Zhou Yan was instantly taken aback, turning his head to look at her, then at her hands tightly clutching his arm. His calm heart once again gave a violent thump.
Everyone looked at Jiang Zhixue and nodded in agreement.
"Jiang Zhixue, have you gone mad!" Han Ling completely lost his composure.
Pointing at Zhou Yan, he said, "Look at him. Everything he's wearing was given to him out of pity."
"The suit jacket was given by someone else, the trousers were also someone else's castoffs."
Previously, Jiang Zhixue had complained to him, sharing all these trivial and unpleasant details with Han Ling.
"So what," Jiang Zhixue stood in front of Zhou Yan, speaking righteously, "Even if they were given by others, even the worst ones, he still looks the best in them."
"Zhou Yan is taller than you, more handsome than you, and has longer legs. I think you're just jealous of him."
Zhou Yan frowned again.
Back when she was pursuing him, to win his heart, she had showered him with sweet words:
"Husband, you're so handsome!"
"Husband, you're amazing!"
"…"
But none of it felt as sincere and firm as now.
"Me? Jealous of him?" Han Ling pointed at himself, wearing an expression of disbelief.
"Han Ling, people gave Zhou Yan clothes to help him during his difficult times. It was an act of great kindness."
"Encountering such kind and helpful people is a blessing for us as a couple. We are both very grateful to them."
Zhou Yan's suit jacket was given by Brother Wang, who drove ride-hailing cars with him.
Driving for ride-hailing services required wearing a uniform—a strict rule.
The trousers were given by another tall man who, seeing he had nothing to wear, gave him a pair he had intended to wear himself.
That was how he ended up with the suit he was wearing now.
In the past, Jiang Zhixue had seen this as a shameful matter, scolding Zhou Yan and saying he had no dignity for wearing other people's discarded clothes.
But now, she was not the original owner.
Zhou Yan's heart trembled again, his eyes flickering with surprise.
This Jiang Zhixue had been acting differently since last night.
A certain cold, hard part of him suddenly softened.
Everyone watching the couple felt moved and nodded in agreement.
Living at the bottom of society, they often faced difficulties. A helping hand was like receiving charcoal in snowy weather.
They didn't expect anything in return, but encountering someone who appreciated kindness was still a joyful thing.
"And you?" Jiang Zhixue questioned Han Ling, "If one day you were in Zhou Yan's situation, would anyone extend a helping hand to you?"
Han Ling's face stiffened. In his social circle, if he were to go bankrupt with a billion in debt, all he could imagine was people kicking him while he was down or taking advantage of his misfortune.
But that wasn't the point.
He glared at Jiang Zhixue and said viciously, "Jiang Zhixue, open your eyes. Zhou Yan owes a billion in debt. With his background, he'll spend his whole life trapped in this filthy gutter, living like a rat."
"Are you sure this is the life you want?"
Jiang Zhixue's face turned cold as well, her attitude resolute. "Han Ling, Zhou Yan and I are husband and wife. I understand our situation better than you do."
"And how do you know that rats in the gutter aren't happy and content?"
Jiang Zhixue didn't have an answer herself.
In her previous life, she had climbed to the upper echelons, earning millions a year, yet she still hadn't been happy or content.
And in this world, there are so many people at the bottom. She saw smiles on their faces, watched them work hard from dawn to dusk, generation after generation, thriving endlessly.
Everyone sees the same blue sky and breathes the same air.
Who dares say their lives are meaningless?
That they’ve never experienced happiness?
Zhou Yan was once again shocked in his heart, never expecting Jiang Zhixue to harbor such thoughts.
Everyone nodded in agreement, supporting Jiang Zhixue’s perspective.
A few kind-hearted elderly women also offered encouragement:
"Young lady, you’re right. As long as people are healthy and alive, that’s happiness."
"You’re still so young. There’s always hope for the future."
"Even at the worst, you won’t go hungry."
"Work hard, live well, and good days will come eventually."
"…"
Jiang Zhixue bowed gratefully to everyone. "I understand. Thank you all."
She then turned to Han Ling. "Han Ling, you can get lost now."
"Jiang Zhixue!" Han Ling shouted angrily. "You were the one who seduced me first."
"Don’t forget, for the past three months, you’ve been living in the apartment I rented for you."
"You still owe me three months’ rent. Charging you thirty thousand is already cheap."
The place he had rented for Jiang Zhixue was a two-bedroom apartment with a monthly rent of nearly ten thousand.
"And during this time, you’ve been enjoying fine food and drinks with me, riding in my car, attending banquets, bars, and parties with me—each easily costing over a hundred thousand."
"If you want to cut ties with me, give me the hundred thousand first."
Seeing that she wouldn’t yield to either soft or hard tactics, Han Ling went straight for the jugular.
Jiang Zhixue and Zhou Yan were poorer than ghosts. They couldn’t even come up with ten thousand, let alone a hundred thousand.
Since that was the case, he wouldn’t hold back.
Upon hearing this, the onlookers’ gazes toward Jiang Zhixue shifted.
Jiang Zhixue knew what everyone was thinking. She straightened her back and faced Han Ling without flinching.
"Han Ling, it was clearly you who took advantage of me when my husband went bankrupt. I couldn’t handle the blow, lost my mind, and you seduced me, setting a trap for me."
"You rented that apartment to separate me from my husband, drive a wedge between us, and persuade me to divorce him."
"You took me to all sorts of places, introduced me to your dubious friends, just to show me the extravagant lives of the wealthy, hoping to lure me into abandoning my husband and marrying a rich man."
"In reality, the ultimate goal was to use me to make my husband sell his kidney to you!"
Her final statement stunned everyone:
"What? They wanted his kidney? That’s like taking his life!"
"These rich people are truly wicked."
"And after all that, they still dare to demand money?"
"What a scoundrel! Get lost!"
"…" The crowd was ready to drive Han Ling away.
Zhou Yan also stared at Jiang Zhixue in shock. What she said made sense.
But he was absolutely certain that it was Jiang Zhixue herself who had insisted on clinging to Han Ling, wanting to enter his circle of wealthy heirs and find another rich husband.
Yet, Jiang Zhixue’s demeanor now didn’t seem fake.
He couldn’t quite tell what was true anymore.
But since she was acting this way now, he absolutely couldn’t let Han Ling harass her any further.
He stepped in front of her, shielding her, and warned Han Ling, "Han Ling, stop bothering my wife, or don’t blame me for being ruthless. Those with nothing to lose fear nothing."
He knew how easy it was for those with wealth and power to deal with people like him—those at the bottom with nothing to lose.
But Zhou Yan still had his life.
If it ever came to that, he would make sure his enemies went to hell first.