Wen Kai had not yet told Gan Tao that his own cousin was “Fish Swimming Against the Current”.
When Wen Ying helped deliver the items to Wen Kai, the siblings had to meet secretly behind Gan Tao’s back. It carried the thrill of doing something illicit.
“Brother Kai, you are not seriously planning to wait until you two are married before telling her, are you?”
Wen Ying teased. “Setting aside whether your future sister-in-law will beat you when she learns the truth, if we get caught meeting like this in secret, how do you plan to explain it?”
Wen Kai begged on his knees for Wen Ying to spare him.
“Let me get through meeting the parents first.”
“Fine. You choose the right moment yourself. Brother Kai, good luck.”
Wen Ying smiled brightly as she cheered him on.
A whole new life awaited Wen Kai.
Carrying the heavy gift boxes, Wen Kai felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
He would strive to win Gan Tao’s parents’ approval.
He was not struggling alone. He had the support of the entire family.
Back in the dormitory, Wen Kai’s roommates teased him endlessly about the grand scale of his preparations.
“You and your girlfriend have not been together long, have you?”
“Such a big production. Are you planning to get the certificate straight after graduation…”
“When you go to her house, be observant. Jump in to help with chores and secure your position. Beijing locals do not like out-of-towners. Brother, endure it. Every son-in-law from elsewhere has to pass this test.”
It was Friday. As usual, Leng Jun was not in the dorm. With him absent, the roommates spoke freely.
Whether their advice was useful or not, Wen Kai listened with a cheerful grin, cupping his hands in thanks for their tips.
In Wen Kai’s dormitory, he was not the one from the poorest background.
The poorest was a boy who had tested in from the mountains. Before him, no one from his hometown had ever gained admission to such a prestigious university. In the eyes of his villagers, he was a golden phoenix that had flown out of a poor nest. He would surely make something of himself.
The boy never said it aloud, but he believed it too.
Arriving at Shouhang full of such thoughts, he soon felt the wealth gap between himself and the city students. Gradually, he grew quiet.
When Wen Kai first started university, he had been close to this roommate from the mountains. Later, Wen Kai often went out with Leng Jun and, through him, landed internships at big companies. The mountain boy drifted apart from Wen Kai.
He felt they were no longer on the same path.
With poor family conditions, should he not devote himself entirely to studies?
Yet Wen Kai had chosen a route of flattery and connections.
Hearing the other roommates congratulate Wen Kai on landing a girlfriend from good circumstances, the boy frowned inwardly. Leng Jun’s cousin looked every inch the pampered young lady. In private, she was surely spoiled and affected. Only someone like Wen Kai could tolerate it.
The dormitory discussion grew lively. The boy rarely joined in, but tonight he could not resist asking, “If her parents do not approve of you, what will you do? Do you think feelings matter more, or self-respect?”
The lively atmosphere paused abruptly.
Everyone had been encouraging about Wen Kai’s upcoming visit. This quiet one usually spared words like gold. When he spoke, it was a bombshell.
As a freshman, faced with such a sharp question, Wen Kai would not have known how to respond.
After the tempering of years from freshman to now, such scenes were nothing to him.
“Feelings and self-respect are not opposed. Honestly, the first time I meet Gan Tao’s parents, it is normal if they do not approve of me. Even hiring a new employee at a company involves a probation period. How much more so when it is their treasured daughter with a boyfriend? Without thorough examination, how can they know if the boyfriend is reliable? If they liked me instantly upon meeting, I would actually suspect they do not care enough about Gan Tao… To be frank with you all, I have already prepared for a prolonged battle.”
Wen Kai’s mindset was excellent. Applause broke out in the dormitory.
“Brother, impressive.”
“Open-minded, truly open-minded.”
“With that attitude, you have already won half the battle.”
The boy smiled. “I wish you swift victory in this prolonged battle.”
He had seemed so honest upon entering university. After mixing so long with rich second-generation types like Leng Jun, Wen Kai had become slick.
Prolonged battle?
It was merely long-term grovelling to please the girlfriend’s family.
Wen Kai’s roommates each had their own views. Gan Tao’s parents were equally concerned about meeting Wen Kai. That evening, Gan Tao’s parents and Leng Jun’s parents gathered, repeatedly warning Gan Tao and Leng Jun.
“Tomorrow when that fellow comes, both of you behave.”
“How you usually interact is your business. Tomorrow, no fawning.”
“Yes. We want to see how he handles himself.”
Gan Tao pouted. Leng Jun desperately tugged his cousin’s sleeve. “We understand. We will absolutely not side with outsiders. How about this? Tomorrow we give that Wen fellow a show of strength first. Let him know the Monkey King has three eyes. Then he will surely treasure Tao Tao even more in future.”
Gan Tao’s eyes nearly popped out.
Which side was her cousin on, exactly?
Leng Jun’s father could not help laughing. “What Monkey King with three eyes? You make us sound like demons and monsters. We will not lack basic courtesy.”
That was reassuring.
Leng Jun had worried the elders would put on stern faces for Wen Kai. Hearing his own father guarantee it, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though his mouth insisted on saying the opposite. “Alas, our family is simply too refined. For a poor lad like Wen Kai to come calling, and we do not even set him ten ditches and eight hurdles. We are truly letting him off easy. With his family conditions, he might not even manage decent visiting gifts…”
This time, not only Leng Jun’s father, but his mother could not stand it either.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Our family does not lack such trifles, nor does your sister’s. What matters is not the gifts, but something else.”
Leng Jun took a scolding. Gan Tao slowly caught on.
Oh. Her cousin was paving the way for Wen Kai.
With Leng Jun’s interruption, though the two sets of elders said nothing aloud, they grew inwardly anxious.
They had long prepared for Wen Kai’s modest background. With Leng Jun laying it on so thick, was Wen Kai’s family even poorer than they had imagined?
Especially Gan Tao’s parents. They barely slept all night. The couple lay in bed discussing how to respond.
Being too forceful and breaking them up would never work. Gan Tao would rebel.
“What if he takes Tao Tao back to his hometown in future?”
“We have pampered Tao Tao, not so she suffers after marriage.”
“The poorer the family, the more scheming. Tao Tao is so innocent. Others would leave her only the bones to gnaw.”
The more one imagined, the more terrifying it became.
In this state of mind, they passed the night. The next morning, Wen Kai arrived with gifts.
The items were not extravagantly expensive, but for a university student meeting his girlfriend’s parents, carrying such gifts would not disgrace him anywhere.
The elders of the Gan and Leng families were puzzled.
Had they not heard he was very poor?
Was Leng Jun talking nonsense, or was this Wen Kai putting on a brave front?
Leng Jun saw the elders’ expressions and felt a thud in his heart. He quickly smoothed things over. “You have really splashed out. Did you empty all the pocket money you earned from side jobs?”
Wen Kai was honest. “Not emptied. I kept a little to treat Tao Tao to meals. Half these things I bought myself. The other half my relatives prepared for me, worried that at my age I might be unreliable and neglect propriety.”
Today’s meeting was arranged at Leng Jun’s home.
The villa district where Leng Jun’s family lived was not particularly upscale, but the Lengs had spared no expense on interior decoration. The living room featured a full set of carved rosewood furniture. The crystal chandelier was huge and opulent, a level of luxury Wen Kai had never seen.
Second Aunt Chen Ru had said to appear poised. Wen Kai openly surveyed the surroundings, then sat properly on the rosewood sofa. Inwardly nervous, he worked hard to maintain calm on his face.
Worried Wen Kai might be tense, Gan Tao kept asking if he wanted fruit, then if he wanted water, dazzling his eyes with attention.
Leng Jun’s mother directly dragged Gan Tao away. Leng Jun’s father finally found a chance to talk serious matters with Wen Kai.
The conversation eventually turned to Wen Kai’s family. When Leng’s father asked what his parents did for a living, Wen Kai’s gaze was clear. “They used to work in a factory back home. A couple of years ago they quit and started selling fruit.”
Quit to sell fruit?
It did not sound as poor as imagined.
Leng’s father took it as “venturing into business”. His first reaction was that Wen Kai’s parents were bold, daring to resign and start a business at their age.
When asked about the scale, Wen Kai said they had a shop outside the provincial hospital in Rongcheng. Leng’s father frowned. “Retail?”
“Yes, just retail. Business is pretty good. My parents cannot manage alone, so they hired help.”
Leng’s father had initially thought wholesale. He had not expected retail.
Wholesale could easily expand. Retail truly meant just getting by, neither starving nor thriving. In that case, the Wen family was not desperately poor, but comfortably middle-class at small-citizen level.
Of course, compared to the Leng family, it was far inferior. Compared to the Gan family too.
Leng’s father looked Wen Kai up and down. His clothes were inexpensive brands, but neatly kept. The young man carried himself well.
The lad did have merits. No wonder Tao Tao liked him.
Yet lads with such merits could be found by the handful across top universities. Whether he would succeed in future was anyone’s guess.
