The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Let's go back to the night before.

Inside the Anjia villa, Shen Jingwan had just put down the phone in the bedroom, a smile still on her face.

An Jianxing, who had been listening intently nearby, immediately looked up, his car keys still in his hand, ready to rush out at any moment.

"What's wrong? We've been talking for so long? Is something... wrong with our daughter?"

Shen Jingwan smiled and gently patted his arm:

"You look so nervous, but it's okay, I'm fine."

She paused, then her smile deepened:

"It's Nuannuan. That child... seems to have fallen for Xiaoshu. She's confused and can't figure it out, so she came to me... well, for some emotional counseling."

An Jianxing frowned slightly, his expression mirroring that of any father who had heard that a pig was eyeing his cabbage, even if the pig looked decent. He then slowly sliced ​​it open again, pursed his lips, and muttered:

"That kid... I don't know where he got such great abilities, but he's so likable."

After saying that, he sighed, sat back down on the small stool by the bed, picked up Shen Jingwan's feet again and placed them on his lap, and continued to massage them.

Shen Jingwan leaned against the headboard, enjoying the services of her top technician, but her thoughts were still on her daughter.

"That boy, Xiao Shu, the more I look at him, the better he seems. Putting everything else aside, just look at his love and patience for our daughter, it's not an act. Look at the way they look at him..."

That's the truth.

An Jianxing lowered his head and massaged the area carefully:

"That kid has a good heart, it's just... sigh."

He didn't finish his sentence after "just," but Shen Jingwan understood what he meant.

Their daughter's situation is so special that this path is destined to be more difficult for her than for ordinary people.

The room was quiet for a while, then suddenly, Shen Jingwan hissed softly.

This startled An Jianxing so much that his hand trembled, and he immediately released his grip and looked up.

"Did you pinch too hard? I didn't pinch hard!"

No, no.

Shen Jingwan shook her head, her expression suggesting she had thought of something important. She then withdrew her foot, sat cross-legged on the bed, and looked at An Jianxing, who was completely bewildered.

"Old An, what do you think...? Should we try to find a way to help them?"

"Give them a hand? How can we help? How can we interfere in matters of the heart? Besides, didn't Xiao Ye say that... that all four of them have to agree?"

When An Jianxing mentioned the "four," his brows furrowed again. This was precisely the area where the couple's deepest struggle lay, and where they felt most helpless.

"That's exactly why!"

Shen Jingwan leaned forward and said to An Jianxing, who was sitting on the bench:

"That's what Xiao Shu said, that we need the consent of those four children. But Nuan Nuan and Xiao Xue... you know, Nuan Nuan is completely clueless in this area, and Xiao Xue is even more... she keeps herself so tightly shut, I'm worried..."

"Are you worried that Xiao Ye can't wait, or... won't be able to hold on?"

An Jianxing took over the conversation, his expression also becoming serious.

It's not impossible; reality is often crueler than love. To expect a young person to give their all in a world full of uncertainty requires extraordinary emotion.

The couple were very grateful to Ye Shu, but they were also afraid that this pressure would eventually overwhelm him and make him back down.

Shen Jingwan nodded, her brows furrowing slightly:

"I'm really satisfied with this child. More importantly, given our daughter's situation... Old An, to be honest, it's already very lucky that we met Xiao Shu. It's hard to find someone as suitable and genuinely kind to her again."

The more she spoke, the more her brows furrowed.

"How many more years do you think we can protect her? What if we're both gone in a few years, and she's all alone... what will we do then?"

This statement was indeed very stressful, and An Jianxing never dared to think about it too deeply.

After a few seconds, Shen Jingwan suddenly took a deep breath and picked up her phone again:

"No, just worrying won't help. We have to do something. We need to give this child more confidence and help Nuannuan and Xiaoxue understand their own feelings sooner. At least we shouldn't push them away because of fear and ignorance."

"What are you planning to do?"

Shen Jingwan didn't answer directly, but instead found her "beloved daughter's" number and dialed it again.

Just then, Xiao Nuan had just told Ye Shu "I like you" when she returned to her room and saw her phone ringing.

"Mom, is there anything else?"

When Shen Jingwan heard Xiao Nuan's voice, it sounded like casual conversation:

"Nuan Nuan, it's nothing, Mommy just wanted to ask. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

On the other end of the phone, Xiao Nuan didn't answer, as if she was thinking about something, before she finally spoke:

"Ye Shu's sister arrived in Nancheng today, and our main task since then has been to find her temporary accommodation. Ye Shu hasn't mentioned her plans for tomorrow yet. But based on her current behavior, it's highly likely she'll organize an outing tomorrow."

Shen Jingwan listened to Xiao Nuan's analysis, and the corners of her mouth slightly turned up:

"Okay, Mom understands. If you go out to play tomorrow, please be careful, okay?"

"Okay, Mom, I understand."

"Okay, then get some rest, baby."

Goodnight, Mom.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Jingwan held her phone and looked at her husband, who was staring at her expectantly.

"Old An, they'll most likely be going out tomorrow. Maybe... we can 'bump into' them? Or give Xiao Shu a... um, a hint or some encouragement?"

Afterwards, An Jianxing found an old man who supposedly had performed in plays in the county theater troupe back in the day and paid him a high performance fee of 1,000 yuan to play a fortune teller at the entrance of Yunduanyuan. The lines were not limited, and he was free to improvise. His main task was to convey the central idea that "you two are a match made in heaven, with a deep destiny that no difficulty can break you apart."

Let's go back to the present.

With An Jianxing's phone still pressed against her ear, Shen Jingwan asked nervously, her voice tinged with disbelief:

"Really? Old An, are you sure you saw it clearly? It really is... Xiaoxue? She... she went out? She went outside?"

An Jianxing's hands were trembling with excitement:

"Seriously, how could I mistake my own daughter? Apart from Xiaoxue, the others aren't so resistant to going out; only Xiaoxue acts like this..."

His voice trembled with excitement, as if he was about to cry.

On the other end of the phone, Shen Jingwan immediately said:

"Good...good...it's good that you're out...being able to walk out, even just one step, is a great thing...Old An, you...you take a good look, which way did they go? Can Ye Shu protect her? Are there...are there any people around who could scare her?"

An Jianxing rubbed his face vigorously, his eyes red-rimmed. He looked again in the direction Ye Shu had left; the three people on the sidewalk had become three small dots.

"It's okay, there aren't many people, we'll walk slowly... Okay, okay, I'll follow. Don't worry, we can't be spotted, I know."

After hanging up the phone, An Jianxing took a deep breath, closed the car window, and said to the driver:

"Follow them quietly."

The driver stepped on the gas and drove off.

An Jianxing's heart was pounding, but he was happy.

His beloved daughter, the one who had kept herself locked away in the depths of his heart for so many years, finally took her first step into the outside world today, under the protection of another boy.

This small step was no less significant to the couple than humanity's first moon landing. It was a small step for An Suxue, but a giant leap for their family!

An Jianxing suddenly felt that Ye Shu was incredibly pleasing to the eye.