Gao Jiale takes after his father, having a square face, but his eyes and eyebrows resemble his mother's—single-lidded, with small, somewhat narrow eyes. His short hair stands on end like a hedgehog. To be honest, he's not particularly good-looking; just an average person.

He possessed a wild, unruly spirit typical of youth; what others might perceive as a reckless youth, he was labeled as a scoundrel because of his appearance. A scoundrel who doesn't care about consequences.

I can understand Xu Keke's youthful infatuation. Loving someone is hard to explain clearly; sometimes you can only pinpoint the initial attraction. Afterwards, it's difficult to articulate.

Just like Gao Jiale's relationship with Meng Dong, it seems that apart from the saying "women don't love men who aren't bad," Xu Keke can hardly find any other explanation.

Therefore, Meng Dong was determined to marry him. Even after she died with resentment, her wish was for Gao Jiale to fall in love with her.

This wasn't an additional task; it was Meng Dong's only request. Xu Keke didn't know how to refuse this task. She didn't think she could complete it. Love is love, and not loving is not loving. This cannot be forced.

She doesn't believe that feelings can be rationally controlled. She won't try to please others to gain their affection, nor is she blindly confident that others will fall in love with her once they get to know her. She understands her own personality well and isn't particularly likable.

It seemed that no one had ever loved her except for that person. Xu Keke looked up at Qi Chang.

Qi Chang mistakenly thought she wanted to ask for his opinion, and hurriedly said, "Your dad lives close to your school, so it won't work. Let Jiale talk to the teacher for you."

Xu Keke nodded obediently, "Gao Jiale, could you please tell our teacher for me?"

"Hmph! Pretentious politeness."

It's unclear what upset him again, but Gao Jiale turned around and kicked his brother Gao Jiaqing, saying, "Didn't you hear me tell you to go back?"

Although Gao Jiaqing was the youngest in the family, he had a better temperament than his brother. He was already used to his brother's attitude, and only glanced curiously into the Meng family's house. Being short, he couldn't see anything, so he followed his brother back to his own house.

Qi Chang followed Xu Keke and her sister to the stationery store on South Street. "Weren't we going to your dad's place? It's because we came out late."

When he came out just now, Qi Chang also asked someone to ask the factory for leave, thinking that he was the one who was delayed.

“No,” Xu Keke shook her head, “We don’t know where my dad lives. We used to ask him for money when we came to the store.”

Before they even entered the store, Xu Keke saw Meng Zikang leaning against the old-fashioned wooden counter, resting his chin on his hand, chatting and laughing with a female sales clerk.

The saleswoman saw them first. She slapped Meng Zikang and said something to him. Meng Zikang turned around, saw it was them, and his face immediately darkened. He turned and ran towards the second floor.

"Sister, Dad!" Meng Jia pointed inside with her little finger.

Qi Chang had never seen Meng Zikang before. He only looked over when he heard Meng Jia call out. But he only saw a man's back as he went upstairs.

Qi Chang suddenly understood why they had brought someone with them to find their father. This man, upon seeing his own child, didn't even ask what was wrong, and simply avoided him. No wonder Gao Cheng said he was a scoundrel. This was utterly despicable.

His purpose in coming here was to find someone, and since the person was hiding, he should have gone up and subdued them. Qi Chang looked at Xu Keke, only to see that she was calm and composed. She seemed to have been like this all morning.

Qi Chang hadn't spoken much to this girl, but her behavior today made him sigh, "Children from poor families mature early."

"Should I go after them?" Unable to resist, Qi Chang dutifully asked.

Xu Keke shook her head. "No need. Why chase after them? They can't escape their fate."

The saleswoman behind the counter stopped them when she saw them trying to go upstairs, saying, "The upstairs is the office; you can't go up there."

Seeing that they weren't listening, she simply lifted the counter panel, walked out, and blocked their way.

This woman was of average looks, but prettier than the one Meng Zikang later found. Xu Keke looked at her expressionlessly. The woman stood with her hands on her hips, having just been laughing heartily, but now her face was as black as ink. If one didn't know that she ultimately didn't stay with Meng Zikang, her attitude would easily lead people to misunderstand that she and Meng Zikang had something going on.

"What's going on? Can't you hear me? The offices are upstairs; you can't go up there."

“I’m looking for Meng Zikang, he’s my dad.”

"It won't work no matter who you ask. The higher-ups are offices. Go find your dad at home."

Qi Chang tried to pull the people away, but Xu Keke stopped him. Anyway, there were some things she needed to say.

"My mother hanged herself."

Xu Keke spoke without any emotional fluctuation. After the woman understood, she felt her body tremble and stared at Xu Keke, speechless for a long time.

Xu Keke's voice wasn't loud, but the store had just opened and there were no customers yet. The sales clerks behind the counters nearby all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them.

"I've come to inform Meng Zikang that my mother hanged herself last night. She's still in bed at home," Xu Keke said calmly again.

Her quiet demeanor only made people feel sorry for her. A middle-aged woman standing right next to the counter suddenly spoke up, "Chen Meng, let them go upstairs. These two children are pitiful enough."

Having said what needed to be said, Xu Keke led the way, and the three of them went upstairs past the stunned Chen Meng.

The first office had a sign that read "Accounting Office" written in calligraphy. The door was tightly shut, and Xu Keke tried to open it for a long time but couldn't. The door must have been locked from the inside.

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