The Zhou family was quite decent.

Xia Xiaolan liked the family values of the Zhou household.

Regardless of how incompetent Zhou Yi might be, the Zhou family truly valued each child… That’s why Grandmother Zhou was particularly distressed. Zhou Yi’s marriage was almost certain now, and Grandmother Zhou strongly agreed with the elder’s stance – Yuan Han was not allowed to appear before either of them!

The elderly couple refused to acknowledge this marriage.

Since Zhou Yi insisted on marrying Yuan Han, Grandmother Zhou didn’t even want to see her granddaughter anymore and had already announced she would not attend their wedding banquet.

“This child causes her parents so much worry! Will Zhou Cheng return for her wedding?”

Liu Fen looked at her daughter with gratification, thinking that a daughter like hers who caused no worry was truly the best kind in the world.

A mother’s bias was thick indeed – she had completely forgotten Xia Xiaolan’s checkered past.

“Zhou Cheng doesn’t know about this news yet. Even if he finds out, he probably won’t make a special trip back.”

Zhou Cheng was truly angry – he had personally confined Zhou Yi before, but she had run away to elope… Given Zhou Cheng’s personality, how could he manage Zhou Yi now? Only when Zhou Yi fell hard and hurt herself might Zhou Cheng extend a helping hand.

Liu Fen pondered, unable to figure out how to comment.

So was Zhou Yi the only happy one about this marriage, while everyone else in the Zhou family was suffering in silence?

That made deciding on a wedding gift even more difficult!

The news of Zhou Yi’s marriage had caused an uproar in the Zhou family.

The Zhou elders had two sons and three daughters, though one daughter had died young. Now only two sons and two daughters remained. The deceased daughter had been the eldest, so Zhou Cheng’s aunts were known as Second Aunt and Little Aunt.

Though everyone was busy with their work, they hadn’t forgotten to stay in touch and maintained relatively close relationships.

With Zhou Yi getting married, Jiang Hong needed to inform both sisters-in-law.

Little Aunt Zhou found the news suddenly and said to her sister:

“I haven’t seen Zhou Yi for quite a while. When did she start dating?”

Second Aunt Zhou knew more: “You’ve become foolish following your old Gu around. He doesn’t like socializing, so you haven’t heard any news?”

Little Aunt Zhou looked bewildered.

Second Aunt Zhou pinched her sister’s arm:

“Good thing you didn’t ask Sister-in-law directly! That troublemaker Zhou Yi, of all things to copy, chose to elope! And she couldn’t even elope properly – she came back pregnant not long after, bringing that man to kneel outside her grandparents’ door… I think everyone who should know in Beijing already knows. Brother and Sister-in-law can only accept these star-crossed lovers now!”

Little Aunt Zhou’s mouth gaped open.

Was this real?

Had Zhou Yi done all this?

That child must have been saving up twenty-some years of rebelliousness to release all at once, without considering if the family could handle it.

Little Aunt Zhou immediately became anxious: “Then why didn’t Mom and Dad mention anything when I visited them yesterday? I wondered why Mom wasn’t feeling well again, thinking it was just because of the season change!”

Second Aunt Zhou sneered, “Sister-in-law hasn’t said anything yet, so how could Mom and Dad tell you? Zhou Yi is their granddaughter and Brother and Sister-in-law’s daughter. Besides, how could the elders have guessed you hadn’t heard anything?”

Little Aunt Zhou broke out in a sweat.

She truly hadn’t known. Her two children were still in school – unlike Second Aunt Zhou’s daughter Cheng Min who had already entered university this year. Little Aunt Zhou’s son was still in middle school, while her daughter Gu Siyan had just started her first year of high school.

After He Jia’s pregnancy incident, Little Aunt Zhou kept a closer watch on her daughter, worried that Gu Siyan might also get involved with male classmates without understanding the consequences.

He Jia had been such a good girl but then came the pregnancy and abortion. Even though He Jia’s mother had created a huge scene and wrecked Vice Director Wang’s tutoring school, venting her anger didn’t change what had happened to her daughter.

Later, He Jia stayed home to recover for a while before quietly transferring to a school in another city.

He Jia’s mother had managed to transfer her job and went to accompany her daughter’s studies there.

From the He family’s intentions, even when He Jia went to university, they didn’t plan to have her study in Beijing. They wanted to arrange her future education, work, and marriage all outside the city, hoping to minimize the impact of this incident.

He Jia should have been in high school like Gu Siyan, but she had gone back to finish middle school in another city!

Little Aunt Zhou had witnessed He Jia’s situation firsthand – how could she not be anxious about Gu Siyan? She spent considerable effort caring for Gu Siyan, naturally becoming less aware of outside matters.

Hearing about Zhou Yi’s actions, Little Aunt Zhou’s feelings were complex.

She felt sympathy for her foolish niece.

She felt anger.

She also felt fear.

He Jia’s case had been youthful ignorance – a young girl meeting a boy she liked, both of them just children, who could be blamed?

But Zhou Yi wasn’t a child – He Jia was only 15, while Zhou Yi was 25, a whole decade older. What was she thinking?

The elderly couple must be incredibly angry. Despite Little Aunt Zhou’s good nature, she couldn’t help but rage:

“What devil possessed her! If she loves him, just go live with the man and don’t come back. Her grandmother is so old and in poor health – why must she come back to upset her!”

No wonder my Sister-in-law looked so haggard.

Little Aunt Zhou cursed several times, saying she didn’t even want to attend this damn wedding.

Second Aunt Zhou spoke calmly after letting her finish: “Why are you so anxious? My Sister-in-law cares most about-face, I don’t believe she truly accepts Zhou Yi choosing such a person. Brother isn’t weak either. Why did they agree to the marriage? It’s because Zhou Yi’s pregnancy has become the talk of the town. Let’s wait until after the child is born. Can’t the Zhou family afford to raise one child?”

Second Aunt Zhou felt Zhou Wenbing and Jiang Hong had other plans.

Little Aunt Zhou didn’t buy this at all.

While the sisters talked inside, Little Aunt Zhou was so angry she hadn’t noticed time passing.

Outside the door, Gu Siyan and her cousin Cheng Min exchanged looks.

They tiptoed away and only when they got downstairs did Gu Siyan let out a long breath:

“I can’t believe Sister Zhou Yi did such a thing. How angry must Grandpa and Grandma be!”

Cheng Min couldn’t answer Gu Siyan’s questions.

Though she was two years older than Gu Siyan and now a freshman in college, she had never dated anyone.

Puppy love was a vague feeling of attraction, but to be willing to die for a man and go against the whole family – such things were hard to imagine without experience.

Because Zhou Yi was older than them, both girls used to follow her lead.

Suddenly discovering that Zhou Yi, who often “guided” them, had done such a foolish thing left Gu Siyan and Cheng Min confused.

After a long silence, Cheng Min said, “Do you think if we tried to persuade Sister Zhou Yi, she would listen to us?”

Gu Siyan stood dumbfounded, “How… how would we persuade her?”

She already had a baby in her belly – could they make it disappear?

Or like He Jia, have the baby aborted!

If Zhou Yi had been willing to abort, she would have done it already without their persuasion.

Neither Gu Siyan nor Cheng Min understood, so Gu Siyan decided to ask someone who did. Thus, when Xia Xiaolan finished her class, she saw two people crouching by the flower bed counting ants.

“Why are you both here? Don’t you have classes today?”

Cheng Min didn’t have class – she was a university student after all.

But Gu Siyan had skipped school!

Zhou Cheng’s two little cousins had arrived. They called her “Sister Xiaolan” but just pushed each other without speaking, so Xia Xiaolan had to host them properly:

“Come on, I’ll take you for a walk, and we can talk while walking, okay?”