At this point, there was no other choice.

After spending so much money to marry Zhou Yi, how could Yuan Han dare mention divorce?

The appliances and furniture could be sold at a discount, but would the Zhou family let Yuan Han off easily?

Yuan Han had also lost his job.

No matter how handsome he was, as a twice-married man without proper work, it would be difficult to find even a regular official’s daughter, let alone someone from a family like Zhou Yi’s.

Even if he could find someone as simple-minded as Zhou Yi, her family wouldn’t agree.

Being a kept man wasn’t easy – just thinking about how his previous patron had cooled towards him at the first sign of trouble, it was already beyond Yuan Han’s expectations that he could marry Zhou Yi successfully.

His words reassured the women in his family.

Indeed, they might disapprove of Yuan Han, but could they reject their grandchild?

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t do anything about the chaos after Zhou Yi’s marriage.

She could only guess that the Yuan family must be very unhappy about Zhou Yi bringing just two quilts as dowry.

But the Yuan family could only endure it.

This marriage was what Zhou Yi had desperately insisted on, so if it became unbearable in the future, only Zhou Yi could call for separation.

After Zhou Yi’s marriage, Jiang Hong found peace in not having to see her, but this whole ordeal left her listless, worrying Zhou Wenban. The possibility of the couple having another child was slim – Jiang Hong was quite old, and even if she could conceive, Zhou Wenban was a state official and Jiang Hong had a formal job, which didn’t comply with the current family planning policy.

The family planning policy was particularly strict at this time. Many people who preferred sons would try for boys, some even hiding to give birth, but once discovered, they’d either be fined until bankrupted or lose their jobs.

Could Zhou Wenban afford to lose his official position?

Zhou Yi was already disappointing enough; they couldn’t let Zhou Wenban sacrifice his career too.

Zhou Wenban asked Xia Xiaolan to keep Jiang Hong company when possible, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t refuse.

She promptly went to the dog market and brought a puppy for Jiang Hong.

The Pekingese had beautiful fur. Though Jiang Hong had never thought of keeping a dog, she couldn’t refuse Xia Xiaolan’s gift. After keeping it for two days, she found the dog obedient and clever, well-behaved, following her everywhere. When Jiang Hong returned from work, the dog would wait by the door.

The household maid said she’d never seen such an affectionate puppy.

Clingy?

Surprisingly, Jiang Hong didn’t find it annoying at all.

The little creature loved wagging its tail at her, its fluffy tail swaying back and forth, making Jiang Hong smile involuntarily:

“It’s so cold, I’ll make you some clothes to wear.”

Zhou Wenban hadn’t expected a dog to have such an effect and thanked Xia Xiaolan profusely.

Xia Xiaolan never kept pets herself, as her life in both incarnations was too busy to care for them. But she knew some dog and cat lovers treated their pets as family members.

“Uncle, it’s a form of emotional support. When Aunt is busy taking care of the little Pekingese, she won’t have time to think about unhappy things.”

Zhou Wenban realized she was right.

Dogs were good – they were loyal and never changed once they recognized their owner.

Give them a place to sleep and food to eat, they’d become attached to people, wagging their tails happily all day.

So what was the point of raising children who only angered their parents and brought shame to the family… a dog was better!

When Xia Xiaolan next saw the Pekingese, Jiang Hong had made a peach-red jacket. Fearing the cold ground would hurt its little feet in winter, she carried it everywhere and named it Lele.

Xia Xiaolan could barely look at the peach-red jacket.

Did Jiang Hong even realize Lele was a male dog?

Jiang Hong justified it firmly, “He’s still young, so he should wear bright colors.”

Coincidentally, Zhou Yi made her first visit home after marriage to collect her clothes. At first, she didn’t notice the new dog. Jiang Hong sat on the sofa, knitting. Seeing the small wool vest, Zhou Yi’s heart leaped – was this for her unborn child?

Though seemingly ignoring her, her mother still cared.

Zhou Yi plopped onto the sofa, making small talk:

“Mom, the baby will be born in summer, can they wear a wool vest?”

Jiang Hong glanced at her, “What baby? This is for Lele.”

Lele?

Zhou Yi was confused, thinking her mother had already picked a nickname for the baby.

The Pekingese, originally in the bedroom, heard Jiang Hong call its name and trotted out on its short legs, barking “woof woof” at her.

Its voice was soft and sweet, with a pink tongue and snow-white fur. Jiang Hong immediately picked up the dog:

“Lele, do you like this sweater?”

“Woof woof woof!”

“That means you do.”

Jiang Hong preferred talking to the dog over Zhou Yi.

No matter what Jiang Hong said, Lele always responded with “woof woof,” and they seemed to truly communicate.

Zhou Yi was stunned. When did they get a dog, and “Lele” was a dog?

Her mother was even knitting sweaters for it?

She couldn’t remember her mother ever liking cats or dogs!

Realizing her earlier misunderstanding, Zhou Yi stood up abruptly:

“Mom, I’m leaving then?”

Jiang Hong, still petting Lele, merely hummed in response.

Zhou Yi hastily grabbed some clothes from her room, harboring great anger.

Downstairs, she complained to Yuan Han:

“Isn’t it infuriating? My mom’s keeping a dog at home and making it clothes. With all this free time, why doesn’t she care about her daughter?”

She could accept not getting new clothes herself.

But couldn’t she at least prepare something for her unborn grandchild?

Zhou Yi was furious.

She’d deliberately asked Yuan Han to wait downstairs to avoid upsetting her mother.

But Jiang Hong had focused solely on the dog, barely speaking to her.

Yuan Han found Zhou Yi’s jealousy of a dog bizarre. Not having seen how much Jiang Hong doted on the Pekingese, and knowing Zhou Yi’s tendency to exaggerate, he didn’t take it seriously.

“Your mother is still upset, and with you married and living elsewhere, she’s probably lonely. Why don’t you visit her more often?”

Zhou Yi mumbled a response.

She felt embarrassed to emphasize how her mother preferred the dog over her in front of Yuan Han.

But where did this dog come from?

Next time she’d have to ask the maid!

…

Xia Xiaolan sneezed on the airplane.

“Strange, who’s talking about me behind my back?”

She was on a flight from Beijing to Pengcheng, sitting beside Tang Hong’en, who had finished his honeymoon leave, and Liu Fen, who would stay in Pengcheng for two days.

Liu Fen had been married for over a week without telling her elder brother Liu Yong – how could she not visit in person?

And Tang Hong’en, after his honeymoon, needed to bring his new wife to Pengcheng to prove he hadn’t fake-married.

Hearing Xia Xiaolan’s muttering, Tang Hong’en smiled:

“Who’s talking about you? You gave that puppy to Uncle Zhou Cheng’s wife, and his cousin must hate you now.”