Chapter 337: Giving Her a House

Upon hearing Old Sir Xie, Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but frown. “Grandpa, I’m not as bad as all that, am I?”

Old Sir Xie snorted. “Aren’t you? I watched you grow up. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”

After he finished, Old Sir Xie looked at Su Zhaozhao with a serious expression. “Zhaozhao, I know this boy treats you well right now, but people can be fickle. Who knows if his heart will change in the future? In any case, a woman needs to have her own property for security. You’ve come all this way from Jiang City, and Grandpa doesn’t want you to be treated unfairly. So, you must accept this property deed.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.” Su Zhaozhao didn’t hesitate for long before accepting the property deed.

She hadn’t expected the Xie Family to have thought of this.

In fact, she had long considered buying some properties in Beijing.

‘In the future, housing prices in Beijing will be who-knows-how-many times higher than they are now. I should buy as many properties as I can while I have the chance.’

‘But now, before I’ve even had a chance to discuss it with Huai Zheng, Old Sir Xie has gifted me a house with its own courtyard.’

‘Heavens, who knows how much this will be worth in the future.’

Old Sir Xie smiled in satisfaction, pleased that Su Zhaozhao had accepted the gift so readily. He hated the hypocritical song and dance of polite refusals. Thankfully, this girl was straightforward and open.

Su Zhaozhao moved the other gifts into their room.

As Su Zhaozhao unwrapped the gifts, she exclaimed in amazement.

“Huai Zheng, your family is so rich! They gave us so many gifts!”

As she was unwrapping them, she cried out in surprise, “Huh? What’s this? A huge diamond necklace!”

When Su Zhaozhao opened it, the enormous diamond was so brilliant she could hardly keep her eyes open.

The diamond was incredibly brilliant, refracting dazzling rays of light.

The box itself was just an ordinary black box; it would have been easy to miss it if you hadn’t opened it.

“This diamond… it must be very expensive, right?”

Su Zhaozhao looked at Xie Huaizheng in amazement.

“Who sent this?”

She had received many gifts today, not just New Year’s gifts from the Xie Family, but also from Xie Huaizheng’s friends.

Xie Huaizheng took it and pulled a piece of paper from inside the box.

On it, a few words were written in a flamboyant hand: “Zhaozhao, Happy Wedding — Xu Jiaming.”

‘It’s from Xu Jiaming?’

Xie Huaizheng scoffed. Even though he and Su Zhaozhao were well and truly together now, he was still annoyed to see his old rival’s name.

‘After all, that man probably still has feelings for my Zhaozhao.’

‘Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so much on such an extravagant gift.’

Su Zhaozhao saw it too. She frowned. “Why would he send such an expensive gift? How am I supposed to return the favor?”

“Don’t worry, Zhaozhao. Go ahead and accept it. As for the return gift, I’ll handle it. I’ll make sure he doesn’t lose out.”

Xie Huaizheng pursed his thin lips. ‘At the very least, I’ll repay the favor.’

‘I don’t want Zhaozhao constantly worrying about how to repay such an expensive gift.’

A diamond necklace this big was a rare sight. Since Xu Jiaming had sent it, Xie Huaizheng simply told Su Zhaozhao to put it away for safekeeping.

‘I’ll just return the favor in some other way.’

After a lively New Year celebration, it was time for Xie Huaizheng and Su Zhaozhao to return to West State.

Before they left, Huang Jiqin was very reluctant to let her go. “Zhaozhao, are you sure you won’t consider staying? Beijing is so prosperous; it has everything. Whatever you want, Mom will buy it for you. If you go to West State, you’ll really face hardship.”

It wasn’t that Huang Jiqin didn’t want her son and daughter-in-law to be together.

It was just that when she looked at Su Zhaozhao’s pretty face, her slender frame, and her somewhat delicate demeanor…

The thought of such a girl having to spend so much time in West State made Huang Jiqin’s heart ache.

“Mom, it’s alright. I’m going to study hard, and who knows? Maybe I’ll pass the entrance exam and come to a university here in Beijing.”

‘In six months, I can take the college entrance exam.’

‘I’ve been studying hard this whole time. If I’m going to take the exam, I’m going to get into a good university.’

Huang Jiqin’s face lit up. “Wonderful, wonderful! Zhaozhao, then it’s a plan! Mom will be waiting for you. When you come to Beijing for university, you’ll live at home, and I’ll take you to school every day.”

“Beijing University is right next door to us. Ah, if you could go to school here, that would be even better. You could walk to class every day.”

At this moment, Huang Jiqin had already started planning everything, and Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but laugh.

They parted reluctantly. Xie Huaizheng held Su Zhaozhao’s hand. “Why do I get the feeling that they all think I can’t take good care of you?”

Be it his mother or his older siblings, they all looked at him with worried expressions, repeatedly reminding him to take good care of Su Zhaozhao once they were in West State.

‘Come on, do I really seem that unreliable?’

Su Zhaozhao rested her head on Xie Huaizheng’s shoulder. “How could they think that? Darling, you’ve always taken wonderful care of me.”

She squeezed Xie Huaizheng’s hand, and he squeezed hers back, holding it tightly.

「After returning to West State, life fell back into its usual rhythm.」

First, they had a few meals and get-togethers with old acquaintances. After the military district’s elementary school started its term, Su Zhaozhao threw herself back into teaching.

Now, she taught at school during the day and studied hard at night.

‘I may have taken the college entrance exam before and gotten decent scores…’

‘But it’s been so many years. I’ve forgotten a lot of it.’

‘Besides, the subject matter in this era is a little different from my own time.’

Li Weichuan knew Su Zhaozhao was studying and took the initiative to suggest, “Sister, you should come over to my house on the weekends. We can study together. You can teach me English, and I can help you review the sciences.”

“Really?” Su Zhaozhao hadn’t expected Li Weichuan to invite her.

The young man was becoming more and more cheerful. The indifferent look was gone from his face, and a faint smile played on his lips. “Of course, Sister. We’re both taking the college entrance exam, so of course we should study together and improve together.”

“Okay, great! I’ll be counting on you, then.”

“It’s no trouble at all. You helped me get better. I’m just really happy I can finally do something to help you.”

Hearing Li Weichuan’s words, Su Zhaozhao was even more moved.

‘In truth, with Li Weichuan’s condition, I did more guiding than actual treating.’

‘He was able to pull through mainly because he himself put in the effort.’

‘He’s such a good kid. He has great character, and he even knows to repay a kindness now that he’s better.’

When Xie Huaizheng came home that night, Su Zhaozhao told him about it.

“I think Wei Chuan’s suggestion is great. I’ll study with him on the weekends and by myself at home on weekdays. We can help each other and both get into good universities.”

But Xie Huaizheng frowned. “Zhaozhao, do you really have to study with him?”

[The main story will be finished in the next couple of days! Thank you all for your support along the way. For the extras, I’m planning to write about the daily lives of Zhaozhao and Camp Commander Xie raising their kids, the story of Xie Huaizhen and Shu Xue, and also about Xu Jiaxin and Xu Ziyang. Feel free to suggest anything else you’d like to read!]