1987 My Era

Chapter 580, You Have to Give Up Something to Gain: A Big Picture

Chen family.

Upon seeing Li Heng and Zi Jin return to deliver the New Year's offerings, Chen Xiaomi and Chen Xiaohong, the two aunts who had been waiting, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Chen family all knew that Yu Shuheng was with the Li family, and they also knew where Yu Shuheng came from. They seemed somewhat wary of this.

If Yu Shuheng weren't across the street, Chen Gaoyuan would have run over to offer Li Jianguo cigarettes and catch up with him as usual as he did in previous years. But he didn't do that this year.

The fact that Li Heng is able to come with Zi Jin proves one thing: Zi Jin's position in the Li family is still relatively stable and has not yet been disrupted by the outside force of Yu Shuheng.

Chen Xiaomi poured Li Heng a cup of hot tea and started chatting about his new book: "I heard you're writing a new book, is it almost finished?"

Li Heng replied, "Not yet, I've only finished a little over half of it so far."

Chen Xiaomi asked curiously, "What type?"

Li Hengdao said, "It is related to the Tusi system and can be considered a traditional subject."

Chen Xiaomi was itching to borrow it, but then felt it was inappropriate and swallowed her words.

Grandpa Chen made a special trip to entertain Li Heng and even played three games of chess with him.

As expected, after losing two games, Mr. Chen won one back.

However, it was clear to everyone that Li Heng had let the old man win the last game, giving him face.

Grandpa Chen remained silent in front of the chessboard for a long time, and finally looked up at Li Heng and said, "I'm entrusting Zijing to you."

The words were short and sudden, yet concise and to the point.

Li Heng was quite surprised. He didn't expect the stubborn old man to agree so quickly. He had never said such a thing in his previous life, and he hadn't had much interaction with him.

Chen Zijin smiled broadly, delighted by her grandfather's words, her face beaming with joy.

Facing the gazes of the Chen family members, Li Heng stated, "Grandpa, don't worry, I will take good care of her."

Grandpa Chen nodded slowly, then sipped his tea and chatted with Li Heng for an hour or so before parting ways.

The reason for this "departure" was that it was completely dark, and Li Heng, mindful of Teacher Yu at home, went home.

Chen Zijin saw him to the door and whispered in his ear, "Honey, I'm going to take a shower first, and I'll come back to keep you company later."

With just one word, "husband," he understood everything: his wife wanted to sleep with him that night.

Although Li Heng felt uneasy, he readily agreed: "Okay."

These days, whether you cower or stick your neck out, you'll get stabbed anyway. Since these relationships can't be avoided, don't shy away from them; face them with the utmost courage.

Rather than timidly offending two women at the same time, it's better to comfort Zijing, who was the first to be with him. As for Teacher Yu, he can find a way to make amends later.

He believed that Teacher Yu was not a narrow-minded person.

Furthermore, he had already made his stance clear: he wanted Xiao Han, Song Yu, and Zi Jin—he would take them all and wouldn't let any of them go.

Although he admitted that he was somewhat greedy, he felt that he acted fairly uprightly, never went back on his word, and never deceived or concealed anything from Teacher Yu beforehand, emphasizing that they both "understood" each other.

After Li Heng left, Chen Xiaomi found her sister-in-law, who had not shown up at all, and asked in confusion, "Sister-in-law, things have come to this point, why haven't you figured it out yet?"

Zhong Lan retorted, "You've come to your senses, but does he only have Zijing as a woman? I've heard there's Song Yu at Peking University, and now the Li family has Yu Shuheng. How do you explain that?"

As a native of Beijing, Li Heng's pursuit of Song Yu at Peking University was too high-profile. Although Zhong Lan, who was secretly paying attention to her eldest daughter's love life, did not receive the news immediately, the news eventually reached her ears after a year and a half.

As for Yu Shuheng, she lives in the Li family across the street and is the only daughter of the Yu family. It's hard not to know about her.

Zhong Lan's question left Chen Xiaomi speechless.

At this moment, Chen Xiaohong came in and reflected, "If we hadn't forced Zijing to go to Beijing during the summer vacation after our second year of high school, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe Li Heng and Zijing would have gone to university together. Sigh! In the end, it was us who ruined this perfect marriage."

Chen Xiaohong used to disapprove of Li Heng, but now that Li Heng is becoming more and more capable, she has no choice but to accept this reality.

Zhong Lan frowned and asked angrily, "I don't think so! Isn't the only daughter of the Yu family outstanding enough? Even when I was young, I wouldn't have been interested in competing with her for a man, but what about now? I can only watch helplessly as that little rascal flirts around outside."

Even Yu Shuheng couldn't control this scoundrel, do you think Zijing can?

I'll say it again: anyone who dares to sleep with Zijing at such a young age is absolutely a slut, never meant to be respectable.

Chen Xiaohong: "..."

Chen Xiaomi tried to smooth things over: "Sister-in-law, you're being too harsh. The word 'vulgar' is too much. For a scholar, it's more like being romantic. But then again, a person's first love is the most precious thing in their life. Once he set this precedent, Li Heng naturally couldn't stop himself afterward. It's understandable."

Zhong Lanbai glared at her sister-in-law and said irritably, "You're lying through your teeth. You've changed your tune now that he's achieved success. Haven't you met Song Yu? Do you think that little bastard's lust for Song Yu wasn't there from the beginning? Or did it only develop after we forced Zijing away?"

One phone call left his two sisters-in-law speechless once again.

Chen Xiaohong said, "When you meet a stunning beauty like Song Yu, there are probably quite a few boys who secretly admire her. Even if Li Heng is moved, it's within the normal range of reactions."

It is said that actions speak louder than words, and no one is perfect when it comes to their heart. If Zijing hadn't been taken away in the first place, there might not have been so many troubles later on.

Sister-in-law, we were wrong, and there's nothing shameful about it. It's just a pity for Zijing; such a wonderful marriage slipped through our fingers. I feel especially sorry for her now.

Zhong Lan frowned even more deeply, but unusually, she didn't refute him. Instead, she asked, "Didn't the old man say he was going to exonerate Li Jianguo? Why hasn't there been any progress in the past six months?"

Chen Xiaomi shook her head: "Dad gave up."

Zhong Lan asked, "Why?"

Chen Xiaomi said, "My dad and I analyzed it, and judging from Yu Shuheng's actions, she is probably determined to have Li Heng and wants to marry him in the future."

The old man said, "We've already missed the best opportunity to support Li Jianguo. Trying to make up for it now would seem like flattery and would make us look bad, so it's better not to do it at all. Let Yu Shuheng handle this. Or perhaps let Li's future daughter-in-law do it."

Zhong Lan looked up. "So, does that mean the old man has given up on the idea of ​​Zijing marrying into the Li family through proper channels?"

Chen Xiaomi remained silent.

Chen Xiaohong sighed, "It's not that we've given up completely, it's just that we can't compete with the Yu family. Besides, we ruined Zijing's promising future ourselves, so we're powerless to fight back now."

I paid special attention to the girls around Li Heng; each one was beautiful and had her own unique characteristics.

Although Zijing's personal qualities are top-notch at Renmin University, if she were placed next to him, she would only be considered to be keeping up with the times, and she would not be superior to Song Yu and Yu Shuheng.

Li Heng still dotes on Zijing so much because he's nostalgic; after all, Zijing was his first woman.

Even though Zhong Lan was stern with her eldest daughter, she was still her own daughter, a piece of her own flesh. She felt very uncomfortable hearing this and said angrily, "Why bother trying to please him? Even if he's wrong, he should continue down the wrong path. I will not bow down to someone like him."

Chen Xiaohong said, "You can't say that. Improving relations with the Li family will always be more beneficial to Zijing."

Zhong Lan didn't want to listen and got up to leave.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaomi said, "Forget it, Second Sister. How come you still don't understand? My sister-in-law is a strong-willed person. Even if she knows she's wrong, she won't say it out loud or change her mind. Let's leave it at that. It's better to say less in the future."

....
When Li Heng got home, he sensed that something was off. Comrade Li Jianguo and Comrade Tian Run'e were sitting on chairs in the main room, sighing.

Grandma stood silently to the side, lost in thought as she stared at the door.

Li Heng stepped across the threshold and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you two?"

Tian Run'e sighed again and said to Li Heng, "Manzai, Teacher Yu is gone."

Li Heng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Gone? When did they leave?"

Tian Run'e said, "She left not long after you went to the Chen family."

Li Heng asked, "Did you try to persuade them to stay?"

"Your grandma and mom talked to Teacher Yu for a long time, but they couldn't persuade her to stay," Li Jianguo interjected.

Li Heng asked, "Did you take the luggage with you too?"

Tian Run'e said, "She took it with her. Before she left, she left a gift for me, your dad, and your grandma, and she also left a red envelope for your grandma separately."

Li Heng turned to look at his grandmother.

Grandma said, "The red envelope is very big, with a full 2200 yuan."

Li Heng took the red envelope from his grandmother, touched it, and stood there silently for a long time.

After a long while, he returned the red envelope to his grandmother and asked, "Did Teacher Yu say anything when she left?"

The three shook their heads.

Li Heng persisted: "Not a single word?"

Li Jianguo smoked listlessly. Grandma touched the red envelope.

Finally, Tian Run'e said, "Teacher Yu said there was an emergency at home and she had to rush back, but we all know that's just an excuse. Tomorrow is the New Year, and she's leaving at this hour today... I regret it so much, I shouldn't have been so quick to speak."

Grandma then spoke up, reminding him, "Grandson, go upstairs and see if Teacher Yu left you anything."

Prior to this, the three elders of the Li family had been pondering the deeper meaning behind Teacher Yu's departure.

But clearly, there was too little information to arrive at a conclusion.

Tian Run'e even worried that she might offend Teacher Yu, which would be detrimental to her son's future career.

Upon hearing this, Li Heng immediately ran upstairs to the second floor and headed straight for the bedroom by the window.

When he opened the door, he found the bedding on the bed neatly arranged and the pile of miscellaneous items on the desk also tidied up.

All of Teacher Yu's belongings have disappeared, as if Teacher Yu had never been here, leaving no trace.

Everything was so clean and efficient.

The room was too tidy, so tidy that it made him feel uneasy.

This is completely different from what I imagined.

He had considered many ways to get along, but he never expected that Teacher Yu would leave.

They left so decisively, without any hesitation or lingering.

Just as his gaze began to wander, his eyes suddenly sharpened as he noticed a note on the bedside table.

He instantly became energized, rushed over, picked up the note, and read it quickly.

The note was small, just a simple sticky note that was easy to carry around.

The message above is brief, just one line: Little man, come pick me up from Runwen's house on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The words were very simple, but Li Heng read them as carrying immense weight!
Contrary to what the three elders downstairs had imagined, Teacher Yu did not simply walk away or break ties with him.

The words "pick me up" contain countless profound meanings, revealing Yu Shuheng's compromise and willingness to make sacrifices, and also demonstrating her magnanimity and understanding.

If it's a complete break, she will leave Shaoshi and Hunan directly, heading straight back to Shanghai.

But she didn't go; instead, she went to her high school English teacher's house.

This shows what?
This shows that Teacher Yu didn't want her family to know that she was spending the Chinese New Year at her best friend's house, and wanted them to think that she was spending the New Year at the Li family's house, so that she wouldn't give herself away.

Because she and Shen Xin had told each other beforehand that they would spend the New Year at the Li family's house.

Otherwise, what would Shen Xin think if she left the Li family halfway through? What would the Yu family think?
Of course, Yu Shuheng left on her own initiative not because she was afraid of Chen Zijin, but because she didn't want Li Heng to be caught in the middle, and because she sensed the deep anxiety of Li Jianguo and Tian Run'e.

Therefore, she chose to compromise and let Li Heng and his future in-laws have a good New Year.

She knew perfectly well that if she didn't leave, every time she ate at the same table with Chen Zijin, every time she met Chen Zijin, it would be a disaster for Li Jianguo and Tian Run'e. She didn't want to see the old couple living in fear, having to consider every aspect when they spoke. The New Year should be a time of joy and happiness, not one of trepidation.

Therefore, one of them, Chen Zijin, has to compromise.

However, considering that Chen Zijin had been with him the longest, that Chen Zijin was young, that he had deep feelings for Chen Zijin, and that he had already gotten what he wanted from the elders of the Li family, she finally made her choice.

Of course, it was also related to the lottery; I drew "let nature take its course" again.

Originally, as the first woman to provoke her, Chen Zijin had both the motive and the ability to make an example of her and warn other women not to treat her like a pushover.

But "let nature take its course"...
Well, she made this decision because she empathized with Chen Zijin: Chen Zijin's sense of loss when she saw the man's clothes at the foot of the bed left a deep impression on her.

Yu Shuheng knew that she, Xiao Han, Song Yu, and the other women all had a way out, a family they could return to. But Chen Zijin did not.

This is also why Yu Shuheng ultimately let Chen Zijin go, leaving a way out for others.

Ultimately, Chen Zijing was a woman he had shared a bed with, and Teacher Yu didn't want to push things too far.

However, this depends on the person. If Chen Zijin were replaced by Song Yu or Zhou Shihe, she wouldn't back down so easily. Because she understands that if she takes a step back in front of Song and Zhou, it will be a permanent setback, and she won't have many chances to make a mistake.

The Mercedes departed from Shangwan Village at 8:09. The mountain road was in poor condition, and driving at night was slower than during the day. It took more than 6 hours to reach Shaoshi No.1 Middle School.

The gatehouse was already closed, but a phone call woke Wang Runwen up, and he had to find someone to open the door.

After the car came to a stop and her best friend went into the house on the third floor, Wang Runwen checked her watch: "It's 2:37 a.m. What exactly did you do at the Li family's house? Did you and Li Heng break up? Why were you kicked out so late?"

Yu Shuheng said, "I'm a little thirsty, could you pour me a glass of hot water first?"

Wang Runwen walked over, poured a large cup of hot tea, and handed it to her.

Yu Shuheng took the strong tea and drank three small sips before stopping.

Wang Runwen sat down on the sofa, crossed his arms and legs, and asked, "Tell me? What exactly happened? What made you, the eldest daughter of the Yu family, look so disheveled?"

Yu Shuheng, holding a teacup, said, "I left voluntarily."

Wang Runwen looked puzzled: "Voluntary? Reason?"

After pondering for a while, Yu Shuheng finally gave a brief account of the Chen family's return and Chen Zijin's time at the Li family.

After listening, Wang Runwen looked incredulous: "You're afraid of Chen Zijing? If you're even afraid of Chen Zijing, how will you compete with other women in the future? I think you're wasting your good looks and your good background. If I were you, haha..."

Yu Shuheng asked, "If you were me, what would you do?"

Wang Runwen said, "Hehe! He's been my man for a long time."

Yu Shuheng asked calmly, "Haven't he given you enough chances to become his woman? And every time, didn't you back down?"

Wang Runwen sneered repeatedly: "He's still a student. How could it be appropriate for me, a teacher, to be his woman? If word got out, wouldn't that ruin him? Damage his reputation? Damage his future?"

Yu Shuheng asked, "Is that really what you think?"

Wang Runwen tossed his hair and said mockingly, "Half, I guess."

Yu Shuheng asked, "What is half of what?"

Wang Runwen retorted sarcastically, "You pride yourself on being the smartest person in the world, yet you can't guess it?"

Yu Shuheng smiled elegantly: "You are his teacher, and you don't want to be his concubine for fear of being talked about. Are you sure you guessed right?"

Wang Runwen shook his full chest, deliberately trying to provoke her: "Not necessarily. If I suddenly feel like it one day, I might sleep with your man."

Yu Shuheng smiled, not angry at all: "If you're so capable, then go ahead and sleep with her. So many outstanding women are lining up, let's see if you're capable of getting in line?"

Wang Runwen asked, "Did you draw 'Let Nature Take Its Course'?"

Yu Shuheng said yes.

Wang Runwen asked curiously, "What's the other fortune slip?"

Yu Shuheng said casually, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

"Ha! All this mystery, and in the end he's still a loser. If I were as pretty as Mai Sui, I wouldn't be a teacher after he finished his college entrance exam," Wang Runwen said sarcastically.

Yu Shuheng asked, "Are you even worthy of being compared to an ear of wheat?"

Wang Runwen's eyes narrowed into slits, his gaze filled with a fierce light.

Yu Shuheng smiled warmly and said, "In five years, when it comes to a woman's charm, I wouldn't dare to say with certainty that I can outshine Mai Sui. With your small frame, you can't possibly compete with Mai Sui just because you have big breasts and a perky butt."

Wang Runwen slammed his legs onto the coffee table: "Yu Shuheng! Say that again and see if you believe I'll kick you out tonight?"

Yu Shuheng lowered her head and drank her hot tea, smiling but saying nothing.

After her best friend had been drinking for a while, Wang Runwen asked, "Is it worth it for you to be so generous? Will the Li family accept your kindness 100%?"

Yu Shuheng slowly turned the teacup in her hand and said, "I don't need them to understand my goodness. I've fallen in love with this little man, and I can't upset him during this festive season. Someone has to give in."

Wang Runwen stared straight at her: "You're becoming more and more like an ancient empress. I'm not as good as you in that respect."

Then, the high school English teacher asked, "Actually, drawing lots was just a way for you to save face and leave the Li family gracefully. From the moment you decided to draw lots, you had already made up your mind, right?"

Yu Shuheng took a liking to the tea in the cup but remained silent.

P.S.: Updated first, revised later.

(End of this chapter)