“Yes! She must become part of the Zhou family!” Mother Jiang declared firmly.

Zhou Cheng appeared to be facing an extremely difficult situation. Had they not been in a hospital, he probably would have smoked through an entire pack of cigarettes.

The longer the silence stretched, the more it indicated Zhou Cheng’s careful consideration. Mother Jiang didn’t even press him, while Pan Bohua desperately tried to catch Zhou Cheng’s eye.

In the stairwell, Tang Hongen sighed: matters of the heart were the most troublesome – Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng’s future would depend on Zhou Cheng’s choice right now.

Zhou Cheng pretended not to notice Pan Bohua’s signals. He was unaware that his future father-in-law had foregone even the Mayor’s face to hide in the stairwell and eavesdrop.

“Fine, I agree!”

Mother Jiang hadn’t expected him to be so decisive. She burst into tears of joy, “Really?”

“Chengzi, have you lost your mind? What about Sister-in-law Xiaolan—”

Pan Bohua wanted to squeeze Zhou Cheng’s head with his remaining hand, wondering if the car crash had addled his brain.

In the stairwell, Tang Hongen snorted. It seemed Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng weren’t destined to be together! Well, given Xiaolan’s excellence, finding another partner wouldn’t be difficult. Better than forcing a relationship with an indecisive man!

Tang Hongen was about to head downstairs – the affairs between the Jiang and Zhou families were no longer his concern.

As he lifted his foot to descend, Zhou Cheng’s voice carried from the corridor, steady and deep:

“Third Brother, I only agreed to let Jiang Yan become part of the Zhou family. Since the Jiang family doesn’t want this daughter, we Zhous don’t lack one – if Jiang Yan is willing, she can even change her surname!”

What?!

Mother Jiang took a moment to process this, while Father Jiang, who had been silent until now, finally understood.

“You mean you want Yan to become the Zhou family’s daughter?”

Tang Hongen almost missed a step – could they do that?!

Of course, they could!

Zhou Cheng was never a template hero of absolute righteousness. He could lead dangerous missions, but he could also skirt the edges of legality to make money smuggling cigarettes.

He could share the same basic meals with his subordinates at work and live on his unit allowance, but didn’t he also like wearing expensive watches?

If Xia Xiaolan were here, she would laugh. This was exactly like Zhou Cheng, completely genuine, exactly what her man would do!

With the Shi family, Zhou Cheng felt personal guilt and was willing to look after them. After Shi Kai’s death, the family was left with only a blind mother, a mentally challenged brother, and a young widow with two children – how could they manage without Zhou Cheng’s help?

But how was Jiang Yan’s situation comparable?

Zhou Cheng was grateful to Jiang Yan – as Tang Hongen said, it was a debt of emotion. However, Jiang Yan wasn’t completely out of danger yet, and instead of inquiring about their daughter’s condition first, her parents rushed to the hospital to secure her future.

If her parents had enough backbone, would Jiang Yan need a backup plan?

Jiang Wu was the one who did wrong, yet Jiang Yan had to be the scapegoat. Her parents wouldn’t protect her, instead hoping Zhou Cheng would marry her and pass the responsibility to the Zhou family.

Thoroughly disgusted by Jiang Yan’s parents, Zhou Cheng spoke without mercy:

“Yes, let Jiang Yan become the Zhou family’s daughter, change her surname, register her household under the Zhou family – I’d like to see who dares touch her then! Does this land and sky answer to the nation and its people, or the Jiang family of Jinling? You raised a scoundrel like Jiang Wu and still cover up his crimes – if you have the guts, silence both Jiang Yan and me!”

Zhou Cheng’s intensity was frightening.

Father Jiang pointed at him but couldn’t form a rebuttal.

Mother Jiang’s face flushed red with shame.

“Who wants to be your Zhou family’s daughter…”

Zhou Cheng sneered, “That’s better. I also believe Uncle and Auntie love Jiang Yan dearly. If anyone dares touch Jiang Yan, you’ll protect her with your lives, right?”

Jiang Yan’s parents nearly choked.

If not for the inappropriate setting, Pan Bohua would have burst out laughing.

Tang Hongen listened for a while longer in the stairwell before deciding to go down again. Going up now would reveal his eavesdropping; better to take another walk downstairs.

The doctor came out, “Are the patient’s family members here? We need to discuss the next steps of treatment.”

Jiang Yan’s parents hurried forward to listen, leaving their argument with Zhou Cheng behind.

Zhou Cheng only needed to hear that Jiang Yan was out of danger before feeling relieved.

Life always took precedence over everything else – as long as someone was alive, even physical disability didn’t matter. However, Jiang Yan’s back had severe burns. Zhou Cheng and Pan Bohua exchanged glances, and the two patients headed toward the stairwell together.

Pan Bohua used his uninjured hand to toss Zhou Cheng a cigarette.

Zhou Cheng coughed with every drag and coughing made his broken ribs hurt. He took two puffs before putting it out.

Pan Bohua continued smoking himself – one hand was enough for that.

“You scared me there. I thought Jiang Yan’s parents had convinced you… Jiang Yan is such a forthright girl, how did she end up with parents like that?”

Zhou Cheng bent to pick up the cigarette butt to throw it in the trash, wincing at the movement.

“Bad bamboo can produce good shoots, I guess. They could have asked for anything else, but not this. Third Brother, from the first time I met Xiaolan, I knew I wanted to marry her. If I can’t marry Xiaolan in this life, I’ll remain single forever.”

He had long decided Xia Xiaolan would be his only wife.

If anyone tried to replace Xiaolan, Zhou Cheng would rather never marry.

Pan Bohua looked at his face, still handsome despite its battered state, held his cigarette between his lips, and used his uninjured hand to pat Zhou Cheng’s shoulder forcefully:

“Don’t say such depressing things. It makes sense for someone who looks like me to stay single forever, but what about Sister-in-law Xiaolan if you do? That bastard Jiang Wu – I regret now that we handed him over to the unit instead of finishing him off ourselves. I won’t sleep well at night!”

Zhou Cheng felt the same way.

Jiang Wu was like a lingering ghost – they should have eliminated him at sea when they had the chance.

“He even used Jiang Yan before, just to make us trust her. Though I spoke harshly to Jiang Yan’s parents, looking at their behavior, Jiang Yan is truly pitiful.”

Indeed.

Jiang Yan had been Jiang Wu’s pawn.

The Jiang family might also be using her as a pawn.

Taking advantage of gratitude, having lost Jiang Wu, they wouldn’t refuse to make some use of Jiang Yan.

With a family like this, “pitiful” barely began to describe Jiang Yan’s situation.

Pan Bohua sighed, “Anyway, I said if someone needs to take responsibility, come to me. Jiang Yan’s mother looks down on people – does she think Jiang Yan would become a pirate if she followed me?”

Damn it, if not for Jiang Yan’s sake, Pan Bohua would have cursed them out. How did he look like a pirate?

Even if he looked like one, he wasn’t a pirate!

Pan Bohua fumed indignantly.

Zhou Cheng lifted his arm to check his watch, his heart aching. This watch was a birthday gift from Xiaolan – usually, he didn’t wear it at work to avoid appearing flashy, only putting it on when he left the academy.

Who knew it would get damaged? The damage looked quite serious – he wondered if it could be repaired.