The siblings found the light fixture factory, and upon inquiry, they were told there was no Xu Qinghuan there.
"How could she not be? She took the recruitment exam yesterday and ranked first, how could she not be here?"
Xu Manman saw it with her own eyes and believed the guard must have been bribed by Xu Qinghuan to mess with them, so she showed some hostility.
If only yesterday’s red bulletin hadn’t been torn down, it would still serve as evidence.
In these times, those who manage to become guards may seem down and out, but who is truly unsuccessful? They waved dismissively, "Go on, move along, if I say she isn’t here, she isn’t here!"
The siblings were furious and decided to squat by the side.
Finally, they waited until two people came out, a middle-aged man and a young girl. Xu Manman recognized her; she was the one closely associated with Xu Qinghuan and quickly approached, "Hey, are you Zhou Xinyan?"
She had made sure to remember Zhou Xinyan’s name.
Coincidentally, Zhou Xinyan also recognized her, scrutinizing her from head to toe, glancing at Xu Hongtu, and sneered, "What’s this, today you’ve changed to a new male companion? Abandoning your former brother-in-law?"
Zhou Xinyan had seen the morning newspaper, which published the announcement of Jiang Chengxu and Xu Qinghuan’s engagement cancellation.
Initially, Jiang Chengxu was an unknown person, but his father was influential. To match the names, Xu Qinghuan specifically mentioned his identity in the engagement cancellation, naming his father Jiang Youliang and mother Shao Qiyun, making it clear.
She herself only named her father, even though Song Wanlin was her biological mother, she wasn’t even qualified to be mentioned in the cancellation.
Many people knew Jiang Youliang.
That’s why Zhou Xinyan referred to him as her former brother-in-law.
Xu Manman felt a pang of shame, but she was someone who could adapt to circumstances and didn’t let the other’s mockery bother her, simply saying, "Is my sister working inside? Could you help call her out?"
"No, she’s not working here, she gave the job to me." Zhou Xinyan smiled sweetly, exuding satisfaction like bubbling spring water.
"Gave it to you?" Xu Manman suddenly yelled, "How could she give it to you?"
Zhou Xinyan glared, "Why not? We are best friends, she didn’t want the job, so of course she could give it to me!"
Xu Manman was utterly shocked, feeling as if she’d heard the biggest joke ever, "Impossible, she wouldn’t give it to you. If she gives it to you, she’ll have to go to the countryside!"
Mentioning the countryside made Xu Manman truly restless, "Could she have really gone to the countryside?"
Zhou Zhiguo couldn’t stand this female comrade and urged his niece, "Come on, don’t let your grandfather wait too long."
Only then did Zhou Xinyan smile victoriously and left with her uncle.
Just in time, Jiang Chengxu also came looking; he’d seen the announcement and gone to the Xu Family, but after knocking, there was no one. With the same thought process as Xu Manman, he came to the light fixture factory to look for Xu Qinghuan.
"Manman, what’s going on? Where’s your sister?"
After just a night without contact, Jiang Chengxu appeared disheveled like a homeless person. His green quasi-military short sleeve looked like crumpled pickles, his unwashed oily hair stuck to his scalp, unshaved stubble forming a bluish shadow, his eyes full of frantic emotion.
They were supposed to get married, Xu Qinghuan was to become a future woman mogul, they should’ve been a very happy couple.
It didn’t matter if Xu Qinghuan couldn’t have children, as long as he could, he’d just have to have one with others and in the future let Xu Qinghuan raise them, making sure the child respected her.
Why did it happen this way? Why?
He planned everything for her, what else could she be dissatisfied with?
"My sister didn’t come to work at the light fixture factory, I heard she went to the countryside." Xu Manman was also shocked and suspicious, how could she possibly go to the countryside, if she did, what would happen to her own situation?
Jiang Chengxu’s face suddenly turned pale, "The countryside? She’d rather go to the countryside than marry me?"
How could she stop liking him? He merely suggested she give up her job for Manman, and she decided to hold a grudge against him this seriously? If she genuinely didn’t want to give it up, it wouldn’t be impossible; she could’ve just explained calmly, why get so angry?
Did she not realize that once published in the newspaper, turning back would be almost impossible?
She was trampling on the face of the Jiang family, yet he was still arguing with his parents for her, trying to fight for the chance for her to marry him.
Xu Manman felt terribly anxious, quickly pulling Jiang Chengxu’s arm, "Brother Chengxu, don’t blame my sister, she probably didn’t mean it that way, it’s all my fault; if I had a job, I wouldn’t have put her and you in a difficult position.
I’ll talk to my sister, saying it was me who wanted her job, you didn’t mean to imply anything, so she shouldn’t blame you."
"Forget it, this has nothing to do with you; I’ll explain it to her myself." Jiang Chengxu said, "I’ll tell her that no matter where she goes to the countryside, no matter how long, I’ll wait for her!"
After finishing, Jiang Chengxu went to leave, but Xu Manman couldn’t possibly let him go like that. She quickly chased after, seeing that Jiang Chengxu didn’t even turn his head, she gave a cry and dashed forward. Jiang Chengxu instinctively turned around, and Xu Manman fell into his arms, beginning to cry, "Brother Chengxu, are you blaming me?"
Jiang Chengxu wanted to push her away, but seeing her tearful eyes, he restrained himself, speaking with a hoarse voice, "I don’t blame you. The misunderstanding between us, I’ll explain to her clearly. Manman, I never thought of ending the engagement with her, I hope you understand that."
"I understand, I understand!" Xu Manman saw two people wearing red armbands approaching; she clung tightly to Jiang Chengxu, "Brother Chengxu, I twisted my ankle, it hurts so much, can you take me to the hospital?"
Jiang Chengxu turned his back to the two inspectors, unaware of the pressing situation. Without hesitation, he picked up Xu Manman, and upon turning, was caught by the inspectors, "Fooling around in public? Such audacity, come with us!"
At nine o’clock, the train departed on time from the originating station Shen City Station; on the platform, people sending off were shoulder to shoulder, an ocean of people, no less spectacular than the later grand scenes during Spring Festival travel rush.
Lin’s mother and Lin Xialan waved at Xu Qinghuan on the platform, chasing the train with the crowd. Leaning against the window, Xu Qinghuan couldn’t hold back her tears anymore and shouted loudly, "Don’t run, go back, it’s dangerous!"
Until those people faded into a shadow, disappearing from view completely, Xu Qinghuan came back to her senses.
The mood inside the train was far from happy, the entire carriage was filled with young intellectuals heading toward the same destination, somber and affected by the melancholy of parting, all with red eyes.
Xu Qinghuan sat down, took a long breath, wiped her face, and pulled out a White Rabbit candy from her pocket, starting to chew.
When feeling down, eating something sweet brings a touch of joy.
"Xu Qinghuan, you finally have your current day!"
A familiar voice came through, Xu Qinghuan looked up, facing Kong Lijuan sitting across from her, her not-so-white face turning into the color of pig liver, making Xu Qinghuan puzzled.
"Did I offend you? Xu Qinghuan’s mood was already bad, "Did I dig up your ancestral grave? Or is there a father-killing revenge between us?"
"Pffft!"
People around started laughing, there were six seats facing each other at their table, all occupied, three men and three women, Xu Qinghuan knew two of them.