"I may be a bit simple-minded, but I'm not stupid. You can tell just by looking at how you treat those two! Besides, those two don't look like good people at all."

Old Wu, Tian Min, glanced through the crack in the door and saw the sinister glint in the eyes of the two men as they looked up.

"Who are they?" Xia Lan looked at Du Wenqing curiously. What had those two people done to make someone as good-tempered as Du Wenqing not even glance at them?

"They didn't do anything, except that they immediately distanced themselves from me when I got into trouble," Du Wenqing said casually.

Everyone exchanged glances after hearing Du Wenqing's words.

"Isn't that treason?" the fifth brother was furious; he hated betrayal more than anything.

"I'll go beat them up for you."

The fifth brother got up, and no one stopped him. So he walked out the door and beat up the two pretentious people outside.

"Ah! You dare hit me! Do you know who I am?!"

One of them couldn't take the fifth brother's words and gritted his teeth.

"I did it."

The fifth brother, seemingly unfazed by the boiling water, raised his chin and said...

"Old Du said that you should learn a lesson for the despicable things you've done."

The fifth brother's words made the two pause. They thought that the fifth brother was acting on Du Lao's orders to teach them a lesson, so they stopped struggling and knelt down with their heads down as if admitting their mistakes.

"Teacher, if hitting us makes you feel better, then go ahead and hit us!"

"Teacher, it was all our fault back then, we deserve to be punished, please hit us."

The two men's words reached Du Wenqing's ears, and Qin Yu lazily opened his mouth.

"Fifth brother, are you patting the quilt?"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's voice and seeing the two still putting on an act, the fifth brother increased his strength without saying a word.

The two men, who had been struck hard in an instant, couldn't help but glare fiercely at Lao Wu.

The fifth brother raised the corners of his mouth at them.

"Keep howling! The worse you get beaten, the greater the chance that Old Master Du will forgive you!"

The two understood what the fifth brother meant and howled even louder.

The fifth brother's lips curled slightly.

After beating the two men until their faces were bruised and swollen, the fifth brother swaggered away, clapped his hands, and went back into the house.

Du Wenqing and the others sat in the courtyard watching Lao Wu return. Du Wenqing got up, stepped forward, patted Lao Wu on the shoulder, and his smile deepened.

Thanks to Lao Wu for helping him vent his anger.

Hearing their screams, no one felt more relieved than Du Wenqing.

He didn't blame them for the choices they made back then, after all, human nature is inherently selfish. It was just that he had poured his heart and soul into teaching them to be successful, and their success under his guidance was something he was proud of as a teacher.

But when he was falsely accused, they stood far away and watched him being taken away.

Their inaction saddened Old Du.

Having vented much of his resentment, Du Wenqing looked at Qin Yu and Xia Lan.

If they hadn't saved his life, he might have died in that dilapidated hut, carrying the weight of his unfulfilled ambitions and grievances.

They couldn't wait for the dawn of that day.

"Old Du, don't worry about me. You teaching me is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

Qin Yu noticed the guilt in Du Wenqing's eyes as she looked at him, so he looked up at Du Wenqing.

"Come with me!" Du Wenqing said, looking at Qin Yu.

Everyone was stunned, but Qin Yu remained calm.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Du, I won't go."

Du Wenqing looked at Xia Lan, but before he could speak, Qin Yu spoke first.

“Old Du, my heart is here. It’s no use taking me anywhere else.”

Qin Yu held Xia Lan's hand.

"For me, this is the focus. No matter how good the conditions are, it's not what I want."

Du Wenqing opened his mouth, but despite his vast knowledge, he couldn't utter a single sentence suggesting that going with him was better than staying here.

What he wanted to give was not what he wanted.

If that's the case, then it's not repaying a debt of gratitude, but rather seeking revenge.

"If you were all greedy people, I wouldn't be so troubled about how to repay you," Du Wenqing said with a smile after looking at Qin Yu and Xia Lan for a while.

“If we were that selfish, you wouldn’t be alive today.” Xia Lan looked at Du Wenqing and blinked.

"That's true. I've lived most of my life, and I'm still not as generous as you."

Du Wenqing looked at Xia Lan, watching her lean affectionately against Qin Yu. Qin Yu was also very pleased and held her hand with satisfaction.

The two people's state made Du Wenqing realize something.

"Alright, stop being so lovey-dovey in front of me. I won't fight you for her anymore, okay?"

Du Wenqing looked at Xia Lan, who chuckled.

"You'd have to be able to take it away, wouldn't you?"

"You little rascal, you're really protecting her now," Du Wenqing said with amusement.

"How can I not protect him? What will I do if you take him away? He's my protector, I rely on him to act like a tyrant..." Xia Lan said proudly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hahahaha..."

Everyone burst into laughter upon seeing her like this.

"I won't leave. I'll be your protector. You can do whatever you want with me."

Qin Yu smiled and looked at Xia Lan with doting eyes.

"Big brother, where did you pick up your sister-in-law? I want to find a wife too." The fifth brother looked at Qin Yu and Xia Lan with envy.

He's willing to spoil his sister-in-law, isn't that wonderful!

Although the fourth brother didn't like to talk, his eyes revealed envy.

"By the river." Qin Yu glanced at Lao Wu and chuckled.

Du Wenqing chuckled, thinking Qin Yu was joking.

Xu Fulin rolled his eyes at Qin Yu. "You're only lucky enough to have found Xia Lan. Stop coming up with bad ideas."

Du Wenqing glanced at Xia Lan in surprise.

Seeing Du Wenqing's curiosity, Xia Lan calmly told him about being framed.

"So even blood relatives aren't necessarily reliable."

Du Wenqing was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Xia Lan was comforting him, and smiled.

Du Wenqing stayed with Qin Yu for two more days, still dutifully teaching Qin Yu the most basic knowledge, tailoring her teaching to Qin Yu's individual needs.

Teaching Qin Yu the knowledge he needs most right now, since Qin Yu already has some foundation, didn't require much effort from Du Wenqing.

However, those who deserve criticism will still be criticized...

"Are you looking down on me or what? How come you understand it right away in front of your wife, but I still get it wrong even after you explain it three or four times!"

"Bring this here, and the problem is solved! Why are you being so silly with me!"

"You were sent by God to refine me, weren't you!"

Hearing Du Wenqing's frantic voice coming from the room, Xia Lan silently lit a candle for Qin Yu.

That's terrible.

In the past two days, the news that the Hu family had been sent to the police station has spread throughout the village. Because Du Wenqing was exonerated, many people are glad that they have nothing to do with him.

When Xu Fulin first took in Old Du, he did not treat him like he did in other villages.

Instead, they made Du Lao's existence more transparent, reducing his appearances in front of the villagers, and also restraining the villagers from getting involved with him.