CHAPTER 1427: CHAPTER 1427: EATING RADISHES SALTY AND WORRYING LIGHTLY

Stone dropped Guan Yuqi off at home; the two of them chatted a lot along the way.

Guan Yuqi said, "I’ll talk to my parents when I get back. We can figure out the meeting time together later. After all, it can’t just be scheduled around my family’s time."

Stone looked at Guan Yuqi. "The requests that your parents mentioned last time—I can’t meet them yet."

Guan Yuqi understood what Stone meant. No matter what, it was impossible to expect the Gu family to buy the marital home. She reassured him, "It’s okay, I’ll explain it to my parents. They just want to secure some stability for me. After all, parents always hope their children live well."

Stone nodded. "I understand. Don’t worry. I’ll work hard to meet your parents’ expectations as soon as possible and give you a stable life."

Guan Yuqi beamed with happiness. "I trust you. It’s getting late, you should head back."

Stone watched Guan Yuqi walk into the entrance of the residential compound before driving off.

As soon as the car drove away, a girl stepped out from a hidden spot nearby. She stared in the direction of the departing car, her thoughts unreadable.

Only when the car was completely out of sight did she pick up her pace and head into the residential compound.

That girl was none other than Sun Yu, the daughter of the Sun Family who lived across the hall from Guan Yuqi.

She and Guan Yuqi grew up together—attending the same elementary, middle, and high schools. But later, Guan Yuqi got into university, while she only got into a vocational college.

Throughout the years, she had always competed with Guan Yuqi in everything. Unfortunately, she fell short during the college entrance exams. On the surface, she seemed amicable with Guan Yuqi, but deep down, she harbored the hope of surpassing her someday.

But each time, she was just a little bit off.

As Guan Yuqi was chatting with the ladies downstairs, Sun Yu caught up with her. "Guan Yuqi, are you dating someone?"

Guan Yuqi frowned slightly. "Whether I am or not, what does it have to do with you?"

Sun Yu scoffed. "Be careful climbing too high and falling hard. None of those rich boys are any good. When it comes to marriage, they care about matching social status—there’s no way they’d truly marry a girl from a poor family. Watch out for being fooled."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yuqi realized Sun Yu must have seen her getting out of Zheng Lei’s car just now. She thought it was such a pointless concern.

She didn’t bother responding to Sun Yu. Her mom always told her that Sun Yu was dragged down by her family situation, which made her try to stand out wherever she could. No matter what she said, it wasn’t worth getting worked up over.

As she watched Sun Yu walk into the building, Guan Yuqi shook her head. She didn’t take Sun Yu’s words to heart.

Speaking of Sun Yu, she was a pitiful person. She and Sun Yu had grown up together, and the Sun Family only had this one daughter. Sun Yu’s father was a middle school teacher, and her mom, like Guan Yuqi’s parents, worked as a laborer at the Valve Factory.

Sun Yu’s parents had married through introduction. Initially, their relationship was decent, but over time, Sun Yu’s father Sun Gang’s chauvinistic tendencies began to surface.

Once, he even hit Sun Yu’s mother, and as anyone could guess, a man who hits once will eventually hit again. Whenever he was dissatisfied at work or troubled at home, Sun Gang would take his frustrations out on his wife.

When Sun Yu’s mom became pregnant, things improved slightly, but when she gave birth and they found out it was a girl, neither Sun Yu’s father nor her grandmother even looked at the baby; they left the hospital immediately.

Sun Yu’s maternal grandmother cared for her during the confinement period. But back then, maternity leave for women was short, and as soon as Sun Yu’s mom’s leave ended, she tried to discuss staying home longer to care for the baby. Sun Gang exploded, saying he wouldn’t support two idle people.

Left with no choice, Sun Yu’s mom tearfully took her infant daughter to her parents’ home.

Her maternal family couldn’t let her fend for herself, though they had their hands tied. Sun Yu’s aunt was pregnant at the time and could only help out for a short while.

When Sun Yu was six months old, her aunt gave birth to her baby cousin, and her grandmother became too busy to continue helping. Sun Yu’s mom had no choice but to take her to the factory’s daycare facility, where she’d nurse her twice a day during breaks.

Several times, Sun Yu’s mom had the thought of divorcing her husband, but in those days, society was incredibly unfair to women. If she divorced, she and her daughter would likely be ostracized and live difficult lives, pulling down her parents as well.

She could only endure. Moreover, since Sun Yu’s mom never got pregnant again, her marriage with Sun Gang reached a freezing point.

When the government implemented the one-child policy, Sun Gang’s hopes of having a son were shattered, and life became even harder for the mother-daughter pair. Domestic abuse and constant humiliation became routine.

It wasn’t until Sun Yu started school that her father paid her any attention—only if she excelled academically. If her grades weren’t good, she’d face beatings instead.

Perhaps due to her family’s influence, Sun Yu’s personality became increasingly unlikeable.

For reasons unknown, Sun Yu had, from childhood through adulthood, always treated Guan Yuqi as her rival.