B5SB -Chapter 296 Foolishness

“Knock, knock, knock.”

When Secretary Chang heard the knocking, he frowned slightly. His deep voice sounded out:

“Come in.”

Hu Shan paused at the door for a moment, took a deep breath, then slowly pushed it open and walked in.

When Secretary Chang looked up and saw her, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly stood up with a smile, gestured for her to sit on the wooden sofa, turned around to pour her a glass of water, and placed it in front of her.

Then he sat down on the sofa opposite her and said with a smile, “Comrade Hu, did you come to see me about something?”

Hu Shan glanced at his gentle expression, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Are you Uncle Chang’s son, Chang Siqi?”

Secretary Chang was stunned for a second, then laughed.

“I’ve been at the textile factory for so long, and you only just realized?”

“But I don’t blame you. After my father was transferred to Beijing, our families hardly saw each other. It’s normal that you didn’t recognize me.”

Hu Shan had thought about it all night and couldn’t figure out why he had helped her. Now she understood—he was Uncle Chang’s son. That explained everything.

“Brother Siqi, since you already recognized me, why didn’t you testify for me yesterday?” she asked angrily.

A smile flickered in Secretary Chang’s eyes.

“Anyone else could have done it—just not me.”

Hu Shan froze, not understanding what he meant.

Knowing that she tended to think simply, Secretary Chang didn’t beat around the bush.

“Before long, we might become family.”

“What?!”

Hu Shan stared at him in disbelief.

She had just publicly announced her divorce from Cheng Bo in the newspaper. And now her parents were already planning to arrange another marriage for her.

Anger surged straight to her head.

She forced herself to suppress it and shot him a cold look.

“No wonder you didn’t help me!”

“You were thinking about our future marriage—so people wouldn’t gossip about you!”

Secretary Chang shook his head helplessly and leaned back against the sofa.

“I was worried about your reputation. At most, I’d get a few rumors—it wouldn’t affect me much.”

“But you’re different. People who don’t know the truth might think you lined up another man in advance and deliberately framed Cheng Bo.”

Hu Shan took a deep breath. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She jumped to her feet and glared at him fiercely.

Through clenched teeth, she said, “How can you be so sure I’ll marry you?”

Secretary Chang glanced at her calmly and said nothing.

That only made her angrier. She felt he was looking down on her, marrying her only for her parents’ connections.

She blurted out bitterly, “For the sake of family, you’re willing to marry a divorced woman like me. How broad-minded of you.”

Secretary Chang frowned. Though uncomfortable, his upbringing prevented him from arguing with her.

He reminded her gently, “Comrade Hu, if you don’t want to marry me, you should tell Uncle Hu and Aunt Hu.”

Annoyance flashed in Hu Shan’s eyes. How was she supposed to say that?

After her divorce, her family was bound to arrange another marriage.

In a fit of pique, she dropped back onto the sofa.

Coldly, she said, “We don’t have feelings for each other. Even if we get married, we won’t be happy.”

Secretary Chang lifted his eyelids and looked at her coolly.

“You had feelings for Cheng Bo. Were you happy after marrying him?”

Hu Shan: “……”

Seeing her flushed face, Secretary Chang felt puzzled.

Why was her mind always filled with petty romance?

Did people really need love to get married?

In the older generation, many couples never even met before marriage, yet still lived harmoniously all their lives.

Besides, the essence of marriage wasn’t love—it was an exchange of interests.

If the Hu family had another unmarried daughter, he wouldn’t have chosen her either.

But he didn’t say that aloud.

“When I was ten, I already knew you were my fiancée,” he said. “I didn’t go astray. You’re the one who went astray after growing up.”

Hu Shan almost lost control of her expression.

What did he mean, she went astray?

When her family suddenly told her she had an unseen fiancé, who would be happy about that?

Still unwilling to give up, she tried one last time.

“Secretary Chang, I want someone who understands me and likes me.”

“Even though things didn’t work out with Cheng Bo, I still believe in love.”

“Like Gu Yihan and her husband—mutual affection and harmony.”

Gu Yihan’s husband?

Regiment Commander Lu Huailin?

Secretary Chang almost laughed out loud.

He stood up and looked straight into Hu Shan’s eyes. Even after a failed marriage, they were still so clear.

He walked up to her.

“Childish.”

“Who told you Lu Huailin chose Gu Yihan because of love from the start?”

Hu Shan stiffened her neck and retorted, “Why not? Haven’t you seen how good he is to her? He never even looks at other women!”

She had seen it with her own eyes.

Every time he came to pick Gu Yihan up, his eyes held no one else.

Secretary Chang sneered.

“If Gu Yihan weren’t pretty enough, from a clean family background, and not someone who talks too much—”

“Do you really think Lu Huailin would’ve chosen her?”

He knew Lu Huailin’s family background very well. He couldn’t just marry any woman.

“Just like you. Your father works in the provincial government, and your mother is the head nurse at a hospital.”

“How could they agree to you marrying a poor rural boy?”

“Even when you married Cheng Bo behind their backs, his background was completely different from yours. How did that turn out?”

“And since Gu Yihan and Lu Huailin’s relationship keeps getting better, it proves she’s not as simple as you think.”

He hadn’t wanted to say these things.

But Hu Shan had been pampered since childhood, never experiencing hardship.

She was naïve to a frightening degree.

She had suffered too little. She should be sent to the countryside as an educated youth to farm.

After tasting real hardship, maybe she wouldn’t have time to chase such illusory love.

Hu Shan was rendered speechless.

Furious, she stood up and glared at him.

“I believe there will be someone who doesn’t care about my background and only loves me!”

With that, she turned and strode to the door, slamming it shut with a bang.

Secretary Chang stared at the door as it swayed back and forth. He frowned deeply and rubbed his temples.

He needed to reconsider the marriage with the Hu family.

At first, he thought it was fine that Hu Shan was a little simple, having been spoiled growing up.

But after this conversation, he realized—

She wasn’t simple.

She was foolish.

And with that love-above-all mindset… what if it got passed on?

The thought made him shiver.

No, he had to tell his family’s old master as soon as possible.

If his future children turned out like this, he’d be furious to death.