class were still jealous of Su Qin ranking first place in the exam, but due to this, everyone¡¯s view of Su Qin had changed. Because they realized that singing classical texts and old poems was much happier than memorizing them! Long Xiaoxue as the language class representative was dismissed and everyone in class gradually inclined towards Su Qin, and they began to exclude those few who had spoken badly about Su Qin. As they couldn¡¯t stand the pressure of their classmates¡¯ comments, those who spoke ill of Su Qin behind her back took the initiative to apologize to her. Su Qin told them with a smile that she had long forgotten about those matters, so they should not worry about it either and study hard. Most people, in fact, have more or less talked about others, and this is not an unforgivable crime. In Su Qin¡¯s heart, it¡¯s good as long as these children learn and correct their mistakes. In November, Taobao store¡¯s sales volume exceeded 4,000, and Su Qin got a share of nearly 50,000. When Su Qin returned home on Saturday, it was already 1 a.m once she finished her homework. Feeling unsleepy, she took out the account book and calculated she had about 50,000 yuan that she could use. The Taobao store has started to be on the right track, which is an assurance that their livelihood will be alright. Su Qin wants to buy a house. Yunyang City has released the news of building Subway Line 1 and the housing price around Line 1 has risen about 4,500 to 5,500 per sqm yuan. Su Qin didn¡¯t consider that area. She intends to buy next to Line 2. She briefly asked about the housing prices in Xinquan District which ranged from 2,800 to 3,500 per sqm yuan. On Sunday, Su Qin took a leave of absence from Li Chuan and brought her mother to view houses in Xinquan District. She planned to buy an 80-square-meter two-bedroom apartment, where she and her mother could stay in one room while Bobo could stay in the other. Under the current policy, one could pay a 20% down payment for an 80-square-meter house and the 50,000 on hand should be enough. In the prosperous Jincheng of Xinquan District, Su Qin settled for a 79 completed apartment, with two bedrooms, one living room, one dining room, one kitchen and a bathroom, which was completely enough for the three women to live in. This property price will keep rising after the launching of Line 2, and once the subsequent purchase restriction policy kicks off, it will hype up to 30,000 per sqm. Su Qin settled on the same day and paid a down payment of 46,000. Next, Su Qin borrowed 40,000 yuan from Chen Meixin and used 20,000 to renovate the house while the remaining 20,000 was more than enough for furnishing. In early December, Su Qin finally received feedback on matters she asked Xiao Shu to probe into. Xiao Shu drove to Yunyang and placed a series of evidence into Su Qin¡¯s hands before leaving. Su Qin opened the thick envelope once she reached home, and beside photos, there were records of the woman renting-a-room with other men. Su Qin felt that the money was not spent in vain and Xiao Shu¡¯s work was more reliable than she thought. In one photo, Li Xiulan was having grilled fish at a roadside stall with several men and women, and Su Qin recognized one of the men. It was precisely the man who was tracking Bobo with his dog in Sangzao Town at that time. Because of the close proximity with that man, Su Qin could not forget him. Su Qin felt as if suppressed by a rock, suffocating that she couldn¡¯t breathe. Those human traffickers are actually still in Sangzao Town? And Li Xiulan indeed still has dealings with them? This also confirmed that in her previous and present lifetime, her abduction was related to this Li Xiulan.