The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Once outside the courtyard, Liu Jianming and Zhou Anran exchanged a glance and both laughed.

After a while, Liu Jianming's smile faded, and he gripped her hand tightly: "Anran, you've seen my family's attitude, are you relieved now?"

Zhou Anran softly hummed in agreement, gazing affectionately at her man, and whispered, "Jianming, I'd like to take you to meet my parents next time I have a day off. Is that alright?"

She didn't want to delay any longer; if the two of them hadn't come here today, they might have really missed each other.

"good!"

Liu Jianming nodded solemnly, then revealed a mischievous smile: "But when the time comes, if my father-in-law doesn't agree to kick me out, you'd better stop him."

"Get lost! I'm talking to you about serious matters, can you..." Zhou Anran said irritably, her other hand grabbing his chest as she was about to punch him.

"Wife, what do you want to do!" Liu Jianming looked at her with a half-smile.

In an instant, the two were standing face to face, with only a hand's width between them.

"You, you let go!" Zhou Anran felt embarrassed by the stare and struggled symbolically for a moment.

Liu Jianming didn't care and simply pulled her into a tight embrace.

Zhou Anran stopped struggling and wrapped her arms around the man's neck after they had been freed.

And it was at this moment that the two of them perhaps truly felt at peace.

......

Meanwhile, in the backyard of No. 93 Courtyard.

In the kitchen, Li Kaixin had already prepared all five dishes.

They are garlic crayfish, deep-fried moose meat, sauerkraut fish, braised wild boar, and pan-fried tuna.

Li Xiaoxiao stood up from beside the stove and took a deep sniff: "It smells so good, big brother!"

"Yes! Big brother, your cooking is amazing." Zhang Xiaohua nodded in agreement.

"Xiaoxiao, Xiaohua, Xiang, you two should eat more later."

Li Kaixin wiped his hands with a rag and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go out and see what Xiao Kai is up to. He's been chopping wood for ages and it's still not done."

In the courtyard, Li Kai was reclining on a chair, legs crossed, directing the children in the yard to chop firewood.

"Sun Lao Er, hurry up and chop, my brother is about to finish cooking."

"Brother Kai, almost there, just a few more pieces left." Sun Lao Er responded, picked up his axe, and forcefully split the firewood in front of him in two.

Li Kai nodded in satisfaction: "Good, good, good! You did a great job. I'll give you a few more pieces of meat when we eat later."

Before Sun Lao Er could even feel happy about what he said, several children from the nearby courtyard started to protest.

"Old Sun, you've chopped so much already, leave the rest to us!"

"Yes, Sun Lao Er, one shouldn't be so greedy."

The children chattered amongst themselves, each vying to grab the axe.

Seeing that things were about to get chaotic, Li Kai quickly sat up and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Each of you just chop one off a stick!"

Sun Lao Er and the other children in the courtyard finally quieted down.

Li Kai leaned back in his recliner, squinted his eyes, and looked just like a nouveau riche.

But he only enjoyed it for less than two minutes before he suddenly received a sharp rap on the forehead.

"Ouch!" Li Kai jumped up, clutching his forehead in pain. Just as he was about to start cursing, he was met with a face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Big brother, what brings you out?"

"If I hadn't come out, how would I have known you were so impressive, becoming a commander here?" Li Kaixin crossed his arms and looked coldly at his younger brother.

"Um, um, big brother."

Li Kai chuckled sheepishly and pointed to his friends in the yard: "It was Sun Lao Er and the others who insisted on coming to help; I really couldn't refuse them."

Li Kaixin's face darkened further, and she demanded sharply, "Li Kai, do you think I'm stupid? Did you threaten them that if they didn't chop firewood, they wouldn't get any food?"

"Brother, I'm innocent!" Li Kai said, looking aggrieved. "They really did it on their own initiative. I couldn't stop them. You can ask Sun Lao Er and the others if you don't believe me."

Not far away, after the children looked at each other, Sun Lao Er was the first to step forward.

"Brother Kaixin, you've really misunderstood Brother Kai this time. My mother said that we can't keep eating for free, and we have to help with any chores at your house."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The other children in the courtyard quickly nodded in agreement.

Seeing so many people testifying for him, Li Kai straightened his back: "Brother, did you hear that? I said you've misunderstood!"

Seeing his expression, Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Xiaohua, who were standing behind him, both chuckled softly.

"Li Kai, are you itching for a beating again? You think you're right to be lazy?" Li Kaixin said, raising her hand to tap his forehead again.

Seeing this, Li Kai quickly covered his head and took a few steps back, saying, "Big brother, can you please not hit me in front of so many friends? I'm losing face!"

Li Kaixin snorted, but still withdrew her hand.

Then he turned to Sun Lao Er and the others, his tone gentle: "Go get your bowls and chopsticks quickly, we'll eat soon."

Upon hearing this, Sun Lao Er and his companions dared not delay any longer and all ran away at once.

After they left, Li Kaixin turned back and glanced at her younger brother: "What are you still standing here for? Go to the kitchen and get the dishes."

"Okay, okay!" Li Kai nodded and turned to run to the kitchen.

Zhang Xiaohua and Li Xiaoxiao wanted to follow and help, but Li Kaixin stopped them:

"Xiaoxiao, Xiaohua, let's go to the main room and wait. Let that kid handle it alone."

"Alright, big brother!" the two replied with smiles at the same time.

They both understood that their older brother was still angry with Li Kai for slacking off and wanted to take this opportunity to teach him a lesson.

Just as the three of them arrived at the entrance of the main house.

Suddenly, a clear female voice came from behind: "Happy Brother!"

Li Kaixin stopped in her tracks, turned around and saw Song Anting, and immediately smiled.

"An Ting's here? We just finished cooking. Come on, have some with us."

He invited her as he walked toward her.

"No, no, I've already eaten." Song Anting waved her hand and quickly said, "Brother Kaixin, I came to talk to you about something."

"What is it, An Ting? Just tell me."

"This morning, a lot of soldiers came looking for you, I..."

"You mean this? It's nothing!" Li Kaixin interrupted her dismissively. "They asked me to help them, so don't worry."

Song Anting was relieved and said softly, "I see. I'm relieved now. I'll be going now."

"Wait, stay and have a meal before you leave!" Li Kaixin reached out and instinctively grabbed her hand, then quickly let go.

At this, Song Anting's face immediately turned red, and for a moment she didn't know whether to leave or stay.

Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Xiaohua exchanged a glance at each other in front of the door, and then came up together in perfect unison.

Upon approaching, they each took Song Anting's arms, one on each side, and pulled her into the main room while persuading her.

As she passed by Li Kaixin, Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but wink at him.