[“Just... I wanted to see what clothes you’re wearing to the annual meeting.”]

Yu Qing’s first reaction upon hearing this was to repeatedly shake her head, saying that at her age, why bother embarrassing herself by showing her face? However, after watching some videos that Yu Sisi showed her, she realized that many people were now sharing their lives on public media platforms, and quite a few of them were older.

She also saw many food bloggers. She could cook many of the dishes and pastries they made. Watching the bloggers carefully select ingredients, simmer and stir-fry, watching the meat slowly braise to a tempting color in the pot, watching the beautiful ceramic pot hiss with white steam, that wonderful everyday atmosphere seemed to bring a sense of happiness and satisfaction even to those watching through the screen. The viewers’ interactions and feedback were also interesting. Some even followed along and posted their “homework” in the comments, with some succeeding and others saying they had “failed.”

It was fresh and interesting.

She was slightly tempted, but then she remembered that she didn’t know how to use a computer, film, or edit, so she became discouraged again and shook her head, rejecting the proposal once more. Zhou Leqi had initially felt quite disappointed about this, but in the following days, she unexpectedly discovered that Yu Qing would often frown and stare at her phone. Once, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and peeked at it, finding that Yu Qing was looking up: introductory tutorials for video production.

This made Zhou Leqi secretly smile.

Life after returning to D City was a rare period of joy and peace.

Zhou Leqi spent most of her time staying with her maternal grandparents, accompanying the elders. A few days before the New Year, she would go out with her older cousins to help with New Year shopping, and the whole family was lively and bustling. In the few spare moments she had, she would sneak out of the house alone and wander freely through the streets and alleys of D City.

This less developed small city might not be very suitable for striving for success, but it seemed to have a power to heal hearts, always allowing the people living here to slow down. People seemed to live very peacefully, with faint smiles on their faces when they met each other, as if they were all satisfied with their lives, even if they didn’t fully meet the worldly standards of success.

It was also very beautiful here. Walking near the sea, you could always hear the sound of the waves. Even in the cold winter, this sound was very gentle, regular, and polite, making people feel more cheerful.

Every time Zhou Leqi sneaked out of the house, she would contact Hou Zihai, usually sending him pictures of the beautiful scenery here. Whenever she did this, he would first agree and praise the scenery for a few words, and then he would ask her with vigilance and a hint of resentment, “...You’re not thinking of staying there and not coming back, are you?”

They were separated by hundreds of kilometers, and the long distance undoubtedly intensified the intensity of their longing for each other. At first, Zhou Leqi could still joke about it, but in the one or two days before the New Year, she also started to feel a bit overwhelmed—she also began to miss him very, very much.

“How could I?” she replied amidst the gentle sound of the tide. “I’ll go back after the New Year.”

“You always brush me off like this,” he didn’t buy her explanation. “You’ve said this to me nine times already. Where’s the person?”

He sounded very dissatisfied.

She wanted to laugh a little, and the feelings she had for him welled up in her heart again, but for a moment she didn’t know what to say to him. Just then, she heard some noisy sounds coming from his side, footsteps and the sound of many people talking. So she asked, “Are you outside?”

“Mm.”

He answered hastily and then seemed to start moving. She heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and then the noisy voices subsided somewhat.

“It was a bit noisy in the hall just now,” he said. “Is it better now?”

“Hall?” she asked, puzzled. “What hall?”

“The hotel’s banquet hall,” he said casually. “My parents dragged me to their company’s annual meeting.”

He didn’t hide anything from her and told the truth, but the meaning of this sentence was easily misinterpreted: the phrase “their company” had two interpretations. One could understand it as the company they both worked for, and the other could understand it as the company they had established together.

Zhou Leqi naturally understood it as the first one.

She said “Oh” and felt a little novel, saying, “What’s the annual meeting like? Is it interesting?”

“Not interesting,” his tone was as casual as usual. “Just various people chatting with each other, then there are performances, and then there’s a lottery.”

Hearing the last part, Zhou Leqi became interested and asked, “Can you participate in the lottery too?”

He paused, probably was stunned for a moment, and then said, “I’ll try—is there anything you want?”

This question was obviously a trap—Zhou Leqi had already learned to be smart. She knew that she must never show any interest in material things in front of Hou Zihai, otherwise he would definitely find a way to get them for her, and her debt to him would increase again.

“No, no, really nothing,” she quickly denied. “I was just asking casually.”

He responded and then said, “I just took a look, the prizes seem pretty good. The first prize is a car, the second prize is a computer, and the third prize is headphones.”

Zhou Leqi was very surprised to hear this: Have company annual meetings become so high-end now...?

She said, “Then I hope Uncle and Auntie can both win the first prize.”

This was a nice auspicious remark, but she didn’t know that Hou Zihai’s parents were not the ones drawing the prizes, but the ones giving them out...

Hou Zihai chuckled on the other end of the phone and cleverly asked, “A car? Just having a car isn’t useful, right? Parking spaces are so tight now, you can’t even find a place to park.”

Zhou Leqi was a bit drawn into his words. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but follow his train of thought and say, “That’s right, actually winning a car is quite troublesome—then let’s wish Uncle and Auntie win the second prize. A computer is more practical.”

He smiled silently on the other end: Computer?

Okay, got it.

The two chatted for a while. Suddenly, Zhou Leqi heard voices again on the other end of the phone, as if someone was calling Hou Zihai back to the venue.

He probably covered the receiver, so she couldn’t hear what he said. After a while, his voice became clear again, saying, “I have to go back in. I’ll text you after it ends tonight?”

This meant he was saying goodbye.

Zhou Leqi also knew that she should hang up now, but for some reason that day, she missed him very much and especially didn’t want to hang up. She lingered for a while, still reluctant to hang up, and asked him, “Can you take a picture and send it to me?”

“Huh?”

Her face quietly blushed and she said softly, “Just... I wanted to see what clothes you’re wearing to the annual meeting.”

This time he was silent for a long while, seemingly truly stunned, and then he chuckled softly, a knowing and loving laugh.

“Can’t you just say you miss me?” his voice was softer than the nearby sea waves. “Like me, I can say it two hundred times a day.”

She was actually very happy hearing this, but she still acted tough and said “bah” dismissively, saying, “I’m not like you, thick-skinned.”

After saying that, she became embarrassed and annoyed, knowing that she had revealed how much she missed him. Feeling very ashamed, she quickly hung up the phone.

Her cheeks were burning hot, and even the cold winter wind couldn’t cool them down. The disconnected signal couldn’t stop the turmoil in her heart at the same time. She stood by the sea, regretting her impulsive words for a while. Then her phone rang again. She picked it up and saw that he had sent her an MMS.

Her fingers quickly tapped open the message, and thus she had her first picture of him.

It was a slightly blurry photo, probably taken hastily. It was out of focus and a bit fuzzy, but even so, it couldn’t hide his superior features. In fact, the blurriness made him look even better.

He was also wearing a suit...

It was the first time she had seen him in formal attire, a very pure black, a very simple style, but it looked particularly, particularly captivating—it wasn’t the bright handsomeness of a teenager, but more like the depth and handsomeness of an adult.

The charm was magnified many times, making her heart flutter many times over.

At this moment, he sent another text message: I realized I don’t have any pictures of you. Hurry up and send me ten first.

She had already started smiling.

The wonderful days continued until an uninvited guest appeared on New Year’s Eve.

...It was Zhou Lei.

Without any warning, he suddenly appeared, carrying large and small bags of various gifts, and stepped into the home of Yu’s parents as if he were still a member of this family.

When the door opened, Yu Qing was so frightened that she didn’t know why Zhou Lei had come to their door. Zhou Leqi also felt baffled and became genuinely angry when Zhou Lei opened his mouth and called her maternal grandparents “Mom and Dad.”

This person... how could this person be so shameless!

He was the one who abandoned Mom! He was the one who abandoned that originally very happy little family! What was he doing here now? He had completely severed ties with their lives. What right did he have now to shamelessly come and call her maternal grandparents “Mom and Dad”?

Zhou Leqi was trembling with anger. At that moment, she only wanted to rush up and kick Zhou Lei out of the door of this house or lose her temper and have a big fight with him. However, her maternal grandfather had already stepped forward to protect Yu Qing.

This retired professor, who had been gentle and kind his whole life, was now just an ordinary father who loved and felt sorry for his youngest daughter. While frail and old, he was also full of dignity. He looked at Zhou Lei with cold and stern eyes and said, “Zhou Lei, you and Xiao Qing are already divorced. Your mother and I can’t bear you calling us Mom and Dad—please leave here immediately. If you have any conscience left, I hope you won’t bother them anymore in the future!”

At this point, Yu Qing had already started crying and almost couldn’t stand steadily behind her father. Even Yu’s mother couldn’t help but shed tears, lamenting the bitter fate of her daughter and granddaughter while also scolding Zhou Lei for being shameless and urging him to leave immediately with his things.

It was the New Year’s Eve, so Yu Qing’s two older brothers were of course also at home. They were not as easy-going as their parents. How could they have a good face when they saw the bastard who had abandoned their sister? Of course, they were inevitably furious.

Yu Qing’s eldest brother, Yu Mian, had a particularly violent temper. He was already very unhappy to see Zhou Lei, and now seeing his mother and sister crying, his anger flared up even more. He rushed in front of Yu’s father in one stride, shielding his family behind him, and without saying a word, he grabbed all the bags and gifts Zhou Lei had brought and threw them out the door. He also cursed loudly, “Zhou Lei, you motherfucker, don’t be shameless! Bringing things here and calling our parents Mom and Dad, who are you trying to disgust? Do you even deserve to be related to our family? Get the hell out of here!”

Saying that, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight!

Yu Qing’s second brother, Yu Rong, was slightly calmer and stood aside trying to mediate, fearing that their family would get into legal trouble during the New Year. Unexpectedly, just as he was halfway through the mediation, he suddenly saw Zhou Lei knelt on the ground with a “plop”!