Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 202 Hypocrisy
Upon entering the purchasing office, Liu Yanran's brows furrowed noticeably, as she noticed that Zhou Xia seemed somewhat off, appearing rather dejected.

It was as if he had just suffered some huge blow.

Not only was he unshaven, but his clothes were also wrinkled, making him look like a unkempt middle-aged neighbor, quite different from the handsome and wealthy man he remembered.

Liu Yanran, being a skilled actress, only paused briefly before warmly greeting him and saying in a sweet, coquettish voice:
"Brother Xia, what happened to you that you got into this state?"

After saying that, Liu Yanran took out a handkerchief she always carried with her and started wiping Zhou Xia's face.

Normally, with a beautiful woman by his side, Zhou Xia would be extremely happy.

But the situation is completely different now. Zhou Xia is worried about being kicked out of the house and doesn't even care about his own appearance, so how can he enjoy the kindness of a beauty?
Thinking this, Zhou Xia calmly pushed Liu Yanran away and said:

Why are you here looking for me again?

"Didn't I tell you not to come see me too often, lest someone notice something amiss?"

Zhou Xia had by then successfully divorced Song Wenxin and was a single man in every sense of the word.

He hadn't cared about Liu Yanran's advances before, but the reason he said those things now was clearly that he intended to cut ties with her.

If he hadn't been attracted to Liu Yanran's willingness to give up her status and take such a huge risk to be with him, how could he have fallen for a woman from the countryside?
But now that Zhou Xia is divorced, he is perfectly capable of finding another young and beautiful woman from the city, so why should he hang himself on Liu Yanran?

Moreover, Zhou Xia also harbored some resentment towards Liu Yanran, feeling that if she hadn't constantly encouraged him to oppose Wang Chengpeng, he wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.

If she hadn't reported Wang Chengpeng for extortion, perhaps her illicit affairs wouldn't have come to light, and she wouldn't have lost such a delicious meal of a kept man.

Zhou Xia probably never dreamed that even if he hadn't reported Wang Chengpeng, his life would still be far from easy.

At most, it just means there's less legitimate leverage, which will make Song Wenxin wait a little longer.

From the moment Zhou Xia and Liu Yanran conspired to make Wang Chengpeng the one who would take over their son's legacy and bring about his utter ruin, his fate was already sealed.

Liu Yanran was clearly unaware of the intricacies of the situation and thought that Zhou Xia simply wanted her to continue hiding, just like before.

He immediately scoffed, "Who dares to comment on our affairs?"

"Brother Xia, they rushed over to see you the moment they found out you failed to take down Wang Chengpeng. How could you be so cold-blooded and heartless?"

At this point, Liu Yanran touched her belly and said:

"The baby in my belly is waiting to call you Dad!"

In the past, if Zhou Xia had to spend a long time with Song Wenxin, a woman who couldn't have children, he would definitely have cherished the child in Liu Yanran's belly.

But now that he has regained his freedom, he can find a suitable marriage partner and have a child who is entirely his own, a child who will only call him "Dad".

Under these circumstances, how could he possibly be interested in the child in Liu Yanran's womb, or Liu Yanran, a woman who had been touched by Shen Wei!

Frowning as he looked at Liu Yanran's already somewhat round and bulging belly, Zhou Xia said softly:
"Yanran, why don't you just abort the child?"

"Our children should enjoy the best education. If they are raised in the countryside from a young age, won't they grow up to be corrupted?"

Upon hearing Zhou Xia's words, Liu Yanran was startled and subtly took a half-step back.

Although Liu Yanran is cunning and treacherous, the fact that she was able to endure the pain of giving birth to her child in her previous life proves that she has a strong affection for the child in her womb.

Upon hearing Zhou Xia's suggestion that she abort the child, Liu Yanran immediately objected, saying:
"Brother Xia, what's wrong with you today?"

"If you hadn't insisted, how could I have kept this child and ended up marrying some random guy who was just taking over?"

“Now that things have come to this point, I can even feel him moving inside me, so how could I possibly abort the child for no reason?”

Aborting the child would not only be a difficult situation for Zhou Xia, but also for the Shen family.

They considered the child in Liu Yanran's womb as the only bloodline of the Shen family. If they found out that Liu Yanran had aborted the child, the Shen family would probably fight her to the death.

Moreover, without the fetus in her womb as a hostage, what power does she have over Zhou Xia?
Liu Yanran had seen many ruthless men, and she didn't believe that she could completely bind a man to her side just by her looks and methods.

If there were a child present who could prove their blood relationship, Liu Yanran would be able to completely control Zhou Xia.

Frowning as he looked at the child in Liu Yanran's womb, Zhou Xia felt that the child he used to love was now just as troublesome as he had imagined.

Although he wanted to abandon the child both rationally and emotionally, he couldn't do it in practice.

He dared not underestimate Liu Yanran, a woman who could devise a scheme to take over a dangerous business and execute it so flawlessly.

If he dared to show even the slightest intention to abandon the other party, the other party would probably fight him to the death.

Thinking this, Zhou Xia's expression softened again, and she gently comforted him:
"Yanran, I just felt that your pregnancy was too hard for you, and I couldn't bear to see you suffer, so I made this suggestion."

“This is also my child. If I hadn’t seen you in so much pain, how could I have made such a suggestion?”

Hearing Zhou Xia's sweet words, Liu Yanran's expression indeed improved slightly, and she said:
"Brother Xia, I knew you were the best to me."

"But this is the fruit of our love, and no matter how hard or tiring it is, I will give birth to him."

"Don't worry, I found a sucker to take the fall. He still thinks this is his own son and cherishes him very much."

"When the child is born, we will definitely be able to have a very good living environment."

"If you provide a little extra support then, even in the countryside, our children will grow up well."

At this point, Liu Yanran seemed to suddenly remember something and said:
"Brother Xia, you still haven't answered my question. What exactly is going on between you and Wang Chengpeng? Why couldn't you deal with this villain who extorted money from us?"

It would have been better if they hadn't talked about it, but as soon as Wang Chengpeng and Zhou Xia are mentioned, they grit their teeth in hatred and wish they could tear them to pieces.

If it weren't for Wang Chengpeng's interference, he wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state of being kicked out of the house.

However, this matter couldn't be discussed yet; at least not until he had calmed Liu Yanran down. Therefore, Zhou Xia simply pretended to be indifferent and said:
"Wang Chengpeng is really cunning; he even left a photocopy of the IOU."

"With a copy of the IOU, there's no way to sue him for extortion."

"Not only that, but because this IOU is something that can't be made public, I agreed to close the case immediately, and it's impossible for me to bring it up with him again later."

At this point, Zhou Xia sighed and said:
"Although failing to recover the money was a bit of a blow to me, I still work in a textile factory, so it doesn't really have much of an impact on me."

Listening to Zhou Xia's boastful words, Liu Yanran's face was full of admiration, and she couldn't help but say:
"As expected of the Xia Ge I've chosen, he's shrewd, capable, and powerful." "Wang Chengpeng is nothing but a clown; he poses no threat to Xia Ge whatsoever."

At this point, Liu Yanran said meaningfully:
“Zhou Xia, look at me, I’ve come all this way to see you, and because my pregnancy is progressing so far, this might be the last time I come to see you.”

"Shouldn't you..."

Such a blatant demand for money would have been appreciated by Zhou Xia in the past, who would have only appreciated Liu Yanran's honesty.

But now the situation is different. Zhou Xia not only had her savings wiped out by Wang Chengpeng's debt of over 1,300 yuan, but she was also forced to leave the marriage with nothing.
He still owes Wang Chengpeng 500 yuan and has to pay it back.

Under such circumstances, where would he find spare money to give to Liu Yanran?
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xia ultimately decided not to be stingy and gave Liu Yanran only one yuan.

Under Liu Yanran's questioning gaze, Zhou Xia explained without blushing or skipping a beat:

"Yanran, you know I just gave Wang Chengpeng a little over a thousand yuan."

"If you manage to get this money back, I'll give you a hundred or two hundred yuan without any problem."

"But Wang Chengpeng is too cunning and shameless. He has embezzled our money, so I can only give you this much for now."

"Don't worry, wait a while, and I'll go to the village to deliver the nutrition money to our children."

Looking into Zhou Xia's "sincere" eyes, Liu Yanran, though she had reservations, ultimately silently accepted the one yuan and said:

"Okay, Brother Xia, I'll be waiting for you to come visit me and my son."

"Just like when you go to a wedding, you'll say you're a distant relative of mine, don't forget that."

"Shen Wei is really stupid. You gave him a big red envelope back then, and he even laughed at you for being silly."

Recalling what happened back then, Zhou Xia couldn't help but chuckle, finding himself unusually happy.

The thought that Shen Wei was nothing but a useless man who couldn't have sex made him think it was better to keep the child.

If I end up with a woman who can't have children, keeping the child will give me more options.

After a few more brief pleasantries, Zhou Xia finally managed to send Liu Yanran away.

Watching Liu Yanran's departing figure, Shen Wei shook his head slightly and said:
"What a foolish woman. Fortunately, you still have some use, so we can leave you hanging for now."

"Who does Song Wenxin think she is, daring to marry me? She'll have plenty of chances to regret it later."

“Last time, a woman named Li Dan kept trying to get close to me, but I had to keep putting up with it because of Song Wenxin as an obstacle.”

"Now that this stumbling block is gone, it's a good time to get in touch with Li Dan."

"We can even use the divorce as leverage; that would give us complete control over her."

Thinking this way, Zhou Xia suddenly felt that the future was promising again.

He, Zhou Xia, has the ability to make a lot of money!
……

Liu Yanran had just gone to meet Zhou Xia in secret, and Kong Xiu had already apologized to everyone in the village through the loudspeaker.

Apart from the parties involved, such a trivial matter wouldn't cause the slightest ripple in Wangjia Village.

After a few days of tea and conversation, the conversation will cool down.

A few days later, the Wang family also had a big day.

This day was none other than the day Wang Meiyan received her exam results.

If she passes the junior high school entrance exam, she will be able to start her student life anew.

Wang Chengpeng naturally couldn't be absent from such an important day. After breakfast, he rode his bicycle and took Wang Meiyan to school.

Although earning work points is important, few parents are absent on such an important day. The village school gate is crowded with parents who bring their children to check their scores.

Facing the score that could very well determine her fate, Wang Meiyan was still a little nervous, completely losing her previous arrogant demeanor, and asked anxiously:

"Brother, what should I do if I don't do well on the exam this time and can't go to school?"

"I always felt that I had answered all the questions correctly, but when the scores were about to be released, I started to doubt myself."

"Brother, if you were in this situation, what would you usually do?"

After saying that, Wang Meiyan looked at Wang Chengpeng with her big, watery eyes, hoping to get some comfort from him.

Faced with Wang Meiyan's temperature, Wang Chengpeng scratched his head, looking quite troubled, and said:
"I really have no experience in dealing with this situation. After all, as you know, my grades have always been very good since I was a child."

"When you do very well on every exam, you will no longer have this anxiety."

"For example, if I were to take an exam now, I would just feel that doing well is a given, and I wouldn't feel anxious at all."

"Sigh, I really can't understand why you have such anxiety, just like you can't understand why I don't have anxiety."

Wang Meiyan was stunned by Wang Chengpeng's extremely Versailles-esque speech.

She only wanted some comfort from Wang Chengpeng, but she never expected to suffer such a severe blow.

However, she couldn't refute Wang Chengpeng's words, since Wang Chengpeng was indeed as he said, having had excellent grades from childhood to adulthood.

Otherwise, how could Wang Chengpeng have gotten into university under such terrible circumstances in his previous life?

Seeing Wang Meiyan's withdrawn state, Wang Chengpeng smiled and said:
"Don't worry, you know your usual test scores. It's just a small test, you don't need to worry at all."

"You've always wanted to learn from me, and that's where you start by learning the right mindset."

"Believe in yourself, you will definitely do well on the test."

"Oh, right, I remember you used the excuse that you did very well on the exam to get all sorts of benefits from me. If you really didn't do well, remember to return everything."

Wang Meiyan: ...? ? ?
(End of this chapter)