"You know how our Goddess values her pride the most. Given her family's situation, they probably wouldn't fund her study abroad. So she just..."
The words that followed.
He didn't need to say them; Qin Xuanye understood.
Right.
Liu Yue is so proud.
From her perspective, he was the one leaving to study abroad without telling her. For the sake of her pride and dignity, she wouldn't allow herself to be the one abandoned, the one left behind.
So, she chose to leave first.
Qin Xuanye took a deep breath and said:
"So, our breakup wasn't due to emotional issues, nor was it because of another man."
"It was all because of some ridiculous rumor that I was going abroad to study?"
The brother on the other end of the phone nodded. "Yes. There were several times I almost couldn't help telling you."
"But... well, later you got engaged, didn't you? I saw it was to a proper young lady from a well-matched family, so I thought you must have moved on."
"After all, we were all immature back in high school. How much of those feelings could we really take seriously?"
Others might not know.
But Qin Xuanye had passionately liked Tao Liuyue for a full three years.
The month they were together after the college entrance exams was the happiest month of his life.
The greater the happiness at the start, the deeper the pain at the end!
He was in a slump for a while because of it.
It's only been in the last year or so that he's slowly started to recover.
Hearing his silence, the brother on the phone cautiously advised:
"Hey, Old Qin, it's just fate playing tricks! But don't dwell on it anymore. You have a fiancée now, so treat her well."
"As for Goddess Tao, she's so outstanding and beautiful. I'm sure lots of guys pursued her in university too. She probably already has a new boyfriend..."
Before he could finish, Qin Xuanye interrupted, "She doesn't!!!"
The brother was startled and said timidly, "Ah, how do you know? Old Qin, don't tell me you still haven't gotten over her..."
Qin Xuanye took a deep breath and retorted, "If it were you, could you get over her?"
The brother fell silent for a moment, then said:
"If Goddess Tao were my girlfriend, I'd wake up laughing in my sleep."
"But, you're an engaged man now."
Qin Xuanye: "I know. I have a sense of propriety. Thank you."
With that, he quickly hung up the phone.
...
Sitting in the back seat of the car, Chen Liuyue heard the system's notification sound.
"Congratulations, Host. Qin Xuanye's favorability is at 10%, 20%, 30%... 88%..."
"Host, what did you do? Even though you're not physically present, the target's favorability is rising like it's bugged."
If it weren't for the system's highest-level anti-malware protocols,
it would suspect it had been hacked.
Chen Liuyue smiled silently.
She replied in her mind:
"After the truth came out, hatred, love, and guilt are all mixed together. His psychological defenses are breached now."
"Just wait. Sit tight by the fishing pond now, waiting for the fish to bite the hook on its own."
"Once my lapdog, always my lapdog."
"He'll come running back with just a wave of my hand."
The drive from the city to the county town took four or five hours. About halfway there, Chen Ruanruan began to look pale.
Spotting a service area, she couldn't help but say, "I need to get out and get some air. I'm feeling a bit carsick."
Seeing this, Jin Minjia immediately responded:
"Ruanruan, your constitution really isn't up to par, you're so delicate."
"You should know, when I went to the city with your dad back in the day, we didn't have a car to ride in. We took those crowded minibuses, and the roads were full of potholes."
"We managed to study and do problems on that bumpy minibus. That's how we made it out of that small town."
Chen Liuyue was all too familiar with these stories, almost able to recite them verbatim.
But for Chen Ruanruan, it was the first time hearing them.
Listening to Teacher Jin's tale of hardship and struggle, a flicker of shame crossed her face, followed by admiration:
"Mom, you and Dad were really amazing."
Teacher Jin looked somewhat proud, raising her eyebrows as she said:
"Of course! Back then, your dad and I were practically the only ones who made it out of that little town."
"You should cherish the good life you have now, but you also need to be able to endure hardship. You can't be so fragile. How did the Chen family raise you to have such poor health?"
"When we get to the old hometown, you'll get up early for a run tomorrow. I'll wake you."
Chen Ruanruan had been listening and nodding obediently, but upon hearing the last part about 'getting up early for a run,' she couldn't help but let out an "Ah?"
Jin Minjia frowned. "What? Is there a problem?"
Chen Ruanruan first glanced at Chen Liuyue, who had her eyes closed resting, then said in a small voice:
"Getting up early to run is too hard. I'm afraid Liuyue won't be able to get up."
Chen Liuyue, who was feigning sleep, snorted lightly in her heart.
Well, well, Chen Ruanruan.
If you have to suffer, you want to drag me down with you, don't you?
Jin Minjia, however, looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't Liuyue be able to get up? She used to get up very early at home, even cooked breakfast for me and your dad."
Chen Ruanruan showed an incredulous expression.
After all, during the days Chen Liuyue had stayed with the Chen family, she had slept until the sun was high in the sky.
Chen Ruanruan had thought it was a lazy habit Chen Liuyue developed while living with the Tao family, secretly feeling that her biological parents were too indulgent with Chen Liuyue.
"...Mom, you're saying Liuyue used to get up early to cook breakfast for you and Dad?"
Seeing her astonished look, Jin Minjia said in surprise:
"Yes, what about it?"
"I was exhausted from preparing lessons every day, and your dad had a mountain of university work. Liuyue was the only idle person at home."
"What's wrong with her making us breakfast? You should know, when I was little, I had to get up at four or five to clean the chicken coop, feed the chickens, wash the whole family's clothes, and only then make breakfast."
"You have it much easier now. Just cooking breakfast, not like the old wood-burning stoves where you had to chop firewood. Just turn on the gas stove, it's so simple."
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Chen Ruanruan, however, felt her vision darken, sensing that this trip back to the hometown to meet relatives might be even more terrifying than she had imagined!
Jin Minjia couldn't help but say, "Ruanruan, don't tell me you're this old and still don't know how to cook?"
Chen Liuyue, who had been pretending to sleep, quietly opened her eyes.
A hint of a mocking smile played on her lips as she spoke unhurriedly:
"Aunt Jin, the Chen family has dedicated chefs and housekeepers."
"Not just cooking, even dishwashing has a dedicated auntie for it."
Jin Minjia looked at Chen Liuyue with a complicated expression, then at Chen Ruanruan.
Meeting her gaze, Chen Ruanruan nodded stiffly.
"Mm-hmm."
Jin Minjia had initially been quite pleased that her biological daughter was raised so excellently, becoming an outstanding dancer.
But if she can't take care of herself in daily life, what difference is there from being disabled?!
Her tone immediately turned stern.
"Alright then, once we're back in the hometown, I'll teach you how to cook. You must learn this essential life skill."
