Xia Xiaolan spoke with such certainty that Zhou Cheng became curious.

Xia Xiaolan gave him a sideways glance. “The more her parents oppose it, the more she believes she’s protecting true love. If your cousin doesn’t rebel against the family, Yuan Han will instigate from the sidelines. How else can he bind himself tightly to Zhou Yi without making her oppose her family? Now is their honeymoon period – if he doesn’t take advantage of this passion to seal the deal, what if Zhou Yi comes to her senses one day?”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t a love expert. In matters of the heart, she had only just begun to experience it herself this lifetime and had no qualification to guide others. However, she was skilled at analyzing human nature, putting herself in Yuan Han’s position to determine how to maximize benefits.

If Zhou Yi breaks with her family now for Yuan Han’s sake, it would be too late even if she wakes up later. The more intense the conflict now, the harder it would be to back down in the future… By the time she understands what kind of person Yuan Han is, it might be too late – how could she back down after being married with children? She could only pretend not to know and continue forward blindly, defending her ‘true love’.

Zhou Cheng frowned at Xia Xiaolan’s words.

Yuan Han seemed quite clever – if such a person devoted all his energy to career development, he might not do badly. But ambitious people want to secure double insurance for themselves. Why struggle on your own when being the Zhou family’s son-in-law would be more convenient?

After one meal with Yuan Han, Zhou Cheng felt utterly disgusted. Even if Zhou Yi wanted to keep a pretty boy, she should find one with a clean family background who wasn’t repulsive to look at.

If Yuan Han could dump his ex-wife for Zhou Yi now, it would be fine if the Zhou family remained powerful forever. But if there were any setbacks along the way, Yuan Han would certainly dump Zhou Yi too.

Zhou Cheng’s objection wasn’t emotional – if Zhou Yi got dumped, so be it. People with clouded judgment deserve to suffer a bit. Given Zhou Cheng’s personality, how could he let others use the Zhou family as a stepping stone?

“I won’t tell Uncle’s wife. I’ll tell Uncle directly about this matter. In Zhou Yi’s family, Uncle is the real decision-maker.”

If Uncle knew what kind of son-in-law his daughter had found him, Yuan Han wouldn’t be able to make any moves.

Xia Xiaolan stopped trying to persuade him. Hopefully, the matter could be resolved so simply. Couldn’t Zhou Yi be reliable just once?

Though Xia Xiaolan said she wouldn’t get involved, if Zhou Cheng was going to busy himself with this, she couldn’t help but assist. She was already quite busy – in Peng City, Ge Jian should have finished preparing the foundation of Jin Sha Chi by now. And her mother had gone to Yang City to get goods – she should have arrived at the station yesterday. As Grandmother Yu had said, she should tell Tang Hongen about Xia Dajun and Xiaoyu’s marriage, letting Mayor Tang worry about it… This was practically creating opportunities for Mayor Tang.

On one side was the troublesome ex-husband, on the other was the reliable Mayor Tang. If Xia Xiaolan were in her mother’s position, she probably wouldn’t be able to resist for long either.

That’s why Mayor Tang was so certain, believing that he and Xia Xiaolan would eventually become family. He started supporting Liu Yong early on – after all, he would be his future brother-in-law. If Liu Yong didn’t do well, how could Tang Hongen save face?

Both Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng ate their meal lost in heavy thoughts. Zhou Cheng had already decided to talk with Uncle Zhou Wenbing that evening. Xia Xiaolan also decided to communicate with Mayor Tang.

However, when she called home, the mayor wasn’t there. Xia Xiaolan’s face immediately darkened – at this time, one could guess with their toes where Mayor Tang had gone if he wasn’t in Peng City.

Tang Hongen didn’t disappoint Xia Xiaolan. Every time Liu Fen went to Yang City for goods, it was an opportunity for them to spend time together.

With one in the capital and one in Peng City, the distance was too far for Tang Hongen to meet Liu Fen regularly. He had work responsibilities, and flights to the capital weren’t cheap. He couldn’t expense official funds for personal trips to the capital.

If he flew there weekly, his monthly salary might barely cover it, but time wouldn’t permit it. If he didn’t seize the opportunity when Liu Fen came to Yang City for goods, wouldn’t that police station chief get the advantage of proximity?

After noticing Liu Fen’s safety concerns, Tang Hongen had already arranged for people to look after her – there was no need for Chief Ma to help anymore. Those who do good deeds without seeking recognition are truly good people… Between remaining single and doing good deeds while seeking recognition, Tang Hongen decisively chose the latter.

This time after picking up Liu Fen, Tang Hongen openly showed off his contributions.

Liu Fen mumbled a “thank you,” and Tang Hongen acted as if he didn’t deserve it: “I should have considered this earlier. Still, we should thank Chief Ma for his help before. Next time I’m in the capital, I must treat Chief Ma to a meal.”

Little Wang listened intently.

Grandmother Yu had fed him bitter melon for two consecutive days, telling him to learn well from the leader.

Perhaps due to the deep impression of the bitter melon, he couldn’t forget Grandmother Yu’s words and couldn’t help but try to interpret the deeper meaning behind the leader’s words and actions, just like now.

When the leader spoke with Comrade Liu Fen, he should have pretended not to have ears and acted as if he hadn’t heard.

But he really couldn’t help it… The leader was being too obvious. He had confirmed his relationship with Comrade Liu Fen and was about to deliver a heavy blow to his rival, Chief Ma.

Poor Chief Ma, his heart would probably be shattered.

If even Little Wang could see through it, Liu Fen wasn’t a fool either.

Treat Chief Ma to a meal?

That didn’t seem quite right.

Liu Fen didn’t like making others lose face, which was related to her personality: “Treat Chief Ma to a meal? I’ll treat him to thank him for his previous help. You… perhaps shouldn’t appear.”

If Tang Hongen introduced himself during the meal, it would certainly be a heavy blow to Chief Ma.

Tang Hongen smiled, “Ah Fen, being indecisive is also a form of harm to others. Speaking clearly would help Comrade Ma move on sooner.”

If she didn’t like Chief Ma, why give him hope?

Although Tang Hongen was now the winner, he was still a man – if he didn’t completely drive away his rival, he would worry even in Peng City.

Liu Fen considered for a while before nodding, and Tang Hongen’s smile deepened. Winner’s grace? Sorry, he wasn’t stupid – showing grace in matters of love would mean giving up the person he cared about!

They were now sitting together in the car, which was heading from Shang City to Yang City. Liu Fen was here to meet her sister-in-law Li Fengmei. This time they were changing seasonal inventory, so the two would select goods together. Liu Fen had arrived in Yang City a day earlier to look around the wholesale market, while Li Fengmei’s train was arriving a day later.

The train arrived at the station.

The train stopped.

A large crowd of passengers surged out, and Little Wang struggled to identify faces in the crowd.

Liu Fen simply got out of the car too.

Someone walked up to her, carrying a bag and covering their face, acting furtively.

“Quick, quick, I’m dying of heat. Let’s hurry back to the guest house.”

This person was Li Fengmei, who had just gotten off the train!

Liu Fen was pulled along by Li Fengmei, and Little Wang ran to open the car door. Li Fengmei didn’t bother maintaining her image in front of Mayor Tang and plopped down in the front passenger seat. “Thank you so much, the weather is too hot. Having a car pick us up is better than anything.”

Li Fengmei looked somewhat panicked as if avoiding someone, to the point where she forgot to be nervous in front of him.

Who could make Li Fengmei so desperate to avoid them?

While Tang Hongen had Little Wang drive, he kept his eyes on the crowd on the platform.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar man, supporting a young woman as she got off the train, arms spread, carefully helping the young woman… So that was it!