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Chapter 29 – Qin Yajuan and Shang Liling

Xu Jingchu thought over and over again, and finally realized—Shang Liling’s biggest challenge right now was the college entrance exam. Giving him something related to studying would be the most practical gift.

But she didn’t know what he might actually need, so she’d just have to observe when they met.

Money. Money. Money. Everything needed money. Back when she held back thirty yuan from Zhang Guifen, it had still been too little. The feeling of being short on cash was just unbearable.

She gave herself a deadline—just a few more months, hold on a little longer. She was betting everything on the exam.

Even if she failed, she still had a fallback. Even if she retraced the path of doing business like in her past life, without Wang Yuejin and those leeching family members, she’d definitely live better than before.

Friday afternoon, the time she’d arranged with Shang Liling, Xu Jingchu prepared the dining table downstairs ahead of time, setting out glasses of water and waiting for him to arrive.

Without Lin Tingyu and Shang Liyan, those two little kids who always helped smooth things over, she felt a little awkward. She kept pacing back and forth in the room.

What if Shang Liling turned out to be cold and distant? What if he only agreed out of politeness and didn’t really want to study with her? What if…

“Excuse me, is Comrade Xu Jingchu home?” A pleasant male voice came from outside, like a clear spring in summer.

“Here, here, here!” Xu Jingchu rushed to open the door. “Comrade Shang Liling, thank you for coming.”

“You’re too polite. Just call me Brother Liling, I heard from Liyan that I’m older than you.” Shang Liling looked a little nervous too, his hands fidgeting with the straps of his schoolbag.

Seeing his nervousness, Xu Jingchu relaxed instead. “Sit, Brother Liling.” She guided him to the table and handed him a glass of warm water.

“I hope I’m not bothering you. I know review time before the exam is precious,” she said apologetically.

“Not at all. Explaining problems to you is also review for me. Besides, it’s not always the case that what you don’t know, I know. We can discuss and learn together.” As he spoke, Shang Liling quickly pulled out his textbooks and pens from his canvas bag.

With how straightforward he was, Xu Jingchu dropped the small talk she’d prepared and went straight into study mode.

If Lin Tingjun was a genius with a god-level way of thinking, then Shang Liling was the kind of bright, diligent student among ordinary people. He wasn’t exceptionally gifted, nor did he come up with unusual methods outside the standard answers. But he was serious, working through problems step by step according to the textbook, carefully following the rules.

When he explained questions to Xu Jingchu, he broke things down one step at a time, never skipping, never deviating, and even paused now and then to ask if she understood.

“Yes, yes, I get it.” Xu Jingchu nodded quickly. After experiencing Lin Tingjun’s brutal teaching style, studying with Shang Liling was a breath of fresh air. He even saved her time—she no longer had to organize and sort things out afterward, because he’d already done it for her.

Geniuses didn’t need these tricks, since every question was simple to them. But for normal people, such methods were a huge help. Luckily, she and Shang Liling were the same kind of people.

When Qin Yajuan came in, she saw this exact scene: Xu Jingchu and Shang Liling’s heads close together, each holding a pen, scribbling on the same sheet of paper while muttering back and forth.

“Xu Jingchu, does Uncle and Auntie know you’ve brought a man home? You don’t care about your reputation, but they do. One day when you just pat your butt and leave, how are Uncle and Auntie supposed to hold their heads up in the compound?”

Without waiting for a reply, Qin Yajuan plopped down on the sofa and switched on the TV.

Before Xu Jingchu could say anything, Shang Liling spoke first. “Comrade, I don’t know who you are, but spouting nonsense like that is wrong. As you can see, we’re studying. If you’d like to join, you’re welcome to learn with us.”

His dead-serious tone almost made Xu Jingchu laugh. He didn’t show even a hint of anger. The best way to beat snide remarks was to answer them seriously.

By accident, Shang Liling had struck right at Qin Yajuan’s weakness. For her, studying was harder than climbing to heaven. Back in the countryside, she’d rather do farm work than touch a book.

“Yajuan, come on. To avoid any misunderstandings, and to prevent other people from making things up, join us in studying,” Xu Jingchu said warmly, as if they were real sisters.

“Yes, Comrade, turn off the television and let’s all study together. Three people—no rumors that could hurt Uncle Lin or Aunt Zhang’s reputation.” Shang Liling kept pressing, ignoring how Qin Yajuan’s face was darkening by the second.

She had thrown dirt on them without a thought. In this era, accusing someone of moral corruption was no small matter.

“I’m not going.” Qin Yajuan turned her head away stubbornly.

“Come on, come on.” Xu Jingchu stepped forward, pretending to support her arm, her tone all soft and coaxing. Playing fake-sweet? She could do that too.

“Then at least turn off the TV. The noise is disrupting our study,” Shang Liling ordered flatly.

That set Qin Yajuan off. She stormed up to Xu Jingchu. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like this?!”

Xu Jingchu just spread her hands innocently. “Qin Yajuan, let’s get something straight. I haven’t said a single bad word about you. I’ve respected you and spoken nicely. If you’re upset, at least vent it on the right person.”

Catching on, Shang Liling looked even more puzzled, his expression tinged with pity as he turned to Qin Yajuan. “Comrade, I was the one talking to you all this time. Is your hearing impaired? Is that why you turned the TV up so loud? Oh—I see now, you didn’t mean it. My apologies then, for misunderstanding.”

He even gave her a full ninety-degree bow.

Xu Jingchu nearly burst out laughing, biting her lip to hold it in as she watched Qin Yajuan’s face shift from pale to green to red.

Clever as she was, Qin Yajuan knew she couldn’t afford to make enemies in the military compound. And this Shang Liling’s way of handling things was too baffling for her to counter.

“Brother Liling, let me introduce you properly,” Xu Jingchu finally said, after watching their little sparring match long enough.

“This is Qin Yajuan, another girl Uncle Lin brought back from the countryside with me. She works at the paper factory now, so she’s not around much. That’s why you don’t recognize her.

“Yajuan, this is Lin Tingyu’s good friend’s older brother, Shang Liling. He’ll be sitting for the college entrance exam next year, just like me. We’re studying together. You can tease me if you like, but you can’t insult Brother Liling’s reputation.”

Though she smiled, her words carried a clear warning. “Lin Tingyu’s friend’s brother.” “College entrance exam.” Every word was deliberate, and Qin Yajuan heard them loud and clear.

“Jingchu, we’ve covered enough for today. Since you have a guest, we’ll continue next week.” Shang Liling wasn’t about to waste time. He had to get home and memorize vocabulary before his brother returned.

“Alright. Thank you for your time, Brother Liling.” Xu Jingchu walked him to the door, then turned back, planning to study a bit more before heading out to buy vegetables.

Qin Yajuan sat on the sofa, seething, with nowhere to vent her fury. She wanted to lash out at Xu Jingchu again, but what good would it do? She lost every time they argued.

Now that she lived outside, far from Uncle Lin and Aunt Zhang, she couldn’t easily frame Xu Jingchu either. And spreading rumors about her wasn’t simple—people in the compound weren’t the type you could mess with.

She felt like a trapped beast, with no way out.

For now… she could only bide her time.

Xu Jingchu valued the college entrance exam above all else. When the time came, Qin Yajuan would make sure to “help” her well.

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