Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

As night fell, in Lou Xiao'e's boudoir on the second floor of the Lou Mansion, a delicate desk lamp cast a soft glow, illuminating her slightly thinner yet still beautiful profile. She sat at her desk, unconsciously stroking a fountain pen in her hand, her gaze unfocused on the deep darkness outside the window.

This afternoon, the conversation between her father, Lou Zhenhua, and Wang Huanbo, and the image of the young chief engineer calmly walking away when her mother asked her to see Wang Huanbo off after dinner, were like pebbles thrown into a lake, stirring up ripples in her originally calm mind.

Wang Huanbo… This name has been constantly intruding into her life lately in various ways. From her parents' frequent mentions, filled with expectation and calculation, to the newspaper reports about the miracles he and the Red Star Factory he led had created, and now, here he is, sitting in her own living room, chatting and laughing with her father. He is so young, yet his brows reveal a composure and confidence beyond his years; despite his high position, there is not a trace of arrogance in his words and actions, but rather a focus and sincerity. Especially when he agreed to his father's request to arrange for her to be his secretary's assistant, his decisiveness, as if it were just a routine business assignment, gave her an invisible feeling of being treated as an equal and respected.

This feeling was both unfamiliar and precious to Lou Xiao'e at that moment.

Her thoughts drifted away, towards the recurring, oppressive, and helpless "past life" that haunted her dreams... a nightmare she didn't want to recall, yet couldn't completely escape.

On that fork in the road, there was no unexpected variable like Wang Huanbo. After graduating from high school, because of her background as a "capitalist's daughter," she had no hope of further education and remained unmarried. Under immense political pressure and worry about her future, her parents hastily and helplessly chose Xu Damao, whom they knew well, from the seemingly safest option of "working class."

At the beginning of their marriage, Xu Damao was indeed quite attentive for a while. But that attentiveness carried an undisguised mercenary and calculating air. What he valued wasn't so much Lou Xiao'e herself, but rather the potential benefits the Lou family's wealth and her capitalist status could bring him, as well as a distorted sense of superiority from "conquering" a capitalist's daughter. Life in the courtyard house was a completely different world from the Lou mansion where she had grown up. The cramped rooms, the calculating neighbors (especially the hypocritical Yi Zhonghai and the cunning Yan Bugui), and that seemingly honest but actually manipulated by Yi Zhonghai, inexplicably hostile Sha Zhu…

What tormented her most was that after many years of marriage, she still hadn't conceived. At first, Xu Damao offered feigned comfort, but gradually, his sarcasm and ridicule increased. Her mother-in-law, Xu's mother, also grew increasingly harsh in her eyes. The heavy label of "a barren hen" was silently placed upon her. Even her own mother, during her repeated visits, went from initial concern to helpless sighs, her words even carrying a hint of barely perceptible resentment. She bore the dual pressure from both her husband's and her own families alone, spending countless nights in tears, with no one to confide in. She simply couldn't understand why, with her healthy body, she couldn't have children.

Until that time… the deaf old lady (that seemingly confused but actually very shrewd matriarch) “matchmaking” led to a one-night stand… with the very same simple-minded man she usually avoided! Afterwards, she felt ashamed, terrified, and utterly humiliated. However, what plunged her into despair was that soon afterward… she became pregnant!

Xu Damao's rage, humiliation, and eventual resolute decision to divorce nearly broke her. To make matters worse, Xu Damao, in a fit of revenge, went so far as to report the Lou family! Their home was ransacked, they were subjected to public criticism… their parents aged decades overnight. Those days were truly hell on earth. Fortunately, thanks to the secret assistance of a "high-ranking leader" whom Sha Zhu had previously befriended, their parents managed to escape and hastily head south to Hong Kong.

She wanted to stay, but then discovered she was pregnant. The father of the child was Sha Zhu. This realization filled her with mixed emotions. Carrying this unspeakable secret, and also to avoid becoming a burden on her parents, she eventually went to Hong Kong with them.

Upon arriving in Hong Kong, far from the turmoil, her life gradually stabilized. She gave birth to a son, whom she named He Xiao. Only then, during a casual medical check-up, did she learn the truth from the doctor—her fertility was perfectly normal! The problem lay with Xu Damao! He was infertile! She had unjustly borne the stigma of being "infertile" for so many years, enduring so much humiliation! At that moment, the grief and resentment in her heart erupted like a volcano, yet transformed into silent tears.

After the turmoil, filled with homesickness and a tinge of inexplicable hope, she returned to Beijing with her now-grown son, He Xiao, back to the courtyard house that held so many painful memories for her. She fantasized that perhaps… through the child, she and Sha Zhu could have a fresh start?

However, reality dealt her an even heavier blow. Sha Zhu was already married to Qin Huairu! That seemingly weak but actually cunning Qin Huairu! She had initially held onto a sliver of hope, until she inadvertently discovered that Qin Huairu had long ago had an IUD inserted and had no intention of having a child with Sha Zhu! She only saw Sha Zhu as a "long-term meal ticket" to support her entire family! And that fool Sha Zhu, actually bound tightly by Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu's "morality" and "human relationships," despite having seen his own son He Xiao with his own eyes, still chose the bottomless pit that was the Jia family again, under the "persuasion" of Qin Huairu's tears and the beasts in the courtyard!

Seeing that Sha Zhu's eyes clearly held longing for his son, yet he still turned his head away, uttering absurd things like "Huai Ru has had a hard time" and "Bang Geng and the others need me," Lou Xiao'e's heart turned completely cold. She finally understood that this courtyard, these people, had never offered her a place to belong. Filled with disappointment and heartbreak, she took her son He Xiao and resolutely left Beijing, returning to Hong Kong, never to set foot in that place of sorrow again.

As she recalled this, a cold tear silently slid down Lou Xiao'e's cheek. That period of her life was like a long and painful nightmare, filled with betrayal, humiliation, helplessness, and heartbreak. She went from a naive rich girl to being called a "barren hen" by the neighbors, and finally to a disheartened single mother. Her life was full of ups and downs in love, and she almost never truly controlled her own destiny.

"Buzz—"

The sound of a car engine approaching and then fading away came from outside the window; Wang Huanbo had left in his car. This sound pulled Lou Xiao'e back to reality from her painful memories.

She gently wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. Things were different now. The world seemed to have changed because of the appearance of a man named Wang Huanbo. Her father no longer saw her merely as a daughter with a problematic background who needed to be "dumped" as soon as possible, but saw a hope of "marrying up"; and her life seemed to have taken a completely new and bright turn—to work at the Red Star Factory and become the assistant to that legendary young man.

For Lou Xiao'e, who had been trapped in her family, with no way out and even despairing of life, this was undoubtedly a powerful lifeline, a window to a wider world. She no longer had to depend on her family and be used as a bargaining chip to be handed over to people like Xu Damao, as she had in her "dream." She could realize her value through her own abilities and labor, and come into contact with a brand new world full of passion and creativity.

And at the center of that world was Wang Huanbo.

Thinking of Wang Huanbo, Lou Xiao'e's heart inexplicably quickened. He was unlike any other man she had ever met. He lacked Xu Damao's slickness and cunning, Sha Zhu's rudeness and dullness, the worldly sophistication of her father's business partners, and the naivety of her male classmates. He was composed, focused, and powerful, yet at the dinner table tonight, he occasionally revealed a pure quality befitting a technician and an undisguised appreciation for food (such as her mother's Tan family cuisine), making him seem genuine and endearing.

"What...what will he think of me?" Lou Xiao'e subconsciously touched her burning cheeks, a blush rising in her heart, along with a subtle anticipation she herself hadn't even noticed. Monday was her shift start. A new life was about to begin. Would fate be kinder to her this time?