As evening approached, the Bai family sent a car to pick up Bai Weiwei. Zhou Xing showed no intention of leaving, so Qin Xiaoyu didn't press him any further. Since everything was arranged at home, she decided to treat it as a vacation, and the two of them stayed there.

Zhou Xing was sent to the side room by Grandma Zhang, while she and Qin Xiaoyu slept on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the main room.

The old man was afraid of the cold and refused to turn on the fan even when it was hot at night, which made Qin Xiaoyu toss and turn and couldn't sleep.

There was a faint rumble of thunder outside; a heavy rain was about to fall. Qin Xiaoyu quietly sat up, wanting to go outside for some fresh air.

"Where to?" Grandma Zhang asked coldly, as she was still awake.

"It's a bit stuffy, I'm going to get some fresh air." Qin Xiaoyu didn't immediately lie down and pretend to be asleep, nor did she make any excuses; she answered frankly.

"Haven't you heard of the saying 'don't you know how to avoid suspicion'? A widow is a widow." Granny Zhang's words were somewhat vicious.

"I have a clear conscience. I don't care what others think. If I had to live according to other people's opinions, I wouldn't be able to survive." Qin Xiaoyu didn't indulge her either.

"Sigh, young people don't know their place. Do you think I want to help you? I'm just worried about Zhou Xing." Grandma Zhang simply sat up as well.

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, and the two women faced each other, beginning to negotiate over someone they both loved.

"You think I'm not good enough for Zhou Xing, right?" Qin Xiaoyu smiled coldly.

"Yes, you are not good enough for Zhou Xing."

Good heavens, Qin Xiaoyu never expected that she would actually meet her match.

"But Zhou Xing likes me."

"That's what I'm most worried about. Do you think I'm stupid? Don't I understand what kind of person Bai Weiwei is? I've seen her since she was a child, and I understood her little schemes when she was three. But no matter how vain, how scheming, or how many bad things she has, she's completely sincere towards Zhou Xing. She treats Zhou Xing like a god. And you? In your eyes, Zhou Xing is someone you can summon and dismiss at will. You'll abandon him whenever you're not happy. What do you take him for?"

The thunder rumbled and crashed down on Qin Xiaoyu. She had underestimated her opponent; every word of Granny Zhang spoke was more deafening than the thunder.

I thought Grandma Zhang was a beginner, but it turns out she's a true master.

But everything Grandma Zhang said was true, leaving Qin Xiaoyu confused.

"If you ask me, you should break up sooner rather than later. It's only a matter of time. You won't be able to get past Zhou Xing's mother." Seeing that Qin Xiaoyu was tempted, Grandma Zhang's tone softened.

"I know it's difficult, but..." Qin Xiaoyu suddenly felt disheartened, lowered her head, and hugged her knees.

"Don't get your hopes up. Zhou Xing's mother would rather die than let you into the Zhou family. Otherwise, she'll never be able to go back to her parents' home."

"What do you mean?" Qin Xiaoyu understood the implied meaning.

"It seems you know nothing about Zhou Xing's mother's background," Grandma Zhang sighed.

Qin Xiaoyu could only say that poverty limited her imagination. When she lived in the 21st century, she had only seen what rich people looked like in the news or on TV. The image of a rich kid had become synonymous with the second generation of rich kids.

But she had no idea what the legendary reclusive tycoons were like; today, Grandma Zhang broadened her horizons.

It's often said that wealth doesn't last three generations, but that refers to nouveau riche. True families, on the other hand, have a tradition of inheritance.

Zhou Xingma's maiden name was Du Min. The Du family could be described as a scholarly family, having produced poets, philosophers, and politicians. After experiencing changes, the family fortunes declined. Even so, with its profound heritage, it quickly made a comeback after the world stabilized.

Grandma Zhang only briefly mentioned the extent of the Du family's wealth and status, but one sentence she said deeply touched Qin Xiaoyu. She said that Zhou Xing's mother marrying Commander Zhou was a disgrace to the Du family.

Well, if the word "smear" is used, what else can be said?

Although Zhou Xing's mother didn't say it, she was very bothered by it. She had always wanted to be accepted back into her family.

After Zhou Xing came of age, he went to his maternal grandparents' house. Fortunately, he gained his grandmother's approval and was given a portion of the ancestral property as a gift. Zhou Yue, on the other hand, didn't even receive this treatment. Once, when she passed by the house, she didn't even go inside.

Although Bai Weiwei's family background is not as prestigious as the Du family's, her great-great-grandfather was a renowned Confucian scholar, making them a family with a distinguished lineage. Therefore, with the Bai family's assistance, Zhou Xing's mother still has a chance to return to her maternal home.

"If I were to marry you, Zhou Xing's mother might as well just kill herself," Grandma Zhang said, giving Qin Xiaoyu a sympathetic look.

"I understand." Qin Xiaoyu collapsed to the ground, feeling indescribable pain and shattered pride, which was beyond repair.

It rained all night, and when she woke up in the morning, there was still no sign of it clearing up. The road conditions were bad when she came, and Qin Xiaoyu could guess what the dirt road was like now, but she didn't want to stay there for another moment.

Zhou Xing understood her thoughts and insisted on leaving. The two of them went out in the rain.

"What did Grandma say to you?" Zhou Xing knew something was wrong from Qin Xiaoyu's eyes.

"Didn't you just send me here to listen to this? Why are you asking questions?" Qin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him.

“Smart, you guessed it. You’ll know and face these things sooner or later. I can’t tell you directly. I have to use someone else to tell you. Now you know, the road we’re on is the same as the one before us, but we still have to walk it, right? Are we going to abandon the car?” Zhou Xing said calmly.

"You always said I was right, but now it sounds like you're right all the time!" Qin Xiaoyu realized with annoyance that she was being led by the nose by Zhou Xing.

"Whether I'm right or you're right, the important thing is that we're together." Zhou Xing suddenly turned the steering wheel, the car swerved, but still couldn't escape the mud pit and got stuck.

"Ah! What happened?" Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise.

"This is a bit of a problem." Zhou Xing slammed his fist on the steering wheel, opened the car door, and jumped out into the rain.

The rain has gotten heavier lately, and his clothes were soaked after just one turn.

"Quick, wipe it off." Qin Xiaoyu took out a handkerchief and kept wiping his head and face.

“There are very few cars on this road, and hardly any houses. We’re really in trouble,” Zhou Xing said, frowning.

"It's so inconvenient not having a cell phone!" Qin Xiaoyu said, pulling at her hair in anguish.

What is a cell phone?

“In our time, there was a very small thing, a little longer and thinner than a cigarette box, that you could carry with you and use to talk to others.”

"It's a mobile phone?" Zhou Xing was quite clever.

"Yes, that's it."

"Why did you come over? Why didn't I go to find you?" Zhou Xing blinked, looking aggrieved.

"It's fate's arrangement, just like how a rainstorm is arranged to trap us; there's always a reason for it."

The heavy rain seemed determined not to let them leave, and it poured down harder and harder. The windshield wipers weren't on, and the outside view was completely obscured by the windows, which were now filled with condensation.

"Little fish."

"Um?"