Back when he was feeding pigs in the countryside, Second Brother Gu was rail-thin and deeply tanned, so you couldn’t make out his true features.

Now that he was no longer toiling in the fields, he’d filled out and become exceptionally handsome. His tendency to smile before he even spoke, in particular, made all the women in the shopping mall unable to resist sneaking a few extra glances.

One beautiful young woman in the crowd was even making eyes at Second Brother Gu, repeatedly and in public.

The man himself, however, was completely oblivious. He just kept smiling at his younger sister and his fiancée.

He said gently, "Lanlan looks very pretty, and my Jiaojiao looks even prettier."

Second Brother Gu smiled dotingly and took the clothes from his sister’s and his fiancée’s hands.

"Just wear the new clothes out. Is there anything else you want to buy? If you like it, get it. I’m not short on cash."

After speaking, Second Brother Gu turned to his fiancée, took her hand, and said with a smile, "Lanlan, let me help you pick out a few more outfits."

"Second Brother..." Li Xiulan lowered her head, blushing.

"Hmph..."

Li Xiulan hadn’t even finished speaking when she was cut off by a cold snort from the young woman who’d been making eyes at him.

She said irritably, "Li Xiulan, you’re so shameless! Holding a man’s hand in public like this."

"Who do you think you are, talking like that? Lanlan is my fiancée. What business is it of yours if I hold her hand?"

Second Brother Gu’s expression soured as he angrily rebuked the attractive girl.

The girl’s name was Xiao Man, and she was one of Li Xiulan’s neighbors. Hearing Second Brother Gu’s rebuke made her even more furious.

’Such a handsome man!’

’And he’s supposedly rich, too! How did that bitch Li Xiulan get to him first?!’

The more she stewed, the angrier Xiao Man became. She glared at Li Xiulan and started spouting nonsense. "Do you have any idea how much effort my older brother spent trying to win you over?"

Her words successfully captured everyone’s attention. The people present all turned to stare at Li Xiulan, their expressions full of schadenfreude.

Though no one said a word, their hostile gazes left Li Xiulan completely bewildered.

Xiao Man smugly continued her accusations. "But you went and got engaged to another man for his money! How could you betray my brother’s sincere feelings?"

"Xiao Man, how can you slander me like this?" Li Xiulan protested desperately, her eyes welling with tears. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Li Xiulan’s tears only irritated Xiao Man further. She snorted. "Slander? Heh!

"Don’t try to deny it. You and my family live on the same street. Everyone knows my brother has a crush on you.

"And what was the result? You had someone beat my brother up, then you just left him on a street corner! He’s still in the hospital right now. So you tell me, am I slandering you?"

Seeing that everyone was starting to believe her, Xiao Man pointed to her own face and continued her performance. "Everyone, have a look. I’m pretty good-looking, right?

"Since I’m good-looking, it’s only natural that my brother is handsome too. Li Xiulan used to be into him for his looks.

"The two of them were a match made in heaven. But because our family is poor, Li Xiulan dumped my brother and got engaged to someone else for money.

"It would have been one thing if you’d just rejected him. My brother liked you so much, but you shouldn’t have had someone beat him up."

Xiao Man grew more and more agitated as she spoke, her eyes even turning red by the end. The crowd of onlookers sighed, moved by her story.

"The young lady has a point. It’s one thing not to like her brother, but you really shouldn’t have had him beaten up."

"I was just thinking how pretty you are. How could you be so vicious!"

"..."

The crowd’s chatter made Li Xiulan utterly humiliated. She couldn’t believe Xiao Man would spout such lies in front of so many people.

Even more shocking was how shamelessly Xiao Man twisted the truth, calling white black.

"You’re lying! I never dated your brother. He was the one pestering me!" Li Xiulan retorted emotionally, tears streaming down her face.

"How dare you talk about my brother like that?" Li Xiulan’s response infuriated Xiao Man.

Because Xiulan was telling the truth, Xiao Man decided to launch a preemptive strike. She pointed at Li Xiulan and roared, "You still have the nerve to cry?"

Xiao Man adopted a look of profound grief. "You think shedding a few tears makes you the victim here?

"If it weren’t for you, would my brother be in the hospital? Would our family be in the mess it’s in now?

"You’re a person completely without conscience! You didn’t want a wonderful man like my brother, and for what? Just because our family is a bit poor, you look down on a poor devil..."

"Enough." Gu Er, who had been silent all this time, suddenly cut her off. He hadn’t known who Xiao Man was before.

Hearing this, he finally understood. ’Ah, so this girl is connected to that punk who was after my fiancée.’

His face was livid as he roared, "I’m warning you, don’t you dare cause a scene here. Your brother is nothing but a street hoodlum.

"He harasses every pretty girl he sees. And yes, he’s in the hospital because *I* put him there. What about it? You want revenge for him?

"Everyone, don’t let this woman fool you! Anyone who knows her knows what her brother is like!"

"Second Brother Gu, how can you say such things?" Xiao Man cried, her face a mask of grievance. "Your words are so nasty."

"Are your words any better? Slandering my fiancée—what’s your real motive?"

Second Brother Gu’s forceful defense of his fiancée sent a murmur through the crowd.

They never expected the man who had been so gentle moments before to have such a firm side to him. It made them instinctively believe he was telling the truth.

Seeing the contemptuous looks everyone was giving her, Xiao Man was so furious she felt like she might just explode.

’This isn’t how it was supposed to go!’

With a hurt expression, she said, "Second Brother Gu, I didn’t slander Li Xiulan! She’s just after your family’s money!"

Then, she turned on Li Xiulan. "You venomous woman, don’t think you can look down on everyone just because you’ve latched onto a rich family.

"I’ve seen plenty of heartless women like you, and sooner or later, I’ll be the one grinding you into the dirt!"

Xiao Man’s act had clearly failed. Seeing this, she dropped the performance, spat out one last threat, and ran off without giving Li Xiulan a chance to respond.

"You... I..." Li Xiulan shook her head helplessly, so ashamed she wished a hole would open up and swallow her.

But she felt unable to explain herself and could only hide in Second Brother Gu’s arms, letting her tears fall freely.

"Lanlan, don’t be afraid," Second Brother Gu said, his expression righteous. "I’ll make sure you get justice for this."

His words drew another wave of admiration from the onlookers.

"That Second Brother Gu is a really good man. I heard he’s not only rich, but his father and grandfather are both professors at a famous university."

"Tell me about it! Goodness, why can’t my daughter have such good fortune?"

"Exactly! The Li family sure knows how to pick ’em."

"Hah, everyone knows Mrs. Li is always on the lookout for wealthy families, hoping to find a rich son-in-law."

"Is that true? Well, it looks like her wish came true."

"..."

The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion, chattering about Second Brother Gu with a mixture of envy, jealousy, and contempt for Li Xiulan...