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

Outside the detention center, Zhou Wenhui waited for Qiaoqiao, and the two walked silently toward the bus stop.

"Wenhui, Han Dan asked me, 'What should I do if you're like Lin Jie?' I want to ask you, 'What would you do if you were Lin Jie?'" Qiaoqiao asked.

Zhou Wenhui smiled calmly: "First of all, I won't touch you before we fall in love."

What if you never love me?

"You've never loved me. Several times I've asked you to sleep in the bed, but you're so silly, you insisted on sleeping on the military cot. If it weren't for the thunder that night, we probably would have been separated for another year or two." Zhou Wenhui chuckled, looking down.

"You, you're so cold, I'm afraid of you."

"Actually, I'm also insecure. Lin Jie also feels insecure in front of Han Dan, and Han Dan doesn't know how to resolve it, so their relationship is getting more and more strained."

"Tell me, if I were Han Dan, what would you do?"

"If there's no love, I'll divorce you and take you as my sister. Relationships in this world aren't just about romantic love; there's also familial love and friendship. I'll arrange a job for you, and once you meet someone you like, I'll let you go. If I never meet someone I love in my life, you'll at least take care of me out of consideration for my difficult upbringing, right?" Zhou Wenhui leered at Qiaoqiao.

"Yes, your family has done my family a great favor, and I will repay you for the rest of my life."

"That's why we are different from Lin Jie and Han Dan, and we can't 'what if' them. Lin Jie and Han Dan had many ways to handle this, but they chose the most tragic one."

You treat Wang Min well, and she betrays you; you treat Yao Xing and Xiao Qi well, and they are grateful to you. A person's character determines their fate. A person's character is also related to their family.

"Your family has a bad class background, but your grandfather is an educated man and a reasonable person. He won't put the family's pressure on you. As for my family, just look at my father's magnanimity. How could he bear to let you suffer?" Zhou Wenhui laughed.

"Wenhui, I'm so lucky."

"Qiaoqiao, have you ever thought about whether your grandfather would agree to the marriage if the Lin family were to propose?"

Qiaoqiao was in a daze for a while. At first, the whole family disagreed, especially her brother.

Later, when he met Zhou's parents, his brother didn't say much.

Grandpa once said that with such generous parents, their children can't be bad either.

The first person the Yang family fell in love with was not Zhou Wenhui, but Zhou's parents.

In contrast, Lin Jie's family treated Lin Jie and Han Dan's marriage as a business transaction from the very beginning, showing absolutely no respect for them.

"Fate is truly a wonderful thing," Qiaoqiao concluded.

"Everyone has their own destiny, let's just live our own lives. Let's not pry into the Lin family's affairs anymore, let's just hope Lin Jie and Zhang Man are happy. You know, when Han Dan grabbed the knife, you rushed out without thinking, I couldn't stop you. If this were on the battlefield, you would have been killed eighty times over."

"I was worried about Zhang Man's baby, but unfortunately, she couldn't keep it. Han Dan is terrible; why didn't she go after Lin Jie? Lin Jie is the culprit."

"Gu Tong'an must be hurt too, right?"

"It's good to understand sooner rather than later. Hey, I think Xiaoqi and Yaoxing are pretty good together. Do you think they might end up together?"

"No, don't pull strings. Relationships aren't about being a good match; if two people feel compatible, then they're truly compatible."

"That's true. To outsiders, Cheng Zhaoying seems like a good match for you, but actually, the one who's right for you is me."

"Yang Qiao, could you please stop mentioning Cheng Zhaoying?"

"Oh, you can't even mention it now. You guys were really ready to die back then."

"you……"

The three, who were inseparable, used to chatter away all the time. But these past few days, Gu Tong'an has changed. He no longer goes to the cafeteria to eat with Qiaoqiao and Xiaoqi. Instead, he runs back to the dormitory to sleep during lunchtime.

Qiaoqiao neither asked nor advised; matters of the heart are something one must process alone.

Xiao Qi was puzzled and didn't know what was wrong with Gu Tong'an.

"Are you sick? You haven't eaten at the cafeteria for three days in a row, and you won't even eat the kimchi I brought."

Xiaoqi was very anxious. If she didn't eat, wouldn't she starve to death?

"Never mind him, he'll eat when he's hungry."

Qiaoqiao never mentioned to Xiaoqi that Gu Tongan liked Zhang Man.

"He was in the same state as someone who had just broken up with their boyfriend," Xiaoqi guessed blindly.

"Have you ever been heartbroken?" Qiaoqiao teased.

"No, I've never been in a relationship, how could I be heartbroken?" Xiaoqi blushed.

"Actually, you can start dating now."

"I won't talk about that. I'm studying not to change my own fate, but to change the fate of my whole family. Yang Qiao, my third brother has taken on five more jobs selling pickled vegetables at the canteens. Together, he can earn more than thirteen yuan a day."

My sister-in-law sells pickled vegetables and earns a few yuan a day. Our family's daily income is about twenty yuan. We can pay back the tricycle loan next month. My mother said she wants to renovate the house next spring because the back wall is cracked.

Xiaoqi is more interested in making money than dating.

"Xiaoqi, as long as your family works together, you'll definitely be able to fix the house by the end of the year," Qiaoqiao encouraged.

"Get Gu Tong'an a meal and send it to him. I'm really afraid he'll starve to death."

Xiaoqi shifted the topic to Gu Tong'an. Qiaoqiao neither agreed nor disagreed; in any case, she wasn't going to try to persuade him.

Gu Tong'an wouldn't starve. He skipped lunch and ate a big bowl of rice at his rented room in the evening.

Gu Tong'an usually only goes to Yao Xing's house on his days off, but these past few days, he's been going every day.

When Zhang Man was injured and hospitalized, and when Zhang's mother passed away, he went to help with the funeral arrangements, serving tea and water and entertaining guests.

Lin Jie and his brothers handled Zhang Da Niang's funeral arrangements. Neighbors came to make a brief appearance, but the conversation still revolved around the relationship between Zhang Man and Lin Jie.

Whenever Gu Tong'an heard those harsh comments, he felt inexplicably irritated, especially when he saw Lin Jie running around with one hand free; he felt an urge to punch him.

What reason would I have to beat him up? I'm just an acquaintance of Zhang Man.

The boy's heart was swayed by sadness.

That night, Yao Xing took two bottles of beer and a plate of peanuts and drank with Gu Tong'an.

"I'm quite familiar with Zhang Man's family situation, so it's no wonder, Sister Man. If I were in her shoes, I would have accepted Lin Jie as well."

Everyone was condemning Zhang Man, but Yao Xing understood her.

"With a paralyzed mother and a minor brother, Sister Man only earns about thirty yuan a month. Life is too difficult for her."

Yao Xing raised his wine bottle and clinked it against Gu Tong'an's.

"She deserves to be loved by a good man, but why does she have to go after a married man?" Gu Tong'an said sullenly.

"She's looking for you? You can't even support yourself, how can you support her whole family? Lin Jie has status and money, and he treats her well." Yao Xing smiled disdainfully.

"Is Lin Jie very rich?"

"Have you seen Zhao Weiguo? He comes to help every day, more enthusiastic than a biological son. Zhao Weiguo secretly runs a trading company, and all the waste from the chemical plant is given to their company. They say it's waste, but who knows if it really is waste?"

Yao Xing sneered, "Zhao Weiguo is not a legitimate businessman at all."

"No way? That's theft."

"Weren't all the medical waste collected by the previous disinfection plant controlled by Zhao Weiguo? The head of the security department and the trading company were working together, making money was too easy for them. Lin Jie is so rich and generous to Sister Man, it's hard for any woman not to be tempted."

Gu Tong'an, as your friend, I have to advise you. Stop being so lifeless all the time. Sister Man isn't right for you. Focus on your studies, go to the editorial department, and find a girl with similar interests to marry.

"I know, it's just that I feel bad." Gu Tong'an took a sip of wine.

"You study hard, and I'll focus on my business. When I have money, I'll buy you a house and Yao Hongbing a house. We'll live together and be brothers for life," Yao Xing said emotionally.

"Okay, we'll both buy in the shantytown area, and I'll still cook for you. But I don't want you to buy anything; I'll buy it myself after I start working," Gu Tong'an laughed.

Do you think we'll drift apart someday?

"Of course not, we're brothers who fight together."

Under the bright moonlight, Gu Tong'an lost love but gained true friendship.