Why did you provoke me?

"Why would you think that?" Dali turned her head to look at Yu Meng.

"He hasn't come here for over a month, how can I blame myself for overthinking?" Yu Meng said with a smile.

"Now that you mention it, I also feel like it's been a long time since he's come. I've been so busy practicing all day that I completely forgot about him," Dali laughed.

"Maybe something happened that delayed things," Dali said, not really caring.

"Oh, big sister, there's something I need to tell you. The person who stole your lines won't be coming back to you."

"Really?" Dali was delighted. She tugged at her younger sister's hand a few times. But she wisely refrained from asking how her sister knew about it.

Yu Meng felt relieved when she saw that Dali didn't press her about how she knew. It seemed her older sister had become smarter; otherwise, she would have had to make up an excuse to fool her.

When they got home, Aunt Yu was standing at the front door, looking around. Hearing the two sisters talking, she asked, "Dali, is that you?"

Dali quickly replied, "Mom, it's me and my little sister."

"I only said one thing, you brat, why didn't you come back by now that it's so dark?" Aunt Yu patted Yu Meng gently, nagging. "I regretted it after your older sister left. If neither of the girls came back, tell me, should I jump into that river?"

"Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? I went to find my little sister, why wouldn't I come back? I met my little sister on my way back, otherwise why do you think we came back so quickly?" Dali followed behind them and closed the door.

"Mom, this isn't the first time you've done this. I'm not going to run away from home just because of what you say!" Yu Meng chimed in from the side.

Aunt Yu paused in her steps. "I was just saying that, but every time we meet, it ends up going your way anyway."

"You knew it would turn out like this, and you still said it. In the end, neither of us was happy. It even made my older sister have to come looking for me in the dark, and she's a very timid person, she's afraid of the dark too."

Aunt Yu refused to leave. "If I don't let her go to you, who will I go to? If I go with her, I'll just be a burden. My eyesight won't be good after dark. Are you just going to leave me at home waiting? I'll be so worried!" This time, Aunt Yu didn't cry, but instead laughed and scolded, "You're such a heartless little thing! Who am I doing all this for?"

And just like that, the matter was put to rest. Yu Meng was quite surprised; she seemed to understand what Granny Hua had said: a mother and daughter should not hold grudges overnight.

After the conversation ended, Yu Meng and Dali went back to their own things. Every day, Yu Meng would go to the riverbank, sit under the big willow tree, and watch its bark slowly turn red, watch the buds slowly swell, and watch the buds gradually turn into fuzzy balls. She would watch the fuzzy balls fall off and willow leaves grow out.

Yu Meng always felt that some ideas were flashing before her eyes, but she just couldn't grasp them.

That afternoon, Yu Meng's voicemail rang, and Xia Xuan's voice came through, "Yu Meng, long time no see. What have you been up to?"

"Hello, Teacher Xia Xuan. We're practicing the resilience of our lines." Yu Meng's voice sounded very happy.

"Xiao Meng, I have a research project here. Would you like to take a look? If you're interested, I'd like to invite you to join us. What do you say?" Xia Xuan said politely.

Yu Meng frowned. "Going to the city? How many days will it take? I don't want to be away from home for too long."

"You can take a look first. If you're willing to study it, you can take a research topic and do it at home." Xia Xuan was pleased to hear that Yu Meng was interested in researching. She had high hopes for Yu Meng's talent.

"Is it that relaxed? Isn't this research on very serious issues?" Yu Meng asked curiously. "Aren't you afraid of leaks?"

"There are many problems that film-making technicians need to research. Anyone can do it. As long as your research is recognized, you will have patent rights to it, and you can share in the profits generated thereafter. How about it, do you want to give it a try?"

This was the first time Yu Meng had heard about these things. "Is there an exam required?"

"No need, just a recommendation from a level 5 membrane maker is enough."

"Then congratulations to Teacher Xia Xuan," Yu Meng said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If it weren't for your reminder, I don't know when I would have realized it." Xia Xuan was also very happy. "I'm really looking forward to our next meeting."

"I'd also be happy to exchange ideas with you; I benefited greatly from the last exchange," Yu Meng said cooperatively.

"Oh, by the way, can your older sister come? I have one more spot. I heard she was lucky enough to meet Granny Flower, that's wonderful."

"I'll ask her, it should be fine. It's good to broaden one's horizons. In our small town, we don't have that kind of opportunity," Yu Meng said with a smile, agreeing on behalf of her older sister.

"Then see you the day after tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting for you at the door." Xia Xuan smiled and turned off the communication bell.

Aunt Yu listened to Yu Meng and Teacher Xia finish their conversation at the door before coming in. "Are you going to the city tomorrow? Is Dali coming with you?"

Yu Meng turned around. "Mom, what do you think about us buying a car?"

Yu Ma nearly strained her back, her voice rising an octave, "What did you say?"

"That big crystal sold for a lot of gold coins, let's buy a car, it'll be more convenient," Yu Meng said, nodding to her mother.

"Such a big matter needs to be discussed with your father. Even if I object, you won't listen to me." Although Aunt Yu said this, it was clear that she was not angry.

"Mom, this time you're on my side. It's four to one, Dad's objection is invalid." Yu Meng gestured with her hands. "Then we'll have Zhao Changsheng teach my little brother to drive. That way, he'll have a driver whenever he wants to go somewhere."

Yu Ma had long seen that her fourth daughter didn't care too much about money, but that made sense, given her skills, she would never lack money in her life.

Yu Meng happily told her older sister about it, "Big sister, let's go broaden our horizons. We can't just shut ourselves in and work on things. I've been exhausted lately. I haven't figured anything out."

So the three of them packed up, locked the door, and headed to town. They'd leave from town the next morning, dropping Yu's mother off at the shop on the way. They couldn't just leave their mother alone in the village.

Yu Ma muttered from the side, "This is just a constant fuss."

Yu Meng hugged her mother's arm, "It'll be fine once we buy the car."

The three of them returned to the store together. Mr. Yu thought something had happened. He hurriedly came down from the second floor and asked, "What happened?" He reached out to take something from the store.

"It's nothing, it's just Xiao Si. That Teacher Xia invited her to the city to do some research, and she insisted on taking Da Li with her. Then they said I couldn't manage on my own in the village, so here she is, another trip." Aunt Yu started complaining to Uncle Yu. "Xiao Si has something important to tell you. Go and see for yourself. I can't persuade her otherwise."

Yu's father walked over, and Yu Hai followed behind, also wanting to hear what important matter it was.