Guan Mingyu froze for a moment, then nodded with a guilty, evasive look in her eyes.
"Yes."
"Senior year of high school?"
At that, she lowered her head and answered meekly,
"Mm… The college entrance exam is in a month."
Being twenty years old and still in her final year of high school—this was something that had also surprised Li Qiao when she first discovered the detail.
Now, tapping her fingers lightly against the steering wheel, Li Qiao glanced sideways at Guan Mingyu's nervous expression, her gaze turning slightly cold.
"You were born in November, so you're not yet at the legal age of twenty required for marriage.
Plus, you're still a high school senior.
So, let's be honest—when you and your brother went to confront Li Shaoquan, you didn't really intend to marry him, did you?"
Most likely, it was about money.
Li Qiao's calm but sharp deduction made Guan Mingyu suddenly look up, breathing faster.
She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself.
"If you're willing to tell the truth, we can continue this conversation.
If not, you can get out of the car right now."
Li Qiao had little patience for this. She'd only come to speak to Guan Mingyu to prevent Li Shaoquan from getting entangled in more trouble.
But if the girl refused to cooperate, she'd have no choice but to find a way to get both her and her brother out of Nanyang—permanently.
Guan Mingyu was silent for a long time, clearly torn.
Li Qiao's fingers tapped the steering wheel, one tap after another. Just as her patience was about to run out, Guan Mingyu bit her lip and finally said, voice stiff and hesitant,
"Miss Li… I know my brother was wrong back then, but he didn't have bad intentions.
I admit, after seeing where Li Shaoquan lived, my brother did start to get ideas he shouldn't have.
But everything he did… it was for me.
He knew I'd been in an online relationship with Li Shaoquan for months, and he really thought that guy liked me.
So… my brother thought maybe he could entrust me to him. That's all.
We never thought about getting anything from Li Shaoquan. I swear."
Her explanation sounded sincere—and to Li Qiao, it didn't seem like she was lying.
Li Qiao stared at her, unblinking.
"Why did he want to entrust you to Li Shaoquan?"
Guan Mingyu blinked, her fingers curling tightly into her palm.
"Because he thought… if I was with Li Shaoquan, maybe… we'd have the money to treat my illness."
"What illness?" Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, recalling that photo she'd seen earlier.
So there really was more to it.
Guan Mingyu bit her lip and looked away, eyes flickering with shame before she finally whispered,
"I don't know what exactly it is. Two years ago, during my first attempt at senior year, I suddenly developed a high fever that wouldn't go away.
After that… my body started changing in strange ways.
Eventually, I had to drop out.
My brother and I went to every hospital in our county, but no doctor could figure it out.
That's why we came to Nanyang.
We got checked at a bigger hospital, and one of the doctors suspected it might be a chromosomal disorder.
But… we didn't have the money to continue with the tests or treatment, so it's just been delayed over and over again."
A chromosomal disorder?
Li Qiao caught the key detail and her interest was piqued.
"Which hospital did you go to?"
"Nanyang Medical University Affiliated Hospital."
Li Qiao narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
If it really is something related to chromosomes, I could check the medical records.
In the car, Guan Mingyu glanced anxiously at Li Qiao.
"Miss Li, I really am telling the truth. If I weren't, why would I still be in high school at twenty?
I'm only at No. 2 High now because my brother begged his construction foreman to help me get in as a guest student.
You can ask his foreman yourself—he can back me up."