Three months later.
Summer arrived, and the weather was sweltering.
On this day, Min'er, wearing a pair of discarded blue jeans and a gray t-shirt that Da Mei had outgrown, returned home from work smelling of sweat and looking exhausted.
As she reached an intersection, a bouquet of pink roses suddenly appeared before her, blocking her view.
The roses were wrapped in white oil paper. They were soft and tender, and incredibly lovely.
Upon seeing the flowers, Min'er's first reaction wasn't to reach for them, but to turn and look at the person handing them over.
After seeing that familiar face.
She first let out a scream, then couldn't help but jump up and hug him around the neck.
“You’re back? Ah! You’re finally back!”
“I calculated the dates, you were supposed to be back a couple of days ago. Am I… tired?”
Zhan Bei Jue’s face was graced with a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling as he looked at her. His hair, completely stuck to his forehead due to the heat, was still there, but he smiled very sweetly at her.
“Not tired. I was indeed supposed to be back a couple of days ago, but there were still some matters to handle at the end, which caused a delay.”
“After finishing, I came back immediately. I bought you a bouquet of flowers, do you like them?”
Min’er hadn’t received fresh flowers in many years.
In these simple and hard times, receiving something so romantic, of course, she liked it.
But her attention wasn't on the flowers at this moment.
He must have had a particularly tough time during these 100 days.
When he left, his hair was still crew-cut; now it had grown so long.
His beard too; he probably hadn't shaved in three months, his face was so full, almost like a European’s.
However, he must have just showered; his body was clean and very refreshing.
Realizing she was dirty, Min'er quickly let go of him and took a step back.
“I like them. You must be very tired. Let’s talk about it when we get back.”
Having not seen each other for a long time, both hearts were filled with joy.
Min’er held the flowers, Zhan Bei Jue held her hand, and the two of them walked along, grinning foolishly, quickening their pace, and soon arrived at the door of the house.
Just as before, Min'er quietly opened the door, letting Zhan Bei Jue slip inside first.
However, as her hand touched the doorknob, the door was opened from the inside.
Her father, holding a wine bottle, appeared at the doorway with a furious expression.
Seeing his face unexpectedly, Min'er was startled.
She instinctively wanted to push Zhan Bei Jue away, but Zhan Bei Jue stood still.
“You ungrateful brat! You’re coming back later and later! Doing such a simple, crappy job, and you’re still out wandering around for so long every day. I think you’re deliberately trying not to come home!”
“I haven’t eaten a single meal all day and I’m starving. Hurry up and make me food!”
“Don’t let this happen again! If you wander around outside after work instead of coming straight home, I’ll break your legs!”
After speaking, he glanced at Zhan Bei Jue behind her, who was dressed in black from head to toe and had a full beard.
“Who is this man? Why is he following you? He doesn’t look like a good person at all.”
“Let me tell you, don’t even think about getting any ideas about my daughter! My daughter is still young; she can’t possibly date someone like you!”
“Even when she grows up, with her looks, she’ll marry into a good family. Get lost, get lost, get lost! You’re not good enough, stay away from us!”
Min’er felt extremely humiliated.
This was the first time she encountered her father face-to-face, and she had to listen to such disgusting words from Zhan Bei Jue.
She glanced back at him, wanting him to leave first and then come in when her father wasn't around.
Unexpectedly, Zhan Bei Jue took a step forward and stood right beside Min'er.
“Sir, I am indeed pursuing your daughter and intend to be with her. Since you’ve encountered me today, I won’t hide it anymore.”
“Tell me. What exactly do you want for you to agree to her being with me?”
Well now. The girl’s gotten ambitious?
She's actually dating a wild man outside?
Her father, cursing under his breath, moved to hit Min’er with the wine bottle.
Zhan Bei Jue raised his hand and grabbed his wrist.
“I am speaking to you respectfully, and I hope you will reciprocate the respect I’m giving you.”
“Don’t lay a hand on her, or I won’t be polite either.”
After all, he was young, and his strength was immense.
His father’s wrist was immediately gripped in pain by him, forcing him to retract it.
“Speak. Now that I want to be with her, can you agree?”
His father, mustering up his courage, argued with him.
“You? You look like a pauper, and from your appearance, you’re not even local. What can you give her?”
“How much do you earn per month? Can you provide her with a good life? She’s my only precious daughter, and her mother and I are counting on her for the rest of our lives. Can you support all three of us at once?”
If Zhan Bei Jue remembered correctly, Min’er had told him before that her father owed 3 million yuan in external debt.
As long as the debt was paid off, and they could leave with her mother, what else was there to bother with this scumbag?
“Whether I can give her a good life or not, you’ll know when you call your creditors.”
Zhan Bei Jue’s expression was cold.
“Today, I will pay off all your debts for you. From tomorrow onwards, Min’er is mine.”
“What? Did I hear you correctly? With his pauper-like appearance, he actually wants to pay off my debts for me?”
His father looked him up and down again, then chuckled.
“Shen Min’er, you’re quite something. Under the guise of going to work, you’ve been messing around outside and found this kind of man?”
“You don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, wanting to pay off my debts? Does he know how much I owe?”
Min’er couldn’t help but ask heaven for the ten-thousandth time what sins she had committed in her past life.
How did she end up with such a father?
Ignoring him, she looked at Zhan Bei Jue.
“Did you get your bonus? Do you really want to pay off his debts? Aren’t you going to find your family?”
Zhan Bei Jue said.
“Of course, I will find them, but I won’t give you up. This life is yours to give, and their matters can be discussed later.”
“With so much money, it’s not safe here anyway. It’s better to pay it off soon and be done with it. Call the creditors.”
His father saw that this guy seemed genuinely interested in his daughter and actually intended to pay off the debt.
Finally showing some pride, he immediately nodded his head and made a call.
“Old Pan, it’s Old Shen. My daughter has earned money, and I’ll repay the debt now. Come over quickly!”
When the creditor arrived, Min’er quietly asked Zhan Bei Jue how much money he had on hand.
Zhan Bei Jue said that after taxes, it was around 4 million yuan.
He gave the boss one million, and he had three million left, which was just enough to pay off the debt.
“Then doesn’t that mean you worked so hard for so long and didn’t earn a single cent for yourself?”
“I’m still young, aren’t I? I’ll have plenty of opportunities to earn in the future, don’t worry.”
His hands, which were once so ethereal, slender, and beautiful, without a single callus.
And now? His fingernails were filled with black dirt that couldn’t be washed off, his knuckles had thickened, and calluses had formed on his palms.
All because of her.
Min’er felt very sorry for him.
But at the same time, she secretly felt very happy in her heart.
Why did something happen to him so early, not so late, but precisely in front of her?
Perhaps this was their destiny.
God had finally heard her prayers and sent an angel to save her.
Not only would he lead her out of the swamp, but he would also give her warmth and love.
Come to think of it, she was quite fortunate.