Jin Yuanyuan's Top-Tier Life

The morning after being laid off, Jin Yuanyuan received a WeChat message from her childhood friend Cao Xiaoyu: "Yuanyuan, your mother has fainted, come quick!"

Startled, Jin Yuanyuan didn't think twice and hurriedly put on a thin down jacket before heading out.

Her home is not in Hangzhou city, but in Yuhang County, which used to be quite far away, now the Jinjiacun Economic and Technological Development Zone in Yuhang District.

"What happened? Why did she faint?" Jin Yuanyuan quickly hailed a taxi and headed towards Jinjia Village, calling Cao Xiaoyu on the way: "When did this happen? Has she been taken to the hospital?"

"She fainted in the company office. Your third aunt was the first to find her." Cao Xiaoyu's voice was very noisy, sounding like it was in the sock factory. "Come back first, you can't explain things clearly in just a few words."

"Okay, I'm on my way back." Jin Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Should we tell my dad?"

"No need," Cao Xiaoyu paused for a moment, "They haven't been together for so many years, this shouldn't be necessary."

Jin Yuanyuan was a little nervous; it was the first time she'd encountered something like this, and she felt uncertain. "Wasn't she always fine before? Didn't she go to Guangzhou for the trade fair last week?"

"He's tired. President Zhu is over sixty years old, and it must be hard for him to keep running around like this. Besides, Jin Yaya has been established for thirty years, and she works year-round without a break. Now the factory has more than two hundred people and more than three hundred machines, and it can operate at full capacity every day. That's not an easy thing." Cao Xiaoyu changed the location to make the call, and his voice was much clearer.

Jin Yuanyuan sighed, "Send me the address, I'll be there in about an hour, wait for me."

But she didn't want to go back at all.

An only child from the Yangtze River Delta region? A life of luxury? For her, it wasn't a pleasant thing.

One afternoon twenty years ago, she was fourteen years old and was having a physical education class at school.

My aunt rushed to the school and, without saying a word, dragged her out.

"Come with me quickly." Auntie looks a lot like her mother. She is of average height and build, with fair skin. However, Auntie likes to perm her hair and always has a head full of curly hair.

"What happened?" Jin Yuanyuan was a little chubby and cute back then.

"Ma'am, this is a school, you can't do this." The male PE teacher had already come over and stopped the woman. "We're having class right now."

"I'm Jin Yuanyuan's aunt. Something happened to her family." The aunt ignored the teacher's attempts to stop her and still tried to pull Jin Yuanyuan away.

As a result, the aunt's arm was grabbed by the PE teacher's big hand, and she couldn't break free, so she screamed "Ahhh!"

"Yuanyuan, what's wrong?" Cao Xiaoyu, who was playing soccer, saw the situation and quickly ran over. "Auntie, what happened to Yuanyuan's family?"

"Teacher, this is Yuanyuan's aunt." Jin Feiyan, a pretty female classmate, also came over.

"Oh." The PE teacher let go of her hand. "This is a school; you can't just take students away like this."

"Oh, I can't explain it to you clearly. Why don't you come with us?" The aunt was really brave, pulling Jin Yuanyuan along as they continued walking out of the school.

They didn't go to Jin Yuanyuan's home, but to her father Jin Yuanbao's workplace, the Jinjiacun Ancient Building Repair Team.

The Jin family has a long history in building houses, and it's said they even participated in the construction of the famous Lingyin Temple. Jin Yuanbao is very skilled in painting and restoration, and is considered a minor leader within the ancient architecture team.

When Jin Yuanyuan and the others ran over, they saw Zhu Hongying sitting on the ground, sobbing loudly. "I won't get a divorce! I'd rather die than get a divorce!"

"Hey, girl, this is really bad influence," a familiar person from the ancient architecture team said, trying to persuade her.

"What am I making a fuss about? He's not afraid of losing face, so why should I be afraid?" Zhu Hongying's eyes were bloodshot, a look Jin Yuanyuan had never seen before.

She hid behind her aunt in fear.

"Second sister, don't be afraid! This kind of man deserves to be made known to everyone; he's inhuman!" The eldest aunt ignored Jin Yuanyuan and rushed forward to hug her sister. "He has the nerve to sleep with his apprentice's wife, so what? Can't we say anything?"

Seeing that more and more people were gathering on her side, even her daughter had run over, Zhu Hongying suddenly stood up and shouted towards the second floor, "Jin Yuanbao, how can you do this to your daughter? How can you face her as her father?"

"Hey, let's talk this out," someone else said, trying to persuade them.

Zhu Hongying wiped away her tears and continued to shout, "I'll say it again, I will not get a divorce! You and your mistress will always be illegitimate and unable to live in the light of day!"

"Alright, alright, what is all this nonsense! This is causing a huge problem!" Finally, Captain Yuan of the ancient architecture team came out. "Hey, everyone, move aside, what are you looking at? It's just a couple arguing, there's no need for this. Look, they even brought the kids here, this is really inappropriate! I'm telling you, Yuanbao's wife, you're not young anymore, and you even have your own factory, why do you have to make such a scene? Come on, everyone, come to the meeting room, let's sit down and talk things out."

The adults walked ahead, while Jin Yuanyuan, Cao Xiaoyu, and Jin Feiyan followed behind. Jin Feiyan suddenly sneered, "My parents' divorce was the same. They started by making a scene, but eventually they couldn't keep up and just got divorced. It was pretty pointless."

"That's not right. Yuanyuan's parents have always had a good relationship. I even saw her aunt and uncle holding hands while shopping." Cao Xiaoyu scratched his head, completely bewildered. "It was just a few days ago, why are they getting a divorce now?"

"Men, they're all always looking at what's in their bowl while eyeing what's in the pot." When Jin Feiyan said this, a sense of world-weariness suddenly appeared on her face, one that didn't belong to her age. Even after so many years, Jin Yuanyuan still remembered her expression and appearance back then.

After that day, Jin Yuanbao never returned home. He moved all his belongings to the ancient architecture team's dormitory. Because of Zhu Hongying's insistence, the two of them have not yet gone through divorce proceedings.

However, Zhu Hongying insisted on one other thing—all of Jin Yuanyuan's expenses were covered by her father. Looking back now, Zhu Hongying was truly farsighted.

Ancient building restoration work later became highly sought after. Jin Yuanbao was skilled and had the support of his family background. He eventually became an expert in the industry, joined the Hangzhou Ancient Building Team, became a famous chief engineer, and earned a lot of money.

Actually, there was another thing that puzzled Jin Yuanyuan.

Since their separation, Zhu Hongying has devoted herself to her work, and Jin Yaya's sock manufacturing business has flourished, growing from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of yuan. But why would she still ask Jin Yuanbao for money?

Zhu Hongying explained, "This is your father's money, so it's your money! How can you let that mother and daughter benefit from it? Besides, that little girl isn't your father's biological daughter. You can't let her spend your father's money. You have to get it all back!"

Besides this, she also started teaching Jin Yuanyuan when she was eighteen that she should get married and have children as soon as possible, and made Jin Yuanbao empty his family's savings to buy her a villa and a car.

Seeing her mother like this, Jin Yuanyuan felt suffocated every day.

When filling out her college application form, Cao Xiaoyu asked her, "Let's both apply to universities in Hangzhou and continue being classmates so we can look out for each other. Your mom and my mom are classmates and best friends. Isn't it great now? We even bring a portion of our stew over to your family."

"No way! I want to go to Shanghai, to America!" At that time, Jin Yuanyuan felt that the world was vast and that distant places must be wonderful.

"You're an only child, how can you go to such a far place?" Cao Xiaoyu complained. "Jin Feiyan is also going to study in Shanghai. You girls are just vain and like big, bustling cities. I think Jinjia Village is great. You can easily walk to your family's restaurant or Jin Feiyan's house for a meal."

"All you ever think about is eating. Go study!" Jin Yuanyuan closed her book, turned on the TV, and saw the bustling traffic of Shanghai and the carefree life depicted in American TV dramas.