The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Zheng Zhongshan and Zheng Xinghua watched Lin Shan and Gu’er, their eyes filled with envy. The bond between them was so strong. ’Gu’er has it so good,’ they thought. ’She makes good money, found a wonderful fiancé, and has such a great father. If only our dad were half the man Lin Shan is... no, we’d be happy with just a tiny bit of that.’

The two of them decided to check on Lin Shuying. Although Lin Shuying was happy for Gu’er, an undeniable pain lingered in her eyes.

"Come on, I’ll show you to your rooms."

Gu’er seemed to sense it too. She stood up and led them to see the rooms.

She put Lin Shuying and Zheng Xinghua in one room, and Zheng Zhongshan in a room by himself. Both were guest rooms. She didn’t offer them the master bedroom, as they wouldn’t have accepted it anyway, worried it might be improper. The remaining guest room was for Li Hua, who was also staying the night.

Lin Shuying was very pleased and grateful. ’Gu’er is such a good girl,’ she thought, ’she really cares about her family.’

Gu’er gave Lin Shuying time to talk with Lin Shan in the room. The siblings hadn’t seen each other in years and surely had a lot to catch up on. Besides, she could tell something was troubling her aunt. ’If she can’t talk to anyone else,’ Gu’er thought, ’she can at least talk to Dad.’

Meanwhile, she grabbed some snacks and sat with the Zheng siblings in the living room, watching TV and chatting.

The three of them were making small talk in the living room when Lin Shan and Lin Shuying finally emerged from the room. Lin Shan’s expression was dark, tinged with anger, and Lin Shuying’s eyes were red and swollen, clear evidence that she had been crying.

’It must be something about my aunt and uncle,’ Gu’er guessed. However, she didn’t ask Lin Shan about it. For one, tomorrow was her wedding day. Whatever was going on could wait. Besides, her aunt and cousins weren’t leaving the next day.

Secondly, they lived so far apart. Getting involved in her aunt’s problems would require some serious discussion.

As Gu’er was lost in thought, a knock came at the door. She opened it to find Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Dingzi. Normally, seeing Sun Jiaming didn’t faze her, but for some reason, her face flushed red and her heart began to race.

"Well, well, well! Look at this, our Gu’er can actually blush! This is a first for me. What a rare sight!"

Li Zhi teased. He was exhausted from running around and helping out these past few days. But being tired was good; it left him no time for idle thoughts.

Gu’er shot him a glare. The way he put it made her sound like some shameless person who never blushed. Still, his comment broke the ice, and her embarrassment faded as she quickly ushered the three men inside.

Lin Shan was also happy to see the three of them and asked how the preparations were going. After listening to their report, he felt a swell of pride in his daughter’s judgment. Any one of these young men was outstanding on his own, yet Gu’er had managed to meet them and become such good friends with all of them.

’Sun Jiaming is a magnanimous man,’ he reflected. ’He trusts Gu’er completely and has even become good buddies with Li Zhi. That’s the smartest way to handle things—not only does he win Gu’er’s heart, but he also gains a great friend. Li Zhi is a good man, too. The fact that he can get along so well with Sun Jiaming proves he has a good heart, and he never crosses any lines to make Sun Jiaming uncomfortable. Dingzi is a man of few words, but he’s a stand-up guy. And as for Liu Yuan, though he’s not around as much, he’s the one who works tirelessly, without complaint, managing things at the mall.’

He had originally assumed that once Gu’er chose Sun Jiaming, she would drift apart from Li Zhi and the others. He never expected the young people to remain so close. For Jiaming and Gu’er’s wedding, they were all treating it as their own special event, pitching in without a single complaint. It was truly rare.

From the bottom of his heart, Lin Shan genuinely liked these young men. He spoke to them frankly, treating them like family.

Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Dingzi all held Lin Shan in high regard, sincerely looking up to him as an elder. As a result, they all got along splendidly.

"Uncle," Li Zhi began, his tone casual, "my dad’s coming over tomorrow, too. He’s probably going to start nagging you, but please, don’t listen to him. He’s been on my case at home constantly, saying I need to find a wife. I mean, can you believe that? It’s not that simple! If I’m going to get married, I have to find someone I actually connect with, right? It’s not like buying cabbage at the market, where you can just grab one and go. This is for the rest of my life! If I marry someone who’s nothing but trouble, my life is basically over. But now he’ll complain to anyone who will listen, asking them to set me up. It’s driving me crazy."

Li Zhi felt comfortable enough with Lin Shan to speak casually. He had truly grown tired of his father’s nagging, which was why he was venting to him now.

"HAHAHA! You little rascal," Lin Shan laughed. "Careful, or I’ll tell your father tomorrow that you’ve been bad-mouthing him."

Lin Shan was laughing heartily; he was quite fond of Li Zhi.

"Please don’t!" Li Zhi waved his hands frantically. "If you say anything, my dad will just start nagging me all over again. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even dare to go home."

"Li Zhi, how old are you?"

Lin Shuying asked suddenly.

"I’m twenty-four, Aunt," Li Zhi answered honestly.

"Oh, that’s a good age. You should be thinking about settling down."

Lin Shuying nodded. Her gaze flickered from Li Zhi to her own daughter, Zheng Xinghua. ’Li Zhi seems like a fine young man,’ she thought, ’but Xinghua is too young. Besides, given our family’s situation, we’d never be a match for his. I wonder what kind of man my daughter will end up with.’ The thought of her children’s future marriages filled her with anxiety.

Lin Shuying had no idea that Li Zhi used to have feelings for Gu’er. If she had, the thought of him and Xinghua would never have crossed her mind. Of course, it was only a fleeting idea, one she didn’t dwell on.

No one else gave it a second thought, assuming Lin Shuying was just making small talk. After all, Xinghua was only fifteen and still too young for such things.

After chatting for a while longer, Sun Jiaming invited everyone over to his family’s place for dinner. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Shan thought for a moment and agreed. The group then went over to the Sun Family’s home and shared a lively dinner.

After dinner, they chatted for a bit before Lin Shan and his relatives said their goodbyes, leaving the young people to their fun.

Lin Shan sat with Lin Shuying and her children for a while longer before preparing to head home. Even though he had to face disliked relatives like Liu Yue Mei’s family there, it was still his home. Her husband was his brother-in-law, after all, and he couldn’t just avoid him. Besides, Chen Fengjiao was there. If he didn’t return, it would put her in an awkward position.

"Why don’t we let Gu’er stay here for the night?" Lin Shuying suggested to Lin Shan. "It would save her the grief of going back. Tomorrow is her big day, after all."

Gu’er didn’t want to go back either, but tradition dictated that she be married from the Lin Family home. If she didn’t return tonight, she would have to get up extremely early tomorrow to go back.

"It’s alright, Uncle," Li Zhi chimed in, having heard about the trouble at the Lin house and not wanting Gu’er to be upset. "We can take Gu’er back to your house first thing in the morning, and then we’ll come by again for the pickup."

"Uncle," Sun Jiaming added, his face also blushing slightly, "let’s have Gu’er get her hair and makeup done here. Once she’s ready, Li Zhi can drive her to your house. Then, when the time comes, we’ll go over to pick her up." The thought of Gu’er about to become his wife made his eyes sparkle.