"It's definitely possible," Zhou Hong said with a smile, nodding.
Inside the house, Master Duan listened to Zhou Hong's words and was speechless. Such a formidable expert was pretending to be only at the sixteenth stage of Martial Arts. Master Duan couldn't imagine how shocked Qiao Wanli and Qiao Xiaoyu would be if they knew Zhou Hong's true strength.
Of course, it might not be shock, but rather fright, so Master Duan suddenly understood Zhou Hong. Perhaps it was precisely to avoid frightening them that he had made himself seem so weak.
"It seems this Senior Zhou Hong is doing this for love," Master Duan mused inwardly.
"Zhou Hong, I'll go in and say goodbye to Master Duan, then we'll head home," Qiao Wanli said.
"Grandfather, there's no need to go in. Master Duan just said we should leave directly and not disturb him further," Zhou Hong stopped Qiao Wanli.
"Alright then! Thinking about it, he's a master. For him to agree to see us is already a great kindness. Let's go then."
Zhou Hong and the other two immediately left the mountain villa.
Upon returning to the Qiao family, Qiao Wanli informed the rest of the family about Zhou Hong receiving Master Duan's guidance.
Everyone was immediately happy for Zhou Hong.
After dinner, Zhou Hong said to Qiao Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, let's go back to Tianhe Residential Area tonight."
"Ah!" Qiao Xiaoyu was slightly stunned, appearing a bit scared. Was Zhou Hong asking her to stay at Tianhe Residential Area because he wanted to...?
"Alright!" Qiao Xiaoyu finally nodded. Although her delicate body couldn't withstand constant exertion, she could bear it for Zhou Hong's sake.
Zhou Hong didn't notice the hint of fear in Qiao Xiaoyu's heart. He returned to Tianhe Residential Area with her.
As soon as they entered the door, Zhou Hong chuckled and swept Qiao Xiaoyu into his arms.
Qiao Xiaoyu shyly buried her face in Zhou Hong's embrace.
What happened next, would never be revealed.
Half an hour later, the activity wasn't over when Qiao Xiaoyu's phone rang.
She looked and saw it was her best friend, Qin Mengxue.
"Hello, Mengxue!" Qiao Xiaoyu instinctively answered, deliberately trying to suppress her voice so Qin Mengxue wouldn't hear.
"Wuwuwu...!" However, as soon as the call connected, Qin Mengxue's sobbing could be heard.
"Mengxue, what's wrong?" Qiao Xiaoyu immediately perked up upon hearing her best friend's cries.
Zhou Hong slowed down his "pace" slightly behind her.
"Xiaoyu, I'm so upset."
"Mengxue, what happened?"
"My family is truly perverted," Qin Mengxue cursed angrily.
"Why do you say that?" Qiao Xiaoyu asked, confused.
"In the evening, I returned to the family and told the family elder that I wanted to break off my engagement with Qian Jie. Qian Jie is already a eunuch now. But what I never expected was that the family elder disagreed with the annulment. Furthermore, Qian Jie called the family elder and expressed his wish for us to complete the marriage as soon as possible. If my prediction is correct, I'll be registering my marriage with that eunuch tomorrow. No matter how much I resist, it's useless," Qin Mengxue cried, feeling heartbroken for the first time in her life.
"How could your family elder be like this? They clearly know that Qian Jie is no longer capable. Do they want you to live a widow's life forever?" Qiao Xiaoyu also sounded sympathetic.
"My family elder said that if sacrificing me can bring prosperity to the entire family, then it's worth it."
"That's too much," Qiao Xiaoyu also felt great sympathy for her friend.
"Xiaoyu, what should I do? I'm about to become the wife of that dead eunuch."
"I don't know what to do either." Qiao Xiaoyu couldn't think of a solution. After all, this was an internal family matter, and it was difficult for an outsider to say much.
"Xiaoyu, what are you doing? Why do you sound a little breathless?" At this moment, Qin Mengxue on the other end of the line asked curiously, though she couldn't quite make out the sound, only that Qiao Xiaoyu's voice was a bit hoarse.
"Ah! I...!" Qiao Xiaoyu was extremely embarrassed. She had deliberately tried not to make any sound, but her best friend had still detected something.
"What's wrong with you? Don't tell me Zhou Hong is bullying you?" Qin Mengxue asked with concern.
"N-no," Qiao Xiaoyu denied stammering.
"Then why are you panting like that? It's as if you've been beaten."
"I'm... I'm running right now, running with Zhou Hong."
"Oh, oh!" Qin Mengxue didn't ask further, nor did she suspect anything. After all, she was also innocent and couldn't imagine what her best friend on the other end of the line was doing at that moment.
"Mengxue, I can't talk to you right now. Try to talk to your family properly. I hope they can understand your pain. After all, this concerns your lifelong happiness."
"You know what kind of person my family elder is, there's no possibility of talking. I've also told my father, and he sympathizes with me, but he can't disobey the elder."
"What about your mother?"
"My mother only knows how to play mahjong all day. I can't be bothered to talk to her," Qin Mengxue said with a hint of annoyance.
"By the way, Xiaoyu, isn't Zhou Hong facing any trouble from the Qian family?" Qin Mengxue suddenly asked, recalling something.
"No."
"How is that possible? He crippled Qian Jie. It shouldn't be like this."
"It's... it's my grandfather who found an expert to secretly help Zhou Hong. Oh, and earlier, my grandfather took me and Zhou Hong to meet that expert. That expert also gave Zhou Hong some guidance. Zhou Hong said he's very inspired now and might even break through again tomorrow, reaching the seventeenth stage of Martial Arts."
Upon hearing Qiao Xiaoyu's words, Qin Mengxue felt a pang of envy. Compared to her own fate, it was worlds apart. Her best friend had found such a good man, while she was about to marry a dead eunuch. Qin Mengxue felt like she didn't want to live anymore.
"Congratulations, Xiaoyu. Please also congratulate your husband for me," Qin Mengxue said with a hint of sadness in her heart.
"What husband...!" Qiao Xiaoyu's face instantly turned red.
"Alright, stop being shy. I must say, he's a truly good man. Normally, someone so outstanding, like other geniuses, would be flitting from one woman to another. But with Zhou Hong, I haven't seen any interest in other women in his eyes," Qin Mengxue sighed, regretting once again in her heart that she had missed out on such a good man. Alas, there were no second chances in life. No matter how bitter or tired she was, she had to bear it alone. Perhaps this was life's retribution.
Qiao Xiaoyu hummed twice, not refuting her friend's words. In her heart, Zhou Hong was also such a good man, never fooling around. Only one aspect was not good: he was too strong in that area.