Shu Yu raised his head, "What do you mean by that?"

Gan Rui sighed, "To tell the truth, the county magistrate might not know, ever since that incident with the Chen Family, Chen Qiu has been hovering around me."

Shu Yu remembered what he said earlier, that Chen Qiu initially set her sights on Gan Rui, but later shifted her focus directly onto Xun Sheng.

"Why, is she not over you?"

"It’s not that she’s not over me, it’s that she’s not over Brother Xun." Gan Rui clicked his tongue, shook his head, and said, "The Chen Family doesn’t even have a home now, Chen Qiu is staying at the Pan Family’s place, relying on others. The Pan Family was implicated because of the Chen Family’s troubles, they despise the siblings, Chen He and her. Their days at the Pan Family are not hard to imagine."

Chen He could care less; he’s given up entirely, and however the Pan Family treats him doesn’t matter. He’s thick-skinned enough to just freeload there. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As for how he is now, the Pan Family won’t be able to tolerate it for long.

Chen Qiu, however, is different; she’s still a young maiden, and nowadays people are always harsher on women than men.

Given Chen Qiu’s situation, families with any semblance of reputation in Changjin Prefecture wouldn’t dare to marry her.

Especially in the Pan Family, no one would even consider planning her future. Continuing like this, she has no prospects. Chen Qiu has no choice, thinking over and over, her only lifeline being Xun Sheng.

"But Brother Xun left Changjin Prefecture to return home three days after the case was concluded, so she obviously couldn’t find him. When she couldn’t find Ah Sheng, she came to the Gan Family to look for me, acting all deep in love with Ah Sheng, pestering me to reveal Ah Sheng’s address. How could I possibly tell her?"

Not only did he refuse, but he also informed everyone else who knows Xun Sheng’s address to not tell Chen Qiu.

Fortunately, Chen Qiu doesn’t know anyone else; she only knows Gan Rui, who is closest to Xun Sheng.

Gan Rui was very annoyed; going out, encountering her three days out of two.

When he was hanging out with friends, Chen Qiu stood not far away, gazing at him with resentment. While he was dining at the tavern, she cowered at the door, sadly staring at him.

When he went to the academy to study, she waited on the path he had to take.

Gan Rui was truly sickened by her, sent a house servant to drive her away, she ran off, then reappeared later.

"It’s like a haunting ghost."

Shu Yu laughed, "Haven’t you thought about going to the Pan Family?"

"I have," Gan Rui was extremely annoyed, "But Eldest Pan won’t come out to meet me; he sent out his daughter-in-law, saying they couldn’t do anything, Chen Qiu is already a teenager, she has legs on her own. The Pan Family isn’t a bunch of ruffians, how could they tie her up to stop her from leaving? Oh, I was so angry I almost spat blood, no wonder the Pan Family raised such a daughter; the whole family’s got the same demeanor."

Gan Rui was really furious; his family ran a wine business, with a deep pocket.

Fine, if the Pan Family won’t restrain Chen Qiu, then don’t blame him for being impolite.

He used his family’s influence to interfere with the Pan Family’s business, but the Pan Family only has two shops and, due to the previous lawsuit, their business has been dwindling, so Gan Rui’s move was not very effective.

However, the very next day, Chen Qiu was kneeling before Gan Rui, crying and begging him to spare the Pan Family.

Gan Rui nearly keeled over; he was truly at a loss when faced with the shameless Chen Qiu.

"For people like this, I’d suggest fists over words." Shu Yu is the type who resorts to physical action rather than talk whenever possible.

Gan Rui almost broke into tears, "I wish I could, but if I start a fight, I’m even more worried she’d extort me." It’s not as if he could just kill her.