"I misunderstood you, my dear wife. You did the right thing. You've had a tough time while I was away!"

Zhao Kun quickly changed his tune, the gloom on his face instantly dissipating and replaced by a smile.

Although daughters are considered a money pit, costing hundreds of thousands, if one can win over the father-in-law through a daughter, not only will one not lose money, but one will actually make a fortune.

It was his lack of consideration that made him less thoughtful than Zhou Ling in this respect.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

suddenly,

Zhao Kun noticed that Zhou Ling's eyes were red.

"Brother Kun, do you know how I spent the days when Xiaoya was sick?"

"When I learned that my daughter needed hundreds of thousands of yuan for surgery, I felt like the sky was falling..."

Thinking of the grievances she had suffered, Zhou Ling wanted to vent them all on Zhao Kun, who had just been released from prison.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kun immediately looked ashamed.

He could foresee how difficult things must have been for Zhou Ling at that time, especially since she was a woman raising a child alone in a big city like Beijing.

“Xiaoling, tell me what happened during this time? I, Zhao Kun, swear I will make it all up to you.”

Zhao Kun looked very serious.

Zhou Ling grabbed Zhao Kun's hand as he swore an oath and recounted everything that had happened after she saw him last time.

From being gossiped about and ridiculed in the rented neighborhood, to losing tens of thousands of yuan by hoarding milk with Zhou Chuan, to being mocked when Zhao Xiaoya fell ill and had to beg Zhou Chen for money, and then being kidnapped and nearly starving to death, etc.

After hearing all this, Zhao Kun truly hadn't expected Zhou Ling to have gone through so much.

"Honey, don't worry. Now that I'm back, if any of the neighbors dare to gossip about you again, I'll be the first to teach them a lesson."

“Those kidnappers have also received their due punishment; otherwise, I would have paid them tenfold.”

"And then there's Zhou Chen, that cold-blooded bastard. You've already humbled yourself so much, and he still belittles you. It's outrageous! He's just relying on his money. Now that your dad is a big boss, let him deal with him and avenge you. My father-in-law definitely won't stand by and watch his daughter be bullied."

Zhao Kun patted Zhou Ling on the shoulder to comfort her.

Zhou Ling felt much better.

After a while,

Zhao Kun wiped Zhou Ling's eyes, then realized he had overlooked someone: her sister-in-law, Zhou Na.

He immediately asked why he hadn't asked Zhou Na for help.

When the matter was brought up, Zhou Ling handed Zhao Xiaoya over to Zhou Na to take care of and asked Zhou Na to help her think of a solution.

Upon hearing that Zhou Na had spent the donations from netizens on herself instead of using them for her daughter Zhao Xiaoya, and that she had also severed ties with Zhou Ling, Zhao Kun was furious.

"Is Zhou Na even human? She's spending my daughter's money!"

"That's too much, even more outrageous than Zhou Chen."

“Even if it was wrong of you, wife, to leave Xiaoya with her, it was a last resort, a way out of desperation. But Zhou Na spent the money that others donated on herself. Wife, I have to talk to her about this. We can’t let it go like this. We have to get all the money that others donated back.”

Zhao Kun said bitterly.

“She won’t admit it. We have no evidence at all. She’ll refute us with all sorts of excuses. I’ve already made up my mind. I don’t want the money. For the sake of our past sisterhood, I can let it go.” Zhou Ling shook her head and pulled Zhao Kun’s arm.

Zhao Kun looked displeased and somewhat angry at his son's lack of self-confidence. He said, "You're just too kind. You treat her like an older sister, but has she ever treated you like a younger sister? The donations she gave to Xiaoya for her medical treatment—just for that reason alone, I will always look down on her."

The two chatted all the way.

Zhao Kun asked Zhou Ling in detail about her life over the past six months.

Zhou Ling didn't hide anything, including telling Zhao Kun about how she had called Old Mrs. Zhao for help when Zhao Xiaoya was sick.

Zhao Kun naturally couldn't say much about his mother; he could only verbally criticize her a few times before comforting Zhou Ling.

"Brother Kun, are you doing well in prison?"

“I know it’s definitely not as good as outside. Were you bullied in there? My fourth brother told me that prison is ten times harder to endure than detention center.”

Faced with Zhou Ling's concern and curiosity, Zhao Kun's expression changed slightly at first, but then it was covered by a fake smile. He said in a relaxed tone, "What you heard is all fake. In prison, no one dares to bully anyone. Besides, don't you know your man? When have I, Zhao Kun, ever been bullied? I'm always the one who bullies others."

"Really?" Zhou Ling looked up, somewhat surprised.

Zhao Kun coughed and said, "Of course." Then, he immediately ended the topic, showing a hint of impatience, "Alright, let's not talk about those dirty things in prison. I don't want to mention them. Just thinking about going to prison makes me angry. If it weren't for Zhou Chen, I wouldn't be suffering in prison. It's all his fault."

"Zhou Chen deserves to die. He should be sent to jail for ten or eight years, no, he should be jailed for life, die inside, and never come out."

Zhou Ling immediately echoed, still harboring a deep-seated hatred for Zhou Chen.

In the hearts of the couple, Zhou Chen was a thorn in their side. They both wanted to remove it, break it, and stomp on it to vent their hatred.

By the time the car arrived at the hospital in Yanjing where Zhao Xiaoya was, it was already dark.

Although Zhao Kun didn't particularly like his daughter Zhao Xiaoya, she was still his flesh and blood, and since he hadn't seen her for a long time, he decided to visit her first.

but,

After staying in the hospital for a short time, Zhao Kun and Zhou Ling handed Zhao Xiaoya over to the caregiver again and left the hospital.

Instead of returning to their rented apartment, the two booked a room at a chain hotel near the hospital.

"Brother Kun, I miss you so much."

Zhou Ling took a shower, came out of the bathroom, and sat down in front of Zhao Kun, her eyes alluring and her passion fiery.

As a man, Zhao Kun naturally knew what Zhou Ling meant; the two hadn't been together for a very long time.

"Xiaoling, I miss you too."

Responding to Zhou Ling's enthusiasm, Zhao Kun took the initiative to kiss her.

Two minutes later,

"Brother Kun, it's okay, it's not your fault. It's just because we haven't been together for too long."

"Don't worry about it, I believe you'll be fine."

Zhou Ling nestled in Zhao Kun's arms, offering words of comfort.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoling, I must be too tired. Next time, I will definitely make you satisfied."

As Zhao Kun spoke, he was inwardly filled with deep self-doubt.

Why was he so uninterested?

He and Zhou Ling had been separated for more than half a year. Shouldn't they be like newlyweds?

What exactly happened?!

Could it be that he is sick?

...