A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Song Tingting said, "Nonsense! I'm already very generous by letting her into my house as a divorced wife. Do you still want to push her further?"

Guier smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, what you said is not true. It was Miss Shen who proposed the divorce. My eldest brother didn't want to divorce. If I were you, I would definitely encourage my eldest brother to help."

Song Tingting said excitedly: "Why?"

Gui'er said slowly, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. My eldest brother married you, and now we are a family. I am thinking about you. This Xu Wenjie said he was Miss Shen's classmate, but in fact he was one of her suitors back then. Moreover, Xu Wenjie's father was a high-ranking official. Miss Shen's parents once wanted to break the contract and marry Miss Shen to him, but later because his father died unexpectedly, they let it go."

Song Tingting sneered and said, "You mean these two are together again? The man is in trouble and wants to ask us Yan Yao for help? Why should we help her?"

Guier smiled and said, "It's true that he could not help, but didn't you see how nice Big Brother was to Miss Shen? I suspect Big Brother couldn't let her go at all. It was Big Sister-in-law who proposed the divorce. If you don't believe me, ask Sister Yulan."

Song Tingting glanced at Yulan, and Yulan nodded timidly.

Gui'er said, "I didn't lie to you, did I? If you help me with this, and Xu Wenjie comes out, he'll be with Miss Shen in the future. Then Miss Shen won't have anything to do with you anymore, right? This is also for the good of your relationship."

Song Tingting hesitated and said, "But that Xu guy is suspected of being a communist. Anyone who goes to save him will get into trouble."

Gui Er laughed and said, "After his father died, Mr. Xu's family fell on hard times, so he had no choice but to open a bookstore to make a living. He has all kinds of books in his store. If you suspect him of being a Communist, it's just because he sells some books with more progressive ideas. But those kinds of books are selling well right now. If he doesn't sell them, other bookstores will."

He shrugged and said, "Several classmates in our class were arrested for going to his bookstore. They said they spent a lot of money to redeem themselves. These days, arresting Communists is all about getting promoted and making money. Catching one can make a lot of money, so who wouldn't arrest someone? Whether they are Communists or not is no longer important."

Song Tingting said: "Then do you think I should ask him for help?"

Guier smiled and said, "Of course not. Big Brother is ours. If anything happens to him, we'll be finished. We can't make any mistakes."

Song Tingting said anxiously: "One moment you say we should help, and the next moment you say we shouldn't help. What should I do?"

"Because Big Brother has just joined the government and his influence is not strong, the risk is very high, but we can ask Director Wang for help."

Now it was Yulan's turn to react. Her eyes widened as she asked, "Ask Director Wang for help? Is that even possible?"

Gui Er said, "Of course, no one else can help with this except Director Wang. He's a high-ranking official, so giving him some money should be enough. I think Xu Wenjie is just a bookseller, there's no way he's a Communist."

Song Tingting and Yulan both fell into deep thought. Seeing that the time was almost right, Guier found an excuse to slip away.

After returning to her room, she had just sat down for less than ten minutes when Yulan knocked on the door and came in. She smiled and said, "Sister Gui'er, I used to live by people's faces, and I can see some of the tricks. I won't talk about the fake ones. Why do you want to help Miss Shen and that guy named Xu Wenjie?"

Guier smiled calmly. It turned out that Yulan had seen some of the world and was not like Song Tingting, a lady who lived in seclusion.

But of course Gui Er couldn't tell her the truth, so she said, "Sister Yulan, I do want to help, but I want to help my former sister-in-law. I went to Xu Wenjie's bookstore with her before, and I think we both have feelings for each other. My sister-in-law was so good to us in the past. You also know how miserable it is for a woman to get divorced in this world today. It would be great if she could find someone new. It's a pity that the two of them didn't get to that point before Boss Xu had someone arrested. Don't you think it's pitiful?"

Gui'er held Yulan's hand and said, "Sister Yulan, can you help Miss Shen? Although she is no longer our sister-in-law, we still have friendship."

Yulan hesitated, and Gui'er said, "Now I know you've won Director Wang's favor, but he has a wife, and we don't know what the future holds. If you help Miss Shen and Boss Xu, even though they're down and out now, they're both children of high-ranking officials. I think they might one day rise to prominence. Rare goods are valuable, and making good connections will be beneficial for people like you and me who live under someone else's roof."

Yulan sighed and said, "I used to think my sister was studious and ambitious, but I didn't expect she was also a very calculating person. However, I think it's best for me not to get involved in this matter. If my eldest brother takes it, I will help persuade Director Wang."

Guier smiled and said, "Sister Yulan is also very thoughtful."

The next morning, Gui'er had finished her breakfast and was about to take a rickshaw to school when Sha Yanyao suddenly said, "Sister, wait for me a moment. Let's go out together. I'm going to pass by your school today, so I'll give you a ride."

Gui'er nodded and said, "Okay." She felt that Sha Yanyao would never send her to school for no reason.

Sure enough, as the car drove out of the Sha Mansion, Sha Yanyao asked Gui'er, "You mentioned that Xu Wenjie yesterday. Does he often meet with your sister-in-law and Sister Feng Shu?"

Gui'er said, "No, his family has been in dire straits since his father passed away. He's relying on the bookstore to make money. I heard his mother isn't in good health either, so the burden is quite heavy. His bookstore is near our school, and we'd occasionally chat when we went there to buy books. You know, Sister Fengshu's father passed away, and she told me that many people who used to have a good relationship with her family now ignore them. So she probably sympathizes with Xu Wenjie's current situation and feels sorry for him."

Sha Yanyao quickly asked, "How is your sister-in-law doing now?" After he finished speaking, he realized what was going on and awkwardly changed the subject, saying, "I was talking about Sister Feng Shu."

Gui'er nodded and said, "I can understand, brother. Sister Feng Shu is such a good person. I feel very sorry for her. Can you help Sister Feng Shu? I think she has a strong sense of self-esteem and won't easily get up and ask for help. If you just divorced and you turned a deaf ear to her request, she must be very hurt."

Sha Yanyao lowered his head and sighed after a while before saying, "But I'm afraid I don't have that right. I'm just a newcomer now."

Gui Er cautiously suggested, "Could you please ask Director Wang for help? When I was chatting with Sister Yulan yesterday, she said she was actually reluctant to let go of Sister Fengshu. If she could help, she would be willing to help persuade her."