Zhou Xiaoye stood up in disbelief and tentatively asked, "Brother Weidong, is...is it you?"

"It's me."

Li Weidong's clear and gentle voice came through the crack in the door: "Open the door, and I assure you, this matter has been resolved."

Zhou Xiaoye's panicked and desperate heart miraculously calmed down when he heard this voice.

She shakily opened the door a crack.

Li Xiaoli pushed the door open and hugged her tightly: "Xiaoye, it's okay! It's really okay!"

"Do you know how scared I was! Thank goodness I'm alright, and thank goodness my brother is capable!"

This silly girl was crying her eyes out; anyone who didn't know better would think she was the one being forced into marriage!

Zhou Xiaoye was still holding the scissors in his hand when she was suddenly embraced by her, her eyes blurry with tears as she looked up.

They met Li Weidong's concerned eyes.

At that moment, overwhelmed with grievances, Zhou Xiaoye dropped the scissors in his hand and burst into tears while hugging Li Xiaoli.

Zhou's mother was worried that if she kept crying like this, she would annoy Li Weidong and make him want to break off the engagement again, so she came over to try to pull her away.

Li Weidong stopped her, saying, "Let her cry!"

During this time, Zhou Xiaoye was confined at home and told that not only could she not continue her studies, but she would also be forced to marry an old widower. She must have felt extremely fearful, even desperate.

With so many things bottled up inside, now that she finally has a chance to vent, let her have a good cry!

Mrs. Zhou said awkwardly, "Alright, as long as you don't find it troublesome, son-in-law."

Li Weidong didn't want to see the Zhou family, so he simply said, "I want to be alone with Xiaoye for a while. You all go out and see the guests off. We'll be inviting everyone to the engagement banquet later!"

The Zhou family members dared not say anything more and hurriedly left.

Li Weidong stood to the side, watching Zhou Xiaoye and Li Xiaoli freely vent their unease, and couldn't help but sigh.

These days, it's really too harsh on women!

fine.

Fortunately, I have a chance to start over and make up for the regrets of my past life...

Zhou Xiaoye cried her heart out, but when she came to her senses, she remembered that Li Weidong was still there, and she immediately felt embarrassed.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she wiped away her tears, saying, "Xiaoli, Brother Weidong, thank you..."

"Hey, why are you saying all this!"

Li Xiaoli said nonchalantly, "Aren't we good friends? We promised to go to university together, how can I just watch you get married!"

"Xiao Ye, let me tell you, I told my brother a few days ago to find a way to save you, but he's been so slow and unhurried. This morning he still hasn't said what he's planning, which is driving me crazy!"

This girl, once she starts talking, she just can't stop.

Li Weidong sighed: "Alright, Lili, you can go out first. I have something to say to Xiaoye."

Li Xiaoli instinctively wanted to refute, but then she suddenly remembered the engagement, hesitated for a moment, and obediently went out.

Once she left, only Li Weidong and Zhou Xiaoye remained in the room.

The bedroom, converted from a storage room, was already small. After placing a bed and piling up various odds and ends, there wasn't much space left.

Li Weidong was tall, and when he stood in the room, it made the room seem even more cramped.

Zhou Xiaoye blushed unconsciously as she smelled the unique masculine scent in the air.

This was the first time she had ever been alone with a man!

And the other party was Brother Wei Dong...

Zhou Xiaoye secretly glanced at Li Weidong.

Just then, Li Weidong also looked over.

Zhou Xiaoye blushed even more, and hurriedly lowered her eyes, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes so tightly they almost tore them to shreds.

Li Weidong was amused by her appearance and shook his head, saying, "Don't be nervous, I'm not going to eat you."

Then she added, "When you came to my house before, we stayed together, didn't we? What are you afraid of?"

Zhou Xiaoye lowered her head, gave a soft "hmm," and then asked with some curiosity, "Brother Weidong, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Li Weidong hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Actually, even if I lied to you, you still have to get married."

"ah?!"

Zhou Xiaoye suddenly looked up, her wide eyes filled with fear and despair, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Seeing her like this, Li Weidong felt sorry for her and quickly said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Although you still have to get married, you don't have to marry Zhang the Cripple."

"Then marrying someone else, isn't it the same thing?"

Zhou Xiaoye said with a sob in her voice, "I'm still young, I'm only sixteen years old this year. I want to study, I don't want to get married! Brother Weidong, please help me!"

Li Weidong sighed: "How can marrying someone else be the same as marrying me?"

If you marry someone else, you will inevitably be stuck in the mundane details of daily life, like cooking and household chores.

There's even a possibility that, like in her previous life, she'll be driven to despair by a brutal man and a hopeless existence.

Marrying him would not only allow her to continue her studies, but also, if Zhou Xiaoye wanted freedom in the future, he would not hesitate to let her leave and pursue the life she wanted!

Zhou Xiaoye's eyes widened in disbelief: "Brother Weidong, what... what did you say? Marry whom?"

She doubted her ears.

You must have misheard!

How could someone as capable as Brother Weidong marry such a useless country girl like her?

Looking into her round eyes, Li Weidong couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair: "Marry me!"

Zhou Xiaoye's face instantly turned bright red.

Knowing she was shy, Li Weidong simply stopped looking at her and stared out the window, saying, "Xiao Ye, I made this decision on my own without asking for your opinion. I'm sorry."

"But this is the best solution right now. Your parents don't treat you like a human being at all. Even if Zhang the Cripple is gone, there's still Wang the Pockmarked and Zhao the Mute. They'll never give up on using you to exchange for money and arrange a marriage."

"So I thought, why don't I just tell you I want to marry you and settle things?"

Zhou Xiaoye's eyes widened even more, a secret joy welling up in his heart.

Li Weidong didn't know what she was thinking, so he only said, "But don't worry, my saying I'd marry you is just a smokescreen to protect you."

“I’ve already talked to your parents. We’ll set a date to get engaged, and then you can continue your studies. Whether it’s high school or university, as long as you get in, I’ll cover all the expenses.”

He let out a long breath and reached out to stroke Zhou Xiaoye's head: "You're still a child. You should study hard at the age when you should be studying."

"Wait until you graduate and find a job before you consider getting married. If you don't want to get married, then work hard and make money to pay me back the money I spent on you."

Li Weidong said this not for the money, but so that Zhou Xiaoye could accept his financial assistance without feeling guilty.

Zhou Xiaoye naturally wanted to understand this as well.

She looked up at Li Weidong, her big eyes filled with emotion.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "Brother Weidong, why... are you so good to me?"