Marriage is long and desires are strong

Luo Hao, with his flat-top hair and bared teeth, looked at the young, unfamiliar girl with a lewd gaze, his eyes filled with judgment and scrutiny, even lingering on Jiang Wei's chest for a thorough examination.

"Such a beautiful and well-behaved daughter, aren't you going to invite her parents inside to see her?"

Luo Hao stretched out his arms to hug Jiang Wei, but before he got close, Jiang Wei could smell the unpleasant sour odor emanating from him.

Jiang Wei stepped back, reaching into her bag for pepper spray, her voice low and menacing: "Stay away from me!"

Luo Hao gambled and, for a dowry of 20 yuan, sold Jiang Wan, who was then his adopted daughter, to a 45-year-old bachelor in the village.

When Luo Hao found Jiang Wan at the Jiang family home, he made an outrageous demand for money, saying that if the Jiang family didn't give him enough, they shouldn't have raised their daughter for nothing. He wanted to "test" Jiang Wan, speaking in a shameless and vulgar manner.

People from the same village chased after Jiang Wan and threw dog poop on her, laughing at her father for forcing her to marry someone else at the mahjong table when Jiang Wan was only 10 years old.

Li Yao, an alcoholic, never protected Jiang Wan.

When she got her first period, her pants were stained with blood. Li Yao made her wash the blood-stained pants with cold water in the yard. It was the dead of winter, and passersby were staring at her.

Jiang Wan didn't have a bra to wear during puberty, so she could only wrap herself in cloth, but she was still pointed at and laughed at.

Jiang Wei always yielded to Jiang Wan because she knew that Jiang Wan had indeed suffered a lot.

But even the most pitiful people have their hateful aspects.

Some people can forge their sharpness from hardship, while others will be submerged in those hardships, carrying the stench of the ditch even after they reach the shore.

Lu Ji, holding a cigarette, subtly took two steps forward, separating him from Jiang Wei, and looked at Luo Hao with a half-smile: "What are you doing? Getting handsy."

Luo Hao looked Lu Ji up and down. His light blue T-shirt cost tens of thousands of yuan, indicating he was a wealthy man, but... his sharp and piercing gaze frightened him.

Luo Hao was a master of playing the victim, and this was someone he couldn't afford to offend: "She's my daughter. It's the first time we've met, what's wrong with giving her a hug?"

"I've seen her naked when she was a child."

Jiang Wei frowned. She had heard Xu Mo and Jiang Che say that these two were both scoundrels, and because of them, they disliked Jiang Wei's genes, especially Xu Mo, who particularly looked down on Jiang Wei's background.

Jiang Wei pondered whether she should give them some money to send them away.

The cigarette between Lu Ji's fingers rose slowly and wearily as he whispered in her ear, "Don't give me a single penny."

"I've seen too many people like that. That guy's a gambler, isn't he? I can smell the stench of a long-term gambler from far away."

"Gamblers almost never change. Every penny you give them will be poured into the casino; tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, even tens of millions can disappear quickly. You can't afford to keep them."

"So you must not give him a single penny at the beginning. Otherwise, he will bleed you dry, and once he gets involved with you, you won't be able to get rid of him."

"A pretty young girl like you shouldn't argue with scoundrels and filthy people. They'll drag you down to their level and then use their years of shameless experience to defeat you."

Jiang Wei asked softly, "How did you know?"

It's a very strange feeling. You know perfectly well that these two people are terrible, but when these two are biological parents, they are looked down upon, as if you are being looked down upon as well.

Jiang Wei suppressed this feeling.

She never intended to find her biological parents or have any contact with them.

Lu Ji smiled faintly, standing very close to her, and whispered, "Hmm? You don't know me?"

"You can ask around when you have time. My family used to run a casino."

"Don't worry, they've all closed down now. Your dear husband ruined several of them. They eventually gave up."

"But I know these kinds of people all too well."

"How about it? Call me 'brother,' and I'll help you sort it out. It's a good deal!"

Jiang Wei: "Behave yourself."

Getting involved with this person is troublesome; you can't get rid of them.

You can't solve one problem with another. That's what Qin Xiaoye said.

She would rather seek help from Qin Xiaoye than from this man who seemed to be both righteous and wicked.

Lu Ji is a strange person. He is Qin Xiaoye's nemesis. Could he be planning to start with himself to get rid of Qin Xiaoye?

She then looked at Luo Hao and Li Yao. The problem was that these two were her biological parents, and the blood ties couldn't be severed.

Luo Hao looked at Jiang Wei and smiled: "Daughter, I know you still need some time to adjust. You're still a little confused after just finding out who your biological parents are."

"Okay, give us some money first so we can settle down."

Lu Ji chuckled, took a drag of his cigarette, glanced at Jiang Wei indifferently, and mouthed: "I'll take care of it for you, how about it?"

Jiang Wei thought about it and the best way was... to deny it.

Even with the evidence right in front of you, you can't admit it.

Deal with a rogue in a rogue-like way.

"Who are you? If you keep claiming someone as your daughter, I'm calling the police."

If they don't pay, they can't accept it in the first place.

Do you have any evidence?

The burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. Since they claim she is their daughter, they must prove that what they say is true.

But proving oneself... is a trap.

Luo Hao, holding the paternity test report, asked, "Why is there no evidence?"

Jiang Wei glanced at it and said, "This report is fake."

Luo Hao trembled with anger: "How could it be fake? It's real."

Jiang Wei: "You have to prove it's true."

Luo Hao: "This is legally permissible!"

Jiang Wei: "This chapter could be fake. How can you prove it's real?"

Luo Hao was speechless with anger: "You..."

Jiang Wei said earnestly, "You can't just randomly choose someone to adopt as your daughter. That won't work; you'll easily be seen as mentally ill."

Lu Ji stood to the side, nonchalant, his tone leisurely and indifferent. He slowly raised a cigarette between his fingers to his lips, took a light drag, and let the white smoke drift out: "Speaking of which, if it really is a daughter, doesn't she have the right to send her mentally ill parents to a mental hospital?"

"Gambling and alcoholism are problems with the brain and nerves; they are things you can't control. You can lock yourself up and quit."

He turned to Jiang Wei: "I can introduce you to some options; the prices are cheap."

Jiang Wei tilted her head and thought seriously: "That works too."

She glanced at Luo Hao and Li Yao with a half-smile.

Luo Hao and Li Yao stopped in their tracks, ready to start a fight and throw a tantrum at the hospital entrance.

Li Yao's face, etched with wrinkles, said, "Our daughter hasn't quite grasped it yet. We'll come back to see her in a few days. Let's not pressure her; after all, we all love her."

Luo Hao looked at Lu Ji, feeling he wouldn't get away with this today: "Alright, daughter, you think it over yourself first. We're leaving now."

The two of them, supporting each other, deliberately pretended to be limping and had been scolded by their daughter, looking pitiful as they left.

Lu Ji raised one hand to clap with Jiang Wei: "Don't you think we have great chemistry? We're a perfect match."

Jiang Wei ignored him and turned to go into the hospital: "I don't feel anything."

Lu Ji wanted to follow them inside.

Jiang Wei glared at him, her expression cool and professional: "Smoking is not allowed in the hospital."

Lu Ji didn't care: "They're all animals, what's there to be afraid of!"

Jiang Wei stared directly at him, displeased: "Small animals are much more vulnerable than humans. For example, mosquito coils are fine for humans, but animals will be poisoned and die from inhaling them. Disinfectants and various everyday human products are also highly toxic to animals, including the smoke."

"If you dare bring cigarettes in, I'll never speak to you again."

Lu Ji snorted, "Am I afraid?" But he stopped in his tracks and finished his last few puffs of cigarette at the hospital entrance.

Jiang Wei entered the consultation room, arranged the sunflowers Qin Xiaoye had given her, put them in a vase, and looked at the bright yellow flowers with a smile in her eyes.

The appearance of her biological parents made her panic.

It was as if it revealed her unbearable side, forcing her to confront the side she didn't want to admit but had to.

The truth was as sharp as a scalpel, cutting her open, forcing her head to see herself clearly, not allowing her to escape.

Tell her the truth about how despicable her parents are, and that she can't escape this gene and bloodline.

Qin Xiaoye is like a stabilizer; with him around, everything is stable.

It's okay, don't let them affect you.

They are themselves, and each person is themselves.

But... Jiang Wei remembered what Xu Mo said: even if Qin Xiaoye didn't care about family background, the Qin family was a hereditary noble family, and the Jiang family's status was barely acceptable. With your biological parents' gambling and alcoholism, would they even look at you? Aren't you ashamed?

Ordinary people look at parents and background when looking for a partner. Don't be so naive as to think that family background is unimportant. Family background is the most important thing, more important than people.

Jiang Wei looked at the sunflower, gently stroking the petals. The yellow sap clung to her fingers, like a faint ray of sunlight.

Lu Ji followed him in and looked at Jiang Wei. Her eyes were indifferent and shallow, filled with sadness.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

Some unknown anger arose again.

It seemed that he would become inexplicably anxious whenever Jiang Wei was bullied.

Lu Ji grabbed Jiang Wei's arm, pinned her against the wall, and used his arm to hold her in place.

He was very close, his eyes fixed directly on Jiang Wei:

"Qin Xiaoye is only with you because you're Director Xiang, right? That kind of affection isn't pure."

"Were you forced to marry Qin Xiaoye? Do you want me to help you get a divorce?"

His words were serious and earnest, his eyes were dark and deep; he was no longer the carefree, irresponsible person he once was.