Chapter 56: My Daughter Has Fallen in Love Early

“Nannan, you’re not to go anywhere for the next few days! Stay home, calm your mind, and take some time to prepare for university. After all, you’re about to attend Yanjing University—the most prestigious institution in China! You’re destined to live in a different world from those aimless people!”

From last night till this morning, Liu Mingli had repeated this sentence over and over.

Liu Qian’s ears had almost grown calluses from hearing it. Her heart felt as though it was being scratched by a cat—restless and uneasy!

Yesterday, in the transaction hall of the Suiyan branch, her father caught her with Wu Ya, just as they were about to leave. Their gestures and demeanor—how intimate they were! Holding hands, walking side by side. They didn’t usually behave that way. But yesterday, caught up in the excitement, they forgot to keep their distance for a moment. Just that brief lapse, and her father saw everything!

“Honey, what exactly happened? Since you brought Nannan home last night, you’ve been repeating the same thing over and over.” Liu Qian’s mother, Lin Yongfen, glared at her husband in obvious displeasure. All night long, he refused to say why. He just droned on, chiding their daughter. If he didn’t mind the nagging, she certainly did!

But who would have guessed—

“What happened, what happened. Obviously, something did! If nothing was wrong, would I be going on like this? Stop asking, I’m annoyed enough!” Liu Mingli, who had barely slept all night, snapped back immediately.

His own heart was a tangled, anxious mess! His daughter—the only top student in the entire Suiyan district to be accepted into Yanjing University! It was as if a carp had leapt over the dragon gate. Her future was limitless! When the results came out, he and his wife were bursting with pride for quite some time, praising her to everyone they met, their heads held so high they could barely see their feet.

But now? She had, unfortunately, fallen into puppy love! And not just that—she’d been seen holding hands with a boy, in public! Did she not realize that they, as a couple, were considered quite respectable and prominent figures in Suiyan? This was humiliating! Yet, that wasn’t even the worst of it.

What frustrated him most was the difference in family background! What kind of family were they? A well-known couple in the business world, making tens of thousands of yuan a year. And their daughter—a top student at Yanjing University.

Her future was boundless. But that boy? At a glance, he was from an ordinary family. Worse yet, a rather poor one. Too shabby! His clothes, though clean, were already faded from too many washes. How could he possibly be worthy of their outstanding daughter?

But it wasn’t something he could say out loud. It was enough for him to know—why trouble his wife as well? Liu Mingli relented. Yet, his attempt to spare her feelings received no gratitude from Lin Yongfen. On the contrary—

“Liu Mingli, do you think that because you made some money from treasury bonds, you’re suddenly so tough? Is that why you’re speaking so impatiently to your wife? Let me tell you, if you still want a place in this house, you’d better behave yourself!”

Her lion’s roar instantly cowed Liu Mingli’s irritation. His face fell and he slumped into silence, head down, sulking on the sofa, not saying a word.

“You—!” His demeanor only stoked Lin Yongfen’s already simmering anger. Was he going to use silence to resist her now? Criticizing their daughter at dawn, then giving her the cold shoulder—did he really think money had given him wings? Filled with rage, she habitually placed her hands on her hips and was about to speak—

“Mom, don’t be angry with Dad. Yesterday, he caught me with a male classmate at the Suiyan branch.” Seeing her parents on the verge of an argument over her, Liu Qian decided to speak up. She was old enough now; if her actions were the cause of their quarrel, she would feel guilty.

But her admission instantly snuffed out Lin Yongfen’s fury, replacing it with shock and dismay. What did her daughter just say? She was with a boy at the Suiyan branch? A boy? What did that mean? A flurry of questions filled Lin Yongfen’s mind, and in that instant, she realized she had wrongly blamed her husband. Her daughter was in puppy love! And Liu Mingli was only acting out of concern, hoping to keep her under strict watch until the start of university, when distance would hopefully cause the relationship to fade away. Otherwise, letting it continue would only bring endless trouble!

With this realization, Lin Yongfen’s attitude changed at once. “Nannan, your father is right! For now, you shouldn’t go anywhere—just stay home and get ready for university. You have to understand, you’ve become a phoenix soaring to the highest branch! How could you let those bottom-feeders ruin your future?”

Her words put her squarely on Liu Mingli’s side. United as a couple, they would cut off anything that might endanger their daughter’s future. Suiyan was just too small—a place where most people would never escape, even after a lifetime of effort. Surely, their daughter couldn’t throw away her promising future for the sake of a high school romance, only to return to this barren land.

“Mom, Dad, I understand what you’re saying. But I’m already grown up—can’t I be in charge of my own life?” Liu Qian, seeing their stance, did not get angry. How pitiable are the hearts of parents! Whether their methods were right or wrong, their intentions were certainly for her sake. Patient explanation and earnest persuasion were the right way to handle this, and also the way to show them the respect they deserved.

But—

“In charge of your own life? Grown up? If you were truly grown up, you’d know how important it is to attend Yanjing University. And you’d understand that, once you leave, you and that boy will be living in two completely different worlds! Still thinking about him—do you plan to return to this impoverished place after you’ve achieved success?” Before she could finish, Liu Mingli burst out in anger, venting the frustration he’d suppressed toward Lin Yongfen onto Liu Qian. Wasn’t all his suffering the fault of his unpromising daughter? How could her standards be so low? A top student at Yanjing University, yet she fell for a country bumpkin. How shameful!

“Nannan, don’t mind if your father’s words are harsh! This is something we absolutely won’t let you decide for yourself! After all, this concerns your future—your life’s greatest matter. How could we let you act recklessly?” Lin Yongfen quickly followed, soothing Liu Qian while making her own stance clear—absolutely not!

“You two!” At this, the last of Liu Qian’s patience was gone. She was already an adult—how could her parents still try to interfere in her private life? Didn’t they realize they belonged to a different era, that there was now a vast gulf between their ways of thinking? How could they still try to impose their standards on her life?

And so, she too, was no longer willing to acquiesce.