Hearing this, Xu Qingqing nodded and said thoughtfully, "I can understand Sister Jingzhen's thoughts."
"Our family is well - off and we don't need to ask others for help. But if something unexpected happened to our family, and all our assets were used to pay off debts, or even a large amount of money was needed to solve family troubles, I wouldn't want to ask others for help either. I'd rather sacrifice something myself."
"When pushed to a corner, getting married is also a way out. It's better than becoming a hostess."
Xu Qingqing said with a touch of sadness on her face.
Xu Yan glared at her. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Brother, think about it yourself. Am I talking nonsense?"
Xu Qingqing's words made Xu Yan fall into deep thought.
If she hadn't married the old man, maybe Jingzhen's father wouldn't have received treatment.
"But she clearly had better options. At least she should have told me. In the end, she still regarded me as an outsider," Xu Yan said with a bitter smile.
Xu Qingqing disagreed with him. "Brother, that's not how you should put it. You don't mind, but it doesn't mean Sister Jingzhen doesn't. You know her. She's such a proud girl and has always been outstanding. You two were just boyfriend and girlfriend, and she borrowed hundreds of thousands from you."
"She must have known that your family is not an ordinary one. Even if you don't mind, she would worry that your parents might think she was marrying you for your money, just to avoid repaying the debt and to let your family take care of her father."
Xu Yan interrupted her. "Qingqing, you know that Mom and Dad are not such people."
Considering Xu Yan's feelings, Xu Qingqing softened her tone a bit. "Yes, we know Mom and Dad are not like that, but Sister Jingzhen doesn't know. Even if she did, she wouldn't want to do that."
"As the saying goes, help in an emergency, not with chronic poverty. If she needed our family's support for a long time, she would feel it was unfair to our family. It's precisely because Sister Jingzhen has good character, correct values and is self - reliant, all the qualities you like, that's why she made this choice."
"Brother, to be honest, you two are just not meant to be. Even if you had a second chance, things would still be the same."
"So, brother, just let it go. Just regard her as the white moonlight in your heart and let her shine there forever. You still need to find a wife. And after you find one, you should completely regard Sister Jingzhen as a thing of the past."
Seeing Xu Qingqing's serious look, Xu Yan couldn't help teasing her. "You seem to be good at lecturing me. But what about yourself?"
Xu Qingqing said proudly, "I've given birth to two excellent babies and can support them on my own. In my world, it doesn't matter whether there's a man or not. So I don't have to face such troubles."
"Okay, you've comforted me enough. Go to sleep," Xu Yan said helplessly.
"Then, brother, are you okay? Are you in a better mood?" Xu Qingqing asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Great. Then I'll go back to my room. Brother, go to bed early too." Waving her hand, Xu Qingqing turned and left.
Xu Yan sat there alone, looking at the turned - off TV in the living room with a sense of desolation. His mood was in turmoil.
When Xu Qingqing was out of sight, Xu Yan poured himself several more glasses of red wine. He didn't go back to his room until he had finished the whole bottle, his figure looking so desolate.
From this night on, he would stop missing her.
The next day, because she had comforted Xu Yan the day before, Xu Qingqing got up a bit late. When she came downstairs, she saw an unexpected guest sitting in the living room. It was Lu Fenglin, the one she had called to make an appointment with yesterday.
Father and Mother Xu were already entertaining him. They treated Lu Chuanbai and Lu Fenglin equally well. So these two half - brothers who didn't get along well in the Lu family would act like respectful brothers when they came to the Xu family.
Father and Mother Xu were never the kind of people who meddled in other people's business. So they didn't know much about the Lu family's affairs. They only knew that these two were half - brothers.
Mother Xu looked at Lu Fenglin with a big smile on her face, with a look like a mother - in - law sizing up her future son - in - law.
"I heard that you're going to accompany Qingqing to attend classes at the university today. You must be really tired. But Qingqing has encountered a lot of bad things recently. We'll feel more at ease with you accompanying her."
Lu Fenglin nodded with a smile on his face. "Auntie, don't worry. I encountered some dangers when I was a child, so I've learned taekwondo and kick - boxing since I was young. I can definitely protect Qingqing."
When Xu Qingqing came downstairs, she heard Lu Fenglin call her "Qingqing" directly.
Hearing him call her this way, for some reason, Xu Qingqing felt a bit unhappy, as if Lu Fenglin had taken away the name that originally belonged to Lu Chuanbai.
This man who seemed so docile in front of her mother would threaten her in private and manipulate human nature to the fullest.
Even if she didn't end up with Lu Chuanbai, she would never marry a man like Lu Fenglin.
Even if you married him, you would never know whether he really liked you, had some ulterior motives, or just regarded you as a pawn.
Such a man, as Lu Chuanbai had said, was extremely terrifying.
"Mom, mind your own business. Mr. Lu and I have some business dealings recently, so he may come to our house more often. Mom, don't be too enthusiastic. You might scare him."
As Xu Qingqing was speaking, she walked towards Mother Xu and Lu Fenglin.
She looked at Lu Fenglin. "You've had breakfast, right?"
Lu Fenglin shook his head. "Not yet. I thought I'd set out early to pick you up and take you to have breakfast. I'd like to see what you'd like to eat and have it with you."
Hearing Lu Fenglin's words, Mother Xu was even more satisfied with him. What a considerate boy!
"Okay, okay. Hurry up and set off with Fenglin. Your father and I will take care of the two little ones at home."
Mother Xu started to shoo them away.
Xu Qingqing was a bit helpless. She glanced at Xu Yan's room upstairs and told Mother Xu, "Mom, brother came back late last night. It was already after twelve. I guess he didn't fall asleep so quickly. Don't wake him up today. Let him have a good sleep."
Mother Xu was a bit surprised. "What? Why did your brother come back so late? If he really met a girl he liked, he might as well not come back. Coming back so late. Oh, he's really disappointing."
Xu Qingqing winked at Mother Xu, indicating that Lu Fenglin was still there.
Mother Xu noticed and restrained herself a bit.
Xu Qingqing pulled Mother Xu aside and led her to a corner.