Chapter 426: The Nineties Contrast System (29)

Things are not the same now as they will be twenty years later.

In the future, higher education reforms will allow students to take a leave of absence even if they become pregnant, returning to school to complete credits after giving birth.

Now, in the relatively conservative late nineties, if it were exposed that a student was pregnant, being expelled—or at best receiving a disciplinary mark—would be the mildest outcome.

Schools with strict rules would expel them directly.

"I'm afraid, so I've already had it aborted."

Xie Yang had no intention of covering for Zhu Meijiao and said everything she knew.

No matter how reckless Zhu Meijiao was, she dared not go against the school authorities.

So, after discovering she was pregnant, she called on Zheng Qinglin to accompany her to the hospital for an abortion.

But an abortion is harmful to the body, and since graduation was still a long way off, what if Zheng Qinglin went back on his word and refused to marry her during this time?

Consequently, Zhu Meijiao drafted a liability agreement beforehand and, using both soft and hard tactics, made Zheng Qinglin sign it before going to the hospital for the abortion.

This meant the two would get engaged first and marry after graduation; the man had to be responsible for her to the end and could not welch. If he went back on his word halfway through, she would rather take the disciplinary action herself than let him off the hook and drag him down with her.

At this moment, Zheng Qinglin was still firmly convinced that the Zhu Family was about to face demolition.

Thinking that Zhu Meijiao was the only child of the Zhu Family, and that the house and money would all be hers in the future, he felt he wouldn't lose out by marrying her.

The two, each with their own agenda, hit it off immediately.

Thus, they put the engagement on the agenda for this winter break.

But although it was called an engagement, the man's parents did not come.

They made excuses about being too busy with family affairs during the New Year to get away, only letting Zheng Qinglin bring some gifts over.

Aside from an engagement ring and a 999-yuan gift for the bride-to-be, these gifts were just ordinary offerings for a visit.

Even in the countryside, this little bit of stuff was not enough to be considered an engagement.

But Zhu Meijiao was feeling guilty; she was terrified that Zheng Qinglin would find out that, apart from the foot of Xiao Chai Shan which was already slated for demolition, there was no news of demolition anywhere else in He Wan Village.

To avoid the duck in her hand flying away, she didn't care even if the man's parents couldn't attend, or if the engagement gifts weren't generous enough. Or rather, her concern for those things didn't compare to the importance of finalizing the engagement.

That the man's parents didn't come was actually a good thing for her; if they had come and asked around, discovering that her family's financial situation was completely different from what she had said, what would she do if they backed out?

Zhu Weiguo didn't know his daughter's inner schemes. Seeing that the man was so stingy with the engagement, he wondered if she would have a good life after marrying into that family. He wanted to argue for her, but she talked him out of it.

"Dad, is it your engagement or mine? Does whether I'm happy after marriage have anything to do with how much the bride price is? If you wish me well, just don't say anything."

"..."

Zhu Weiguo sighed deeply.

Zhou Ru was so angry she almost laughed.

Fortunately, she had no expectations for this stepdaughter anymore.

Since the bride price given by the man's side was so shabby, the woman's side didn't need to be too polite either.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, they scraped together a decent table of dishes and invited relatives for a meal; the marriage was considered settled.

After the engagement, Zhu Meijiao followed her fiancé back to the city, feeling satisfied.

Since they were now engaged, it was only right and proper for her to go to the Zheng family to pay a New Year's visit.

She left behind the messy table full of leftovers that hadn't been cleaned up and walked away without a care.

Zhou Ru was so angry she cursed: "For an engagement, I had to buy groceries and hire someone to cook. Not to mention how tired I am, I also spent a lot of money. She, on the other hand, didn't leave a cent of the bride price for the family, but left a table full of dishes to wash."

Zhu Weiguo's expression didn't look too good either.

But he cared about face; although the bride price for his daughter's marriage wasn't much, at least they now had in-laws in the city.

In the future, whenever someone asked where his son-in-law was from, he could answer "the city"—how much face that would give him!

Therefore, listening to Zhou Ru's slamming and cursing, he replied in a muffled voice: "That's enough. She's marrying well, that's better than anything."

"..."

Zhou Ru was choked with anger.

She didn't see how this marriage was good at all.

The man's parents didn't even show their faces for such an important event as an engagement; did he really expect them to treat their daughter-in-law well after the wedding?

Just wait and see! There would be plenty of bickering in the future!

Zhou Ru didn't expect that her complaints at this very moment would prove prophetic two years later.

In the midsummer two years later, cicadas were chirping with varied intonations in the trees.

Xie Yang parked the car, opened her parasol, and stepped into the sales center of Zi Zhu Yuan, which had just opened for sales recently.

She wasn't here to buy a house.

As for living, two houses were enough; she didn't plan on getting rich by flipping real estate.

If you pick your stocks well, you can get rich just the same.

She was here to... well, go on a date with her boyfriend.

It was a very mysterious story.

Two years ago, the boy she had saved from Zhu Meijiao's "clutches," Xu Jiayu, recognized her as his savior through some unknown channel and insisted on inviting her to his home for a meal.

That one meal ended up getting her a boyfriend.

It wasn't Xu Jiayu, but his older brother, Xu Jiahang, a "diamond bachelor" nearing thirty who had been single since birth.

Perhaps because she had saved Xu Jiayu, Xu's parents were very polite to her. Upon learning she was single during a chat, they jokingly tried to set her up with their eldest son.

And Xu Jiahang actually didn't object.

After the meal, he even took the initiative to drive her home.

To borrow Xu Jiayu's teasing words, it was "the old iron tree blooming."

But Xu Jiahang really did fit her aesthetic in every way.

Xie Yang never mistreated herself in this regard; they were both single adults, so what was wrong with a bit of mutual affection?

The only thing she hadn't expected was that Xu Jiahang, this cold, noble, and overbearing CEO, was even more fond of ritual than she was—

Holding hands meant he would put a limited-edition watch on her, and a hug before parting meant an extra necklace around her neck.

Not to mention birthdays; candlelight dinners and exquisite gift boxes were just the basics.

If the Main System hadn't conducted a background check for her, she couldn't help but suspect that this guy's so-called "lifelong single" and "virginity" status were all fake. How could he be so smooth when it came to talking about love?

Even she, an old demon who had feasted on plenty of top-tier delicacies, couldn't handle it.

Purple Bamboo Garden was the first independent project developed by Xu Jiahang after he took over Hengyi, so he naturally attached great importance to the first phase of its launch.

But since today was the Qixi Festival, Xie Yang saw his brows knit together in a struggle, so she simply suggested they meet at Zi Zhu Yuan, have dinner together after he got off work, and maybe catch a movie afterward.

It was still early before their agreed meeting time, so Xie Yang arrived at the sales center and, instead of rushing to contact her boyfriend, she mingled with a group of house hunters, listened to the saleswoman's presentation, looked at the scale model for a while, and then went to tour the model units.

Honestly, in terms of location, environment, floor plan, and quality, Zi Zhu Yuan completely outperformed the river-view apartment she currently lived in.

Aside from being able to see the wide expanse of the river at a glance, the latter really couldn't compare to Zi Zhu Yuan in other aspects.

Moreover, although Zi Zhu Yuan didn't face the river, it faced a lake.

After touring a model unit with a view of the lake and a lakeside walking path just two hundred meters outside the residential complex, Xie Yang was tempted.

She wanted to buy a house!

"Zheng Qinglin! How did you promise me last time? Are you trying to go back on your word?"

Hearing a somewhat familiar name out of the blue, Xie Yang looked toward the sound, and it really was Zhu Meijiao.