Upon reaching the deep sea, Xiaoli quickly jumped into the water and didn't come out for a long time.

Du Sheng sat quietly in the boat and waited. Ten minutes passed, then twenty minutes, but Xiao Li still didn't show her face.

Du Sheng suddenly panicked.

"Li, where are you? Come out quickly, don't scare me."

Xiao Li quietly came up behind him, then suddenly popped out from behind him and splashed him with water.

"Come on down, everyone in our fishing village knows how to swim."

Xiao Li said provocatively.

Du Sheng can swim, but he's only good at the doggy paddle.

"I'm not going down. It's too deep here. I'm afraid there are sharks."

While swimming swiftly in the water, Xiao Li didn't forget to tease him.

"Tell me if you can't do it. You're such a coward, yet you dare to come to our fishing village."

Du Sheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Li, you are actually that mermaid, aren't you?"

Xiao Li stopped abruptly and swam menacingly toward Du Sheng.

"Now that you know, you won't be leaving here alive today."

Du Sheng chuckled. "I don't believe you would do that. You must be a goddess sent from heaven to protect this sea area."

Xiao Li put away her fierce expression and showed a surprised expression.

"Huh, you guessed that?"

Du Sheng put away his smile and said seriously.

"Li, I'm serious. I really want to be with you."

Xiao Li thought for a moment, then circled around Du Sheng several times.

“You know I won’t leave the fishing village.”

Du Sheng nodded vigorously, "I know, Zhou Jin already told me."

I was discharged from the army due to injury, and it was because of you that I came to this fishing village. From now on, this will be my home.

Du Sheng wiped the water off his face and continued.

"I am an orphan. Wherever you are, that is my home."

Xiao Li was almost moved by him. "Do you know that if you marry me, you have to become an adopted son-in-law of the Zhen family?"

Du Shengfei quickly agreed, "I wish Uncle and Aunt could be my parents."

"I won't have children in the future, can you accept that?"

The original owner of this body was not destined to have children, not only because of her arrival and the cultivation techniques she learned, but also because she was not destined to have offspring.

Du Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "I actually really hate kids. They cry all the time, it's so annoying."

Xiao Li saw that he was being hypocritical, but she didn't expose him.

"I hate being lied to the most, so you can't lie to me anymore. If I find out, I'll kill you."

"Of course, I would never lie to you."

Du Sheng realized what was happening, and he jumped around on the boat with great joy.

"You said yes? I'm so happy!"

Xiao Li reached out and pulled him into the water. Du Sheng flailed his limbs in panic, afraid of sinking to the bottom.

Xiao Li held his arm and helped him slowly adjust to the seawater.

They taught him many swimming techniques, and gradually Du Sheng swam better and better.

"Li, you are just like a mermaid, no! You are more beautiful than a mermaid, you are like an elf."

Xiao Li giggled, "I'm not a mermaid, nor an elf, I'm just a little fisherwoman from a fishing village."

The two put on their breathing gear and dived into the deep sea together. This time, Du Sheng truly witnessed Xiao Li's prowess.

Xiao Li was very familiar with the seabed and led him through it at will. The two of them seemed to have become fish, as if this was the place where they had always lived.

It allowed him to experience the wonderful world of the ocean.

This underwater trip brought the two of them much closer.

After returning home, their parents discovered the ambiguous relationship between them.

The two were delighted and quickly began making wedding arrangements.

Three months later, they held a grand wedding in the fishing village.

Friends sent their blessings and gifts. Du Sheng was very romantic and spent money to hire many people to pick flowers, and the whole fishing village was decorated anew.

Zhou Jin also came, which was rare for him, along with a large group of Du Sheng's former comrades-in-arms.

A gentle breeze and bright sunshine ripple the water, and boats carry songs across the clear blue surface.

The strong woman rowed the boat to welcome the bride, while the shy and charming bride walked away.

Even in this small fishing village, weddings have their own unique style.

Xiao Li witnessed the water show and singing contest. The whole process was more like a large-scale blind date than a wedding.

However, they were still the main characters, and in the end, they returned to the wedding scene.

★

Life after marriage was peaceful and serene, just like before, yet it also seemed as if everything had changed.

Du Sheng's injuries had long since healed. He was originally assigned to work in security at the fishing village, but he eventually reapplied.

Finally, the military assigned him to work in the maritime management office, mainly responsible for matters related to the sea area.

Xiao Li would go out to sea with him every day, resting on the boat when she was tired, and going home to rest every few days.

A few years later, Xiaoli adopted an orphan who had lost his family at birth; both his parents were martyrs.

Throughout her life, Xiao Li adopted eight children, all of whom were orphans of martyrs or orphans from fishing villages.

Du Sheng had no objections. He liked children and had made a prior agreement with Xiao Li that he had long been prepared to never have children in his life.

Now that there are so many more children, he truly loves and cares for them.

Since Du Sheng himself didn't seem to care, Zhen's parents were even less likely to have any objections.

Xiao Li saw her parents pass away and lived to the age of 80 before closing her eyes with Du Sheng.

(over)

Zhang Xiaoli and Zhao Yunyun are neighbors. Their families have lived side by side for decades. Not only have their two children grown up playing together, but their parents are also good friends. They have such a good relationship that they would share half of any meat or vegetable dish they have with each other.

The two families are very similar in many ways: family background, wealth, and social status are all quite ordinary.

However, both families' children were very promising and were admitted to Gaochuan University in the same city.

The two families held their banquets together, creating a lively and festive atmosphere, just like one big family.

But after starting university, everything changed.

First, rumors circulated in the neighborhood that Zhang Xiaoli had a boyfriend; later, rumors spread that she was vain, her grades were dropping, and she was being kept by a sugar daddy…

Mr. Zhang was extremely anxious. He called his daughter and even went to the school to find her, but he couldn't clear up the rumors.

Because of her parents' lack of understanding, Zhang Xiaoli became self-destructive and ended up actually getting together with a suitor named Tao Ze.

Tao Ze initially really liked Zhang Xiaoli, but later, when the rumors reached the school, he believed them too.

He assumed that Zhang Xiaoli was only with him because of his status as a rich second-generation, so the two broke up quickly.

In fact, Zhang Xiaoli had no idea that his family was wealthy; it was all caused by rumors.

Zhang Xiaoli didn't really like him at all, and continued living her life as usual after the breakup. This made him even more convinced of the rumors, and in his anger, he joined the ranks of those spreading them.

Now more people believed it, especially since the ex-boyfriend himself came forward to testify.

The rumors spread so quickly that the school had to intervene.