A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

For several days afterwards, Gui'er was listless and couldn't even eat. Sha Yanxiao thought she was sick and quickly called a doctor, but he couldn't find out what was wrong and had to prescribe some appetite-stimulating medicine.

Sha Yanxiao touched her head and said, "Maybe the climate here isn't good enough. I'll take you to a park in the suburbs in a couple of days."

Gui'er knew he cared about her and couldn't bear to disappoint his kindness, so she pretended to be happy and said, "Okay, thank you, brother."

At this moment, Miss Shen suddenly called and asked Gui'er how she was getting on with her collection of Lu Xun's essays. If she had finished it, she still had some, and she seemed to want to invite her over to visit.

Gui Er also felt a bit of resentment towards Miss Shen because of the sacrifice of her comrades. She didn't believe that Miss Shen was completely unaware of the incident, after all, it happened in the same courtyard. But then she thought about it and realized that the map issue had not been completed yet, so she still had to continue to build a relationship with Miss Shen. So she pretended to be very happy and agreed to go to her house to play.

The next day, Gui'er took the collection of Lu Xun's essays that Miss Shen lent her and drove to the Shen family's house.

When she saw Miss Shen, she took Gui'er's hand affectionately and said, "After you left that day, my father suddenly urged my mother and me to go visit Mrs. Xu. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu said she was bored in Shanghai alone, so she asked my mother and me to stay there for two days. Their house is in a large house in the suburbs of Shanghai. It's quiet, but it's also really boring."

Gui'er wanted to test whether she knew about Director Shen's murder, so she smiled and said, "What happened to that servant who messed around that day?"

Miss Shen said awkwardly, "My father was distracted by her poverty and our family really didn't lose anything, so he didn't pursue the matter. I heard that her husband took it back the next day."

It seemed that Miss Shen really didn't know, so Gui'er returned the collection of Lu Xun's essays to her, and Miss Shen recommended two more books to Gui'er.

She sighed and said, "Although I've met a lot of people in Shanghai these days, there aren't many I can really chat with. Some of them my father won't let me get close to them, so it's pretty boring."

Guier smiled and said, "Didn't you say you had a position at St. John's University?"

Miss Shen said a little embarrassedly, "I did get a job, but it's actually as a librarian at St. John's University. Because of family matters, I took a long leave, and I was just a temporary replacement. My father also forbade me to go out and work, saying that it was unreasonable for a rich girl to go out and earn money, and she would be laughed at."

Gui Er comforted her, "Isn't Miss Shen a member of the troupe? I've seen your rehearsals, they're excellent and very meaningful. Besides, isn't Mr. Xu also a good friend of yours?"

Ms. Shen smiled and said, "Xu Wenjie and I were elementary school classmates and have known each other since childhood, but we lost touch and only recently reconnected. He was the one who introduced me to the troupe. I really enjoy this work and feel it is meaningful. It can expose the darkness of society and awaken the people."

Gui'er blinked and teased, "I see. Fortunately, this Mr. Xu just reunited with you recently, otherwise my brother might not have had a chance."

Miss Shen smiled, a little embarrassed, and after a long while she sighed, "I feel like your brother and I are not the same kind of people. He doesn't approve of me acting in a play, and he's also very motivated. He's actively looking for others to help him get a position in the central government."

It was the first time Gui'er heard of this and was a little surprised. But then she thought about it. The last time she chatted with Sha Yanyao, he said that he and his wife went to visit those old friends. Maybe he was organizing the event. If Sha Yanyao really got a job in the government, he would not compete with Sha Yanxiao. That would be a good thing. At least she wouldn't have to worry in the next few years.

While chatting with Miss Shen, Gui'er was trying to find a way to go to Director Shen's study, because it seemed that the map was in Director Shen's study.

She quietly observed her surroundings. Although Sha Yanxiao said that the Shen family had increased their security because of this incident, there didn't seem to be many servants. She didn't know how the security was increased. She really had no reason to ask to enter Director Shen's study.

Just when she was feeling worried, Sha Yanyao unexpectedly arrived. Gui'er watched him get out of the car from the study window, greet the housekeeper familiarly, and go straight to the hall. The strange thing was that his legs and feet had gotten much better, and he limped less than before. Now he looked a bit like he had sprained his ankle and was uncomfortable, not like a cripple.

Gui'er's eyes widened. She had been eating with Sha Yanyao in the Marshal's villa these past two days, and he was still the same as before. How come he suddenly became better now?

While Sha Yanyao was still here, Guier quickly walked away from the window and sat down in the house.

After a while, Sha Yanyao came up. He was a little surprised to see Gui'er here, but he quickly recovered and said to Miss Shen with a smile, "I've been busy socializing recently, and I was worried that you would be bored. I feel much more at ease knowing that Sister Gui'er is here with you."

As he said this, he walked over and touched Guier's head, and then he walked like he used to.

Gui'er was confused and even a little suspicious. Was she dazzled? How could this happen? Was Sha Yanyao pretending to be so blinding? She posed no threat to him. Was it because she lived with Sha Yanxiao that she had to be on guard against him?

She thought this idea was reasonable, but she was too lazy to care about it. The most important task now was to find the map.

In the end, she didn't think of a solution until Gui'er and Sha Yanyao returned.

On the way back in the car, Gui'er suddenly noticed that Sha Yanyao was in high spirits, even humming a line or two of a song occasionally. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother, you seem very happy. Is there something good? Tell me about it so I can be happy."

Sha Yanyao pursed his lips and smiled, looking at Gui'er for a moment before saying, "You know that Xu Wenjie, right? He's trying to cut me off. Director Shen was so demanding of our family because he had connections with them. He thought the Xu family was better off and even wanted to cancel the engagement."

Gui'er actually noticed that Xu Wenjie was interested in Miss Shen, but she didn't expect it to get this far. She asked Sha Yanyao in surprise, "Then why are you so happy? Oh, it seems I've disturbed your relationship with Miss Shen today. I need to give you more time."

Sha Yanyao touched her head and said with a smile, "It's useless. Miss Shen's opinion is not important. What's important is Director Shen. It's up to their parents to decide who their daughter wants to marry."

He paused, looking at Gui'er's puzzled expression, which he found very amusing. He pinched her face and said, "So, during this period of time, my mother and I have been trying to build relationships everywhere, hoping to get a position. If we can get one, Director Shen will look at us with respect."

Gui'er suddenly realized and said, "Oh, so brother has already secured a high position. Congratulations, brother."

Sha Yanyao smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, that's not the case. Xu Wenjie's father was robbed and killed by bandits on his way here."