A beautiful summer night

The news of Zhou Yu and Xia Wanzhi breaking off their engagement spread like wildfire the very next day.

Zhou's mother is a gossip, so this news probably already spread from the Zhou family last night, otherwise Xie Qiyan and Xie Tan wouldn't know that she was homeless.

Xia Wanzhi had breakfast with Xie Tan in the small restaurant in the South Campus.

The South Courtyard belongs to Xie Qiyan. Xie Tan didn't live here before, but last month, the third wife of the Xie family suddenly found out she was pregnant. Xie Tan was already afraid of her stepmother, and now that she was pregnant, she naturally wouldn't focus her attention on Xie Tan anymore.

So Xie Tan boldly grabbed Xie Qiyan's leg and, after receiving permission, moved directly to the South Courtyard to live with Xie Qiyan.

As Xia Wanzhi listened to Xie Tan's incessant chatter about the Xie family, she wondered how Xie's third uncle, who was at least fifty years old, could still have children.

"How old is your stepmother?" Xia Wanzhi tore off a piece of bread and took small bites, her gossipy eyes sparkling.

Xie Tan thought for a moment: "Thirty-something? Not quite forty yet, I'm not sure."

Xia Wanzhi's eyes widened.

"You still have the mood to gossip about other people's affairs? It seems Miss Xia isn't so heartbroken as to want to die for love." Xie Qiyan appeared behind him like a ghost, dressed in a formal suit, having returned from somewhere early in the morning.

He washed his hands, ground a cup of coffee by hand, and sat down next to Xie Tan. Compared to the past, his eyebrows were slightly raised today, and he was less of his usual hellish demeanor.

It's like something good has happened.

After all, people are in high spirits when they have good news.

Something that can please Yama, the King of Hell, must be an extremely joyous occasion.

Xia Wanzhi didn't understand the basis for the phrase "seeking death for love." If there was an injustice, one should seek justice. So she asked coolly, "Are you crazy or am I out of my mind? Why would I seek death?"

Xie Qiyan didn't even look up at her. He snatched the jam from Xie Tan's hand, put the lid on it, gave Xie Tan a killer look, stirred the coffee in front of him, and said in a slightly deep voice, "Grandpa found out about your annulment of the engagement with the Zhou family last night. He's quite worried about you. Go see him later."

Upon hearing this explanation, Xia Wanzhi's eyes lit up suddenly, and the question that had puzzled her all night was finally answered.

So last night, Grandpa Xie was worried that she would be upset, so he asked Xie Qiyan to pick her up!

She wondered why Xie Qiyan would willingly take Xie Tan back to the Xie family home for the night; it turned out someone had instructed him to do so.

Relieved, Xia Wanzhi looked much better. She reached for the jam, twisted it open, and prepared to eat another jam-filled bread slice. However, she struggled with the jam lid for a while but couldn't open it.

Remembering who screwed the lid on, she got angry and glared at Xie Qiyan.

Xie Tan, biting his knife and fork, stared intently at Xia Wanzhi. Noticing Xia Wanzhi's expression, he thoughtfully nudged Xie Qiyan: "Brother, Sister Wanzi wants to eat jam."

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Did I stop her?"

"Smack—" Xia Wanzhi's temper suddenly flared up, and she slammed the jam on the table and refused to do it anymore.

"I'm not eating anymore." Xia Wanzhi wiped her hands; her palms were completely red from twisting the lid too hard.

Xie Qiyan stared at her for a few seconds, then chuckled lightly, "Quite a temper."

Xie Tan's eyes didn't leave the jar of jam; he sat obediently with a piece of bread in his mouth, not daring to utter a sound.

Xie Qiyan then patted Xie Tan's head and asked, "Is the bread delicious?"

Xie Tan replied honestly, "It's dry and tasteless."

Xie Qiyan: "Want some jam?"

Xie Tan nodded quickly: "Eat."

So, in front of Xia Wanzhi, Xie Qiyan easily unscrewed the lid of the jam.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

"Sister Wanzi, here you go." Xie Tan scooped a big spoonful for Xia Wanzhi.

Xia Wanzhi kept a straight face, hesitated for a few seconds, took the bread, spread it on the bread slice, and gritted her teeth as she ate it.

She didn't look at Xie Qiyan once more, nor did she say a single word.

As soon as everyone left, Xie Tan swung her legs and shared with Xie Qiyan with a grin, "Sister Wanzi is in a good mood today."

Xie Qiyan ignored her for a long while before finally speaking: "How did you figure that out?"

Xie Tan pointed to the jam: "She ate a lot of jam and bread. She especially likes to eat sweets when she's in a good mood."

Xie Qiyan chuckled coldly: "You mean, she's quite happy that she broke off the engagement?"

"It's hard to say, but I'm in a better mood than last night." Xie Tan secretly scooped out another spoonful of jam while the lid wasn't closed, and continued talking to Xie Qiyan to avoid being scolded, "Brother, didn't Grandpa go to bed at eight o'clock last night? How did he know about Sister Wanzi's annulment of the engagement?"

"Eat your sauce." Xie Qiyan got up and left. After leaving the South Courtyard, he walked towards the front courtyard and saw Xia Wanzhi chatting happily with the old man.

Twenty years ago, before Xie Tan was born, the Xie family had no daughters, so the old man's favorite was Xia Wanzhi, who would come to visit during holidays.

Back then, the old man had long hoped that Xia Wanzhi could marry into the Xie family when she grew up, jokingly telling her to pick any one from the Xie family's generation.

Xie Qiyan was unaware of what happened afterward.

After returning to China, he discovered that the Xia family's precious daughter had actually become Zhou Yu's fiancée.

Although he couldn't get Xia Wanzhi to change her address from Grandpa Xie to Grandpa, he did manage to get her to call him Maternal Grandpa.

However, it seems that I can no longer call him "Grandpa" now.

"Wanzi," the old man said, his hands resting on his cane, his tone full of concern, "did you suffer any injustice at the Zhou family's place?"

Seeing Xia Wanzhi shake her head, he asked again, "Is that brat Zhou Yu treating you badly?"

Xia Wanzhi shook her head again.

"Then why was the engagement called off?"

Xia Wanzhi paused for a moment before answering, "I don't like him anymore."

Seeing this, the old man sighed helplessly: "Well, it's best to be happy. Grandpa originally wanted to help with your family's affairs, but your parents weren't willing to accept it..."

When the Xia family first encountered trouble, he approached Xia Yongqing and his wife, wanting to offer them some money to help them through their immediate crisis, but they refused.

A few days later, news spread that Xia's parents had abandoned their daughter and fled abroad to escape their debts.

The court froze all of the Xia family's assets to pay off debts, leaving Xia Wanzhi homeless. At the time, the old man thought of taking her to the Xie family, but Xia Wanzhi chose to move into the Zhou family instead.

Not long after, their wedding was called off again.

The old man's eyes were somewhat weary, and his gaze towards Xia Wanzhi was full of heartache: "Where are your parents? Have they contacted you?"

Xia Wanzhi hadn't mentioned her parents' whereabouts to anyone, but now, facing the old man, she couldn't bear to hide it: "They're at my maternal grandfather's house. They're fine."

As for the debts owed.

There are time limits for repayment, and my grandfather always steps in to help when the due date is approaching.

Xia Wanzhi never worried about this issue.

"That's good, that's good, then you..." The old man's words were somewhat tentative.

Xia Wanzhi pursed her lips and smiled, "They didn't abandon me. It's just that I didn't want to go abroad because of Zhou Yu."

Zhou Yu is one of the reasons, but also a major one.

But that's no longer the case.

"So what are your plans for the future? Go abroad to find them?" the old man asked, focusing on the key point.

Xia Wanzhi's answer was ambiguous: "Let's see how my work goes first."

Xie Qiyan, standing at the door, chuckled lightly, took a step back, and turned to leave.