When class let out at noon, Wei Yuyang called out to Xue Yue.
"Mr. Wei, is sothing wrong?" Xue Yue looked at him, confused.
Wei Yuyang looked at Xue Yue, hesitated for a few seconds, then said slowly, "I overheard what you all were saying this morning. Are you looking to rent a place? I know a nice house for rent. The rent isn’t high, and it’s close to the university."
Xue Yue was stunned for a mont before she realized that Wei Yuyang must have overheard what Song Wenli had said.
Xue Yue smiled and shook her head. "No, thank you. I already have a place to live. But I appreciate the offer."
Wei Yuyang was taken aback. "Perhaps I was being too forward, but I’m serious. The house is really nice. You should consider it."
Xue Yue looked at him. "I’m serious too. I really do have a place to live."
Wei Yuyang smiled. "All right, then."
The two of them left the classroom together and walked outside.
Two people were standing not far away. "Xinyi, look over there. Isn’t that Wei Yuyang and Xue Yue? I told you there was sothing going on between them. Why else would Wei Yuyang just happen to sit behind Xue Yue? And I always see them talking and laughing together."
Huang Xinyi squinted at the pair in the distance. "Xue Yue must be the one seducing Wei Yuyang. How dare she try to steal him from ? I’ll make her pay."
anwhile, Xue Yue returned ho to find that He Lang had just woken up and was in the middle of sorting a huge pile of clothes.
Shiyi was sitting nearby, holding a dress and trying to put it over his head.
"Mommy, the clothes are pretty. Shiyi wear."
Amused, Xue Yue bent down and kissed her son’s cheek. "Good boy, Shiyi. These clothes aren’t for you to wear."
He Lang asked her, "Why didn’t you wake this morning? Daya said you got up late too. Were you late dropping Ruanruan off?"
"I made it just in ti. I thought you were going to sleep all day."
He Lang looked at the clothes on the floor. "I need to sort these clothes first. I can’t rest easy otherwise. I didn’t get much sleep on the train these past few days. I forgot to ask you last night—was everything okay at ho while I was gone?"
"Everything was fine."
Xue Yue joined He Lang in sorting. He had a good eye; at least, Xue Yue thought all the clothes were quite beautiful.
After lunch, Xue Yue went back to the university.
In the afternoon, He Lang went out. He checked the junkyard but couldn’t find a used pushcart or flatbed cart.
He had no choice but to go to a bicycle shop and buy a new flatbed cart for forty yuan.
When he got back, he modified it slightly so it could hold a lot of clothes.
When Xue Yue ca ho that evening, He Lang had already picked up Ruanruan. Having not seen her father for half a month, Ruanruan was now sitting in He Lang’s lap, clinging to him.
Xue Yue couldn’t bear to watch and went into the kitchen, where Daya was already serving the rice.
Xue Yue sniffed the air. "Oh, is that stew for dinner? I haven’t had this in ages. I can already sll how fragrant it is. Our Daya is such a good cook."
Daya smiled and said, "Auntie, wash your hands. It’s ti to eat."
"Okay, I’ll be right there."
During dinner, Xue Yue asked He Lang, "I saw the pushcart in the yard. When are you planning to go out and set up your stall?"
"Tomorrow afternoon, at the market near our place. But I haven’t set the prices yet. I’m going to the departnt store tomorrow morning to see how much they sell similar clothes for, then I’ll decide."
Xue Yue nodded. "We can’t be more expensive than the departnt store."
"Of course."
While He Lang was busy with his preparations to open the stall, the matter of the Wang family finally reached a conclusion.
When Li Wanqing was brought in for questioning, she played dumb, claiming everything was her husband’s idea and that she knew nothing. Wang Tianzhu did the sa, taking all the bla and insisting his wife and child were completely unaware.
Li Wanqing had gone from being an ordinary worker at a sewing machine factory to the director of the personnel departnt at an electron tube factory after marrying Wang Tianzhu. This was a solid fact, not sothing she could hide just by claiming ignorance.
Two days later, Wang Tianzhu was sent directly to a farm sowhere in Black Province. Li Wanqing was sent back to her original workplace—aning she went from being the director of the personnel departnt back to an ordinary female worker at the sewing machine factory.
The house they were living in was also confiscated. They were ordered to move out within a day and were not allowed to take any valuables with them.
With no other choice, they had to rent a smaller house. Wang Shumin had been running around trying to sort things out, but in the end, she didn’t even get to see her father one last ti. She couldn’t get through to her brother’s phone number either, and had no idea what was happening with him.
Instead, after Li Wanqing was released, it was Wang Shumin who ran around renting a place and going ho to pack their things, while Li Wanqing was like a frost-bitten eggplant—completely devoid of spirit.
Li Wanqing had a hard ti during her half-month in custody. She had lost all her forr pride. Her face was no longer the perfectly made-up mask it used to be, and she seed to have aged several years overnight.
She let Wang Shumin lead her out of their old ho. Watching as the house was sealed, she couldn’t describe the complex feelings in her heart. The place they rented was near Wang Shumin’s school. It was one of those long, narrow dormitory-style buildings with no private toilets. The cooking areas were in the hallway, which was shared by several families. The corridor was cluttered with belongings, forcing people to walk carefully just to get by.
Li Wanqing covered her nose and walked through the hallway with a look of utter disgust, entering the room at the very end.
Looking at the room’s furnishings, Li Wanqing found it unbearable. "How could you rent such a filthy, ssy, and terrible place? Couldn’t you have rented sowhere better?"
Wang Shumin looked at her expressionlessly. "I have no money. I spent everything I had on renting this place. If you have money, you can go and rent a better one yourself."
A flicker of sothing crossed Li Wanqing’s eyes. After a few seconds’ pause, she looked at Wang Shumin with displeasure. "What kind of attitude is that? I’m your mother. Can’t I even say a few words to you?"
Wang Shumin said with a hint of despair, "Dad already disowned in the newspapers, as you know. So, technically, we have no relationship anymore. Don’t be so picky. Dad was sent to that kind of place, but at least you’re still here and okay."
Li Wanqing stared at her, stunned. "Your father disowned you because he was afraid of implicating you! How can you be so clueless? If it weren’t for that, do you think you’d still be able to attend school? You would have been expelled long ago! The reason I’m fine is that none of it had anything to do with in the first place."
Wang Shumin gave a bitter laugh. "I don’t know if it had anything to do with you or not. But Dad disowned for my own good. What about you? Were you also doing it for my good? Or were you just trying to take the opportunity to get rid of , your daughter?"
Li Wanqing frowned. "What nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever tried to get rid of you? Besides, that was your father’s idea. I knew nothing about it."
Wang Shumin stared at her blankly until Li Wanqing grew uncomfortable and frowned, snapping, "What’s with that look?"
Wang Shumin coolly averted her gaze. "When Dad got into trouble, were you even sad?"
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