“Zhou Cheng!”

Zhou Yi rushed to grab him, but with Zhou Cheng’s agility, how could she catch him?

Xia Xiaolan was also quick on her feet, swiftly following Zhou Cheng out.

Zhou Yi jumped in anger: “Zhou Cheng, even if you won’t help, don’t interfere! I’ll tell the family myself, there’s no need for you to exaggerate things!”

Zhou Cheng held Xia Xiaolan’s hand, walking away without hesitation.

Zhou Yi felt utterly humiliated, unable to face Yuan Han. Zhou Cheng was so disrespectful – couldn’t he voice his objections at home instead? Tonight was Yuan Han’s treat after all!

Seeing her anger, Yuan Han patted her back: “Weren’t we expecting this? Your cousin’s opposition is just the beginning – we’ll face even stronger resistance. As long as we have clear consciences, others’ opinions don’t matter.”

Zhou Yi’s eyes glistened with tears.

It was true that Yuan Han had separated from his ex-wife. He’d been working in Beijing for a year or two, and no one at work knew he was married – his ex-wife had never visited.

Though Zhou Yi fell for him through work interactions and actively pursued him, Yuan Han had repeatedly refused her.

Zhou Yi couldn’t understand why before, but during that time, Yuan Han never did anything to mislead her, always refusing her properly.

Until July, when she cornered him again.

Yuan Han frankly told her he was divorced and unsuitable for a young woman like her.

That’s when Zhou Yi learned about his marriage history.

Yuan Han explained he’d just finalized his divorce and shouldn’t get involved with Zhou Yi now – people might judge her later.

Zhou Yi acted impulsively: “Who am I afraid of? Let people say what they want, I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Yuan Han had never accepted her advances – their relationship was pure, not scandalous. What was there to fear?

Strong-willed Zhou Yi finally got together with Yuan Han.

The feelings weren’t so intense at first, but gradually she fell deeper – after all, Yuan Han’s attitude toward her had completely changed. While he’d been cold during her pursuit, now that they were officially dating, he showed both masculine strength and tender consideration. What more could Zhou Yi ask for?

She didn’t care about Yuan Han’s family background, since the Zhou family was well-off enough.

What kept Zhou Yi from bringing Yuan Han home was his divorced status.

The timing of Yuan Han’s divorce was also delicate. Seeing Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan’s reactions today, if even they didn’t believe her, how could outsiders?

If she brought Yuan Han home, her mother might tear him apart!

A surge of courage rose from her tailbone up her spine to her head, making her dizzy but determined. Xia Xiaolan was right about one thing – she needed to fight for her happiness, protect Yuan Han, and defend their love!

“With Zhou Cheng going home to spread rumors, my family will be prejudiced. I’ll bring you home tomorrow morning.”

Yuan Han remained calm: “Tomorrow’s Monday, we both have work. Let’s go after work. Since I chose to be with you, I’ve prepared myself for these trials. It’s my fault for not being good enough. If I’d attended a prestigious university like your sister-in-law, your family wouldn’t object so strongly.”

Zhou Yi shook her head, “Don’t put yourself down. Your grades weren’t bad – you only went to technical school because you wanted to work early to support your family.”

Yuan Han’s eyes darkened. A technical school diploma wasn’t bad – they said only students with good middle school grades went to technical schools, while others continued to high school for university. His diploma met the requirements for his current job.

But even this decent education barely passed in Zhou Yi’s eyes.

It couldn’t be helped – though Zhou Yi was a poor student herself, her standards were high… Her aunt’s husband reportedly worked in the Education Department, and everyone in Zhou Yi’s circle probably had at least a technical school education.

…

“Achoo!”

Xia Xiaolan sneezed.

It wasn’t that cold yet – who was talking about her? If someone was, it must be Zhou Yi from dinner.

Zhou Cheng must be furious.

Xia Xiaolan completely understood why.

Zhou Yi wasn’t very bright, as shown by how she helped Tong Lili. Now she’d done another foolish thing – Xia Xiaolan couldn’t even evaluate Zhou Yi’s thinking!

The Zhou family was full of intelligent people. Though Xia Xiaolan hadn’t met Zhou Cheng’s uncle Zhou Wengang, judging by Zhou Guobin, Zhou Wengang couldn’t be stupid. So who did Zhou Yi take after?

Divorce wasn’t a flaw – marriage was like wearing shoes, only the wearer knows if they fit. If shoes hurt, they should be removed, just as Liu Fen had removed the ill-fitting Xia Dajun. In their era, quick marriages and divorces were common – a brief marriage history wasn’t a big deal.

The problem was the reason for divorce.

Yuan Han spoke frankly, seeming unashamed, but the timing of his divorce was too convenient.

And he got together with Zhou Yi too hastily.

No, perhaps Zhou Yi hadn’t planned to introduce Yuan Han to her family so soon, but her Aunt’s pressure and arranged blind dates forced her hand.

If not for this, she could have waited a year or more to bring Yuan Han home, claiming they’d just started dating – who would know they got together right after his divorce?

Xia Xiaolan’s sneeze brought Zhou Cheng back to reality. He quickly closed the car window: “Are you all right? I forgot it’s autumn – hot during the day but cool at night.”

Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “I know you’re thinking about Zhou Yi. Are you going to tell her parents?”

With Aunt’s personality, she might think Zhou Cheng was looking for entertainment. Getting involved would be thankless work – having a foolish cousin was troublesome. Zhou Yi’s unreliability meant Zhou Cheng had to clean up her messes.

“That Yuan Han is quite calculating. He acts well, but Zhou Yi is blinded by love and can’t see through his performance.”

Zhou Cheng’s assessment matched Xia Xiaolan’s impression.

Being calculating wasn’t surprising. Since she could earn her own money, Zhou Cheng’s family background didn’t matter to her.

But for others, becoming a Zhou family son-in-law would save thirty years of struggling!

Some men would do anything for success – not just abandoning ex-wives, but even their children, parents, and siblings. It was quite common.

Love couldn’t feed you – career and power were most important to most men.

Xia Xiaolan thought for a moment, “If I were Yuan Han, I’d strike while the iron is hot and urge Zhou Yi to bring me home quickly. Zhou Cheng, you don’t need to say anything – I bet they’ll appear at the Zhou house by tomorrow at the latest. If you’re not rushing back to Ji Bei tomorrow, you might catch this show.”