“Also, find some time to visit Director Zhang at Textile Factory No. 3. He used to be my subordinate, and it’s thanks to him that Chu Xia and An An have been looked after these past few years.”

“Okay,” Cen Zhengnian agreed without hesitation.

He knew he needed to express his gratitude to those who had helped his wife and child.

Besides visiting Director Zhang, Cen Zhengnian also planned to visit some old classmates at Liangzhou University, whom he hadn’t seen in years.

Before going to see Director Zhang, Cen Zhengnian decided to gather information about how Chu Xia and An An had been living over the years.

He needed to know if they had truly been well-cared-for, despite his father arranging for someone to look after them.

As he suspected, Director Zhang, being a factory director with countless responsibilities, couldn’t possibly keep an eye on every little thing concerning Chu Xia and An An’s small household.

At most, he would help out when Chu Xia came to him with a problem.

And indeed, as Cen Zhengnian had anticipated, Director Zhang had delegated this task to the workers’ union, asking them to keep an eye on the situation.

However, the union was also overwhelmed with various employee issues, so it was already a stretch for them to remember to check in on Chu Xia and An An occasionally.

The reality was that the factory director had only stepped in when absolutely necessary, and the workers’ union, though busy with numerous complaints from other employees, did their best to remember Chu Xia’s situation.

Meanwhile, the real trouble in the household came from Wang Yulan, Chu Xia’s mother, who was infamous in the housing compound for her relentless demands for money.

The residents of the compound pitied Chu Xia but also considered her foolish and overly meek for not standing up to her mother.

Over time, Wang Yulan’s demands had grown increasingly excessive, especially in the last two years.

As Cen Zhengnian’s salary increased, Wang Yulan became greedier, suspecting her daughter and son-in-law of hiding money from her.

As the saying goes, “Give an inch, and they’ll take a mile,” or “Greed knows no bounds.”

Cen Zhengnian, with his approachable demeanor, easily gained the trust of the women in the compound.

With a little prompting, they shared everything he wanted to know.

The more he heard, the darker his expression became.

By the end, his face was devoid of any warmth, causing the usually chatty women to fall silent in fear.

These women, mostly housewives who did odd jobs at home, loved to gossip but were not particularly brave.

They were just ordinary women who didn’t want to cross any lines.

One of them hesitantly spoke up, “Little Cen, don’t blame Chu Xia. She’s changed now, not listening to her mother anymore. It’s your mother-in-law who’s the real troublemaker!”

“I understand,” Cen Zhengnian replied, softening his demeanor.

He furrowed his brows, pretending to be troubled. “Thank you for telling me all this. Chu Xia is too proud; she doesn’t like to complain to me.”

Hearing this, the women returned to their usual selves, enthusiastically offering, “No problem at all! If you want to know anything else, just ask us. There’s nothing that happens in this compound that we don’t know about!”

After Cen Zhengnian left, the group of women continued to discuss Cen Zhengnian and Chu Xia, saying that Chu Xia was fortunate.

“Fortunate? Would you like a husband who hasn’t returned in four years?” one woman suddenly spoke up, and the group fell silent for a moment.

They had been focused on Cen Zhengnian’s good qualities, forgetting that he had been away for years — practically leaving her as a widow.

“No, thank you. Although my man isn’t great, at least he comes home every day, and I still prefer that,” another woman chimed in.

“Yes, I agree,” said another.

The woman who spoke first sat to the side, curled her lips, and continued folding paper boxes: exactly, who would want a man who hasn’t returned in four years, no matter how good he is?

Ever since Cen Zhengnian found out about the situation, a deep, constant pain gnawed at his heart.

Overwhelming guilt was about to drown him.

He blamed himself for failing in his duties as a husband and regretted not caring enough for Chu Xia and An An in the past.

No wonder the photos Chu Xia sent showed her and An An looking so frail; no wonder they still needed medicine to regain their health.

It all made sense now.

Every time he thought of the hard times Chu Xia and An An had gone through, his chest tightened to the point that he could barely breathe, as if a big wad of cotton was stuck inside.

Cen Zhengnian had seen the dark side of human nature, even in the research institute.

It wasn’t always peaceful there.

Not everyone was solely focused on research; talented people might also desire money.

The greed of the Luo family was just like that.

So, he wasn’t surprised by their actions, but he was furious that they targeted his wife and son.

A shadow passed over Cen Zhengnian’s eyes.

If anyone thought he was gentle and easy to talk to just because of his appearance, they were gravely mistaken.

If he had always been mild-mannered, there was no way he could have managed all those researchers under him.

---

Chu Xia walked out of the school gate with her bag and looked up to see Cen Zhengnian waiting at the entrance of Ninth High School.

His presence was truly striking. Even standing casually, he was the most eye-catching person in the crowd.

Chu Xia noticed that both boys and girls passing by would steal a glance at him.

But Cen Zhengnian himself seemed completely unaware, his eyes fixed on the school gate.

As soon as he saw Chu Xia, his lips curved into a slight smile, forming a charming arc. With his long legs, he walked straight toward Chu Xia.

“Why are you here…”

Before Chu Xia could finish her sentence, she found herself enveloped in a warm embrace.

Seeing that he was already taken, some previously excited girls suddenly looked disappointed.

At this time, girls were quite shy and reserved.

It was rare for them to boldly approach a boy to say, “Let’s be friends.” Even when boys and girls were dating, they would blush just from holding hands, so innocent were they.

Thus, everyone just watched Cen Zhengnian quietly, not daring to disturb him.

Especially after seeing that he had a partner, they were even less likely to approach.

Chu Xia stood frozen, blinking, not understanding what had happened or why Cen Zhengnian would suddenly hug her.

This wasn’t like him at all!

“You…”

“I’m sorry,” Cen Zhengnian and Chu Xia spoke at the same time, his voice filled with deep pain and guilt, and Chu Xia immediately understood.

He must have found out about what had happened to the original Chu Xia and An An before.

Chu Xia hadn’t tried to hide the past, nor could she.

Most people in the residential area knew about the issues between the original Chu Xia and her natal family.

They also knew about her falling out with her family.

Even without asking around, Cen Zhengnian could easily learn about it from gossip.

Chu Xia wasn’t sure how Cen Zhengnian would react after learning about this.

Whether he blamed her or not, she could accept it.

She just didn’t expect someone like Cen Zhengnian, who didn’t seem to care much about gossip, to find out so quickly.

“It’s all in the past now,” Chu Xia hesitated for a moment but then raised her hand to pat his back, feeling that if she didn’t say something, Cen Zhengnian might be consumed by guilt.

The guilt in Cen Zhengnian’s heart seemed to be torn open all of a sudden, and even the tightness in his chest lessened a bit.

He responded with a low “Hmm” and slowly released Chu Xia.

“I came over here to handle some things, and I thought you’d be done with your exam, so I came over.” As he spoke, Cen Zhengnian reached out to take Chu Xia’s bag.

The two walked towards the bus stop, and Cen Zhengnian asked Chu Xia, “What exams did you take this afternoon?”

“Physics and mathematics.”

Just as she answered, Chu Xia remembered she had left her bike and quickly stopped. “I forgot to take something.”

Back at the school, Cen Zhengnian looked at the bike Chu Xia was unlocking and asked, “Is this the bike we bought when we got married?”

He remembered the bike well, as he had personally chosen it back then.

At that time, having a bike was a treasure.

Even a small scratch would upset people greatly, so most families’ bicycles, even after years of use, still looked new.

This bike was no exception.

Although the Luo family had their faults, they took care of things, and the bike still looked almost new.

“Yes, it’s the one you gave me when we got married. I wasn’t thinking clearly before, and I let my mom take it and give it to my sister. Now I don’t want to give it away anymore, so I took it back.”

Listening to Chu Xia, Cen Zhengnian felt his heart tighten as if something had pinched it — it didn’t hurt, but it felt incredibly uncomfortable.

“It’s yours; if you want to give it away, give it away. If you don’t, then take it back.”