After bidding farewell to everyone, Xu Fei immediately hopped into his Barton Warcar, punched up the navigation, and set his sights on Yun川 County.
Yun川 County, nestled in South China, had been a strategic chokepoint since ancient times, and in the modern era, it remained a key transport hub.
A sprawling network of roads brought this small county a flood of wealth-making opportunities, boosting its development sky-high.
Locals even looked down on folks from nearby cities, a sign of just how loaded the place had become.
Wang Zhixian’s family hailed from here, her mother settling down after marrying her father years back.
Life started out decently plush, Wang Zhixian’s dad being one of the county’s first long-haul truckers—tough gig, but the pay per trip was hefty for those days.
Sadly, the good times didn’t last, Wang Zhixian’s father died in a crash during a haul, a brutal blow for the mother and daughter, but they had no choice but to soldier on.
Plus, his death came with a compensation payout, which Wang Zhixian’s mom used to open a barbershop, grinding away over the years to raise her daughter into a college grad.
Now, for Su Baihe, it felt like the clouds had parted, life finally turning up, and Wang Zhixian landing a catch like Xu Fei brought her real comfort.
But trouble brewed with that Guanyin jade pendant Xu Fei bought Su Baihe before she left.
Wang Zhixian had warned her not to flaunt it around, lest it catch the wrong eyes.
But Su Baihe, being a woman who’d sacrificed her youth propping up a fatherless home, couldn’t resist the thrill of showing off now that she had the chance.
Wang Zhixian couldn’t sway her mom, so she let it slide.
One day, while out buying fruit with her mother, they got spotted.
“Hey, Aunt Liu, struck it rich lately? How’re you sporting something that pricey?”
The fruit vendor tossed out casually, and Su Baihe chuckled softly.
“Nothing much, just a gift from Xiao Xian’s boyfriend when he visited her last time!”
“Nothing much? I saw Aunt Six flaunting a jade Buddha smaller than that, bragging it cost four or five hundred grand!”
The three chatted merrily, but a shifty-eyed guy passing by overheard it all.
He whipped out his phone, snapped a pic of the jade Guanyin around Su Baihe’s neck, and slinked off.
“Cheng-ge, that Wang girl’s back, word is she snagged a rich second-gen boyfriend in the provincial capital, her mom’s even rocking a jade Guanyin worth hundreds of grand!”
Cheng-ge, lounging with a woman on each arm, bolted upright at the news.
“What? Wang Zhixian’s back? With a boyfriend? A rich kid?”
Cheng-ge’s family ran the trucking outfit where Wang Zhixian’s dad used to work, his old man building a fat fortune over years of nationwide hauls.
When Wang Zhixian’s dad died, Cheng-ge’s father coughed up two hundred grand in compensation, mainly eyeing Wang Zhixian as a future daughter-in-law.
But she aced college and flew the coop, leaving Cheng-ge high and dry.
Now she was back, apparently thriving, and it rubbed him raw.
“If her boyfriend’s some rich kid, I’d love to see who’s got more cash, him or me!”
Cheng-ge sneered, huddling with his crew to plot.
Two days later, Wang Zhixian, set to head back to Subei City, watched her mom take a sudden call.
“What? Inviting us to dinner? This… alright, we’ll be there!”
