141. Utterly Defeated

Feeling Wang Fang's gaze, Qin Yingxue slightly frowned, turned her head and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Her tone was cold and haughty as always.

Looking at that keep-others-at-a-distance expression and disdainful look in her eyes, Wang Fang's hands, hidden inside her sleeves, tightly pinched her own palms.

Her hands hurt intensely, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

One day, sooner or later, she would make these high-and-mighty prodigies of heaven realize that she was not just an ant or a speck of dust in their eyes.

Her lips moved slightly, muttering as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Thinking that Wang Fang wanted to say thank you, Qin Yingxue turned her head away dismissively. "No need to thank me. That money was just one week of my living expenses, so don't take it to heart."

She had originally meant well, wanting to spare Wang Fang from feeling guilty or burdened. Besides, coming from a background like Wang Fang's, even if she wanted to use it, it held little value anyway.

Doing this was merely a trivial effort to project a kind and generous image of herself in Rongcheng.

However, to Wang Fang, those words were deeply wounding.

Her pupils suddenly contracted. Without a word, she turned her head back and stared fixedly at the books on her desk.

Qin Yingxue could never have imagined that this casual act of kindness would ultimately lead to her doom and forfeit her life when her family later fell to ruin.

Lin Xia had been quite troubled lately. With the cultural festival only two days away, she was torn over whether or not she should move, while that fellow Xie kept badgering her to participate in it.

Yet, occupied as she was with this dilemma, she had no spare time to think about anything else.

Moving might be the fastest way to escape these issues, but what about afterward? Who could say that the capital wasn't crawling with high-ranking officials and influential figures? A momentary lapse in judgment could easily lead to offending someone with powerful connections or a strong background without even realizing it.

At least here in Rongcheng, she knew who the prominent figures were and simply had to be cautious; things remained largely within her control.

If she went to the capital, however, she would be completely in the dark, knowing absolutely nothing.

Still, moving to the capital had its advantages. Aside from the points already mentioned, the most important factor was its sheer size; some people might live there their entire lives without ever running into a rich second-generation heir or a government official's child.

Most importantly, it would allow her to escape her current circumstances.

Once in the capital, who knew if she might encounter some benevolent noble who took a liking to her and offered help?

Hehe.

Forgive Lin Xia's little fantasies—after all, she was still a young girl. Whatever the age group, you all understand.

Jin Ye's expressionless, cold face flashed through Lin Xia's mind.

Ahhh!

She rolled around on her bed wrapped in her quilt. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him when she had only met the man twice?

Lin Xia felt a bit of contempt for herself.

Yet—

Thinking of his thin lips, his chisel-sharp facial contours, and his overwhelming aura, Lin Xia realized she had zero resistance to such a man.

Pulling out her phone, Lin Xia tapped away recklessly until she stopped at the name Jin Ye.

Her finger hovered over the screen several times before she angrily powered the phone off.

What could she possibly say if she called him? He had given her his private phone number, but that didn't mean she was supposed to go and bother him whenever she had nothing to do.

Still, she was so annoyed! Should she move or not?

Ah, ah, ah!

Frustrated, Lin Xia tossed and turned inside her blanket, losing all trace of her usual composed and calm demeanor.

At nine in the morning, Lin Jiagui arrived at their rented shop. The neighboring small store was already open. Seeing him approach, the owner greeted him warmly, "Oh, old Lin is here. A bit late today, aren't you?"

"Hey, you can say that again." Instead of cleaning up his stall, Old Lin simply pulled over a small low stool and sat down at the entrance, chatting with the owner. "Let me tell you, Lao Wang, back when I was still in Xishui Town, I used to get up at five every morning to tidy up the vegetable stall, load the greens onto a wooden handcart, and haul them to the vegetable market to sell. At night, I'd still have to come to Rongcheng to source stock. It was much more tiring back then than it is now, but I never felt it was a hardship. Look at me now—sitting around a little shop every day with nothing much to do, yet I still wake up this late every morning. Isn't that strange?"

Old Wang laughed, "That's easy for you to say since your back doesn't ache from standing. Your life is so comfortable, and you have such a wonderful pair of children; you ought to count your blessings. The other day I caught a glimpse of your daughter—she's gorgeous and so smart. Unlike those two wild boys of mine who are hardly ever home, driving me out of my mind."

Mentioning Lin Xia, Old Lin's face lit up with pride. "Not at all, not at all. Doesn't my wild boy give me headaches too? I'm just trying to figure out how to straighten that fellow out. He always looks like he just crawled out of a dumpster—no posture when standing, no posture when sitting. When I went to the parent-teacher meeting last time, it nearly killed me to find out he had dropped out of the top ten in his class. With grades like that, what's going to become of him in the future?"

Lin Hui and Lao Wang's youngest son, Wang Xiaopeng, were thick as thieves—absolute partners in crime.

Old Wang comforted him, "Don't fret too much. You've got an older daughter ahead of him, haven't you? It's not like an older sister is going to leave her younger brother to fend for himself."

Thinking about it, Old Lin realized it made sense.

Strict as Lin Xia was with Lin Hui, whenever she had something delicious or useful, she always made sure to save a share for him. When bullies picked on her little brother back when they were kids, she would step up and get into fistfights with them, coming home bruised and battered. She was fiercely protective of her younger brother.

"Doesn't your boy have two uncles looking out for him anyway? Stop worrying!" Old Lin stood up and stretched lazily. "Right, time to get to work."

Sunshine blanketed the earth. It was another beautiful day.

When Lin Xia hurried into the auditorium, the debate had already entered its most intense phase—the free debate.

Second speaker for the affirmative: "Let me ask the opposing debaters, does judging heroes by their success or failure encourage success?"

Fourth speaker for the negative: "Opposing debaters, we want to encourage success today, but we cannot encourage success achieved by any means necessary. Therefore, we cannot encourage judging heroes by success or failure. I would like to ask you a logical question: is success a sufficient condition or a necessary condition for being a hero?"

*Well done,* Lin Xia praised inwardly.

Chen Zimo and his team were the negative side, holding the stance that "judging heroes by success or failure is undesirable," while their opponents were liberal arts students from Class Three.

As expected of science students, their logical thinking skills were formidable.

The opponents were no pushovers either. The third speaker for the affirmative stood up unhurriedly: "Why do the opposing debaters only focus on success achieved by unscrupulous means? When we advocate values in society, can we not take the essence and discard the dross?"

Zhao Xin, the third speaker for the negative, stood up: "It is not that our side chooses to focus on unscrupulous success; the problem is, under the guise of judging heroes by success or failure, how many people resort to unprincipled means to achieve success? Please let the opposing students answer our fourth speaker's question."

There, the ball was kicked back to the affirmative side.

Liu Ziqing stood up. Dressed entirely in black with her long hair tied back by a red ribbon, she looked even colder and more aloof.

As the first speaker for the affirmative, was she going head-to-head with Zhao Xin?

She spoke: "Does the opposing debater claim that economic development is undesirable simply because economic development today might bring environmental damage? Do we lack other values to regulate it today?"

Her voice was not loud, but it was clear and powerful. Matched with that expression, she was a match for the negative side's third speaker.

"Whoa, two major beauties confronting each other! We really got our money's worth with today's match!" whispered a male student in the back.

"Our school got another peerless beauty this year."

"You mean Qin Yingxue from Grade One, Class Seven?"

"Yeah, if only she could come too, hehe..." The voice trailed off. Who knows what else those few were whispering about, though it was certainly nothing proper.

A trace of coldness flashed through Zhao Xin's eyes as she stood up and delivered with modulation: "The opposing student's analogy is flawed. How can you equate judging heroes by success or failure to economic development rather than environmental destruction? The opposing student still hasn't answered our side's question. Let me ask a specific question: neither 'Kua Fu Chasing the Sun' nor 'Jingwei Filling the Sea' succeeded. Were Kua Fu and Jingwei heroes?"

Liu Ziqing's mind was agile: "Actually, it is precisely the opposing debaters who are misinterpreting the prompt today. They view judging heroes by success or failure merely as a standard for measuring heroes, failing to see the values it represents underneath. I ask you, exactly what about encouraging success is undesirable?"

At that moment, the first speaker for the negative stood up: "Our side has already made it very clear. We encourage success, but we must also look at how people pursue success. Precisely because of judging heroes by success or failure, people often resort to unscrupulous means in pursuit of success. Just now, you failed to answer whether success is a sufficient or necessary condition for becoming a hero. Let me ask you a reverse question: is failure a sufficient or necessary condition for becoming a non-hero?"

The boy was as poised and calm as ever, carrying no superfluous expression. His tone was unhurried, radiating an air of proud indifference.

Meanwhile, Liu Ziqing, staring at the standing first speaker for the negative, had lost all ability to think.

The first speaker for the negative was Chen Zimo!

Even though she knew he was her opponent, Liu Ziqing still could not accept that he was helping Zhao Xin strike a blow against her.

Looking at Chen Zimo's mild and indifferent expression, Liu Ziqing felt a sour, twisting pain in her heart.

In the past, such indifference was always reserved for others; now, however, she was the one he looked at like that.

Memories played out scene by scene.

Liuyan wrote in her book: *Who cut time into fireworks, instantly exhausting all worldly prosperity?*

*If I lay down the three thousand realms, can I find your charm?*

*Such is the mortal world.*

Well, judging by Liu Ziqing's state, the affirmative side was bound to lose.

There was nothing left worth watching. The negative side advanced like a hot knife through butter, while the affirmative retreated steadily.

The affirmative lost, and Liu Ziqing had completely lost as well.

Love had always been like a battlefield. Women had to guard their own romance and defend their own marriages.

Weren't there modern standards for contemporary women? They had to be graceful in the living room, capable in the kitchen, skilled at dealing with hackers, resourceful against intruders, able to drive fine cars, buy good houses, fend off mistresses, and fight off hoodlums.

Though meant as a joke to make people laugh, it reflected from another angle just how fraught with crises modern romance and marriage truly were.

After a quick word with Xie Xitong, Lin Xia used the excuse of going to the restroom and fled.