"Are you here to see Mingcheng? Please come in." Xing Zhaozhao greeted them with a smile.
Outside the door, Gao Mingcheng's old comrades-in-arms were momentarily confused as they looked at Xing Zhaozhao's face, which was so familiar yet too young.
"Is that your sister-in-law? She looks exactly the same as before."
"Didn't my sister-in-law pass away a long time ago? Besides, so many years have passed, how could she still look exactly the same as before? Wouldn't she be an old hag?"
"Is it a granddaughter? I remember Hongfei has a daughter."
“I’ve seen Hongfei’s daughter before. She doesn’t look like this, and she’s almost forty. The age doesn’t match up.”
"I did hear a rumor before."
"What rumor?"
"I heard that Mingcheng seems to be raising a..."
The old men gathered around the door and began to whisper among themselves.
Xing Zhaozhao's smile stiffened, and she didn't know what to say for a moment. It was supposed to be a whisper, but they were quite loud, and she could hear them all. However, she didn't know before that these two people, who seemed so proper on the surface, were so fond of gossip and knew quite a lot of things.
Gao Mingcheng came out of the house and saw the old men blocking the doorway. He looked pleasantly surprised and asked, "Why are you here?"
When the old men saw Gao Mingcheng, they immediately filed in: "We were originally going to the hospital, but when we heard you were discharged, we came here directly. Luckily, we asked Hongfei in advance, otherwise we almost went the wrong way and ended up at his place."
"Come in and sit down," Gao Mingcheng said, looking at Xing Zhaozhao. "Zhaozhao, go and make a pot of tea for the brothers."
"Okay." Xing Zhaozhao nodded and was about to leave.
"Zhao Zhao? She really is my sister-in-law, isn't she?" someone asked.
"Hmm." Gao Mingcheng nodded, admitting it directly, not worried at all that they would actually guess the truth. After all, such an outrageous thing was not something just anyone would dare to believe.
"What sister-in-law? She doesn't deserve it!" A familiar voice suddenly came from the side and said coldly.
The once bustling courtyard instantly fell silent.
Gao Mingcheng's face also darkened.
Only Xing Zhaozhao twitched her lips helplessly and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.
Xing Zhaoming followed at the back, walking in from outside with a long face, looking very unhappy.
A few old comrades-in-arms got together and said they wanted to come and see Gao Mingcheng. He didn't want to come at first, but every time he saw this woman who looked exactly like his sister and had taken her place, he felt extremely annoyed. In the end, he couldn't refuse and was dragged along anyway.
The old comrades stood aside, exchanging bewildered glances. Wait a minute, weren't the brother-in-law and sister-in-law always on good terms?
Xing Zhaoming walked up to Xing Zhaozhao, looked down at her, and said with disdain, "You think you can replace her just because you have the same face and the same name as our Zhaozhao? Do you think you're worthy?"
Xing Zhaozhao's lips twitched slightly.
Although she knew her brother was doing it for her, he still liked to cause her trouble, which she found extremely annoying.
She looked up at Xing Zhaoming's cold face, grinned dismissively, and said, "Whether you're a good match or not isn't up to you to decide."
Xing Zhaoming's face darkened, and she was about to lash out when Gao Mingcheng stepped forward and stood protectively in front of her.
Thinking about what Chen Wei had done, Gao Mingcheng looked at Xing Zhaoming with a rather unpleasant expression. Although he knew that Xing Zhaoming was unaware of the situation, he couldn't help but feel angry, since they were a married couple.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to cut off all contact?" Gao Mingcheng asked coldly.
Xing Zhaoming thought he had misheard and looked at Gao Mingcheng with disbelief.
"What do you mean, Gao Mingcheng? Are you really planning to cut ties with me for this woman?" he asked, pointing at Xing Zhaozhao.
"Don't get it wrong. It was you who said we should cut off all contact, not me," Gao Mingcheng corrected him.
“I did say that back then, but don’t you know why I said that at the time?” Xing Zhaoming said, giving Xing Zhaozhao a cold look. “I don’t object if you want to find someone else, but why do you have to find someone who not only looks exactly the same but also has the same name to deliberately disgust me?”
Gao Mingcheng frowned, wanting to refute: "I didn't..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xing Zhaoming glared at him angrily and said, "You did. You found someone exactly the same, and gradually covered up the traces Zhaozhao left behind. You're just deliberately trying to disgust me and Zhaozhao. Do you even care about Zhaozhao anymore?"
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." No, I didn't.
Xing Zhaozhao felt a pang of sadness as she looked at Xing Zhaoming's angry expression.
elder brother……
Gao Mingcheng was speechless for a moment after Xing Zhaoming said that.
He could understand Xing Zhaoming's feelings, but he knew that Zhaozhao was Zhaozhao and wouldn't feel the same way Xing Zhaoming did. However, Xing Zhaoming didn't know this, and it was difficult for him to explain it to her...
The old comrades-in-arms nearby fell silent for a moment, suddenly understanding why Xing Zhaoming hadn't wanted to come when they had asked him to.
Imagine how painful it would be for anyone to see someone who looks exactly like their deceased relative constantly appearing in front of them, and having to force themselves to accept the reality that she is not them.
"Anyway, you probably don't care about Zhaozhao anymore, so there's really no need to maintain this relationship with me, your brother-in-law. Let's leave it at that." Xing Zhaoming said expressionlessly, then turned and left without hesitation.
Xing Zhaozhao watched Xing Zhaoming's resolute departure and felt a pang in her heart. She couldn't help but chase after him to the door. Seeing him quickly disappear into the alley, she opened her mouth, wanting to call out to him, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do so.
Gao Mingcheng walked over and saw Xing Zhaozhao's forlorn look. He patted her head comfortingly and said, "Don't worry, it's alright. After a while, once he's calmed down, I'll talk to him again."
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
Seeing Xing Zhaozhao's reaction, her old comrades were somewhat puzzled and secretly asked Gao Mingcheng, "She and Zhaoming... don't have any relationship, right? Why do they seem so concerned about her?"
"After all, he's Zhaozhao's brother," Gao Mingcheng explained vaguely.
They didn't know that the two Zhaozhaos were actually one person. They just assumed that Xing Zhaozhao was worried about Gao Mingcheng's relationship with his brother-in-law, so they didn't ask any more questions.
For lunch, they stayed in the small courtyard and ate with Gao Mingcheng. Xing Zhaozhao cooked for them herself, making all the dishes they used to like.
The meal deeply moved the old men, who couldn't help but marvel at how Gao Mingcheng's new wife looked exactly like his deceased wife, and even her cooking skills were identical.
One oblivious person called Xing Zhaoming and told him that not only does this person look and have the exact same name as his sister, but she also has the exact same cooking skills.
Xing Zhaoming locked himself in his study and smashed everything in it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com