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On the way back to Beijing, Shen Fubai told Lu Yuetang about Yang Wei and his mother seeking him out, begging for a job.
Lu Yuetang’s gaze turned cold, and he remained silent.
He was in an extremely foul mood and had no interest in hearing anything about the Yang family.
“I’m telling you, Lu, don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you don’t deal with this mess when we get back to Beijing, you know how your grandfather and father are. If things go south, you’ll be in a really bad spot,” Shen Fubai reminded him.
Grandfather Lu and Uncle Lu were from the old generation, deeply rooted in their traditional views. They would never accept a daughter-in-law who had “that kind of history” before marriage.
They would rather pay to make her disappear than welcome such a person into their family.
Back then, when the Yang family asked for a job placement, Shen Fubai thought about it for a long time. In his network of acquaintances, he arranged for her to work as an ordinary female worker at a textile factory in the outskirts of Beijing.
That was far, far away from the military compound—out of sight, out of mind.
But once Lu Yuetang returned to Beijing, if Yang Jiaojiao caught wind of it and came knocking, things could get tricky.
Slap!
Yang Jiaojiao was cornered in a factory workshop by a few female workers. A tall, burly woman stepped forward and gave her a hard slap across the face.
“Heh, didn’t you say your fiancé is Commander Lu? We’ve already beaten you up, so why hasn’t he shown up to save you?”
“Yeah, go on, call for him! Let’s see him come running!”
“Hahaha, waving a big flag like it makes you special. We all know how to do that!”
“Seriously though, if your fiancé was really that powerful, he wouldn’t have had you sent here to suffer in exile…”
The female workers had disliked Yang Jiaojiao for a long time.
Not only had she parachuted into the factory out of nowhere, but she was also from some small town, ugly as sin, and stubborn as hell. Worst of all, she wouldn’t stop bragging, “My fiancé is Commander Lu of the military district—”
Oh, please. As if they were all easily intimidated.
Countless unmarried women in the country admired Lu Yuetang when he appeared on TV, but they knew their place. They could only steal a few glances and dream about him at night—fortune like that never falls on ordinary folks.
But this new worker? She had the nerve to claim him as her fiancé. What a joke!
“You dare hit me?! Just wait until Yuetang gets here! I’ll have him fire you all!” Yang Jiaojiao glared at the woman who had slapped her, Liu Sufang.
“Hahaha, oh no, I’m so scared!”
Liu Sufang, a woman with a masculine build and great strength, was the unofficial leader among the female workers. If Yang Jiaojiao had just kept to herself and daydreamed in peace, that would’ve been fine. But she dared to challenge Liu’s authority? She had it coming.
“Let me go! Yuetang is in Ning City recovering. He’ll be back soon! When he does, you’ll regret this!”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. And my boyfriend is the President of the Soviet Union!”
“HAHAHAHA!”
The women burst into laughter.
After finishing her part-time job, Hu Ouhua slung her bag over her shoulder and headed home.
Just as she reached the entrance to the compound, Hu Jingsheng blocked her path.
“You still have the nerve to come home? After fooling around outside for a month, you think this place is still yours? Why didn’t you just leave with Commander Lu? Oh, wait, I get it—you got dumped after he had his fun with you!” Hu Jingsheng crossed her arms and sneered.
Hu Ouhua had no patience for this nonsense.
She shoved Hu Jingsheng aside and walked past her, saying, “If you can still live here, then why should I be ashamed? After all, I have a delinquent sister with a stained record making me look good in comparison.”
“Hu Ouhua, you’ve gone too far—!”
Hu Jingsheng burst into tears and ran back inside.
She stormed into Hu Ouhua’s room, kicking and smashing everything in sight.
In a fit of madness, she even grabbed a pair of scissors and shredded her sister’s bedsheets.
Just then, Hu Daqian came home from work.
He was carrying a slab of pork belly and was about to greet his eldest daughter with a smile, ready to tell her they were having meat for lunch. But before he could say anything, his youngest daughter clung to his arm and wailed, “Dad, it’s either her or me! If she stays, I’ll leave—you decide!”
With that, she ran into her room and slammed the door shut, locking it.
Hu Daqian sighed heavily.
His mind was simple; he wasn’t good at handling complicated family matters. He had barely managed to calm his younger daughter down for a couple of days, and now she was causing trouble again.
“Ah… Ouhua, don’t take it to heart. Your sister was spoiled by your mother—she doesn’t know any better.” He tried to console her.
Hu Ouhua shook her head, indicating that she didn’t care.
She went to her room and began stitching her shredded bedsheets back together, but Hu Daqian stopped her.
“I’ll give you money to buy a new set. You can take it to school with you—it’ll look nicer.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a large banknote from his pocket, along with some fabric ration coupons, and then dug out a few smaller bills.
“Use the extra to buy yourself some sweets.”
The frustration Hu Ouhua had felt from her sister’s tantrum completely melted away at that moment.
No wonder people said that the greatest fear wasn’t cruelty—it was being loved.
She pushed the money and ration coupons back to him and said indifferently, “Dad, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it myself. Keep the money for yourself. Once I start school, who knows how long it’ll be before I can come home again? I won’t be able to take care of you.”
Hu Daqian felt a wave of sorrow wash over him.
They were both his daughters—why were they so different?
He simply couldn’t understand.
The results for the college entrance exams had finally been released.
As the second year since the exams were reinstated, everyone was on equal footing. The total score was 500 points, with English excluded from the admission criteria (except for English majors).
Teacher Sun personally came to deliver the news, beaming as she took Hu Ouhua’s hands.
“Hu Ouhua, congratulations! You scored 498 points—the highest in Ning Province! Even the advanced-level questions, you got full marks on every single one!”
Although Teacher Sun hadn’t been part of the official grading team, she had a friend who was. He told her that when they were grading a particular test paper, the clean handwriting and clear structure immediately caught their attention. As they marked it, they found every answer flawless—it was an absolute delight to grade, an experience they would never forget.
“Hmph, what’s the big deal? It’s just first place. You’d think she had won some grand honor,” Hu Jingsheng scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Teacher Sun frowned.
“Seriously, who knows if she cheated? Someone like her, who relies on her looks to get by, getting such a high score? I don’t believe it for a second,” Hu Jingsheng added.
In the past, Hu Ouhua was always first in her class, but that was it.
Li Weiguo had always been stronger academically.
If Hu Ouhua could get first place, then shouldn’t Li Weiguo have scored 600 points?
“Hu Ouhua, are you home?”
Just then, Li Weiguo’s excited voice rang out from outside. It was obvious he had also scored well.
Hu Jingsheng sneered, “Oh, this is going to be hilarious. I can’t wait to see Teacher Sun’s exaggerated praise turn into a joke.”
“Li Weiguo, how many points did you get?” She flung the door open, eager to hear his score.
Li Weiguo ignored her and instead greeted Teacher Sun and Hu Ouhua with a bright smile.
“Teacher Sun, Ouhua, I scored 560 points! I’ve been admitted to Ning Province University’s English program!”
“Congratulations,” Hu Ouhua said with a smile.
“Tch—”
Hu Jingsheng rolled her eyes so hard they nearly fell out of her head.
She then turned to Hu Ouhua and shouted, “And you still dare to act proud? He got 560 points—he’s way better than you! How can you still smile?”