“Xia Jianye, does Xia Yiyi really look like your biological daughter?” Xia Wanqing suddenly asked.
“How would you kno—” Xia Jianye jerked his head up, panic flashing across his face as his eyes darted away. “Living together, it’s normal to look alike, right?”
“Heh.” Xia Wanqing laughed in anger.
A nameless fire surged in her chest, her eyes burning. After all these years, it was impossible not to feel wronged.
She patted her chest to steady herself and silently vowed, Don’t worry. I’ll definitely avenge you.
She had thought Zhou Huiping got together with that scumbag father of hers while caring for him as a nurse. She never imagined their child was even older than she was.
This had been a carefully planned scheme to devour the family fortune. If her maternal grandfather hadn’t been cautious, Xia Wanqing would have died long ago.
When Xia Wanqing was three, her maternal grandfather fell gravely ill. A few days later, her father took her to a temple fair, where she got lost. By chance, Gu Huaichuan found her. The Gu family searched for a long time before finally connecting with her uncle, who had been looking for her.
Because of this incident, her grandfather’s condition worsened. On his deathbed, he arranged an engagement with the Gu family.
Their home was in East City, which also had temple fairs. Why would that scumbag father go all the way to West City?
Xia Wanqing’s gaze flickered as she instantly pieced everything together.
After losing Xia Wanqing, that scumbag father thought he could seize the house, only to discover there was a will attached to it. With no choice, he had to find her and bring her back.
Back then, her uncle didn’t want to let her go, but the scumbag father tricked Xia Wanqing into returning, and her uncles had no choice but to let her leave.
Watching the house but unable to get it, the scumbag father was furious. Her stepmother’s abuse had been done with his tacit approval.
Aside from this house, a lot of other assets had also been swallowed by him.
Xia Wanqing didn’t want to leave them a single cent. The problem was, she didn’t know where Xia Jianye had hidden the assets. She needed to figure that out first before making her next move.
Once she got the assets back, she would definitely make that scumbag man and vile woman pay a painful price!
“Xia Jianye, transferring the house to my name isn’t impossible.”
Hearing that there was hope, Xia Jianye ignored her blatant disrespect in calling him by name. His eyes lit up. “Then we’ll go transfer it tomorrow.”
“Give me fifty thousand yuan.”
“Where would I get that much money?” Xia Jianye’s face changed instantly.
“There’s nothing in the countryside. I need to buy supplies. So many people are going to the Northwest now. I’m afraid of the cold in winter, so I need to buy a large amount of coal. Otherwise, I won’t survive the winter. If you’re unwilling, forget it. Dying in this house wouldn’t be a loss for me.”
“Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense about dying? Bad luck!” If she died, the house would be donated. That was a huge sum of money—he wouldn’t allow that.
After hesitating for a moment, Xia Jianye gritted his teeth. “Going to the Northwest doesn’t cost that much. How about this—ten thousand, okay?”
“Ten thousand? Who are you trying to fool? You spend more than that in a year on your mistress.”
“Now’s not the time to talk about that.” A flash of embarrassment crossed Xia Jianye’s face. “That amount is too much. I can’t scrape it together in such a short time. Transfer the house first, then we’ll talk.”
“I don’t care. Worst case, I die.” Xia Wanqing shrugged indifferently.
“All right, all right. Dad doesn’t have enough money right now. Can it be less—fifty thousand?”
“Sixty thousand!”
“It was fifty thousand just now—why did it go up?” Xia Jianye waved his hands anxiously.
“Seventy thousand!”
“Fine, fine—fifty thousand! Don’t add any more!” Xia Jianye was sweating profusely.
Xia Wanqing said casually, “Two days.”
“Okay, okay, okay!” Xia Jianye rushed downstairs impatiently. After taking a step, he suddenly stopped.
Wait. How did he end up being led around by the nose by a little girl?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Xia Jianye turned around abruptly, wanting to reclaim some fatherly dignity—only for the door to slam shut with a bang. His nose stung, and tears immediately welled up.
He stomped his feet in anger. “Xia Wanqing! Ouch!”
He stumbled, twisting his ankle. Xia Jianye bared his teeth in pain.
The door opened. Xia Wanqing looked at him with cold eyes. “I thought about it. I think it’s better if I cut ties with the family.”
Xia Jianye’s eyes lit up. Limping, he hurried to the study, grabbed paper and pen, and wrote a letter severing ties. He eagerly signed his name and pressed his fingerprint.
Xia Wanqing added her name, lifted the paper, and blew on it lightly. “Remember to gather the money.”
Xia Jianye hit his nose again. Clutching it, he took a long time to recover, but didn’t dare get angry. Dragging his swollen, egg-sized ankle, he limped downstairs, thinking about how to raise the money.
The house finally fell quiet. Xia Wanqing took a deep breath.
“Grr—” Her stomach growled.
In an instant, all her strength drained away. She could barely stand and slid down along the wall to sit on the floor.
She’d been so focused on the money that she forgot to eat.
This body was in even worse condition than when she was in the apocalypse.
“What’s that smell?” A fragrant aroma drifted over. Xia Wanqing couldn’t help sniffing.
Look at that—she was so hungry she was hallucinating.
No—this wasn’t a hallucination.
She looked toward the source of the scent. One hand grabbed the balcony railing; muscles tensed as he pulled himself up. A figure vaulted onto the balcony, broad shoulders and a narrow waist coming into view.
The man strode into the room. The balcony light shone from behind him as he walked against it, making his tall figure appear even more striking—especially those long legs, longer than her life itself.
“Hungry?” Gu Huaichuan’s voice was magnetic as he pulled out a package and handed it to her.
A sweet fragrance wafted up. Xia Wanqing swallowed unconsciously.
The oil paper was still warm. When she opened it, she saw amber-colored chestnut cakes. One bite filled her mouth with rich sweetness.
But the cakes were too dry. By the third one, she choked.
A military-green canteen was held out before her. Gu Huaichuan’s voice was low. “It’s clean.”
She took it and gulped it down. Gulp, gulp—it was warm brown sugar ginger tea. She hadn’t expected him to be so thoughtful.
Watching her wolf down the food, his eyes filled with heartache.
Once a delicate young lady—what had she gone through to eat like she was fighting for food?
His fist clenched at his side. It was his fault. If he hadn’t scared her before, he could have protected her sooner.
Just as she reached for another chestnut cake, the package was taken from her arms.
“You haven’t eaten in a long time.”
Xia Wanqing pouted sadly and looked up at him. Her stomach was still empty.
But she knew Gu Huaichuan meant well.
After long-term starvation, overeating could easily cause digestive problems, drastic blood sugar fluctuations, or electrolyte imbalances—serious cases could even be fatal.
Once she had money, she could eat whatever she wanted. There was no need to rush.
“Why are you here? Why didn’t you come through the door?”
Her fox-like eyes blinked innocently, peach-pink lips glistening, making one want to pull her into an embrace and protect her.
Gu Huaichuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He looked away, hiding the desire in his eyes, his face betraying no emotion. “About that matter—you still have a chance to back out.”
On the way here, he’d run into Gu Xing.
Gu Xing had been touching his lips, unable to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth. When he saw Gu Huaichuan, he quickly dropped his hand. After hesitating, he spoke slowly.
“Fourth Brother, I know you value your promises, but Xia Wanqing isn’t suitable for you. She doesn’t even acknowledge this engagement herself. Otherwise, why don’t you—”
Feeling Gu Huaichuan’s murderous gaze, Gu Xing’s neck went cold. The rest of his words died on the spot.
Fourth Brother was always rigid and traditional. This wasn’t the old society anymore, and Xia Wanqing herself was unwilling. Why insist on honoring the engagement?
Seeing Gu Huaichuan’s face dark enough to drip ink, Gu Xing found an excuse and left.
Only after walking far away did he dare mutter, “I’m doing this for your own good. Xia Wanqing bullied Yiyi out of jealousy because of me. If she really married into the Gu family, the household would be in chaos.”
Gu Huaichuan’s fist clenched tighter, fingernails digging deep into his palm. The sharp pain slowly brought his mind back to clarity.
Wanwan had used him to get close to Gu Xing, not anyone else—meaning he was better than the others.
As long as he cooperated with Wanwan, that was enough. He remembered what she’d said: “Huaichuan, remember to come find me…”
All these years, he replayed that sentence every night. He had always remembered. He had never forgotten.
Xia Wanqing blinked and tilted her head. “Do you regret it?”
“I’m afraid you’ll regret it.” Gu Huaichuan forgot to breathe, looking at her with anxious eyes.
“I won’t regret it,” Xia Wanqing said honestly. She never regretted her decisions.
Gu Huaichuan quietly let out a breath. He took a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket. “The army has already approved my marriage application.”
Xia Wanqing took it. It was a traditional-character “Marriage Application Form.” Beneath it read: We voluntarily become husband and wife, in accordance with the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China. We hereby request approval and issuance of a marriage certificate.
Gu Huaichuan had already filled in his name. “I’ll go get a pen.” Before he finished speaking, a fountain pen and ink pad appeared before her. Xia Wanqing took the pen, signed her name, and pressed her fingerprint.
“I might not have time tomorrow. Is it okay if we go get the certificate the day after?”
“That’s fine. Get some rest. I’ll go now.” After saying this, Gu Huaichuan took a few quick steps to the window. With a light push of his toes, he leapt down cleanly.
After landing, he looked up at the lit third floor, lips pressed into a thin line.
He wished he could drag Wanwan straight to the civil affairs office—but if she found out, she’d probably be scared.
Looking down at the application form in his hands, his brows and eyes were filled with tenderness. His and Wanwan’s names—together on the same piece of paper.
Xia Wanqing: “…”
A man like Uncle Long.
But—so full of strength.
With food in her stomach, fatigue washed over Xia Wanqing.
She stretched lazily and suddenly felt weight on her wrist. She looked down, eyes lighting up.
A jade bracelet in the shape of green bamboo was resting on her wrist.
Had the bracelet come through with her too?