Chu Ran hurried back to the rental apartment the moment class ended.

When she was ten, her parents had died in a car accident. Relatives eyed her inheritance greedily, while neighbors watched from afar, afraid to get involved. Only Gu An’an, another orphan, had quietly looked out for her.

Thanks to Gu An’an’s help, Chu Ran made it all the way to her senior year of high school. Once the university acceptance letter arrived, she could finally claim her inheritance fair and square.

But then Gu An’an suffered a stroke that left her legs paralyzed. Soon after, she was fired from her job and dumped by her s*umbag boyfriend.

Chu Ran clenched her teeth and made up her mind: she would take Gu An’an to school with her.

And so she did—all the way to university.

Bursting into the apartment, Chu Ran felt her eyes sting with tears.

There was Gu An’an, sprawled on the floor again. The moment she spotted Chu Ran, a look of guilty anxiety crossed her face.

Chu Ran’s heart ached as she scooped her up. She gently wiped her face clean, helped her into fresh clothes, then hoisted her onto her back and headed out the door.

She carried her a long way. Gu An’an buried her face in Chu Ran’s shoulder, sobbing softly.

“Little Ran, just leave me by the roadside. Someone will pick me up.”

Chu Ran stayed silent and eased her down onto a bench at the street corner.

Gu An’an squeezed her eyes shut, her voice quivering.

“Little Ran, go on without me. I’ll be fine.”

“You idiot, open your eyes.”

Gu An’an cracked one eye open, peeking timidly.

Chu Ran dropped to one knee and thrust her ID card and household register toward her.

“An’an, these are my betrothal gifts. Marry me.”

Gu An’an burst into tears but couldn’t bring herself to say yes right away.

She feared Chu Ran might abandon her one day, yet she also dreaded becoming a burden.

“Hurry up and agree! I’m dying to go get our marriage certificate!”

Flustered, Gu An’an nodded.

Chu Ran swept her up onto her back again and bolted across the street.

There, right in front of them, loomed the entrance to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

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