A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Inside the ward, Qiao Nianshan lay on the bed, his eyes vacant, his expression listless, and a look of despair on his face.

The doctor looked at Qingyan beside him and comforted her, "Your father is fine. He just had a sudden emotional ups and downs. He will recover after a few days of rest."

Qingyan quickly bowed to express her gratitude. After seeing the doctor off, she returned to the ward, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to Qiao Nianshan.

"Dad, try to think positively. It's better to know the truth now than to be kept in the dark your whole life."

Qiao Nianshan remained silent, sighing repeatedly.

A moment later, the ward door was gently pushed open, and Xiao Jingye walked in carrying two bags of food.

He placed the food on the bedside table: "Eat something to fill your stomach first."

"Have you eaten?" Qingyan asked.

"I've already eaten. This is packed for you and Dad."

Xiao Jingye pulled over a wooden stool next to the bed and sat down: "The hospital has already arranged for suitable plasma from the blood bank. Qiao Yi's condition has stabilized, and he's fine now."

After a long silence, Qiao Nianshan finally spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and dry: "That woman...didn't she bring Qiao Yi's biological father?"

"No, only Chen Xiuying went back to the hospital."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Nianshan suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh and patted his forehead:

"I was so foolish! I raised someone else's son for over ten years with such care... and in the end, it was all for nothing!"

After Qiao Nianshan fell asleep, Qingyan and Xiao Jingye quietly left the ward.

The two stood by the window of the corridor. After a series of upsetting things, Qingyan suddenly felt a little tired. She turned her head slightly and leaned against his chest.

Xiao Jingye stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly, gently stroking her hair with his palms, and asked softly, "Are you alright? Are you tired?"

"Mmm," she said, nestling quietly in his arms for a while.

"I never imagined that Qiao Yi wasn't my father's child." Qingyan looked up. "By the way, do you know that Jia Er that Chen Xiuying mentioned?"

A cold wind suddenly rose outside the window, and Xiao Jingye subconsciously turned to shield her from it.

"Jia Er is a good-for-nothing, idle and lazy. He never cultivates the land his family was allocated, leaving it barren year after year. No one wants to hire him, and he has no proper business. He spends his days swindling food and drink, and going in and out of jail is a common occurrence for him."

He paused, then continued, "I heard earlier that he cheated a female factory worker in the city, got her pregnant, and then swindled her out of all her life savings, which he gambled away, losing everything in the end."

Qingyan was shocked: "What? That's so irresponsible! How could there be such a man? What happened to the female worker afterwards?"

"I don't know," Xiao Jingye said.

He looked down at her and said, "That kind of man is a rare find. I'm different. If I get you pregnant, I'll be responsible for you and the child for the rest of my life."

Qingyan punched him, embarrassed and annoyed: "Ugh, I'm already so annoyed, and you're still talking nonsense."

He took her hand and kissed the back of her snow-white hand: "You look so worried, I wanted to cheer you up."

The girl looked up at him, her eyes crinkling, and forced a mischievous smile, "Hehe."

Qiao Nianshan's discomfort was merely caused by an overreaction of emotions, and he had no actual injuries or illnesses. After resting in the hospital for a day, he was discharged and returned home.

On the first working day after the New Year, Qiao Nianshan and Chen Xiuying went through divorce proceedings.

The marriage was already a sham, and it came to an end after the truth that Qiao Yi was not his biological son was fully revealed.

Chen Xiuying had long since given up on continuing this relationship, but being known for her shrewishness and greed, she still took the opportunity to extort a breakup fee from Qiao Nianshan before the divorce.

She yelled unreasonably, "Have I wasted all these years of my youth on you?"

"If you refuse to pay, I'll drag my feet on the divorce proceedings. We'll just stay in this stalemate!"

Qiao Nianshan felt a tightness in his chest and a sense of nausea, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of maggots, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

In the end, he could only grit his teeth and pay the money, which resulted in a divorce certificate, finally ending this absurd marriage.

The next day, Qingyan learned of this and angrily crossed her arms, saying, "She's deliberately extorting money! You shouldn't have given her a single cent!"

Qiao Nianshan sighed deeply:

"Ni'er, your father has no choice. Although Qiao Yi is not my biological son, we have spent more than ten years together, and our bond is real. Now that he is still lying in the hospital, this money is firstly to completely sever my ties with Chen Xiuying, and secondly to put a proper end to the false father-son relationship I have had for more than ten years."

Seeing that he thought this way, Qingyan didn't say anything more.

-

After the New Year, everything is renewed.

Xiao Jingye entrusted all the affairs of the mountain products factory to Zhijie and Chunya, while he devoted himself to the preparation of the timber factory.

As early as last year, he had already taken precautions, cultivating relationships with relevant departments such as the Forestry Bureau, Forest Management Station, and Industrial and Commercial Bureau, and figuring out the procedures for handling various formalities. Everything was in place.

The factory site was chosen to be a plot of land three kilometers away from Nanping Village, adjacent to a newly built highway, making it very convenient for trucks to enter and exit and for timber transportation.

The site was formerly an old state-owned factory building. It is spacious and well-organized, and can be put into use directly after simple renovations, saving a lot of infrastructure trouble.

After finalizing the site, completing the formalities, and hiring three workers, Xiao Jingye spent another 30,000 yuan to purchase a Dongfeng truck.

I originally planned to buy two cars, but renting a factory, dealing with various people, and handling all sorts of procedures cost me a lot of money, and my funds suddenly became tight, so I could only buy one car for the time being.

Now all that's left is for the timber mill to be ready so it can officially open for business.

The factory wasn't far from his home, and Xiao Jingye came back almost every night.

Qingyan felt sorry for him because he was working so hard during the day, so she advised him to rest early in the evening.

But this scoundrel wouldn't listen at all. No matter how late he came back, he insisted on dragging her out for a good, sweaty workout.

Finally, he hugged her and said lazily, "This is how I de-stress."

-

Qiao Yi was discharged from the hospital after recuperating for half a month. After being discharged, Chen Xiuying took him to stay at her parents' home temporarily.

During that time, she went to Jia Er's house three times to look for him but did not see him.

Chen Xiuying thought that the old man had abandoned her and her son, but she never expected to run into him on her fourth trip.

Jia Er remained dignified and proper, but Chen Xiuying burst into tears upon seeing him, pounding her fists on his shoulders.

"You damn fool, why are you only just getting back? You almost didn't see your son again!"

"What happened?"

"My son fell off the roof and almost died!" Chen Xiuying sobbed, leaning on his shoulder.

"Let's go inside first." Jia Er pushed open the door and stepped aside to let her in.

He casually took off his coat and sat down at the table, rubbing his temples in a mock manner: "I was exhausted the other day, running around the city and even making a delivery trip to another city."

After saying that, she asked, "How is our son now?"

"I'm much better now, staying at my parents' house." Chen Xiuying, tears still streaming down her face, sat on his lap. "I divorced that old bastard Qiao Nianshan. When are you going to take us to the city?"

Jia Er's eyes flickered twice, then he smiled and rubbed her waist and hips, tentatively asking:

"You're letting that old man off so easily? He didn't even make you pay for the losses he suffered during those ten years of your youth? Our son raised him for over a decade, and you're just going to let it go like this?"

"How could that be!" Chen Xiuying immediately went from tears to laughter, hooking her arm around Jia Er's neck triumphantly. "I squeezed him dry, getting several hundred yuan in compensation! Otherwise, how could I have divorced him so easily!"

Jia Er's eyes flashed, and he kissed her thin, wrinkled, rough, yellowish-black skin, offering a pie-in-the-sky promise to appease her:

"I've already found a house in the city. It's next to a park to the east, a primary school to the west, and close to the supply and marketing cooperative. It's in a great location. As soon as I get back from my next job, I'll bring you and your daughter to the city. From now on, the three of us will live a good life together."

Chen Xiuying was overjoyed. Jia Er carried her onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and while unbuttoning her clothes, he took the opportunity to say:

"I haven't received payments from several suppliers yet. I'm going to order a large batch of goods this time. I'll lend your money to your husband for now, and I'll use it for a few days. I'll come back to pick you and our son up as soon as I finish this shipment."

Chen Xiuying kicked off her shoes: "Jia Er, I'm counting on you from now on."