Chapter 23: My Man

The city management team acted quickly. When Xu An went to set up her stall the next morning, many stalls had been ordered to rectify their hygiene and permits, immediately shutting down until they met the standards and could reopen.

The owner of the roadside stall restaurant who had reported them yesterday was naturally among them.  The spot where he had set up his stall was also pelted with stones and dirty water.  He probably wouldn’t be back for a while.

The individual business owners who had been rectified blamed the owner. If he hadn’t called the city management team, they would have turned a blind eye. Now he had made a big fuss, making everyone uncomfortable.

When the owner came back, it was unknown if he could still keep his shop open.

Xu An had been busy for several days.  There were fewer breakfast stalls in the early market, and many roadside stalls had closed down. Her business was booming, and even three pots a day weren’t enough.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu didn’t have to go out to entertain people these past few days. He was helping her at home, which made Xu An’s life a lot easier.

She was busy until late at night, only getting a little rest. Su Xiaoyang and Wen Yaowu left when it was completely dark.

Xu An sprawled on the chair, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly at the ceiling beams. Her voice carried a hint of complaint and pity.

“Zhou Yu, I don’t want to make money anymore.”

From the initial small pot, which she had been able to handle easily, to now, with the increasing amount, the better the business, the busier she was. She was much, much more tired than before.

She didn’t have those beautiful thoughts of “suffering first, enjoying later.”  If she could taste a bit of sweetness, she wanted to taste it immediately.

Zhou Yu stared at the girl’s thin, delicate neck, nonchalantly saying, “Alright.”

Xu An lifted her chin, looking at the man across from her in surprise. “Are you serious?”

Zhou Yu scoffed, “I don’t need to lie to you.”

“If you want to stay at home, never leaving the house, you won’t starve.”

Xu An pulled her chair forward, lazily resting her hand on the stove, propping her chin, her eyes blankly looking at Zhou Yu. “Hmm, having everything handed to you isn’t bad.”

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow. “You’re dreaming. Don’t expect me to wait on you.”

Xu An sighed softly. “I know.”

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman who was almost collapsing on the stove, saying flatly, “Your mind’s gone blank. Go count the money you’ve made.”

Mentioning the money she had earned these past few days, Xu An’s eyes lit up. Although she was complaining, the exhaustion was worth it. She had made several times more than before.

Besides, it wasn’t just her who was tired. She looked up at the man across from her, whose expression was indifferent. Zhou Yu had been working harder than her these past few days, getting up earlier and sleeping later than her.

Alright, Xu An sighed aimlessly, pain and pleasure, she could hold on a little longer.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s soft, doughy body, saying flatly, “Tired? You won’t be tired when someone comes to steal your business.”

Xu An looked up at the man in front of her, who never spoke kindly. She secretly glared at him. Sometimes she really wanted to sew his mouth shut, he was so annoying.

She was too tired to take a bath. She just heated some water and soaked her feet comfortably. After relieving her exhaustion, she swayed her body back to the inner room.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s ghost-like figure, the corners of his lips twitched. He stood up, added coal to the stove, washed his feet, and then turned off the lights in the outer room before entering the bedroom.

Xu An sprawled on the bed, feeling like she was about to become one with the bed. She fell asleep soon after touching the bed.

Zhou Yu entered the room and saw the woman curled up in the covers, sleeping soundly. He paused for a moment, lowered his eyes, walked to the edge of the bed, and climbed in.

In the darkness, he could clearly hear the woman’s breathing, which was heavier than usual. As she said, she was tired.

Zhou Yu stared at the empty, dark void, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he closed his eyes.

…

Xu An stared at the new braised meat stall not far away, which was exactly like theirs. She glared at Zhou Yu beside her, muttering softly.

“You jinxed it.”

Even Zhou Yu felt a little uncomfortable. He coughed lightly.

“I was just saying.”

Who knew it would really happen.

Xu An’s braised meat stall was doing so well, there were bound to be envious people. It wasn’t surprising that there was now a copycat.

But Xu An was a little curious about the other side’s taste. Besides, she recognized the owner on the other side. He had bought braised meat from her many times.

She had thought he was a valued customer, but it turned out he was a competitor who had come to steal her secrets.

Xu An didn’t look for long. She continued to do business.  In the end, taste is what wins. As long as the taste is good, she wouldn’t have to worry about selling her goods.

However, when she saw her first customer walk over to the other stall, Xu An admitted that she felt a little uncomfortable.

Fang Shu wasn’t just her first customer, she was also a regular customer.  The other stall had only been open for a day, and they had already poached her regular customer. Xu An was really a little concerned.

When Fang Shu walked to the stall, smiling brightly at Xu An.

Xu An forced herself to smile, looking up at her.

“The same as usual?”

Fang Shu smiled, handing Xu An the braised meat she had bought from the other stall. She smiled at Xu An, a little flirtatiously.

“I went to scout the enemy for you.”

She leaned in front of Xu An, smiling.

“The taste is far inferior to yours.”

“But they’re selling it cheaper, one yuan for meat, six cents for vegetables. They probably know their taste can’t compete, so they’re lowering the price.”

Xu An stared blankly at Fang Shu’s bright face, and the braised meat from the competitor that she had handed over, blinking.

Fang Shu hadn’t been poached in just one day, she had gone to help her understand the enemy?

What kind of beautiful little angel was this.

Xu An’s smile brightened.  She listened to Fang Shu’s words and took the braised meat from the competitor’s stall.

She took a bite with chopsticks, frowned slightly.  It was obvious that the seasoning proportions weren’t right, there was a strange taste, not delicious, but edible.

After she tasted it, she picked up a piece and handed it to Zhou Yu beside her, nodding towards him.

Zhou Yu stared at the food being brought to his mouth, his thick brows furrowed.  He still leaned over and ate it.

His face clearly showed his dislike.

Xu An was relaxed, even wanting to laugh.  His previous “not bad” was already the highest praise.

As expected, the system’s products are always excellent.

After admiring Zhou Yu’s ugly expression, Xu An turned back to Fang Shu, “You’ve given me important intel.  Eat whatever you want today, it’s on me.”

Fang Shu raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Anything I want?”

Xu An nodded. “Anything.”

Fang Shu raised her eyebrows and looked at Xu An. “How about we eat at your place?”

As soon as she said that, Xu An was slightly stunned. She tilted her head to look at Zhou Yu beside her. Zhou Yu looked at her with a flat expression.

Xu An readily agreed.

“Of course, you’re always welcome.”

Fang Shu’s smile became more genuine. Xu An packed some braised meat for her and then sent her away.

When she had a moment to spare, Wen Yaowu scratched his head. “Sister-in-law, why is she willing to get along with you?”

Xu An shook her head. “Don’t think so much.”

Wen Yaowu sighed, “Sister-in-law, I think it’s because you’re a new face, you just came to this alley, and everyone else in the alley has some negative opinions about her because of rumors, so they don’t interact with her.”

“You just arrived, and you’re a girl, so she’s happy to interact with you. That’s why she takes care of your business and is so nice to you. Now she’s even going to eat at your place.”

Xu An smiled. “You think a lot.”

“Then tell me, you’ve seen Fang Shu so many times, what do you think of her?”

Wen Yaowu touched his buzz cut awkwardly, “She’s pretty good.”

Every day she comes to support the business, the boss loves customers like that.

“I think she’s pretty good too. She wants to get close to me, make a friend, and I’m the same.”

“I’ve been here for a while, but I haven’t made any friends.  She’s happy to get close to me, I’m actually very happy.”

Wen Yaowu nodded, finally understanding.

Hearing Xu An’s words, Zhou Yu’s eyes dimmed.

Logically, if a new wife came to the alley, no matter what, within two or three days, the neighbors would come knocking on the door to say hello.

Gradually expanding the new wife’s circle, bringing her to get acquainted with everyone slowly.

This woman hadn’t shown her face even once until now. Forget about the people in the alley, even within their own courtyard, Zhou Hongguang’s wife and his sister hadn’t thought about introducing her to their new sister-in-law.

Zhou Yu impatiently clicked his tongue. He only got the east room and a broken stove, it was too cheap for them.

Xu An turned her head, looking up into the man’s deep eyes, which were so dark that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The two of them stared at each other. Zhou Yu, for once, looked serious, and said in a low voice, “Want to make friends?”

Xu An shook her head, “No, I still prefer quiet.”

“You don’t need too many friends, just the right ones.”

Zhou Yu nodded lightly and didn’t say anything else.

Although they had a competitor, the quality of their food was inferior, and it didn’t really affect their business.

Xu An was happy to be at ease. This kind of thing was unavoidable, they could only rely on their own abilities. For now, the competitor couldn’t beat them, they could only rely on lowering prices.

When they left in the afternoon, there were still a lot of customers at the competitor’s stall.

As Xu An and the others walked past, the owner felt a little guilty and didn’t dare to meet Xu An’s gaze.

Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang walked up to their stall, their eyes fixed on the stall, staring them down until they were looking for their heads on the ground and didn’t dare to look at them, then they slowly left.

Xu An helplessly propped her chin on her hand. Back home, she looked at Zhou Yu and said,

“I promised Fang Shu to invite her to have dinner at home, do you have any objections?”

This woman had a rare friend, Zhou Yu wouldn’t have any objections, “You decide.”

He then stared at Xu An, “My reputation is already ruined.”

“Even if everyone in the alley knows that Zhou Hongguang was the one who engaged in profiteering, it wouldn’t change anything.”

“No one will come to be friendly with you. You’ve had enough of that these past few days.”

Xu An nodded, looking up at him, “Are you afraid I’ll mind?”

She smiled and shook her head, “No, I really do like quiet.”

“I hate maintaining relationships. It’s good that they don’t come, I don’t mind.”

Zhou Yu stared at her watery eyes, knowing that she was telling the truth.

He turned his head, his throat bobbing, and said in a hoarse voice, “Good to know.”

The couple finished their meal and went to bed early.

The next day, after finishing work and coming home, Fang Shu came along.

Xu An had prepared the ingredients earlier when she bought things in the morning. She closed her stall early and sent Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang away, then took Fang Shu home.

She took a chair and placed it by the stove for Fang Shu to sit on, smiling as she said,

“The house is a bit small, you sit here first.”

She could tell that Fang Shu wasn’t short of money. The clothes she wore were not only fashionable but also of good quality. She wore exquisite makeup every day, she must be a rich girl.

Fang Shu sat leisurely on the chair Xu An had prepared for her, nodding with a smile.

Although Xu An’s house was small, it was clean and tidy everywhere, making people feel comfortable as soon as they entered.

After settling Fang Shu, Xu An started to boil water, asking Zhou Yu, who was leaning against the door of the house, to come over and help.

Zhou Yu helped Xu An. Xu An first put a pot of pork bone soup on the stove to simmer, then took the small stove to the door, started a fire, and began to cook.

Xu An made a dish of boiled pork slices, braised pork, sweet and sour pork, and stir-fried a plate of green vegetables. The rich aroma filled the courtyard.

Zhou Dandan, who hadn’t eaten yet in the main house, couldn’t resist the smell and came out, standing at the door, staring at Xu An cooking from afar.

Fang Shu had also felt a connection with Xu An, finding her easy to get along with, and had suggested coming to Xu An’s house for dinner.

Now, sitting on the chair, various aromas kept wafting into her nose, she couldn’t help but swallow, stood up and walked to the door to watch Xu An cook.

Zhou Dandan saw that another person had come out of the east room, and when she saw Fang Shu’s somewhat bright appearance, she furrowed her brow. After staring for a while, she realized that Fang Shu looked familiar.

Wasn’t this the hen who couldn’t lay eggs, as people said? She was pretty, maybe she messed around when she was young, otherwise, how could a woman not be able to have children.

Her second sister-in-law was now hanging out with this kind of person.

As expected, birds of a feather flock together. One was a country girl from Nancheng, and the other was a city woman who was promiscuous and couldn’t lay eggs, no wonder they got along.

Zhou Dandan raised her head and walked straight up to Xu An, her expression arrogant.

“Second sister-in-law, you really make friends with anyone, you’re just embarrassing our Zhou family.”

Xu An scooped the food into the bowl Zhou Yu handed her, furrowed her brow, stared at Zhou Dandan who couldn’t stay still and was looking for trouble, and her face turned cold.

“What did you say?”

Zhou Dandan had never seen Xu An’s expression before. She stiffened her neck and said, “Isn’t it true?”

“Who in this alley makes friends with a woman who can’t lay eggs? It’s just that you, second sister-in-law, are a newcomer from the countryside, you two are birds of a feather.”

“Apologize!”

Xu An shouted, her eyes cold as she stared at Zhou Dandan.

“I’m telling the truth, why should I apologize? You even invited this kind of person to your house as a guest, you have all these good things, you don’t give them to your sister, but you give them to someone shameless…”

“Slap!”

Xu An directly threw the spatula down with a clang, took three steps in two, walked up to Zhou Dandan, and slapped her across the face before she could react.

Xu An didn’t hold back, her own hand hurt a little.

Zhou Dandan’s face was slapped to the side, she didn’t react for a while, and when the burning pain on her face made her react, a deafening scream pierced through the courtyard.

“Xu An, you dare to hit me?!”

She glared at Xu An and charged at her.

Zhou Yu took a step forward, standing in front of Xu An, his cold gaze fixed on Zhou Dandan, colder than the winter ice.

His second brother didn’t have any gentlemanly chivalry about not hitting women.

Zhou Dandan was so scared that she retreated.

Hearing her daughter’s scream, Pan Hehua and Zhou Youlu also ran out of the main house, along with Zhou Shuwen, who came out of his room.

As soon as the three of them came out, they saw the second son protecting his wife, and the younger sister was furious.

This scene looked like Xu An was being bullied by her younger sister, and the second son was protecting his wife.

Seeing the red mark on Zhou Dandan’s face, Pan Hehua hurriedly ran over, looking at her daughter with heartache.

“Oh my, what happened?”

Her face was slapped red, it would probably be swollen tomorrow.

Zhou Dandan covered her face, and when she saw her parents and her third brother come out, she ran over to complain with tear-filled eyes.

“Mom, second sister-in-law hit me.”

The slap mark on her face was particularly obvious in the dim light of the courtyard.

Pan Hehua was heartbroken.

“Second son, how can this country wife of yours be so rude, she hit Dandan and you, her brother, don’t even stop her.”

Zhou Yu blocked Xu An behind him, shielding her completely, holding his arms and looking relaxed.

“Serves you right.”

“Watch your mouth in the future, don’t go around biting people.”

Hearing Zhou Yu say this, Zhou Dandan covered her face.

“Where did I bite anyone?”

She pointed at Fang Shu, who was standing by the stove.

“Mom, second sister-in-law is now bringing anyone she wants home, are you going to [manage/control]?”

Zhou Youlu and Pan Hehua usually didn’t dare to urge Feng Yirou, but they did have some complaints in their hearts, they could only hint to their son Zhou Hongguang.

Now, hearing their daughter say this, they told her to shut up, but they also had some thoughts in their hearts, thinking it was Feng Yirou’s fault.

Feng Yirou just stared at Zhou Hongguang, watching his reaction.

Zhou Hongguang said in a deep voice,

“Dandan, what are you talking about!”

“Is this something a girl should say?”

Zhou Dandan’s face was hurting badly now, seeing her brother scold her, her third brother and parents didn’t care, and her second brother even hid that woman, afraid that she would cause trouble.

“If I don’t say it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. What’s the use of silencing me?”

She puffed up her cheeks and argued stubbornly.

Feng Yirou’s voice was cold, devoid of her usual gentleness.

“Yes, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist if you don’t say it. You’ve learned to beat around the bush, haven’t you?”

She looked at Zhou Hongguang, “You’re a good brother, you’ve raised a good sister.”

Feng Yirou laughed sarcastically, no longer looking at the drama, she didn’t eat dinner, she went straight into the west room and slammed the door shut.

Zhou Hongguang’s face was gloomy, “Dandan, how have your sister-in-law and I treated you, reflect on yourself, go and apologize to your sister-in-law.”

Zhou Dandan pouted, “Brother, I wasn’t talking about sister-in-law, why is she angry?”

She stared at Fang Shu, who was standing at the door of the east room, “I was talking about her.”

Zhou Hongguang looked at Fang Shu, his face darkened, “Apologize to Comrade Fang Shu.”

It was one thing to make her apologize to her sister-in-law, but now she had to apologize to this Fang Shu, she wouldn’t do it.

“Dandan, apologize, you know you said something wrong.”

Zhou Youlu stared at his disobedient daughter and said in a deep voice.

The whole family stared at Zhou Dandan, forcing her to apologize.

Zhou Dandan really wanted to cry now.

She stared fixedly at Xu An, it was all because of this second sister-in-law, if she hadn’t stirred up trouble, how could this have happened.

Xu An looked back leisurely, her gaze suddenly blocked. Zhou Yu stood in front of her again, blocking all her vision.

Zhou Dandan was so angry with her second brother and sister-in-law that she was about to cry. Her face still hurt, and under the pressure of everyone in the courtyard, she went up to Fang Shu and reluctantly apologized to her.

“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Forced to apologize by the whole family, Zhou Dandan was both aggrieved and angry. She didn’t know why, but suddenly she thought of three years ago, when her second brother seemed to be the same way, forced by the whole family to go to jail.

In the end, her second brother didn’t say anything and was taken away.

Zhou Dandan was a little scared.

How could she be the same as her second brother? Back then, only her second brother was idle, and sending him to jail was the best choice.

Now she was the one who was wronged.

After apologizing, she concealed her expression, suddenly not daring to look at her second brother’s face, she bit her lip, the taste of it was hard to describe.

The farce finally reached the person involved.

Fang Shu had a bright smile on her face.

“The Zhou family really knows how to teach their daughters.”

“You should save this apology for someone else. You’ll probably have plenty of opportunities for that. I won’t accept it.”

This was a clear rejection of Zhou Dandan’s apology.

Zhou Dandan didn’t care. She had apologized, whether this woman accepted it or not was none of her business.

She was about to leave after apologizing, but Zhou Hongguang held her head down and made her apologize again.

Xu An looked at this Zhou Hongguang, feeling a little strange. Why was he suddenly so flustered? Usually, he was the most adept at playing the role of the elder brother, but now he seemed to be in a hurry.

Fang Shu saw Zhou Dandan being forced to apologize again, she just smiled at Xu An.

“I’m a little hungry, when can we eat?”

Xu An turned her head, smiling lightly at her, “The food is ready, we can eat dinner after Zhou Yu takes the braised meat pot off the stove.”

Fang Shu smiled and walked into the east room, “Let’s eat first, I’m hungry.”

Xu An smiled and agreed, poking Zhou Yu’s lower back with her finger, she said loudly, “Zhou Yu, take the pot off the stove, let’s eat dinner first.”

Zhou Yu turned his face to look at the woman behind him, then held his arms and looked coldly at the Zhou family,

“This is what happens when you’re a high school student, no manners or upbringing at all, tsk tsk tsk…”

He raised his eyebrows and looked at the Zhou family, making an irresponsible guess, “Maybe you were just at school to slack off, and you didn’t actually learn anything. You’re really a waste.”

“Second son! How can you talk to your sister like that?”

Zhou Youlu stared at Zhou Yu and reprimanded him loudly.

Zhou Yu shrugged nonchalantly, “What, can’t handle the truth? Dare you take a look at her report card?”

“You!” Zhou Youlu was furious, but this second son was always so disrespectful, and he was always saying things that were impossible to refute.

Xu An pulled on the fabric of Zhou Yu’s clothes at his lower back and pulled him into the house.

Zhou Yu followed her into the house, going along with the woman’s strength.

The Zhou family stood at the door, fuming. Zhou Youlu stared at his useless daughter, his mouth twisted in anger.

Zhou Dandan touched her face, looking at her parents and brother with grievance.

“Xu An slapped me for nothing, why?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to provoke your second brother and sister-in-law? Don’t you know your second brother is a wild one? You just had to run up to him and get hit!”

Pan Hehua looked at her daughter with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

This daughter was really spoiled, she wouldn’t listen to anything.

Pan Hehua stared at the light coming from the east room, and the fragrant food, this second son, who used to be the most diligent one, now this whole family is arguing and breaking apart, everyone has changed.

“Who can you beat? Can you beat your second sister-in-law, that country bumpkin, or your second brother?”

Zhou Dandan covered her face and didn’t speak.

Pan Hehua sighed, “You can’t beat them, can you just stay away? But you just have to keep bumping into them.”

She stared at the closed door of the west room, “Now look, you’ve made your sister-in-law angry.”

“I wonder how you’re going to coax your sister-in-law.”

Zhou Dandan hadn’t expected her sister-in-law to overhear.

Besides, her sister-in-law wasn’t pregnant, she was telling the truth, why was she angry at her?

The Zhou family knew her stubborn nature better than anyone, and they didn’t want to deal with her anymore, so they turned around and went back to their rooms.

Zhou Dandan saw that no one cared about the injury on her face, they even forced her to apologize, she was so wronged.

Xu An pulled Zhou Yu into the house and had him take the pot off the stove.

Xu An put the lid on, placed all the dishes on the stove, and the pork bone soup that had just been cooked was placed in the middle of the stove.

Zhou Yu took bowls and chopsticks from the cabinet to serve rice.

Xu An sat next to Fang Shu and said softly,

“Fang Shu, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable today.”

Fang Shu’s expression was calm, she turned her head to look at Xu An beside her.

“They were partly right.”

“Xu An, I’ve been married for five or six years, and I haven’t had a child.”

Xu An nodded indifferently, “It’s normal not to have children.”

Fang Shu looked down at her own stomach and shook her head gently, “It’s not normal, I’m not in good health, it’s hard for me to have children.”

Xu An smiled, “Children are so troublesome, you can do whatever you want now, you’re very free.”

“If you really want to have children in the future, when medical technology is more advanced, you can have treatment and it won’t be difficult to have a child.”

Seeing Xu An say these words without any burden, Fang Shu couldn’t help but smile and nod. It was indeed the right decision to make friends with Xu An.

She always made people feel relaxed.

Xu An pushed the rice bowl in front of her and said with a light smile,

“You’re hungry, eat first, try my cooking, how does it taste?”

Fang Shu readily picked up her chopsticks and first picked up a piece of braised pork.

As she put it in her mouth, the rich juice filled her mouth, it was fragrant and pure, her eyes lit up, she stared at Xu An, “I regret coming so late.”

“You should have come earlier, when you thanked me for helping you watch your stall.”

She had decided to make this friend, not only was her braised meat good, but her cooking was also good, it made people want to keep eating.

Xu An smiled and picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for her, “If you like it, come and eat often.”

“I don’t have many friends here, I’m happy that you can come and keep me company.”

Besides, she was also her sugar daddy.

Fang Shu enjoyed this meal, Xu An really felt a little sorry for her. She had just come to eat, but she witnessed a farce in the Zhou family.

Fortunately, Fang Shu didn’t mind.

After dinner, it was already late, Fang Shu stood up and was about to leave.

Xu An went out to see her off, saying softly, “I’m sorry for neglecting you today, you can come over anytime, you’re always welcome.”

Fang Shu didn’t feel neglected, she smiled and nodded, “With your words, I’ll definitely come often.”

Xu An sent her out of the courtyard and then went back to the house.

Zhou Yu was washing the dishes, Xu An sat back on the chair by the stove, her hand supporting the back of the chair, her head resting on her arm, she looked at Zhou Yu.

“I was naive when I said I didn’t want to make money.”

Xu An’s voice was a little muffled, “Zhou Yu, we still have to make more money and move out sooner.”

“This Zhou family is not a place to stay for long.”

Zhou Yu let out a short, low laugh.

“Not afraid of being tired?”

Xu An said dejectedly, “It’s even more tiring to argue with the Zhou family every day.”

Her body was already tired from working, and arguing with the Zhou family made her heart tired too.

“Afraid of them?”

Zhou Yu looked up at the woman leaning on his arm.

Xu An yawned lightly, “Who’s afraid, it’s just so annoying, it never ends.”

Zhou Yu twitched his lips and agreed.

Xu An rested for a while, then stood up and went to take a shower first, then went straight back to her room to sleep.

The next morning, the three of them went to the street to set up their stall as usual.

After noon, Xu An pushed the third pot of braised meat to their stall with Wen Yaowu, then stood next to Zhou Yu. Her eyes suddenly fell on a man. She met his gaze and paused, then immediately turned around and buried her head against Zhou Yu’s chest.

Zhou Yu frowned at the woman in front of him, his eyes scanned the area, he saw the man walking towards them, then looked down at the woman who was practically hiding in his arms, his expression was unclear.

Gao Jincheng walked up to the stall uncertainly, staring at the woman leaning against a strange man.

He called out hesitantly,

“An An.”

As soon as he spoke, Zhou Yu’s face turned completely black.

What the hell was this name?!

Xu An took a deep breath, her teeth clenching against the inside of her mouth, her head unconsciously bumped against Zhou Yu several times, before she had nowhere else to hide and turned back.

When she looked up at Gao Jincheng, her eyes were calm.

“What do you want?”

Gao Jincheng stared at the changed girl from his childhood. If it weren’t for the resemblance, he wouldn’t have recognized her.

How could the vulgar Xu An from before become like this? It hadn’t been that long, she was whiter and prettier than the city girls, it made his calm heart ripple slightly.

Hearing Xu An’s voice, strange and familiar, Gao Jincheng’s shock was too obvious.

Xu An was also a little nervous, afraid that he would notice something.

Fortunately, Gao Jincheng quickly reacted, remembering why he came to find Xu An.

He put on a worried expression.

“An An, my uncle and aunt sent me a letter from Nancheng, saying that you didn’t go back to Nancheng, they don’t know your address here, so they could only send the letter to me and asked me to tell you to go home quickly.”

“It’s almost New Year’s, they’re waiting for you to go back to Nancheng for the New Year.”

He didn’t know where Xu An was. After he was bumped into by Xu An in front of the hotel that day, he thought that she would go back to Nancheng after she gave up, but she didn’t go back at all.

He was already a little guilty, and when he saw the letter, he didn’t dare to tell the truth, so he could only try to find Xu An everywhere. He had been looking for her for several days, and finally found her. He didn’t expect Xu An to change so much.

Seeing that he was only surprised and shocked, and didn’t notice anything unusual, Xu An relaxed her tense body.

She looked up at the scumbag, her expression calm.

“I know, I’ll contact my family.”

Then she looked at Gao Jincheng calmly, “Anything else?”

Gao Jincheng hesitated for a moment, “You’re alone here, you should go home quickly, your uncle and aunt must be worried about you.”

Xu An frowned at the man in front of her, “It’s none of your business, I’ll explain everything to my parents, so they don’t worry about it and send you letters.”

Explain everything? That they were no longer dating? Or that he had cheated on her?

Gao Jincheng’s eyes were a little shifty, he suddenly saw the man behind Xu An, who was very close to her.

An An was leaning against this man’s arms just now.

Gao Jincheng felt uncomfortable, his voice even had a hint of questioning.

“An An, who is he?”

Xu An turned her head to look at Zhou Yu behind her, she met the man’s not-so-good expression, she felt a little guilty and looked back at Gao Jincheng.

She calmly dropped a bombshell, “My husband.”

“You’re married!”

Gao Jincheng’s eyes widened, even his most outrageous thought was that this man was Xu An’s new boyfriend, he didn’t expect Xu An to be even more reckless than he imagined.

She had found a man for herself here.

Gao Jincheng looked at Zhou Yu behind Xu An, secretly sizing him up. He looked like a rebellious troublemaker, completely different from him. How could Xu An like a man like this, he looked like a troublemaker and unreasonable.

Xu An swallowed, reached out and took Zhou Yu’s rough palm, raised it and waved it in front of Gao Jincheng.

“So, from now on, my business is none of your concern, I’ll explain it to my family, you better not meddle.”

“Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that I won’t expose your little secret.”

They both knew what his secret was.

Gao Jincheng stared at the two hands clasped together, feeling inexplicably irritated. He looked at Zhou Yu, met his wolf-like eyes, and was immediately scared away.

How could Xu An find a man like this, he didn’t look like a good guy.

“If you have nothing else to say, just scram. We’re not together anymore, if you meddle any more, I’ll tell everyone about your business at your school.”

Gao Jincheng took a step back, looking at Xu An, who had a calm expression, in disbelief.

How could she be like this now? She didn’t used to treat him like this, Xu An used to call him Gao Jincheng, and she wouldn’t do anything bad to him.

Gao Jincheng couldn’t accept it for a while, seeing that Xu An didn’t look like she was joking, he took a few steps back, “Your uncle and aunt miss you very much, you should contact them as soon as possible.”

“As for your marriage, you should tell them about it as soon as possible. I’ll go now, I’ll come to see you again when I have time.”

Gao Jincheng panicked, he hurriedly finished speaking and turned to leave.

Xu An took a light breath, then the warmth in her palm was rudely pulled away.

She turned her head and saw the man’s cold face, his usual nonchalant half-hearted attitude was completely gone.

Zhou Yu stared at Xu An and said in a deep voice, “Nothing to say?”

Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang were doing business next to them, but they kept looking at the couple, they were busy.

Xu An looked up at Zhou Yu, explaining softly,

“It’s just someone from my hometown, a childhood friend.”

Zhou Yu didn’t know whether to believe her or not, his eyes fell on Xu An’s guilty face, he snorted.

“Your parents don’t know you’re married, so what was the letter you sent back to the post office last time?”

“Are you unhappy being married to me? Do you want to go back to Nancheng and marry someone else, clean and pure?”

Xu An was startled by the man’s every word.

She looked up at Zhou Yu, raised her hand and swore.

“I promise, I don’t regret it.”

She paid attention to Zhou Yu’s expression and explained softly, “I didn’t tell them last time because I just came here a few days ago, it was too soon. If I told them directly, they would think I was too impulsive.”

Xu An bit her lip, hesitating to speak, “Besides, they would definitely think you’re not a good family. How could you take me to get a marriage license after just a few days? I just wanted to tell them later, so they could accept it better.”

“I was planning to do it these past few days, but we’ve been so busy lately, I forgot.”

Zhou Yu held his arms and squinted at her, he didn’t know whether to believe her explanation.

Xu An reached out and grabbed Zhou Yu’s wrist, pulling it gently, “We’ll go to the post office tomorrow, I’ll write a letter to tell them clearly, tell them that I found a good family here and married myself, okay?”

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman’s delicate white face, he didn’t say anything.

Xu An took a deep breath, turned her head to look at the two people who had been peeking at them, and said loudly,

“Yaowu, Xiaoyang, you’re off for a day, no work tomorrow, you can rest well.”

Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang looked at each other, they had indeed been working hard these past few days, if they could really have a day off tomorrow, it would be the best thing. They both had joy in their eyes.

They smiled and agreed repeatedly.

Xu An then turned her head to look at Zhou Yu, “Is that okay now?”

“We’ll go write a letter tomorrow, make it clear, tell them about the marriage.”

Zhou Yu’s expression softened slightly, he loosened his hand and hummed, “Say whatever you want”.