Chapter 13: Don’t Use Me as a Stepping Stone

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If he had not tried to explain himself, Wenxin might have felt better. The more anxiously he explained, the more uneasy she became.

She was even more afraid that once she left, Fu Kaiyu would change his heart.

Who could have imagined that something like this would happen the moment she stepped out the door? She suddenly felt the threat.

Still, she could not believe that Fu Kaiyu would change his heart so quickly. Clenching her fists, she said, “Brother Kaiyu, I believe you. What ill intentions could Sister possibly have? She must have misunderstood something!”

“Then just take it as a misunderstanding.” Wenran’s words were loaded, leaving the onlookers plenty of room for imagination.

Wenxin: “…”

Wenxin considered herself to know her sister quite well. Wenran had rarely lied from childhood onward.

Fu Kaiyu was different. Plenty of girls had their eyes on him.

If she had not known how to handle him, she truly might not have been able to keep him under control.

Fu Kaiyu began to panic. He snapped angrily, “Song Wenran, are you done yet? Your mother hit me just now, and I can let that go, but please don’t ruin my relationship with Xin-Xin!”

Wenran cast him a sidelong glance. “Does your relationship even need ruining?”

“You…” Fu Kaiyu was so furious that his mind went blank. In his panic, he could not even form a complete sentence.

Lu Meiqin planted her hands on her hips. “Why aren’t you leaving? If you upset my daughter again, I’ll slap your face!”

Song Jianshe teetered repeatedly on the edge of losing control. “Shut up! You don’t act like an elder at all. No matter what, you watched these children grow up!”

“If I hadn’t watched him grow up, I would have beaten him until he had to crawl home!” Lu Meiqin snorted coldly. “He dares slander my daughter and thinks our family has no one to stand up for us?”

Song Jianshe’s anger gave him a splitting headache. He glanced at his watch. It was getting late, so he urged, “Xin-Xin, the factory office staff are still waiting for you. Go catch your train first!”

Wenxin: “…”

Wenxin felt stifled. Mentioning the factory office staff only made her more depressed.

Her being sent to the countryside had certainly caused quite a stir!

The factory director had actually sent people from the factory office to supervise her personally.

If she had not been given away for adoption, she might still have had some freedom of choice. Now, she could only let others carve her up as they pleased.

The thought of living in the countryside made her irritable.

After Wenran had gone far away, Wenxin took out the letter she had written the night before and handed it to Fu Kaiyu.

“Brother Kaiyu, please mail this letter for me.”

Fu Kaiyu glanced at the recipient. “A letter to Grandma?”

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“Yes. I’m afraid it won’t be convenient to send letters from the countryside, so I wrote Grandma one in advance.” Wenxin had already made up her mind. Even if she was not there, she would make sure Grandma kept Lu Meiqin and her daughter under control. She absolutely had to get Song Jianshe and Lu Meiqin divorced as soon as possible.

Fu Kaiyu sighed with emotion. “Xin-Xin, you’re truly filial.”

Wenxin smiled but said nothing.

Only scheming to tear Wenran’s family apart could make her smile.

With Grandma there, Wenran could forget about living in peace!

##

After leaving the residential compound, Song Wenran did not immediately go to work. She waited until she had confirmed that Wenxin had boarded the train with the other educated youths being sent to the countryside before heading to work with peace of mind.

Her second day at work went much more smoothly than the first.

She had memorized everything she was supposed to learn the day before, and Head Nurse Liu had even praised her.

Jin Baoli, on the other hand, was in a complete muddle. Her memorization had gone terribly.

Ruan Ling had mixed up a few things, but by ordinary standards, she was still doing quite well.

She had a cheerful personality, and even when the head nurse scolded her a little, she never took it to heart.

Wenran, however, did not want her to fall too far behind. Even as a nurse, carelessness was unacceptable; otherwise, it would give others another chance to take advantage of them. So Wenran kept an eye on her constantly.

After work, she did not hurry home. Lu Meiqin had already given her money, grain coupons, and candy coupons, so she bought some biscuits and canned fruit and went to the Ruan family’s home.

Mrs. Ruan liked Wenran very much. Wenran’s written examination and her performance over the past two days had both been outstanding. The fact that she could help her own daughter improve was an even more pleasant surprise.

She warmly invited Wenran to stay for dinner.

Unable to refuse, Wenran stayed.

Just as they were about to eat, Ruan Ling’s third brother, Ruan Liangce, returned.

In the novel, Ruan Liangce had also fallen hopelessly in love with Wenxin, leaving Ruan Ling deeply troubled.

That had happened before Wenxin went to the countryside and married, though. At this point in time, he and Wenxin did not know each other yet.

Now that Wenxin had already been sent away, the two of them would have even less chance of meeting over the next few years!

Wenran stood and greeted him politely.

Ruan Liangce looked her up and down. “Are you Xiaoling’s classmate?”

Wenran nodded. “We’re colleagues now.”

Ruan Ling came bouncing over and draped an arm around her shoulders. With a laugh, she said, “Third Brother, I told you Wenran was beautiful. I wasn’t lying, was I?”

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Ruan Liangce pinched her cheek. “You were right. She’s far prettier than you!”

“Ruan Liangce, I told you not to pinch my face!” Ruan Ling exploded, abandoning even the courtesy of calling him Third Brother.

Ruan Liangce hopped away first. “No respect for your elders. You don’t even know how to behave with your classmate here.”

“Hmph! Then why did you pinch my face?” Ruan Ling rose onto her toes and pinched him back.

Wenran was amused by their antics, and she envied the affection between the siblings.

She envied Ruan Ling even more for having been spoiled since childhood. Ruan Ling was the fourth child, with three older brothers above her.

Every one of them doted on her.

Ruan Liangce worked as a projectionist and had a lively, carefree personality.

Her second brother, Ruan Liangmou, worked at the food supply station, so the Ruan family had a slight advantage over other households when it came to food.

Her eldest brother, Ruan Liangze, was a soldier—and a comrade of Shen Nanzheng.

Thinking about it now, Wenran felt as though Shen Nanzheng’s shadow had always been present somewhere in her life.

The thought struck her as rather amusing.

Mr. Ruan worked at a government office, and he and Ruan Liangmou returned home almost exactly at mealtime.

The whole family was exceptionally harmonious, just as the novel had described.

There was no doubt that Ruan Ling had been pampered by her parents and three older brothers.

Thanks to Ruan Ling, Wenran had originally planned to eat only a small bowl, but under the Ruan family’s warm hospitality, she ended up completely stuffed.

Compared with the liveliness of the Ruan household, the Song family was much quieter.

When she arrived home, Song Jianshe had not yet returned from visiting the Fu family to apologize.

Unaware that Wenran had eaten at the Ruan household, Lu Meiqin had prepared three dishes especially for her.

Tomatoes stir-fried with eggs, cucumber salad, and braised pork stewed with potatoes.

There was not much meat in the last dish, but by the standards of their family, it was still an extravagant meal.

Wenran knew her mother had prepared it to celebrate Wenxin’s departure. She washed her hands and sat down at the table.

Lu Meiqin immediately placed a piece of braised pork in her bowl. “Eat more, Ranran. The two of us will finish everything and leave none for your father.”

Song Wenran: “…”

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