Chapter 17 Gratitude of an Ungrateful Female Lead 17 – Huh, Are You Okay?

Zhou He hadn’t gone to Teacher Liu’s home in person to pick up the materials, and the next day the old man actually came to question her about why she hadn’t gone, looking rather displeased.

Huh? Are you okay?

The question left Zhou He at a complete loss for how to answer. There were too many things wrong with it. She didn’t even know where to begin.

Teacher Liu, on the other hand, started lecturing her. “Once I knew you were coming, I even specifically told my wife to cook a couple extra dishes, and I washed a cup for you to use. But not only did you not come, you even gave our home address to an outsider. I thought you were pretty reliable in the way you handled things, but I didn’t expect you to be so careless this time.”

What was that even supposed to mean? It was utterly baffling, okay?

Zhou He got thoroughly scolded, and it was the kind of scolding so illogical that she couldn’t even find an angle to argue back.

After lecturing her, Teacher Liu went off to teach his class, leaving Zhou He behind with the other teachers who had watched the whole thing.

One of them asked curiously, “Xiao Zhou, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know either.” Zhou He explained what had happened yesterday, then asked, “Was there actually something wrong with what I did?”

The other teachers said, “Oh, I thought it was something serious. You handled it just fine. Old Liu’s just acting crazy again. Ignore him. He has one of these episodes every so often. We’re used to it by now.”

Zhou He was speechless.

She rubbed her belly. Little Potato was in there. Being around people this absurd every day was terrible prenatal influence¹. She could only hope her Little Potato wouldn’t pick up any of it.

Teacher Liu’s mood swung wildly, so Zhou He did her best to avoid any chance of being alone with him. Not that she thought this meddling old man would really do anything illegal or unethical. Still, better safe than sorry.

Two weeks later, the school Party committee² informed their department that there was still some team-building³ funding that hadn’t been reimbursed.

After some discussion in the office, everyone decided to go camping and have an outdoor cookout at Forest Park, where there was a grove of ginkgo trees.

It was the perfect season for it. The ginkgo leaves had just turned yellow, making it ideal for enjoying the scenery.

When the wind rose, the sky filled with golden butterflies. When it fell still, the ground was carpeted in leaves.

Ever since getting pregnant, Zhou He tired pretty easily. She hadn’t really wanted to go, but then she thought it wouldn’t look good to skip her very first team-building event after joining the job.

In the end, the troublemaker Teacher Liu really gave her one huge “surprise.”

Not only did the old man show up late, he waited until everyone else had already finished the work that needed doing before arriving. Even then, he still had the nerve to say, “I’m creating more opportunities for you all to train yourselves. You spend all your time in the office, when do you ever get the chance to experience something like this?”

No one answered him, yet he still managed to amuse himself. Thick skin and blind self-confidence were skills in their own right.

He had also brought along a young man who looked to be around thirty.

Teacher Liu introduced him. “My nephew, Liu Xiang. He drove me here. Young men are strong, so I brought him to help you all with the work. You can’t say I’m slacking off now.”

Liu Xiang had regular features and an honest-looking face. At the very least, he was much more likable than his uncle.

It was improper enough for Teacher Liu to bring an outsider to a workplace team-building event, but with a whole living person standing there, no one openly told him to leave.

One of the female teachers did say, “Teacher Liu, I don’t agree with that. We all came out here together to have fun, and we’re all eating together too. The work belongs to everyone. How did it suddenly become ours?”

“Heh, didn’t I bring a strong laborer along? My lumbar problem is acting up. I really can’t do any heavy work.”

Zhou He noticed someone secretly rolling their eyes.

She quietly followed the crowd and kept working.

The ground was uneven, and one of the tables was wobbling a little. She crouched beside it, looking for a suitable stone to wedge under one of the legs.

Teacher Liu started ordering people around. “Xiao Zhou, stop fooling around. Can’t you see this table’s crooked? You and Liu Xiang go find some stones or leaves or whatever and fix it up.”

Liu Xiang jogged over and pressed down on the table, trying to figure out where it was uneven.

Zhou He stood up and silently walked away to find something else to do.

They were making outdoor barbecue today, so she headed over to the charcoal box, planning to get the coals started first. It would take a while before they burned into usable open flame.

Before long, she noticed the sunlight on one side of her had been blocked.

When she looked up, it was Liu Xiang. He smiled, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “Is the sun too strong? I’m tall, I can block some of it for you.”

Zhou He: “…”

Zhou He said, “No need, thanks.”

She shifted a little to the side.

Liu Xiang crouched down to help fan the fire, glancing at her every so often. The way he kept looking made Zhou He’s skin crawl.

He looked honest enough, so why was he just as baffling as his uncle?

As it turned out, Liu Xiang was about to show her what a deluxe upgraded version of baffling looked like.

“You’re really pretty,” he suddenly said. “Even prettier than my uncle said.”

!!!

Do you have any sense of manners?!

“I’m quite satisfied with you.”

Zhou He immediately stood up and started backing away.

“Sir, we don’t know each other, do we?”

So please stop saying such abrupt, inappropriate things.

Liu Xiang gave a simple, guileless grin. “I am older than you, actually. I’m thirty-one this year. We didn’t know each other before, but I’ve looked into you. Your family is well-off, and all your clothes, accessories, and daily expenses are designer brands. My family is doing pretty well too, so we’re a good match. Even though my mom doesn’t really like girls who spend money carelessly on bags, clothes, and makeup, don’t worry, I don’t think that way. After all, a woman’s appearance reflects on a man’s pride. It’s fine to buy some things in moderation, as long as you’re not too extravagant…”

“Stop right there!” Zhou He cut off Liu Xiang’s endless rambling.

She more or less understood what this uncle and nephew pair were up to. It was… unexpected in one way, but somehow still exactly what she’d expect from them.

She didn’t bother tangling with Liu Xiang. Instead, she walked straight toward the man who was currently idling around among the flowers and plants.

“Teacher Liu, I’d like to know exactly what you mean by this today. You brought this person here, and not only did he pry into my eating and spending habits without permission, he also made comments on my appearance and lifestyle.”

Her voice was loud, and the people nearby all turned to look.

“Xiao Zhou, what are you saying? Lower your voice, you’re disturbing everyone.” Teacher Liu reached out to pull her, but she dodged away.

At that moment, the advisor who had supervised her during graduate school also came over. He brushed away Teacher Liu’s hand and stepped between the two of them before saying to Teacher Liu, “If you’re talking, then talk. Don’t put your hands on people.”

Then he asked Zhou He, “What happened?”

Zhou He briefly recounted Liu Xiang’s words and behavior, then said, “Under these circumstances, I think this can be defined as harassment.”

Teacher Liu said, “Oh, Xiao Zhou, what are you saying? It was just two young people getting to know each other, making friends.”

Her advisor let out a cold laugh. “Making friends? Liu Jingyu, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. I was wondering why you’d brought an outsider here today. If you wanted to set Xiao He up on a blind date⁴, you should’ve done it openly. What kind of nonsense is this, secretly having someone harass a young woman? What exactly do you take Xiao He for, some kind of easy woman?”

“It’s not that serious. I was just worried that Xiao Zhou is a girl and thin-skinned…”

Before Teacher Liu could finish, her advisor cut him off. “Liu Jingyu, let me make myself clear today. You are not fit to be a teacher! What is this, forcing a sale? Did you ask Xiao He for her opinion beforehand? Did you ask me? Did you ask the department chair?”

Having been spoken to like that, Teacher Liu dropped the fake smile too.

“I know both of them, and they’re very well matched. If you make too much of a fuss, a young girl might miss out on a good marriage because she’s too shy and turns it down. You may be her teacher, but am I not? With an elder like me here, isn’t that enough? Now everyone knows, so the two of them are officially dating.”

Her advisor was so furious his face had gone pale. A lifelong scholar buried in research, he couldn’t bring himself to curse outrageously. His trembling finger pointed at Teacher Liu. “Absurd! Utterly absurd!”

Zhou He supported her advisor. “Please don’t get yourself worked up.”

Then she turned to Teacher Liu again. “Teacher Liu, one thing you said is wrong. We’re just colleagues who happened to cross paths. I would never dare claim an elder like you.”

Liu Jingyu had been rebuked several times in a row, and he wasn’t a magnanimous man to begin with, so he was getting angry too.

“With that sharp tongue of yours and the way you spend money like water, our Liu family wouldn’t want you anyway. I misjudged you before, thinking you were a good match…”

“Teacher Liu!” Zhou He cut him off urgently. “What kind of person I am is none of your business to judge, and it has nothing to do with you, your nephew, or your family. I don’t want any connection whatsoever in the future either, so please remember that. Also, I’m already married, my husband and I have a very good relationship, and I’m pregnant now.”

This time, Liu Jingyu was genuinely stunned, and especially furious. “You, you, you…”

He was so angry he could not get a word out for a long while.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she’d been cheating.

Liu Jingyu was beside himself with rage. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Zhou He sneered. “You didn’t ask.”

The department chair and her advisor had known for a long time already and had not said anything about it.

Some of the others were a little surprised, while some wore expressions that clearly said, so that’s what it was.

The female teacher whose desk was next to Zhou He’s said, “I knew it. From your taste in food and the way you’ve been dressing, I suspected it, but I didn’t dare say anything.” She shared the same view as the department chair. “It’s good to get married and have children early. Then whatever you want to do later, it won’t hold you back. Congratulations in advance.”

The others offered their congratulations as well. As for the out-of-place Liu uncle and nephew, no one paid them any attention anymore.

Fuming, Liu Jingyu left with Liu Xiang, whose failed blind date had left him utterly dejected.

After that, this Teacher Liu really went all out making trouble for Zhou He. He would often make snide remarks like, “I thought we’d hired someone who could actually help, but she got pregnant so early and now her colleagues have to accommodate her,” and “Being pregnant doesn’t mean you get to be delicate. Women hold up half the sky⁵. You should be a woman of the new era⁶.”

Zhou He ignored him completely and never indulged him for a second.

If Teacher Liu came to her with something that was part of her actual duties, she would take it on without leaving him any leverage to use against her.

If it went beyond her boundaries, she could always find a reason to refuse him.

In any case, with someone like that planted in the office, Zhou He did not let herself get upset over it. She just treated him as entertainment.

Every day when she got home, she would tell Xie Qingjia all about her “battle of wits.”

Seeing how cheerful she was every day, Xie Qingjia felt reassured too. He kept finding new ways to praise her, until she grew embarrassed from it.

Xie Qingjia’s studio gradually built up a bit of a reputation. Aside from orders from friends and relatives, they also started getting quite a few outside commissions. It was not enough to make a fortune, but things had gotten on the right track.

As for Zhou He, the novel based on her relationship record landed on several strong rankings in its later stages, and the earnings were extremely impressive. So impressive that she guiltily felt like she was swindling people…

She had always been serious about whatever she did, and she had stumbled into this line of work by accident. At first she knew absolutely nothing about it, but after spending every day hanging around communities and forums, she gradually figured out a few tricks of the trade.

For example, she had seen discussions and analyses saying that romance novels centered on falling in love and those centered on married life after the wedding basically attracted two different groups of readers.

Her story was not going to stop at marriage.

After thinking it over, she discussed it with her editor, and her story was split into two parts. The first part would end with the wedding, and readers who wanted to see the protagonists’ married life could continue on to the second part.

She was not the most diligent writer around, but after half a year, by the time the first part ended, she had still accumulated nearly five hundred thousand words.

When she reviewed the numbers, even she was amazed. She really could ramble. Picking through all the little odds and ends between her and Xie Qingjia had somehow given her this much to write about.

In the story, marriage marked the end of one chapter. In real life, Zhou He also welcomed the wedding she should have had long ago.

Translator’s Notes