Damn it! The girl he likes insists on dragging him to a blind date.

After class that day, Xia You didn't need to go to work at the coffee shop until 7 o'clock, so she took some time to go back to her uncle's house.

Xia You stayed in the school dormitory for the entire summer vacation and did not go back to her uncle's house, so it has been a long time since she saw her uncle.

Xia You's uncle's family lived in a six-story public housing building in an old-style community in Haicheng. When she opened the door, her uncle, Yu Haoqiang, wearing an apron, poked his head out from the small kitchen and said, "Youyou, you're back."

Xia You greeted him, "Uncle."

Aunt Xu Huizhen came up to greet her, "Oh, Youyou, it's been so long since you've been back. You've grown even more beautiful."

Xia You smiled and said, "It's not pretty at all. I got tanned all summer."

Xu Huizhen took Xia You's arm and pulled her to sit on the sofa. "Hey, let me tell you, Youyou, for a girl like you, studying is secondary. The most important thing is to marry a good man. I told you before, our factory manager's son graduated from a university abroad and came back to China. That guy's family is well-off, and he fell in love with you at first sight when he saw your picture. Do you want to meet him?"

Before Xia You could answer, Yu Haoqiang interrupted, spatula in hand, "No offense, but your factory manager's son has such a bad reputation. What university graduate? He was expelled from school in Australia for drunk driving. How could you introduce someone like that to Youyou? Did you get paid to do this again?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Huizhen became displeased and immediately glared at her, saying coldly, "What business is it of yours how much money I charge? Every boy has flaws, the key is that his family is rich! If Youyou marries into that family, would she still need to work so hard?!"

Xia You didn't seem to have any particular emotion. She put down her bag and said, "Auntie, are you sure that factory manager's son likes me?"

Xu Huizhen nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice. "I like it! He just likes girls like you who are both beautiful and incredibly innocent!"

"Oh, but I'm not pure..."

Xu Huizhen was taken aback by these words. "You're not pure? What do you mean?"

Xia You glanced deliberately in Yu Haoqiang's direction, as if she didn't want him to hear, then leaned closer to Xu Huizhen and lowered her voice, "To be honest, Auntie, I had a boyfriend before, and then... we... you know... but we broke up now..."

Xia You's voice grew softer and softer, her eyes still wet, as if she had a bellyful of sadness with nowhere to confide in.

Xu Huizhen went crazy upon hearing this, "You! How could you do this?! Where is that boy now? Did you ask him for a breakup fee?!"

Xia You shook her head. "No, he vanished into thin air. I can't find him anywhere. He's a scumbag..."

Having said all that, Xu Huizhen stopped pretending.

Her brows furrowed, the fine lines around her eyes were accentuated by her tension, and her voice suddenly rose, each word like a shower of sparks aimed at you, "What's wrong with you, young lady?! Your uncle and I raised you! How can you just casually date any man without asking our opinion?! Don't you have any conscience?!"

("Ce Na" is a Haicheng dialect word, equivalent to "mother's mother")

Yu Haoqiang hadn't heard their conversation, but seeing his wife get angry, he quickly put down the spatula and came over to mediate, "What are you doing? Even if Youyou has a boyfriend, you can't swear at her!"

"So what if I curse her out?!"

Xia You looked at Xu Huizhen's flushed face and thought to herself that the word "Ce Na" sounded really powerful coming out of her mouth.

She's like a local thug or landlady.

As she thought about it, Xia You couldn't help but laugh. This laugh enraged Xu Huizhen, who yelled, "Damn it! How can you still laugh?! You little bitch!" (both in Haicheng dialect)

Yu Haoqiang: "Alright, stop yelling! The food's ready! Let's eat!"

……

The dinner table.

Xu Huizhen stared silently at Xia You, her lips turned down, her eyes filled with barely suppressed anger.

Yu Haoqiang put a chicken leg in her bowl. "Youyou rarely comes home, who are you giving me that look for?"

"Of course it's for her! Who else would it be for? I'm so angry I can't even eat!"

Xia You paused in her act of shoveling rice into her mouth. She blinked and looked at Xu Huizhen pitifully, "I'm sorry, Auntie, I'll definitely keep my eyes wide open when I date again in the future."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Xu Huizhen slammed her hand on the table with a loud bang, making the bowls and chopsticks shake violently.

"Yu Haoqiang, let me tell you, I already received a referral fee of three thousand yuan from someone, and now she's caused this mess and can't make any more referrals. What am I supposed to do?!"

Yu Haoqiang said, "That's your problem. Why don't you just return the three thousand yuan to the other person?"

"The money's gone!"

"How did the money disappear? Were you playing mahjong again?!"

Xu Huizhen shouted, "What's it to you?! Give me back the three thousand yuan!"

Yu Haoqiang remained silent, but his movement as he put down his chopsticks was a bit forceful, causing the bowl to slam against the table with a dull thud. Xu Huizhen immediately looked up and said, "What are you getting impatient about now?!"

Xia You was eating her meal in silence when she suddenly looked up and said, "Auntie, I'll give you the three thousand yuan. I'll transfer it to your bank account in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Yu Haoqiang became anxious, "How can this be, Youyou! You've only just started your sophomore year, working to earn money is tiring, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xu Huizhen kicked Yu Haoqiang under the table, her expression softening considerably. "What do you know? Youyou is being sensible! How difficult it must have been for us to raise her after her parents died? Now she's in one of the top three universities in the country, all thanks to our good upbringing. Shouldn't she show us some filial piety?"

As Xu Huizhen spoke, she shamelessly took Xia You's hand and said, "Youyou, when are you going to transfer me three thousand? Do you have any more? Please transfer some more."

"Without my aunt, this is all I have. I'll transfer more money to you when I earn it later."

"Okay."

……

After finishing his meal, Yu Haoqiang escorted Xia You to the entrance of the residential compound.

He touched the back of his head, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes filled with unspeakable weariness. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Youyou."

Xia You looked up and smiled at the middle-aged man. "Uncle, I just transferred three thousand to your bank card as well."

Yu Haoqiang was stunned, a bitter feeling rising in his heart. "How can this be, Youyou! You haven't graduated yet, and your aunt and I don't even give you living expenses. Why...why are you transferring money to me?"

"Uncle, keep this three thousand yuan for yourself or to pay off your debts. Don't let Auntie know. By the way, have you finished paying off the high-interest loan you took out before?"

"How can I pay it back so quickly? I still owe 100,000. I shouldn't have impulsively borrowed this money in the first place..."

When Xia You's cousin failed her college entrance exam, she insisted on studying in Australia. In a panic, Yu Haoqiang took the family's meager savings to speculate in stocks, only to lose all of them. When it came time to pay tuition, he had no money and secretly borrowed money from loan sharks, which made the already impoverished family even worse off.

After paying back for several years, there is still a shortfall of 100,000 yuan.

Xia You nodded and said, "It's okay. Don't do anything opportunistic anymore. You'll pay back the money eventually."

Yu Haoqiang looked at Xia You's face, wanting to say something, but the words caught in his throat, and a bitter feeling shot from the tip of his tongue straight to his heart.

He felt extremely guilty towards Xia You. Back then, Xu Huizhen had squandered all of her parents' savings and the compensation money from the factory, leaving her with not a single penny.

Xia You has always been sensible since she was a child. I have never heard her make any demands or complain.

Yu Haoqiang swallowed hard and said, "Youyou, actually, your aunt was right about something. If you meet a good boy in college, don't give up on him..."

Xia You pursed her lips. Although she was smiling, the light in her eyes seemed to disappear in an instant. "Who would like me? I just want to earn more money so that I can live a better life in the future."