Chapter 146 - 143: Zhang Hongying’s Fiancé
Saturday was sunny and pleasant. Zhou Lian had arranged to visit Zhang Hongying at her home today. After some thought, she decided not to bring Nuonuo, leaving her in Sister Fang’s care. She went alone, carrying gifts for her first official visit.
Early in the morning, Zhang Hongying was pacing at the entrance of the alley. But the first person to arrive was her fiancé, Wang Song. She frowned and waved him off, telling him to go home and wait. Wang Song’s brow furrowed slightly, but he patiently waited with her for the good friend his fiancée mentioned constantly.
When she saw someone approaching in the distance, Zhang Hongying jumped with excitement and broke into a run, leaving Wang Song dumbfounded. ’Is this my reserved and shy fiancée?’ he thought. ’It seems this so-called good friend has quite an influence on her!’
"Zhou Lian, you’re here," Zhang Hongying said, a little out of breath as she rushed up to her.
Zhou Lian frowned, took out a handkerchief in annoyance, and wiped the sweat from Zhang Hongying’s forehead. She scolded her bluntly, "What are you running for? Was I going to get lost or something? It’s so cold out, and you’ve worked up a sweat. You’ll catch a cold going from hot to cold like that. Are you three years old?" They were the same age, but the girl acted like a child in front of her. Her simple nature was really one of a kind.
Zhang Hongying grinned sheepishly. "I was just so happy to see you!" she said, tugging at the corner of Zhou Lian’s coat and swaying it gently.
Following behind, Wang Song’s eyelid twitched. ’This is my fiancée, right?’ He had the strange feeling his wife was cheating on him. He reached out, pulled Zhang Hongying to his side, and said to Zhou Lian with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "Hello, I’m Yingzi’s fiancé, Wang Song. You must be Zhou Lian. Yingzi mentions you all the time. Please, come in."
Giving Wang Song an unreadable smile, Zhou Lian glanced at Zhang Hongying and chuckled. "Hello. Yingzi and I are classmates and friends. You’re too kind."
Sparks flew at their first meeting, a battle of words waged in just a few sentences. It was destined that the two of them would only go further down the path of bickering and taking jabs at each other. Meanwhile, the sweet and silly Zhang Hongying stood to the side, saying sweetly, "Now that you’ve met, you’re all friends. Zhou Lian, when your husband gets back, let’s find some time to all get together!"
Zhou Lian deliberately shifted the bags she was carrying. As expected, Zhang Hongying exclaimed, "Oh my, Zhou Lian, why are you carrying so much? Wang Song, hurry and help Zhou Lian with that." With that, she took the things from Zhou Lian’s hands, passed them to Wang Song, and linked her arm through Zhou Lian’s, heading toward the house.
Wang Song stared at the things in his hands, then looked up to see Zhou Lian smiling at him. "Sorry to trouble you, Yingzi’s fiancé!"
Watching their backs, Wang Song felt that Zhou Lian had deliberately stressed the word "fiancé." Was it his imagination? Why did he get the feeling that Yingzi’s good friend was hostile toward him?
Listening to Zhang Hongying’s cheerful chattering, Zhou Lian suppressed the turbulent emotions swirling inside her and smiled as she listened to her friend’s happy words. After all, having lived for several decades longer, Zhou Lian managed to hide any hint that something was amiss from both Zhang Hongying and Wang Song.
The Zhang family was very enthusiastic, especially after seeing the gifts Zhou Lian brought. After all, goods were scarce at the moment. In the dead of winter, there were hardly any vegetables besides cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. Zhou Lian had brought six cucumbers, six tomatoes, six loofahs, six eggplants, about ten large green peppers, around two pounds of chives, bok choy, crown daisy, long beans, and green beans, as well as nine large apples and a bunch of bananas.
It wasn’t that the Zhang family members were snobs who looked down on the poor and curried favor with the rich. Bringing a small gift on a first visit was basic courtesy. Normally, these items wouldn’t be considered too valuable, but it was the dead of winter, and the concept of off-season fruits and vegetables didn’t even exist yet. Rarity makes things precious. In any case, the Zhang family’s impression of Zhou Lian was exceptionally good. This improved even more during the meal, when they saw the picky Zhang Hongying eating properly without complaint under Zhou Lian’s watchful eye, no longer picking and choosing her food.
In a conversational way, Mrs. Zhang and the two Zhang sisters-in-law carefully asked about Zhou Lian’s background. They were full of admiration upon hearing that Zhou Lian had decided to take the university entrance exams only after getting married and having a child. When they learned that it was her husband’s idea, and that he had insisted on moving to the Capital City with their child to support her after she was accepted, they couldn’t stop praising the yet-unmet Li Xiu. One was loving, the other righteous; people with such good character who valued relationships were the most worthy of befriending! They no longer had to worry that their simple, foolish girl had made a bad friend.
The men of the Zhang family also nodded in silent approval. ’This Zhou Lian seems elegant and magnanimous, and her gaze is clear and upright,’ they thought. ’She isn’t the type to have ulterior motives. Her husband’s character must be good as well. After all, birds of a feather flock together.’
Although Wang Song felt hostility from Zhou Lian, he couldn’t deny that her friendship with Yingzi was pure, and she wasn’t the type to deliberately curry favor with the powerful.
Zhou Lian chatted with them with a smile, but her heart was filled with a mix of emotions. ’Is this world too small, or is this some kind of fate?’ Looking at the ever-smiling Zhang Hongying beside her, she sighed inwardly. ’This simple girl is too kind, too naive.’ But then, a sharp glint flashed in Zhou Lian’s eyes, gone in an instant. ’Since heaven has allowed me to become her friend in this life, I will do everything in my power to protect her and ensure she has a peaceful life.’
Wang Song and the three men of the Zhang family all felt their hearts tighten for a moment. But looking at the smiling Zhou Lian, they chuckled at themselves. ’We must have an occupational hazard,’ they thought. ’How could we sense a hint of danger from a young woman in her twenties?’ Little did they know at that moment that this gently smiling woman and her husband, who doted on her as if his life depended on it, would one day save the most important people in their lives, rewriting the destinies of two families in the process.
At this very moment, Li Xiu, returning triumphantly from his trip, was squeezing onto a train back to the Capital City with Wang Dongfang and the others. He had no idea that the friend his wife had made had a deep connection to him, or rather, to his whole family. People who shouldn’t have met for another twenty-odd years were now slowly being brought together. No one knew if this was a destiny intentionally arranged by heaven.
Hearing that Zhou Lian’s husband was away on business and her child was being looked after by a hired helper, Mrs. Zhang spoke with the men of the family, then led her two daughters-in-law and her daughter to walk Zhou Lian home. Zhou Lian couldn’t refuse their insistence. Thinking it was only two alleys away, she smiled and bid farewell to the Zhang family men.
Before leaving, she turned to Wang Song and said, "I’m sorry, I heard from Yingzi that she promised to go to the movies with you tonight. But the helper I hired has to go home this evening for personal reasons, and I’m a little scared to be home alone with my child at night. Could you please be understanding and let Yingzi stay with me tonight?"
Wang Song looked at the smiling woman before him, feeling a metaphorical toothache. He would bet his life that this woman had come up with this on the spot, only deciding to have Yingzi stay with her after hearing about their movie plans. But her reason was solid, and she had put him on such a pedestal. In front of the Zhang family, he couldn’t refuse; he had to smile and agree. ’Does this woman have a grudge against me?’ he wondered. ’But I don’t even know her.’ Wang Song grew suspicious and decided to investigate her secretly. Little did he know, it would have been fine if he did nothing, but the moment he made a move, he fell into a pit—a pit he would never climb out of for the rest of his life!