After the holiday, Zheng Yuxin rarely went out. Now, she doesn't like holidays because she can't see Xu Shaojie during that time. Girls are sentimental, and now Xu Shaojie is all she thinks about. However, Zheng Yuxin also has concerns - whether her father and mother will agree to this matter. She hasn't dared to mention it yet. Having just entered university, her main task is studying. If she starts dating so early, her parents will definitely object. Anyway, there's still time, so Zheng Yuxin isn't in a hurry. In the future, she'll find an opportunity to slowly tell her parents about this matter. At home, with nothing much to do, Zheng Yuxin writes diaries and reads books. Nowadays, Qiong Yao's books are really popular, and Zheng Yuxin likes reading them too. She is often moved to tears by the love stories described in them.

  These two days, Zheng Yuxin felt strange. Her parents would occasionally look at her and then whisper to each other in a low voice, as if they were discussing something. The smile on her mother's face was different from usual, with some profound meaning. Zheng Yuxin wasn't a child anymore, she always had the feeling that there might be something going on.

  Zheng Qing-shan and Luo Ling have discussed Liu Hong and Zheng Yu-xin's matter several times, the elders of both families have reached a consensus. However, the children also need to accept it. Zheng Qing-shan has a softer attitude, thinking that he should directly tell his daughter, so she can be mentally prepared and won't strongly oppose it when the time comes. Luo Ling doesn't think this way, nowadays girls don't know how hard life is. Luo Ling knows her daughter likes reading Qiong Yao's books, which describe love stories that cannot stand in real life. For love, they disregard everything, which is not a mature attitude. After marriage, it's the mundane things like rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea that are most practical. Therefore, she opposes telling Zheng Yu-xin first, her own daughter can be worked on later.

  On Saturday, Luo Ling went out early to buy vegetables. On Sunday, Liu Hong and his parents were coming home as guests, so she had to entertain them well. She even called the company to inform them that she might be late in the morning. With big and small bags of vegetables, Zheng Yu Xin helped her mother carry them into the kitchen and casually asked if her brother was coming back. Luo Ling smiled and said that Zheng Yu Xin shouldn't go out on Sunday because there were guests at home. Zheng Yu Xin didn't mind, as every time her two brothers came back, her mother was also very busy, and she wanted to see her brothers too.

  Liu Hong was extremely happy, and his mother had told him everything. Uncle Zheng and Aunt Luo had both agreed to the marriage between Liu Hong and Zheng Yuxin. For children of cadres like them, their parents' opinions were very important when it came to marriage, sometimes even decisive. Liu Hong's spirits were high, and when Cai Juan took him to the store to buy clothes, he tried on clothes in front of the mirror for the first time. In the past, Liu Hong had never cared about what his mother bought for him to wear, but now he needed to pay attention to his image. The Liu Hong in the mirror looked spirited and elegant, not bad at all. After returning home, Liu Hong began to count down the days until he would go to Uncle Zheng's house, thinking about how he should behave, definitely needing to be humble. In Liu Hong's opinion, the thing between Zheng Yuxin and Xu Shaojie was nothing, and wouldn't pose any obstacles.

  Sunday at 10:00

  Liu Hong, dressed in new clothes, carried big and small gifts, followed his parents onto the car, heading to Uncle Zheng's house. Liu Hong was in high spirits, having made preparations long ago.

  "Hello Uncle Zheng, hello Aunt Luo."

  "Haha, Liu Hong has grown so tall! Come in and sit down quickly. Secretary Liu, Sister Cai, come in and sit down. Hey, what's with all the stuff you've brought? You're being too polite."

  Luo Ling was in the front, Zheng Qing Shan was at the back, welcoming Liu Zhi Wen and his family at the gate. After exchanging greetings, they all entered the living room and sat down. It was still a while before dinner time, and at this moment, Zheng Yu Xin was reading books in her own room, Luo Ling went to call Zheng Yu Xin out.

  Zheng Yuxin finally knew what kind of guest it was. At the moment she entered the living room, she saw Liu Hong, who was dressed in new clothes, and her smiling uncle and aunt, Liu Shu and Cai Aiyi. Zheng Yuxin understood what it meant. Since childhood, Zheng Yuxin had received strict family education. In this situation, Zheng Yuxin could only smile and greet Liu Zhiwen and Cai Juanhua. As for Liu Hong, Zheng Yuxin just nodded slightly.

  Cai Yunhua thought Zheng Yuxin's actions were a good start. Girls are shy, and in such situations, they won't show excessive affection. Besides, girls have their own thoughts, and it takes time to accept such arrangements. Cai Yunhua got up and walked to Zheng Yuxin's side, holding her hand and praising her nonstop, already flattering her into a flower, making even Zheng Yuxin feel a bit embarrassed.

  Soon, the living room was left with only adults, who were all praising each other's children. Liu Hong's performance was indeed good, after entering the living room, he carefully placed the gift under the coffee table and sat in a standard posture, looking like he had received good education. Liu Hong's series of actions made Zheng Qing Shan and Luo Ling very satisfied. At this moment, Liu Hong had already gone to Zheng Yu Xin's room, two young people who were familiar with each other since childhood, there was no awkwardness between them.

  "Liu Hong, what do you mean, why are you doing this?"

  "Yu Xin, I didn't do anything wrong, today is just a visit to your home to play and pay respects to Uncle Zheng and Auntie Luo."

  "Liu Hong, don't call me that, I'm not used to it. I understand what you mean, and you know my situation too. It's impossible for us to have that kind of relationship. We're good friends, and it'll stay that way in the future."

  Liu Hong smiled, with a confident look on his face, and his words became sharper.

  "What's impossible about it, I like you, and you don't have a boyfriend yet, so I can pursue you. Besides, I've already expressed my intentions, Uncle Zheng and Aunt Luo both agree with me, they didn't know you had a boyfriend, and you didn't mention it at home either. So everything I'm doing is open and aboveboard."

  Zheng Yuxin's face turned red with anger when she heard Liu Hong say that, but she couldn't say a word. Yeah, her and Xu Shaojie's matter, their parents didn't know about it, and even if they did find out now, they would definitely be opposed to it.

  "Liu Hong, just give up, I won't agree with this matter."

  "Yuxin, don't be too stubborn. What you're doing will hurt Uncle Zheng and Auntie Luo. Besides, between you and Xu Shaojie, it's basically impossible. After Xu Shaojie graduates, he'll have to go back to the small county town. Are you going to leave Xilin City and follow him there? Wenru Ge and Wenbin Ge are both trying to find ways to get transferred back to Xilin City right now. Uncle Zheng and Auntie Luo won't let you leave Xilin City. Yuxin, I really like you."

  Liu Hong didn't even know why he said those words, they were his true inner feelings, of course, there were other reasons that Liu Hong wouldn't say out loud, that was to always put Xu Shaojie down, his own conditions were much better than Xu Shaojie's, if he lost to Xu Shaojie, wouldn't it be too humiliating? Liu Hong even thought about it, when the time came for distribution, he would definitely find trouble for Xu Shaojie, and make Xu Shaojie roll back to that small county town, a person from a small county town had no qualifications to compete with him.

  Zheng Yuxin would never have thought of these problems, she thinks that when two people are together, feelings are the most important thing, and everything else should take a back seat. As long as the feelings between the two people are good, even if life is tough, they can overcome it.

  "Liu Hong, don't say anything else, Xu Shaojie will go to a small county town in the future, and I'll follow him to the small county town."

  A brief silence appeared between the two, and they had both said what they meant to say. Soon, a smile reappeared on Liu Hong's face, warm and touching. Liu Hong understood that one can't rush into things like eating hot tofu, these things need to be done slowly. Zheng Yu Xin also wouldn't change quickly, otherwise it would go against the natural order of things.

  "Yu Xin, I'm coming to your house today just to have some fun. My intention is very clear. You can take your time to think about it, and I believe you will definitely accept my invitation. I've got plenty of time."

  Zheng Yuxin turned her face away, no longer paying attention to Liu Hong, and started reading a book. However, at this moment, Zheng Yuxin couldn't concentrate on the book. The problem that arose today was not something she could easily deal with. Liu Hong had obviously thought it through and made sufficient preparations. The strange smiles and whispers of her parents in recent days finally made sense to Zheng Yuxin. At this moment, Zheng Yuxin especially missed Xu Shaojie. If Xu Shaojie were at home, Zheng Yuxin would have thrown herself into his arms without hesitation. She believed that Xu Shaojie would definitely find a way out.

  While eating, Zheng Yuxin forced a smile, Cai Juanhua kept serving her dishes, and her mother kept serving Liu Hong. Seeing this scene, Zheng Yuxin's heart began to sink. She had never thought of going against her parents before, but soon she would have to face this problem.

  Liu Hong and his parents left, and the house became quiet again.

  "Old Zheng, this kid Liu Hong is knowledgeable and reasonable, understands etiquette, he's really not bad."

  "Hmm, I think he's quite good, this kid, he'll definitely make something of himself in the future."

  Zheng Yuxin sat on one side, not speaking. Luo Ling's heart was very delicate. At first, she thought her daughter must be shy and embarrassed, suddenly encountering such a thing, needing an adaptation process. But Luo Ling soon discovered that Zheng Yuxin's attitude was not right, seemingly unimpressed by Liu Hong.

  "Yu Xin, what's wrong, you don't seem in a good mood."

  Her mother's words made Zheng Yuxin explode.

  "Dad, Mom, I just started college and don't want to think about personal issues yet. Please don't make decisions for me randomly, I'll consider them myself."

  Zheng Yuxin finished speaking, got up and left the living room, returned to her own room, and closed the door tightly. Zheng Qingshan and Luo Ling looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what was wrong with their daughter.

  "Lao Zheng, Yu Xin's mood is off."

  "There's nothing wrong, girl, you're always shy, it'll be fine after a while. Today's thing was so sudden, I told you earlier to tell Yuxin in advance, but you didn't listen, see what happened now."

  "No, that's not how it is. I know my daughter and Yu Xin's mood was very unusual today, there must be something else going on. You should ask more questions too, every day you just focus on work, our daughter has grown up, we need to care about her more."

  "Alright, I know. What's the point of thinking so much? Rain has already known about today's matter. Let her think slowly and adapt slowly, it'll be fine after some time."

  "Go, you know what, Yu Xin must have something on her mind. I want to ask around and it won't be that simple."

  Zheng Qing Shan helplessly shook his head, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Girls are always shy, there's something strange about this kind of lifelong matter, it must be something that needs time to slowly get used to.

  Liu Hong returned home, humming a tune. He enjoyed taking on such challenges. He remembered that a great man once said, "To fight against the heavens is to have endless joy, and to fight against others is also to have endless joy." Liu Hong believed that people can only grow through competition. Now, his game with Xu Shaojie had officially begun, starting from the moment Xu Shaojie started dancing. The two had been engaged in a fierce battle of wits, but Liu Hong never expected that their game would last so long and end in such a tragic outcome.

  Liu Hong thought that he would definitely win, with the heavens and earth on his side. As for Zheng Yuxin's attitude, although it was important, it wasn't decisive. The attitudes of Uncle Zheng and Aunt Luo were what truly mattered. Liu Hong had always believed that women were haughty before marriage, but after marrying, they became different people. Once married, they would follow their husbands, whether to a chicken or dog, and wouldn't have many complaints.

  Strictly speaking, Liu Hong was not bad. Growing up in an official family from a young age made him mature early on. His understanding of power was no less than Xu Shaojie's. He had learned too much from his parents and appeared mature, able to handle many things with ease. He and Xu Shaojie represented two different strata, and these two representatives would definitely dominate China's political arena in the future.

  Therefore, the game between the two men was not so simple later on. It became a collision between two levels, causing shockwaves and fluctuations that many people had not anticipated.

  Liu Zhiwen and Cai Juanhua are very satisfied with Zheng Yuxin. They have watched her grow up and can't believe she has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Liu Zhiwen was too busy with work to pay much attention before, but now that he's seen Zheng Yuxin, he can't help but praise her. In their hearts, they already consider Zheng Yuxin as their own daughter-in-law. Liu Zhiwen is also satisfied with Liu Hong, this child has a keen sense of observation and will have a brighter future than himself.