Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

They all thought to themselves that Old Mrs. Qiao was going too far, actually putting her second son's wife in such a difficult position.

But some people understand: "How much money could an old lady have? Of course, her son, who has a job, should subsidize her!"

Despite her resentment, Gong Yu was threatened and had no choice but to go back to her room to get the money.

Touching my old handkerchief, I felt incredibly heartbroken.

Hearing the urging from outside, he had no choice but to open the package, take out thirty yuan, and pout as he came out: "Here you go!"

Grandma Qiao took the money and handed it to Aunt Chen: "Consider the marriage called off. Don't let your Chen family regret it later!"

"Pshaw, whoever gets involved with in-laws like you is doomed!"

Aunt Chen rolled her eyes at Qiao Zhenzhen: "Son, let's go home. I'll have your cousin-in-law introduce you to the boss's daughter!"

Chen Shicong nodded and left without a trace of regret.

Qiao Zhenzhen wanted to chase after him, but was slapped across the face by Old Mrs. Qiao, who said, "Go back inside and stay there!"

Qiao Zhenzhen shed tears, glared at Old Lady Qiao resentfully, and went back into the house.

Qiao Manman clicked her tongue as she listened to the system's announcement: "She really doesn't know what's going on!"

"Host, now that the Chen family is gone, are we still going to monitor the Qiao family?"

"No need, I'm hungry, I want to go home for dinner."

Qiao Manman clutched her stomach as she walked home, asking as she went, "Tongtong, when can you record this?"

The system gave an awkward laugh: "I'm afraid we'll have to upgrade it!"

Qiao Manman didn't ask when it would level up. She went home, drank a bowl of porridge, and ate a cucumber. Then it got dark.

He Nian carried a basin to water the small green vegetable seedlings in the yard, while Qiao Manman helped her by shining a light.

He Nian thought she was in the way: "Go sit over there, I can see you!"

Qiao Manman hummed in agreement, thinking to herself that it would be great if she could grow vegetables in her space.

It's not about supporting my family or anything; I just simply love it. It's in my genes.

After He Nian finished watering the vegetables and returned to the house, Qiao Manman called out to the system: "Tongtong, exchange for two Black Jade Rejuvenating Ointments!"

"Okay, host. 200 points deducted. The Black Jade Rejuvenating Ointment has been stored in the system warehouse!"

Qiao Manman pulled out some ointment from her pocket and entered the room with a sly smile: "My dear father, are you ready?"

Qiao Runming trembled, but his eyes shone with a burning light: "Manman, this is..."

"That's right, it was hard to get!"

Qiao Manman sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), rolled up Qiao Runming's trouser legs, and then deftly applied the ointment to his legs.

He Nian hugged Qiao Runming's upper body tightly, while Qiao Manman pressed down on Qiao Runming's ankles.

Before long, Qiao Runming felt an itch in his bones, as if a million tiny insects were gnawing at him.

Qiao Manman was still in the mood to joke with He Nian: "Mom, do you know that Qiao Zhenzhen was jilted at the altar?"

Chen Shicong's mother was a formidable fighter. Not only did she get the engagement gifts back, but she also humiliated Qiao Zhenzhen.

"Luckily, we severed ties with the Qiao family, otherwise we would have been implicated by Qiao Laoda!"

He Nian, however, was not as optimistic as Qiao Manman: "But, everyone else doesn't think that way!"

"It doesn't matter, as long as we're happy. In time, we'll break ties with them."

He Nian still looked worried, fearing that Qiao Laoda's matter would affect Qiao Manman's work, and even more so that her daughter would not be able to get married because of it.

Qiao Manman chose to ignore it and waited for the effects of the medicine to wear off before releasing Qiao Runming's ankle and boiling water to wash up.

The moon hung high in the sky. After washing up, Qiao Manman splashed the dirty water outside the door, but she didn't expect to splash it on an acquaintance.

"Lu Yuan?" Qiao Manman rubbed her eyes, afraid that she was hallucinating.

Lu Yuan chuckled and ruffled her hair: "Yes, it's me!"

Qiao Manman quickly pulled him into the yard, glanced around to make sure no one was outside, and closed the door.

The voice was low as she asked, "Where have you been all this time? I haven't heard from you at all. Did you complete the mission? Were you injured?"

Lu Yuan nodded: "It's done, and I'm not injured!"

Qiao Manman breathed a sigh of relief and patted Lu Yuan's chest: "I knew you could do it!"

Lu Yuan hissed, staggered, and looked pained.

Qiao Manman was startled and ran her hand down his shirt to his chest. Her eyes were full of confusion: "You're not injured!"

Lu Yuan laughed, his voice incredibly alluring in the night.

Qiao Manman blushed, glared at Lu Yuan, and frantically started playing mahjong inside his clothes.

Seeing her daughter's eagerness, He Nian couldn't help but cough.

Qiao Manman abruptly withdrew her hand, turned her head, and weakly called out, "Mother!"

Lu Yuan's smile faded, and he nodded to He Nian: "Aunt Qiao!"

"Yes!" He Nian responded, gesturing for the two to come in and talk.

Qiao Manman stuck out her tongue and walked inside with her head down. Lu Yuan followed, his gaze fixed on Qiao Manman.

As soon as he entered, Qiao Runming's gaze swept over the two of them.

The voice was stern as it asked, "Tell me, what's going on between you two?"

Qiao Manman glanced up at Lu Yuan, forced a smile, and said, "Dad, what could it be? Just checking on what Lu Zhiqing is up to!"

Qiao Runming glared at her: "Shut up!"

His gaze shifted to Lu Yuan: "You speak!"

Lu Yuan chuckled and raised his hand to salute Qiao Runming and He Nian.

Seeing the two of them frozen in shock, Qiao Manman chuckled, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Qiao Runming asked in shock, "You... Manman knew?"

Lu Yuan nodded: "Yes, I am a soldier. I concealed my identity for the mission. Now that the mission is over, I can reveal a little bit about it."

After saying that, he looked at Qiao Manman with tender eyes and said, "Uncle Qiao and Aunt Qiao, I like Manman, and I hope you will agree!"

Qiao Manman: "......"

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Inner monologue: "Hey bro, I was just flirting, did you really take it seriously?!"

Although it's not impossible, it's too sudden, and she wasn't mentally prepared.

Lu Yuan was so nervous that he dug his fingers into his palm, afraid that Qiao Runming would refuse.

After waiting for about a minute, Qiao Runming finally nodded: "Okay!"

Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and took an envelope out of his pocket.

"Uncle Qiao, I came in a hurry this time and was unable to prepare a gift. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

Qiao Runming waved his hand: "No need, Manman can write articles, and things are gradually getting back on track at home."

"I'll pay you back the medical expenses you advanced earlier, slowly, once I've recovered."

"Uncle Qiao, no need, this is what I should do!"

"Let's keep things separate, so you won't look down on my daughter!"

"No!" Lu Yuan said succinctly, leaving no room for argument.

Qiao Runming asked about his position, military unit, and family background before he was completely at ease entrusting his daughter to him.

Seeing that things were settled, He Nian smiled and greeted Lu Yuan, "Little Lu, sit here. You're here so late, have you eaten yet? Auntie will make you a bowl of noodles."

Lu Yuan smiled and thanked her, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie!"

As He Nian left, Qiao Runming glanced at the moonlight outside the window and realized something was wrong: "Coming over in the middle of the night, is there some hidden reason?"

"I have a mission at the military base. My train leaves at 3:30 a.m. I want to come see Manman and confirm our relationship."

After all, he had seen her wet, and she had kissed his lips.

As a responsible comrade, he had to give Comrade Qiao Manman an explanation before leaving!