Chapter 49: After This, Without Your Permission

Have you read past Chapter 49, Su Qinghu?

Of course not. The memories I received from the original owner are all fragmented and incomplete. Details like this—unless they were extremely significant—wouldn’t have been preserved for me to pick up on.

“Actually, when I say I’m well-versed in theory, it’s because there are so many couples at school. I don’t know what it’s like on the boys’ side, but among the girls, there are hardly any secrets.” Su Qinghu’s eyes were full of sincerity. “And besides, people complain that I’m too good-looking, so during college, no one wanted me to tutor their kids. The nicer ones would turn me down gently, but some would just flat-out say that pretty women are all about seducing men and don’t know how to behave…”

“If you ask around, you’ll see how many times I hit a wall trying to find tutoring jobs in college, and what my success rate was…” Su Qinghu took a deep breath, a little indignant. “It’s so strange—don’t they ever think that a highly educated, attractive, ambitious, hardworking, independent woman like me would never be interested in those out-of-shape, unattractive, unfaithful old men?”

Chen Lie, who was nearing thirty, subconsciously tensed his muscles, checking the vitality and tone of his body, and quietly disqualified himself from the “almost thirty” category.

His body was young, and after all her repeated, enthusiastic compliments on his looks, he had a pretty good sense of himself now…

Realizing what he was doing, Chen Lie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. When he looked at Su Qinghu again, his gaze was no longer as stern or severe as before.

“By the way, since we’re on the topic, I should be honest with you about something.” As Su Qinghu spoke, she beckoned him into the bedroom.

Chen Lie didn’t move.

Su Qinghu went into the bedroom and, seeing he was still standing there, patted the big bed. “Come sit here.”

Then she picked up a comb from the dressing table and started brushing her fluffy hair, waiting for Chen Lie to come in.

It was hot, and once her hair was loose, a few strands inevitably stuck to her neck, trailing down and disappearing under her clothes…

The contrast between the bare skin and those winding strands of hair was strikingly beautiful.

“You—” Su Qinghu frowned. “Come on, really? I mean, I do appreciate your looks and physique, but I haven’t done anything inappropriate, have I?”

“If anything, I just kissed your nose.”

At this point, Su Qinghu’s expression turned odd. She finally sighed and gave in. “Alright, fine. From now on, unless I have your permission, I absolutely—”

“What are you trying to say?” Chen Lie interrupted her, taking two steps and sitting exactly where she’d indicated, back straight, hands on his knees—a classic, habitual posture.

Seeing how guarded he was, Su Qinghu wilted a little, fiddling with the comb, her enthusiasm gone. “I don’t know if you ever looked into how I met Zhang Dongsheng, but whether you did or not doesn’t matter now. I want to tell you from my perspective.”

Chen Lie sensed her low spirits, pressed his lips together, and listened without interrupting.

“These past few years, there’s been a craze for going abroad. Even students from less well-off families in our year were considering it. At the very least, everyone wanted to learn a foreign language well, to try for a job with international connections…”

The college assignment system started reforming last year, but since it was gradual, the impact wasn’t that obvious.

This year, our teachers said some employers were dissatisfied with certain students’ professional skills and had complained to higher-ups, even wanting to return the assigned graduates. But since there was no precedent, it was mostly just talk—no one actually sent anyone back.

Our teachers analyzed the situation for us, saying that if things got worse, the authorities might speed up the reform, or even abolish the assignment system altogether. If that happened, job competition would become fierce.

So, learning a foreign language to boost our competitiveness was the best option for students like us from less privileged backgrounds. Even if we didn’t have overseas connections and couldn’t go abroad, mastering a language might help us snag a spot as a government-sponsored exchange student. At the very least, it would add value and help us advance faster in our jobs.

“That’s why Li Chengwei and I started saving up early and systematically studying spoken foreign languages.” Su Qinghu tossed the comb aside and ran her fingers through her soft, fluffy hair. “We did pretty well, so we started thinking about whether we could self-fund going abroad…”

“Li Chengwei’s skills were about the same as mine, but because he’s a guy, he got way more tutoring gigs—almost never failed to land one.”

“I was different. Because I’m good-looking, people didn’t want me as a tutor.” Su Qinghu emphasized the reason parents kept passing her over, then continued, “So I had to look for other jobs—either ones unrelated to my skills, or ones where they specifically wanted a good-looking girl.”

The thing was, even the “good-looking” ones didn’t want to work with her—anyone with a decent side hustle kept it to themselves, and they definitely wouldn’t bring along someone who was better-looking than them!

It was infuriating!

Just thinking about it made Su Qinghu feel stifled. In this day and age, you couldn’t even rely on your looks to make a living!

Of course, part of it was the original owner’s fault—she was too honest, not good at networking, and totally clueless about money-making opportunities…

Chen Lie was amused by her puffed-up, pufferfish-like indignation, and couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto his lips.

“The reason Zhang Dongsheng kept chasing after me was because a friend who’d helped me find work said a group of foreigners were looking for attractive, foreign-language-speaking college students to act as interpreters and tour guides in Beijing, with great pay.”

Su Qinghu propped her chin on her hand, looking deflated. “Who knew it was a trap…”

Those foreigners were a trap, the friend who didn’t tell her the truth was a trap, and that jerk Zhang Dongsheng was a trap, too.

The foreigners’ intentions were never pure—they only revealed the extra “conditions” once they arrived. Su Qinghu, coming from a small town and having received a proper education, would never agree to that. She refused on the spot.

And that friend of hers—

Forget it, not worth mentioning.

“The interview was held at the dance hall Zhang Dongsheng owned, so it’s no surprise he saw me there, right?” Su Qinghu looked at Chen Lie, but before he could respond, she continued, “As for what happened next, I won’t say, but I’m sure you can guess the gist.”

Her voice was lazy and casual. She glanced at her watch. “If you have any questions, ask now—it’s already after ten~~~”

Chen Lie shook his head slightly.

Su Qinghu felt liberated, stood up, and headed for the bed.

If you want to stay young, good sleep habits are essential. Unless absolutely necessary, she wasn’t planning to stay up late in this life.

“Wait!”

Chen Lie called out. Su Qinghu opened her eyes. “What is it?”

“Have you prepared everything you need for work tomorrow?” Chen Lie asked.

Su Qinghu thought for a moment and replied, “The document folder is in the bookcase, my ID card is in my bag, and the household registration booklet is in your bedside table. Could you put them all in my bag for me?”

“Okay.”"