I rely on unlimited life extension

Mark held a match, struck it lightly, and the match head instantly ignited a bright flame. Expressionless, he threw the match at the flowing gasoline on the ground. The small flame, like a nimble fire snake, quickly followed the trail of gasoline and touched the van in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, the van was like a powder keg that had been ignited; with a loud bang, flames suddenly erupted and instantly engulfed the entire vehicle.

The raging fire was particularly glaring in the quiet night, its intense heat baking the surrounding air and distorting it into strange beams of light and shadow.

Mark stood quietly to the side, his eyes fixed on the van engulfed in flames, yet he felt surprisingly calm, without the slightest fear.

On the contrary, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As for whether this sigh was for the poor Guo Fang who had been suffering, or for the innocent little girl named Qiao Qiao who might be affected in the future, he himself couldn't say for sure.

At this moment, he silently murmured to himself: Taozi is dead. That guy who would do anything for money has finally gotten what he deserved; Big Spider is dead too. That ruthless man who tried to take advantage of others can no longer cause trouble in this world; and Zang Qiusheng, the culprit who brought endless pain to Guo Fang and Qiaoqiao, has also ended his sinful life.

Well, that's great, almost all the villains in "Halfway Couple" are dead.

Mark raised his head slightly, gazing at the night sky illuminated by the firelight, as if speaking to someone in the distance: "Jiang Jianping, you owe me a life. I hope that from now on, Guo Fang and Qiaoqiao can live a peaceful and happy life, and never have to suffer from these people's bullying and torment again. You two can go and live that shameless and carefree life."

After he finished speaking, he stood quietly for a while until the van gradually turned into a pile of charred remains in the fire.

After Mark changed back to his original appearance, he drove slowly down the road.

The street scenes outside the car window flashed by like a slideshow, but the scene of blood and fire that had just occurred to him kept replaying in his mind.

After driving around for more than an hour, the familiar seaside hotel finally came into view.

Mark returned to the hotel, and the moment he opened the door, he was stunned by what he saw.

The room was decorated for a romantic candlelight dinner, with warm candlelight flickering gently in the breeze, casting a soft glow and enveloping the entire room in a cozy atmosphere.

Wang Xiaomi, dressed in her beautiful new clothes, looked like an elegant fairy. She stood quietly in the doorway, a sweet smile on her face. When she saw Mark come in, she said softly, "Second Uncle, welcome back."

Having just escaped a bloody massacre, Mark looked at the loving atmosphere in the room, and the tension in his heart immediately eased.

An unprecedented sense of peace welled up in his heart. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything but to hold the lovely girl in his arms and feel her pure and sincere love. It was as if only in this way could he wash away the gloom in his heart.

The next day at noon, the sun shone on the airport runway, and Mark and Wang Xiaomi boarded the plane back to Beijing hand in hand.

On the plane, the two snuggled together, enjoying this brief but precious time together. In the afternoon, the plane landed smoothly at Beijing Airport.

In the airport terminal, the moment of parting finally arrived. Both of them looked reluctant to leave, turning back to look at each other with every step.

Wang Xiaomi unconsciously pouted again, looking like a wronged child.

Seeing this, Mark felt heartbroken and quickly embraced her, gently comforting her. He promised her that once they got home, he would immediately find a house to rent as their temporary love nest, a sweet little haven that belonged only to them.

After Mark returned home from his trip, the first thing he did was call Tian Ye and suggest that the four of them go out for a meal together.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was much warmer than usual. To everyone's surprise, perhaps because Ma Li has really grown up, she actually started to take care of her younger brother, Manao.

Under her sister's care, the little one was quiet and well-behaved, which allowed Tianye and Mark to enjoy their family reunion dinner in peace.

Tianye was filled with doubt. She looked at Mark with a questioning look in her eyes and said softly, "Have you noticed that Ma Li has changed a lot lately? Do you know why?"

Mark smiled slightly, put down his cutlery, looked at Tianye and said, "Why don't you ask her yourself? She's all grown up now, she's capable of doing a lot of things, and she has her own ideas."

Tianye nodded thoughtfully; she had indeed noticed many changes in Ma Li during this period.

Ma Li's studies became more regular. She completed her homework on time every day, reviewed her lessons, and her grades improved significantly.

Moreover, her exercise routine has changed from sporadic to consistent and persistent.

Even though he used to give Zhao Ling a cold shoulder, he doesn't do that anymore; his attitude has become much more peaceful.

Especially when taking care of her younger brother, Manau, Ma Li is truly like a caring older sister, patient and gentle.

However, Tianye also noticed that Ma Li mostly kept a sullen face when facing him, as if there was an unyielding gloom on her face, which made Tianye feel uneasy, but he didn't know how to resolve it.

Mark, beaming, took out the gifts he had prepared beforehand, ready to give them to Mary and Manau.

He first took out a beautiful conch shell and handed it to Ma Nao. The conch shell had beautiful patterns on its surface and shimmered with a mysterious luster under the light. Ma Nao fell in love with it at first sight.

Then, Mark took out a pair of stylish sandals and handed them to Mary. These sandals had a novel design and were in Mary's style.

Finally, he took out a diamond-encrusted earring and handed it to Tian Ye. This earring was carefully selected by Wang Xiaomi; it was dazzling and exuded a captivating charm.

Tianye's eyes lit up with a hint of surprise when she saw the earring, but she hesitated for a moment and insisted on not accepting it. She said to Mark, "This gift is too valuable; I cannot accept it."

At this moment, Ma Li, who was already somewhat dissatisfied with Tian Ye's attitude, became even angrier upon seeing this. She stood up angrily, her face flushed, and said, "Dad, put it away! What I want now is a real diamond, not this fake one!"

After saying that, she grabbed her schoolbag, pulled Ma Nao's hand, and walked out the door. Ma Nao was a little bewildered, but she still followed her sister.

As Tianye watched the children's departing figures, a wave of sadness washed over her, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Mark quickly comforted her, saying, "Don't take it too hard. The children are still young, they'll grow up eventually. We need to give them some time to understand us. Come on, let's not think about these unhappy things anymore, let's have a drink."

As he spoke, he poured Tianye a glass of wine.

At Mark's urging, Tianye drank two glasses of wine. As the alcohol began to take effect, she realized what was happening and looked at Mark suspiciously, saying, "Mark, you're not trying to get me drunk, are you?"

Mark, realizing she'd hit the nail on the head, blushed and said somewhat awkwardly, "What are you talking about? Do you think I'm the kind of person who takes advantage of others in their vulnerable state? I, Old Ma, am a very upright man. Don't you believe me?"

Tianye glared at him irritably, but didn't say anything. However, she silently put down her wine glass and stopped drinking.

Seeing this, Mark knew his plan had failed, and could only shrug helplessly as he went home with a somewhat sullen expression.

When Mark got home, he saw Mary sitting on the sofa as soon as he entered the door, holding his camera and staring at the camera screen, seemingly looking at the photos inside.

When Mary heard the door open, she looked up at Mark, her face instantly turning icy.

Holding her camera, she walked up to Mark and asked in an unfriendly tone, "Who is this woman in the photo? Dad, you promised me that you wouldn't bring other women into our lives if I didn't agree. Have you forgotten?"

Seeing Mary's angry expression, Mark quickly reassured her, "Honey, don't worry. It's only been a few days, how could Daddy forget? We're just friends who traveled together, nothing more. By the way, she even told me she knows you."

Ma Li frowned and looked at the woman in the photo more carefully.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind, reminding her of that night at the Six Doors, when she had seen this woman. The scene was chaotic then, and this woman seemed particularly fierce, having broken a bad guy's head open, leaving it cracked like a split skull. Afterwards, this woman had even come to comfort her.

Thinking of this, Ma Li felt a surge of curiosity about this woman and secretly resolved to meet her and see what kind of person she really was.

The next day, sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves and dappled the paths on campus.

Ma Li's male classmate, Lu Kuan, was browsing Weibo as usual when suddenly a missing person notice caught his eye, which included a photo of a man's back.

Upon closer inspection, Lu Kuan realized that the figure looked remarkably like Ma Li's father, Mark. Startled, he immediately ran to find Ma Li and explained the situation to her.

Upon hearing this, Ma Li felt uneasy and went to the address mentioned in the Weibo link. It turned out to be a pet store.

At that moment, in the pet store, Dave Anfen was having a fight with her date and was in a terrible mood.

She saw Ma Li and Lu Kuan walk into the store. The two young people looked around curiously, showing no sign of wanting to buy anything. Dai Anfen's frustration suddenly found an outlet, and she hurled a string of sarcastic remarks at them.

Just then, Wang Xiaomi walked in. She spotted Ma Li immediately. In fact, she had already learned from Mark that Ma Li might come today, so she quickly walked over to greet Ma Li.

Ma Li stood there, her face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

She stared intently at Wang Xiaomi. In her eyes, this woman was an "enemy" who had come to take her father away, and the hostility in her heart rose like flames.

However, Wang Xiaomi was not surprised by Ma Li's attitude. She knew Ma Li's personality well and knew that the little girl was just protecting her family.

So she just smiled slightly and, without taking it seriously, led Ma Li and Lu Kuan to a nearby coffee shop.

As soon as she sat down, Ma Li began to speak in an orderly manner.

As if she had prepared this in advance, she listed Mark's various current situations: "Although my dad looks quite handsome, do you know his situation? He has elderly parents to support and young children to raise, and the whole family depends on his meager salary to live on."

Our house isn't very big, and his salary really isn't much. More importantly, he has a wife, and my stepmother is a beautiful but extremely jealous person. If she knew you existed, she might fight you to the death.

So I advise you, whatever you do, don't step into this fire pit, and stay away from my dad.

With each word Ma Li spoke, her gaze became even more determined as she looked at Wang Xiaomi, as if she wanted to etch those words into her heart.

Wang Xiaomi waited quietly for Ma Li to finish speaking, looked at her with gentle yet firm eyes, and slowly said, "When my second uncle first met me, he frankly told me that if I wanted to be with him, I had to accept everything about him."

His family, his responsibilities, everything. At that time, I really hesitated and repeatedly considered whether to give up. After all, this was not an easy thing, and the difficulties I would face in the future might exceed my imagination.

She paused slightly, a resolute glint in her eyes: "However, after careful consideration, I have finally made up my mind that I will face all the challenges of the future with my second uncle."

Yes, he does have elderly parents and young children to care for, but so what? I am willing to take on the responsibility of caring for the elderly and will also wholeheartedly love and care for the children.

As for the small house and low salary, those are even less of a concern. What I valued from beginning to end was my second uncle as a person, not his material conditions.

He doesn't have these things, but I do. As long as we're together, none of these things can hinder our happiness.

At this point, Wang Xiaomi's tone became more confident: "Besides his ex-wife, in my opinion, this isn't an insurmountable problem. After all, they're divorced and each has a new life."

Furthermore, I want to emphasize that I, Wang Xiaomi, have never been afraid of any woman. If anyone tries to take my second uncle away from me, humph, they'll have to see if they have the ability. I will go all out for my love and will not back down easily.

Wang Xiaomi looked at Ma Li with sincere eyes: "As for you, I know that you are my second uncle's most beloved daughter."

If I were to say now that I treat you like my own daughter, you might think I'm being cheesy. To be honest, I'm not sure if I can completely love you like a biological mother would.

However, we can try starting as friends and getting to know each other gradually.

If one day I find that I really can't bear this complicated family relationship anymore, I will definitely choose to withdraw quietly, so as not to make things difficult for you and my second uncle.

You don't need to always worry that I'll steal your father away. What I want is a husband to spend my life with, not a father. I hope we can both understand each other.