Chapter 26: The Beautiful Girlfriend’s Secret

"Yes, this is Liu Xiaoqin's home!" the women all replied. One of them pointed to the narrow staircase leading to the second floor and added, "We rent rooms from her family. They live in the front on the second floor, the back and the first floor are all rented out. We stay in the back on the second floor."

"Oh, thank you!" Zhang Can replied politely, preparing to go upstairs.

"Wait a moment!" one of the women suddenly called after him, her tone suspicious. "What are you doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you before!"

Zhang Can glanced at himself, laden with bags and packages, and simply smiled. "I'm Liu Xiaoqin's boyfriend. This is my first time here."

The women were all taken aback. The one who had spoken stared at Zhang Can with a rather odd expression, but said nothing more.

With his hands full, Zhang Can wondered if there was something on his face, but he had no free hand and no mirror to check. He nodded quickly and hurried up the stairs.

The hallway was narrow, the walls old and worn. At the top, Zhang Can headed straight for the front apartment. The door was open, and the curtains were drawn inside, making the room dim.

He stopped at the entrance, set down his bags and gifts, then knocked lightly on the door.

A frail woman's voice came from inside, "Who is it?"

The voice sounded a bit aged—if not fifty, then at least in her forties. Standing at the doorway, Zhang Can replied, "My surname is Zhang. I'm Xiaoqin's... friend."

He hesitated, not claiming to be Liu Xiaoqin's boyfriend. Though the two of them would soon meet the family or even marry, it wasn't quite at that stage yet.

"Is that so? Please, come in, come in. The place is a bit messy, I'm sorry..." The woman inside greeted him warmly, turning on the light. Only then did Zhang Can see clearly: it was a small living room, with two little rooms at the front—likely bedrooms. The furniture was old but meticulously clean, and a worn sofa set sat in the living room.

The woman was thin, her complexion pale, as if she suffered from malnutrition. She appeared to be around fifty, her features still carrying traces of beauty from years past, resembling Liu Xiaoqin.

Zhang Can guessed she must be Liu Xiaoqin's mother. He smiled and greeted her politely, then brought his gifts inside and set them by the sofa.

She was no fool; a single glance showed the gifts were worth several thousand yuan. Her expression changed, and after a moment of surprise, she said, "Please, have a seat. And you are...?"

"Ma'am, you're Xiaoqin's mother, aren't you?" Zhang Can asked, though the resemblance was clear, just to be sure.

She nodded, eyeing him with some suspicion. "I am. Are you a friend of Xiaoqin's?"

Zhang Can nodded and sat down. He then explained, "Ma'am, I was introduced to Xiaoqin by her second aunt. My name is Zhang Can. Today, Xiaoqin told me we'd meet your family in two days and that she hoped to marry this month. I just arrived in town to handle some matters, and since I had time, I thought I'd come by to visit you."

The woman suddenly understood and, bustling about, poured him some tea. "Oh, I know, I know! You're the one introduced by second aunt. Xiaoqin told me about you when she got home. She just went to work—covering a shift, she said. She'll take leave in two days to meet your family. I’ll call her and have her come back!"

"No, no, please, Ma'am, don't call her," Zhang Can hurriedly waved his hands. "There's no need to have Xiaoqin come back. I’m leaving soon, I just wanted to drop by. There’s no other reason. She’s at work, and calling her back wouldn’t be right."

"Oh..." Liu Xiaoqin's mother put down her phone and studied Zhang Can closely.

A mother-in-law examining a son-in-law is always more serious than a daughter’s own scrutiny. Zhang Can blushed under her intent gaze.

"I heard from second aunt that your income is quite good?" she asked quietly, handing him a cup of tea.

Zhang Can wasn't sure whether to play modest or not. Under her close watch, he could only nod. "It's decent, enough to get by."

Liu’s mother opened her mouth, hesitated, and after a long while, finally spoke with some difficulty. "Xiao Zhang, there’s something I don’t know if I should say..."

Zhang Can’s heart tightened, sensing something heavy but unable to guess what. He nodded. "Please, Ma'am, go ahead."

With a sigh, she finally spoke. "I have two daughters. My eldest, Liuli, was not very promising and left to work in another province. My younger daughter, from a young age, was smart and obedient. After graduating from nursing school, she was assigned to the county hospital as a nurse. You’ve seen her—I'm not just boasting about my child, but calling her one in a hundred isn’t an exaggeration. But fate is cruel. Two years ago, Xiaoqin’s father suddenly collapsed. The hospital diagnosed him with severe kidney failure. The county hospital wouldn’t even attempt surgery; they said he had to go to the provincial hospital. We spent what we had to get him checked there—an expert said there was a fifty-percent chance of success with surgery, but the operation would cost four hundred thousand yuan. With other expenses, it would be at least five hundred thousand. Without that money, Xiaoqin’s father wouldn’t survive!"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks.

Zhang Can suddenly understood why Liu Xiaoqin was in such a hurry to meet his family, to marry, and why she chose someone with a high income. He was just the condition she needed to save her father.

There is rarely love at first sight in this world, and he knew he was far from being someone who could attract Liu Xiaoqin by charm alone. What she needed was his money.

Seeing Zhang Can's face darken, Liu’s mother continued, "Xiao Zhang, I know what Xiaoqin means. She doesn’t dare tell you outright, fearing you’d refuse. She thinks that after marriage, as long as she devotes herself to you, and since you have the means, you’d save her father. But honestly, I don’t approve of this. Our family isn’t that kind of people. If my daughter marries under these circumstances, of course the son-in-law is expected to help, but I don’t want to deceive you. I feel it’s better to be upfront. If you truly love Xiaoqin and are willing to take on her father's medical expenses, then get married. Otherwise... we have no other way. In these two years, our family has been emptied out. We’ve sold everything we could, borrowed all we could. But in this world, the wealthier you are, the easier it is to borrow money; the poorer you are, the harder it gets. People are afraid we won’t be able to pay back…"

Her words made Zhang Can feel a little better, but he still struggled to accept Liu Xiaoqin’s actions. Though she was only fulfilling her duty as a daughter—a good and filial one at that—not telling him the truth felt like a betrayal, and that was hard to accept.

That’s how people are; if you don’t care about someone, nothing they do matters. But if you care, any hurt cuts deep.

After a while, Zhang Can quietly asked, "Ma'am, I don’t understand. With Xiaoqin’s looks and talent, it shouldn’t be hard to find a wealthy man. There must be many in the county. Why introduce her to someone from the countryside like me?"

Wiping her tears, Liu’s mother explained, "Xiao Zhang, in this society, how many people are truly kind at heart? There are plenty of rich folk in the county, but it’s always the parents who call the shots. How many young men can actually decide to spend half a million on their own? Those who can are usually men in their forties or fifties, and among them, unmarried ones are one in ten…"

She paused, then added, "Your second aunt introduced you. Xiaoqin came home today and said you seemed like a good man—about the same age, and with good character. And, to be honest, you have a good income…"

Zhang Can fell silent. Liu Xiaoqin, Liu Xiaoqin, you’ve truly hurt me.

He turned and looked at the desk, where a family photo stood. Liu’s mother and father were seated, with a girl standing behind each. Zhang Can was stunned. He stepped closer to look carefully. One girl was clearly Liu Xiaoqin, and the other, who resembled her, was someone Zhang Can remembered vividly—his classmate and dream girl, Liu Xiaoli!

Liu Xiaoqin, Liu Xiaoli...

In an instant, Zhang Can understood. No wonder he always found Liu Xiaoqin familiar. She was Liu Xiaoli’s younger sister!

Behind him, Liu’s mother explained softly, "That was taken three years ago. On the left is my elder daughter, Liu Xiaoli. She’s working in Jincheng now, but we can’t rely on her. It’s been so hard on Xiaoqin, this child..."

Zhang Can stood there in a daze. So Liu Xiaoqin was the younger sister of his long-time crush, Liu Xiaoli. And now Liu Xiaoqin had wounded him because of all this. Were these sisters his destined nemeses?

"Xiao Zhang… Xiao Zhang… are you angry?" Liu’s mother asked anxiously, her gaze both worried and hopeful. In her eyes, Zhang Can saw the love of a devoted mother and wife, but also the helplessness of someone who has done everything she could.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

After a moment, Zhang Can said, "Ma'am, I have something to attend to. I'll be back in a while. I’ll take my leave for now."

Liu's mother was uncertain. "Will you… Xiao Zhang, will you really come back?"

"I will, don’t worry. It won’t be long," Zhang Can assured her, then left heavily, not daring to glance back at her hopeful, pitiful expression.

Liu's mother was a good person—there was no doubt about that. At least she had told him the truth. Though she desperately hoped Zhang Can would help her family, she feared it might ruin her daughter's future happiness.

Zhang Can sat on the edge of a flowerbed along the sidewalk and thought for a long time. At last, he sighed, walked into a bank, opened a new account, and transferred five hundred thousand yuan into it.

Leaving the bank, he bought an envelope and some stationery, wrote a few lines, folded the note together with the bank card, and sealed them in the envelope before heading back towards Liu Xiaoqin's home.