Hearing Gu Yifei ask this, Meng Zihan slowly raised her head from his embrace, her tear-streaked face looking particularly fragile and helpless.
The tears that had just stopped welled up in her eyes again, rolling down in large drops that made her heart clench.
"I...I don't know either..." she said in a soft, hoarse voice, her voice filled with confusion.
"My uncle is just thinking about getting rid of me, this burden, as soon as possible."
As she said this, her gaze locked onto Gu Yifei's eyes, making him see all her despair.
"But with my reputation already ruined, what decent family would want me?"
She sobbed, her body trembling again. "He scolds me every day at home, saying I've disgraced the Ye family."
"He also said that if I didn't behave, he would find that bastard Liu Mingxuan and have him take me away."
The mere mention of that name sent a shiver down her spine, as if she were terrified.
She looked up, her eyes filled with admiration, placing all her hopes on him.
“Brother Yifei, you are a college student, you are educated, and you have more experience than me.”
"Can you help me think of a solution?"
"I really, really don't know what to do!"
Gu Yifei frowned, his anger towards Ye Zhenghua burning.
“How could your uncle do this! He has seen more of the world than you. Why didn’t he stop you back then? Now he’s putting all the blame on you.”
"No matter what, he raised you from childhood. How can he be so cold-hearted and heartless, not caring whether you live or die!"
Meng Zihan's eyes darkened, and she felt very displeased.
Why are you only focused on insulting people and not getting to the point?
Shouldn't he step forward and find a place for himself to stay?
Do I really have to spell it out?
But in this situation, she simply can't steer the conversation in that direction.
Meng Zihan bit her lower lip hard, trying to suppress the anxiety in her heart.
She quickly composed herself and followed his lead, making her voice sound even more aggrieved.
"Yes, I don't know why my uncle suddenly became so heartless."
With a quick glance, she threw out another piece of information, making her situation even more miserable.
“Some time ago, he was having an affair with a young woman in the office… That’s probably why he’s been getting increasingly annoyed with my aunt and me, and he’s been itching to kick us out so he can make room for us.”
Upon hearing about such sordid matters, Gu Yifei's expression darkened further.
He looked at Meng Zihan's haggard face, feeling both indignant and pitying.
"Is there really such a thing? No wonder you've suffered so much. You've really had a hard time."
Seeing that he still wouldn't get it, Meng Zihan steeled her heart and decided to be more explicit, hoping that this blockhead would understand what she wanted.
“The Ye family is no place for a human to live.” Her voice was even lower. “They humiliated me like this, but I was powerless and couldn’t escape on my own.”
She stared straight at him. "If... if there were someone willing to take me in, stay with me, and take me away from that home, that would be wonderful."
If Gu Yifei still couldn't understand the meaning behind Meng Zihan's words after all this, then he would be a complete fool.
Fortunately, although he was slow-witted, he wasn't stupid.
He suddenly loosened his grip on Meng Zihan.
The words "together" came crashing down on Gu Yifei, shattering all his pity for Meng Zihan.
If he had heard this back in high school, he might have been very happy.
Back then, Meng Zihan spoke softly and her eyes crinkled when she smiled, like a crystal doll that needed to be carefully protected.
But what about now?
Looking at the tear-streaked face before him, he felt that behind those tears lay a scheme.
Beneath Meng Zihan's gentle expression lay a hard, unsettling intent.
Just thinking about living with someone like her sent chills down his spine.
Meng Zihan keenly noticed his stiff body and the sudden loss of warmth.
She looked up in surprise, her voice trembling slightly: "Brother Yifei, what's wrong?"
Gu Yifei suddenly stood up straight, and completely removed his arm from her shoulder, as if he had touched something hot.
He took half a step back, increasing the distance between them.
“Xiaohan,” he began, his throat a little dry, “I know you’re not having a good time right now.”
"But marriage is a lifelong commitment and must be treated with care. It's not child's play and you can't act impulsively."
He tried to make his tone sound earnest and rational.
"If you want to leave the Ye family, there are many ways. You don't have to find someone to marry you off to be saved."
"Look at your cousin Ye Linchen, isn't she a perfect example?"
"At that time, she was just a student who had just arrived in Jiangcheng. She found a job entirely through her own efforts, and step by step, she moved out of that house. Her life got better and better."
"I believe you can do it too."
"You need to have confidence in yourself."
Although these words were meant to be encouraging, they were like a bucket of cold water poured over Meng Zihan's hopes.
She stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Gu Yifei, her eyes instantly filled with resentment and hurt.
"Brother Yifei, are you now using Ye Linchen to put me down?"
"Who is it that I've ended up in this situation? Or is it not because of her!"
Her voice was shrill, "If it weren't for her, would I have failed my college entrance exam? If it weren't for her, would I have been deceived?"
"I thought that even if everyone in the world looked down on me, you wouldn't, you wouldn't be like them!"
Her lower lip was bitten until it turned white, and she said in a tearful voice, "I thought you would be on my side, but now you are too..."
She choked up halfway through her sentence and couldn't continue. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
The cries were mournful and filled with grievance and pain.
Hearing the crying, Gu Yifei felt a pang of pity well up in his heart again, but he quickly suppressed it.
He knew that if he softened his heart today, he would ruin his entire life.
He lowered his eyes, looking at her trembling back, and his heart hardened for once.
"Zihan, think carefully about what I just said."
His voice was steady, completely unaffected by her crying.
"If you really want to leave the Ye family, I can help you think of other ways, but not the kind you're talking about."
"If you're not willing, then there's nothing I can do. This is all I can do."
After he finished speaking, he stopped looking at Meng Zihan, turned around, and started walking upstairs.
The light at the top of the stairs swallowed his figure, and Meng Zihan's crying stopped abruptly. She stared intently in that direction.
My heart is filled with resentment.
Since you, Gu Yifei, are so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless!
We are destined to be husband and wife; you can't avoid it!
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