After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Chen Mo stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for a long time. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Only when they heard the sound of their upstairs neighbor opening and coming down the stairs did the two quickly turn aside and make way for each other.

"What are you two talking about standing in the hallway?" an auntie upstairs asked with a mischievous smile as she passed by.

Lan Yujuan smiled and explained, "I just finished lunch and was seeing the guests downstairs."

The aunt smiled without saying a word, only revealing a teasing expression.

Lan Yujuan blushed with embarrassment and quickly urged:

"Let's go, let's not block the way."

Chen Mo turned around as instructed and slowly continued walking downstairs.

Seeing that the woman from before had walked away, he suddenly turned around and asked:

"That's all you require of a partner? Nothing else?"

Lan Yujuan stopped and looked at him, speaking with utmost seriousness:

Do you think this is easy to do?

Even a biological father might not be able to do this, let alone a stepfather.

"Then, will you consider me?" Chen Mo looked at her and asked earnestly.

Lan Yujuan was taken aback for a moment, then directly refused:

"Chen Mo, I have a lot of headaches right now, but there are also a lot of things I want to do."

"I have no plans to get married again for the time being."

After saying that, she stepped forward to take the trash bag from his hand.

"I'll go throw it away!"

"You didn't sleep last night, go home early and get some rest."

Chen Mo stood still, but when she reached out and approached, he raised his hand slightly to avoid her.

"Teacher Xiao Lan, please don't change the subject."

"Really, would you consider me again?"

"If we get married, your life won't change much. You can still do anything you want."

"Moreover, I can legitimately step in and help you solve a lot of problems."

Lan Yujuan fell silent.

Chen Mo's words reminded her of the scene that morning when her ex-husband came to harass her.

If she and Chen Mo got married, regardless of whether there were feelings between them, she believed that if she encountered a scene like that morning again, Chen Mo would definitely stand up for her.

She no longer needs to worry about her ex-husband doing anything excessive to her, or about him taking her daughter away.

But Lan Yujuan also deeply understands a principle: relying on others is never as good as relying on yourself.

"Chen Mo, marriage is not a transaction."

"I can solve my own problems."

She stood at the entrance of the building, watching Chen Mo go to throw away the trash, watching him leave, and then turned around and went upstairs alone.

No one knew better than her how moved she was when Chen Mo said those words.

In her heart, Chen Mo was a very reliable, outstanding, and capable man.

Chen Mo could easily solve all the problems she was facing with just a little effort.

If there were another capable man in the family, not only would her ex-husband's family not dare to cause trouble, but the neighbors would also have to think twice before gossiping and making a scene.

But Lan Yujuan knew very well in her heart that she was not good enough for such an outstanding man.

Because she was self-aware, she wouldn't harbor any fantasies.

After returning home, Lan Yujuan thought about it more and more and felt that her ex-husband was not quite right.

Finally, she found Li Jiaojiao's phone number and dialed it.

The phone rang a few times before being answered. A clear, cheerful female voice said, "Feed?"

Lan Yujuan took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as she said:

"Hello, I am Lan Yujuan."

"I know, what do you want to ask me?"

On the phone, Li Jiaojiao's tone was unusually cheerful, as if she were out shopping.

It was as if the other party had already guessed that she would make this call sooner or later.

"Liu Zhiyuan has come to Xiangnan, and he came to my house again today. Aren't you going to do anything about it?" Lan Yujuan asked directly.

Li Jiaojiao chuckled:

"Didn't you guess already? We've already broken up!"

"You're a smart person. You called me just to ask why I broke up with him?"

Lan Yujuan paused for a moment, then admitted it directly.

"Yes, I do want to know."

On the other end of the phone, Li Jiaojiao laughed even louder. However, there was a faint trace of sadness in her voice.

"Actually, it's very simple!"

"After I found out he lied to me, I never intended to continue the relationship!"

"I must have been out of my mind back then. I went to find him all by myself, carrying my luggage."

"That day, I was so angry that I picked up my luggage and started walking back, but when her sister and her group blocked my way through a back alley, I was terrified."

"That village is so remote, and I don't know anyone there. What if I anger him and he hurts me?"

"I can only keep pretending. I'll just have to go along with whatever he says to coax me!"

"Later, I overheard his sister saying that when you divorced, he gave you a million dollars? That's incredibly generous!"

"I wasted three or four of my best years following him, so why should I get nothing in return?"

"Anyway, no matter what method I used, he scraped together a million and gave me one million."

"I took the money, quit my job, and went back to my hometown!"

"However, I recently heard that he lost a lot of money in the stock market. And his company is laying off employees this year, and he seems to be on the list."

"If you want to change your mind, now's the perfect time!"

"You can bring your daughter, your dowry, and the million you got in the divorce settlement, go back to his hometown with him, help him pay off his debts first, then buy a house for his younger brother's wedding, then give birth to a son for him, take care of his whole family, and help him make a comeback..."

Lan Yujuan was so angry at the sarcastic remarks that she laughed out loud.

"Li Jiaojiao, thank you!"

"However, I've pretty much drained the water from my brain!"

"Instead of wasting your time worrying about me, you should use that time to fix your own head and be more discerning when choosing a man in the future!"

Li Jiaojiao choked, then angrily spoke into the phone:

"Pah, get lost!"

Then he hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Lan Yujuan finally understood.

No wonder Liu Zhiyuan was so scared that he called his former employer himself.

He wasn't worried that she would report him, but rather that she was afraid of her finding out that he was unemployed and in debt.

Therefore, it becomes even harder to deceive oneself back!

After figuring all this out, Lan Yujuan immediately decided to move to a new home with her daughter as soon as possible so that her ex-husband could not find them.

So, on Monday, as soon as she dropped her daughter off at kindergarten, she rushed to the new house to take measurements and then went to the furniture market to order furniture.

Lan Yujuan was preoccupied with something and came and went in a hurry.

She didn't realize that she was being followed as soon as she and her daughter left the residential area.

Monday morning, around 10 a.m.

Liu Zhiyuan rushed to the kindergarten in a "hurried" manner, his eyes red and his voice filled with sorrow:

"Teacher, I'm here to pick up Lan Xiaoman!"

"I'm the child's father. Her grandfather suddenly passed away, and we need to go home for the funeral!"

The homeroom teacher looked at the unfamiliar parent and asked suspiciously:

"You must be mistaken. I've never seen you before."

"I've met Lan Xiaoman's father before, but he's not you."

Liu Zhiyuan was also stunned. "Huh?"

"Teacher, I really am Lan Xiaoman's father!"

He instantly thought of his childhood friend and neighbor across the street from the Lan family, a man with a fierce and menacing appearance, and quickly explained:

"Teacher, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"The person who came to pick up my Xiaoman before was probably her uncle or maternal uncle."

"I am Xiaoman's father!"

As he spoke, Liu Zhiyuan quickly pulled out a series of pre-prepared pieces of evidence from his bag:

A photocopy of Lan Xiaoman's birth certificate, the father and daughter's household registration book, a family photo of the three of them, and even photos taken when he and Lan Yujuan got married were dug out from his phone's photo album.

The homeroom teacher frowned and immediately called Lan Xiaoman out of the classroom for a confrontation.

As soon as the little guy stepped out of the classroom, his eyes lit up for a moment, and he softly called out, "Dad."

A flicker of secret delight flashed in Liu Zhiyuan's eyes, and he became even more immersed in his role:

"Teacher, I really am Xiaoman's father!"

"If there wasn't a genuine family emergency, who would curse their own father for no reason?"

Liu Zhiyuan looked grief-stricken and took out photos of the funeral hall.

The homeroom teacher felt a chill run down her spine. Just then, another child in the class started crying and making a fuss. The teacher, feeling extremely troubled, quickly said:

"Alright, then you guys should head back now!"

Please accept my condolences.