Li Qiao said hello to each one.
Zhong Qiongsui sized up Li Qiao after responding, "You are really pretty, and your skin is so fair. You look like you're not even twenty, and I heard you're married. I can't believe your family agreed to it when you're so young."
"In the countryside, people my age get married all the time. If you're over twenty-five and unmarried, people talk," Li Qiao excused.
"Let them talk. A woman shouldn't sacrifice her freedom and independence because of other people's words," Zhong Qiongsui objected.
Li Qiao asked, puzzled, "What does freedom and independence have to do with whether you're married or not?"
"After you get married, you have no freedom. Look at Zhuang Shu—she used to be the star talent of our translation department, and now she's busy all day with having children and taking care of them, not even making friends," Zhong Qiongsui said with a mix of reproach and complaint.
Li Qiao's gaze softly shifted to Zhuang Shu.
