Why did you make me reincarnate?

"I talked with Xu Chaoyang for almost an hour today. He's a really good kid. Since he and Ju Zi are in love, we have no reason to stop them."

Lin Shuqiu turned his head, his true emotions unreadable, but his tone softened somewhat.

"Since you all say so, then we can give him a chance."

She paused for a moment, then said, "But I have a condition: I need to take Ju Zi back to southern Jiangsu and arrange for her to meet that child from the Shi family."

Shen Zhiyi hesitated upon hearing this, "I think..."

"There's no room for discussion on this," Lin Shuqiu interrupted him. "If Ju Zi doesn't like it, then that's it. But if she thinks Shi Yanci is better, you can't stop her."

Shen Zhiyi knew that there was no point in arguing any further; it was already quite an achievement to get Lin Shuqiu to back down.

"Alright, let Orange choose for herself then."

The following evening, Shen Ju reappeared at the Dawn Bar.

Lin Shuqiu was noticeably less strict with her now. Even though he knew she was there to see Xu Chaoyang, he didn't stop her, only telling her to come back soon.

"Brother Yang, the boss's wife is here!"

Zhao Shijun was eating watermelon when he saw her raise her hand and wave, then turn and shout towards the drinks area.

Huang Yuan snatched the watermelon rind from his hand, handed him a tissue, and whispered, "Wipe your mouth."

Zhao Shijun chuckled and took the bag, then wiped it haphazardly a couple of times.

Xu Chaoyang came running at the sound, pretending not to know anything: "Your auntie finally let you out?"

"I also find it strange. When she came home yesterday, she suddenly said that the matter of studying abroad could be discussed again, and it didn't necessarily have to be Boston."

Xu Chaoyang raised an eyebrow: "Really?"

"Yes, my mom can let me stay in the country to study at university."

Xu Chaoyang thought to himself that all his efforts over the past few days had finally paid off. Although President Shen said not to count on it, he had still put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.

Shen Ju still looked worried: "But I've already missed this year's college application period, so I can't go to the same university as you."

"It's okay, you can repeat a year and come back to be my junior next year."

Shen Ju glared at him: "Who wants to be your junior? Shameless."

Xu Chaoyang handed her the prepared sparkling wine and clinked his glass with hers.

"Just accept your fate, Orange. You should start calling me 'senior' now."

Shen Ju drew circles on the side of the cup with her finger. "So... senior, will you come back often after you go to Yuhang?"

Xu Chaoyang couldn't resist this, so he walked around the bar and sat down on the high stool next to Shen Ju.

"Yuhang is not far from Wenzhou, so I come back whenever I have free time on weekends."

Zhao Shijun looked at the two of them and peeked half his head out from the side.

"Yang-ge, when are you two going to treat us to wedding candy?"

Xu Chaoyang didn't even turn his head: "I think you guys should be faster."

As he said this, he secretly glanced at Huang Yuan. The two of them had stopped acting recently and were now deeply in love.

Zhao Shijun's face flushed red instantly. "How did you know?"

"Your phone contacts all say 'Dear Yuan Yuan,' I'm not blind."

Huang Yuan was quite open and generous. She walked over, took Zhao Shijun's arm, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Jun is really good to me. He brings me breakfast every day and picks me up from get off work. My sister also says he's much better than all her ex-boyfriends."

Huang Ying called out from behind, "Can you please stop telling everyone everything?"

"That's the truth."

Lu Qingqing came out of the kitchen at this moment, carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit, with apples and oranges cut into heart shapes.

"Come on, everyone, accept some blessings from this lonely old man."

"Qingqing, you're so outstanding, you'll definitely have no shortage of suitors."

Zhao Shijun reached out to take it, but Lu Qingqing slapped his hand away.

Did you wash your hands?

Huang Ying brought over a few bottles of beer. "We really do have good luck with marriage here. A boss has been coming to see Sister Qingqing every day lately, and his intentions are written all over his face."

"Is that so?" Xu Chaoyang also became interested.

Lu Qingqing's expression was somewhat complicated, making it impossible to discern her true thoughts: "There is such a person, but I've already rejected him..."

"No, we should consider it from all angles if it's suitable."

Xu Chaoyang didn't mind his employees dating at all, but Lu Qingqing just silently shook her head.

"Didn't we agree that I would help you open a shop in Yuhang? That's all I can think about right now."

Xu Chaoyang took it as a refusal and didn't take it to heart. He invited everyone to have a small gathering, saying that the bar would be closed for the day and they would have a day off.

Everyone cheered, but the shrewd Huang Ying watched Lu Qingqing from the side and sighed almost imperceptibly.

It was nearly night when I took Shen Ju home.

They stopped at the same spot as last time, neither of them in a hurry to get out of the car. The night breeze carried the scent of grass and trees, and they could smell the sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms that were about to fade.

"Xu Chaoyang, when are you going to report for duty?"

"It'll be soon. Once we finish the inspection of Hongyi Apartment, we'll head to Yuhang."

Xu Chaoyang thought Shen Ju was feeling down because of the separation, so he comforted her, "I told you I would come back often, I wasn't lying to you."

The faint light from the watch face shone on Shen Ju's face, revealing her long eyelashes.

"You should focus on the first semester. Just concentrate on your university studies. My mom said she'll take me back to southern Jiangsu next month. I won't be lonely with my grandma there."

Xu Chaoyang asked with some confusion, "Back to Jiangsu Province again?"

"My grandparents are getting old, and I want to go back and spend more time with them. There's an old house there, and I used to go there every winter vacation when I was a child."

Xu Chaoyang thought for a moment and realized that Su Nan seemed to be closer to Yuhang, only an hour or two by car.

"Okay, I'll drive to see you then, and I'll also show my face in front of Grandma."

"Pah, who's your grandma?"

Xu Chaoyang smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. Shen Ju didn't dodge, but lowered her head slightly, her ear tips turning a little red.

"Go upstairs, your mom must be getting impatient."

Shen Ju pushed open the car door, walked a few steps, and then turned back.

"Xu Chaoyang, I've heard there are a lot of pretty girls in college."

No matter how many there are, none are as beautiful as you.

Hearing Xu Chaoyang's quick reply, Shen Ju considered him to have passed the test and then turned to walk up the slope.

Xu Chaoyang watched her from the driver's seat and noticed that the curtains on the second floor of the villa seemed to move slightly.

However, it was too dark to see clearly whether there was anyone behind him.

Lin Shuqiu stood by the window, watching the black Audi below the slope slowly light up its taillights, turn a corner, and disappear into the night. Then, the sound of her daughter entering the house came from downstairs.

"Auntie, where's my mom?"

"She's upstairs. My wife went to bed early today."

Shen Ju said "Oh," and walked back to her room with light steps.

Lin Shuqiu opened the curtains and sat back down at the dressing table. Although the person in the mirror had a delicate face, there was a deep weariness in her eyes.

Back then, she was just like her daughter; she could be happy for days because of a few words from someone, and her heart was full of hope for the future.

But so what? People always change.

Lin Shuqiu still believes that focusing on practical matters is the right thing to do, and plans to take Shen Ju back to southern Jiangsu ahead of schedule.