It's hard to quit, but it's the perfect marriage!

The two sat in the convenience store, watching the gray-blue evening turn into a deep, inky blue.

Lan Qi and Zhou Lingyi arrived just then.

I arrived twenty minutes late for the appointment.

Zhu Xi didn't sit idle during those twenty minutes either.

She scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, rested her chin on her hand, and said, "Zhou Yinghuai, usually at this stage, we should be asking each other questions."

It's all a matter of one wrong move, and a passionate relationship can turn into a bitter, bitter one, leading to a fatal breakup.

Every strike is deadly, precise and ruthless!

Zhou Yinghuai calmly ate his matcha-flavored ice cream. "Ask away."

So upright, so righteous.

And damn, she's so charming.

Zhu Xi, on the contrary, was in a dilemma.

Zhou Yinghuai is Zhou Yinghuai; he's too frank.

"Forget it, it's pointless."

Zhou Yinghuai laughed, "No, Sister Xi, ask away."

Zhu Xi snorted, "Boring."

"You said it was meaningless without even asking?"

"You didn't seem guilty at all, nor did you rush to put your phone away or frantically delete anything." Zhu Xi paused, poking at the shrimp-pink ice cream. "It's pointless."

She knew his phone password.

She knew this even before they were close.

Zhou Yinghuai always found something new and exciting about her, and she always caught his eye.

How can someone have so many ideas, yet be so domineering that no one can find fault with them?

He smiled faintly, then took the opposite approach, "Shall I ask?"

Zhou Yinghuai has no ex-girlfriends, no romantic history, and no flaws whatsoever.

But Zhu Xi, she has.

Her ex-boyfriend, still at the hospital where she works, is asking to get back together right under her nose.

Zhu Xi's smile faded. "So you're interested in Su Daiqing?"

She scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and stuffed it into her mouth, then scoffed, "My ex-boyfriend was straight. You're overthinking it."

Zhou Yinghuai was once again falsely accused by this sharp-tongued young woman.

Fortunately, he still had leverage.

Thus began a process of gradual persuasion.

"Sister Xi, to be honest, no one pursued me when I was in school, and no one wrote me love letters."

Zhu Xi had already finished her small tub of ice cream. She raised her clear eyes and said, "Then you're in a pretty bad situation."

She leaned back, her knuckles tapping the small white table in the convenience store like a piano. "But do you think I'm stupid?"

It's impossible that Zhou Yinghuai didn't receive love letters from girls; if he truly didn't, then there's only one reason left.

That is, he had a problem with his sexual orientation when he was in school.

There are big problems.

"Zhou Yinghuai, have any boys written you love letters?" She smiled meaningfully. "To be honest, both Zhu He and Su Daiqing have received love letters from boys. When they were in school, they often lost their wristbands and knee pads."

Zhou Yinghuai was completely defeated by her.

"When I was in school, these things didn't reach me. In the middle of summer, Lan Qi helped me handle everything."

When Zhou Yinghuai mentioned his student days, his usually calm face showed obvious signs of emotion.

The youthful vigor has been completely worn away, leaving only endless memories and melancholy.

"Boss Zhou, what's done is done!"

Zhou Yinghuai finished eating quickly, then reached out his hand to her, saying, "The past is the past. Now, I have something more important."

More importantly, it's her.

Zhu Xi patted his outstretched palm, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Looking for a wife who doesn't love you?"

Zhou Yinghuai: "..."

She said proudly, "I'm going to be the dean."

"Yes," Zhou Yinghuai flattered. "Dean Zhu, let's go, Lingyi has arrived."

Zhu Xi corrected him, "It is your wife and son who have arrived."

Zhou Yinghuai ignored him and said, "The order has arrived."

Zhu Xi shrugged and added, "The Blue Flag has arrived too."

-

Lingyi got out of the car at the entrance of the residential area.

She was a little shy when she met Zhu Xi.

Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Zhu Xi felt that Ling Yi seemed to have lost some weight since the last time she saw her at the police station.

"Sister-in-law," Lingyi said sweetly, "you're so beautiful."

Zhu Xi looked down at the two small, fair hands that had appeared in the crook of her elbow, smiled, and said, "You too."

Lingyi turned around and glared at Zhou Yinghuai.

"Bro, why is this beautiful girl yours?!"

Zhu Xi was taken aback.

Zhou Lingyi protested again, "I'm not convinced."

"You have no manners." Zhou Yinghuai flicked her head. "How dare you talk to your sister-in-law like that?"

Zhou Lingyi's previously angry face suddenly broke into a smile, and she cheerfully said to Zhu Xi, "Sister-in-law, my brother is so boring, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Zhu Xi waved her hand, her starry eyes smiling, "It's not bitter, it's not bitter, your brother paid for it."

Zhou Yinghuai: "?"

Zhou Lingyi: "?"

"They gave me quite a lot!" Zhu Xi emphasized, "I'm dizzy from all those zeros."

The Zhou siblings had the same expression.

The poignant feeling of all one's passion going to waste.

Zhu Xi patted Zhou Lingyi's fingertips resting on her elbow, "I'm greedy and lustful, your brother has both! So what if it's boring? I'll spend some money to find the missing fun and emotional value elsewhere."

Zhou Lingyi's lips twitched, and her faint paternal affection for Zhu Xi vanished in an instant.

Others are all sweet talk and treacherous in their hearts, but my sister-in-law is venomous in her words and treacherous in her heart.

She suddenly felt more sympathy for her own brother.

"Brother~"

Zhou Yinghuai tried his best to piece his cracked face back together little by little, saying, "I'm not unlucky! I've contributed both money and effort, and my life is very fulfilling."

Zhu Xi responded, "Lingyi, let's go inside, it's hot outside."

"Oh." The aunt and sister-in-law were the first to enter the residential area.

Zhou Lingyi glanced around the surroundings briefly. "Sister-in-law, how about I buy an apartment and move in with you so we can be neighbors?"

Zhu Xi did not give a direct answer; whether or not they become neighbors is not up to her.

"Thank you for what happened last time." Zhu Xi suddenly became serious, feeling that unconditional trust and protection she hadn't experienced in a long time.

She still remembers that vibrant little sprite that burst through the police station's blue uniform at midnight.

Zhou Lingyi waved her hand, "We're family, no need to be so polite. My brother only started dating in his thirties, and you've taken a liking to him, so for that reason alone, I have to protect you."

Zhu Xi smiled and tilted her head slightly.

Zhou Lingyi discovered a huge secret.

"Holy crap, is my brother a dog?"

Lan Qi carried the large and small bags he had brought, but saw that the dog Ying Huai, as sturdy as a pine tree, remained unmoved.

"Hey, you dog, you're giving us our stuff, at least lend a hand!"

Zhou Yinghuai's long legs stopped, and he mercifully chose the lightest handbag that Lingyi hadn't taken.

With one hand hooked around his arm, he glanced at the blue flag whose handle was red from being pulled so tight, and said, "You're welcome."

Blue Flag: "..."

The brother-in-law looked down on his sister's husband.

The two of them ended up having a bad argument.

The two women in front of them were as harmonious as real sisters.

Lingyi had been wanting to see her for a long time, and once they met, she wanted to pour out everything she wanted to say.

As Zhu Xi walked along the path, she casually picked up a flower that had been broken off by someone.

Lingyi turned her head to the side, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, don't put it on my ear."

"Is it pretty?"

"nice."

Zhu Xi did as she was told, "You like wearing flowers in your hair?"

"I like it. Now that I'm pregnant, Mom won't let me do a lot of things." Zhou Lingyi pouted. "Does sister-in-law like it?"

Zhu Xi helped her adjust it. "I like it. There are many grandmothers in the neighboring city who can wear flowers in their hair. There was an old lady behind the neighborhood where I lived when I was a child who was very skillful. She could braid hair ties with evening jasmine flowers. My brother bought me several back then."

Zhou Lingyi took a picture with her phone and muttered to herself, "Yes, the neighboring city is famous for its flower-adorned hairpins."

Zhu Xi waited patiently for her to take the photo, without urging her.

"My brother won some kind of award in college and even gave a speech at a high school in your neighboring city. He's been talking about it for days since he came back, saying that the host's smile is like a little sun."

Zhu Xi: "What did you say?"