The two Zhou granddaughters were like lost lambs at this moment.

Gu Siyan deeply believed that Xia Xiaolan’s guidance could solve everything. Cheng Min had taken the college entrance exam once and only got into an ordinary undergraduate program, so she knew how difficult the exam was. In front of a national exam third-placer and Huaqing University scholar, Cheng Min was as docile as a quail.

Xia Xiaolan took them shopping for half a day and ate at street stalls. Being more familiar with Xia Xiaolan, Gu Siyan finally opened up. She briefly recounted the conversation she had overheard, feeling rather uneasy: “Sister Xiaolan, please don’t tell anyone else.” Although Second Aunt said everyone in Beijing knew already, Gu Siyan still wanted to protect Zhou Yi’s dignity.

Xia Xiaolan was both amused and exasperated. “I knew about it long ago. Why are you two getting involved instead of focusing on your studies?”

Gu Siyan and Cheng Min exclaimed simultaneously.

“We had no idea! We’re not trying to meddle, we’re just worried about Sister Zhou Yi. She wasn’t like this before – has someone deceived her?”

The deception was beyond doubt. The Yuan family’s intentions were written all over their faces, but only Zhou Yi, lost in love, couldn’t see it. She perfectly exemplified how “love is blind.”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know how to explain to Gu Siyan and Cheng Min. Compared to her, a weathered veteran, these two were such fresh-faced young girls. They weren’t spreading gossip about Zhou Yi maliciously but genuinely cared for her, innocently wanting to help… Their pure intentions moved Xia Xiaolan, though she felt helpless.

If even the elders couldn’t knock sense into Zhou Yi, what difference could two young girls make? Zhou Yi could dismiss her cousins with a couple of words, and might even angrily scold them. After all, the current Zhou Yi couldn’t be judged by normal standards. Xia Xiaolan felt it was better for the girls to stay out of this mess.

“Yes, she’s been deceived, but it’s also her choice. Sister Zhou Yi is in her twenties, at a marriageable age. Whoever she chooses to live with is her decision – you can’t persuade her otherwise. Look at it this way: there are plenty of women deceived by men in this world. Do you think they’re all so foolish they can’t tell? Some surely know they’re being deceived but have invested too much emotionally to back out, or they enjoy the sweet talk, or they like feeling self-righteous… Which category do you think Sister Zhou Yi falls into?”

What a difficult question – completely beyond their scope!

Gu Siyan and Cheng Min felt defeated. Indeed, if Zhou Yi could be talked out of her foolishness, the family elders would have succeeded in their various attempts by now.

“Sister Xiaolan, are we causing you trouble, putting you in a difficult position…”

Xia Xiaolan laughed, “What trouble? I’m just advising you not to get involved. You’re welcome to come shopping with me anytime. Come on, let me buy you both something. Cheng Min, I wasn’t in Beijing when you got into university, so I haven’t given you a gift. Siyan, you’re in your first year of high school too. You must both accept my belated congratulations.”

Cheng Min was already halfway through her first semester, and Xia Xiaolan had only just remembered this matter. She had spent the entire summer in Pengcheng, preoccupied with buying land, leaving no room for such details.

Both Cheng Min and Gu Siyan refused, with Gu Siyan choking on her water: “Sister Xiaolan, buy something for my cousin instead. I’m just in high school, I don’t need any gifts.”

Xia Xiaolan waved her hand dismissively: “I won’t show favoritism – you’ll both get gifts!”

It felt embarrassing as if they had come specifically to ask their future sister-in-law for presents, but neither Cheng Min nor Gu Siyan could refuse Xia Xiaolan.

Gu Siyan watched foolishly as Xia Xiaolan paid, while Xia Xiaolan just smiled, “When you start working and earning money in the future, you can buy me something too.”

Both Gu Siyan and Cheng Min nodded vigorously.

Their future sister-in-law seemed so wealthy, taking them to the department store and picking out two identical watches for them.

While Gu Siyan worried about getting scolded by her mother when she got home, she couldn’t help admiring the watch on her wrist.

Walking ahead, Xia Xiaolan suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!”

“Sister Xiaolan, what’s wrong?”

Xia Xiaolan pointed at a figure ahead: “Speak of the devil – you were just talking about persuading Zhou Yi, and there’s your future brother-in-law right in front.”

In a city as big as Beijing, they ran into Yuan Han.

Gu Siyan, like a firecracker, wanted to rush forward and smash Yuan Han’s head in.

Xia Xiaolan held her back, “Don’t rush. He’s acting suspiciously, and I don’t know what he’s up to. Would you two like to follow him and see?”

It was still afternoon. Xia Xiaolan had decided to bring Gu Siyan and Cheng Min shopping in this area on impulse, so meeting Yuan Han must have been coincidental. Shouldn’t he be busy preparing the wedding items required by the Zhou family? Whether renting a house or buying appliances and furniture, there was no reason for him to be skulking around in broad daylight.

Although she didn’t sense any danger, Xia Xiaolan repeatedly cautioned Gu Siyan and Cheng Min: “Stay behind me. When I say run, split up immediately. Don’t make any noise. Can you manage that?”

Both Cheng Min and Gu Siyan wanted to go and naturally agreed to follow Xia Xiaolan’s instructions.

Xia Xiaolan led them in slowly following Yuan Han, who was walking on foot and not too quickly, maintaining a manageable distance between them.

After several turns, Yuan Han entered a stationery shop.

He was distracted and hadn’t noticed he was being followed.

Xia Xiaolan spotted a braised meat shop across the street and led the two cousins to find a seat.

“You two must be tired, want to eat again?”

How could eating be tiring? Though they had eaten not long ago, shopping had burned some energy, and at their age, Gu Siyan and Cheng Min’s metabolism was particularly fast!

Across the street, Yuan Han handed a package to the stationery shop owner.

They huddled together and discussed something, then Yuan Han followed the owner into the backyard.

As the braised meat shop owner served their food, he noticed the three young women staring intently across the street. With Xia Xiaolan’s striking beauty and the fresh-faced Gu Siyan and Cheng Min, they made for a pleasing sight. The owner couldn’t resist showing off: “You followed that young man here, right? Curious about what he’s doing in the shop?”

Xia Xiaolan knew how to play along: “Running shops opposite each other, nothing escapes your notice. Could you tell us what you know?”

The owner, somewhat proud yet mysterious, lowered his voice: “The shop across deals in secondhand goods – old paintings, old jars, broken pots… Things that were supposed to be burned or smashed during the Destruction of the Four Olds are now antiques! These past couple of years, I’ve seen lots of people coming and going there, probably selling old things they’d hidden away.”

An antique shop?

So Yuan Han was selling antiques to raise money for the wedding?

This show of sincerity truly surprised Xia Xiaolan!

After chatting with the owner for a bit more, they saw Yuan Han storm out with his package, while the stationery shop owner chased after him: “Hey, comrade, we can negotiate the price further, come back and let’s discuss it.”

The owner forcefully pulled Yuan Han back inside.

Judging by Yuan Han’s expression, he was reluctant to leave anyway. His storming out was just a ploy to haggle over the price, and he obediently followed the owner back in.