Dating is simple!
If you’re happy, stay together; if you’re not, break up. There’s no need to consider anything else.
But when it comes to marriage, careful consideration becomes necessary.
Even someone like Xia Xiaolan, once she decides to marry someone, wouldn’t easily divorce them. Breaking up while dating might hurt, but divorcing after marriage would be a battle that breaks both body and soul.
Now she had to face the differences between herself and Zhou Cheng. If Zhou Cheng had no boundaries, he would have crossed Xia Xiaolan’s bottom line!
Xia Xiaolan also realized there were things she couldn’t tolerate. If she had clearly expressed her thoughts during her last visit to Zhou Cheng and they had reached an agreement, the situation with the Shi family wouldn’t be in such limbo.
“Xiaolan, do you understand what you’re saying?”
Zhou Cheng looked at her, and Xia Xiaolan’s gaze remained steady, without wavering.
“Of course I do. This isn’t just anger speaking. If our differences are this great, living together for decades would be torture for both of us.”
A storm was brewing in Zhou Cheng’s eyes.
He had always gone along with whatever his sweetheart said, accommodating Xiaolan in everything, willing to hand over his savings to her, having long ago decided that Xiaolan was his future wife!
This wasn’t due to any sense of owing her, but because Zhou Cheng wanted to. Deep down, he had never considered Xiaolan an outsider.
Xia Xiaolan’s words came too suddenly. Zhou Cheng remembered that in March, Xiaolan seemed to want to discuss marriage, but he was completely absorbed in Shi Kai’s sacrifice then. After seeing the Shi family’s devastating grief, he felt afraid for the first time about putting Xiaolan in a similar situation.
In other words, three months ago, Xia Xiaolan wanted to get married, while he had backed away, considering breaking up.
Now that Zhou Cheng had recovered and adjusted his mindset, regaining his confidence, Xia Xiaolan was saying they weren’t suitable to live together.
Dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around!
Who dates without planning to marry?
What would that make him, and how would others view Xiaolan?
This was regressing to their state from over a year ago, with Xiaolan wanting to break up, just expressed more tactfully.
“I don’t agree.”
Zhou Cheng’s brows were furrowed so deeply they nearly formed the character ‘川’. He repeated firmly:
“Our relationship is good, why should we let others’ affairs affect us? If you don’t like dealing with the Shi family situation, you can completely stay out of it…”
Xia Xiaolan was very disappointed and pushed him away:
“I understand.”
Understand what?
Zhou Cheng felt panic in his heart. Before, even when they couldn’t contact each other, he could still feel Xiaolan’s presence.
Now, standing right in front of him, she seemed a thousand miles away.
“I’ll give you time to think it through, Zhou Cheng. Don’t make me wait too long.”
Xia Xiaolan finished speaking and opened the door before Zhou Cheng could respond.
By the time she reached the first floor, Guan Hui’e and Kang Wei were there.
“Xiaolan, how did your talk go?”
Xia Xiaolan shook her head, “Zhou Cheng hasn’t thought it through yet. Auntie, I can’t be involved in this matter anymore.”
She wasn’t looking for trouble – she was already too busy with her affairs to keep fixating on the Shi family. It was only because she didn’t consider Zhou Cheng an outsider that she wanted to handle the Shi family situation together. Now that Zhou Cheng said she didn’t need to be involved, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t thick-skinned enough to keep pushing – she decided in an instant to let Zhou Cheng handle it himself.
Kang Wei noticed Xia Xiaolan’s expression and guessed the talk had fallen apart.
Hearing Xia Xiaolan’s words, it was worse than just falling apart – the situation was terrible!
“Brother Cheng.”
Kang Wei carefully approached as Zhou Cheng came downstairs, looking somewhat dazed, as if he didn’t understand what had happened, or perhaps understood but refused to accept it.
“Xiaolan-“
Xia Xiaolan sat down in a chair, “We’ll discuss our matters later. Aunt Guan and Kang Wei came all this way to see you, and spend some time with them.”
Xia Xiaolan refused to talk.
Zhou Cheng’s furrowed brows twisted into a knot. Guan Hui’e looked back and forth, knowing anything she said now would be wrong.
“Zhou Cheng, come out with me for a moment. Kang Wei, stay here and keep Xiaolan company.”
“What are you thinking?”
Guan Hui’e got straight to the point:
“Did you fight with Xiaolan? Zhou Cheng, you chose her yourself. Initially, I didn’t agree, but you were adamant about pursuing Xiaolan. Now our family has accepted her, and this girl is indeed exceptional, but you’re causing problems?”
“Mom, it’s not what you said-“
Guan Hui’e spoke faster:
“Then what else could it be? Your father and I didn’t even know you bought a house outside, and the money probably came from your cigarette business. I don’t expect you to give much money to the family, but you casually saying you’ll transfer a courtyard house to Wei Juanhong – forget about Xiaolan being angry, even I disagree!”
Guan Hui’e had considered buying the courtyard house for the Shi family, but she wouldn’t give it to Wei Juanhong – she would give it to Old Mrs. Shi!
Wei Juanhong was a young widow, who knew if she would remarry in the future. If Guan Hui’e were to give a house, it would be to Shi Kai’s birth mother, not Wei Juanhong.
Having Zhou Cheng transfer the house to Wei Juanhong would make things even more complicated in the future. Guan Hui’e, being middle-aged, had seen and heard plenty of such cases – taking care of a comrade’s widow and becoming family wasn’t uncommon.
Even if Zhou Cheng wasn’t dating Xia Xiaolan, even if he were single, Guan Hui’e would strictly guard against such situations. She could accept Xia Xiaolan because Xiaolan was exceptional in her own right, and after everything that had happened, Guan Hui’e admired her.
Wei Juanhong was Shi Kai’s widow, dragging along two children. Originally, being “honest and straightforward” was her only merit, but now she had lost even that basic virtue. Guan Hui’e couldn’t find any redeeming qualities in her!
If someone like that got attached to Zhou Cheng in the future, Guan Hui’e would probably have a heart attack from anger.
What she despised most about Wei Juanhong was that if she found the cigarette factory job inadequate, she should prove herself capable of something better, but she lacked such ability.
Without any real capabilities, the Zhou family helped transfer her job from Botong County to Beijing, only to create a mess.
Despite their wholehearted consideration for the Shi family, Wei Juanhong showed no appreciation. Even Guan Hui’e’s intention to give them a house stemmed partly from frustration.
Just as Xiaolan said, would giving a house and arranging a new job allow them to cleanly break ties with the Shi family?
If it would, Guan Hui’e would gladly do it!
Zhou Cheng was stunned by his mother’s fierce scolding.
Neither Xiaolan nor his mother agreed – was his approach to handling the Shi family situation wrong?
Zhou Cheng wasn’t sure.
The difference in thinking between men and women was clear – Xia Xiaolan and Guan Hui’e were being preventive, while Zhou Cheng’s heart was pure, never considering those implications.
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t accept this.
Zhou Cheng knew that if he didn’t handle this well, his sweetheart wasn’t joking – her talk about discussing things later was clearly about breaking up.