When it was time to check out, Le Xiang realized she had bought too many things. Aside from the items for Qiao Zhi, she had also picked up plenty for herself, seeing things at home that could be useful.Wet wipes, regular tissues, a bottle of enzyme laundry detergent, a thermal cup, a thermos lunchbox, a timer, five kilograms of bagged millet, a sewing kit, a folding laundry basket, and a variety of little gadgets...Qiao Zhi gave a casual glance at the two shopping carts filled to the brim. Ignoring the tissues, the other items—well, let's not even mention those seemingly useful things that, in reality, might end up unused for years, like the laundry detergent and millet... How would someone who never cooks at home and sends all their clothes, except for underwear and socks, to the dry cleaner, ever use these?Honestly… as always, she's quite the spender.As he thought this, a faint smile crept into his eyes.When the final total appeared on the screen, Le Xiang was about to open her wallet to pay, but Qiao Zhi was quicker, already handing over his credit card.She froze for a moment, then furrowed her brows.If this were any other time, she wouldn't have given it a second thought. They had known each other for so many years, and the amount of money she had spent on him was incalculable, just as he had never been shy about spending on her.To her, he had always been more than family, but now...In the moment of hesitation, Qiao Zhi had already effortlessly gathered the items, and seeing the crowded store, she sighed and had no choice but to follow him.Once back home, Qiao Zhi busied himself with organizing the things, not even pausing for a second to prepare lunch.Before leaving, seeing Le Xiang still lost in thought, Qiao Zhi held back his emotions for a moment but eventually spoke up, "I want you to think carefully about what I said. Let me know your answer when I'm back next time."Le Xiang instinctively opened her mouth to speak, but Qiao Zhi raised his hand to stop her. "I know you're going to reject me, but you need to think this through. If I'm ever going to get married, the only bride will be you."His words hit Le Xiang like a wave, and she felt a sudden tightness in her chest. "I'm eight years older than you, and I've already been married.""I know all of that," Qiao Zhi said after a pause, his voice heavy with unspoken understanding. "No one knows that better than me.""I can't have children," Le Xiang said with some frustration. "You know this too, and since you do, there's no need to—"She wanted to say, "no need to joke about this," but deep down, she knew Qiao Zhi would never joke about something like this.No one understood his gentle nature towards her better than she did—if there was one person who would never hurt her, it was him.But...This wasn't something that could bring her joy, because she could never accept his feelings—not out of insecurity, but because of reality.To anyone who looked at them, they were simply incompatible.One was a 35-year-old divorced woman who couldn't have children, and the other was a 27-year-old single officer in the military, with a bright future ahead. There was no more mismatched couple than them."My child's mother can only be Le Xiang. If it's not you, then it won't be any other woman," Qiao Zhi said, knowing this alone wouldn't change Le Xiang's mind. He decisively added, "If this still doesn't reassure you, I'll go to the hospital and get a vasectomy."He said it seriously, but Le Xiang was nearly driven mad. She stared at him in disbelief. "Don't do something reckless. Is this really the problem?"She was nearly beside herself with anger. Because she couldn't have children, he would undergo a vasectomy, and the two of them, with no ability to have children, could be together… What kind of logic was that?Le Xiang thought he didn't understand, but in truth, Qiao Zhi knew it all too well. He just didn't have the time to explain everything to her.And even if he did, she would still refuse to accept him.He sighed and said, "I'll give you two choices: either we get married, or we continue like this forever."Without waiting for Le Xiang to speak, he grabbed the two heavy shopping bags and slammed the door behind him.He actually slammed the door…Le Xiang was stunned, her expression filled with disbelief. As she came back to her senses, she recalled his last words, which only made her even angrier.This brat, what two choices? What nonsense is that? Who asked you to speak on your own?After calming down, she rubbed her forehead. It was over—she had been swayed. How had things gotten so messed up?Before she had time to think further, the song "Three Little Bears" started playing on her phone. The sweet, childish voice was incredibly cute, but when she saw the name "Yao Qi" on the screen, she sighed.She answered the call, instinctively smiling, "Qi Qi?""Le Xiang…" Yao Qi's voice trembled, on the verge of tears. "Our studio was smashed! A lot of our equipment was destroyed, and the landlord won't rent the place to us anymore. She refunded the rent, but she refuses to compensate us for the renovation costs, offering only a thousand yuan as a penalty. The contract only mentioned that she allowed us to renovate, but there was no clause about penalties for violations, so we have no way to deal with her."Yao Qi couldn't hold back her anger. "What can we do with a thousand yuan? When we signed the contract, that old woman refused to raise the penalty, and now it seems like it was premeditated."Le Xiang remained silent, though she thought to herself, No, that old woman, though harsh, probably didn't intend to swindle us when signing the lease. Her refusal to increase the penalty was likely just an attempt to make it easier for her to raise the rent later.Still, someone had been scheming.After a pause, Le Xiang spoke up, "Qi Qi, use that thousand yuan to hire a few people to tear up the floors, wallpaper, and the wiring we installed."Le Xiang wasn't one to take advantage of others, but she also didn't like being taken advantage of. More often than not, she would rather take a loss herself than let someone who offended her get away with it."Are you serious?" Yao Qi was taken aback. Given her nature, a thousand yuan was still money—it seemed too much to destroy the place and not benefit herself. She was worried that provoking the old woman might backfire and lead to a lawsuit.Le Xiang was different, though. Apart from a few specific people, she wasn't inclined to let anyone else take advantage of her.The landlord was one of them, and so was Shen Mingyuan!With these thoughts in mind, she opened her laptop, took some time to retrieve an email she had buried deep in her memory, and sent a large file out.After finishing that, Le Xiang felt exhausted, not physically, but mentally.She had felt tired most of her life, with the few years of relief coming after her divorce from Shen Mingyuan.But this kind of relief was neither permanent nor unchangeable.Ironically, she wasn't even surprised by it.