"The sister-in-law is still in confinement, aren’t you making her angry by saying those words in front of her?" Jiang Maohua’s tone was not harsh, and he tried to lower it, "Manman, we have already separated as a family. Whatever number of children big brother and sister-in-law have is not our concern."

Su Man was filled with resentment, it was indeed about this matter.

"I was just being considerate, hoping big brother and sister-in-law could have a grandson for the Jiang Family. Who knew they’d be so petty, and even came to you with gossip." Su Man could hardly control her emotions, "If they don’t appreciate it, fine. I won’t say anymore in the future. Even if I don’t mention it, the villagers will talk. That’s why I said it, we’re all one family."

Jiang Maohua sighed helplessly, "I didn’t mean to blame you, just a reminder. Let’s live our own lives well and not interfere in big brother and sister-in-law’s matters. Even if we’re one family, saying such things during this time won’t make anyone happy. How would you feel if someone came urging you to have a baby?"

Su Man felt suffocated in her heart; Jiang Maohua was indeed useless.

At this point, Jiang Maohua tried to ask again, "Manman, we’ve been married for quite a while, do you have any feelings for me now?"

He genuinely didn’t care if big brother and sister-in-law wanted a second child; it wasn’t something they should manage anyway. His parents and big brother and sister-in-law weren’t in a hurry, and discussing this while sister-in-law was in confinement would indeed be disturbing. He cared more about his future children with Su Man, but he wasn’t sure if Su Man could accept him now, or if she had forgotten Gu Lingfei.

Su Man was taken aback, she had almost forgotten about this.

In this lifetime, although married to Jiang Maohua, the two of them had never truly been husband and wife.

She was just borrowing a place to raise her child, never intended to have any relationship with Jiang Maohua.

Su Man’s inner resentment towards Liu Yujia vanished instantly, she couldn’t care less now; top priority was to keep Jiang Maohua appeased. Even if the Jiang Family one day learned the truth, Jiang Maohua’s factory had good profits, making it the best place to raise a child.

"Brother Mao Hua, for me, the time is still a bit too short." Su Man bowed her head in distress, "You know my family situation. At that time, my feelings for him were not only about liking, but also hope, I gave it my all. Even though he’s been gone for more than a year, I still can’t let go internally. Now Hongyu is still young, and I don’t want to consider too much for now."

"Brother Mao Hua, I’m sorry. I try my best to integrate into your family, but accepting you needs more time." Su Man raised her head again, tears streaming down her face.

"It’s alright, don’t cry." Seeing Su Man sad and distressed, Jiang Maohua didn’t want to think about anything else and quickly comforted her.

He, too, was wondering why he was so anxious; it had only been a little over a year. If Su Man forgot Gu Lingfei easily, it would seem heartless.

He truly admired Gu Lingfei; even after he was gone, he took Su Man’s heart with him.

No rush, since they were now married, getting Manman to accept him wholeheartedly would happen sooner or later.

The coercion to have children came to an end, and afterward, Su Man did not annoy Liu Yujia anymore.

She had spent quite some effort trying to stabilize Jiang Maohua, and finally saw good results. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Realizing Liu Yujia wasn’t someone easily swayed, she felt extremely dissatisfied, and temporarily abandoned that thought, yet her heart was troubled.

She thought about the upcoming resumption of the college entrance exam. Having considered it thoroughly in this lifetime, why not try it herself? The more Su Man thought about it, the more excited she became.

Indeed, preparing now might just mean success!

Should she look for Liu Yujia for tutoring?

Better not; if Liu Yujia looked at the materials, it would be like helping her review all over again. She’d ponder by herself first, seek others but not Liu Yujia.

Aren’t there educated youth in the village? She knew what they lacked, and could find them for help.

If she could get into college, though great fortunes might be hard, having the status like Gu Lingfei’s wife would be a nice touch.

The more she thought, the more feasible it seemed!

Ah Chen had no idea about Su Man’s plans.

Returning to the county town, she became busy again.

In a town with so many people, there were really quite a few big and small cases every day.

Ordinary cases didn’t even need Ah Chen and Lu Yan to act, but since the notorious bandit case gained fame, Ah Chen also became famous, attracting many people from other places wanting to consult her, and even more wanting to communicate with her. Besides her sharp eye and magical prediction skills, her drawing also became more well-known, even some now calling her Teacher Jiang behind her.

Nowadays, her trips were far more frequent compared to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan felt somewhat resentful about it, the station wasn’t that busy, yet people elsewhere knew his wife’s name. It was good news, seeing his wife’s brilliance made him happy.

But his wife being "borrowed" meant he frequently couldn’t see her, and it made him quite anxious.

Today Ah Chen was leaving again, heading to the provincial capital, gone for half a month. Lu Yan spent the whole morning without a smile, expressionless as he made breakfast.

Ah Chen went over and embraced him: "I’ll be back soon."

"I’ll bring you gifts."

"Remember to visit mom and dad during the holidays."

"Oh, and remember to study, no slacking."

The college entrance exam was surely something not to miss; it would benefit Lu Yan’s future too.

Lu Yan had no counter but to agree.

"I’ll be thinking of you." Ah Chen added one last line.

Lu Yan couldn’t hold his expression any longer, involuntarily presenting a smile, picking up the noodles, carelessly placing the seasonings aside, turned and held her for a kiss: "Remember to think of me every day."

"Okay." Ah Chen laughed, immediately agreeing.

Officer Lu was getting increasingly attached.

Having finished breakfast, sent off Ah Chen, and Lu Yan started a new day. Clearly not busy, yet he strangely had fewer tasks, couldn’t stay idle, as letting his mind wander often led to homesickness.

Lately, the station was training sniffer dogs; how effective the training was, he wondered.

If they’d had sniffer dogs during the previous mountain search, the situation might have been vastly different.

But sniffer dogs weren’t everywhere, he was just in a small county. After the bandit case, things were indeed different; sniffer dogs were necessary.

At this moment, Chenchen should be on the bus?

"Brother Lu, weren’t you looking at the sniffer dogs? What are you thinking?" A colleague spotted Lu Yan spacing out, couldn’t help but remind.

Lu Yan promptly returned to his senses, hurriedly throwing aside idle thoughts, pouring himself into work.

Time flew by, finally welcoming the news of the college entrance exam’s restoration.

Before this, Su Man also secretly went to find educated youth for assistance as she planned, but struggled with her studies, leaving her frustrated.

However, she felt the time until the exam’s restoration was short. Even if she found it hard, many had laid down books for years, might not necessarily do better than her.

Mei Shijie at the educated youth spot was, however, ecstatic.

Having escaped the schemes of the mad that were plotting against him, married among others, he felt relieved.

Now he too awaited the dawn of his escape from this place.