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

The heavy burden on Yao Xing's heart was easily lifted by Zhou Wenhui's few words.

You still need to study. Scholars understand everything.

Yao Xing respectfully poured tea for Zhou Wenhui. Qiaoqiao thought to herself, "Zhou Wenhui has taken away all the face I had in front of my classmates."

"Gu Tong'an, isn't our company holding a poetry and prose competition for college students? We've received tens of thousands of submissions, and the editors are overwhelmed. You're going on summer vacation soon, so if you'd like, could you come and help us out at the newspaper?"

Zhou Wenhui speaks slowly and deliberately, and every sentence he utters brings hope to people.

Gu Tong'an sat up straight excitedly: "I...Teacher Zhou, can I do it?"

"Sure, you can manage. You'll not only have to organize the manuscripts, but also reply to some students who participated in the competition. It shouldn't be too difficult for you, right? It'll be forty yuan a month, and you can work there for two months. The unit has a canteen, but there's no accommodation. Oh, by the way, the canteen has internal meal tickets, even for temporary workers."

"I...I'm willing to go..."

Gu Tong'an was so excited that he didn't know what to say. Yao Xing raised his teacup and said, "Gu Tong'an, congratulations! You're coming to stay at my house. I'll provide free accommodation. It's just that my humble abode is a bit simple."

"That's good, I...I..."

Gu Tong'an was speechless, her heart filled with immense joy.

Qiaoqiao picked up her teacup and said softly, "Zhou Wenhui, actually I could also go proofread the manuscript."

"You can't do it."

"You, I proofread all your books."

Qiaoqiao glared, but then lowered her voice, afraid that her two classmates would hear.

"You need to take Xiaowei back to Dashui Village. Your parents and friends are waiting for you there. I also want to go back with you for a few days," Zhou Wenhui said softly.

Returning to their hometown was something that had been planned long ago; Zhou Wenhui couldn't possibly deprive Qiaoqiao of the opportunity to visit her parents for the sake of work.

"Forget about it."

Qiaoqiao rolled her eyes at Zhou Wenhui, who grinned. Good heavens, his smile was so handsome.

"Teacher Zhou, Yang Qiao, please have some tea. Gu Tong'an and I will go cook. We went to buy groceries early this morning." Yao Xing quickly got off the kang (heated brick bed) to prepare lunch.

"Yao Xing, why don't you stop what you're doing and let's go home to eat?"

You need vegetable coupons to buy vegetables. Yao Xing doesn't have many vegetable coupons. One meal can cost him half a month's worth of vegetable coupons.

"We've already bought some, just regular vegetables, please don't mind," Yao Xing said.

"If you don't mind, you two can cook. It'll be a good opportunity to try the cooking skills of two grown men."

Zhou Wenhui pulled Yang Qiao aside and generously accepted Yao Xing's kindness.

"They don't have food coupons."

After Yao Xing and Gu Tong'an left, Yang Qiao scolded them.

"Qiaoqiao, when people get along, they should reciprocate. If we help someone and accept their kindness, that's what makes us friends. If we help someone but don't accept their kindness, that's charity. When I help them, it's genuine, and when they invite us to dinner, it's also genuine. That's equality."

"I never thought that far ahead; I was just worried they didn't have enough food tickets."

"You'll have to learn from me, I'm your teacher, this is the university of life."

Zhou Wenhui smiled, and Qiaoqiao called out earnestly, "Teacher Zhou."

"Eh."

"You actually agreed."

"Of course, if you don't respect your teacher, I won't let you graduate."

"You...you scoundrel..."

Haha, the Zhou family's scoundrel nature is hereditary. Qiaoqiao's legs went numb from sitting, so the two of them got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to look around the yard. The yard was very small, just piled with miscellaneous items, with a tap in the corner, but no toilet.

"I need to go to the restroom."

There's a public restroom up ahead, I'll go with you.

Qiaoqiao pushed open the courtyard gate, stepped one foot out, and then quickly pulled it back in.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Wenhui asked from behind.

Qiaoqiao hid behind the earthen wall in astonishment, eavesdropping on something.

"What are you doing? Eavesdropping?" Zhou Wenhui asked, frowning.

Qiaoqiao winked and made faces, and then Zhang Man and Lin Jie's hearty laughter came from next door.

"Come on, come on..." Qiaoqiao called to Zhou Wenhui. The two of them pressed against the corner of the wall and looked at the next room. Zhou Wenhui was also very surprised.

Lin Jie carried a basket of vegetables, and Zhang Man parked her bicycle, smiling charmingly. The two went into the house intimately.

"Where is he, them, Sister Han?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"Zhang Man, how did they end up together?" Zhou Wenhui had difficulty walking and could only squat down to look at the next room.

"Yang Qiao, Teacher Zhou, what are you doing?" Gu Tong'an asked as he came out to fetch water.

Ah...we, we're looking for mice?

Zhou Wenhui's face turned bright red. The dignified editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper had actually been eavesdropping. It was all Qiaoqiao's fault for leading him astray.

However, this corner is too shocking—Lin Jie's extramarital affair?

"It's nothing. We saw a noise and thought it was a mouse," Qiaoqiao explained, blushing.

"There are rats, be careful." Gu Tong'an was completely unaware that they were lying.

"Yes, you guys cook, I'm going to the public restroom." Qiaoqiao pulled Zhou Wenhui out of the yard.

Passing by Zhang Man's house, the yard was very spacious, and the main rooms looked new, as they appeared to have been renovated.

"Zhou Wenhui, what's going on? They have children together, they can't be getting a divorce, right?"

"Didn't you say that child wasn't Han Dan's?"

"Yes, I saw that child at the hospital. His mother's name is Li Hongxia. Hao Hao was adopted."

"Lin Jie is the head of the security department and also a soldier. The fact that he can be openly with Zhang Man means they must be divorced," Zhou Wenhui pondered.

"What about Sister Han? Did Sister Han agree to the divorce? She said Lin Jie treated her well, she handed over her salary, and her mother-in-law stopped mistreating her. Life was better now, so why did she get a divorce?"

"Perhaps it's a problem in that area," Zhou Wenhui said, blushing slightly.

"Zhang Man doesn't care about that kind of problem?"

"I don't know either."

"Aren't you my teacher? You're completely unqualified."

"Even teachers can't handle other people's family matters, okay? Qiaoqiao, next time you see Han Dan, please don't mention this."

"I know, Sister Han is petty. If I tell her, she won't hate Lin Jie, she'll hate me."

"Hey, you've really improved a lot! You're one of my best students."

"I figured it out myself. She knew perfectly well that I lived on Songshan Road, and she hadn't come to see me for so long. She only came after Xiaowei's accident, just to laugh at me. She even said in front of Sister Liu several times that my father was injured on the battlefield and probably wouldn't survive. Humph, but my father came back safe and sound, which made her furious."

"You're so petty?"

Zhou Wenhui laughed and said he was very happy, and that Qiaoqiao looked especially cute when she was angry.

"I'm just kind and not stupid. My family has a bad class background, so I've learned to be patient and avoid conflict."

"Qiaoqiao, if you can't bear it or are unhappy, just say so." Zhou Wenhui felt sorry for Qiaoqiao.

"Sigh, Sister Han is pitiful too. Like me, she was forced into an arranged marriage with a hero. She didn't want her husband to be unable to marry her."

"If I'm no longer capable, will you divorce me?" Zhou Wenhui's face darkened.

"Why do you always associate yourself with this? Aren't you capable?"

I said, "What if?"

"There's no such thing as 'what if'."

Qiaoqiao ran to the women's restroom, leaving Zhou Wenhui standing outside, feeling melancholy.