Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Mr. Xue was speechless. "You are the head of the department, and you are so shrewd at work. How come you become so stupid when it comes to your daughter? Jingxuan and Lingxue are both in England, and Zhiyang is in the United States. Zhiyang knows everything about Lingxue's whereabouts, but Jingxuan knows nothing about her. Isn't that a problem?"
Although it's an arranged marriage, I still hope they can be happy together. If there's no love, it can be cultivated slowly, but given the current situation, it seems unlikely.

He only has one daughter, so naturally he hopes she can live as happily as possible.

Madam Xue's face tightened. It wasn't that she didn't know or had no suspicions, but she subconsciously ignored it and dared not think too much about it, for fear that her paranoia would ruin things.

But now that Xue's father has so bluntly exposed her, her mind is in complete disarray.

No matter how much Xue's mother struggled, time kept moving forward, and in the blink of an eye, graduation season arrived.

Xue Lingxue was even busier, as everything she did was in preparation for graduation.

Based on her previous grades, graduating would have been a bit of a struggle, but her hard work over the past year has allowed her to catch up. Now, all that's left is the final thesis.

Zhang Jingxuan, who had been quiet all along, has been frequently seen at the apartment lately, and even followed Xue Lingxue to the library, interfering with her studies.

Chen Xinyue was furious, so she simply took Xue Lingxue to her own girls' dormitory.

Although there are still roommates over there, they haven't been coming back often this semester, so it's quite quiet. Most importantly, Zhang Jingxuan can't get in here.

Knowing that Chen Xinyue had ruined his plans again, Zhang Jingxuan stopped her for the first time when she was alone.

Seeing the unfriendly look in Chen Xinyue's eyes, Zhang Jingxuan sneered, arrogantly raising his chin, and didn't bother to say anything more to her, "If you know what's good for you, stay away from Xue Lingxue. Meddling in other people's business won't end well!"

"Are you threatening me?" Chen Xinyue narrowed her eyes and sneered, "What if I don't agree?"

Zhang Jingxuan's face immediately darkened, and he approached Chen Xinyue step by step with a sinister expression. "You can try it. This is Britain. You can just disappear and the embassy won't be able to find you. Don't you think so?"

Chen Xinyue gave it a long look, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "Not bad, thank you for the reminder, Mr. Zhang. I will pay attention."

Zhang Jingxuan thought she had given in, smiled smugly, and turned to leave.

As soon as he left, Chen Xinyue immediately took out the voice recorder in her hand. The recorder contained conversations between Zhang Jingxuan and Xue Lingxue, and now it also contained his threats.

She discreetly packed her things, turned around and went back to her apartment to pack her luggage, canceled her lease, and moved directly into the school dormitory.

They also arranged for Xue Lingxue to live on campus.

The fact that they were still applying for accommodation right before graduation was something the school teachers obviously couldn't understand. Fortunately, Chen Xinyue was clever and played the recording of Zhang Jingxuan threatening her for the teachers, saying that their personal safety was not guaranteed if they lived off-campus.

The teacher, knowing they were about to graduate, was worried about something going wrong at this crucial time, and actually tried to help them move to a different dormitory room.

After the matter was settled, Xue Lingxue took the initiative to contact her mother.

"Mom, I'm at a crucial point in my graduation process and need to focus on my thesis. Running back and forth between the school and the apartment is too much of a waste of time. I've already applied to live on campus and will go back as soon as I get my diploma."

Seeing her daughter's ambition, Xue's mother was happy. Apart from telling Xue Lingxue to take good care of herself, she didn't say anything else and didn't mention Zhang Jingxuan again, which had upset her.

Many days later, Zhang Jingxuan learned that Xue Lingxue was living at school.

He went to the school to find someone, but the school was under martial law, prohibiting non-school teachers and students from entering during this period.

Zhang Jingxuan finally snapped. He kicked the school gate hard, cursed, and left. A few days later, he received a call from home, telling him to come back and prepare for his wedding. Exhausted and extremely resistant, Zhang Jingxuan said, "Dad, Lingxue hasn't graduated yet. I'll wait for her to come back to China with me."

Mr. Zhang scolded her, "Lingxue won't graduate so soon. You must come back and prepare in advance. Once everything is arranged here, you can go to England to pick her up. That's settled."

Zhang's father didn't give Zhang Jingxuan a chance to refuse at all.

Zhang Jingxuan had no choice but to react with impotent rage.

Unable to refuse his family, he had no choice but to return to the villa to see Annie.

“Honey, I need to go back to China for a few months. I probably won’t be back until October.” Zhang Jingxuan hugged Annie’s waist apologetically.

Annie kissed him naturally. "It's okay, work is important. I understand. I can manage with David and Lily by my side."

Annie's understanding made Zhang Jingxuan feel even more guilty and remorseful. He felt that he had let his lover down and could not release the pain in his heart. Soon the two went to bed together again.

Two days later, Zhang Jingxuan boarded a plane back to China.

He left quietly, and Xue Lingxue was unaware of it. If her mother hadn't called to mention it, she would still have been kept in the dark.

When Xue's mother saw that her daughter knew nothing about Zhang Jingxuan's whereabouts, she immediately exploded, "He didn't even tell you about something as important as his return to the country?"

Xue Lingxue was completely innocent. "Mom, you know my situation. I'm just at school, I haven't gone anywhere. He told me that as long as I come, he'll definitely be able to find me. To put it bluntly, he just doesn't care about me!"

"You still dare to talk back! It takes two to tango. Just because he's being unreasonable doesn't mean you're right. You used to keep referring to him as 'Zhang,' which was very annoying. Forget it, there's no point in saying all this now."

Your father and I have inquired about Jingxuan. He has been an excellent student since childhood, sensible and obedient. He joined the Zhang Group at a young age and now manages the overseas branch. He has real power in the Zhang family and is not short of money.

He is very polite to our family and respectful and filial to me and your father. Apart from your dislike of him, he has no other faults.

He came back to prepare for the wedding, which shows he's really serious about it!

Sigh! Your father and I are hoping that your life will be smooth sailing from now on. The Zhang family is rich, and our family is powerful. A marriage between the two families is good for everyone, and you will be able to live a comfortable life in the future.

Marriage isn't just about liking each other. Love can't put food on the table. Money and power are what make you live a glamorous and respectable life. Even if the relationship between husband and wife isn't good, it doesn't matter. Get married and have children as soon as possible. With children and property, your future will be secure.

Mom knows you might not accept what I'm saying, but time will prove I'm right. Trust me, you're my only daughter, and I would never harm you!

After a long, earnest conversation, Xue's mother finally hung up the phone.

After giving her perfunctory reply, Xue Lingxue turned and went back to her dormitory without any expression.

Seeing that she was in low spirits, Chen Xinyue couldn't help but worry, "What's wrong?"

Xue Lingxue shook her head and sat down next to Chen Xinyue. "My mom said Zhang Jingxuan has returned to China to prepare for the wedding. He didn't even tell me about such a big thing, acting as if this marriage has nothing to do with me. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Seeing her self-deprecating expression, Chen Xinyue grasped her shoulders seriously and asked, word by word, "Lingxue, if you had the chance to break off your engagement with Zhang Jingxuan and gain your freedom, but the price was being gossiped about and talked about behind your back, would you be willing?" (End of Chapter)