Chapter 15: Seizing Many Opportunities Ahead of Time

Her stomach was already empty, and when Meng Jia returned, she put on a delicate, frail expression and said, “Tang Xin, why are you bullying Brother Lu again? Look how angry you’ve made him.” Throughout the entire dinner, Lu Liqin kept a dark, brooding face. Even when Meng Jia’s eyes sparkled with tears as she fluttered before him, he refused to spare her a single glance.

Meng Jia was utterly displeased. She’d gone to such lengths to push for Tang Xin and Li Sheng’s marriage—wasn’t it all for Lu Liqin’s sake? If this man, who’d become a formidable figure in her previous life, showed no interest in her, then what was the point of scheming to marry Tang Xin off to someone else?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. In her past life, she’d freely entered and left the Lu household under the guise of Tang Xin’s close friend. Yet, despite all her hints and tactics, Lu Liqin never responded, not in the slightest. Meng Jia blamed Tang Xin for this; weren’t they supposed to be best friends? Surely Tang Xin had spoken ill of her before her husband—how else could Lu Liqin fail to see her merits?

Old grievances mixed with new ones, and since her rebirth, Meng Jia had regarded Tang Xin as her greatest enemy.

Tang Xin looked up and caught the undisguised hatred in Meng Jia’s eyes, her heart skipping a beat. What was wrong with this heroine? Since her rebirth, she hadn’t bothered to improve herself, but had only schemed to steal the supporting character’s opportunities. Now she glared at Tang Xin with resentment, and Tang Xin was no longer willing to tolerate it.

It was time to settle some old scores.

“Meng Jia,” Tang Xin said, “we still have some unresolved accounts between us.”

“What accounts?”

“Last time you signed an IOU, and who knows when you’ll pay it back. But you have so many things here that belong to me—shouldn’t you return them?” Tang Xin swept her gaze around the room.

The original owner of this body, she thought, was truly foolish. “Look, that thermos is mine, your snow cream and red hair ribbon, and that small mirror. I remember you also have a bag of milk candies and a packet of brown sugar in your drawer, right?”

As she spoke, Tang Xin began to search, finding the items precisely as her memory dictated. Meng Jia was furious, no longer able to feign weakness, and shouted, “Stop it! Don’t touch my things!”

She had mourned the loss of that last packet of malted milk for days; she couldn’t let this wretched girl bully her again. But her words were useless, as Tang Xin continued to rummage through her drawer, enraging Meng Jia to the point her chest heaved violently.

She screamed, “Help! Someone help! Tang Xin is stealing my things!”

Soon, others from the commune rushed over. Lu Liqin happened to enter, but another female educated youth, Gao Meitong, stopped him. “Comrade Lu, it’s not appropriate for you to enter the women’s quarters. Let me check first.”

Gao Meitong’s elegant brows furrowed, but she quickly entered Tang Xin and Meng Jia’s room. She was stunned by the chaos. “Tang Xin, Meng Jia, are you two fighting? Aren’t you supposed to be best friends?”

If she disliked anyone, it was Tang Xin first, Meng Jia second. Both were educated youths working the fields, but Tang Xin always acted superior—just because her family sent frequent parcels? Living in the same commune, why did Tang Xin’s good things always go to Meng Jia and never to her?

She harbored another secret grievance against Tang Xin, one she couldn’t yet reveal. That, too, made her dislike Tang Xin even more.

Tang Xin recognized Gao Meitong as one of the female educated youths, a minor character in the novel, perhaps a lackey of the heroine. Her name only appeared a handful of times—Tang Xin had no intention of paying her any mind. She also knew that Gao Meitong had her own ambitions, lurking beside Meng Jia, because the male lead’s brilliance was irresistible.

“I’m only reclaiming what’s mine—is that wrong? I accepted an IOU, but Meng Jia and her mother are poor, and who knows when they’ll return the hundred yuan. Now, I just wish to take back my belongings to minimize my losses—is that not allowed?”

Meng Jia could no longer keep up the act and shouted, “Tang Xin, you shameless girl! You gave me those things because you didn’t want them—they’re mine now! You already asked me for a hundred yuan, and now you’re snatching my things. After all I’ve done for you!”

Tang Xin sneered, “If you’re so good to me, why won’t you give them back?”

She glanced at Gao Meitong and then at Lu Liqin and the others watching outside, deliberately raising her voice. “Comrade Gao, I know you’re fair-minded. Please judge for me. These things are mine—she borrowed them for various reasons, and now I only wish to reclaim what’s rightfully mine. Where’s the fault in that?”

“Or, if you think I’m being unreasonable, let’s go to the brigade leader and let him decide.”

Not only Gao Meitong, but even Meng Jia’s face darkened.

If this matter really escalated, not only would Lu Liqin’s opinion be affected, but the brigade leader also disliked the educated youths stirring up trouble.

In the end, Meng Jia reluctantly returned Tang Xin’s belongings. Tang Xin happily locked them away in her cabinet, then took the bag of milk candies and left the room.

Meng Jia collapsed at the bedside, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn’t even care about ruining Tang Xin’s image before Lu Liqin now. She only felt that Tang Xin had gone too far—how could she treat her like this?

Gao Meitong stood nearby with a gloomy expression. She had felt a bit schadenfreude seeing Meng Jia’s distress, but remembered that when she tried to greet Lu Liqin outside, he ignored her completely, his gaze fixed only on Tang Xin, that wretched girl.

Annoyed, she muttered, “Hmph, Tang Xin is so pretty and so bold—if she slips up someday, it’ll be trouble for her.”

Her words, though spoken carelessly, struck a chord in Meng Jia’s heart. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tang Xin disappeared from this world?

But Meng Jia quickly reminded herself to stay calm—she couldn’t lose composure over such trivial matters. She had seen the grand stage of the future, beyond the reach of these pitiful girls. So what if Tang Xin was temporarily better off? In a few years when the college entrance exams resumed, she would surely surpass Tang Xin.

She would enter the country’s best university and shock all those who looked down on her.

Moreover, Meng Jia knew the future’s trajectory and could seize countless opportunities. She just needed patience—when the times changed, everything would be different.

In fact, even before the exams returned, she could live better than them now. She possessed knowledge of countless advantages; as long as she controlled them, why should she fear being outdone by that wretched girl?