1979: My fiancée is a goddess

The courtyard was scorching hot in the afternoon sun.

That crooked sycamore tree, now rejuvenated, has grown much taller.

The sprawling, mottled brown-green branches and lush foliage form a huge canopy, covering a small part of the courtyard and leaving a patch of green shadows on the ground.

"Swish—"

Occasionally a breeze would blow by, and the leaves would rustle and sway.

The occasional crisp sound of bicycle bells passing by in the alley, along with the low growling and barking of cats and dogs, together create a soothing white noise melody that lulls people to sleep.

The wind and sound rushed into the open window of the main room.

The light in the bedroom was bright and soft.

On the desk by the window, there are many manuscript papers with neat and elegant handwriting, neatly arranged books, and a large white porcelain bowl with tiny water droplets condensing on its rim, containing red mung bean soup.

Wisps of invisible cool air were rising from the bowl.

The young man sitting to the side, wearing a t-shirt and black shorts, was sweating profusely as he barely managed to resist the sweltering heat of the summer afternoon.

Cheng Kaiyan's handsome, fair face was covered in fine sweat, and his hair was slightly damp, but he remained focused as he held his pen, carefully considering every word, phrase, and sentence on the manuscript paper.

As the saying goes, good articles are all the result of revision.

A novel may only take a few months to write, but it's not uncommon for some writers to spend a year or two revising and patching it up.

Cheng Kaiyan's "Atonement" is probably the work that took him the most time to complete.

Fortunately, after one or two months of continuous revisions and improvements, "Atonement" is now complete with only a few pages left.

"Phew... It's so hot, but I'm finally done."

Half an hour later, Cheng Kaiyan let out a long sigh of relief, put down her pen, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and leaned back in her chair.

Even after just a couple of casual movements, the chair backing beneath him creaked and groaned.

The sound was quite loud.

Soon, a soft hum, seemingly half-awake, came from behind.

Cheng Kaiyan subconsciously turned her head.

The girl in the white dress was lying flat on the bed, her pretty face flushed with a slight blush, and she was quietly taking a nap, holding the blanket covering her lower abdomen with both hands.

The electric fan whirring by the bed made the soft skirt embroidered with flower petals on the girl's fair and slender legs sway wildly.

The girl in her sleep appeared exceptionally graceful and serene.

"It's only two o'clock. She had just fallen asleep for a while. Luckily, I didn't wake her up."

Cheng Kaiyan glanced at her watch, grabbed the still-cold mung bean soup beside her, and drank it down in one gulp, feeling completely refreshed.

Then he looked down at both sides of the chair and found that the crossbeams that held the chair legs together were loose.

Old furniture often has this problem; nailing it in only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

However, Cheng Kaiyan still had something to write, so she carried the chair outside, found a hammer and nails, three nails on each side, and finally it was secure.

Then she went to the kitchen, scooped up a ladle of cold water to wash her face, and then wet a towel to wipe her body.

"Much more comfortable."

The breeze from the courtyard made me feel cool and refreshed.

Opening the refrigerator, I caught a glimpse of a familiar yogurt container, clearly put there by Zhan Xinyu.

"I'll charge you a freezing fee this time."

Cheng Kaiyan poured herself a glass without any hesitation, took a sip with relish, and turned to go back inside.

As for whether Xinyu will find out later in the afternoon, that's not something he should be concerned about.

Back at his desk, he organized the manuscript of "Atonement" before finally pulling out a blank sheet of paper.

"Donating money doesn't mean you can just stop caring about everything after you've donated. Although the Children and Teenagers Foundation has just been established, there's no guarantee that there won't be corrupt elements within it."

The foundation has just been established, so it's likely they haven't approved any projects yet.

Cheng Kaiyan plans to create a project and plan for Bing Xin based on the money she is about to donate.

As for whether or not to adopt it, that's a matter for their foundation, and Cheng Kaiyan won't overstep her bounds.

Children and Youth Foundation.

While the name itself may not be widely recognized, the charitable projects it has established are familiar to many.

Many people have even received funding from these projects.

Examples include the Spring Bud Project, the Health and Wellness Project, and the Farewell to Vitiligo Project.

In 1989, under the leadership of the All-China Women's Federation, the China Children and Teenagers' Foundation launched and implemented a social welfare project to help out-of-school girls in impoverished areas return to school—the "Spring Bud Project".

After the Compulsory Education Law was passed in 1986, it played a good role in making up for the imperfect regulations.

After the revision of the policy and the introduction of the "two exemptions and one subsidy" policy, the Spring Bud Project was quickly adjusted again, changing from tuition and miscellaneous fee subsidies to living expense subsidies.

The Spring Bud Project raised a large amount of funds and built hundreds of Spring Bud Primary Schools, enabling more than 1.8 million girls to enroll in school.

These public welfare projects have not yet been established, and Cheng Kaiyan naturally hopes to set them up as soon as possible. She does not mind using this charity gala to promote them.

It's not impossible that the Compulsory Education Law could be passed and promulgated a few years ahead of schedule.

Today, Cheng Kaiyan has considerable influence among educated youth and students.

This kind of influence is more effective than someone else donating tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even a million.

Even if each young person donates just a penny, with such a large population, it adds up to a huge sum.

This is why Bing Xin always insisted on having him participate.

"Spring Bud Project, Hope Project..."

Cheng Kaiyan's thoughts were racing, and her hands kept writing.

I put the project plans from my memory into practice step by step on the draft paper.

However, some of these plans inevitably do not conform to the current era and national conditions, so he needs to revise and improve them.

His Spring Bud Project centers on building Spring Bud schools, starting with primary schools for the time being.

It covers impoverished rural areas, and the target population is no longer simply out-of-school girls, but children of school age.

By waiving tuition fees, we can provide some financial assistance to children from impoverished families, enabling them to enjoy their right to education before compulsory education becomes widespread.

The original plan was quite puzzling. It's unclear whether it was due to funding constraints or the belief that girls dropping out of school was simply a matter of parents and relatives favoring boys over girls, but they only provided financial assistance to girls.

The preference for sons over daughters is part of the reason, but isn't the biggest reason still poverty? Can't they afford it?
Many girls are out of school, but many boys are also out of school.

This is the first plan, Spring Bud.

The second plan was something Cheng Kaiyan had planned to make as early as last year when she visited the Chaoyang Welfare Home, and she was determined to do it once she had the money.

He named it the Hope Project.

Its main goal is to support existing welfare institutions by improving their environment, the quality of life and education for the children, and by providing financial assistance to children affected by congenital or acquired diseases.

Secondly, in conjunction with municipal departments in various cities, we should build welfare homes to take in more orphans who have been abandoned for various reasons.

It took Cheng Kaiyan almost two hours to finally get the main framework of the two projects sorted out.

As for more detailed information, that's left for the foundation's staff to refine.

"Phew... If it can be adopted, then it's a good thing to have done something."

Cheng Kaiyan put down her pen, organized the plan, and sighed.

"It will definitely be adopted! I'm all smiles!"

A gentle, soothing voice suddenly came from behind.

Cheng Kaiyan turned his head and saw that Comrade Xiaoli's eyes were looking at him with bright eyes.

How long did that girl watch?
"Go for it! Kaiyan!"

Seeing him looking over, Comrade Xiaoli blinked and thought for a moment, then clenched her fists and waved them, trying to encourage him.

"Thank you."

Cheng Kaiyan smiled and reached out to touch the girl's small, white fist. "With your encouragement, Sister Xiaoli, the flame of my ideals has been reignited!"

"Hehe, of course."

The girl proudly held up her snow-white widow's peak, clearly enjoying herself. Then, turning her head, she asked curiously, "Kaiyan, tell me about it!"

"Okay, go turn the fan around."

Cheng Kaiyan took off her undershirt and used it as a towel to wipe away her sweat.

Then I looked at the girl in the white dress, who looked fresh and clean.

"Honestly, I fell asleep, could you at least move the fan a little? Look at you, sweating buckets. It's so hot, how can you sit still?"

Liu Xiaoli's eyes flickered twice, her face flushed with embarrassment, and she turned her head to the other side, but secretly glanced at her fiancé's muscular upper body out of the corner of her eye, muttering to herself.

"I was worried you'd wake up because you were hot."

Cheng Kaiyan looked at her with tender eyes.

Actually, electric fans these days don't have an oscillation function.

"Know it."

Liu Xiaoli felt a warm glow in her heart, half touched and half reproachful as she spoke.

Turning on the electric fan made it much cooler.

Cheng Kaiyan then brought over a bowl of the frozen yogurt that Xinyu had prepared, plopped down on the wooden sofa, patted her legs, and called out, "Xiaoli, come here and have some yogurt ice cream."

Liu Xiaoli walked over and sat down next to Cheng Kaiyan instead of sitting on her lap.

There's a fan, so it's not hot.

She looked at the milky white frozen yogurt in the bowl and chuckled, "This is Xinyu's, right? You stole her food again. If the little girl finds out, she'll definitely settle the score with you."

"Tch! She's got no guts. At worst, I'll just buy her a few bottles."

Cheng Kaiyan scoffed at Zhan Xinyu's audacity, scooping up frozen yogurt with a spoon.

Once it melts a little, it's like ice cream—sweet and sour, and very delicious.

He scooped up a spoonful and held it to the girl's rosy, full lips. "Ah."

Liu Xiaoli opened her mouth and ate it, the yogurt residue on the spoon clinging to her soft lips, just as she was about to wipe it away.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Kaiyan leaned in and kissed her, capturing her lips and sucking on the yogurt. After a passionate kiss, the yogurt in the bowl was finished.

The young couple gazed at each other with eyes full of tears.

"Damn it! Where did they come up with so many weird and wonderful ideas... It's so annoying."

Liu Xiaoli's rosy cheeks were full of shyness. She covered her slightly reddened lips with her delicate hand and said shyly and angrily.

"hey-hey."

Cheng Kaiyan smiled and remained silent, wondering what this was all about.

Then, he quietly wrapped his arms around the girl's slender waist, and with a crisp exclamation, pulled her onto his lap and sat her down.

The two snuggled together affectionately and chatted for a while, only to realize it was almost five o'clock.

"It's five o'clock! Hurry up and pick up your aunt! You're treating everyone to dinner later!"

Liu Xiaoli leaned against him, untying the arms that were tightly wrapped around her waist, and said coquettishly.

"Okay, you and Mom go and reserve a table first, we'll go eat at Fengzeyuan today."

As Cheng Kaiyan spoke, he buried his head in the girl's neck and shoulders, inhaling the delicate and pleasant scent of gardenia emanating from her body, which was mixed with a hint of milky fragrance. He then gave her a reluctant, light kiss.

Finally, under pressure, he let her go.

Cheng Kaiyan, wearing a sun hat, pushed her stroller out to find her aunt.

After tidying herself up, Liu Xiaoli found her mother, Xu Yuxiu, at the teacher's house next door.

"Teacher, we're planning to eat at Fengzeyuan Restaurant tonight. Kaiyan is treating us, so let's all go together."

Aunt Wang Qiang was Liu Xiaoli's teacher, not the kind of teacher in school, but a teacher-student relationship like that of Cheng Kaiyan and Ye Shengtao.

Seeing that the teacher's family was all there, Liu Xiaoli simply invited them all to come along.

Anyway, it's all about having fun.

Wang Qiang declined several times.

"Mom! I heard from people outside this morning that my brother made foreign exchange again, and that he's such a grown man, yet he still steals my yogurt! I have to get my revenge!"

However, when Zhan Xinyu learned that her yogurt had been stolen, she wholeheartedly agreed, looking like she was going to eat Cheng Kaiyan out of house and home.

Finally, the two families went out to the street in a large group.

On the other side, Cheng Kaiyan, under the setting sun, spent half an hour arriving at the teachers' compound.

She pushed open the door and called out, "Auntie! Are you home?"

"Cheng Kaiyan?! What brings you here?"

The TV was on in the living room.

Wearing a short dress, with a delicate face and long hair reaching her waist, Ning Wanjia sat on the sofa, holding half an iced watermelon in her hands and a piece of red watermelon between her lips, turning her head to look at her.

"What are you doing here, and wearing Xiaoli's clothes?!"

Cheng Kaiyan stared intently at the girl's clothes and said in surprise.

"Come over for a while and keep my aunt company."

However, I forgot to bring any clothes, so I borrowed some. My aunt's clothes were too big for me, but Liu Xiaoli's were a bit more suitable.

Ning Wanjia explained in a calm tone.

"I was originally planning to bring my aunt to stay with me for a few days, but it seems like I don't need to now. By the way, I'm taking my aunt out to eat later, do you want to come?"

Cheng Kaiyan nodded and asked.

"Since you're treating, of course I'll go. Why not take advantage of it? But... you came all this way just to treat me? What's the occasion?"

Ning Wanjia raised an eyebrow and asked curiously.

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

Cheng Kaiyan didn't answer, but asked with a smile.

"Pshaw, what good news could you possibly have? Is Liu Xiaoli pregnant? Did your royalties from the US come through? It's always the same old stuff, isn't it?"

"Hehe, it seems you've paid out your writing fees for treating people to dinner. How much did you get?"

Ning Wanjia observed his expression and said dismissively, "You guessed it with a simple guess."

"Um?!"

Cheng Kaiyan stared wide-eyed.

"Xiao Yan is here?"

At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and my aunt, with her long, slender, pale feet that looked like they had been carved from ice for millennia, and her shoulders partially exposed, walked out wrapped in a bath towel.

"Auntie, let's go out to eat later. We've already made a reservation."

As Cheng Kaiyan approached, she felt a cold, pale skin before her eyes, and at the same time, a rich, warm honey fragrance wafted towards her.

It was so moving that I had to bite my tongue to calm myself down.

"Okay, let Auntie change her clothes."

Without asking any questions, Jiang Ting nodded lightly, turned around and went back to her room cleanly and neatly.

A short while later, the beautiful woman came out wearing dress pants and a T-shirt, looking simple yet elegant.

The three of them went out.

Cheng Kaiyan carried her aunt on the back, while Ning Wanjia rode her bicycle by herself.

In the evening, the temperature cooled down considerably, and a cool breeze occasionally swept through the streets.

We arrived at the store in no time.

"You three are finally here! The food would have gotten cold if you hadn't come soon."

The family had already ordered their food and were waiting for Cheng Kaiyan and Jiang Ting.

"Sit down and eat, everyone. Have a good meal and drinks today."

Cheng Kaiyan glanced at the table and ordered Fengzeyuan's famous braised sea cucumber with scallions, crystal pork knuckle, and braised three whites.

These three items are the shop's three signature dishes.

"Come on, cheers!"

Everyone was drinking chilled beer or soda, eating food, and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.

It was almost seven o'clock when we finished eating.

Cheng Kaiyan was responsible for taking her aunt and Ning Wanjia back.

On the way, he asked, "There's a charity gala tomorrow night, and I'd like to take you with me."

"Okay, Auntie will go with you."

Jiang Ting nodded in agreement without hesitation.

But Ning Wanjia, standing to the side, was displeased: "Didn't you promise to come with me?! This bastard betrayed me the moment he opened his mouth?!"

"You can come with Xiaoyan too! Have him pick us up tomorrow."

Jiang Ting turned to look at her niece, looking at her with some confusion.

"I don't want him to pick me up! Do I even need him?"

Ning Wanjia was very tempted, but proudly raised her chin and refused.

"Hehe, then it's settled. Kaiyan, you'll pick us up tomorrow."

Jiang Ting smiled gently and made the decision.

"Who wants him here! I'm going with my mom!"

Ning Wanjia got angry.

……

While the three were laughing and joking, at the Beijing Women's Federation building.

"Sister Kang, we've invited all the prominent figures in Beijing this time, including not only the families of the Eight Elders, but also Rong Yiren from the Rong family, and the second daughter of the shipping magnate who's staying in Beijing..."

"The shipping magnate's second daughter is also participating? The same shipping magnate who donated ten million US dollars to the country this year?"

"That's right, it's their house."

"It seems that this party is already more than halfway to success!"

Ms. Bing Xin, the initiator of the Children and Teenagers' Foundation and an important leader of the Women's Federation, sat on the sofa with Sister Kang.

While eating dinner, they chatted about the important guests of the party.

"Where's the host? You said you wanted that young writer Cheng Kaiyan to be the host? Can he handle it? Don't mess it up."

Sister Kang frowned and asked. She was still not very at ease with this young man. Although he was famous, the boy had caused quite a bit of trouble.

"Don't worry, what I value is his influence among young people. That's much more effective than donations. How much can those patriotic entrepreneurs donate? At most, they might donate a few hundred thousand yuan. Our fundraising focus should be on the general public, especially young people."

Bing Xin waved her hand, her brows full of confidence and spirit.

"Then let's do it your way."

Seeing that her old friend insisted, Sister Kang didn't say anything more. To be honest, she had originally planned to have her grandson, Zhu Guohua, be the host.

If this charity gala is well-organized, the host can also benefit from it.

It's a pity that no matter how outstanding Guo Hua is, he can't compare to this young great writer.

Thinking of this, Sister Kang became worried that her grandson, who was always proud and arrogant, might cause some trouble.

After all, Cheng Kaiyan stole his hosting role.

"By the way, tell Cheng Kaiyan to be careful not to cause any trouble at the party. The party should be the priority."

Sister Kang reminded him in a serious tone.

"I'll remind him."

Bing Xin frowned, sensing a hint of warning in her eldest sister's words.

Kaiyan has always been gentle and mild-mannered; how could she possibly cause trouble?

Could it be...? (End of Chapter)