I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhang Li finally opened the door, and sat down at the desk with a dark expression.

"Zhang Li, it's not what you think." Zhang Man didn't know how to explain.

"Sister, I know it's hard for you, but you can't do something like this. He has a family."

In Zhang Li's eyes, his sister was perfect and flawless. How could she possibly destroy someone else's family?

If outsiders find out, my sister will be a bad woman.

"Your Brother Lin isn't as happy as you think. He and his wife have no children, no..." Zhang Man couldn't bring herself to tell the truth.

"Sister, that's their business as a couple. Whether it's good or bad is none of our concern. It's wrong of you to interfere in their family."

"I know I was wrong. Lin Jie... he's divorced."

"Is it because of you that you got divorced?"

"No, no, Zhang Li, why would my sister force him to divorce? Their marriage already had problems," Zhang Man vehemently denied.

"Is he really divorced?"

"real."

We're getting a divorce tomorrow, so one more day won't make a difference.

"Sister, I used to like Brother Lin, but he's so calculating, I don't like him anymore."

"Zhang Li, matters of the heart are not solely one person's responsibility; your sister is also at fault."

"Does your sister like him?"

"Yes, my sister likes him. If he weren't divorced, she would be willing to be his confidante. Now that he's divorced, she'd be willing to marry him."

Sister, immoral relationships between men and women are devoid of love.

Zhang Li is quite capable; he sees things very clearly.

"Yes, what right does my sister have to say she loves me? I wouldn't dare to love a normal man, for fear of being a burden. Lin Jie is willing to share my hardships, to take care of Mom, and to take care of you. Perhaps, love is responsibility. Look at this house, it was Lin Jie who hired someone to repair it."

Zhang Man sighed. Even if there was no love, only exploitation, she was willing to be used by Lin Jie.

"Wasn't it Brother Zhao who repaired the house?"

"Zhao Weiguo and Lin Jie are friends."

"Sis, you two were together a long time ago? Was it the first time he came to my house that you two got together?"

"No, at that time, we were just friends. Later, after talking a few times, I realized my sister was suffering, and he was suffering too, so..."

Zhang Li stopped asking. His sister was suffering, but the suffering was for the family, for their paralyzed mother, and for his younger brother who was still in school.

It's wrong for my sister to interfere in someone else's family, but it's all for the sake of this family.

As the only man in the Zhang family, how could he blame his sister?

"Sister, please let him go. Don't let him come before you get married. It's not good if the neighbors find out."

"Okay, I'll let him go back. You, you don't need to be angry."

Zhang Man got up and left, and Lin Jie left without eating a single bite of his meal.

Zhang Li was in great pain. On one side was his troubled family, and on the other was his beloved sister. He couldn't accept Lin Jie. He felt that his sister should find a normal man to marry and have children.

But normal men don't like the older sister.

Zhang Li is trapped in self-hatred; if he had the ability, his sister wouldn't be in such a difficult situation.

Zhang Man finished cooking and called Zhang Li to eat, but Zhang Li didn't eat. He went out with a sullen face and said, "Sister, I'm going to sleep at Yao Xing's house. Don't wait for me."

"Then you have to eat too. There's braised pork for dinner."

"I don't want to eat it, you and Mom eat it."

After saying that, Zhang Li left; he was really feeling pent up.

Yao Xing got off work late and was washing rice to prepare dinner when Zhang Li came in with a dark expression. She asked, "Have you eaten?"

"without!"

"Then I'll cook an extra handful of rice, and you can eat at my place."

Zhang Li did not respond.

After cooking, Yao Xing went into the main room and saw Zhang Li sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) in a daze. He laughed and said, "What's wrong? Are you angry with your sister? What could you two be angry about? Go back and do your homework after you finish eating."

Yao Xing sat down next to Zhang Li.

"Yao Xing, are there any jobs that can make money at the hospital?" Zhang Li suddenly asked.

"How old are you to be thinking about making money? Aren't you about to take the high school entrance exam? Studying hard is more important than anything else."

"I don't want to study anymore, I want to make money."

"You don't want to study? Your sister would beat you to death!"

"My grades are bad, and I won't get into high school."

"Zhang Li, let me give you some advice: college students are the cream of the crop, that's where all young people aspire to be. You have to study hard. If I have another chance, I will definitely study without sleeping and I will definitely get into college."

Yao Xing was telling the truth, but because he took the exam for someone else, he was no longer eligible to take the college entrance examination.

University will only ever exist in my dreams.

"Given my family's circumstances, how can I possibly concentrate on my studies? Besides, I've never been as smart as my sister. I want to work and earn money to ease her burden," Zhang Li said dejectedly.

"Your family is having a tough time, Zhang Li. I'm a temporary worker, but it's a long-term temporary worker. The hospital pays me a salary. If you want to make money, temporary workers like me are hard to find, but there are daily-paid jobs."

Gu Tong'an also wanted to find a summer job, but the only option was to care for a sick person. When there was work, he could earn three or four yuan a day; when there wasn't, he could only wait at home.

"Three or four dollars? That's a lot? Even if you work for ten days, you could make thirty or forty dollars."

"Taking care of a patient is a 24-hour job, and it's very tiring."

"I'm not afraid of hard work, Yao Xing, please introduce me to the job."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you when you're on summer vacation. Final exams are coming up soon, so you should focus on studying first."

"Yao Xing, besides taking care of patients, what other work is there? When there are no patients, I can do other chores."

"I don't know either. I got this job thanks to the help of my friends."

"You better watch out, I have plenty of strength and I'm not afraid of hardship."

"OK."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me, we're neighbors."

Zhang Li didn't go home that night; he slept at Yao Xing's house. Around midnight, Zhang Man knocked on the door: "Yao Xing, Yao Xing..."

Yao Xing tiptoed out of bed and opened the door: "Sis, Zhang Li is asleep at my house, don't worry."

"Has he eaten?"

"I ate cabbage and pork head meat, and I also ate two bowls of rice."

"Okay, thank you."

Zhang Man went back reassured. Yao Xing thought for a moment and called out to Zhang Man, "Sister, did Zhang Li have a fight with you?"

"No, the kids are just being stubborn," Zhang Man said with a smile.

"Sis, he keeps asking me where I can find a job, saying he definitely won't get into high school and he needs to earn money to support the family."

"He really said that?"

"Hmm, you don't know about this, sis?"

"He kept saying he didn't want to go to school anymore, but I didn't agree. Yao Xing, thank you, I'll talk to him properly."

"Okay, I'm going to sleep now."

Yao Xing closed the courtyard gate and tiptoed back inside.

Gu Tong'an definitely has feelings for Zhang Man, but their family... sigh, things are really too difficult for them.

Tossing and turning, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, Yao Xing felt homesick.

He also has an older sister, who is as gentle and considerate as Zhang Man.

His sister had high hopes for him, but he disappointed her.

Summer vacation is just around the corner, and Yao Xing wants to write home. He and his friends have found summer jobs in Huailin and won't be going home.

I had a little over a hundred yuan left in my pocket, plus the money my father gave me when I came to study, and the money Principal Yao gave me, so I had more than two hundred yuan.

He dared not send it back, fearing that his parents would ask and he wouldn't know how to answer.

Yao Xing also missed the wonderful times at school; how happy she was!

Yao Xing is lonely; one wrong step and all the bitter consequences can only be swallowed in silence.