An'an and Nuannuan nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, you have good taste. Dad is the best."

Bi Qiaoan thought the three of them were so narcissistic it was unbearable to look at, but she still had to flatter them: "Alright then, dinner tonight will be handled by our Chef Shen."

Shen Yanming smiled smugly: "Alright, I'll definitely feed you three to your hearts' content." He then gave Bi Qiaoan a meaningful look.

Bi Qiaoan: "..." She felt a cold wind blow by.

Those searching for ingredients nearby smiled at the sight. This family of four was truly enviable.

For the next few days, the couple repeated the same routine every day. An'an and Nuannuan went from being curious to getting used to it.

That day, the couple carried a basket that barely covered the bottom of the basket home. Upon arriving at the guard post, they saw a group of people registering.

Shen Yanming found a familiar guard and asked, "What's going on?"

The guard didn't hide anything: "They all came back from other places."

"Huh?" Shen Yanming didn't understand.

The guard gestured with his eyes: "We couldn't get back in time last year, so we just joined a guard team after it got cold. Now that it's warmer and we can walk again, we've all come back."

Shen Yanming nodded, finding it quite normal. After all, when he returned last year, the temperature dropped after only two weeks.

Shen Yanming asked, "Are there many people?"

The guard nodded: "Two or three thousand people have returned in the last two days, two groups just today. You all go out early and come back early every day, so we haven't run into them."

After the security guard gave the family of four a quick registration, he let them go home. Since their identity information was already entered into the system, any in-and-out visits were just a simple check.

Shen Yanming and Bi Qiaoan didn't take the matter to heart. However, when they passed through Area C, they saw a woman scratching a patrolman, surrounded by a group of onlookers.

"Ji Kangyong, do you have a heart? You actually abandoned your girlfriend for a married woman! You made me wander outside for a whole year, suffering all kinds of humiliation, before I finally returned to Haishi. And you, on the other hand, have a respectable job and no worries about food and drink. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

The couple originally didn't want to get involved, but upon hearing a familiar name, they both stopped in their tracks.

"That's right. My daughter gave her youth to you and is still unmarried. If you don't give me an explanation, I'll go to the leaders of the guard team to settle this matter."

"Oh, my poor daughter! She waited for him from her early twenties until she was almost thirty, only to have him run off with another woman. If it weren't for that, my daughter wouldn't be so thin, just skin and bones." And she's being targeted by people with ill intentions.

"Ha, aren't you supposed to be protecting her, loving her, and willing to risk your life for her? Ji Kangyong, has she taken you into her harem? If her husband knew about your filthy thoughts, wouldn't he feel disgusted?"

Li Yueya curled her lips into a mocking smile, relentlessly smearing Ji Kangyong. She didn't dare name names, because many things couldn't be investigated.

Today's commotion was quite a coincidence.

After overcoming countless hardships, they finally returned to Hai City. But seeing the dilapidated houses, they felt a sense of disappointment. The guards didn't have any good jobs either; the rest were doing tiring, arduous work for little credit.

Having experienced the harsh realities of life, Li Yueya no longer wanted to be subservient to others. Just as she was scratching her head in frustration, she spotted a familiar figure among the patrol team.

She acted decisively, deciding to distort the truth and pin the blame on Ji Kangyong. After all, her experiences over the past year had made her accustomed to shameless behavior. What did it matter if she used any means necessary to achieve her goal?

Ji Kangyong was so angry that his face turned red. Feeling everyone's disdainful gazes, he had an urge to tear off the other person's mask. But when he thought about how Li Yueya had become like this, and how it was somehow related to him, he couldn't bear it.

Ji Kangyong took a deep breath, stared straight into Li Yueya's eyes, and asked, "Do you really want to do this?"

Li Yueya's heart skipped a beat, but she still tried to sound tough and said, "Who are you threatening? We both know the truth."

"Yes, I know exactly what's going on, but you might not. Li Yueya, for the sake of our acquaintance, I advise you to restrain yourself. Otherwise, if things get out of hand, it's hard to say who will look bad."

Li Yueya's eyelids twitched, a bad premonition rising in her heart, yet she refused to believe it. She looked at the still tall and upright man before her, as if the disaster had never left a mark on him. And she, she had long since become wretched.

She wanted to destroy the relationship and make him take responsibility.

"Why? Why can you all live well while I have to go through that? If it weren't for Bi Qiaoan, you would have saved me. Then I wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of stinky men."

Li Yueya felt a surge of anger and resentment, and her eyes reddened. A single tear unexpectedly slid down her cheek, startling Ji Kangyong.

What exactly do you want?

Marry me!

"That's right, my daughter isn't someone you can play around with. She's suffered so much, you have to marry her!"

"Yes, marry her, marry her!"

Those around him, believing they had stumbled upon the truth, began to jeer and jeer. Even Ji Kangyong's team leader hesitated whether to report the matter.

Upon hearing this, Bi Qiaoan couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to step forward to clarify.

To be honest, it's heartbreaking. I never imagined things would turn out this way. If I had known, I wouldn't have told Ji Kangyong about Li Yueya's feelings in the first place.

Bi Qiaoan took a step forward, about to speak, when Shen Yanming pulled her back, gesturing for her to look to the side.

In the crowd, there was a woman even more disheveled than Li Yueya, her fists clenched, her face contorted with rage.

"I......"

Just as Ji Kangyong was about to explain the previous misunderstanding, a woman covered in wounds blocked his way. She moved so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

"That's enough, Li Yueya. I didn't expect that after half a year, you would still be as sarcastic as ever. What, you're so happy to smear others, and you're so adept at hiding the truth."

"Qin Yiren, what's it to you? Why are you causing trouble!" Li Yueya was furious.

Just when Ji Kangyong was about to give in, a shrew suddenly appeared, making her want to tear him to pieces.

But with onlookers watching, she had to pretend to be weak and vulnerable. It was really frustrating.

"I can't stand you, and I'm causing you trouble. Is that reason enough?" Qin Yiren snorted coldly. "Stop pretending to be a weak and innocent little flower. You've probably tricked countless people along the way."

Ji Kangyong's eyes flickered, and his gaze towards Li Yueya became clearly strange. He had sensed she had changed earlier, assuming it was because she had suffered too much on the journey and was being unreasonable. He hadn't expected...

Perhaps, I've never truly known her.

"You're lying, I didn't, I..."

Li Yueya held back her tears, giving the illusion that she had been bullied but remained resilient. Although she was a bit thin, she was quite beautiful.