Chapter 94: They have both gone off course.

What a hopeless straight girl, straight to the core.

Taking a swig of beer, Xia Shangxu thought that this niece would probably have to deceive some man into marrying her someday.

Qin Yun felt as if something was off, but he could not work it out. Scratching his head, he asked, “Is that so?”

Qin Hongfei nodded with certainty. “Of course. If you are not capable and have no accomplishments of your own, who would bother to look at you twice? Even your own parents would resent you. Why else would your second uncle always smack you? Because your grades are bad.”

Those were the truths her teachers had taught her. In fact, they were not even truths, merely reality.

There are so many people in this world. If you want to gain a foothold and live better, you have to show your worth. If you have no value, then you can only remain at the bottom. Do not curse the heavens or blame the earth; even if you do, no one will listen.

Qin Yun muttered, “Now that you mention it, that really is true. My parents are always hitting me.”

Bad grades, a beating. Homework unfinished, a beating.

Especially with a certain Lanlan standing there as a comparison, was this why he could be handsome and quick-witted and still get hit all the same, because he had failed to prove his worth? “Feifei, I think what you said makes sense.”

Qin Fei was nodding furiously too. “Exactly, exactly. That’s how it is. In our circle, someone may have no acting skills, but as long as they have commercial value, they can still land the lead female role. By contrast, someone may have the acting skills but no commercial value, and then it is very hard to get any roles.”

So being pretty was truly useless. What mattered was value.

The group exchanged a look, each feeling an inexplicable sense of shared desolation, though they were still so young.

Qin Hongfei picked up another shrimp, her clear, beautiful eyes narrowing slightly as she said, “So if you don’t want to become worthless people, you have to make yourselves valuable. Only then can you live happily. Relying on your looks is useless. You will grow old eventually. It means nothing at all.”

Tang Jinnan had long since understood Qin Hongfei’s nature, so hearing her say it aloud, he did not think there was anything wrong with it. Instead, he felt that she and Qin Yan were indeed siblings, cut from the same cloth. But precisely because of that, Qin Yan had become friends with them. “Beauty fades. Youth does not last. But learning a skill is for life.”

Qin Hongfei nodded emphatically. “With skills, never learn too many. Just learn one by one. Who knows when your family might go bankrupt and fall from grace? When that happens, a single practical skill can save you.”

Even Tang Jinnan said so. Qin Yun and Qin Fei believed it without the slightest doubt and silently swallowed this bowl of chicken soup.

Xia Shangxu looked in disbelief at Tang Jinnan’s cool, aloof expression.

You do not look stupid at all! So why... why are you the same way too? Do the minds of smart people all work so differently?

This is bad. They have been leading each other astray in pairs.

And they still seemed utterly convinced. Should he explain it? Forget it, too much trouble. They will understand when they grow up.

Shou wore an expression of speechless exasperation. That rotten teacher of Tang Xiao Jin’s had caused a mess of romantic debts for himself, then went and filled Tang Xiao Jin’s head with the idea that women were all stumbling blocks. And as he kept indoctrinating him, it became impossible to turn him back. If Tang Xiao Jin ever happened to take a liking to men, he would personally go and hack that damned old man to pieces for poisoning the young.

Qin Hongfei had no idea at all about Xia Shangxu and Shou’s silence. Nor did she think there was anything wrong with what she had taught Qin Yun and Qin Fei. One should be independent and strong; what was the use of only chasing after beauty? A single slash of a blade, a little more age, and no amount of beauty would mean anything.

How much more fun scientific research was. That too was a kind of achievement.

With that thought, after dinner she threw herself back into the heap of parts. She worked through the entire night, and by the time dawn began to pale the sky, the young man arrived as promised in his family’s little sedan car.