Chapter 91

The call was only answered after Yu Nian persistently dialed for the third time.

“Manman!” Yu Nian excitedly said as the call connected.

However, when she heard sobbing on the other end, Yu Nian’s bright smile froze on her face.

“Nian Nian.” Liu Manman responded softly, her voice thick with nasal congestion.

A bad feeling rose in Yu Nian’s heart. Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she gently asked, “What happened to you?”

“My mom found out about me not getting the poverty grant.” Liu Manman spoke softly, holding back the grievance she felt inside.

“And then? Did she say something to you?”

“It’s nothing. This time it really is my fault for being careless.”

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“Lkyd Lkyd, vbydj usw.”

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Jsakdt ulv ekhlavkdt.

After hanging up the phone, Yu Nian still couldn’t stop worrying about Liu Manman. Unsure of who else to talk to, she simply ran to Li Xiang’s house to vent her frustrations.

“I’m so mad ah! Even if Manman did something wrong before, you can’t just completely give up on your own daughter, right?”

Yu Nian huffed angrily as she spoke, then turned to see Li Xiang quietly reading a book. She strode over to him and gave him a light shove. “Li Xiang, are you even listening to me ah!”

“I heard you.”

Li Xiang put down the book and grabbed Yu Nian’s palm, gently rubbing it.

Yu Nian’s hand was naturally chubby, small, and soft in his grasp. It was like he had found something amusing, and he kept squeezing it, unwilling to let go.

Seeing that this person wasn’t taking things seriously and was just taking advantage of her, Yu Nian pulled her hand back with a frown and said angrily, “You’re being half-assed!”

“From her mother’s point of view, it’s somewhat understandable why she’s anxious.”

Li Xiang slowly explained his reasoning to Yu Nian, “Life is often full of chicken feathers,¹Little frustrations Nian Nian. Not everyone is as open-minded as your parents. Most people live ordinary lives, stumbling through it with many disappointments. When pushed to the edge, some can become a bit extreme.”

“But…” Yu Nian frowned, unable to understand such hurtful behavior that could damage someone’s self-esteem.

Still, she knew Li Xiang wasn’t wrong. Not everyone could live the life they wanted. This was the truth that growing up had taught her.

Yu Nian felt a little unwilling deep down. She pursed her lips, sulking and deliberately avoiding looking at Li Xiang, even though she knew she was being unreasonable.

But why should she be so reasonable with her boyfriend?

Li Xiang saw right through Yu Nian’s thoughts but didn’t mind. Standing up with a smile, he said, “Alright, if you’re really worried, we can go to Liu Manman’s house and find her right now.”

Yu Nian perked up immediately, “Really?!”

“En.”

As the class monitor, Li Xiang had already gathered the students’ information, so finding Liu Manman’s address would be easy.

The two originally planned to ask Zhang Chuanze to come along, but to their surprise, he had gone to a training class. He was really putting in the effort.

So, Yu Nian and Li Xiang bought some fruit on the way and followed the address to find Liu Manman.

Liu Manman’s home wasn’t particularly remote, but the building had cemented outer walls from earlier years. The paint inside the hallway was peeling, with patches of green and white, and flakes of plaster covered the floor.

From a distance, the low building looked out of place among the nearby high-rise apartments. The exposed wiring crisscrossed overhead, bound together in a chaotic mess, making the area far from aesthetically pleasing.

There were small ads plastered all over the walls, poles, and even messy graffiti in the area.

Since making up with Liu Manman, Yu Nian had complained about Xiao Xiangli more than once, especially now that Li Xiang also knew her true personality.

So, with utmost seriousness, Yu Nian started cursing out the book’s author right in front of the author’s present work.

“This Xiao Xiangli is heartless! Manman is such a nice girl, can’t her background story be written better!” Yu Nian scowled at a stray dog urinating by a nearby pole and spoke angrily.

Li Xiang felt wronged. He had only written it that way to create some contrast in the characters’ backgrounds. How did that make him heartless?

It’s not enough to read the book, she even cursed at him for his writing!

But to do it in person?

Okay, you’re a crazy reader, you’ve managed to get my attention.

“Then, doesn’t he have any redeeming qualities? You’re so picky when you read. If it was that bad, you wouldn’t have been able to finish it.” Li Xiang, walking behind Yu Nian, found her complaints amusing and decided to probe further.

Yu Nian frowned as she thought about it. “He can write, I’ll give him that. At least the characters are intriguing, but the male lead was so blind in the beginning, it nearly made me explode! And she even sasses back at me, her own golden master!”

“…”

How did the supposed strengths all turn into weaknesses after talking about them?

Li Xiang chuckled and tried to defend himself, “The author must have had a reason for writing it that way. Look at how Liu Manman turned out so remarkable despite growing up in such a tough family environment. What does that tell you?”

“What?”

“It shows that environment doesn’t completely determine a person’s future. Everyone’s future should be in their own hands. We shouldn’t underestimate ourselves, and we should always keep our love for life.”

Yu Nian pondered for a moment before suddenly realizing, and she gave Li Xiang a light slap on the arm. “That’s right ah! Now that you mention it, I didn’t even realize it! So the author is trying to write about a heroine who rises from the bottom ah. That suddenly makes the story feel so deep and meaningful.”

Li Xiang rubbed his nose, shaking his head with a smile. “But the author hasn’t finished yet. How do you know Liu Manman is the female lead and not someone else?”

After he said that, Yu Nian stared at him with wide, round eyes full of grievance.

Li Xiang’s hand lifting the fruit paused, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“You split my CP! I can’t believe you tore apart my main CP! If it weren’t for you, my leads would already be together!” Yu Nian glared at him, gritting her teeth.

“No way.” Li Xiang was momentarily stunned about breaking CP. He hadn’t expected Yu Nian, who was so invested in her pairing, to react like this. He turned his head away, suppressing a laugh as he said that in a low voice.

Yu Nian huffed in annoyance, “Why not?! No wonder all my efforts to get them together early on failed. It’s because you interfered!”

Without realizing it, they had already reached the entrance to the building. Just as Li Xiang was about to step up the stairs, he turned to look back at Yu Nian and laughed. “Well, you said it yourself. If I hadn’t interfered, how could you have been lucky enough to end up with such an outstanding boyfriend like me?”

Yu Nian: “???”

The hell, someone clearly left home without their face today.