"How is that possible? Ache said he was always in the top three during high school!"
"Tsk, he lied to you. I told you not to trust men."
"Auntie, does the ten million still stand? I'll break up with him as soon as I get back."
"No, don't break up. This is the perfect excuse to kick that boy out of the house. The coffee's on me today. Here's to your lasting union."
With that, the woman paid the bill and left. A moment later, the young girl also stood up to leave, her expression still dazed, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened.
What a thrilling negotiation it had been!
The three who had been listening were stunned by the absurdity of the situation and couldn't help but laugh after a while.
"Actually, when I was with Wei, his mother also approached me with money. I was pretty naive back then and refused it."
"How much did his mother offer you?"
Thinking about it, Sheng Xia laughed sarcastically, "He wasn't worth nearly as much as the guy we just heard about. His mother only offered 200,000 yuan."
"200,000 yuan?" Jiang Yun's voice rose. "Only 200,000? Their family is really stingy."
Sheng Xia said with regret, "Maybe she thought I should be grateful for 200,000 yuan. But Wei Zongqi wasn't worth much either. If I had known what kind of person he was, I should have taken that money."
She met Wei Zongqi when she was a junior in college. He was waiting for someone at a coffee shop where she was working part-time.
Over the next month, Wei Zongqi often came to the shop and would chat with her. To be fair, Wei Zongqi was good-looking, and during that time, he was always polite when talking to her. At first, Sheng Xia had a good impression of him.
A month later, Sheng Xia encountered heavy rain after her shift. Wei Zongqi offered to drive her back to school, and they exchanged contact information.
After that day, Wei Zongqi started pursuing her - sending flowers, taking her out for meals, accompanying her to classes, buying snacks for her and her roommates. During that time, he presented himself as a mature, generous, and respectful suitor, and she indeed fell for him.
Six months into their relationship, she met Wei Zongqi's mother, an elegant and beautiful lady with a haughty demeanor.
She invited her for a "chat."
"You've been dating my son for six months. That should be enough, right?"
"I've seen many girls like you. There aren't that many fairy tales about marrying into wealthy families in this world."
"Zongqi is just curious. He's never met anyone like you before. Six months should be enough for you to experience things you wouldn't have seen in your first twenty years, right?"
"We're not unreasonable people. These 200,000 yuan are compensation for you. After this, you shouldn't keep in touch with him."
At that moment, the anger, sadness, and humiliation almost crushed Sheng Xia. She used all her strength to throw the card back.
However, when she met Wei Zongqi again, she still broke up with him. She knew that their backgrounds were too different, and the past sweetness had made her overlook this fact. Today, this gap was forcefully torn open, which ultimately made her determined.
But what did Wei Zongqi say?
"Xia Xia, I truly want to be with you. I don't care about my family's money at all."
"I'm starting my own business now. I'll work hard to give you a good life. Once I achieve success, my parents will surely approve."
"Please, Xia Xia, I really love you."
She believed him again. The year she graduated, Wei Zongqi's company was just starting, and he was very busy. Besides her own work, she voluntarily helped with miscellaneous tasks at his company.
After his company secured its first investment, Wei Zongqi hugged her and said, "Xia Xia, trust me, we'll be together forever."
There was a time when Sheng Xia truly hated herself for easily believing in the word "forever."
Three days after he said those words, she discovered that he had been going on blind dates behind her back.
From that girl's mouth, she learned that it wasn't Wei Zongqi's first time meeting her. Sheng Xia still remembers the pity in the other girl's eyes.
Today, seeing a similar scene, Sheng Xia recalled these past events.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Don't be sad."
Jiaojiao sensed her mother's emotions and reached out to hug Sheng Xia.
Jiang Yun and Nian Suian also noticed that she must have been thinking about her past.
They couldn't help but comfort her, "Xia Xia, let the past be the past. You're away from that scumbag now, and you have such an adorable daughter like Jiaojiao. Your future will only get better."
"That's right, Xia Xia. With such a cute child like Jiaojiao, others can only envy you."
Feeling her daughter's soft little hand, Sheng Xia gradually pulled herself out of her past emotions.
"You're right. I have Jiaojiao. I need to work hard and earn money to make my Jiaojiao a rich kid!"
"Great! Hope you succeed soon!"
"Jiaojiao, cheer for mommy."
"Go, Mommy, go!"
The three of them spent quite a long time over this meal, and it was already a few hours later when they headed back.
Just as they reached the entrance of their apartment building, they were called out to.
"Xia Xia—"
"Don't worry, Xia Xia, we kicked that man out together today."
"We've already spoken to the property management. They won't let him in anymore!"
"That's right, you don't have to worry anymore."
"Remember to bring Jiaojiao down to play often!"
"Xia Xia, you don't have a boyfriend now, right? My grandson is single too, why don't you two meet..."
"Old Fang! Your grandson isn't even 1.8 meters tall, how could he be good enough for Xia Xia."
"Who says my grandson isn't 1.8 meters tall! Old Xie, don't make things up."
"I'm not making things up. My eyes are like a ruler, if he's not, he's not."
"..."
It took the three adults and one child ten minutes to escape from the debate circle.
As they were going upstairs, Nian Suian excitedly said, "Sister Yun, your neighborhood is so lively."
"Of course, there's always something fun happening. That's why I can't bear to move away."
This house was bought by Jiang Yun and Qu Zizhou's father when they first got married. It was their marital home. At that time, their conditions weren't so good, and this was an old neighborhood, so the house was cheap. Most of the residents here were former employees of a nearby factory. Although the factory later went bankrupt, people were reluctant to move away.
Many of the old residents in this neighborhood used to be colleagues, and now they're neighbors, living together is quite lively.
So even though their family conditions improved later and they bought a bigger house elsewhere, she still liked it here.
After hearing this, Nian Suian said, "Sister Yun, could you keep an eye out for me in the future? Let me know if anyone here is selling their house?"