Chapter 89 It Is Just Too Small

At that moment, Liu Yixue walked out of her room, her expression remarkably calm. However, Mother Liu still noticed that her eyes were red-rimmed, which only made her even more anxious.

"Yixue, come here and talk with your dad and me," Mother Liu said as she walked over, took Liu Yixue by the hand, and looked at her with a hint of heartache.

Not knowing what was wrong with her parents, Liu Yixue walked over and sat down next to her mother, forcing a smile. "Dad, Mom, what's wrong?"

"Yixue, was that Zhou Xuan who came to pick you up tonight? Are you two dating?" Mother Liu asked cautiously, watching Liu Yixue's reaction closely.

Hearing her mother's words, Liu Yixue felt a jolt in her heart, and her expression changed. "Mom, Zhou Xuan is just my classmate, and we're just ordinary friends."

"Yixue, your mother and I aren't those old-fashioned antiques. It's completely normal to have mutual feelings for someone at your stage in life. But you need to exercise discretion and keep things in perspective when you're in a relationship. After all, you're still young, and it will be many years before you graduate from university. Many aspects of your personalities aren't fully formed yet, and there's no guarantee you'll end up together in the end. Even college students nowadays break up right after graduation, don't they?" Father Liu said earnestly to Liu Yixue.

Graduation season was the breakup season; it seemed Father Liu understood this well.

Hearing her father's words, Liu Yixue sighed inwardly. Her father must have seen Zhou Xuan when he came by today, and afterward, he had probably gone out of his way to investigate him. Considering that the public security, procuratorate, and judiciary departments of NC County were all under her father's jurisdiction, investigating someone was a matter of mere minutes.

"Dad, Mom, don't worry, I know my limits. We just had mutual feelings for each other and decided to be together." With that, Liu Yixue lowered her head, her face turning crimson.

Hearing Liu Yixue's admission, Mother Liu felt a slight sense of dejection. Her daughter had been sensible and well-behaved since childhood, the absolute picture of a model daughter.

Puppy love was something Mother Liu had never anticipated, and actually hearing Liu Yixue admit to it came as quite a shock.

In Mother Liu's mind, Liu Yixue was the kind of obedient child who would study hard all the way through university, graduate school, and studying abroad, ultimately becoming an elite member of society.

Then, she would find a husband from a family of equal social standing and live happily ever after. She never expected that right after graduating from junior high, her daughter would start dating someone.

She couldn't figure out what charm that boy Zhou Xuan possessed to make her precious daughter like him so much.

"I won't lecture you too much, as long as you know your limits, Yixue. But your grades must never slip; otherwise, I will have to have a talk with you." Mother Liu placed a high value on academic performance. She figured that if Liu Yixue's grades dropped, she would definitely go have a word with Zhou Xuan.

"By the way, why were you in such low spirits when you came home today? Did our daughter get wronged by anyone?" Father Liu wanted to understand the situation and analyze it from the perspective of someone who had been through it all, so he could better help Liu Yixue navigate some of the issues of adolescence.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Yixue said, "Dad, Mom, do you think if Zhou Xuan becomes too successful in the future while I remain too ordinary, we'll still be able to stay together?"

Father Liu frowned and asked, "Yixue, do you know something about Zhou Xuan?"

"Dad, you must have checked into Zhou Xuan's background already, right? There must be some things I don't know. Why don't you tell me everything so I can mentally prepare myself? I only just found out that Zhou Xuan is actually Zhou Zixuan, the author of *Things That Happened During the Ming Dynasty*, and he's already made millions in royalties," Liu Yixue said.

"I just checked on Zhou Xuan. Not only is he brilliant at writing novels, but he's even more formidable in business. The company he founded in Rongcheng has generated tens of millions in revenue over the past few months. So, Zhou Xuan isn't just the millionaire you thought he was—he's a multi-millionaire. And he achieved all this in just half a year. It's simply incredible." Even though he had learned about Zhou Xuan's achievements more than an hour ago, Father Liu still felt a trace of shock mentioning it again.

"Ah!" Liu Yixue covered her mouth, nearly crying out in surprise. It was shocking enough to learn that Zhou Xuan was Zhou Zixuan, but she never expected him to be so formidable in business as well.

"Moreover, Zhou Xuan's connections are extremely powerful. Not only does he know Deng Cheng, the son of the chairman of Blue Sky Group, but he is also acquainted with Secretary Li of the Municipal Party Committee. It can be said that he lacks neither business talent nor interpersonal connections; Zhou Xuan's future is boundless. As for the question you asked, it all depends on the future development of you and Zhou Xuan."

"Some people can share hardships but not wealth. Others can remain loyal to their humble wives and never let them down. However, having a somewhat comparable level of knowledge and social standing is still beneficial for two people getting along. Don't believe those sayings like 'you just worry about being pretty while I make money to support the family.' Sometimes, a vase means being utterly useless, and in his eyes, you become dispensable. After looking at that vase for a long time, he can simply replace it with a prettier one whenever he pleases." Father Liu had witnessed numerous examples over the years of men abandoning their original wives after achieving wealth to take mistresses.

"That's right, men tend to change for the worse once they get rich. Yixue, you need to think this through carefully," Mother Liu cautioned.

Liu Yixue frowned, worriedly asking, "Does that mean if the gap between us becomes too large, we probably won't be able to stay together in the future?"

Seeing Liu Yixue's deep devotion to Zhou Xuan, Father Liu felt a slight pang of jealousy. They always said daughters were lovers from a past life, and now that Liu Yixue had taken a liking to another boy while still in junior high, it genuinely broke Father Liu's heart.

"Daughter, tell me the truth, do you really like Zhou Xuan?" Mother Liu asked.

Liu Yixue nodded firmly. Both Father and Mother Liu could see the determination in her eyes.

"Since that's the case, if you want to stay with Zhou Xuan for the long run in the future, the best course of action is for you to become outstanding enough yourself. Only by being exceptional can you help him in his career rather than just being a pretty vase. Even if you don't participate in company affairs, you need to be on the same level as him in terms of knowledge so that you can communicate without any barriers. Therefore, my suggestion is for you to go to Rongcheng for high school to attend a foreign language school, and then go abroad after high school. Only by doing that can you return and truly be of help to him." Father Liu analyzed the current situation and offered a solution.

In reality, what Father Liu meant was that regardless of whether the two of them ultimately ended up together or not, Liu Yixue herself would end up as an exceptionally accomplished person.

If, during this period of separation, Zhou Xuan fell in love with someone else, it would prove that Liu Yixue had given her heart to the wrong person. If, after a few years, Liu Yixue no longer loved Zhou Xuan, it would simply prove how unreliable teenage romance truly was.

Mother Liu agreed, saying, "That's right, daughter. This way, you can also see clearly whether Zhou Xuan is truly sincere toward you. If he falls in love with someone else after you separate, you should give up on him as early as possible."

"This..." Long-distance relationships had always been a massive challenge. Liu Yixue naturally knew this, and with thousands of miles separating them, the distance was far from ordinary.

Actually, Father and Mother Liu were quite satisfied with Zhou Xuan and Liu Yixue's relationship. It was just that they were too young, and there were too many variables in the future.

If they were already in university, there would surely be no problem. But having just graduated from junior high—arguably the most rebellious age for teenagers, when personalities are hardest to set—neither Father nor Mother Liu felt optimistic about their chances.