Li Jianguo turned his gaze to Gu Chonglin from the Gu family, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Old Gu, isn’t this a bit underhanded of you?”  

Gu Chonglin forced a smile, his expression awkward. “Hahaha, I was just trying to scare her a little!”  

Seizing the opportunity, Xia Zhi immediately held out her hand. “Then, Uncle Gu, please return my things!”  

A flicker of impatience flashed in Gu Chonglin’s eyes. This Xia Zhi was truly relentless, pressing him step by step over such a trivial matter. After all these years of raising her, she’d turned out to be nothing but an ungrateful wretch!  

“Hmph, just wait!” Gu Chonglin snorted coldly, turning to head inside. Zhang Xiao and Liu Yanfang followed him.  

Gu Yunshen, still clutching his face, stared intently at Xia Zhi. It was only now dawning on him that Xia Zhi seemed genuinely different.  

She had once adored him, willing to do anything for him. Yet now, not only was she marrying a cripple, but she had even struck him.  

This wasn’t the Xia Zhi he knew.  

Hao Liping noticed Gu Yunshen’s lingering gaze on Xia Zhi, and a trace of displeasure crossed her eyes. She stepped forward and deliberately wrapped her arms around his in front of everyone. “Brother Yunshen, do you… not want to let Sister Xia Zhi go? If that’s really the case, then… then I’m willing to step back. I’ll… I’ll marry Lu Beiting instead.”  

As she spoke, she began to cry as if heartbroken, as though she’d suffered some unbearable injustice.  

Gu Yunshen saw that Xia Zhi hadn’t so much as glanced his way the entire time. Clenching his fists, he thought bitterly—he’d given her a chance, and she’d thrown it away. If that was how she wanted it, then fine. Let her marry that cripple Lu Beiting.  

He pulled Hao Liping into an embrace, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “Don’t worry, Liping. If I say I’ll marry you, then I will. As for Xia Zhi, I never liked her in the first place. To me, she was always just a maid.  

“Besides, look at her—dark, ugly, not even half as good as you.”  

Gu Yunshen shot another glance at Xia Zhi, but she was too busy watching the Gu family’s movements, her mind preoccupied with the six hundred yuan, her books, and her parent’s belongings. She had no interest in dealing with the two-faced couple.  

Hao Liping was overjoyed by Gu Yunshen’s words. Nothing pleased her more than hearing how inferior Xia Zhi was to her. “Brother Yunshen, don’t worry. I’ll do even better than Xia Zhi and become your perfect wife!”  

Gu Yunshen’s eyes lit up. “Liping, I promise I’ll treat you well.”  

Lu Beiting, seated in his wheelchair, rested his chin on his hand as he observed Xia Zhi’s curious, watchful demeanor. For some reason, he found it rather endearing.  

“Beiting, come with me for a moment,” Lu Weifeng said coldly, shooting him a stern look.  

Lu Beiting’s relaxed brow immediately furrowed. “How am I supposed to ‘come with you’? Can’t you see my legs are broken?”  

“You—!” Lu Weifeng glared at him angrily but ultimately stepped forward to push his wheelchair aside for a private talk.  

Li Jianguo sighed helplessly at the scene. This was a matter between father and son—he really had no place interfering.  

“Beiting, I won’t oppose you marrying Xia Zhi,” Lu Weifeng said as soon as they stopped, “but I have one condition. The Hao family has done us a great favor. We can’t repay kindness with ingratitude.”  

A hint of disgust flashed in Lu Beiting’s eyes. “She’s done no favors for me,” he retorted sarcastically. “If you’re so eager to repay the debt, why don’t you adopt her as your daughter? Then you can take care of her for the rest of your life.”  

He’d heard this same argument countless times over the years—how the Hao family had helped the Lu family, and how their proposed way of repaying that debt was for him to marry Hao Liping.  

Even now, after everything that had happened, his father was still hung up on this.  

Lu Weifeng frowned at his suggestion, as if actually considering it. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.

Lu Beiting’s expression turned even colder when he saw his father’s reaction. Without another word, he wheeled himself away—every second spent with that man felt suffocating.  

Xia Zhi noticed Lu Beiting struggling to turn the wheelchair’s wheels and quickly jogged over, stepping behind him to push it for him.  

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, unable to ignore the tension on his face.  

Lu Beiting pressed his lips together, his brow furrowed, but he still shook his head in response.  

Xia Zhi gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. “It’s alright, Lu Beiting. Everything will get better. Trust me—I will cure you.”  

As long as today’s ordeal ended smoothly, she would start treating him tomorrow!  

For some reason, her words eased the tightness in Lu Beiting’s chest. The faintest hint of a smile touched his usually indifferent lips. “Alright. I believe you.”  

Li Jianguo, overhearing their conversation, immediately strode over and looked at Xia Zhi with excitement. “Xia Zhi, you—you can really cure Beiting?”  

Seeing the genuine care in Li Jianguo’s eyes, Xia Zhi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If only Lu Beiting had a father like him instead of that cold, distant Lu Weifeng—how much happier and brighter his life could have been.  

She leaned in and whispered confidently, “Yes, Chief. Don’t worry—I’m sure of it.”  

Li Jianguo’s smile widened, and he let out a hearty laugh. “Hahaha! Good, good! I always said Beiting was a lucky kid. Meeting you—that’s his real fortune!”  

Xia Zhi’s cheeks flushed pink, and even Lu Beiting’s ears turned slightly red.  

Watching the two of them, Li Jianguo grew even more satisfied. Though Xia Zhi was an orphan, her character was clearly good—she was a decent girl.  

Meanwhile, Lu Weifeng’s expression darkened further. In his eyes, it seemed Lu Beiting had spent so much time in the military that he’d forgotten who his real father was.  

…

Inside the Gu Household

Gu Chonglin clutched the hard-earned savings he’d accumulated over the years, his face twisted with reluctance.  

Nearby, Zhang Xiao roughly tossed the books from the shelf into a burlap sack.  

Liu Yanfang sat on the bed, cursing nonstop. “That shameless little bitch! We must’ve been blind to ever think she was a good kid. Turns out she’s nothing but an ungrateful viper!  

“Ahhh—this much money?! She might as well take my life!” She wailed, slapping her thighs dramatically.  

A ruthless glint flashed in Gu Chonglin’s eyes. Tightening his grip on the money, he stood up. “Enough crying. There are people outside watching. We’ll give her the money for now, but we’ll find a way to get it back later. As for these books—what does an illiterate like her even need them for? She couldn’t understand them even if she tried!”  

So what if she had Li Jianguo backing her? That old man couldn’t protect her forever.  

Liu Yanfang wiped away her tears, her face twisting into a venomous glare. “That little slut—I’ve lived decades longer than her. There’s no way I can’t teach her a lesson!”  

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao’s pent-up anger also eased slightly. Let Xia Zhi make a scene today—just wait until I get my hands on her later.

Gu Chonglin strode out with the items in hand, his reluctance obvious to anyone watching.  

When Xia Zhi saw the things in their hands and the sour expressions on their faces, only one word came to mind:  

Satisfying.