Xia Xiaolan was speechless.

Love is a peculiar thing. Some people immediately find the right person.

Some experience love at first sight, others develop feelings over time, and some fall in love after marriage. In ancient times, men and women often wouldn’t meet before marriage, yet many still lived respectfully together as couples their whole lives.

But some love… Xia Xiaolan found it hard to judge.

Zhou Yi must have something wrong with her head.

Sneaking away from home, buying a train ticket and secretly boarding to follow Yuan Han… Abandoning her job and family?

This time Jiang Hong truly fell ill.

When illness strikes, it hits like a mountain. When Xia Xiaolan visited her in the hospital, she found her severely thin and weak, clutching Zhou Wenbing’s hand:

“Find Zhou Yi and bring her back. Just thinking about her suffering out there, being fooled by that Yuan fellow, I… I won’t let Yuan get away with this, Zhou Wenbing. In all our years of marriage, I’ve never asked you to do anything illegal, but just this once – if you don’t deal with Yuan, I’ll handle it myself!”

Jiang Hong shouted hoarsely, while Zhou Wenbing was equally furious:

“Why look for her? We might as well not have such a daughter! I’ve never seen anyone like her – can’t live without a man? She’s completely disgraced the Zhou family, abandoning her work, ignoring you lying sick in the hospital, just buying a train ticket and running after him. If she can do this, she needn’t come back!”

Following behind Guan Huie, Xia Xiaolan gradually pieced together recent events from the couple’s heated argument.

It turned out that since Zhou Cheng had confined Zhou Yi, she hadn’t been allowed out.

Later when Zhou Cheng returned to Jibei Province, Zhou Wenbing had others watch Zhou Yi while swiftly arranging Yuan Han’s transfer. While job transfers weren’t easy for ordinary people, Zhou Wenbing had special privileges and didn’t need Yuan Han’s consent to transfer him directly.

The matter was settled in just a few days, and Yuan Han couldn’t defy the transfer order. There was a specified reporting time at his original workplace – if he didn’t report on time, it would give them an excuse to potentially terminate his position completely.

Yuan Han had struggled to climb from a small town to Beijing, and being sent back would certainly leave him resenting the Zhou family.

Somehow he had contacted Zhou Yi and told her about Zhou Wenbing’s pressure on him.

“He probably saw things weren’t working out and wanted to strain Sister Zhou Yi’s relationship with her family before leaving.”

As Xia Xiaolan remarked this, Guan Huie looked at the arguing couple in the hospital room, also confused: “Maybe you’re right, Yuan Han was unsatisfied and wanted to cause trouble between Zhou Yi and her family before leaving, who knew…”

Who knew Zhou Yi would be foolish enough to directly buy a train ticket and chase after Yuan Han?

Xia Xiaolan felt the Zhou family produced special talents, each one a “love saint.”

Zhou Wenbing came out, sighed seeing the two of them, “You’re here? With Zhou Yi running away, I can’t hide this from the elders anymore. I’ve failed in raising my daughter – how can I face my parents!”

Anyone would be deeply troubled having such a daughter.

Common people would worry, and high-ranking officials would be equally distressed.

Love without parental blessing happens every day. Some submit to their parents’ arrangements, unable to resist completely; others desperately prove their parents wrong, struggling to stay with their loved ones… Zhou Yi chose the worst path. With her rash action, the Zhou family’s chances of accepting Yuan Han dropped to zero.

Even Yuan Han probably hadn’t expected Zhou Yi to react so extremely.

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t taken this matter too seriously before, but hearing about Zhou Yi’s “love escape” suddenly, she found Zhou Yi both foolish and unsettling. Zhou Yi wasn’t evil, just lacking ambition.

There was a reason she’d been good friends with Tong Lili for years – they were equally complicated in matters of love.

Moreover, now Zhou Wenbing said he would tell the Zhou family elders.

The Zhou patriarch quite disliked Zhou Yi.

But no matter how much he disliked her, she was still his granddaughter. Forget about the old master – could Grandmother Zhou accept this?

“Uncle, shouldn’t we find Sister Zhou Yi first? Bring her back for a proper talk, and use gentler methods. Have you investigated Yuan Han’s background?”

Xia Xiaolan’s feelings toward Zhou Yi were lukewarm, but she genuinely cared for Grandmother Zhou, who had always been kind to her. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t bear to see Grandmother Zhou heartbroken.

Could the Zhou family not even find one person?

Even without Zhou Cheng, Zhou Wenbing had people at his disposal – they just hadn’t gotten tough with Zhou Yi before.

Zhou Wenbing considered and agreed with Xia Xiaolan’s suggestion:

“You’re right, let’s find Zhou Yi first. If we have to break her legs, we need to see her first!”

Guan Huie was overwhelmed, “Let’s be reasonable, what breaking legs? She’s a girl—”

Xia Xiaolan secretly stuck out her tongue. Zhou Wenbing wasn’t just talking – as a father, he must be furious. If Zhou Yi was found, she’d certainly face harsh consequences. But wasn’t a beating better than ruining her life? If Zhou Yi stayed with Yuan Han, the Zhou family would be in a very difficult position.

As always, girls suffered more in these situations.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t being old-fashioned, believing Zhou Yi deserved death for being intimate with Yuan Han. They were both adults and consensual relations between men and women were fine.

But that fool Zhou Yi probably knew nothing about contraception.

Intimacy was minor, pregnancy would be major.

Even if the Zhou family could make her abort, wouldn’t Zhou Yi be the one suffering?

Why should Zhou Yi needlessly suffer? Better to prevent it entirely. Having the child would be even worse – if she had Yuan Han’s child, the Zhou family might have to grudgingly accept him as their son-in-law… This was why girls suffered more – men enjoyed themselves without getting pregnant, while girls bore the consequences. What a tragedy!

Zhou Wenbing had already reviewed Yuan Han’s file.

Yuan Han was 27, married at 24, and divorced after a year. When Beijing headquarters leaders inspected his unit, they noticed his writing talent in their speeches. Yuan Han was especially good at climbing the ladder, somehow managing to transfer back to Beijing with the inspecting leaders.

“Strange, if unit leaders favored him, why wasn’t he promoted?”

Xia Xiaolan remembered Zhou Cheng had already investigated Yuan Han once – his work performance wasn’t outstanding.

Zhou Wenbing’s face darkened:

“The leader who supported him had a daughter. Yuan Han tried to become his son-in-law, probably wasn’t subtle enough the first time around, and was discovered when that leader checked his background file.”

So Yuan Han was transferred from the provinces but never promoted.

No wonder Zhou Wenbing looked so upset. This wasn’t Yuan Han’s first attempt – his first try failed, another family’s daughter pulled back from the cliff, while foolish Zhou Yi fell right in. Didn’t this make Zhou Wenbing feel he’d raised his daughter worse than Zhou Yi’s unit leader had protected his?