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Huang Qi’s anger surged within her. She could laugh off Li Mingzhi’s mother’s words with indifference, but when they insulted Xiao Ying, it was a different matter.

Her face gradually flushed red. Just as she was about to explode, a hand reached under the table and held hers. She turned to look at him. His expression was calm, and he gave her a gentle shake of the head.

He must have long since grown used to such things—when his family fell apart, when he lived under someone else’s roof, when he failed his high school entrance exams, when he tried to keep his head down and study in the rough environment of the vocational school, when he was stripped of the right to take the college entrance exam, when he was sweating on construction sites at eighteen. The ridicule and mockery he endured from those around him were surely far more direct and vicious than the sanctimonious Li Mingzhi.

Even now, when he could stand on his own, when he could see the light of his future, when his diligence and intelligence had earned him the recognition of his colleagues—just because he was a construction worker and had found a girlfriend who was a university student at T University, he still had to endure those strange, judgmental stares. Those stares would never cease, perhaps not for decades, even centuries.

He could see that her sadness and anger had not abated; he squeezed her hand tighter, his gaze steady and tranquil.

So much for the wise and mighty “Lord Huang” she fancied herself—she was utterly useless, unable to protect Xiao Ying, needing him to comfort and calm her instead.

In the midst of an awkward silence, Xiao Xu, his face flushed with drink, was the first to sneer, “Huang Qi, you really have unique tastes—fancying a laborer from a thug school. I could never satisfy you like that.”

Huang Qi bristled instantly. “Who are you calling a thug? What’s wrong with being a laborer? A laborer is still better than you! I’d be blind to ever choose someone like you!”

Xiao Xu stood up, red-faced and neck thick, shouting across the table, “What’s wrong with me? Whatever you say about me, I still got into T University! Let him try to get in if he can!”

“So what if you’re from T University? Everyone here is from T or P University—you think you’re special? Did you skip your moral education classes as a child?”

“That’s right, everyone here is from T or P University—except your boyfriend. Not only is he not, he’s a laborer! Aren’t you ashamed?”

Huang Qi was so furious she wanted to lunge at him, but Sha Zhouyin and Sun Hongguang held her back. Sun Hongguang tried to calm her, saying, “He’s drunk and talking nonsense, don’t mind him. It’s Yun Lei’s birthday, let’s not make a scene.”

On the other side, Ye Shuo and a few other guys pinned Xiao Xu down and forced him to gulp several mouthfuls of vinegar from the bottle, sobering him up. Bai Luyao whispered, “Let’s just leave.”

Sun Hongguang said, “I’ll see you out.”

The two tall boys each took an arm and half-carried the ranting “Lord Huang” outside. At the door, Sun Hongguang kept apologizing, “He’s my dorm mate. He’s not usually like this—he drank too much and just went through a breakup. Maybe someone said something to him, so he lost control. Don’t take it to heart.”

Sha Zhouyin, still holding Huang Qi, smiled and said it was fine. Bai Luyao added, “I always thought your school’s engineering boys were steady and honest—today really opened my eyes.”

Sun Hongguang kept up his embarrassed grin. “There are exceptions everywhere, and you can’t take drunks seriously. And economics and management isn’t engineering, anyway. Most of our boys really are steady and honest!”

Sun Hongguang had more social experience and sharp eyes—it was clear he didn’t think much of Li Mingzhi either.

They stood at the door for a while. The cold wind calmed Huang Qi down. Bai Luyao asked, “Are you alright now?”

Huang Qi shook her head. “I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t expect today to go like this. I shouldn’t have asked you to come.”

Bai Luyao said, “It’s alright. I’m sorry you had to put up with that.”

Sun Hongguang patted Sha Zhouyin’s shoulder, “Buddy, you seem like someone who can keep his cool. Take care of your girlfriend—don’t let her worry herself sick. Students who haven’t been out in the world think too highly of themselves and say all kinds of garbage. Don’t let it get to you. They’re probably still making a mess upstairs, I’ll go deal with it.” He apologized again before heading back inside.

Seeing Huang Qi calm down, Bai Luyao also said her goodbyes and headed back to campus.

Huang Qi and Sha Zhouyin walked east along the road. She leaned on his shoulder, speaking in a muffled voice, “Xiao Ying, I’m sorry. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought you. I never thought we’d run into Li Mingzhi, or that Xiao Xu…”

“From the moment I decided to be with you, I knew I’d face this kind of criticism and pressure.” He squeezed her hand. “We should be grateful—the first people we encountered were such low-level opponents; all we need to do is ignore them.”

That was true. Neither Li Mingzhi nor Xiao Xu were really her friends—just a few snide remarks from people they happened to run into. Ignoring them would keep them from having any real impact on her life. But what about later? What about her friends, relatives, her own family? How would she get past them? Especially her parents—she’d tested the waters several times and could already foresee that, even if they didn’t oppose her outright, they were unlikely to support her. Her parents were relatively open-minded and doted on their only daughter, but their open-mindedness and indulgence had limits—it wasn’t realistic to expect them to lower their standards for her sake.

The thought made Huang Qi a little disheartened. “Why is there so much pointless prejudice and discrimination in the world? Why can’t a college student be with a construction worker? Why do adults care so much about money, status, and family background?”

Sha Zhouyin comforted her, “We’re still young and haven’t been through much. Our thinking is inevitably a bit simplistic. Adults’ opinions are shaped by their life experiences, and sometimes there’s some logic to them.”

“My mom told me—never mind my mom, let’s talk about Yu Weiwei. She dated a guy from N University, studied computer science, had excellent grades. Surely he’d make good money in the future. But her mother looked down on him for being from the countryside, for having no money to help buy a house, and forced them apart. What, just because the guy’s poor now? He’s still a student—so what if he’s poor? Even if he can’t buy a house right after graduation, with IT salaries these days, after a few years he could easily buy a place for the two of them in Lanling. As long as he’s outstanding and hardworking, isn’t that better than marrying someone who relies on their parents and has no ability of their own? You can’t count on parents forever. Hardship is what builds character.”

“How do you know that people from good families aren’t capable, outstanding, and hardworking? Look at yourself, and your classmates—were you all ‘tempered by hardship’?”

We often say fate is fair to everyone, but reality can be discouraging. Most of the students Huang Qi knew at university came from comfortable city families, at least as well-off as hers. There were a few like Feng Xidi, but they were rare. Even then, Feng Xidi was just an average student, not because she wasn’t hardworking or talented, but because her peers were just as talented and hardworking, with more time and resources to spare.

Seeing her fall silent, Sha Zhouyin added, “Nothing is absolute. There’s always a way, but the smaller your advantage, the more effort you have to put in.”

Just like Feng Xidi, just like Xiao Ying—they had to work twice as hard just to achieve what others gained without effort, and even then, it often wasn’t enough. The thought made her heart ache; she reached out and hugged Xiao Ying’s waist.

Some people are born on “easy mode,” breezing through life without a care; others are dealt “hard mode,” starting with nothing and facing the toughest challenges. True, some people beat hard mode, but far more are left behind. She and Xiao Ying—perhaps their love was set on “abyss mode.”

“Qi, ever since my parents died and left me alone in this world, I’ve had nothing to ask of life. The one thing I do seek, I will pursue with all my strength. It may be hard, but as long as I’m willing, there will always be a way.”

Huang Qi was moved and hugged him tighter. “Don’t say that… I believe you can do it. I believe in you.”

Ever since she’d seen that letter confiscated by the homeroom teacher, since she’d seen those words—“For you, I’ve never given up”—she had already decided to wait for him alone. The Xiao Ying she’d liked since her first innocent feelings in her teens, she had always known he was worth waiting for. When they were seven, he’d built a sandcastle by the river and said one day he’d build a real one and marry her there. She was still waiting for him to fulfill that promise. At least now, they were an open, legitimate couple—not too far from the goal.

Sha Zhouyin patted her back. “Then promise me, next time something like today happens, you won’t get angry anymore.”

That did it—Huang Qi’s temper flared up again. “Not get angry? Am I supposed to smile at them? They were completely out of line!”

He didn’t argue immediately, but reached up to stroke her hair. “Qi, your hair’s gotten a bit long. If someone criticized you for that, would you care?”

She was puzzled. “What’s there to say about long hair? It’s normal for a girl to have long hair—anyone who makes a fuss about it is the one with the problem.”

“Exactly. So what’s there to say about you and me dating? We like each other, we’re both single—it’s perfectly normal. Anyone who makes a fuss about it is the one with the problem. Why care what they think? If you get angry, doesn’t that mean they found something you care about? That’ll just make people more eager to target you next time.”

His tone made her laugh. “Right—why bother with them? No point trying to educate other people’s spoiled kids; their parents won’t thank me anyway.”

To rage at someone for hitting a sore spot, well, it had to be a real sore spot. If you don’t care, it can’t be used against you. The hardest thing to change in this world is other people’s minds, especially those with particularly twisted thinking. If someone’s got a problem, it’s their own issue—why waste your time and energy trying to cure them?