"Cheng Hao, bro, I can’t keep this from you—it’s just that the other party went too far, even calling my brother a ’kept man’ and looking down on him."
Pei Yining couldn’t care less about all that. She could tolerate insults towards herself, but not towards her brother.
"You don’t know, at that time..."
Pei Yining rattled off the events that had just occurred, without any personal bias or exaggeration.
Zou Yaru’s lips moved slightly, wanting to explain. Pei Yining countered, "Did I say anything wrong, even a single word or character?"
Zou Yaru looked at Cheng Hao, then back at Pei Yining. Facing her questioning, she couldn’t utter a ’no.’ Everything Pei Yining had said was the truth, the plain facts.
"Yicheng, I’m sorry."
Cheng Hao apologized to Pei Yicheng immediately.
"You two should talk it out." Pei Yicheng patted his shoulder and, pulling Pei Yining, who was still curious about what would happen next, left with her.
After Pei Yicheng and Pei Yining had left, only he and Zou Yaru remained.
The wind blew, cold and chilly, just like his heart.
"Yaru, that man..." who is he?
Cheng Hao looked at Zou Yaru with difficulty. Just thinking about Yicheng being misunderstood because of him, and being insulted as a ’kept man’ and ’ugly toad lusting after a swan’s flesh’—he felt uncomfortable even hearing those derogatory words.
"He’s the blind date my mother arranged for me."
Zou Yaru said with her head lowered. At this point, there was nothing left to hide.
During the summer break, when Zou’s mother urged Zou Yaru to come to South City, she said, to put it nicely, that she missed her daughter, but frankly, it was because she wanted her to go on arranged dates.
Zou Yaru disagreed, yet her mother insisted she meet the man.
Initially, Gu Junhe was indifferent and uninterested in her, which made it seem like there was no need to worry about the whole affair.
Yet, not long after, Zou’s mother once again set her sights on this, even pressing Zou Yaru about whether she had a boyfriend back in the county. Naturally, Zou Yaru refused to admit it, but her mother insisted she pair up with Gu Junhe.
Zou Yaru thought Gu Junhe was uninterested too, but somehow, Gu Junhe started showing up in front of her frequently.
During that period, Zou Yaru wanted nothing more than to hide back in the county, but her mother watched her closely. The rare times she managed to sneak back, she would be brought back again.
As chance would have it, there was an accident at the small coal mine in Ping City, which belonged to Zou’s father, requiring a large sum of money, and he was detained. The Gu Family just happened to have connections in that area, as well as money. Gu Junhe used this as leverage, asking Zou Yaru to marry him.
Zou Yaru, panicked and worried for her father, had been avoiding Cheng Hao lately.
Today, she and Gu Junhe went out because of her father’s situation. Gu Junhe had drunk a bit and tried to take advantage of her. She was unwilling, and a quarrel ensued between them on the street, which just so happened to be witnessed by Pei Yicheng.
"How is your uncle now? That accident wasn’t his fault, how much money is needed?" Cheng Hao immediately asked.
"Cheng Hao, it’s not just a small amount of money." Zou Yaru, facing his worried gaze, couldn’t help but feel tears welling up in her eyes. Her father had doted on her since childhood. Because she loved music and cherished the small county town, he had bought her an apartment there, so she could teach music and live a comfortable life.
She couldn’t bear to see her father in trouble, but she also couldn’t bear to part with Cheng Hao.
"Come back with me to Ningbei, I can save your father." Cheng Hao had barely finished speaking when he stepped forward, wanting to take her hand, but Zou Yaru avoided him.