Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

Ever since that night when Qin Huairu "raided" Sha Zhu's house.

Their relationship progressed by leaps and bounds, as if it had been launched into a rocket.

Although Qin Huairu has been delaying marriage registration with Sha Zhu for reasons such as observing mourning and having young children, she has not yet done so.

But Sha Zhu has completely embraced the role of "the pillar of the Jia family".

He not only handed over every penny of his monthly salary to Qin Huairu.

He even sold the old grandfather clock that had been passed down for generations, just to please Qin Huairu.

It was a weekend when heavy snow fell.

Sha Zhu braved the wind and snow, carrying a half-sack of flour he had just bought.

Humming "Returning from Target Practice," I stumbled into the courtyard house.

He planned to make dumplings for Sister Qin and show her his good taste.

At this moment, he was wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat, his wrists were exposed, and his nose was running from the cold.

But he wore a puzzlingly happy smile on his face.

Just as I entered the central courtyard, I ran into Li Xuan coming out of the back courtyard.

Li Xuan was wearing a well-tailored black wool coat, a wool scarf, and leather boots.

The two met and their appearances were strikingly different.

It was just like a landlord's son meeting a farmhand.

"Hey, Director Li, where are you going to make your fortune?"

Although Sha Zhu felt a pang of jealousy, he still greeted her in a sarcastic tone in order to appear magnanimous.

Li Xuan stopped and glanced at the white mask on Sha Zhu's shoulder.

She glanced at his hands, which were frozen purple, and frowned slightly.

He didn't want to talk to this idiot.

But thinking back to He Yushui's complicated look when she mentioned Sha Zhu last night...

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Although He Yushui and Shazhu have severed ties, he is still his brother.

Seeing him step into the fire pit, Yu Shui felt a little reluctant.

"That's enough."

"I'll give you a final hand because of the rain," Li Xuan thought.

"Silly Zhu, put it down," Li Xuan said calmly.

"What?"

Sha Zhu was taken aback, tightening his grip on the flour bag on his shoulder. "Li Xuan, what do you mean?"

"You want to steal my noodles?"

Li Xuan walked up to him, his gaze calm and profound, as if he could see through people's hearts.

"He Yuzhu, are you really planning to live your life like this?"

"You're helping others, raising other people's children, and serving other people's mothers-in-law."

"In the end, will it all come to nothing?"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Sha Zhu, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristled, "I was just helping my neighbor!"

"It's a good deed! Sister Qin is a good woman, she had no other choice!"

"We are truly... truly committed to living our lives!"

"sincere?"

Li Xuan chuckled and pointed in the direction of the Jia family.

"Is your so-called sincerity just about endlessly filling that bottomless pit?"

"So you're freezing like a dog yourself, and you still want to help the Jia family?"

"Idiot Zhu, use your brain!"

"If Qin Huairu really wanted to spend her life with you, why wouldn't she register our marriage?"

"Why can't I let you touch me?"

"Why do you only smile at me when you need money?"

"She's fishing, and you're the stupid fish that got caught!"

"Wait until your blood is drained and your flesh is eaten."

"She would throw the remaining bone fragments into the stinking ditch without hesitation!"

Li Xuan's words were like a sharp dagger, precisely piercing the most vulnerable and unbearable part of Sha Zhu's heart.

Sha Zhu's face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled.

Didn't he think about these things late at night?

He had thought about it.

But he dared not admit it!

Because once he admits it, he really becomes a complete joke!

All his efforts were for nothing!

Therefore, he had to hypnotize himself and believe that Qin Huairu loved him and had her reasons!

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Sha Zhu was furious and embarrassed. His face turned ashen, and the veins on his neck bulged.

"Li Xuan! You just can't stand to see me doing well!"

"You're just jealous that I'm close to Sister Qin!"

"You cold-blooded animal, what do you know about loyalty? What do you know about love?"

"Let me tell you! Sister Qin is the best woman in the world!"

"Ten thousand times better than your so-called 'young lady'!"

"I'll marry no one but her in this lifetime! I'm happy to be her partner!"

"I'm happy raising a Great White Terrier! It's none of your business!"

Seeing Sha Zhu's hopeless state, the last trace of pity in Li Xuan's eyes vanished.

Good advice is useless to persuade a damned devil; compassion is useless to save someone who has killed himself!

Since he insists on jumping into the fire, let him be burned to ashes!

"Good, that's very ambitious."

Li Xuan nodded, a mocking smile on his face.

"Since you're so willing, then I wish you—to have a son soon and a house full of children and grandchildren."

"Remember what you said today."

"What if one day in the future you are kicked out of the Jia family..."

"Don't even mention that he's Rainwater's brother, let alone that he knows me."

After saying that, Li Xuan didn't look at him again.

He straightened his scarf and strode out of the courtyard house.

In the wind and snow, his back stood tall and straight like a pine tree.

This formed a stark contrast with the hunched-over Sha Zhu behind him, who was carrying a load of white flour.

One is the cloud in the sky, and the other is the mud in the ground.

Sha Zhu stood there, panting heavily.

Watching Li Xuan's retreating figure, he spat out a mouthful of saliva.

"Pah! What nonsense! Cursing me? Pah!"

"Sister Qin would never send me away! Sister Qin can't live without me!"

He hoisted the flour sack onto his shoulder, as if to prove something, and strode toward the Jia family's house.

"Sister Qin! Open the door!"

"I'm back from buying flour! We're having dumplings tonight!"

Inside the house, Qin Huairu opened the door.

Upon seeing Sha Zhu, a fawning smile immediately appeared on his face, and he skillfully took the bag of flour.

"Zhu Zi, you're so kind of you. You must be freezing!"

"Come in and warm up..."

Seeing Qin Huairu's smiling face, the gloom in Sha Zhu's heart instantly vanished.

Look!

Li Xuan is talking nonsense!

Sister Qin loves me so much!

......