After Zhou Jiuzhen finished speaking, he gently pressed his forehead against the cold stone slab, but his spine still maintained a soldier's straightness, like a steel gun that was bent but not broken.

Outside the guesthouse window, the wind swirled sycamore leaves from the corner of the courtyard onto his shoulder; those withered yellow leaves were more glaring than the stars on his epaulets.

He, who once always stood tall and proud, is now begging his closest relatives in the most humble way to protect his only concern.

Zhao Tingguo and Chu Mei were shocked. Neither of them expected that their son, who had always treated them coldly, would kneel down to them.

Chu Mei's tears streamed down her face. She went to help him up, but found that she couldn't even lift the child she used to be able to hold so easily.

She exchanged a glance with Zhao Tingguo, whose eyes reddened as he turned his head away reluctantly. "No, my abilities are limited. You can only choose one to save. Do you want to save your good brother who covets your wife, or your good wife who flirts with other men? The choice is yours!"

"However, all of this is conditional on the fact that you must divorce Ling Huanwu!"

*

When Zhou Jiuzhen walked out of the guesthouse, he passed by the room where he and Ling Huanwu had stayed and lingered at the door for a long, long time.

He gently gripped the doorknob and pushed the door open. Looking at the familiar furnishings inside, the scenes of the two of them whispering sweet nothings in the room seemed to come right before his eyes.

At that moment, tears finally broke free.

He touched the mirror on the dressing table by the bed, and large tears fell onto the table. Through his blurred eyes, he seemed to see his Huanwu, his Nuomiyuan, and his beloved smiling at him.

His warm lips touched the cold mirror, and he finally couldn't hold back his sobs.

The little girl he fell in love with at first sight when they were young, he was ultimately unable to stay with her forever.

Zhao Jingxiang stood at the door, looking at his younger brother inside who was crying uncontrollably, and felt a pang of sorrow in his heart as well.

He should actually be happy.

Only after Zhou Jiuzhen and Ling Huanwu divorced and separated could he have the opportunity to be with her.

But Zhou Jiuzhen's words earlier felt like needles slowly piercing his temples, causing him a splitting headache and overturning his understanding of things he had developed over the years.

He said that although Chu Mei seemed to love her youngest son on the surface, she actually favored her eldest son, Zhao Jingxiang, deep down.

When they were little, whenever Zhou Jiuzhen and Zhao Jingxiang liked something together, Chu Mei would tell Zhou Jiuzhen, "That wood carving is ugly and not fun."

"He looked terrible in that outfit."

Whenever Zhou Jiuzhen liked something, Chu Mei would belittle it.

Later, Zhou Jiuzhen understood the subtext of Chu Mei's words.

Actually, her goal was to get Zhou Jiuzhen to give the items to Zhao Jingxiang.

Last night, Zhao Jingxiang heard such absurd and outlandish nonsense for the first time.

The mother who often verbally abused him actually favored him!

What shocked him even more was Zhou Jiuzhen's very serious analysis to him.

Chu Mei's elaborate scheme to sabotage Zhou Jiuzhen and Ling Huanwu's relationship and force them to divorce was actually because Zhao Jingxiang liked Ling Huanwu.

At that moment, Zhao Jingxiang stood outside the door, feeling like a sinner.

He didn't believe Zhou Jiuzhen's words; he had to verify it himself.

So he agreed to Zhou Jiuzhen's request to help rescue Ling Huanwu...

In another room.

Chu Mei poured a glass of water and handed it to Zhao Tingguo to calm him down.

"Mei, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Won't the child resent us?"

Zhao Tingguo felt a little reluctant, after all, he was capable of doing both of those things.

Making the youngest son choose between the two options is simply putting him in a difficult position.

Chu Mei patted his hand, comforting him in a good mood, "Don't worry, we're doing this for his own good. He chose to save his brother."

“Anyone would choose to save his brother, since his brother’s life is in danger! But I feel that Er Gou has such deep feelings for Ling Huanwu, I’m afraid he might do something drastic if he makes this choice.”

Zhao Tingguo was deeply worried, feeling for the first time that his wife had gone too far.

Chu Mei waved her hand, still stubbornly sticking to her own opinion, "That's better. Since Er Gou has made his choice, there will be no possibility between the two of them in the future! Besides, Ling Huan, if you are innocent, you will be released sooner or later."

“But Er Gou is our future hope. I don’t want him to be a battalion commander for the rest of his life because of a woman.”

Zhao Tingguo sighed deeply and silently smoked, which was taken as tacit agreement with his wife's statement.

Chu Mei, however, seemed particularly delighted. She folded the divorce report that Zhou Jiuzhen had just signed and handed it to Zhao Tingguo, instructing him to quickly ask someone to take it upstairs and get it signed.

After doing all that, she hummed a little tune and went out the door.

At the entrance of the guesthouse, she saw Zhao Jingxiang standing there, dumbfounded.

Zhao Jingxiang looked pained, seemingly lost in thought.

Chu Mei, dressed in a dark green cheongsam, walked over with light steps and a swaying waist. Just moments ago, she had a smile on her lips, unable to hide her joy. But as soon as she saw him, she suppressed her smile, put on a stern face, and began to criticize him harshly, "Why did you run back to the city? Shouldn't you be busy with the relocation now?"

Looking at his mother, who always had a stern face in front of him, Zhao Jingxiang asked in a choked voice, "Mom, what does Er Gou want with you?"

"What could he want from us? He's figured things out and now he's listening to us and agreeing to divorce Ling Huanwu."

"But you, a grown man, don't you know how to find a young girl to marry?"

As Chu Mei spoke, she pulled out a handkerchief with a look of disgust and wiped the sweat from her tall, burly eldest son's forehead. As if remembering something, she casually mentioned, "Oh, right, aren't you interested in that guy surnamed Ling? If you really like him, I wouldn't mind if you married that slut. After all, your brother is our hope, and we don't expect much from you..."

Zhao Jingxiang was struck dumb by her words.

The woman before him was clearly speaking harshly to him, yet for the first time, he truly saw the kindness in her eyes.

Just now, Zhou Jiuzhen came out and told him that his parents made him choose between two options.

He didn't believe it at first.

He didn't believe that Chu Mei's past actions were all for him to get everything he wanted.

Now, looking at Chu Mei's familiar features, he felt a terrifying sense of estrangement.

For the past twenty-odd years, he has been longing for even a sliver of his mother's love.

In the end, he discovered that his mother had given all her love to him.

Er Gou is the most pitiful and wronged person.

Zhao Jingxiang trembled all over. Looking at the handkerchief Chu Mei extended to him, he could no longer contain his fear. Without saying a word, he turned and ran away as if fleeing.

He ran and ran until he reached the hospital and found Zhou Shuyao's ward.

At that time, Zhou Shuyao and Song Yaoyao in the hospital already knew that someone had donated a kidney, and they were both very excited.

Upon receiving the news, Zhou Shuyao was taken to the examination room for various tests and was told that he could have the surgery the next day.

Song Yaoyao was even more excited than Zhou Shuyao, wiping away tears as she peeled an apple.

Zhou Shuyao had been watching the doorway, waiting for Ling Huanwu to come over, imagining what her expression would be when she heard the good news.

The door slammed open, and he saw Zhao Jingxiang rushing towards him.