Chapter 4: Ambition

“Ah!” Song Xilan screamed, turning around and running. Unlike her earlier anger when she had run out of the auditorium, this time, she was scared, panicked, and running blindly, like a poor little rabbit being chased by a wild beast.

The man watched her flee in a panic, then sneered and lowered his head to open the lunchbox. He picked out a dumpling and ate it: “Not bad.”

In no time, he had finished the entire box of dumplings.

Jiang Chengxiao leaned lazily against the corner of the wall, one hand resting on his bent knee, playing with the aluminum lunchbox in his hand. Thinking about the little chubby girl’s flustered reaction just now, the corners of his mouth curled into a smile: “So silly.”

At that moment, he heard the noise and commotion from the front, signaling that the party was over.

He stood up and slowly walked toward the back door.

Zheng Qiaoling had been waiting at the agreed-upon spot outside the auditorium for a long time, but she hadn’t seen Song Xilan come out. She started to worry.

Worried that Song Xilan might have gotten caught up in Yang Jingyu’s charm and might be the subject of gossip, she gritted her teeth and decided to go backstage.

When she arrived, Yang Jingyu told her that Song Xilan had already left: “Qiaoling, I think Xilan seemed a bit upset tonight. Could you ask her if I did something wrong to make her upset? If I did, I’ll apologize to her when I get the chance.”

Zheng Qiaoling looked at him, puzzled: “Why are you suddenly being so nice to Xilan? You never had this attitude before.”

She wasn’t naive—she had noticed how Yang Jingyu had been indifferent to Song Xilan before. Anyone with eyes could tell that.

She certainly hoped the two of them could end up together, but Yang Jingyu’s sudden change of attitude was too fast, and it made her feel confused.

Yang Jingyu replied, “I used to be wrong. I only looked at people’s appearances and didn’t realize Xilan is a pure-hearted and kind girl.”

Zheng Qiaoling was even more confused now. Song Xilan was so pretty, how blind must he have been not to see it: “Then what made you suddenly realize she’s a pure and kind girl?”

It was clear she wasn’t going to let this go.

Yang Jingyu was momentarily at a loss for words. He had said it so casually, who knew how he could tell: “I… Ah, right, I just remembered our troupe leader still has something to ask me. I have to go first. Remember to ask for me!”

Zheng Qiaoling pursed her lips: “Strange.”

Just as she was about to turn and leave, her eyes suddenly lit up as she spotted the female singer she liked, Jiang Jingru, not far ahead. She felt a surge of excitement and couldn’t help but jog a few steps closer.

Jiang Jingru frowned: “They said you were looking for me?”

Only then did Zheng Qiaoling notice that a tall man in a shabby military coat was standing in front of Jiang Jingru. His face was covered in stubble, and he looked rather intimidating.

No wonder Jiang Jingru was frowning. Zheng Qiaoling felt a bit scared and hesitated to approach. However, since it was rare to meet Jiang Jingru, she didn’t want to leave.

Caught in a dilemma, she suddenly heard the man speak: “I’m a comrade of Lin Guangshan. He asked me to bring this to you. Comrade Guangshan…”

Before the man could finish his sentence, Jiang Jingru’s face showed an impatient expression. “I already wrote to him about this…” she said while watching the man pull out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and unfold it.

Inside was a Meihua brand ladies’ watch, the metallic strap and dial gleaming under the overhead lights.

She then changed her tone: “Stop buying me things. Just save your allowance, there will be plenty of places to spend money in the future!”

Jiang Chengxiao’s expression turned serious: “Comrade Jiang, I’m sorry, Guangshan…”

“Hey, isn’t this Xilan’s lunchbox? How did it end up with you?” Zheng Qiaoling, worried about Song Xilan, couldn’t help but ask the intimidating man.

At that moment, Jiang Chengxiao was holding the lunchbox by its handle with his pinky, hanging it by his side.

Zheng Qiaoling was very familiar with that lunchbox. She and Song Xilan always ate lunch together in the cafeteria, and the dent on the lid was unmistakable. If it wasn’t Song Xilan’s, whose could it be?

Now that Song Xilan was missing, yet her lunchbox was in the hands of this frightening stranger, how could Zheng Qiaoling not worry?

Jiang Chengxiao turned his head: “You recognize this? Do you know the owner of this lunchbox?”

Jiang Jingru had been waiting for Jiang Chengxiao to give her the watch, but was interrupted by someone randomly talking to him. Jiang Chengxiao’s hand retracted, and he shot Zheng Qiaoling an irritated glare.

Zheng Qiaoling, focused entirely on the lunchbox, didn’t notice his glare: “Yes, this is my friend’s lunchbox. How did it end up with you? Where is she? Where did she go?”

Jiang Chengxiao handed the lunchbox to Zheng Qiaoling: “Here, you can take it back to her. Thank her for the dumplings. She gave me the lunchbox and left, I don’t know where she went.”

Zheng Qiaoling frowned: “No, this is clearly…” The dumplings were meant for Yang Jingyu, even though the Song family was well-off and didn’t lack food, there was no way Song Xilan would casually give her dumplings to someone else!

However, giving food to a man would harm Song Xilan’s reputation, so Zheng Qiaoling didn’t say it directly: “These are meant for someone else, how could they be given to you?”

Jiang Chengxiao’s voice carried a hint of amusement: “Maybe it’s because she’s kind-hearted.”

Zheng Qiaoling, eager to find Song Xilan, didn’t linger: “Alright, I’ll leave now.”

Just as she turned to go, the man called out to her: “Excuse me, what’s the name of this kind-hearted young lady you mentioned?”

Zheng Qiaoling warily glanced at him: “Why do you ask?”

Jiang Chengxiao: “In times of hunger and hardship, one meal of kindness can never be forgotten.”

Such flowery speech—what was that supposed to mean?

Zheng Qiaoling muttered under her breath: “Then just call her Lei Feng.”

Jiang Jingru, growing more impatient, said, “Comrade, I’m really sorry for the trouble. Guangshan is really in too much of a hurry.”

Jiang Chengxiao said in a low voice, “Comrade Guangshan has already sacrificed.”

“Ah!” Jiang Jingru let out a soft cry, retreating a step in fear.

At the Song family home, Song Baili’s face was filled with anger as he heard the news.

“I should have known. Too much ambition is never a good thing.”

Yang Jingyu, a rural boy, had come so far, but his ambition was now clearly evident. Some would call it ambition in a positive light—striving to improve—but from another perspective, it was simply too much ambition.

Ambition itself wasn’t a bad thing, but when it became excessive, or when one was willing to do anything to climb, that was no longer good.

“The reason Yang Jingyu suddenly changed his attitude toward Xilan is because he found out about your brother’s identity.”

Tan Aizhi’s expression also changed: “How did he find out?”

Tan Aizhi’s elder brother, Song Xilan’s maternal uncle, was the Deputy Director of the Provincial Cultural Bureau, and the City Song and Dance Troupe was a subsidiary of that Bureau.

Once Yang Jingyu learned about Song Xilan’s uncle’s identity, his sudden shift in attitude toward her became clear—his intentions were now obvious.