Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 230 - 127: Sexy Instructor Qi Siyu, Li Yuan Gets Teased (Two-in-One, Please Subscribe)
The starlight tonight was especially bright. Li Yuan held the shy Xia Zhijin, looking out from the bedroom balcony at the waning moon high in the night sky and savoring this rare moment of tranquility and comfort.
There were only a few days left until the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. This year, it also coincided with the National Day holiday, making it a "double festival."
With the beautiful girl nestled in his arms, as shy as a a flower, Li Yuan asked softly, "Zhijin, do you miss home a lot?"
After their moment of intimacy, Xia Zhijin was incredibly shy. She curled up in Li Yuan’s arms, hiding her face under the blanket.
"Mhm, I miss Grandma. I miss Ningning."
Li Yuan kissed her forehead and asked curiously, "Zhijin, why didn’t you go to university in Shancheng? You would have been closer to home that way."
Hearing Li Yuan’s question, a complex look flashed through Xia Zhijin’s eyes. She seemed to be harboring an unspeakable secret, hesitant to speak. Li Yuan could tell there was a story behind it, so he stroked her hair encouragingly.
"Zhijin, I’m your boyfriend now, and I’ll be your husband in the future," he said. "You can tell me anything. Don’t keep it bottled up inside. I don’t want us to have any secrets between us. Is it because of your family? Your relatives?"
Listening to Li Yuan’s question, Xia Zhijin’s eyes lit up in amazement. "Li Yuan, how did you know?" she asked softly.
I knew it. A beautiful girl like Xia Zhijin, who lost her parents so young... it would be strange if no one had designs on her. And the most likely culprits would be her own relatives. Preying on families with no male heirs isn’t just something from stories; the reality can be far more terrifying and cruel. It’s just as the saying goes: when it rains, it pours, and tragedy always strikes the most vulnerable.
Li Yuan gently rubbed Xia Zhijin’s head and spoke tenderly, "Because we’re on the same wavelength. I just had to look into your eyes to guess what was going on. Zhijin, can you tell me? I want to know everything about you."
Xia Zhijin gazed at Li Yuan with deep affection, her crystal-clear eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She began to tell her story in a soft voice.
"My parents passed away when I was very young, so I went to live with my maternal grandparents. Then my grandfather died in a landslide while traveling in the mountains. After that, it was just Grandma, Ningning, and me, three of us relying on each other to survive...
"Grandma’s health was very poor, and she was often sick, so we frequently had to rely on my three uncles for help. My eldest uncle has two sons, and one of them is mentally slow and has never been able to marry... So, they wanted me..."
As Xia Zhijin spoke, her eyes grew red, and crystal-clear tears streamed down her cheeks.
Li Yuan didn’t need her to finish to know the rest of the story. Although he had suspected something, the reality that her own relatives—the people who should have been closest to her after her parents—could do such a thing was still difficult to believe.
"So, your uncle wanted to marry you off to his simple-minded son?"
Xia Zhijin nodded.
Li Yuan was filled with rage. "Damn it!" he cursed. "They’re animals! You’re their own niece."
"That was just my eldest uncle’s wife’s idea," Xia Zhijin sobbed softly. "They were very good to me when I was little and helped me and Ningning a lot. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
"But I didn’t want to live that kind of life. I have a cousin who was studying here in Modu, and she suggested I come here for university too... My uncles are still good people; they’re the ones who pooled their money to pay for my tuition..."
Li Yuan grew thoughtful. In 2008, the customs in some remote mountain villages were still quite backward. Marriages between cousins weren’t unheard of, especially for girls like Xia Zhijin who had lost their parents’ protection early on. Many of them met tragic fates.
At this thought, a true story from his own hometown came to his mind. There was a man with three sons who had adopted—or perhaps found—a baby girl. He raised her as his own daughter, intending for her to marry one of his sons when she grew up.
However, the man died in a car accident last year. The adopted daughter, only about thirteen or fourteen at the time, was violated by his sons. To make matters worse, the deceased man’s bachelor brother, who was in his forties, also forced himself on the somewhat simple-minded girl.
If such things happened even in the densely populated plains of Northern Anhui, it was no surprise they also occurred in the remote mountains of Shancheng.
Li Yuan hugged the trembling Xia Zhijin tightly. "Zhijin, don’t be afraid," he comforted her. "I’ll be here to protect you from now on. I won’t let anyone hurt you."
Her vision blurred by tears, Xia Zhijin rested her head on Li Yuan’s chest and answered softly, "Mhm, I believe you."
"Zhijin, you have a cousin studying in Modu? How come I’ve never seen her visit you?"
"My cousin’s name is Chu Yanyan. She’s a junior at Modu University of Technology. She said she’d visit when she has time, but she probably hasn’t come because she’s been too busy."
Modu University of Technology? What a coincidence.
Li Yuan’s heart stirred as memories from his previous life, long since sealed away, resurfaced in his mind. It was his alma mater in his past life, a place that held many of his own youthful memories.
I wonder how my dorm brothers from back then are doing now? They’re probably still the same as they were, studying hard, playing games in their free time, and trying to flirt with girls everywhere to release all that pent-up hormonal energy...
Li Yuan looked at Xia Zhijin and smiled. "This weekend, I’ll go with you to Modu University of Technology to find your cousin."
