Liu Ying harbors deep hatred towards Cao Jun, feeling that he bears significant responsibility for her current unfortunate life.
Seeing her so united in indignation, Chen Feng felt somewhat strange.
Back then, Liu Ying misunderstood him and wronged him, twice losing her temper at him—once in private, once in front of the class, causing him great embarrassment.
Defending himself was futile at the time, though annoyed, Chen Feng could only endure it quietly.
Later, he discovered that the mastermind behind this ordeal was Cao Jun, and directly confronted him in class, leading to a major argument that exposed Cao Jun’s insidious nature to everyone, causing him to lose face in the class.
At that time, Liu Ying, as a classmate, naturally realized that she had wronged Chen Feng. She should have apologized to Chen Feng immediately, but she did not do so until they graduated four years later, never once apologizing to him.
Now they’ve both graduated for several years without meeting, yet she suddenly reaches out to him, invites him for coffee, and apologizes, even angrily cursing Cao Jun.
This is quite intriguing.
Chen Feng remembers vividly that after he exposed Cao Jun’s deceit, Liu Ying acted very indifferent and didn’t express any anger towards the mastermind, Cao Jun.
Years have passed, and now she’s so angry about Cao Jun’s past slander—isn’t that quite odd?
Chen Feng can discern between real and fake anger; Liu Ying’s expressions and tone could not be faked. She truly was dissatisfied and resentful towards Cao Jun.
Chen Feng looked at her meaningfully and casually asked, "Has Cao Jun gotten married and had kids? I really don’t know. What is he doing for work now?"
Upon hearing Chen Feng’s question, Liu Ying resumed her usual demeanor and replied disdainfully, "Yes, he got married a few years ago and supposedly has a son, probably four or five years old now. He’s devious and ruthless, so he’s doing quite well, being a departmental manager at an IT company, earning an annual salary in the hundreds of thousands."
Chen Feng commented objectively, "Apart from his character, his academic performance was rather good, among the best in our class, even pursued further studies. It’s normal for him to find a good job and secure a good position."
Liu Ying laughed, "You are quite magnanimous. I admire your generous personality."
Chen Feng shook his head and said, "I am merely speaking objectively, it’s not magnanimity. I can forgive your past misunderstandings and temper, but I can’t forgive Cao Jun for slandering and framing me."
"Right." Liu Ying hastily agreed, "I can’t forgive him either now. He treated me like a fool back then, used me against you, and never ceased his lust towards me. Thinking about it now gives me chills and disgusts me. So, I recently blocked him."
Chen Feng smiled but remained neutral, changing the subject, "Now that you’re back in the country, what are your plans? Will you find a job or start a business?"
Liu Ying blinked her bright almond-shaped eyes and smilingly asked, "I haven’t decided yet. Do you have any good suggestions?"
Chen Feng gave her a mild look and asked, "What work did you do abroad previously?"
Liu Ying’s face showed a trace of unnaturalness but still replied, "I mainly worked in logistics at the company where my ex-husband had shares, also did some administrative work."
Actually, her so-called logistics work was merely being an office clerk, doing tasks like printing, copying documents, delivering files, or serving tea. This was thanks to her former husband’s influence; otherwise, as a foreigner with imperfect English, even as a clerk she was barely qualified.
Hence, she lasted less than a year in this position before returning home to be a housewife, while her husband hoped for more children, which she strongly opposed.
It wasn’t long before her husband had an affair. She then thought about finding work to support herself.
She hoped to find a good job through her own efforts, but after searching for several years, never found anything suitable. The longest job she held was as an administrative assistant, specializing in helping the HR department with recruitment and organizing paperwork, but after five or six months, she was dismissed for a work mistake.
Afterward, she gave up on looking for work, stayed home content being supported by her husband, but still refused his request to have more children. The reason was her husband’s infidelity; though she verbally forgave him, she felt increasingly insecure.
Regarding her husband’s attempt to have more children to stabilize their relationship and family, she inwardly scoffed.
So from this perspective, her husband’s later affairs certainly had something to do with her unwillingness to contribute to enhancing their relationship.
Often, an unhappy marriage is not solely one person’s fault but both parties’, divided by the degree of responsibility.
Chen Feng didn’t know about her past work experience but could imagine.
She didn’t excel academically in university, especially in her major, having failed subjects and barely graduated, earning a diploma that wasn’t very useful overseas. Initially went abroad to study but dropped out due to unexpected pregnancy and marriage, later abandoning her studies. Moreover, her English speaking skills were less than ideal, limiting her abilities in finding good work domestically, let alone abroad.