Read Novel Full Chapter 102 Part 1 – She Just Got Lucky and Saved a Rich Person (I)
Chapter 102 Part 1 – She Just Got Lucky and Saved a Rich Person (I)
Just as Xia Mian and her sisters-in-law were talking, Xia Chuan entered through the front gate with Ma Lili.
The three immediately fell silent.
Xia Chuan lifted the doorway curtain and walked in, awkwardly saying to Xia Mian, “Mianmian, I’m sorry—don’t take it to heart.”
Ma Lili’s expression had softened by now, no longer aloof, but tinged with a faint melancholy. “Xia Mian, sorry… I can’t help having the kind of parents I do…”
Seeing her channeling Lin Daiyu
1, Xia Mian was hit by a strange sense of déjà vu.
Xia Chuan also explained, “You all know about Lili’s situation. Her parents are controlling her marriage—she doesn’t really have a choice.”
Xia Mian smiled politely. “It’s fine. This isn’t Sister Lili’s fault.”
“I truly feel bad,” Ma Lili said helplessly. “God knows how much I want to get away from them.”
Xia Chuan immediately looked pained. “It’s okay. Once you marry me, everything will be better.”
Ma Lili blushed slightly and swatted Xia Chuan. “What are you saying?”
Xia Chuan scratched his head shyly and chuckled.
Ma Lili took the opportunity to sit down and said to Xia Mian, “Let me stay here a while to get some peace.”
Xia Chuan laughed, “You two will definitely get along. Mianmian is really good at her studies.”
“Is that so?” Ma Lili smiled, but her demeanor subtly changed, as if she wanted to compete with Xia Mian somehow.
Because really—who brings up “Have you read all Four Great Classics?” in normal casual conversation?
“Which one’s your favorite? I love Dream of the Red Chamber, especially Lin Daiyu…”
Xia Mian thought to herself. No wonder. She’s even trying to imitate Lin Daiyu’s tone and gestures. Too bad she only picked up the surface. The character’s inner spirit? Nowhere to be found.
Seeing Li Fang and Hong Juan look slightly awkward, Xia Mian smiled sweetly and responded, “Yeah, I love Lin Daiyu too. Her poem “Elegy for the Fallen Flowers” is beautiful. ‘Blossoms fall and scatter through the air; red fades and fragrance ends; who pities them?’ Which poem of hers do you like best, Sister Lili?”
Ma Lili, who had wanted to chat about Daiyu’s life and the girls of the Jia Mansion, hadn’t expected to be quizzed on poetry. She froze on the spot.
Meanwhile, Xia Chuan looked at her with a smile, eager to know his beloved’s tastes.
Ma Lili forced a laugh. “Lin Daiyu wrote so many poems…. I like them all… I’m not sure which one to choose right now.”
“That’s true. Remembering one or two is doable, but all of them would be tough,” Xia Mian said with a smile.
“I actually like Romance of the Three Kingdoms best. Sister Lili’s so smart—you must like it too, right?”
“Zhuge Liang was amazing. Even before dying, he predicted Wei Yan’s betrayal, and had that Ma whatnot kill him…”
“Sister, that guy had the same surname as you. I can’t recall. What was his name again?”
Ma Lili forced a smile. “There are so many characters in Three Kingdoms, I don’t remember them clearly. And I don’t really like all that fighting and killing.”
“Oh,” Xia Mian said with exaggerated disappointment, “but Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Three Kingdoms are all about fighting and killing. Guess we’ve got nothing to talk about.”
Li Fang and Hong Juan burst into laughter. She brought up the topic of the Four Great Classics, but it turned out she’s only read one, and even that just on the surface. Where did all that confidence in her ‘scholarly knowledge’ come from?
Ma Lili’s expression cooled slightly. She asked Xia Mian, “What grade are you in? Isn’t your schoolwork busy? How do you even find the time to read all that?”
“Oh, high school really doesn’t leave much free time. I read those in junior high,” Xia Mian said. “In high school, I just skimmed shorter ones like Jane Eyre and some other foreign classics. Helps with English, you know.”
Ma Lili finally couldn’t continue the topic and switched to something more normal. “You seem pretty relaxed with your studies. What grade are you in now? How are your scores? Are you going to university?”
Xia Chuan, unaware that his beloved’s pride had just taken a hit, simply beamed with pride. “Our Mianmian is in her third year now. She goes to Yan University Affiliated High School—one of the best in Yan City. She’s always ranked first in the entire school. Next year, she might get into Yan or Hua University.”
“The best school, huh?” Ma Lili said with admiration. “Did that rich person get you in?”
“Getting first place is a must. Studying is the only way out for people like us. If I’d had the same opportunity as you, Xia Mian, I’d have cherished it too.”
She then added with a trace of melancholy, “If only I hadn’t been born into the Ma family…. if I’d been born into even just a normal one, where I could study properly, I’d definitely get into a top university.”
She said it with total confidence, not even a “maybe.” She genuinely believed that if given the chance, she would definitely succeed.
Xia Chuan immediately agreed, “Of course you could. You’re so smart—weren’t you top of your class every year in nursing school?”
Ma Lili sighed. “What’s there to show off about being top of a nursing school? It’s all girls looking to find work quickly. As long as you’ve been to high school, you can get in.”
Xia Mian said innocently, “Sister, you already went to high school—how come you didn’t get into college?”
Ma Lili froze for a second, then quickly responded with a sorrowful expression, “I had no choice. When other people went to high school, their whole families supported their studies. But I… I had to help with chores every day after school and on my days off. Otherwise, my parents wouldn’t even let me go.”
“Sometimes… it really is just fate.”
“Are there so many rich kids at your school? Are they really casual about their studies?” Xia Mian asked. “Actually, rich kids study hard too. We’re all students—grades aren’t about being rich or poor.”
Ma Lili sighed, “That’s true. Rich families probably spend more on tutoring fees than on school tuition. No wonder they can catch up.”
Anyway, everyone else’s success was due to good luck, good fortune, good conditions; her lack of success was all because her family held her back.
Xia Mian didn’t even feel like teasing her anymore—this girl’s thinking was seriously flawed. Only Xia Chuan, seeing her through a lover’s biased lens, still thought everything about her was amazing.
But even that filter couldn’t help, because the marriage talk that day ended up going nowhere. The Ma family not only asked for an outrageous bride price, but they even added conditions: Ma Wenwu had to be taken along to Yan City and found a comfortable office job.
Of course, the eldest uncle wouldn’t agree to that and rejected it on the spot. The two families parted on a sour note.
Still, Xia Chuan and Ma Lili hadn’t given up. The two kept seeing each other in private.
Especially Ma Lili. For some reason, she seemed to fixate on Xia Mian, always coming to talk to her when she had time, constantly talking up her own abilities while subtly putting Xia Mian down. It was as if the only way to prove she was outstanding was by stepping on Xia Mian.
Soon, Xia Mian grew numb to the word “lucky.”
“If I had the chance to go to Yan City, I could definitely make it on my own.”
“They say it’s hard to get into the county hospital—I didn’t feel that at all. I got in easily.”
“You’re very lucky. I don’t even get the chance to leave home. Even gold, if buried in the dirt, can’t shine where no one sees it.”
Xia Mian could understand her resentment toward her fate, but this constant blame-everything-on-destiny attitude was simply too much.
After that, whenever it was around Ma Lili’s off-hours, Xia Mian made sure to be out, usually taking Xiao Feng and Qiangqiang to the stream to learn how to swim.
But she ran into Ma Wenwu again—well, not “ran into.” He clearly came looking for her.
“Xia Mian, you’re here! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Ma Wenwu came running up, excited.
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Lin Daiyu: character from Dream of Red Chamber