Chapter 544

After Li Heng left, Liu Chunhua asked Zhang Zhiyong: "Zhiyong, who is Wang Runwen?"

Zhang Zhiyong smirked: "My high school English teacher."

Liu Chunhua asked: "Do teachers like their students?"

Zhang Zhiyong dramatically threw his arms out in the air: "If it were another guy, I wouldn't get it either—but isn't Heng Daye perfectly normal? That Yu teacher who came back for summer break? He's also my brother's college English teacher."

Liu Chunhua had met Yu Shuheng during the summer; back then, she'd been utterly awestruck, but now, recalling it, it didn't seem quite so simple.

She leaned forward: "Could it be that Yu teacher also took a liking to him?"

Zhang Zhiyong shook his head vigorously: "No way. Yu teacher's family is insanely powerful, and she's gorgeous and elegant. If she'd really set her sights on my Heng Daye, Xiao Han and Chen Zijin would've been forced to break up with him by now."

He'd spoken too quickly and almost let slip Xiao Han's name.

Xiao Han and old Heng's relationship was still secret in town—if it leaked from his mouth, he'd never forgive himself.

Liu Chunhua thought about it and nodded; she dropped her suspicion for now.

Then she asked again: "I've got another question for you."

Zhang Zhiyong asked: "What is it?"

Liu Chunhua hesitated: "Do you think Li Heng looks down on me?"

Zhang Zhiyong nearly exploded: "Why would old

Liu Chunhua hesitated, "I'm divorced, and he and you grew up together."

Zhang Zhiyong hurried over, crouched before her, and wrapped his hands around hers—rarely so serious: "No, you don't understand Lao Heng. He's the most loyal, the most reliable."

As long as we treat him sincerely, he won't treat us poorly—he's someone I can always count on. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll have to rely on him to establish ourselves in Shanghai."

Hearing this, Liu Chunhua thought: anyone who says her husband is clueless is the one who's truly clueless.

Zhang Zhiyong is often single-minded, but that doesn't mean he's stupid—how else could he have gotten into university in this era?

…

Hostel.

"Knock knock knock…"

When Xiao Han knocked on the door carrying gifts, Xiao Qing's voice came from inside: "Is that my little sister?"

"Big sister, it's me," Xiao Han replied brightly.

With a creak, the wooden door opened.

Xiao Qing reached out to take the gifts: "Why bring so much? Did Li Heng buy these?"

"Yes, he gave them to Mom and you," Xiao Han said.

At that moment, Wei Shiman was reading the newspaper inside; the headline blared: "The Legendary Life of Li Heng!"

His purely instrumental album had climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard charts in the United States!

Its ascent was faster than anyone had anticipated!

It shocked the entire American music scene—and even the entire Eastern and Western music world—truly unimaginable!

At this rate, the No. 2 spot is within reach.

Even topping Billboard No. 1 isn't out of the question!

Remember, this is an album entirely created by a Chinese person—its presence on the charts, let alone its high ranking, came purely from raw talent, with no schemes, no flattery.

Even with different skin tones, ethnicities, languages, and nations, many listeners were won over by this album.

One word: delicious.

Two words: still damn incredibly delicious.

Thus, collective enthusiasm fueled the fire—word of mouth spread gradually, and the purely instrumental album achieved its current dazzling success.

Wei Shiman had been enjoying the article, originally reading it with the intent to find fault—but she was completely drawn in by its uplifting content. When her daughter knocked, she snapped back to reality, flipped two pages of the paper to another section, and pretended to read intently.

Xiao Qing glanced at the gifts and sighed: "Rich people really are different—they give such expensive gifts."

Xiao Han found this remark deeply satisfying; she cleared her throat and said:

"My husband says Mom and my big sister are the closest people—I had to give you the best."

The phrase "my husband says" shattered Wei Shiman's composure; she nearly shouted: "Every time you say 'my husband,' every time you say 'my husband says'—he's not even here, and you keep saying it—do you want to drive your mother to an early grave?"

Wei Shiman took two slow, silent breaths. She knew her daughter was provoking her—she wouldn't rise to the bait. Let's see what tricks you can pull.

Xiao Han kept watching her mother closely; seeing her fingernails nearly digging into the newspaper, she realized her words had struck home—her mother wasn't as calm as she appeared.

Xiao Qing glanced helplessly at her mischievous younger sister, then dropped the subject of gifts and asked: "Why are you alone? Where's Li Heng?"

"I was afraid he'd get beaten by Mom, so I sent him home first—I'll go find him in a couple days," Xiao Han insisted on defending Li Heng.

On their first meeting over dinner, he left halfway through—dear Mom, is that polite?

He's my honey—I'd never let him suffer like this.

Xiao Qing's head ached; she quickly said: "I'll go downstairs to buy something. You stay with Mom, we'll have dinner together later."

"Okay," Xiao Han understood—her sister was giving them space.

Xiao Qing stepped out and closed the door behind her—but she didn't go far, leaning against the hallway, waiting. If any shouting came from inside, she'd rush in to mediate.

As soon as her big sister left, the room fell deathly silent. Xiao Han rubbed her left hand with her right, mentally cheering herself: Xiao Han! Stay calm! Every obstacle can be overcome—I'm blessed, I can tame this tigress!

After silently rallying herself, Xiao Han walked up to Wei Shiman as if nothing had happened, sat down, and said:

"Mom, the front page of this Xinmin Evening News is more interesting—stop pretending. Go read it. Reading about your son-in-law's legendary life is only natural—I won't mock you."

Xiao Han had already read this issue of the Xinmin Evening News this morning—she knew the front-page headline was: "The Legendary Life of Li Heng!"

Wei Shiman, stubborn as ever, flung the newspaper onto the floor, lifted her head, and spoke coldly:

"I'll ask you one question: Can you break up with Li Heng?"

Xiao Han reacted sharply, standing up and looking down at her mother: "Why should I break up with him?"

After a suffocating exchange of question and answer, they stared at each other—the atmosphere between mother and daughter turned instantly tense.

After a moment of standoff, seeing her youngest daughter wouldn't budge, Wei Shiman realized this topic couldn't be continued today—otherwise, their once-harmonious relationship would shatter completely.

With that, she kicked off her sandals, climbed onto the bed, curled up facing the wall, turning her back to her daughter.

Seeing her mother like this, seeing her refusal to engage, the energy that had been holding Xiao Han up drained away—she felt inexplicably heartbroken.

After a long silence, she sat back down in the chair and said: "Mom, Li Heng is still very outstanding."

Then she waited. Kept waiting.

But Wei Shiman remained silent, offering no reply.

After another twenty minutes, Xiao Han shot to her feet, turned toward the door, and said as she walked:

"If Mom doesn't want her daughter, then don't blame me for going to Fudan University to find my husband—I won't be staying with you these two days."

At first, Wei Shiman didn't react—but when she heard footsteps nearing the door, she leapt up like a carp leaping over the dragon gate and shouted: "You dare! Try leaving!"

Hearing this, Xiao Han immediately turned around, wiped the sadness from her face, and forced a sweet smile:

"If you want to save face, talk nicely—don't yell at your own daughter. Or one day, when you're gone, I won't let you be buried with Dad."

Since childhood, she'd heard it countless times: when her parents showed affection, they said they'd be buried together when they died.

Wei Shiman laughed bitterly, teeth chattering, picking up where her daughter left off: "Li Heng is outstanding—I won't deny it, and I can't deny it. But his ability to play with women hasn't faded at all."

Two years ago, he toyed with Chen Zijin—how big was the scandal? How loud was the uproar in the entire neighborhood! Are you pretending not to know?"

Why won't you learn from experience? Only two years have passed, and you're willingly letting him manipulate you again?"

I raised you to be cautious, to keep your eyes open—yet you're falling for someone clearly morally corrupt?"

Xiao Han felt deeply uncomfortable: "Where did he play with anyone? Which eye did you see him playing with?"

"He's dating two women at once—keeping Chen Zijin on one side and you on the other—what else is that if not playing?"

Mentioning this sent a flame roaring through Wei Shiman's chest; her voice rose sharply:

"If you're so capable, make him break up with Chen Zijin right now—in front of me."

"If he can do that, I'll eat back every word I just said."

Seeing her mother grow angrier and louder, Xiao Han feared neighbors downstairs might hear and laugh—she turned away, shoulders hunched, silently enduring.

After catching her breath and calming slightly, Wei Shiman looked at her daughter's back and said: "You're not a child anymore—you're already a sophomore. How can you be so foolish in love?"

Li Heng just clicks his lips and you're completely bewitched."

I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice—I tell you, no matter how talented or powerful a man is, if his character is flawed, we the Xiao family don't want him."

Seeing her daughter still silent, Wei Shiman grew even angrier, thinking: Is Li Heng some kind of witch? Has he put a spell on my daughter?

Why is Huanhuan acting like an idiot? Why is she so blind?

Juggling two gorgeous, highly educated girls—how dare he even think it!

As seconds ticked by, Wei Shiman suddenly fell silent after her outburst.

Xiao Han didn't speak either.

The room was utterly still—not even a pin could drop.

After another ten minutes of stalemate, seeing her daughter had made up her mind like a turtle clinging to a scale, Wei Shiman's anger flared again—she slammed her hand on the bed:

"If you think I'm deliberately blocking your love, then make him prove it—make him marry you."

Xiao Han muttered: "I'm only nineteen—I'm still in school. How can he marry me?"

Wei Shiman pressed harder: "If he can't marry you now, why is he getting you into bed? He's avoiding responsibility."

Xiao Han pleaded pitifully: "He's not avoiding responsibility."

Wei Shiman stared hard at her daughter: "Even now you're stubbornly lying—if he truly wants responsibility, fine. Have his parents come meet me."

"I'll wait in Shanghai. Let Li's family come discuss an engagement. Even if you can't marry now, meeting the families and setting an engagement should be possible."

This struck Xiao Han's weakest point—she fell silent.

Because she knew better than anyone: her honey could never become engaged to her—nor to Chen Zijin, nor to Mai Sui.

Even with a background as formidable as Tian Rune's, she still got turned away.

Xiao Han was so certain because she had evidence to back it up.

If Tian Rune could have become engaged to him—even by forcing him—her relationship with him could never have remained stuck as it is now.

Tian Rune's prolonged refusal to quit her university teaching position, and her continued avoidance of confronting him about their emotional status, proves she hasn't yet won over her honey, hasn't yet secured his heart.

This means Tian Rune hasn't yet succeeded in climbing into his bed; otherwise, the eldest daughter of the Tian family would never have let him go spend nights with other women so freely.

Therefore, she concluded it was impossible to become engaged to Tian Rune.

Only one!

The only possible one is Song Yu.

If Song Yu now proposed an engagement, he might waver—he might not be able to refuse.

This is also why she has always regarded Song Yu as her number-one rival.

Seeing her daughter remain silent, Wei Shiman burst with anger: "Just yesterday you were calling him 'husband,' and now when I bring up engagement, you pretend to be dead!"

Xiao Han stood up and walked again toward the door: "I'm going back to the dorm. Have dinner with your eldest sister."

Saying this, she pulled open the door.

Wei Shiman, furious, slammed a fist onto the bedframe in frustration: "If you don't listen to your elders, you'll suffer the consequences—you'll regret it later."

Xiao Han pouted: "Suffering? Fine. Better than six years locked in darkness."

As she spoke, she stepped her right foot over the threshold.

Wei Shiman glared at her youngest daughter: "If you walk out that door, don't ever come back. Go live with your husband."

Xiao Han didn't turn around, her voice crisp: "Fine. When I have children, I'll send someone to bring you a candy as thanks for raising me."

With that, she vanished completely through the doorway.

…

Seeing her younger sister trudge over, Xiao Qing on the hallway offered comfort: "Little sister, don't take those words to heart—Mom's just angry right now."

Xiao Han replied, heart heavy: "Sister, don't worry about me. Go keep her company."

She passed her eldest sister and turned down the stairs.

At the empty corner, her tears suddenly gushed forth like a spring.

She didn't know why she felt so sad, but she truly wanted to cry.

Tears poured like a broken dam, streaming down her cheeks in heavy streams.

But as she reached the last step of the stairs, she wiped her face with her sleeve, erased the tears, and lifted her head to greet a classmate who walked toward her.

"Oh! Hanhan! What a coincidence—is your mom staying at this inn?" A female classmate approached cheerfully.

"Mm-hmm."

"What about your boyfriend? Did he leave?"

"He had an emergency and left early."

…

Inn, room.

When night fully fell, Wei Shiman, who had been staring blankly for hours, finally got out of bed and told her eldest daughter: "I'll go buy some food. You go to school and bring Hanhan back."

Xiao Qing frowned: "You're talking to Li Heng? She's probably heartbroken—hard to get her to come."

Wei Shiman stood frozen for a long moment, then gave her instruction: "Tell her exactly this: Your mother is merciful—giving her one last chance to speak well of a remarried man. Miss it, and you're on your own."

Xiao Qing was surprised her mother said this, and smiled: "With that, she'll definitely come."

PS: Posted first, edited later.

Just checked the monthly votes—looks like we won't make it. So disappointing. Thank you all so, so much for your support—I bow deeply in gratitude for March!

(End of Chapter)