Chapter 7: Confessing to Qin Zhiyi

Leaving the residential area, Qin Zhiyi found a quiet corner and stopped.

Xu Sangluo asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Zhiyi got off the bike and looked at her, “You’re not going back?”

A flicker of confusion crossed Xu Sangluo’s eyes.

But after looking at him for a few seconds, a flash of inspiration suddenly came to her mind, and she seemed to understand his misunderstanding.

She opened her mouth, a little amused.

“How could I? I just came to get some things. This isn’t my home, I wouldn’t go back here.”

Qin Zhiyi’s eyes showed a hint of surprise and confusion.

Xu Sangluo gave a wry smile, “I’m the adopted daughter of this family. Although that woman was my mother for eighteen years, she never treated me like a daughter.”

Qin Zhiyi thought of Liu Xiuhui’s sharp and shrewish behavior last time, and his brows unconsciously furrowed.

Xu Sangluo continued, “Do you remember how we met?”

Qin Zhiyi’s eyes flickered, and he nodded.

Xu Sangluo took a deep breath.

“I just finished the college entrance exam this year, and I was successfully admitted to Peking University.”

Qin Zhiyi’s surprise this time was impossible to hide.

Firstly, he was surprised that she could actually get into Peking University, which was the top university in China, showing how excellent she was.

Secondly, according to the time, it had been almost two months since school started.

Had she missed it because she was kidnapped?

Thinking about it, his expression became serious.

He knew the importance of university, if Xu Sangluo missed this opportunity because of this accident, it would be a real pity.

He seemed to suddenly understand her previous despair.

But Xu Sangluo’s next words shocked him even more.

“That woman, she gave my admission notice to my stepsister, and she locked me up.”

Qin Zhiyi’s hand holding the bicycle handlebar unconsciously tightened, and his face turned cold.

“Your spot was taken?”

“Yes.” Xu Sangluo gave a bitter smile, “Later, I found an opportunity and escaped. I wanted to stop Xie Huai, my stepsister, and then I was kidnapped. I escaped when the traffickers were distracted, and then you saved me.”

When she said this, Xu Sangluo’s bitter expression suddenly turned cold.

“At the time, I just thought I was too unlucky. Now that I think about it, it was all too coincidental.”

Qin Zhiyi’s eyes narrowed, he understood what she meant, but he found it hard to believe.

After all, Liu Xiuhui was her real mother.

Seeing Qin Zhiyi’s hesitation,

Thinking about it, Xu Sangluo smiled silently.

“I told you, she never treated me like a daughter. I was just a tool for her to please Xie Feng and his daughter. Maybe it was because my deceased father was a scoundrel, and she projected her resentment onto me. Whatever the case, she has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Qin Zhiyi was already surrounded by a cold aura.

He looked serious, “How could she have nothing to do with you? They’re committing a crime.”

He thought for a moment, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said, “I still have some connections, maybe I can try.”

Xu Sangluo was stunned, and after understanding his meaning, she looked at him in surprise, then shook her head with a wry smile.

What was she surprised about? Wasn’t Qin Zhiyi always like this?

She shook her head, “It’s too late. But don’t worry, I’m a good citizen, I will never condone crime. But I have my own plan, don’t worry, I won’t be an accomplice.”

Qin Zhiyi frowned, “University is important.”

Xu Sangluo smiled faintly and nodded, “I know, there will be other opportunities.”

Qin Zhiyi opened his mouth, wanting to persuade her again.

But seeing her forced smile and fragile appearance, he swallowed his words.

He remained silent for a while, then nodded, “If you need any help, just ask.”

Xu Sangluo gave him a genuine smile, “Okay.”

Qin Zhiyi pursed his lips and nodded, then looked at the suitcase, “Then you just now…”

Xu Sangluo understood his meaning and patted the suitcase.

“These are all my things. I worked like a cow for the Xie family for eighteen years, I can’t work for nothing.”

Qin Zhiyi heard this and didn’t ask any further.

“What are your plans for the future?”

Xu Sangluo pursed her lips, her fingers rubbing the suitcase, she looked up at him with bright eyes.

“I don’t have anywhere to go for now, can I ask for shelter?”

After saying that, she thought of something and apologized, “I’m sorry about what happened before. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you. If it’s inconvenient, it’s okay.”

Qin Zhiyi’s eyes flickered, he shook his head, “It’s not inconvenient, it’s just that my home is simple, and there are many people and gossips, I’m afraid it will affect your reputation.”

Xu Sangluo heard this, but she smiled.

Xu Sangluo completely inherited Xu Xiangyu’s good looks, especially her pair of watery eyes.

It was because of this that Xu’s grandfather could see through Liu Xiuhui’s scheme just by looking at a photo.

Qin Zhiyi’s eyes paused, then he unconsciously lowered his head.

“It’s okay, I’m not a rich and noble person. As for reputation…”

She chuckled, “What could be worse than being here?”

Thinking of Liu Xiuhui’s blatant tantrum, completely disregarding her daughter’s reputation, Qin Zhiyi’s eyes darkened.

“Alright.”

With their conversation cleared, the atmosphere wasn’t as stiff as before.

Qin Zhiyi didn’t want to reopen her wounds, so he asked, “Where do you want to go?”

He got back on the bike and motioned for her to get on.

Xu Sangluo’s eyes curved even more, she lightly hopped onto the back seat, “Let’s go to the agricultural market first. Do you know where it is?”

Although the country had unified ration coupons for grain and oil,

Each province and city had its own set of shopping coupons, so many goods in supply and marketing cooperatives still required coupons.

She didn’t have any of these right now.

As for the Friendship Department Store, it was currently only open to foreigners.

But she wasn’t in a hurry.

With the rise of private businesses, there were more and more goods in the market, and various coupons would be gradually abolished in different places.

She remembered that cloth coupons were abolished in December 1983, which was the end of this year, a little over a month from now.

The agricultural market wasn’t far from the residential area, it was only a ten-minute bike ride.

It was the afternoon, and there weren’t many people.

Xu Sangluo came to the agricultural market not only to buy things but also for another purpose.

To scout out the stalls.

If she wanted to repeat her previous life and start by selling vegetables from a stall, the agricultural market was undoubtedly the first choice.

The agricultural market was quite large, with many vegetable stalls and small shops inside.

Xu Sangluo didn’t buy much meat or vegetables, because she knew Qin Zhiyi wouldn’t allow it.

Unless she bought these things for herself.

So she only bought a large bag of relatively cheap pork bones, and she found an excuse to say it was for Qin’s mother to replenish her body, as a way to show respect to her elders.

She also bought pastries and candy, as a gift for the children.

Qin Zhiyi couldn’t refuse this for the children.

Then she bought some inexpensive vegetables.

She didn’t expect to be able to buy two grain exchange coupons from a butcher.

Starting this year, the regulations for grain coupons had been relaxed, and some businesses had started using exchange coupons to buy grain, but they were also limited in their issuance.

So the exchange coupons were several times more expensive than grain coupons.

Obviously, there were many people without grain coupons, but the demand for rice was high.

Some clever people would hoard some exchange coupons and sell them at a higher price.