Locking away my heart and love! Going back to 2000 to be a top student again.

Later, I learned that her aunt was very beautiful when she was young. She was famous for her beauty in several streets near the Xu family. She met a poor student from the countryside, and the two fell deeply in love and pledged their lives to each other.

Although the Xu family had never been considered wealthy, they were natives of Changshi, owned an old house in the city, and were paid by the state. Of course, they would not agree to their beautiful daughter being with a country bumpkin.

But in that era when women were expected to be able to hold their own for half a day and marriage was a matter of personal freedom, how could the elders possibly stop them?

Xu Ruyue promised her family in front of them that she would not contact them, but in reality she still secretly continued to see them, thinking that once her lover got into university and had a bright future, her family would not object, right?

With this in mind, the college entrance examination came that year, and the poor student was indeed quite capable, managing to get into a university in Beijing.

What should have been a happy ending turned out to be a tragedy when the man did not come to the Xu family to propose marriage as he had promised. Instead, he quietly left for the capital, leaving Xu Xiaogu alone to wait for his return and the betrothal gifts.

Instead of her lover appearing, she learned that she was pregnant. Her growing belly could not be hidden from her family, and was soon discovered by Grandma Xu and her two sisters-in-law.

The fact that his precious youngest daughter had gotten pregnant by a poor student and that the student had disappeared enraged Old Master Xu so much that he wanted to beat her to death on the spot, but luckily Old Madam Xu risked her life to protect her.

Xu Ruyue was quite bold back then. She knew that her lover wouldn't come to propose marriage and her family wouldn't accept the child. So, in the middle of the night, when her family was asleep, she stole money from her family and went to the capital to look for him. She was gone for two or three months.

The Xu family had lost a daughter, so of course they had to call the police. It wasn't until two months later that they received a call from the police in Beijing. Xu Weiping had to go to Beijing to bring his sister back.

No one knows what happened during those two months. All that is known is that after Xu Ruyue was brought back, her stomach was flat. She knelt down in front of her parents and cried out that she was wrong.

It is said that it is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law were naturally able to forgive her, but in those days, such a big thing ruined Xu Ruyue's reputation among the neighbors.

The suitors who used to surround her now avoid her like the plague. Even if a guy really likes her, his family wouldn't want a daughter-in-law with such a reputation.

In the end, the Xu family found that no good families were willing to come and propose marriage. The men who came were either elderly widowers with several children, or men with physical disabilities who were unable to find wives.

After much deliberation, only this lame man seemed suitable. His lameness didn't hinder his work, he could earn money, and he was of the right age. Without asking their daughter any further questions, the Xu family hurriedly married her off.

After marriage, the lame man who had vowed not to care about Xu Ruyue's past ultimately failed to keep his promise. His words were often tinged with disdain, and after the birth of two daughters, he had no good days and was frequently beaten.

None of the three Xu brothers stood up for their sister. In their eyes, it was wrong for her to have a bad reputation before marriage, and it was even more wrong that she couldn't give birth to a son after marriage. Only when they really couldn't stand it anymore would they verbally persuade their brother-in-law.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, at the Xu family dinner table, the family sat together, and Chen Shulan talked about the family's recent expenses.

First, Xu Su came to the city to attend school, and the registration cost several hundred yuan. Tomorrow, her youngest son will be starting primary school. At that time, there was no such thing as waiving textbook fees. Primary school registration, school uniform fees, textbook fees, and other miscellaneous expenses would also cost several hundred yuan.

This is roughly Chen Shulan's monthly salary. It's almost Grandpa Xu's birthday, and although they're not a wealthy family, they can't afford to go to a restaurant for the birthday banquet. They just plan to have a family gathering at the old house.

But since it's my father's birthday, I should at least give him a red envelope as a token of my appreciation, right?

"Let's give you 1,200 yuan." After listening to his wife's nagging for a long time, Xu Weiping finally made the decision. "You put it in a red envelope, buy two bottles of wine for Dad, and that's all."

Chen Shulan was somewhat reluctant: "When we moved out of the old house, you promised to give Mom and Dad 300 yuan every month as a filial gift, and I didn't say a word of objection. But this time you're giving us another 1,200 yuan. Xu Weiping, do you think it's easy for us to earn this money?"

Xu Weiping ate his meal in silence, without uttering a sound.

“We can’t compare ourselves to the eldest son, but what about the third son? His family lives in the old house. Forget about giving money to our parents, I’m afraid even their food expenses have to be covered by the two old people.”

Chen Shulan persisted, saying, "Just a couple of days ago you were saying you wanted to buy a cell phone, and that so-and-so in the factory bought one and bragged about it to you for ages. Now you're giving your dad 1,200 yuan, enough to buy two or three cell phones."

Bang!

Xu Weiping put the bowl on the dining table, which startled Chen Shulan.

Xu Yang was also startled. He didn't know how to read the situation and was about to start wailing when Chen Shulan glared at her husband and hurriedly tried to coax her son.

Disrupted by his son's actions, Xu Weiping, who was about to get angry, softened his tone: "Alright! Let's not buy the phone for now. It's not right for me, as your son, not to give you any birthday presents for your father."

“Don’t always compare yourself to the third brother. Our family has moved out, and the third brother is taking care of our parents. We are doing better than them. It’s not a big deal if one of the brothers suffers a little loss. Just prepare as I suggested.”

Although Xu Weiping is just an ordinary porter outside, he has absolute authority at home. Chen Shulan dares not say anything when he makes a decision.

It was only after Xu Yang was born, and Chen Shulan had a son to rely on, that she dared to occasionally retort to her husband like she had just done.

When Xu Su was born, it turned out to be a girl, and it coincided with the one-child policy, which almost ended Xu Weiping's lineage.

Later, Chen Shulan decided to secretly send her daughter back to her parents' home, saying to others that she had given her away. She wanted a son, but she didn't conceive for many years. On the other hand, her younger brother Xu Weiguo had two sons after he got married. This comparison made her even more tormented.

In short, during the years before Xu Yang was born, Chen Shulan didn't dare to even breathe loudly in the Xu family.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her husband, Chen Shulan could only nod.

Xu Su ate her meal in silence, not participating in the conversation. Xu Weiping, however, looked over and, unusually, showed concern for his daughter: "Su Su, you're officially starting school tomorrow, right?"

Xu Su had just taken a bite of rice from her bowl when she heard the question and nodded.

"Are you planning to eat lunch at the school cafeteria, or come back home for lunch?"