After doing all this, Qiao An fell asleep peacefully.

When Li Xiaoran and Father Qiao arrived at the Qiao family’s small courtyard, it was already ten in the evening.

The dark night shrouded the outline of the Qiao family’s small courtyard. Li Xiaoran could not see the courtyard clearly, but he felt that this place was extremely familiar.

In the middle of the courtyard was probably Qiao An’s favorite parasol tree when she was young. There might still be some words she had carved on the tree trunk.

The courtyard was inlaid with limestone, and the flower beds were made of green bricks. The roses planted by Qiao An should be in the flower beds.

Mr. Qiao walked over and turned on the courtyard light. Instantly, the courtyard was brightly lit.

The scene in front of him completely overlapped with Li Xiaoran’s mind. Li Xiaoran could not help but cry.

He looked at the scene that Qiao An had mentioned countless times, and his heart ached.

He had fantasized countless times that he would come to the Qiao family’s house happily to propose marriage on a certain day. Then, he would tell Qiao An a secret with incomparable pride. “In order to treat her mother, he switched to medicine. In the future, she won’t have to worry about her mother’s illness because of him.”

But he would never fulfill this beautiful dream.

Because Qiao An looked down on poor doctors. She married the handsome and rich Li Zecheng.

Li Xiaoran sighed.

“Qiao An, actually, I can give you a rich life. It’s just that I thought you didn’t care for it.”

Mr. Qiao put down his luggage and turned to the stunned Li Xiaoran. “Doctor Li, just treat this place as your home. There’s no need to be restrained.”

Li Xiaoran nodded. “Thank you, Uncle.”

Mr. Qiao went into the kitchen to get busy.

Not long after, Father Qiao brought over a bowl of supper for Li Xiaoran.

“Doctor Li, there’s nothing delicious at home. Eat this bowl of rice noodles to warm your stomach.”

Li Xiaoran quickly stood up and took the soup bowl with both hands.

He said politely, “Thank you, Uncle.”

When he was eating supper, Father Qiao sat beside him and chatted with him.

“Our house is simple. Doctor Li, are you used to living here?”

Li Xiaoran smiled and said, “If Qiao An can stay here, why can’t I?”

At the mention of Qiao An, Father Qiao sighed.

“It’s all my fault. When I was young, I neglected her and made her addicted to the Internet. She got to know a netizen called ThunderBolt Blade. She even shamelessly dated him online.”

At the mention of this Thunderbolt Blade, Father Qiao gritted his teeth. “I wanted her to cut ties with him, but she refused to eat with me and even begged me. In the end, she cried and promised me that she would never let this affect her studies. I was soft-hearted and let her date online.”

Mr. Qiao pointed at the parasol tree in the courtyard angrily and said, “The story of Qiao An and the Thunderbolt Blade is engraved on that tree trunk. My Qiao An has become obsessed with this Thunderbolt Blade. If I had known that he was a mountain wolf, I would have been heartless and ended their ill-fated relationship.”

Li Xiaoran almost spat out the soup in his mouth.

Mr. Qiao didn’t know much about Qiao An’s feelings.

He was the one who fell in love with Qiao An online, but the person who married Qiao An was his nephew, Li Zecheng.

The more Mr. Qiao thought about it, the angrier he became. In the end, he ran out angrily with a kitchen knife, preparing to cut down this eyesore.

Li Xiaoran hurriedly went forward and held Father Qiao back.

“Uncle, what’s wrong with trees? Why are you implicating the innocent?”

Mr. Qiao pointed at the dense words on the tree trunk and said angrily, “Doctor Li, look. Those are Qiao An’s feelings for Li Zecheng. That girl likes Li Zecheng so much. How can he let my Qiao An down?”

Only then did Li Xiaoran notice that there were many love poems engraved on the tree trunk. All the feelings of a young girl were written on it.

For example:

“With you by my side, I never envy anyone.”

“You didn’t accompany me day and night, but I waited for you.”

… .

Beside these love poems were the names of the Thunderbolt Blade and Qiao An, surrounded by a heart.

Through these love poems, Li Xiaoran seemed to see the deep love in Qiao An’s eyes. It was as if he could see Qiao An leaning against the door, looking forward to his return every day.

In the end, he was actually a little dazed. He didn’t know if he had let Qiao An down or if she had let him down.

Father Qiao slashed dowmn on the thick parasol tree which only swayed slightly. Li Xiaoran suddenly knelt down to Father Qiao.

“Uncle, if you hate Thunderbolt Blade and hate him for not teaching your daughter well, then hit and scold me. I beg you not to make things difficult for this tree.”

Mr. Qiao said, “The person who harmed my daughter is your nephew, not you. Why should I hit you and scold you?”

Li Xiaoran confessed to Father Qiao, “Uncle, because I’m the Thunderbolt Blade.”

With a clang, the knife in Mr. Qiao’s hand slipped to the ground.

“What did you say? You’re Thunderbolt Blade?”

Li Xiaoran nodded.

Mr. Qiao was puzzled. “Since you’re Thunderbolt Blade, why didn’t Qiao An marry you? Why was it your nephew, Li Zecheng?”

A sad and bitter expression appeared on Li Xiaoran’s handsome face. “Uncle, you don’t know this, but Qiao An went to the capital and took a fancy to my handsome nephew.”

Mr. Qiao shook his head. “Impossible. My An An loves you so much that she dreams of marrying you. How could she abandon you?”

Li Xiaoran said, “Uncle, I’m not lying to you. On Qiao An and Li Zecheng’s wedding day, I tried to save Qiao An. She told me herself that she wouldn’t like a man like me who has nothing.”

Mr. Qiao’s eyes turned red with anger. “How can she change her mind? No wonder she has this calamity. This is her retribution.”

Li Xiaoran had long experienced the pain of being betrayed. At this moment, he seemed especially open-minded and comforted Father Qiao.

“Uncle, An’an and I are not fated.”

Mr. Qiao sighed.

The next day.

When Li Zecheng woke up, he realized that his phone seemed to have been misplaced. Li Zecheng glanced at the sleeping Qiao An, and a smile filled his eyes.

From the day he and Qiao An got married, he knew that the person she loved was not him, but his uncle, Li Xiaoran. Therefore, he was very guarded against Qiao An. He didn’t set a fingerprint lock on his phone because he was afraid that Qiao An would use his sleep to open his phone and steal his secrets.

Qiao An didn’t know the password to his phone at all, so Li Zecheng wasn’t worried that Qiao An would find out the secret.

After Li Zecheng left for work, Qiao An started her plan for the day—she was going to take the note to Fox Wei and make her spit out the huge assets that belonged to her.

She chose a plain and old cotton dress from the cloakroom, then let her hair down. Her thin body was weak under this sloppy makeup, making her look pitiful.

She deliberately acted pitiful to gain the support of the people.

Then, Qiao An called the Li Corporation Hotel.