When Liu Yutong suddenly threw out that question, Guo Yani, beside her, gave a slight tremble.
Her expression turned somewhat unnatural as she said, "Actually, there's no special reason. I just felt that job wasn't really suitable for me."
Liu Yutong turned sideways and made a pause gesture to the beautician, signaling her to stop for a moment.
Then she looked at Guo Yani again, speaking earnestly, "We've known each other for so many years. Do you really think I can't tell when you're lying? Tell me, what really happened?"
Guo Yani bit her lip tightly, hesitating for a good while before saying, "I might... might be getting married."
Liu Yutong: "???"
She was a bit surprised, but didn't overthink it.
"You're seeing someone? You've kept that hidden pretty deep, even from me."
In their area, especially in the countryside, people generally married quite early. It wasn't uncommon to get married right after coming of age, so she didn't find Guo Yani's impending marriage strange in itself.
"Are you going to another city to work with your partner?"
Guo Yani first shook her head, then nodded. "I didn't mean to hide it from you all. It was an introduction my family arranged during the New Year. You know, my dad is somewhat disabled, can't do heavy work. All these years, our family has relied entirely on my mom to hold things together. The other family's circumstances are quite good, and they're willing to offer a higher bride price..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yutong unconsciously furrowed her brow.
"Yani, marriage is a lifelong commitment. I don't think you should agree to it so hastily. What's more, there's no emotional connection between you two. At the very least, you should get to know each other first, understand what kind of person he really is, before making a decision. It's not too late, is it?"
Guo Yani said, "I went to see his place. His family is from Xing Town, runs a small business there. He seemed quite honest."
“As for feelings, I think that can develop slowly over time.”
To be honest, as she said this, she felt genuine envy... no, it should be said admiration, for Liu Yutong from the bottom of her heart.
Back when Liu Yutong's gambler of a father had privately sold her off to be the wife of the village head's son, Wang Ergou, she too had hoped Liu Yutong would refuse, that she wouldn't resign herself to marrying like that.
Later, Liu Yutong actually did it, and with such forceful and ruthless methods, she even managed to send her own father and that 'fiancé's' whole family to jail.
It stunned the entire village.
The day she got the news, she was genuinely happy for Liu Yutong and admired her immensely.
It was truly amazing. She felt Liu Yutong was really living life on her own terms.
Originally, she thought she could be like Liu Yutong, break free from constraints, and walk her own path.
But when her family arranged the blind date after the New Year, she realized that facing the pressure of reality and her family's expectations, she ultimately lacked the courage to burn her bridges.
Liu Yutong seemed to think of something and asked, "Is it because of your brother's situation? You don't need to worry about that. He can be considered as having made a meritorious contribution, and he didn't gain much actual benefit. Probation should still be possible."
"Of course, if you don't want him to get probation, I can also have someone make sure he serves the full sentence."
Guo Yani: "..."
"No, no, probation is good, probation is good."
Her brother, Guo Longzhi, though a bit idle and not tending to proper business, was a total doting brother who treated her very well.
She naturally didn't want to see her brother actually go to jail.
People say jail builds character, but really serving time would also carry a bad reputation in the village. They'd definitely be pointed at and gossiped about, unable to hold their heads up for a lifetime.
Liu Yutong pondered for a moment before speaking again. "Alright then. Your brother's matter can also be considered as indirectly helping me. I'll give you two choices now."
"First, regarding that man, I can have someone inquire about his character for you, see if he's truly reliable. If he's a good person and you get along well, then I'll give you a red envelope. It's not a huge amount, but it can temporarily solve your family's difficulties."
"The second choice: I remember you really wanted to open your own beauty salon, right? If you're willing, I can invest and help you open one. You'll manage it, I'll just collect the profits. The shares would be 70% for me, 30% for you. You might have a harder time, but this would be your own business. If you do it well, it can not only help your family gradually improve but also make you truly independent."
Guo Yani was stunned upon hearing the second choice.
She hadn't expected Liu Yutong to still remember what she said when she first started working.
Back when she left school, she had joked with Liu Yutong, saying she would work hard to earn money, open a beauty and nail salon, be her own little boss, and live a carefree, happy life.
At that time, she naively believed that just by working hard for a while, she could save enough money to realize her dream.
However, reality was...
Her first salary was six hundred, later eight hundred, and even now it's only a little over a thousand, maybe two thousand at most, and that was only because the property manager raised it out of consideration for Liu Yutong.
That kind of money, forget opening a shop, even saving it was difficult.
It was precisely these two years of experience after starting work that she gradually realized something: back in school days, even a bit more effort, the probability of getting into a first-tier university was probably higher than the chance of earning enough to open a shop now.
This was also why she admired Liu Yutong and admired Yu Xin, who was being interviewed on TV.
They were all around the same age, yet the gap was so vast.
It wasn't that she had no regrets.
If she had persisted a little more, worked a bit harder back then, insisted on going to university, would she be better now?
Unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret in this world.
Of course, she didn't know that even if she hadn't dropped out of school back then and had broken through her family's layers of obstacles to attend university, she might not necessarily be better off than she is now.
Because she lacked a benefactor.
Seeing her hesitation persist, Liu Yutong asked again, "Have you decided?"
Then she pointed at Yu Xin being interviewed on TV. "Haven't you always admired and looked up to her? But do you know, when she first went to the market to practice bargaining, she was so nervous her whole body trembled, even felt socially dead for a time. No one is born knowing how to succeed. Often, it's forced out of you."
"Now, I'm forcing you once, giving you two choices. One is comfort, the other is challenge. Which path to choose is up to you, but whichever you choose, I will help you."
"Also, before making your choice, I hope you know that life doesn't always offer choices. You're not even twenty yet. The fact that you still have a choice now means you should consider yourself lucky."
Guo Yani was completely moved by Liu Yutong's words and gradually made up her mind. She looked up at her and said, "Yutong, I've decided. I won't get married. I want to open the shop! I choose the second path. No matter how hard or difficult it is, I accept it!"
"Only, I probably can't open it right away. I want to find a shop to learn at for a while, understand how operations work before opening my own."
Liu Yutong smiled. "That's simple."
She directly said to the beautician, "Call your boss over. I'm buying this shop."
Guo Yani: "..."
The beautician: "..."
It felt so sudden. Who would have thought that chatting would lead to their boss being replaced?
