Chapter 139

Chapter 139

When Wang Shuanzhu returned home, he learned about the drama that had just taken place.

Feng Yanwen still felt uneasy: "Old Wang, do you think these people might do something to Meng?" What worried her most was her daughter's safety.

Wang Shuanzhu had only heard about the incident after coming back. At first, he found it absurd—Xu Meng's academic performance was excellent, so how could she possibly get married at this time?

But upon reflection, it was both laughable and frustrating. Recently, Feng Yanwen and her daughter had kept quiet, and the neighbors in Changchun Alley had been gossiping about Xu Meng, convinced that she must have failed her college entrance exams.

"Don’t be angry. There are all kinds of people out there. Maybe for now, Meng shouldn’t go out alone, and you should also avoid hanging around outside. It’s hot these days—staying in isn’t the worst. Since you’ve finished your exams and have nothing to do, spend more time with your mom."

Feng Yanwen thought this was a good idea: "Look at you—once summer vacation starts, you vanish."

Xu Meng stuffed a slice of watermelon into her mouth: "How can I stay stuck at home? I don’t like watching TV, just like you."

Wang Shuanzhu held a quarter of a watermelon and sat by the door, eating it spoonful by spoonful. He enjoyed eating it this way. Feng Yanwen, being an older mom, had to strictly control her sugar intake. Watermelon was too high in sugar, so she couldn’t have much, but she craved it. When she couldn’t have what she wanted, she became particularly irritable. That night, after eating a small slice, she grew annoyed watching the two of them eat bite after bite.

So she snapped at everyone: "Wang Shuanzhu, be careful when eating watermelon. The juice is dripping on the floor—it’ll attract ants."

Wang Shuanzhu glanced at the floor: "I’ll hose it down later. It’ll help cool the ground, so it’ll be more comfortable when you take a walk tonight."

Then she turned to Xu Meng: "And you—if you’re eating, just eat. Why are you reading? If you want to read, go outside. The lighting in here isn’t good—don’t you worry about ruining your eyes? Actually, no reading at this hour. It’s time to call it a night."

Lately, Feng Yanwen had been like this all the time.

Xu Meng silently closed her book and asked, "Since we’ve offended them, do you think anything bad will happen?"

Feng Yanwen snapped, "Am I afraid of her?"

If they were really that powerful, they might as well come and kidnap her.

Wang Shuanzhu said, "This is the capital. At the feet of the emperor, no one dares to act recklessly—not even officials, big or small. Rest assured, they can’t do anything harmful."

Xu Meng also knew that if the capital’s public security wasn’t good, then nowhere in China would be safe.

Here, even spitting could get you scolded by the red-armbanded aunties. That family’s so-called second son might have had his eye on her, but he wouldn’t dare openly kidnap her. After all, hadn’t they come with gifts to make a marriage proposal?

But the rumor about Xu Meng failing her exams wasn’t just circulating among the neighbors in Changchun Alley—even the Xu family had heard about it.

Wang Meili and her daughter had always been watching Feng Yanwen’s family, not out of concern for their well-being, but because they lived for their misery.

Take Xu Jia, for example—this time, she didn’t even make the cutoff for vocational college.

In fact, Xu Jia had known she’d failed the moment she left the exam hall. But she wanted to enjoy a few more days of freedom, so she skipped the school’s score-checking session, stole money from her mother, and went to Tianjin for a few days. Before she even returned, the Xu household blew up.

At first, Wang Meili thought her husband had secretly taken the money, and she had a huge fight with Xu Laoer.

Once they figured out what had really happened, Xu Laoer went after Wang Meili.

"How did you raise this child? Look at what Xu Jia has become—this is on you!" The more he remembered how harshly he’d been criticized recently, the angrier he became.

Wang Meili shot back, "You have the nerve to blame me? Is the child mine alone?"

Xu Laoer grew even angrier: "It’s because you spoiled her—never let her face consequences. Now look at what she’s become. See how Feng Yanwen raises her child—she’s endured hardships, but it hasn’t cost her anything. You—I don’t even know what to say about you. When the cheating incident happened last time, I said we should beat her, but you gave her money to hide at your mother’s place. Now she’s got it down now—she runs away at the first sign of trouble. What did I do to deserve this, to end up with you two?"

Wang Meili was furious too: "I raised the child alone, so now it’s all my fault? You’re blaming me for being petty, but you’re so high and mighty—yet what have you achieved? The men in your family, starting with your dead father, never lifted a finger. You don’t raise the child, but when she turns out bad, it’s all on me? Real nice. If Feng Yanwen is so wonderful, why didn’t you marry her back then?"

Xu Jia happened to return home just then. Hearing her parents arguing, she went straight to her room without turning on the light and lay there stiff on the bed.

Just then, the couple noticed someone was home—it must’ve been Xu Jia.

They stopped fighting right away and rushed to Xu Jia’s door.

Xu Jia knew she was in for a scolding the moment she returned.

“What’s the big deal? So what if I did poorly on the exam?” Xu Jia’s voice was lazy. “What’s wrong with me going out to have fun? I’ve been wound up all year because of the college entrance exam, and nothing happened. Besides, this trip to Tianjin was paid for by this girl—I didn’t spend the money, so here, take it back.”

With that, she flung a stack of bills.

Wang Meili immediately grabbed the money and counted it. Seeing that almost none was missing, she cooled right off.

She had always been the nickel-and-dime type. Now that she knew her daughter seemed to have made some impressive friends—like the one who gave her a concert ticket before May Day—it made sense that someone might invite her to Tianjin.

“So what’s your plan now? You didn’t get into college—how are you going to find a job with just a high school diploma?” Wang Meili sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed. “I told you back in middle school to go to a vocational school.”

At least vocational school graduates were guaranteed job assignments.

But Xu Jia had looked down on that idea—her grades had been decent back then.

“What’s there to worry about?” Xu Jia said dismissively. “I’ve already found a way. And guess what? You haven’t heard yet—Xu Meng flunked her exam too.”

Wang Meili’s interest was instantly piqued, her eyes lit up. “She flunked her exam? When did this happen? Are you sure?”

Xu Jia: “I heard it from where she lives. People say she admitted it herself—she failed. She’s just as screwed as I am!”

The thought of stealing her admission letter vanished instantly.

And Wang Meili, upon hearing that Xu Meng had done poorly, perked right up.

The day before submitting her college application, Han Jiming called from Xining. Over the phone, he said, “Just apply to Peking University.”

Before leaving, he had promised to do some digging for Xu Meng, and he kept his word. He told her, “I’ve heard some rumors—this year’s exam was harder than usual. I also checked with a few schools like No. 4 High School and Tsinghua University Affiliated High School. So far, no one’s scored above 450. With your score, Peking University is a lock.”

Smart people don’t beat around the bush.

This call was Han Jiming’s last before leaving Xining. He would be off the grid again for a few days.

“Next, we’re probably heading to Hainan. There aren’t many big towns there, so I might not be able to reach you until we get to Delingha.”

“Be careful.”

The journey from Delingha to Golmud involved a long stretch of gnarly backcountry roads. Starting from Delingha, the altitude would begin to rise. There were no highways back then—some sections were just off-road vehicles on national roads. In the 1990s, while routes to Tibet and the southwest were open, there was only one main road. If a landslide occurred, army engineers had to clear the wreckage.

The road from Qinghai to Tibet was slightly better than the one from Sichuan, but in those days, it was still unpaved. Aside from the frost-heave rutted roads that became uneven after thawing—what people commonly called “washboard roads”—the rest were just mountain paths. Xu Meng had heard that you could get stuck for days, even a month.

“Then make sure you bring enough food and fresh water, especially once you reach Haixi. That area’s all salt pans—water’s nonexistent. You might not even find fresh water along the way.” Getting stranded or stuck in Haixi would be the worst. Past Qinghai Lake and westward was Haixi, where salt lakes began to appear. In places without cities, fresh water was almost nonexistent.

Han Jiming laughed. “We have several cars, and the trunks are stuffed with water jugs. It’s not like there’s zero supply along the way—we’ve traveled these routes before. Some of the herders are practically buddies.”

That finally put Xu Meng at ease.

Soon, it was time to submit her application. Xu Meng filled in “Peking University” as her first choice.

Ms. Zhang asked repeatedly, “Last chance to change your mind!”

Xu Meng said firmly, “Just don’t let anyone mess with it.”

Ms. Zhang seemed even more excited than her and nodded. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

After submitting their college applications, Xu Meng still saw Xu Jia hanging around school.

Zhang Xiaoyu happily told her that Xu Jia had randomly applied to a few schools, while she herself barely scraped by the undergrad cutoff and chose a no-name university. Zhang Xiaoyu’s grades were on the bubble for undergrad, so she focused on vocational colleges and applied for a computer science major.

"I took your advice—since I couldn’t pick a good school, I put effort into choosing a practical major," Zhang Xiaoyu asked, "What about you?"

Xu Meng replied, "I applied to Peking University. I haven’t told a soul yet, so keep it under wraps."

Zhang Xiaoyu was startled: "But I heard Xu Jia say in class that you did really poorly."

Xu Meng arched an eyebrow: "She’s really got it out for me, huh? Even knows about my supposed bad results."

The gossip had started in Changchun Alley. At first, she was surprised but didn’t bother tracing its source. Being painted as a target wasn't great—keeping a low profile was better.

Besides, she finally understood what Accountant Tan had meant that day.

Turns out, they thought she hadn’t gotten into college and came to her home playing the good Samaritan. Oddly enough, Xu Meng thought it was kind of funny.

Zhang Xiaoyu said, "She’s been boasting about some well-connected friend who can secure her a job, so college doesn’t matter. You think she's really got those kinds of connections?"

Xu Meng scoffed, "Who knows?"

As they spoke, they noticed Xu Jia chatting animatedly with someone, looking smug.

Xu Meng said under her breath, "Maybe it’s true."

After all, in her past life, hadn’t Xu Jia had a "benefactor" too?

While they were talking, a tall guy popped up behind them. After hesitating, he approached Xu Meng and whispered, "Hello, Xu Meng."

She found him vaguely familiar but couldn’t place him, so she just gave a nod.

Fang Shuai had waited by her classroom but, failing to find her, had gone looking for her. Spotting her chatting near the science wing, he mustered his courage and handed her a letter: "I’ve always liked you. This is for you."

He thrust it at her and took off.

Puzzled, Xu Meng looked at the letter—neatly tucked in an ornate envelope with her name written in mediocre handwriting. She carelessly stuffed it into her bag. It was the fifth letter she’d received that day.

Zhang Xiaoyu grinned: "Look at you, Miss Popular."

Xu Meng rolled her eyes: "Oh please, I'm sure you've collected your fair share too."

Zhang Xiaoyu teased, "Aren’t you curious who he is?"

Xu Meng shrugged: "Why bother? I already have someone. They're probably not expecting a yes—they just want to give, so I’ll take it."

Feng Yanwen had advised her to accept such gestures gracefully. If someone gave a letter or small gift, they likely didn’t care about the outcome—they just wanted to express their feelings.

Zhang Xiaoyu sighed, "You’ve really changed. Grown up."

Xu Meng smiled: "Haven’t we all?"

Right then, Wei Xiang walked up.