Why hadn’t they driven Yuan Han away, but instead kept him at the work unit in Beijing?

Despite being treated with kindness, Yuan Han had set his sights on the leader’s daughter. If Xia Xiaolan were handling this, she would ensure that the ill-intentioned Yuan Han would never recover.

On second thought, it might just be different personal approaches.

Zhou Wenbang wanted to send Yuan Han far away to keep him out of sight in Beijing.

Perhaps the unit leader wanted to keep Yuan Han under close watch, preventing him from having any chance of success.

When pushed into a corner, Yuan Han would certainly look for ways to turn things around, and after considering his options, he targeted that fool, Zhou Yi.

If Xia Xiaolan had any say in this matter, she would be just as frustrated.

“Uncle, his ex-wife was suddenly divorced. She must know Yuan Han’s true nature. Why don’t you talk to her to understand the situation? Someone needs to convince Sister Zhou Yi, and Yuan Han’s ex-wife might be able to help.”

Zhou Wenbang pondered thoughtfully:

“Your reminder is right. Xiaolan, your aunt can be harsh with her words sometimes, but don’t take it personally. After you marry Zhou Cheng, we’ll be family. Family members can have conflicts, but at crucial moments, we must stand together… This was what the elder taught us siblings, and I’m passing these words to you. Uncle thank you for your thoughtful advice!”

Zhou Wenbang was an extremely serious person. From their two meetings, Xia Xiaolan could tell just from his way of speaking that he had a strong sense of right and wrong.

He was right – family members might occasionally hurt each other like teeth biting the lip. Aunt Jiang Hong had her little schemes and would often make sour remarks.

But with Zhou Wenbang keeping her in check, Jiang Hong never harbored truly malicious intentions.

The same went for Zhou Yi – she had caused trouble for Xia Xiaolan before, but it was nothing compared to Xia Ziyu’s attempts to end her life. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t the type to utterly destroy someone over minor offenses. While she would seek revenge when wronged, she wasn’t a vengeful demon king consumed by rage.

For someone like Zhou Yi, a minor punishment would suffice – watching her ruin her life would be going too far.

“Uncle, I also hope Sister Zhou Yi will be fine. If you need any help, just let me know.”

How much love could develop in just two months of dating?

It seemed more like after being submissive for so many years, Zhou Yi’s delayed rebellious phase had finally arrived. The more her parents forbade her from doing something, the more she wanted to do it.

Xia Xiaolan agreed with Zhou Wenbang’s perspective – if she had a daughter like Zhou Yi, she too would want to drag her back home and break her legs.

But they couldn’t use force now; they needed a gentle approach to avoid pushing Zhou Yi further toward Yuan Han.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t say this directly. She and Guan Hui’e had already discussed this, agreeing that Guan Hui’e should be the one to persuade them. As Zhou Wenbang’s sister-in-law, he wouldn’t argue with her and might listen to what she had to say.

In the hospital ward, Jiang Hong lay stiff as a board.

This disobedient troublemaker had thoroughly embarrassed her – even the doctors and nurses seemed to be laughing at her.

But more than anything, she was worried… Zhou Yi had never traveled far from home alone before!

…

Zhou Yi had never traveled far from home alone.

She and her group of friends had idled away their time in Beijing, looking down on everywhere else in China.

In Zhou Yi and her friends’ eyes, anywhere beyond Beijing’s Third Ring Road was considered countryside.

Everyone outside Beijing was naturally an outsider, a country bumpkin – that’s exactly how they had viewed Xia Xiaolan initially.

Later, they were thoroughly put in their place by this “outsider” and “country bumpkin” Xia Xiaolan. Zhou Yi had woken up quickly and didn’t dare provoke Xia Xiaolan carelessly. It was through Xia Xiaolan that Zhou Yi discovered outsiders could be excellent too – if Zhou Cheng could be with Xia Xiaolan, why was it such an unforgivable sin for her to be with Yuan Han?

Zhou Yi bought a train ticket and boarded the train. Watching Beijing gradually shrink and disappear through the window, her emotions were extremely complex.

Her mother must be furious.

Her father would likely take even more extreme measures against Yuan Han.

She had finally found the courage to be brave once; she couldn’t back down halfway.

Yuan Han had the ability but wasn’t allowed to use it. Her father sending him back to his hometown was too unfair… if she abandoned Yuan Han too, he would have to stay trapped in that small place forever.

She had to protect Yuan Han!

Zhou Yi wrapped her clothes tighter around herself. Having fled in such haste, she hadn’t even thought about buying a sleeper ticket.

Just getting on the train was enough; she only had a standing ticket.

Zhou Yi had never endured such hardship before. The train was filled with all sorts of people and unpleasant odors.

Body odor, foot odor, bad breath, and even a child who had defecated in the carriage – Zhou Yi covered her mouth, wondering how people could be so dirty. Some passengers were eating flatbread and pickled vegetables on the train. Though it wasn’t yet October, the daytime temperature wasn’t low. After being sealed in the carriage for a while, only these foods would spoil more slowly – common people had their wisdom about life.

But this common wisdom was far removed from Zhou Yi’s daily life; she had never experienced anything like it. She felt nauseated by the smell of salted duck eggs that passengers had brought, which had been soaking for too long.

She couldn’t eat a single bite, sustaining herself only on water.

Finally making it to her stop, she was afraid her father might have sent people to catch her at the station. She kept ducking and hiding, making her way to the address Yuan Han had once given her.

Zhou Yi didn’t know that while she was enduring the unpleasant odors on the train and swearing to protect her lover, the Yuan household was in a state of low spirits.

Yuan Han had a widowed mother and two older sisters.

None of them could help him; his education and career were achieved through his efforts.

He did indeed have some ability, firmly grasping every opportunity that came his way, finally managing to transfer from his small hometown to Beijing.

Unfortunately, before he could make his mark, he had taken a wrong turn and lost the admiration of the leader who had once appreciated him.

Just as he had started dating Zhou Yi, the Zhou family had taken drastic measures, confining Zhou Yi and sending him back to his hometown – Yuan Han naturally felt this was unfair. Even if they disapproved of his relationship with Zhou Yi, why did they have to interfere with his work?

There isn’t always room for reason in this world. While he resented Zhou Wenbang’s heavy-handed methods, he failed to see his own mistakes.

In his relationship with Zhou Yi, Yuan Han had already lost his integrity.

If he truly cared for Zhou Yi’s well-being, he should have revealed his married status when she first showed interest and pursuit, not after his divorce. Given Zhou Yi’s pride, would she have pursued him then?

Yuan Han was also reflecting on his mistakes. After reporting back to his hometown, he faced the endless complaints of his mother and two sisters.

They had all been counting on Yuan Han to make something of himself!

Yuan Han had always been good at winning people over, with his proper appearance and clever mind – he had always shown promise.

“You said you had everything under control, that’s why I drove that harbinger of misfortune away. Is this what you call having things under control? Oh, my son, you’ve been played by that Beijing young lady, she simply-“

Yuan Han was tall and robust, and his mother was naturally not small in stature either.

Mother Yuan stopped mid-sentence, unable to find the right words to describe Zhou Yi since she had never met her.

Big Sister Yuan raised her eyebrows, “Little brother has been thoroughly deceived. We can’t let this matter end here – even if we have to be unreasonable, we must make the Zhou family give us an explanation!”

The thirty-something Big Sister Yuan was cast from the same mold as Mother Yuan; all the Yuan family members looked very similar.

Just as the family was condemning the Zhou family’s bullying, there was suddenly a loud banging on their door.

“Yuan Han, is this Yuan Han’s home? I’m looking for Yuan Han, please open the door…”

Yuan Han quickly opened the door, and a disheveled Zhou Yi fell into his arms, her face showing panic and tears in her eyes: “Yuan Han, I’ve come to find you!”