"Don't worry, Madam, I won't get hurt by love again. I want to live a clear and sensible life!" Qin Xiaoyu raised her head, her tears gone, and she grinned like a child.

"You're a tough girl, you're really resilient. I like that. It's alright, you can make a comeback, I don't think I'm any worse than you!" Seeing her silent and dejected, the lady took her hand and patted it.

After leaving Mrs. Qin's house, Qin Xiaoyu didn't leave immediately but followed her cousin-in-law inside.

How's Xiaolong doing lately?

“This child has developed a drinking habit. Sigh, I don’t know what to do. He always gets drunk. I know he’s upset, but I can’t force him.” My cousin’s wife often cries. She used to be a very cheerful and bright person, but now she has become very decadent, with a vacant look in her eyes and a slightly hunched back when she walks.

"Take it slow, I'll try to persuade him again when I have time. What about my brother's situation?"

"It hasn't been going very well either. All those inventions and new products he made belonged to the factory. Now that they've got the technology, they're ostracizing him and finding fault with him everywhere. I heard there are layoffs going on, and I'm afraid your brother will lose his job. Sigh, who can you talk to about people? The first year he was all the rage, and now..." His sister-in-law glanced at Qin Xiaoyu and couldn't continue.

Qin Xiaoyu is the same. Just a few months ago, she was driving around everywhere, but now her school is gone. Yet, I've never heard her complain. I'm here making things worse for her. I feel ashamed.

"It's okay, I'm here."

Qin Xiaoyu glanced into the yard. Last year, she and her cousin's family brought back coal together, sharing it. Her cousin's family burned it quickly, and there wasn't much left.

"Sister-in-law, I have an idea." Qin Xiaoyu pulled her cousin-in-law into the house and sat her down.

"Just tell me straight, just say whatever's on your mind, we're sisters."

"I've rented a place, and it's almost all tidied up. I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but it's empty anyway. Why don't you move in?"

"Where to move to?" My cousin-in-law was startled.

"It's close to Fengqin's school, which is convenient for her. However, there's one problem: she'll have to run the boiler herself, which might be a bit of a hassle."

“That’s great, isn’t living here just like burning incense and cooking for yourself? I don’t want to live in this courtyard for even a day longer. Looking at the woman in that room, I always feel a surge of anger. I know she’s an elder, but I’ve always hated her…” My cousin-in-law said, wiping away tears.

"I understand, that's why I want to take you away too." Qin Xiaoyu understood this feeling. Honest people are hurt and want to hate, but their kindness makes them forgive. But some things in this world are truly unforgivable. This kind of entanglement doesn't do anything to the person who did the bad thing; instead, it only hurts themselves.

"Then I'll go with you to take a look?" My cousin's wife saw a glimmer of hope and became a little anxious.

"Come on, I'm driving, so it won't interfere with your dinner preparation."

Qin Xiaoyu led her cousin-in-law to the bottom of the small building. The workers were about to finish their shift and were going in and out to pack their things. The two of them went straight into the building.

"The room at the end of the corridor on the second floor is for you to stay in. The boiler room is downstairs, so it's warm here. I'll bring two tons of coal over in a couple of days, so don't be stingy with the coal." Qin Xiaoyu opened the door to show her sister-in-law the room.

My cousin's wife had lived in a dark little room for half her life, and she had never seen such a bright house before. This room was as big as the whole house before, and it was clean and bright. There was also a bathroom in the house, so she no longer had to queue for the public toilet in the freezing cold. She was so happy that she couldn't speak.

"The apartment is warm, so you don't need a kang (heated brick bed). I'll prepare beds for you. As for the furniture, just throw away the old ones, or have a carpenter make a couple of cabinets." Qin Xiaoyu had everything arranged.

"Okay, I'll discuss it with your brother tonight." The cousin-in-law had already given her approval, and on the way home she chattered away, regaining the energetic and lively demeanor that Tang Long had before his injury.

My cousin hesitated for a moment and didn't agree immediately.

"Brother, we need to get this done quickly. Give me a straight answer. Anyway, the house here isn't going to be renovated, and we can come back later. Let's enjoy it for a few days while we can. Just think of it as keeping an eye on the house for me, okay? If you guys can't be relied on, I can't rely on anyone else either." Qin Xiaoyu put some pressure on him.

"Little Fish, our family owes you so many favors, I feel like we can never repay them in this lifetime," the cousin sighed.

"If that's the reason, you're overthinking it. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. Instead of me hiring someone to tend the boiler, it's better to move my own family over. This way, Fengqin will be closer to school in the dead of winter, and you'll have less to worry about."

"Okay, I'll do as you say, sister. Put a bed in the boiler room, and I'll keep an eye on things."

"Brother, you could design an automatic conveyor belt. I saw it on TV; that's how automated boilers transport coal, no one has to watch over them." Qin Xiaoyu suddenly remembered a movie scene and had an idea.

If this problem isn't solved, someone will always have to add coal at night, which will disrupt sleep.

"What movie? I've never seen it before."

"Um, well, I forgot your name. Let me draw up the blueprints for you," Qin Xiaoyu quickly covered up.

His cousin watched as she quickly sketched the outline of a conveyor belt on paper, then fell silent, lost in thought. Actually, he'd long felt that his sister-in-law was a bit strange; how did she know more than what was in books?

My cousin's family moved quickly and quietly, afraid of causing trouble. By the time Grandma Hanhan noticed, they had already loaded up the last truckload of things, locked the door, and left.

"She's getting closer and closer to that shameless guy, and she's even abandoning her family." Grandma Hanhan cursed as she stepped on the threshold.

"I heard they moved upstairs." A neighbor who knew something was going on came over to ask for information.

"They moved upstairs? Them? Do they even have the brains to live in an apartment building?" Grandma Hanhan said this, but she was incredibly jealous, feeling like she had gotten the short end of the stick. If she hadn't fallen out with Qin Xiaoyu, she would have been the first to move upstairs, and it wouldn't have been her cousin's family's turn.

Since breaking up with Qin Xiaoyu, I haven't seen any pocket money, and my finances have become increasingly tight, leaving me with nothing but sighs and lamentations.

When Qin Xiaoyu was at home, everything was warm and inviting, like someone living a normal life. Now, filled with resentment, jealousy, and anger, her life is becoming increasingly bleak, and she's fallen back into her old trap, unable to climb out.

Tang Long had no objection to the move, only requesting to live in the boiler room. His sister-in-law assumed he was being considerate and wanted to help his family, so she didn't think much of it.

After his cousin finished setting up the conveyor belt, he discovered that Tang Long only wanted to move in so he could drink at night without being bothered by others.

Tang Long was like a stone, weighing heavily on the hearts of the whole family, impossible to remove, always feeling strangely heavy.

Qin Xiaoyu wasn't worried about that. She had been running around outside every day lately and had already formed a rough plan for Tang Long. However, she couldn't rush things and had to wait for him to take the bait himself.