When Xue Yue stepped out, people gave her odd looks. She decided to just ignore it all and let them say whatever they pleased.

At noon, she went to the cafeteria a little early, and sure enough, Zheng Guofeng arrived with Tun Tun.

When Tun Tun saw her, he waved. "Auntie, over here!"

Xue Yue got her food, walked straight over, and sat down across from them. She reached out and pinched Tun Tun’s little cheek.

"You little rascal, you’ve made your Auntie the talk of the town today."

Tun Tun didn’t understand what Xue Yue meant and just looked at her.

Zheng Guofeng asked, "You’ve heard the rumors, too?"

Xue Yue pursed her lips. ’Looks like he knows, too.’

Zheng Guofeng told her calmly, "Don’t pay any mind to what others say. Everyone is saying you’re my daughter, and I haven’t explained. I’ve always seen you as one anyway. Besides, I’ve always known about your reservations. But I haven’t deliberately kept my distance, Yue’er. Being connected to me will make people gossip, but they’ll only talk behind your back, and they’ll forget about it soon. However, if you run into any difficulties at the office in the future and have to ask someone for help, they’ll always take your ’status’ into account and be more cautious. You have a long road ahead of you. You may not understand my way of thinking right now, but I want to tell you that ability is one thing, but knowing how to navigate personal relationships is also very important."

Xue Yue couldn’t quite understand. At least, for now, she felt she didn’t need it. Maybe this was because she was still young, unaware of the world’s harsh realities.

For the next few days, people still whispered whenever they saw her. But gradually, Xue Yue started to feel like it wasn’t a big deal, and as more time passed, everyone stopped talking about it.

On Xue Xingzhou’s side, they had spent another three days at the hospital in the blink of an eye. Zhang Hongjie was doing much better. He could sit up against the headboard for a while and was speaking clearly again.

"You should all go back to work. Having your mother here to take care of me is enough."

Zhang Qian, who was sitting by the bed peeling an apple, heard this and said, "If you ask me, at your age, how many more years can you even work? You should just retire. Then you and Mom can come with me to Beijing City, and I can take care of you."

Zhang Hongjie shook his head. "No, that won’t do. I couldn’t stand being idle every day, just wandering out and back. Besides, all our acquaintances are here, and we’re used to it. We don’t want to leave home now that we’re old. If you miss us, you can just come back."

Zhang Qian said helplessly, "The main problem is that Beijing City is just too far from here. If you and Mom were to get a headache or a fever, we wouldn’t be able to rush back right away, no matter how worried we were. Take this time, for instance. We spent two days on the train. We’re lucky you’re all right. If something had happened, what would we have done?"

Zhang Hongjie looked at Zhang Qian and sighed. "Your mother and I are still in decent health. When the day really comes that we can’t get around on our own, we’ll go to you then. The day will come when we have to trouble you."

Zhang Qian pouted. "I’d never think of you as a bother. Just come whenever you want."

Zhang Hongjie smiled.

Zhang Hui, who was standing in the hospital room, interjected, "Dad, I’m here. You don’t need to trouble my little sister."

Zhang Hongjie gave him a complicated look. "We can’t rely on you, nor would we dare to."

Zhang Hui opened his mouth, then closed it. ’He suspected his father already knew about what had happened before.’

"Dad, if I’ve done something wrong, just tell me and I’ll fix it. But you’re always troubling my little sister. What is my brother-in-law supposed to think?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Zhang Hongjie looked at Zhang Hui. "You don’t need to worry about that. You should head back soon, too. Isn’t Yun Lei taking the college entrance exams this year? There aren’t many days left, are there?"

At the mention of Zhang Yunlei, Zhang Hui’s expression stiffened.

"What’s wrong?"

Zhang Hui said, "Dad, Xiao Lei has already dropped out of school."

Zhang Hongjie said in astonishment, "What did you say? When did this happen?"

Zhang Qian also looked over curiously.

Zhang Hui had no choice but to tell them about Zhang Yunlei skipping school.

"His grades were consistently at the bottom of the class, so he lost all confidence. He skipped school for a week, and his teacher even came to our house. Then he was expelled."

Zhang Hongjie frowned. "He’s only eighteen or nineteen. What’s he going to do if he’s not in school?"

Zhang Hui said, "Eighteen or nineteen isn’t that young. We’re planning to find a job for him."

"What kind of job? What can he do?"

Zhang Hui shot a glance at Zhang Qian from the corner of his eye and said to his father, "It’s hard to find a job nowadays. Even if you wanted to buy a position, no one’s selling. Yunyun and I have been asking around for months, calling in favors and pulling strings everywhere. The jobs that are too tiring pay very little and aren’t suitable for Xiao Lei. We’re just worried sick about it."

Zhang Hongjie thought for a moment and said, "If you really can’t find a job for him in the provincial capital, just have him come back home."

Zhang Hui shook his head. "We’ve spoiled that kid. He doesn’t want to come back. He wants to go out and try to make something of himself. He thinks it would be best to go to a place like Beijing City. It’s the Imperial City, after all."

Zhang Qian’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t say anything.

Zhang Hongjie now understood what Zhang Hui was getting at, but he didn’t respond.

Seeing that neither of them took the bait, Zhang Hui felt a bit awkward.

「Back at home.」

Huang Ying and Zhao Yunyun were also discussing this very matter.

"Mom, look at Qianqian. She’s said to have married into a family of officials, but what have we ever gotten out of it? Her father-in-law is some minister, her husband is a police officer, and she works at a newspaper. It can’t be that hard for them to find a job for Xiao Lei, can it? We’re not asking for much. Just a job that provides room and board, isn’t too strenuous—preferably an office job. A monthly salary of eighty to a hundred yuan would be enough."

Hearing this, the corner of Huang Ying’s mouth twitched. It was easy for Zhao Yunyun to say. Eighty to a hundred yuan a month... Zhang Hongjie had worked for decades and was only making about eighty yuan a month himself.

Huang Ying said to her, "Qianqian and her husband are both college graduates. Xiao Lei didn’t even finish high school. Even if he went to Beijing City, any potential employer would take that into consideration."

Zhao Yunyun clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Didn’t I just say? This is a test of their capabilities. With their whole family, they can’t find a single job for Xiao Lei? If all else fails, Qianqian can just give her job to Xiao Lei. Then she can stay home and look after her children. Wouldn’t that be perfect?"

Huang Ying glanced at her. "Why don’t you give your job to Xiao Lei?"

"I would if I could, but Xiao Lei looks down on my job. Besides, my line of work isn’t suitable for a man. The three of us are struggling to get by in the provincial capital. You have to help us."

Huang Ying didn’t say anything. ’She was already so disappointed in the couple, but Xiao Lei was her grandson, after all.’

"If you needed to ask Qianqian for a favor, then why did you get into a huff with her before? How can you have the nerve to say this now?"

Zhao Yunyun gave an awkward laugh. "Oh, come on. That was just one thing leading to another in the heat of the moment. We’re all family; we don’t hold grudges. Besides, she slapped me, and I’m not holding that against her, am I?"

Huang Ying thought, ’You’re not holding a grudge because you were in the wrong. Qianqian, on the other hand, definitely does.’

Zhao Yunyun continued with a string of placating words, describing just how pitiful her son was now. The elderly dote on their grandchildren, and for a moment, Huang Ying’s heart really did begin to soften.