The Fortunate Foolish Doctor in the Mountain Village

A thunderclap exploded in Zhang Xiaowei's mind, leaving him completely stunned.

The elderly lady also jerked in shock, hastily wiping away her tears, looking at Li Hongmei in disbelief.

"Hongmei, are you really willing to continue the Zhang family line with Xiaowei?"

With her face flushed a beautiful crimson, Li Hongmei nodded shyly in response to the old lady's question.

"Hongmei, on behalf of the Zhang family, I thank you."

With that, the old lady suddenly stood up, intending to kneel before Li Hongmei.

This frightened Li Hongmei, who quickly steadied her.

"Grandma, aren't you shortening my life by doing this? Please, no more of this, let's live well together from now on."

The elderly lady's eyes brimmed with tears once more, overcome with emotion.

Yet Zhang Xiaowei was left with a sour feeling in his heart.

He could have spent the night with a great beauty like Li Hongmei.

But he couldn't find any joy in it.

Even a fool could see that Li Hongmei's heart wasn't in it.

She had agreed only because of the moral pressure from the old lady, with no other choice.

"All right, from now on, the three of us will live a good life together."

The elderly lady excitedly took Li Hongmei's hand and then pulled Zhang Xiaowei's hand over, stacking the two hands together.

Seeing the old lady's excited state,

Zhang Xiaowei took a deep breath.

She planned to tie Li Hongmei to herself, so they could both look after Dawei in the future.

"It's getting late. Hongmei, you go start dinner, and I'll go buy a bottle of liquor."

The old lady promptly instructed and set off.

Leaving Zhang Xiaowei and Li Hongmei alone in the room, their eyes met in an awkward silence.

"Xiaowei, you rest up, I'll go cook."

Lying on the bed, Zhang Xiaowei's emotions were intricately complex.

Time passed in a daze, and before long, Li Hongmei entered the room again.

"Xiaowei, dinner's ready."

Zhang Xiaowei responded and followed Li Hongmei to the main room.

The old lady brought out a bottle of Erguotou, pouring a glass for each, Zhang Xiaowei and Li Hongmei.

There were five dishes on the table, three hot and two cold.

"Xiaowei, you and Hongmei have a drink first."

Under the old lady's urging, Zhang Xiaowei raised his glass, clinking it with Li Hongmei's.

Just as the glass touched his lips, the old lady eagerly goaded them on.

"Drink it all in one go."

With no choice, they both obliged and downed the drink to give face to the old lady.

No sooner had they put down their glasses than the old lady refilled them.

"Eat up, eat up," she encouraged.

Zhang Xiaowei and Li Hongmei sat with embarrassed faces, mechanically eating and drinking under the old lady's guidance until they were full.

After finishing the bottle of Erguotou, both their faces were flushed.

Zhang Xiaowei, though able to hold his liquor, felt a burning fire inside at the thought of what was to come that night.

"The liquor's finished, and the night has deepened. I won't disturb you two any further, I'm going off to rest"

Li Hongmei stood up, ready to clear the dishes, and when the old lady saw this, she lightly pushed Zhang Xiaowei, chiding him, "Xiaowei, can't you see what needs to be done? Hurry up and help Hongmei back to her room."

Zhang Xiaowei nodded, approaching Li Hongmei and slipping an arm around her slender waist.

Li Hongmei instinctively tensed, letting out a small noise of protest.

But soon, she acquiesced and nestled into Zhang Xiaowei's embrace.

Upon reaching Li Hongmei's room, Zhang Xiaowei took a deep breath, his own mood becoming agitated.

He was just about to push open the door and step inside when

Li Hongmei suddenly stopped, turning and blocking Zhang Xiaowei's path.

"Xiaowei, can you…"