A Young Woman's Heart

"What do you mean by 'whatever'? Are you being so perfunctory?" Tian Tingchan smiled slightly. "Things have been going quite smoothly lately, so I'm in a much better mood."

"That's great, isn't it?" Zhou Yong stopped next to the bus stop. "Speaking of which, where are we going?"

"I'm going to visit a friend of mine."

"Oh, then I'll call my dad and tell him I won't be coming home for dinner."

"Ah."

So Zhou Yong went into a public phone booth next to the station, took out a coin, put it in, and dialed his father's cell phone.

"Hello? Dad, I have something to do today. I'm having dinner out with friends and won't be coming home for dinner."

"Oh, what are you doing? Where did you go to play again? With Gao Yuan?"

"Ah, right, right, I ate at Gao Yuan's house."

"Okay, you should try to build a good relationship with him. He's so rich, he might be able to help you out in the future. With your abilities, if no one helps you, you'll probably only be able to work a 9-to-5 job for the rest of your life."

"Dad, Gao Yuan and I have always had a good relationship."

"Okay, then you guys have fun, I still have things to do."

"Okay." Zhou Yong hung up the phone and took out 50 cents from the coin dispenser of the public phone booth.

He just put in one dollar, but the time wasn't up yet, so he only paid the minimum fee.

Zhou Yong stuffed the 50 cents into the coin purse of his schoolbag and walked out of the phone booth.

Tian Tingchan was staring at the items being sold at a roadside stall, seemingly quite interested.

"Haven't you tried this before?"

“No.” Tian Tingchan shook her head. “I’m not a local.”

"This is scallion pancake. It has a dough wrapper on the outside and scallions and fried dough sticks inside. The taste is just so-so, but it's relatively cheap."

"Hmm." Tian Tingchan nodded, but ultimately didn't take out her money to buy it.

She didn't have much money to begin with, so of course she couldn't spend it recklessly.

"Want some food? It's on me," Zhou Yong offered.

"No need," Tian Tingchan shook her head. "I'm going to my friend's house for dinner later."

"Oh, that makes sense." So Zhou Yong didn't insist anymore. "Brother Chan, so you're going to be a nurse from now on?"

"Ah."

"Isn't being a doctor good? Why be a nurse? I feel like nurses are all just doing odd jobs."

“Nurses are not just doing odd jobs, they are also indispensable,” Tian Tingchan explained earnestly. “As for not studying medicine, it’s because the subsequent expenses would be much higher than studying nursing.”

“Oh…” Zhou Yong understood. After all, not every family is so wealthy. It’s not just about tuition fees, but also the time spent. Even if you work part-time during your studies, the money isn’t much, and there’s not much room for advancement in part-time jobs.

All this time will be wasted.

Even after completing your studies, you may not be able to find a good job.

From a practical standpoint, nursing care might indeed be better.

Even if you don't work as a nurse in a hospital, you can still work as a private physical therapist.

Where do we get off?

West Lake.

"Oh? Your friend lives near West Lake?"

"Ah."

"Rich people..."

Upon hearing this, Tian Tingchan smiled and said, "He might be even richer than you imagine."

……

Chapter 291 A Rich Family's Dinner

West Lake in Hangzhou is a national 5A-level scenic area.

These mansions adjacent to West Lake are all of considerable historical significance. Even in this era of constant rebuilding and demolition, these mansions have been preserved and have not been demolished.

Every mansion here is incredibly valuable, a symbol of status and prestige.

Even in this era when housing prices are not high, a simple mansion by West Lake would cost over five million.

—And this is only a conservative estimate.

Anyone who has attended primary school will inevitably think of a line from Su Shi's poem when they come here: "If you want to compare West Lake to silver, it is beautiful whether it is lightly or heavily adorned."

The sky was still bright at this time, showing no sign of darkening.

Summer nights come late, making the days longer.

There was an entrance fee for the West Lake area, so Zhou Yong and Tian Tingchan walked around the perimeter and finally arrived at a mansion.

The mansion wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either. The artificial hill and courtyard in front of the house were intricate and complex, making the small space feel more extended. The straight-line distance was only about ten meters, but after winding through the artificial hill along the path, it felt like everything outside was isolated.

In front of Zhou Yong was a modern-style mansion, not too ancient, but with a certain charm.

The main door was wide open, with a long red carpet laid out. Two young men and women dressed as waiters stood on either side, smiling at the two guests who approached the door and saying, "Welcome. Did you bring invitations?"

"Ah..." Zhou Yong panicked, but after seeing that Tian Tingchan was very calm, he calmed down again.

"Yes, there is." Sure enough, Tian Tingchan handed over the invitation.

After looking at the invitation, the waiter asked inquiringly, "Are you Miss Tian?"

"it's me."

"Please come in, Miss Zuo is waiting for you on the second floor."

"Okay." Tian Tingchan nodded lightly, and Zhou Yong hurriedly followed her inside.

He saw other well-dressed men and women, who looked like members of high society, enter from behind. They also had invitations, but the waiters did not tell them, "Miss Zuo is waiting for you on the second floor."

Judging from this, it seems that the owner of this house and Tian Tingchan are quite familiar with each other.

Dressed like a student, Zhou Yong looked out of place among these high-society people. He lowered his head awkwardly and glanced around out of the corner of his eye.

After following Tian Tingchan up to the second floor, he finally met Miss Zuo.

She is the owner of this mansion.

To be precise, they should be the future masters.

The well-maintained middle-aged couple standing next to her must be her parents.

"Dad, Mom, my friends are here. I'll take them to my room first. You can go downstairs now." The woman with long, slightly wavy purple hair smiled slightly. "Xiao Chan, are these your friends?"

"Hmm." Tian Tingchan didn't say much, seemingly because there were outsiders present.

"Hello." Zuo Ziya's father seemed to have used hair gel in his hair, and only when he smiled could you see the obvious wrinkles around his eyes.

"Hello, everyone." Zuo Ziya's mother greeted them with a smile, seemingly not looking down on them because of their clothes.

Afterwards, Zhou Yong followed Tian Tingchan into Zuo Ziya's room.

The room was surprisingly simple, with almost nothing superfluous. The plush toys were neatly arranged—there was a special rug for displaying them, making it look like a toy store.

"Hello, no need to be so formal—my name is Zuo Ziya, and I'm the owner of this mansion. What's your name?" Zuo Ziya said with a smile as she sat on the edge of the bed, trying to appear as casual as possible.

"Uh, ah... my name is... what was it again?" Zhou Yong was so nervous that he forgot his own name. He frantically slapped his forehead before remembering his name, "Ah, right, Zhou Yong!"

"Pfft." A soft laugh came from beside him. "How could you forget your own name?"

"Ha...haha...it's just that, I've never been to such a high-end place before."

"It's just my home, nothing fancy," Zuo Ziya said modestly. "There are too many people downstairs, otherwise I would have taken you to the reception room for tea. Right now, my room is quieter."

"Xiao Chan, I've prepared a new outfit for you. Why don't you wear it this time?"

"..." Tian Tingchan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"This is a small family banquet hosted by my parents. There are only about thirty people invited. It will be like a buffet. You can take whatever you want to eat."

"This... is called small-scale?" Zhou Yong felt that he couldn't keep up with these rich people's thinking.

"Hmm... For us, it's a small place. Zhou Yong, do you want to wait outside? You don't want to watch Xiao Chan change clothes here, do you?" Zuo Ziya covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Ahhh!" Zhou Yong hurriedly pushed open the door and ran out, walking to the window in the corridor, his face flushed and staring blankly.

Judging from where Tian Tingchan lives, she should be very poor. How could she know such a rich person?

Was it because they were classmates before, or was she someone the other party was sponsoring?

It can't possibly be some cliché story of a rich girl running away from home and living in a doghouse, right?

This kind of development is quite common in recent TV dramas—he had only seen his mother before, but he could hardly remember their names.

Tian Tingchan changed clothes quite quickly; the outfit she changed into was clearly a formal evening gown suitable for a banquet.

With a magenta base and a few intricate gold patterns, her hair was also restyled to look more neat and appropriate.

However, one's temperament is something that still needs to be cultivated.

Even in a gorgeous gown, Tian Tingchan lacked Zuo Ziya's noble air; instead, she resembled a beautifully dressed personal maid.

This also reminded Zhou Yong of himself. Speaking of ordinary people... wasn't he just an ordinary person among ordinary people? He must have felt out of place at the banquet.

No wonder Tian Tingchan brought him along; she probably wanted him to share some of the pressure.

"Alright, let's go downstairs." Zuo Ziya elegantly tossed her long hair. "You can chat with everyone as you like; none of the guests are difficult to get along with."

"Oh..." Zhou Yong responded, but showed no intention of communicating with others.

We're not from the same social class, so what's the point of communicating?

Women might be able to latch onto someone powerful, but he's a man, so he can't get anything unless a rich woman takes a liking to him.

With his ordinary appearance, how could any rich woman possibly like him?