Zhou Cheng checked his watch – it was past 8 PM, getting late.

His aunt had been hospitalized, and his mother was also alerted about the situation.

This matter couldn’t be hidden from the whole family. Zhou Wengang wanted to see Xiaolan, especially since a few days ago Zhou Yi had tried to get Xia Xiaolan to take the blame for something.

“She’s not seriously ill. You’re at school now, and it wouldn’t be convenient for you to come out at night. How about I pick you up tomorrow? Uncle wants to see you. Sister Zhou Yi left with Yuan Han today and doesn’t know about Aunt being in the hospital yet. I need to find them first.”

Zhou Wengang had only one daughter, and Zhou Cheng was his nephew – at times like these, he had to run these errands.

If Guan Hui’e were hospitalized, Xia Xiaolan would have taken leave and gone there overnight, but with Zhou Cheng’s aunt in the hospital, she could easily wait until tomorrow morning to visit.

What was the rush? Her aunt-in-law was surely full of anger, and Xia Xiaolan had no desire to be anyone’s emotional punching bag.

Perhaps her aunt-in-law thought she had known about this all along but hadn’t said anything… Damn that Zhou Yi, of all people to approach, had to come a few days ago trying to trick her into taking the blame.

Xia Xiaolan yawned, “Where are you going to look for Zhou Yi? She left with Yuan Han, and if Yuan Han has any sense at all, he definitely wouldn’t dare stay in the same place as Zhou Yi right now.”

It was a good strategy to have Zhou Yi stand against the Zhou family on his side.

With enough persistence, how long could Zhou Wengang and his wife refuse to acknowledge their daughter? They would soften eventually.

But if Yuan Han dared to touch Zhou Yi now, it would provoke Zhou Wengang and his wife’s anger to the maximum. After all, Zhou Wengang was a leader – wouldn’t it be easy for him to deal with an ordinary person?

Whether Yuan Han, that calculating man, could handle this delicate balance remained to be seen.

Her words were direct, and over the phone, Zhou Cheng felt his face heat up inexplicably.

His wife was being too straightforward!

Zhou Cheng knew that not everyone thought like him about waiting until marriage for such matters between men and women… Poor him, a late-blooming virgin, constantly being subtly teased by his wife. Zhou Cheng worried he might develop health problems from the frustration.

“If he dares touch Zhou Yi, I’ll break his legs!”

Zhou Cheng awkwardly changed the subject.

Xia Xiaolan’s words had given Zhou Cheng an idea about where Zhou Yi might have gone.

She couldn’t stay in the same room as Yuan Han, and probably wouldn’t want to impose on friends – it wasn’t something to be proud of, and Zhou Yi wouldn’t want everyone to know about it.

Only the guesthouse at Zhou Yi’s workplace wouldn’t require an introduction letter. As an employee, Zhou Yi could stay there just by showing her face.

Zhou Cheng quickly ended the call, “I’ll go look for them first.”

Xia Xiaolan had no better suggestions. Whether this would turn into a quick resolution or a prolonged battle, who knew how this situation would develop?

At the hospital, Zhou Wengang’s wife Jiang Hong couldn’t sleep at all.

When Zhou Yi had left with Yuan Han, Jiang Hong had nearly fainted from shock.

Zhou Wengang had rushed her to the hospital, fearing a stroke. Fortunately, after the doctor’s emergency treatment, Jiang Hong slowly regained consciousness – it was just an anger-induced illness, nothing too serious.

Though awake, Jiang Hong refused to go home. Despite her anger, her mind was still clear – she wanted to use her hospitalization to make her daughter Zhou Yi yield.

Zhou Wengang let her be. After someone faints, staying in the hospital for a couple of days’ observation seemed reasonable enough.

After Zhou Cheng and his mother Guan Hui’e left, Jiang Hong opened her eyes:

“Wengang, what’s going on here? You don’t seem surprised at all – did you know about this already? You’ve kept me in the dark so well!”

Zhou Wengang frowned, “Zhou Cheng only told me last night. I thought Zhou Yi would wait a while, and I planned to talk to her first. I wanted to handle this without you knowing if possible.”

Who knew Zhou Yi couldn’t stay patient, proving Zhou Cheng right by urgently bringing that Yuan fellow home.

Jiang Hong clutched Zhou Wengang’s hand:

“Wengang, you’re being foolish! If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have let that Yuan person have a chance to enter our home! Today when Zhou Yi brought him home, how many eyes in the compound saw it? Just thinking about people knowing Zhou Yi is involved with someone like him – I want to take a knife and kill that Yuan fellow…”

She had been arranging blind dates for Zhou Yi, and now this – Zhou Yi had quietly been preparing this bombshell.

The bomb unexpectedly exploded in Jiang Hong’s face. It was only thanks to her usually good health that she hadn’t had a stroke!

So many people had seen Zhou Yi bring him home, and what’s more infuriating was that the girl had told Zhou Cheng first.

Now Second Brother’s family had witnessed their embarrassment. Jiang Hong was furious, her temples throbbing. She almost wished she could faint again and not wake up to face this mess.

What couldn’t be said between mother and daughter? Was there something wrong with Zhou Yi’s brain that she had to tell Zhou Cheng first? Jiang Hong not only wanted to stab Yuan Han with a knife but also gave Zhou Yi a good beating. Maybe after two beatings, some of the water in Zhou Yi’s brain would drain out!

“We must find Zhou Yi. We can’t let that foolish girl spend the night outside with Yuan Han. When she used to hang out with Shao Guangrong and the others, I didn’t have to worry – they all grew up together, and none of them would dare touch her without being ready to marry her. Yuan Han is different. Wengang, you heard him – he even divorced his first wife to get close to our family. Given this chance, he’ll try to seduce Zhou Yi-“

Jiang Hong’s words came to an abrupt halt.

Even in the most conservative times, people had tasted forbidden fruit. These past couple of years, social attitudes have become more open. Zhou Yi and Yuan Han had been dating for two months – what if they had already crossed boundaries?

Jiang Hong’s chest heaved. Just thinking about this possibility made her want to get up and search the world for Yuan Han with a knife.

Zhou Wengang patted her hand, “I’ve sent Zhou Cheng to look for them. Zhou Cheng is reliable. He’s just someone trying to climb the social ladder – why are you getting so worked up? If you’re going to get angry about things like this, you don’t know how many times you’ll need to get angry. We’ll deal with him, and this will be a good lesson for Zhou Yi to learn early.”

Jiang Hong had red eyes, “Wengang, you still trust Zhou Cheng? Maybe Second Brother’s family found themselves a rural daughter-in-law and now want to drag our Zhou Yi down into the mud too. I heard what you were all saying earlier – Zhou Yi went to ask Xia Xiaolan for advice first, how could that be such a coincidence?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re tired today, get some rest. I’ll stay here with you. When you’re calmer tomorrow, we can discuss this matter!”

Pure nonsense.

Yuan Han couldn’t compare to Xia Xiaolan.

Though both came from troubled families, Xia Xiaolan had proven herself exceptional. Having such a daughter-in-law wasn’t shameful for Brother Guobin’s family.

Sometimes Zhou Wengang felt a bit uncomfortable – his brother held a higher position than him, wasn’t he allowed to have some thoughts about that?

But Jiang Hong’s suggestion that his brother’s family deliberately set this up for Zhou Yi – Zhou Wengang would never be believed.

Having Yuan Han as a son-in-law would bring shame to the entire Zhou family. The character of Zhou couldn’t be written differently twice – how would it benefit the Second Brother’s family if Zhou Yi married poorly?

Women did have long hair and short sight. Zhou Wengang couldn’t be bothered to argue with his wife further.

Jiang Hong lay awake until dawn with a knot in her chest. Zhou Cheng was so inefficient – how hard could it be to find someone? Still no news?

In middle age, the body doesn’t function like it did in youth. When young, you could pull an all-nighter and still be energetic the next day, but at Jiang Hong’s age, staying up all night aged you several years overnight.

This was the state Xia Xiaolan found her aunt-in-law in when she arrived at the hospital.

It was also her first time meeting Zhou Cheng’s uncle.