Zhou Xiaoling was so furious she looked ready to explode. "Has my sister lost her mind? Why on earth would she marry that good-for-nothing? Even staying single her whole life would be better than tying herself to that scoundrel. Is she trying to ruin her life?"

Just thinking about it gave Zhou Zhennan a headache. "I've tried reasoning with her many times. She chose this path herself. Even if it leaves her feet covered in blisters, she'll have to walk it alone."

But Zhou Xiaoling was still seething. "Dad, no! We can't just stand by and watch her jump into a pit of fire! Ugh, I can't even go back right now... I'll write her a letter!"

She rolled up her sleeves, ready to march off and start writing.

Zhou Zhennan stopped her. "Don't bother. I've tried over and over. She won't listen."

Father and daughter were already at odds. Zhou Xiaohong even believed her parents were playing favorites—convinced that if it were Zhou Xiaoling making such a choice, they wouldn't oppose it so strongly.

She had cried, "Dad, just because I've always been the easy child, you and Mom could afford to ignore me, right? Look at Mom—before, she only had eyes for Second Brother. Now, it's all about Zhou Huaian. And you? You've always been buried in your research. How could you possibly care about me? When would you even have the time? So what about Hu Yaozong? His reputation wasn't great before, but he cares about me."

"You can't keep judging people by their past. Everyone changes—you've changed, and so has Hu Yaozong."

"I will marry Hu Yaozong. If you insist on stopping me, then act like you never had me as a daughter. You prefer Xiaoling anyway."

"Even if you cut me off, even if you break my legs—I'm still going to marry him."

Zhou Zhennan closed his eyes briefly. In his heart, he had never favored one child over another.

His work had kept him busy, and he'd neglected much of their upbringing.

On the rare occasions he was home, his attention went to disciplining the troublemaking Zhou Xiaoling. Zhou Xiaohong, being well-behaved, never gave him or Li Yunlan any reason to worry.

Somehow, that had led Zhou Xiaohong to conclude that her parents were biased.

Listening nearby, Lin Xiaoxiao thought to herself that Zhou Xiaohong wasn't so much foolish as she was rebelling—only this rebellious phase was downright idiotic.

Zhou Xiaoling went on and on, listing every awful thing about Hu Yaozong: "He's always bullied others and harassed women. He's had affairs with several married women. With character like that, has my sister been blinded by lard? How could Hu Yaozong ever treat her well? He's Hu Ling's younger brother!"

After what happened to Zhou Xiaoming, Hu Ling—now raising two children alone—probably hated the Zhou family intensely.

And Hu Yaozong, as Hu Ling's brother, was fiercely protective of his sister. He was the type who'd fight to the death for her. With that kind of loyalty toward his sister, how could he ever treat Zhou Xiaohong well?

Zhou Zhennan pressed a hand on Zhou Xiaoling's shoulder. "Let it go. It's her fate. Your mother and I will attend the wedding. Since she's determined to marry, we'll be there—so the Hu family doesn't bully her."

From a father's perspective, if his daughter was set on marrying, there was little he could do but become her steadfast support—making sure she had a family to return to if she was ever mistreated.

Fuming, Zhou Xiaoling dragged Lin Xiaoxiao outside, leaving Zhou Zhennan to watch over Li Yunlan.

Lin Xiaoxiao sat on the edge of a flower bed, watching Zhou Xiaoling pace like an angry little lion. Her face was flushed with rage, rivaling the bright red blooms beside her.

Zhou Xiaoling huffed, trying to catch her breath. "Zhou Xiaohong's brains must have rotted. Or someone drugged her. How else could she do something so insane? Hu Yaozong pursued her for years, and she never gave him the time of day. Why agree now?"

Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't realized Hu Yaozong was Zhou Xiaoming's brother-in-law. If Zhou Xiaohong really married into that family, things were going to get messy.

Curious, she asked, "Is Hu Yaozong really that terrible?"

Zhou Xiaoling took a deep breath and crouched next to Lin Xiaoxiao. "Let me put it this way—even the bugs in a sewer are more likable than him. He was leading rebel gangs by fifteen or sixteen, persecuting innocent people to settle personal scores. He bullied men and harassed women, got involved with several married women. Then he set his sights on my sister—writing her love letters, ambushing us on our way to school, showering her with foreign gifts. My sister never even glanced his way."

"These past couple of years, with policy changes, his family pulled strings and got him a idle job at the neighborhood office. What future could someone like him possibly have?"

Lin Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. "Does he have any good qualities at all?"

Zhou Xiaoling pondered hard. "If I had to name one, I guess he's good-looking—fair-skinned, delicate features, almost like a woman."

Lin Xiaoxiao found it strange. "Maybe Zhou Xiaohong just likes that type?"

Zhou Xiaoling snorted. "No way. If she liked him, she would've liked him years ago. I'm so mad I could scream. She's being an idiot—she'll learn her lesson the hard way."

Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't explain Zhou Xiaohong's self-destructive rebellion either. Little children acted out to get attention. Was it possible that, even at her age, Zhou Xiaohong was still trying to win her parents' favor?

She personally thought Zhou Zhennan and Li Yunlan were decent parents—they had strong principles and always protected their children. Minor flaws were inevitable; after all, nobody was perfect.

As it turned out, Lin Xiaoxiao had guessed correctly. Zhou Xiaohong was doing all this to get Li Yunlan and Zhou Zhennan's attention.

She didn't like Hu Yaozong at all—her heart belonged to someone else. But after years of Hu Yaozong's relentless pestering, she decided to test her father's reaction.

She proposed a fake marriage to Hu Yaozong—a way to gauge her parents' response. She never actually intended to marry him.

Hu Yaozong was overjoyed. As long as Zhou Xiaohong was willing to engage with him, it didn't matter whether it was an act or not. He was confident he could win over this ice-cold beauty.

Everyone knew there were two famous beauties in their compound: one was Zhou Xiaohong, cold and unapproachable as frost; the other was Zhou Xiaoling, radiant and fiery-tempered.

Each sister had her own charm.

In a perfect world, Hu Yaozong would have claimed both sisters. He had pursued Zhou Xiaoling on several occasions, but she was a true wildcat, far too volatile. Their final encounter nearly cost him his future—she almost ended his bloodline right there. After that close call, he abandoned his reckless ambition for Zhou Xiaoling and concentrated his efforts solely on the more agreeable Zhou Xiaohong, though he continued to see other women on the side.

When Zhou Xiaohong finally showed a hint of softening, Hu Yaozong agreed to all her conditions. He figured once the rice was cooked, what could she do?

What Zhou Xiaohong hadn't expected was that her talk with Zhou Zhennan would go so badly. He'd coldly told her, "If you want to marry him, go ahead. But when you suffer for it, you'll have to swallow every bit of it yourself."

Then he'd hurried off to Longbei City—without a doubt, to see Li Yunlan and that son they'd just reclaimed.