Chapter 536: If you can't get it, destroy it

"Forget it~"

Li Xuewu looked at the old man with a smile and said, "If I put on the yellow robe and you kneel down to me, it wouldn't be very appropriate."

The old man curled his lips and said, "You're really not polite."

"Haha~"

Li Xuewu laughed a few times, then raised his hand to gesture and asked, "Tell me, what did you do wrong?"

The old man was somewhat dissatisfied with the meaning of Li Xuewu's words, but being under someone else's roof, he said somewhat helplessly, "This matter, if you talk about it, it's actually your fault."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Li Xuewu nodded amusedly and said, "Tell me about it; although I don't have a plaque saying 'Bright Mirror Hanging High' here, I've always been fair in my work."

As he spoke, he spread his hands and added, "Even if it involves myself."

"It's not that serious."

The old man first raised his head, then sighed and said, "I feel that my time is running out~..."

"Heh~"

Before the old man could finish, Li Xuewu couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the old man looking over dissatisfiedly, he laughed, "From the way you were tearing at three young men at the gate just now, I can't tell that your time is running out."

After speaking, seeing the old man's expression of life being hopeless, Li Xuewu knew he should listen, so he raised his hand to signal him to continue.

The old man pursed his lips and continued, "What you told me last time, not to show these things, I thought about it, and you were indeed right."

Speaking of this, the old man explained somewhat dejectedly, "Many of these clothes were rewarded to me by nobles, and some I collected myself; it really hurts my heart to burn them with my own hands."

"I remember now."

Li Xuewu nodded affirmatively and said, "You did tell me last time that you were planning to take them with you after a hundred years."

Seeing the old man nod in confirmation, Li Xuewu asked again, "Is it just because you feel your time is running out that you have to burn the clothes?"

The old man looked at Li Xuewu and said, "Do you know what the most painful thing in the world is?"

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly, but still asked, "People die, but the money isn't spent?"

The old man looked straight at Li Xuewu and said, "People are alive, but the things they want to take with them can't be kept."

Li Xuewu's smile suddenly froze; he raised an eyebrow, narrowed his left eye slightly, and said, "I don't quite understand what you're talking about."

The old man looked at Li Xuewu for a while, then nodded and said, "It doesn't matter; just treat it as a madman rambling."

Li Xuewu pouted slightly, looked at the dead-looking old man, thought for a moment, and asked, "So you were discovered and reported when you were burning these things in your own courtyard?"

The old man looked at Li Xuewu again and said, "They asked me for these clothes, but I didn't give them; maybe."

Li Xuewu nodded, indicating he understood.

Anyone who saw such a violent waste would think this old man was abnormal and couldn't understand his behavior.

Li Xuewu also felt some pity for this old man, and even more felt that living in the old society and being old in the new society was a kind of torture.

And looking at the old man's appearance, he was still a person who had seen the world, at least that dragon robe could prove it.

"Are you a tailor?"

Li Xuewu took a sip of tea, sized up the old man's decent attire, and asked, "What kind of clothes can you make?"

The old man looked at Li Xuewu as if he were a fool, paused for a long time, and seeing that Li Xuewu didn't seem to be joking, retorted, "Do you ask questions like this when you go to a restaurant?"

Seeing the old man's impolite answer, Sha Qizhi, who was standing in the inner room, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; it had been a long time since anyone had spoken to Li Xuewu like this.

Especially someone as impolite as this old man—direct, precise, ruthless!

Li Xuewu curled his lips, raised his hand, and explained to himself, "You know, chefs are also divided into cuisines."

"Do you believe it?"

The old man narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Don't you know this is a marketing tactic? Just like shirts; ever since they were divided into men's and women's and four seasons, they've become easier to sell."

Li Xuewu smiled helplessly and spread both hands to surrender.

This old man was indeed speaking the truth; chefs don't distinguish between east, west, north, and south at all; as long as you tell them how to do it, they can make the dishes you want.

Segmenting and classifying commodities helps in precisely selecting the target audience and makes customers feel subconsciously that there is something different.

For example, Sha Zhu, a Sichuan cuisine chef, can go to cook for big leaders or make a living in a Sichuan restaurant, but he is now cooking large-pot meals in the large canteen.

Li Xuewu once asked him about other cuisines, and he ate them that very night, made by Sha Zhu.

This wasn't difficult for a chef at all.

Now the old man felt that Li Xuewu asking him what clothes he could make was insulting his profession and career, and it was unforgivable.

"It's a coincidence."

Li Xuewu didn't feel embarrassed at all for asking the wrong question; at this moment, he even shamelessly said, "I'm getting married."

The old man widened his eyes; he didn't hear any coincidence at all in Li Xuewu's words.

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu also couldn't handle this old man and felt that this old man must have been very unpopular when he was young.

"I'm getting married, and my partner and I both want to make a few new sets of clothes, including what we'll wear at the wedding."

The old man understood now; Li Xuewu was asking him to make clothes.

"Don't you think it's unlucky?"

"What?"

Li Xuewu didn't quite understand what the old man meant, narrowed his eyes, and tilted his head to look at the other party.

The old man also tilted his head and said, "I'm someone who is about to enter a coffin, and I'm an old antique."

As he spoke, he deliberately imitated Li Xuewu's action of raising his hand, indicating that he was old and not worth trusting.

"You can doubt my knowledge, but you cannot question my faith."

Li Xuewu looked at the old man very seriously and said, "A proletarian cadre does not believe in ghost stories."

The old man raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Xuewu in surprise; his already withered heart now had some vitality.

"It's been a long time since anyone came to ask me to make clothes."

Li Xuewu looked at the emotional old man and said jokingly, "I hope you don't mind that my status isn't high enough."

The old man raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Xuewu, his expression somewhat strange as he said, "Has anyone told you that the jokes you tell aren't funny at all?"

Sha Qizhi widened his eyes again when he heard this, but seeing the look the old man signaled, he turned around and stood with his back to the living room.

Li Xuewu didn't mind the old man's words, smiled, and said, "Thank you for your honest remarks; this has played an incomparably important role in my self-reflection and constant progress."

The old man looked at Li Xuewu's expression, paused, and asked, "This isn't a joke, right?"

After asking, he saw Li Xuewu's very unhappy expression, but he didn't have any intention of repenting; he pointed to the bundle at his side and asked, "Then I don't have to be arrested for setting a fire and burning clothes in my own home?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and said, "If you can get along well with your neighbors, there wouldn't be so much trouble."

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, the old man knew his matter was over; he stood up, picked up his bundle, and asked Li Xuewu without any gratitude: "If your neighbor came to your house to nag and coveted your favorite thing, what would you do?"

"I would shoot him dead."

"I would too~"

Hearing Li Xuewu's answer, the old man nodded in agreement, but still pointed to Li Xuewu's waist and said, "It's a pity I don't have a gun, and I don't know how to use one."

After saying this, he walked toward the door. When he pushed the door open, he turned his head and instructed Li Xuewu: "My surname is Li, Li Guangnian; go to my house this Sunday; you know where I live."

Sha Qizhi looked at the old man walking steadily down the steps with his large bundle and turned to look at Li Xuewu in astonishment.

"He calls this 'about to enter the coffin'?"

"Hehe, old people are all like this."

Li Xuewu didn't mind Sha Qizhi's question, smiled, replied, stood up, watched the old man pass the door, and turned to go to his desk.

Li Xuewu planned to find a tailor who did private work to make the wedding clothes and the new clothes after the wedding; just as Li Xuewu said, it was indeed a coincidence today.

Furthermore, this old man looked quite impressive; at least the clothes he dried looked quite intimidating.

Of course, Li Xuewu had asked Gu Ning if there was a suitable tailor, but Gu Ning said she wore uniforms all year round, or finished products from clothing stores.

As for why Li Xuewu didn't ask, because there was a high probability that his mother-in-law didn't know how to tailor clothes.

After all, his mother-in-law was working, unlike his mother; Li Xuewu's clothes when he was a child were all made by his mother.

Including the cloth shoes and clothes for the family now, basically everything made of cloth was made by his mother.

The old lady's eyes weren't very good anymore, otherwise, she would still be doing manual work.

Sha Qizhi tidied up the tea set on the coffee table, looked at Li Xuewu who was working, and said with a smile: "I also think it's a pity to burn good clothes, and they were such good clothes."

Li Xuewu didn't raise his head and said: "This is tradition, but he isn't greedy."

Sha Qizhi didn't know much about this old man; it was his first time seeing him today, and Li Xuewu hadn't brought him along on his mission last time.

"Because he has no family."

Li Xuewu's hand paused, and he said to Sha Qizhi: "The feeling of a heart turning to ash is very strange; it carries the meaning of destruction."

Sha Qizhi raised an eyebrow and retorted: "If you can't get it, destroy it? It's a bit childish and ridiculous, but I seem to understand it too."

Li Xuewu nodded and said: "Something like that."

After sighing, Li Xuewu seemed to have remembered something; he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Sha Qizhi searchingly: "Am I really boring when I tell jokes?"

Sha Qizhi: "..."

"If you can't get it, destroy it" is actually an extreme psychology under excessive possessiveness.

Possessiveness is a normal psychological phenomenon; everyone has possessiveness.

But excessive possessiveness leads to many problems and even extreme ideas.

For example, Li Guangnian; those clothes were his life's hard work and thoughts. Now that someone was plotting to take his thoughts, he wanted to burn them.

Yu Haitang, who was suffering from betrayal and indifference, felt the same way at this moment.

When you like a flower, you only pick it; when you love a flower, you water it.

The meaning of this sentence is not only the difference between liking and loving, but also a person's inner activities in a relationship.

When you like someone, this good feeling is variable and uncertain; when they meet someone better, they are easily attracted to others.

The Li Xuewu that Yu Haitang first saw was only a standard of excellence in her heart, and he didn't have the capital to make her fall for him.

And loving someone makes a person willingly make changes from the heart.

Love is to pay for the other party without hesitation and willingly.

Yu Haitang felt that she loved Li Xuewu, not hesitating to use the propaganda advantages in her hands to help Li Xuewu work, and even took an active attitude in her personal emotional life.

Yu Haitang felt that she had paid too much for Li Xuewu, including cutting off contact with male friends she had always been with.

But the weakness of human nature lies in: any payment subconsciously longs for feedback.

Once there is no feedback, some people will fall into sadness, while others will make excessive behaviors.

For example: if you can't get your own love, destroy this love with your own hands.

Yu Haitang didn't get Li Xuewu's feedback and felt that she had been betrayed: this man didn't love her, but was messing around with other women, and even sent her to a blind date, making her look like a clown in the unit.

She wanted to take revenge on Li Xuewu, revenge on Li Xuewu's betrayal and indifference to her.

"May I ask if Dr. Gu Ning is here?"

Yu Haitang found the hospital according to the information she had inquired about, and found Gu Ning's information and the specific department she worked in on the hospital's bulletin board.

Second floor of the hospital, at the corner outside the surgery office.

Gu Ning looked at the girl who had taken the initiative to find her and was somewhat stunned.

"I don't seem to know you."

"Yes, today is also the first time I've seen you."

While Gu Ning was sizing up Yu Haitang, Yu Haitang was also carefully sizing up Gu Ning, and in her heart, she was comparing Li Xuewu's fiancée with herself.

Comparing height...

Comparing appearance...

Comparing temperament...

Alright, Yu Haitang was very angry now; Li Xuewu, this cold-blooded animal, actually had such a beautiful fiancée and still went out to mess around.

Now she wasn't nervous anymore, but she still felt aggrieved, aggrieved for herself and for a good girl like Gu Ning, feeling that Li Xuewu deserved to be retaliated against by her; he didn't deserve to have a girlfriend.

"My name is Yu Haitang."

Yu Haitang steadied her mind; the woman in front of her was as excellent as she was, so she didn't feel that she should be low-spirited or feel guilty because of destroying a marriage.

Gu Ning looked at the girl standing in front of her whose face had changed several times, and couldn't help but have a bad premonition.

"I work at the radio station of the steel mill."

Yu Haitang introduced herself, then said to Gu Ning: "Yes, I know Li Xuewu, and I know some of his unknown ugly deeds."

Gu Ning's face was somewhat solemn, but she still looked at Yu Haitang without showing any of the intense reaction or questioning Yu Haitang had predicted.

At this moment, Mu Hongyan also walked out of the office, because she had just heard a woman's voice looking for her sister-in-law.

Having been out for a while and not seeing Gu Ning return, she came out to take a look.

But before she could reach the two of them, she heard the girl who had come looking for her sister-in-law say: "The whole factory knows that Li Xuewu has a thing with Qin Huairu from their courtyard, and he promoted Qin Huairu to the position of director of the reception center. During this period, he also helped someone named Zhang Songying climb to the position of deputy director of the reception center."

Yu Haitang looked at Gu Ning like this and asked with a slightly mocking tone: "You can't possibly not know how she climbed up, right?"

Mu Hongyan was completely stunned. She never expected that someone would come to tell Gu Ning this, and such terrifying news at that.

Looking at this girl who spoke with such certainty, Mu Hongyan did not feel that Li Xuewu and Gu Ning's marriage stood in anyone's way, so there was no possibility of an attack.

Then, what this girl said might be true.

"Are you finished?"

Gu Ning's reaction was very calm. There was no hysteria as Yu Haitang had expected, nor was there the excitement that would make her feel pleasant and refreshed; it was as if she were listening to rumors about a stranger.

Amidst Yu Haitang's daze, Gu Ning asked again: "And then?"

"Th... then?"

Yu Haitang opened her mouth, truly not knowing how to deal with the current situation.

On the way here, she had already thought of countless countermeasures for the intense reaction and questioning from Li Xuewu's fiancée, but she just didn't expect Gu Ning to ask her this.

Gu Ning looked Yu Haitang over again, then said: "If you're finished, I'm going back."

"Wa... wait."

Yu Haitang hurriedly stopped Gu Ning and asked suspiciously: "You are Gu Ning, right? Li Xuewu's fiancée?"

"Who are you?"

Mu Hongyan understood at this moment and walked over sternly, looking at Yu Haitang and asking: "I'm asking you, who are you? Who told you to come here to find her? Why are you saying these things?"

Yu Haitang was not afraid of the gentle and calm Gu Ning, but she was a bit intimidated by this woman who had suddenly appeared with a fierce look.

"I... I just can't stand it. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

After saying this, she turned and ran toward the stairwell. No matter how many times Mu Hongyan called out, there was no response, and she quickly ran out of sight.

Mu Hongyan wanted to have the security guards at the main gate stop that woman from the window, but was blocked by Gu Ning.

"Who is she?"

Mu Hongyan looked at Gu Ning and asked: "Is what she said true?"

Gu Ning's face was a bit pale. No one could accept such news on the eve of their wedding, and especially not in their own workplace.

She felt a bit powerless now. This expression didn't have much to do with the news about Li Xuewu; it was more that it came from the mouth of a woman in Li Xuewu's unit, which was unfair to her.

Mu Hongyan looked left and right; this wasn't the place to talk, so she helped her sister-in-law to the conference room.

There was no one here. She placed Gu Ning on a chair, squatted down, looked into Gu Ning's eyes, and asked: "Tell me, is what she said true?"

Don't look at how Mu Hongyan usually jokes with Gu Ning like a real sister; when it came to critical moments, Mu Hongyan was the eldest sister-in-law, and the sternness she displayed was no less than that of Ding Fengxia and Gu Haitao.

Gu Ning closed her eyes powerlessly. She didn't want to answer this question now, and even less did she want to face her sister-in-law's relentless pressure.

"That little bastard."

Seeing Gu Ning like this, Mu Hongyan knew her sister-in-law had been bullied. She gritted her teeth and cursed, then stood up and said: "I'll call Gu An and have your brother come back!"

"No!"

At this moment, Gu Ning suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed her sister-in-law, and shook her head pleadingly.

"Why not!"

Mu Hongyan said with somewhat red eyes: "I'll have your brother skin him alive!"

Gu Ning pressed her forehead against the hand holding her sister-in-law and shook it. She was in no mood to explain now, and even less had the strength to say anything to her sister-in-law.

Seeing her sister-in-law's sad appearance, Mu Hongyan felt even more heartbroken. She squatted down again and said: "Then I'll tell Mom and Dad and let them handle it."

"No, Sister-in-law."

Gu Ning sniffled, looked down at the hand held by her sister-in-law, and said with a somewhat dry voice: "Let me handle my own affairs."

Mu Hongyan looked at her stubborn sister-in-law, her heart already starting to curse Li Xuewu's ancestors for eight generations.

To have such a good girl and not want her, but instead go out and mess around—what is this?

Bah!

Was all the hard work of the mother-in-law back then fed to the dogs!

Ever since marrying Gu An, this was truly the first time Mu Hongyan had seen her sister-in-law so out of sorts, and even more so, the first time she had seen such a hurt and sad expression on her sister-in-law's face.

At home, even her father-in-law couldn't bear to give her a cold look; could it be that she was meant to be bullied by that stinky brat!

But she knew Gu Ning's temperament too well—stubborn, rigid, indifferent, obstinate; these words were the most appropriate to describe her sister-in-law.

She had been dating Gu An for half a year, and it wasn't until the second year of marriage that she got along with Gu Ning.

Before that, her sister-in-law's attitude toward her was lukewarm, and she couldn't even crack a joke.

She didn't dare to provoke Gu Ning anymore, even though she hated Li Xuewu to the core.

"Off work?"

"What for?"

When Li Xuewu walked into the main gate of the courtyard, he bumped into Yushui. He was slightly taken aback when Yushui took the initiative to greet him.

Ever since Seeing Sha Zhu's sister found out about his business with Yu Li and Qin Huairu, she seemed to always roll her eyes at him.

It was as if he had let her down; she was very disgusted with him and had never taken the initiative to greet him.

Today's abnormal behavior made Li Xuewu ask back with great vigilance.

In fact, He Yu Shui had been waiting at the entrance for a while. After talking to Yu Haitang on the phone in the morning, her heart had been thumping, always feeling that something bad was going to happen.

She knew Yu Haitang too well; she was a straight shooter.

She couldn't hide anything she had to say, couldn't suppress any emotions, and when she encountered trouble, she was prone to getting stuck in a dead end. She would just vent it out and be done with it.

In the morning, she had wanted to call Li Xuewu to ask, but she didn't have Li Xuewu's number.

Furthermore, she was very worried and guilty about telling Yu Haitang the news of Li Xuewu's marriage and provoking her into this state, fearing what consequences it might cause.

So, as soon as she got off work, she hurried back and had been waiting at the entrance for Li Xuewu.

If Yu Haitang had really caused any trouble or had a direct conflict with Li Xuewu, she would be able to apologize immediately.

But looking at Li Xuewu's expression now, it didn't look like he was in trouble, and even less like he had been in a conflict with Yu Haitang.

"Uh, I wanted to ask if you've seen Yu Haitang?"

"What the heck?"

Li Xuewu frowned slightly as he looked at He Yu Shui, whose expression was a bit unnatural, and asked: "Did she come looking for me again?"

"No."

He Yu Shui waved her hand in a panic. She had understood Li Xuewu's words and knew that nothing had happened.

It's good that nothing happened, it's good that nothing happened.

She muttered a few times in her heart, twitched the corners of her mouth at Li Xuewu, gave a fake smile, and went to the East Courtyard.

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow as he watched Yushui's back, muttering: "She couldn't have been tortured into a mental problem by Yu Haitang, could she?"

He wondered in his heart if Seeing Sha Zhu would get angry with him if Yushui really had been tortured into a mental problem because of this.

"Hehe~"

Li Xuewu was also amused by his own bizarre thoughts. He carried his bag and entered the hanging flower gate.

Because he got off work at the Security Brigade, Li Xuewu returned relatively early, and the courtyard wasn't very lively yet.

By the time he changed his clothes and came out to eat, this courtyard would be at its liveliest.

The First Master could now walk around with someone supporting him. At this moment, he was sitting on a chair at the entrance of his house, which must have been specifically placed there by the First Matron so he could come out for a stroll.

Seeing Sha Zhu was standing in front of the First Master, gesturing with his hands as he told the First Master how he was going to build his house and how he was going to renovate the interior.

Seeing Li Xuewu come out from the backyard at this moment, Seeing Sha Zhu greeted him first: "You came just in time; we were just talking about you."

"Talking about what? Praising me?"

Li Xuewu walked out of the moon gate with a smile. Seeing Qin Huairu washing clothes by the pool, he asked with a smile: "How come you're washing clothes again?"

In the past, he saw Qin Huairu washing clothes here every time, but she washed less after becoming the director of the reception center.

Seeing her pick up this chore again in the last few days, could it be that her family status had suddenly slipped?

"Bang Geng's grandmother's hands hurt."

Qin Huairu replied helplessly: "It's an old ailment; it gets severe when the weather changes in spring and autumn."

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly and looked at Seeing Sha Zhu.

Seeing Sha Zhu explained with a smile: "I was just about to ask you where you got that water heating and radiator stuff."

"You're making a big investment."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, glanced at the First Master, and asked: "Did you lend him money?"

Yi Zhonghai smiled and didn't answer the question. He had lent it, but he couldn't say it out loud.

After all, Seeing Sha Zhu was here, and he was already thirty years old; it would be too embarrassing to say it.

Seeing Sha Zhu didn't put on airs with Li Xuewu and said with a smile: "I borrowed a huge sum from the First Master. My renovation is bound to outdo yours."

"Fine, fine, who told me to live in the side room."

Li Xuewu smiled in a defeated manner and said: "Go ask the casting workshop; I paid to have mine made too."

"Understood."

Seeing Sha Zhu nodded knowingly. There was no need to go into detail about these things; he knew what to do.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and asked: "Are you getting married in the backyard?"

"No."

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "I found a place near my partner's."

The First Master nodded knowingly, indicating he understood.

Seeing Sha Zhu teased with a smile: "How come you look like you're henpecked?"

"Like you?"

Qin Huairu, who was by the pool, teased Seeing Sha Zhu: "Director Li has the ability to find a house, and you're mocking him while living off your ancestors' shade~"

"Hey~!"

Seeing Sha Zhu shrugged his shoulders, unable to find a reason to refute, but still pointed to his house and said: "I'm tearing down the old and building the new; that's also an ability, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Qin Huairu hung the wrung-out clothes on the rope in the courtyard and said perfunctorily: "You're so capable; you tear down a tiled house as soon as you say so, and build it up as soon as you say so."

"Hey! ~~"

Seeing Sha Zhu nodded and said: "That's called skill."

Yi Zhonghai watched Seeing Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu bickering with a smile, then turned to Li Xuewu and asked: "You won't be living here in the future?"

"Not necessarily."

Li Xuewu replied with a smile: "Like my eldest brother and sister-in-law, I'll come back to live on Saturdays and Sundays, and go back when it's time for work."

"That's good, that's good."

Yi Zhonghai nodded and said: "Spending more time with your parents is fate."

Li Xuewu also saw the First Master's thoughts; he must be thinking about his own lack of children.

Li Xuewu really couldn't say anything about this matter, so he pointed to the front courtyard and said to the First Master: "Dinner is ready in the front courtyard; you should rest."

"Fine, go do your business."

Yi Zhonghai nodded at Li Xuewu, acknowledging the greeting.

Seeing Li Xuewu walk past, Seeing Sha Zhu also said a few words to Qin Huairu and followed him toward the front courtyard.

Passing the chicken coop and seeing Li Xuewu look at it, Seeing Sha Zhu sighed with some strangeness: "I didn't expect this 'Old Six' to really gain a foothold here."

Li Xuewu looked back at Seeing Sha Zhu without saying a word. He didn't want to comment on Qin Jingru's behavior and current situation.

Whether rich or poor, he wouldn't touch a flower that clearly brought trouble.

Women weren't necessities; having one more or one less was all up to his heart, but trouble wasn't in the scope of consideration.

Seeing Sha Zhu, on the other hand, had some lingering resentment toward this 'Qin Old Six'; after all, she had played him a few times, so he inevitably had some thoughts.

But they weren't bad thoughts; mockery was out of the question, and belittling was even less so—perhaps it was just surprise.

"I even saw her arguing with her sister about the rent and meal money tonight."

Seeing Sha Zhu followed Li Xuewu across the third gate and said softly with a smile: "Qin Huairu's mother-in-law's hand pain isn't rheumatism; she hurt it by slamming the table."

"That ruthless?"

Li Xuewu looked at Seeing Sha Zhu with some surprise. To say she slapped someone wouldn't be surprising, but to hurt herself—could Jia Zhangshi do that?

"Hehe, didn't know that, did you?"

Seeing Sha Zhu said with a wicked smile: "She wasn't thinking about hitting someone, but she had to be able to bring herself to do it; after all, it's Qin Huairu's sister."

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly, indicating he understood.

Seeing Sha Zhu added: "This Mother Jia is truly ruthless when she gets ruthless; she even hits herself, hehehe."

He was very annoyed with this Jia Zhangshi; they were neighbors, and he had often clashed with the old lady.

Especially because of Qin Huairu and Bang Geng, this old lady was the worst; if Seeing Sha Zhu hadn't been helpless against her, he would have used dirty tricks long ago.

Li Xuewu looked at the wicked-smiling Seeing Sha Zhu and asked: "You didn't stir up trouble in there, did you?"

"Forget it."

Seeing Sha Zhu said with a smile: "They almost tore the roof off their house because of the meal money; how would I dare to enter the house?"

As the two were talking, just as they were about to reach the hanging flower gate, they bumped into the Third Master face-to-face.

Since that morning, the Third Master hadn't mentioned Yan Jiecheng's transfer to Li Xuewu again, and he hadn't paid any attention to Li Xuewu in the last few days either.

Li Xuewu was happy not to have this annoying fly around. Bumping into him today, Li Xuewu stepped aside first and waited with Seeing Sha Zhu for him to pass.

Yan Fugui looked at Li Xuewu, especially at the behavior of letting him pass first, which made his heart feel blocked.

If you want to say Li Xuewu is bad, you should just keep being bad; the worse you are, the better, and I'll have a response to deal with you.

But you're bad to me, and then you act so polite and act with such quality—aren't you making things difficult for me!

Li Xuewu didn't feel it was difficult. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the Third Master stand outside the gate staring at him without coming in.

Seeing Sha Zhu naturally remembered the joke from a few days ago and was winking and waiting to continue watching the fun.

If you want to say who is the most interesting at roasting people and the most devious at trapping people in this courtyard, it has to be Li Xuewu.

He was now also watching the two with a learning mindset, without the slightest intention of mediating or clearing up the misunderstanding.

Yan Fugui also saw Li Xuewu's meaningful expression, smacked his lips, and stepped over the threshold.

Just as he was about to pass Li Xuewu, he suddenly turned around, looked at Li Xuewu, and said: "The Third Master hasn't offended you, has he?"

"Look at what you're saying."

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "If you have any opinions about me, please say so directly. If I have done anything wrong, please feel free to criticize me more."

Yan Fugui looked at Li Xuewu. Since he had already said that, how could he criticize Li Xuewu, and he couldn't use the Third Master's status to make an issue of it either.

Sometimes he really felt Li Xuewu was monstrous. He used to be able to fool him with words, but now he was letting himself jump from one pit into another.

One wrong word and it was his own fault; now, he was the one being unreasonable.

Li Xuewu didn't have time to waste with him, nodded, stepped over the threshold, and went to eat.

Seeing Sha Zhu gave a wicked smile at the Third Master who was looking at him, and followed Li Xuewu past the hanging flower gate.

Standing inside the hanging flower gate, one could see the situation at the dining table in the east room of the side room. At this moment, the side room was lit, and a group of people were laughing and talking about something in the room.

This atmosphere and unity were the fundamental reasons why the surrounding neighbors didn't dare to talk nonsense about the West Courtyard.

If you say the wrong thing, you get beaten!

Gu Ning went home from work alone. It wasn't that Mu Hongyan hadn't suggested that Gu Ning go home with her, but Gu Ning had refused.

Today is Saturday, and tomorrow they have an appointment for Li Xuewu's family to come here to meet her mother and family.

At the same time, both sides of the in-laws were to talk about things before, during, and after their marriage here.

Although the specific news had already been conveyed to both families through Li Xuewu and Gu Ning's words, marriage is a big event, and it couldn't be decided after just one meeting.

At least twice.

This might be Gu Ning's last insistence, because according to Li Xuewu, he was going on a business trip next week, and it would be best to get the certificate on Monday so he could make arrangements.

Meeting on Sunday and getting the certificate on Monday—these should have been two happy days, but Gu Ning's mood today was very heavy.

Zhou Wang Yamei noticed it when Gu Ning entered the room, but she didn't immediately offer guidance.

It had been the same situation a few days ago; Gu Ning returned to her maiden home the day after Li Xuewu visited, and was in this state when she returned.

Although she recovered later, Zhou Wang Yamei felt that Gu Ning's heart ailment hadn't been cured.

After arranging for her son and Gu Ning to wash their hands and eat, she looked at the absent-minded Gu Ning. After cleaning up the kitchen, Zhou Wang Yamei offered to help Gu Ning with psychological therapy.

"Sister Zhou."

Gu Ning said somewhat exhaustedly: "How about another day? I'm a bit tired today."

Zhou Wang Yamei didn't deny the proposal, walked to Gu Ning's side, and said softly: "Sometimes difficulties are just there; avoiding them only increases the time of suffering. Overcoming them is the only way to solve the pain."

Gu Ning looked into Zhou Wang Yamei's eyes, saw the sincerity, and also saw the worry, so she couldn't help but nod.

Zhou Wang Yamei sent her son upstairs, had Gu Ning lie on the sofa in the living room, drew the curtains, dimmed the lights, and sat on the single sofa beside Gu Ning.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Gu Ning lay on the sofa with her eyes closed, her lower legs cushioned by a pillow; the posture was very comfortable, but her mood was very sad.

Zhou Wang Yamei could see the emotional changes in her heart through Gu Ning's expression. In front of her, Li Xuewu and Gu Ning didn't have any thoughts of hiding or acting.

"Is it him?"

Seeing that Gu Ning hadn't answered for a long time, Zhou Wang Yamei asked her guess.

This time, without waiting for Gu Ning to nod or shake her head, she continued to ask: "It has something to do with another woman, right?"

Gu Ning answered Zhou Wang Yamei's words with silence. She didn't know how to answer Zhou Wang Yamei.

Because she knew—she knew a lot about Li Xuewu, more than Zhou Wang Yamei had thought, more than her sister-in-law had heard, and more than what that girl named Yu Haitang had said.

Gu Ning wasn't a cold-blooded person; she just wasn't good at expressing emotions, and she resisted this complex emotional relationship and change between people in her heart.

She admitted that she was very fragile and cowardly. She was afraid—afraid of getting hurt, afraid of suffering setbacks in personal relationships, and even more afraid of bringing more trouble to her family because she was already a trouble herself.

Yes, in Mu Hongyan's eyes, she was the apple of the Gu family's eye and the heart of her parents, but this was precisely Gu Ning's heart ailment and the heavy love Gu Ning was eager to get rid of.

The more her parents cared about her, the more she thought about the trouble she had caused her parents when she was a child.

She didn't want to let her parents worry and labor for her again because of her own affairs.

This was the result of her parents having a heart-to-heart talk with her after she had a relationship with that person from the Wei family last time.

She didn't know what love looked like at that time; maybe it was like in Jane Eyre, or maybe like in revolutionary stories.

But after her parents helped her sort out the emotional relationship with reality and real interests, her view of love changed drastically.

This was also the reason why she still chose Li Xuewu after her father told her so much about Li Xuewu on the second floor that day.

It was also the reason why she made such an agreement with Li Xuewu in the restaurant.

Gu Haitao was self-reproachful; he felt he owed too much to his daughter and wanted her to live better, so he inexplicably caused pressure and harm to Gu Ning.

Now, whenever he discussed emotional problems with his daughter, he was cautious, not daring to touch her emotional forbidden zone, and even less daring to influence her emotional thoughts.

He was truly afraid that one day Gu Ning's emotional world would collapse, and by then, she would truly be an ice sculpture.

"Actually, I also like Li Xuewu."

Zhou Wang Yamei sat beside Gu Ning and said frankly: "It's not strange at all that he has women who like him."

After saying this, she lowered her head and looked at Gu Ning, who had already opened her eyes and was looking over: "I believe you didn't feel surprised either."