Lin Nian stared blankly for several seconds before looking at Chen Feng in astonishment. "Are you asking about Qin Jiao?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Yeah."

"Why are you asking about Qin Jiao? Do you like her? Chen Feng, we’ve been together for so long, how could you do this to me!"

Lin Nian started crying as she spoke.

She had no way out now. She had practically severed all ties with her family back home, and she’d bet everything she had on Chen Feng.

’If Chen Feng leaves me for Qin Jiao, what am I going to do?’

In that instant, Lin Nian’s anxiety reached its peak. She abruptly jumped off her bicycle and bolted ahead.

Chen Feng frowned. He hadn’t expected such an extreme reaction from Lin Nian, and it was starting to annoy him.

He felt that Lin Nian had changed. She was nothing like the gentle and considerate person she used to be. She got angry at the drop of a hat, and if he so much as said a few words to another girl, Lin Nian would become passive-aggressive.

Case in point: he had just mentioned Qin Jiao, and she flew into a hysterical fit, as if he’d committed some heinous crime.

Besides, Lin Nian always assumed he had some kind of feelings for Qin Jiao.

’What feelings could I possibly have? I have a girlfriend. Even if I admire Qin Jiao, it’s not like I’d ever do anything.’

’Still, I have to admit, Qin Jiao is exceptional. I know I haven’t been at my best lately—I’ve bombed the last few monthly exams. But if I really apply myself, maybe I can get into the same university as her. Then I’ll have the chance to prove I’m even better than she is.’

Though he hated to admit it and had no intention of starting anything with Qin Jiao, Chen Feng inexplicably recalled the day she had declared in front of the entire class that she looked down on him.

He refused to accept it.

He didn’t want her to look down on him.

Meanwhile, Lin Nian ran all the way back to her place without stopping, threw herself onto her bed, and burst into tears. She felt so wronged. ’Isn’t Qin Jiao just the female lead? By what right does she get to overshadow me in every way?’

’I’ve been so good to Chen Feng—I’ve practically torn my heart out for him. How can he still be thinking about Qin Jiao?’

As Lin Nian cried, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea, followed by a dizzy spell. The world spun around her, and it took a long moment for her to recover.

She figured her anger at Qin Jiao was just making her sick.

’Qin Jiao, it would be so much better if you just died!’

Lin Nian indulged in these vicious thoughts for a moment, but she also knew she couldn’t actually go and kill someone. She didn’t have any connections; there was nothing she could do.

’But if I do nothing, am I supposed to just stand by and watch Qin Jiao get into university and end up with Chen Feng?!’

’No! Absolutely not!’

**

The college entrance exams were just around the corner. The tension was so thick that even Xiao Cheng, Sun Jianhua’s son, could feel it. Qin Na made a special trip to bring over some walnut pastries and a roasted chicken. She said to Qin Jiao, "Xiao Jiao, the exams start tomorrow. Don’t you be nervous, now."

Qin Jiao chuckled. "Aunt, I’m not nervous."

"Oh, but this is the college entrance exam! No one from our hometown has ever gone to university. Xiao Jiao, if you get into a prestigious university, you’ll be the first from our village! If you get in... I bet even your grandparents will be happy for you."

At the mention of her own parents, Qin Na sighed softly.

’Why are Mom and Dad so muddle-headed? Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law are good people, and their child is smart with a bright future. Why did Mom and Dad bully them like that before?’

Of course, she was angry on her own account as well.

Qin Na believed that while she couldn’t compare to her Eldest and Second Brothers, she was certainly a far cry from her lazy, gluttonous Third Brother.

But just because she had been unwilling to marry that blacksmith and had married Xiao Sun instead, her parents were still holding a grudge and refused to acknowledge her as their daughter.