Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Xu Meng made a short-term plan for herself.

—College entrance exam, starting a tutoring business, buying a house!

With less than a year left before the college entrance exam, this was the most crucial phase of her life and also her biggest regret in her previous life.

Once the exam was over, she wanted to work with Feng Yanwen to get the tutoring business up and running.

By late September, Zhang Mingqing had referred a few more students.

Later, Feng Yanwen had more students to teach, occasionally getting Liu Jin and a couple others to pitch in. Not long ago, they had flyers printed and hired the Liu brothers to distribute them on weekends. Gradually, they started getting inquiries.

From one student to two, then more—the business gradually took off.

At first, they were making just over two hundred a month, which increased to over three hundred, and eventually stabilized at four to five hundred a month.

Zhang Mingqing was truly a godsend!

Good fortune lifts the spirits, and Feng Yanwen looked healthier than before.

This weekend, they had a day and a half break. On her way back from school, Xu Meng was bubbling with excitement. After back-to-back studying for a month, even someone as studious as her couldn’t stand the sight of another book. When she reached the alley entrance, she saw two people standing at the front door.

Wang Shuanzhu was holding a paint can, touching up the sign at the entrance, while Feng Yanwen was looking down at something with a big smile on her face. Even Wang Shuanzhu, normally stone-faced, wore a rare smile. Hearing Xu Meng call out to them, his smile softened, and he gave her a shy nod.

“Uncle Shuanzhu.”

“Mm, Mengmeng’s back. Did you eat yet?” It was rare to hear Wang Shuanzhu say so much.

“Yes, Uncle. Did you?”

“Mm.”

Xu Meng’s gaze shifted from Wang Shuanzhu to Feng Yanwen, her smile hinting at something unspoken.

Neighbors were always looking out for each other back then—she definitely wasn’t overthinking it. Ever since Feng Yanwen’s divorce, Wang Shuanzhu had been visiting more frequently. He wasn’t the type to drop by just to chat.

But if Feng Yanwen didn’t feel awkward about it, pointing it out might just sink their friendship.

Seeing her daughter’s heavy backpack weighing her forward, Feng Yanwen hurried over in a few steps to help Xu Meng take it off.

The bag weighed a ton. Feng Yanwen, probably not expecting such heaviness, lurched forward.

Wang Shuanzhu moved quickly, reaching out to steady her and taking the bag in one smooth motion. He strode into the courtyard, placed it under the eaves, then returned to the entrance, asking with concern, “You alright?”

“I’m fine.” Turning bright red, Feng Yanwen couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Instead, she turned to her daughter, as if explaining:

“The Wang family next door threw out some leftover paint after repainting their door. I thought there was still a bit left, so I used it to touch up ours. But your Uncle Shuanzhu saw it and gave me a hard time about it, so he took over. Look at the signboard—doesn’t it look brand new?”

Wang Shuanzhu was famously skilled in these parts.

Xu Meng examined the signboard and agreed that the fresh coat of paint made it look much better.

“Uncle Shuanzhu’s craftsmanship is really something. If Mom had done it, it’d probably look like a dog chewed on it.”

Hearing Xu Meng’s praise, Wang Shuanzhu smiled again—a rare sight.

Feng Yanwen said, “Don’t talk about your mom that way! Shuanzhu, come inside and have some tea.”

Wang Shuanzhu quickly waved his hands, making an excuse about having things to do at home, and bolted in a panic.

Is he socially awkward or what? Xu Meng thought to herself.

How does someone like him even manage a business? Luckily, he’s got good craftsmanship, or else his business would surely fail.

Xu Meng grinned and asked, “Mom, why does Uncle Shuanzhu always help us out?”

Feng Yanwen looked at the signboard with satisfaction. “What kind of question is that? Sister Liu also helps us all the time, but I don’t see you mentioning her. You little rascal, so ungrateful! Be careful or she’ll be upset.”

Sister Liu was a firecracker of a woman, and Xu Meng could hardly imagine her ever being upset.

Then she snorted with laughter.

Feng Yanwen patted Xu Meng’s shoulder and asked a few questions about her studies before the mother and daughter walked home together.

Just as they stepped into the yard, someone outside called out, “Teacher Feng!”

Both of them turned to look and saw Zhang Mingqing, her face drawn with exhaustion.

Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying.

Feng Yanwen was shocked. Zhang Mingqing was always put together, gentle and kind—she had never seen her like this before. She quickly pulled her into the yard. Xu Meng, sharp enough to take the hint, fetched a chair and made tea. By the time Zhang Mingqing entered the house, the dam broke, and she burst into tears, covering her face with trembling hands.

What in the world happened to her?

How did she end up like this?

Did something happen to Tuan Tuan? But if something had happened to her daughter, why would she be here?

Xu Meng’s mind spun with wild guesses, startling herself. “I’ll get you some warm water to wash your face.”

She poured some hot water from the thermos, diluted it with some cold water, and brought over a new towel. By the time she returned, Zhang Mingqing had calmed down, though tear tracks streaked her delicate face. She reached out and tested the water temperature with her fingers.

The heat seeped into her fingers.

Zhang Mingqing’s fingers were fair and slender, unlike the work-worn hands of women her age.

Xu Meng said, “Auntie, this is a new towel. You can wash your face.”

Zhang Mingqing looked at her and mustered a smile—all teeth, no warmth—but today, there was no warmth in it.

This was such a pretty girl, bright and charming, at that perfect age.

Such a beautiful girl…

She had once been beautiful too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been specially recruited from the countryside to work at the train station, a job people fought tooth and nail to get. But what did beauty get you? After a few years, when weariness carved itself into your face, it sucked the life right out of you.

Countless nights, Zhang Mingqing had removed her makeup, showing a tiredness no one else knew.

Zhang Mingqing lowered her head and silently wrung out the towel. The heat of the towel sank into her skin, making her whole body relax. The tension in her heart eased as well.

She washed her face, and makeup streaked the water’s surface.

Xu Meng handed her a bar of soap. “Auntie, we use different bars for face and body. This one hasn’t been used on the body. Just rub it in your hands first, then on your face. After you’re done, I’ll get you fresh water.”

Her wide eyes fluttered.

Zhang Mingqing suddenly smiled. She knew she looked a wreck. She hadn’t dared to go anywhere else, but as she passed by, she thought of Teacher Feng—another woman who’d known hardship—and impulsively called out her name.

But she didn’t expect to see either sympathy or curiosity on Feng Yanwen’s and her daughter’s faces.

“What’s going on with you?”

“I got into a fight with my family,” Zhang Mingqing said.

Feng Yanwen: “Do you have a place to stay?”

Seeing Zhang Mingqing bite her lip, she could tell the girl probably had nowhere else to go. If she had any close friends or relatives to turn to, why would she come here?

Zhang Mingqing remained silent. She’d left in such a rush that she hadn’t brought anything with her. When she reached the hotel front desk and they asked for her ID, she realized she hadn’t brought any documents. She couldn’t bring herself to go back and get them—she never wanted to return to that house again.

Feng Yanwen said, “Okay.”

Zhang Mingqing didn’t know what that word meant and looked at her.

“You can stay here, if you don’t mind.”

Zhang Mingqing gritted her teeth. “Complain? Who am I to complain?”

“Come on in and see for yourself first. If it’s really not okay, I can lend you some money. When you’re upset, you shouldn’t make things harder on yourself. The worse you feel, the more you need to push through. You’ve got a job—I heard from Sister Yang that you’re even a chief flight attendant, practically management. Look at how good a workplace the Railway Bureau is—how many people would kill to work there? How’d you land that job anyway? Surely not just because you’re pretty. Someone like you—how could you let something like this get the best of you? It’s not much, but you can crash here for a few days.”

“Mm.” Zhang Mingqing agreed and followed Feng Yanwen inside.

It wasn’t too hot this time of year, so a few days wouldn’t be too bad. Her bed was big enough for two, so she could sleep with Xu Meng at night while Zhang Mingqing took Xu Meng’s room. So she led her into the inner room.

Inside was a bedroom of about ten square meters. Near the top were a few clear tiles for light—but no windows. Feng Yanwen’s bed was against the wall in the back.

Xu Meng’s bed was on the opposite wall, with a curtain hung from hooks above, creating two separate spaces that offered privacy but no soundproofing. Feng Yanwen pointed to Xu Meng’s bed and said, “It’s not exactly the Ritz, but if you don’t mind, you can stay here for a few days. At night, if you need to use the bathroom, you’ll have to go outside. Xu Meng and I both stay up late, so if you’re scared, just call us and we’ll go with you.”

She didn’t make a fuss or pry. Zhang Mingqing hung her head.

“Thank you, Yanwen.”

“I haven’t even asked yet—what exactly happened?”

“I…” Zhang Mingqing hesitated but finally spoke. “Tuan Tuan’s dad might be cheating.”

At first, it was just suspicion—strands of hair that obviously weren’t hers kept showing up on his clothes. Then he started coming home less and less, and Zhang Mingqing’s doubts grew deeper. Finally, one day, the other woman came to beg her, saying she was pregnant.

Zhang Mingqing was so angry she tried to hit her, but her husband immediately stepped in to stop her.

It went down like every other cheating scandal—Zhang Mingqing tried to confront the woman, but Tuan Tuan’s father ended up hitting her instead. Furious, she went to her in-laws to reason with them.

Only when she arrived did she realize the whole family had known all along.

Not just them—even her sisters-in-law were in on it.

At first, they danced around the subject awkwardly, but then one of her sisters-in-law finally said outright, “You haven’t given him a son anyway, so what’s wrong with him finding someone else? Once the baby’s born, you can just take it in and raise it. Either way, it’s still our family’s blood—we can’t afford to let it slip away.”

For the sake of a son, they’d stooped pretty low.

After so many years together, at that moment, her husband looked completely unfamiliar to her. He acted like an emotionless animal, bluntly telling her to leave if she wanted—but not to take anything from the house. A lawsuit wouldn’t help either, since most of the money was in his name, and the judge would surely side with him.

Even her usually kind in-laws didn’t stand by her this time.

Not only that—they were even watching her closely.

They were wary of her harming their daughter, and also preventing her from truly throwing a fit and trying to take her husband's family assets.

Zhang Mingqing was furious but felt powerless against them.

Her husband's family had money and power—she stood no chance against them in a dispute. She couldn't stay in that house any longer, so she just left, planning to pick up her daughter after school and then figure out what to do next. Sneaking away unnoticed, she ended up at Feng Yanwen’s place.

Perhaps because she and Feng Yanwen weren’t in the same social circle, or maybe because both had experienced marital breakdowns, Zhang Mingqing could open up more easily to Feng Yanwen.

"What should I do?" Zhang Mingqing buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "Everyone used to envy me for marrying well, but now I realize I have no money, nothing at all."

At least she still had a job!

That house was grand and luxurious, but when she left, she realized none of it was really hers.

Where would she go now? Her parents lived far away, her colleagues were all settled with families, and she couldn't just barge into their lives. Even her friends were from her husband’s circle—she'd be too humiliated.

If she didn't have someone to turn to, she feared she might die.

"You can stay here for now," Feng Yanwen said. "We can talk about other things later."

Xu Meng had already come out from the inner room. She tidied up the bed, putting on fresh sheets, then walked over and said to Zhang Mingqing, "Auntie, what about Tuan Tuan?"

Zhang Mingqing sniffled. "Whenever we fight, her aunt takes her away."

After all, she was their own child. They'd never turn their backs on a niece they’d raised for over a decade just for an unborn baby.

Xu Meng said, "Auntie, you did the right thing. You have to put yourself first. Let Tuan Tuan’s aunt take care of her for now—without a child to worry about, you’ll have some breathing room, and you can relax properly. Mom, since we have a guest, why don't we all have dinner together tonight?"

Feng Yanwen smiled. "Then hurry to the market. At this time of day, the pickings might be slim. Liu Jin, we’re having dinner together tonight. Go with your sister to buy groceries, okay?"

Liu Jin, who had been playing outside in the yard, stuck his head in as soon as he heard.

Zhang Mingqing recognized these kids—the oldest was even Feng Yanwen’s landlord. She sometimes brought over extra fruit from home, so the kids knew her well.

Liu Jin had heard Zhang Mingqing crying earlier and warned his little brothers to stay away.

Now, hearing his name called, he came running over. "Auntie, you called me?"

Feng Yanwen said, "We're having dinner together tonight. Go with your sister to buy groceries."

Then she asked Xu Meng, "So, our resident chef, what are we having tonight?"

Xu Meng rarely got a day off—only once a month—so she naturally wanted something good. Plus, with a guest at home, they had to put on a good spread.

Xu Meng said, "Let’s have hot pot!"

In those days, you couldn't find every regional dish everywhere yet, but as the capital, Beijing had everything. Xu Meng had been craving hot pot for a long time. Back when food blogs were everywhere in her past life, she’d even whipped up her own hot pot broth. Today, she decided to give it a try.

After sending Xu Meng off, Feng Yanwen turned to Zhang Mingqing.

"Go on," she said. She didn’t believe Zhang Mingqing was truly so poor she had to stay here.

Feng had her number!

Zhang Mingqing smiled bitterly. "I want to buy a house, but I don't have the first clue how to begin. I thought... I’d talk to someone. You’ve looked for a place before—you must have some experience, right?"

This wasn’t something she could discuss with just anyone. She didn’t dare mention it to her colleagues.

What if it got back to her husband’s family?