We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"You're back?"

"dad."

"Hello, Uncle Xie."

"Okay." Xie Zhiqiang stood up from the sofa. "Go put your schoolbag down, wash your hands, and get ready to eat."

His gaze swept over the two people as he spoke.

Li Mubai stood still, feeling somewhat uncomfortable in the warm, family-like atmosphere.

Xie Shu took two steps forward, then turned back and, realizing he hadn't followed, turned back again and, as if no one else was around, grabbed his wrist:

"Let's go, we can study for a while after dinner, then you can go home. That should be fine, right?"

Her tone was light and cheerful, and she had a smile on her lips.

"Okay." Li Mubai nodded.

Xie Zhiqiang's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.

They went upstairs, leaving him and Xu Ting alone in the living room. They looked at each other but neither of them spoke.

A few minutes later, Li Mubai and Xie Shu came down.

The table was already set with bowls and chopsticks, some for Xie Zhiqiang, some for Xu Ting, some for Xie Shu, and some for Li Mubai.

He was the last to sit down, and Xie Zhiqiang and Xu Ting sat opposite him and Xie Shu.

Judging from the villa, they look like a family, with the brother and sister attending the same high school.

"Let's eat. Don't be too polite at home," Xie Zhiqiang said, picking up his chopsticks.

Li Mubai nodded and picked up his chopsticks.

Xie Shu glanced at Li Mubai, then looked at her parents across the table. There seemed to be a strange tacit understanding between them.

She looked away and lowered her head to think.

"Xiao Shu, don't just eat rice, eat some vegetables too."

"……good."

The dinner was a bit dull, but Li Mubai was not as reserved as usual, and would occasionally reach out with his chopsticks to pick up the dishes he wanted to eat.

"Ahem—" Xie Zhiqiang cleared his throat, "How did you all do on the provincial mock exam?"

Li Mubai stopped, he looked up, but Xie Shu interrupted him, saying:

"Li Mu Bai got second place in the school this time!"

"Second in the school?" Xie Zhiqiang's tone revealed a hint of surprise. "Second in the humanities?"

"Yes." Xie Shu nodded.

"What's the total score?" he pressed.

"The total score is 649," Li Mubai said.

"Where's Xiaoshu?" Xie Zhiqiang asked, looking at his daughter.

"My total score is 676."

Xie Zhiqiang nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and he half-jokingly said, "That means the first and second place in the liberal arts exam at No. 6 High School are now in our family."

I just don't know if Xie Zhiqiang's use of "our family" has a geographical meaning, or if it has some other meaning?

Xie Shu smiled and glanced at Li Mubai, who nodded mechanically, his face expressionless, just as calm as her mother, Xu Ting.

"Don't talk while eating or sleeping. Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon." Xu Ting poured cold water on Xie Zhiqiang.

"Okay, eat more, and keep up the good work."

"Um……"

Xie Zhiqiang's interruption eased the tension of the dinner.

Xie Shu didn't have a big appetite, and neither did Li Mubai. They finished their meal quickly, and then Xie Shu pulled him back to the room to study.

"Which subject should we start with today?" Li Mubai asked, taking out his books as he sat down in his seat.

Xie Shu didn't speak at first. She looked at Li Mubai until he couldn't help but ask what was wrong.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

Li Mubai's expression froze for a moment, then he quickly regained his composure and smiled naturally: "No."

The room fell silent.

Meow~

A cat's meow came through the glass of the balcony.

"A big orange?" Li Mubai said.

"Mm." Xie Shu nodded.

They tacitly chose to skip over the previous topic.

Li Mubai stood up and saw Daju leaning against the glass door leading to the balcony.

Xie Shu followed and opened the door. Da Ju crawled in and circled around their ankles twice.

"They're probably hungry."

Xie Shu walked to the balcony and added cat food to the two bowls against the wall.

The cat food fell into the bowl with a ping-pong sound.

Another black and white cat emerged from its cat bed, stretched, and slowly approached.

"What's the name of this doll?" Li Mubai squatted down and carefully touched the doll's back.

"Her name is Shutong."

"A pageboy?" He paused for a moment, "Why such a name?"

"My parents bought this kitten when I was in the third year of junior high school. They said it would accompany me as I grew up, so they named it 'Book Boy'." Xie Shu reached out and gently stroked the kitten's fur. "You also think the name is a bit strange, right?"

Li Mubai did not deny it, and nodded slightly. Compared to Daju, the arrival of the page seemed to carry a certain purpose and mission.

"Now Daju and Shutong are both at your house," Li Mubai said.

Xie Shu withdrew his hand, watching the two cats engrossed in their meal, and a slight smile curved his lips: "Hmm, our family..."

Her voice lowered, as if she were speaking to herself.

"Hmm?" Li Mubai turned his head to the side.

"Let's go study. Today we'll start with math." Xie Shu stood up.

"it is good."

Li Mubai also stood up and glanced at the Ragdoll cat, who was engrossed in its meal...

At eight o'clock, Li Mubai closed his book.

"It's getting late, I should go home."

Xie Shu put down her pen, looked at him, as if she still had something to say, but in the end she just nodded slightly: "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." He opened the door and then gently closed it again.

The living room lights were still on, and Xie Zhiqiang and Xu Ting were sitting on the sofa.

"Are we going back?" Xie Zhiqiang asked.

"Yes, Uncle Xie, it's getting late, I should go home."

Xu Ting didn't say anything, stood up straight, took her car keys and walked to the door.

"Be careful on the road," Xie Zhiqiang reminded him.

Li Mubai nodded and followed Xu Ting out the door.

The Bentley drove out of the deserted villa area and onto the main road. The streetlights flashed by one after another, and the only sound in the car was the low hum of the air conditioner.

The silence lasted for a while.

Xu Ting spoke first: "Speak, what do you want to see me about?"

"Aunt Xu Ting," Li Mubai took a deep breath, "could you give Xie Shu some power to choose his own future?"

He spoke in a conciliatory tone, while also being mentally prepared to be scolded.

But after a moment of silence in the car, Xu Ting's voice rang out slowly and deliberately:

"Xiaobai, may I call you that?"

Li Mubai was slightly taken aback, somewhat surprised: "Sure, Auntie, you can call me whatever you want."

"Xiaobai, you're about to have your coming-of-age ceremony, right? But the coming-of-age ceremony is just a ritual; truly growing up is a long journey ahead."

Li Mubai didn't speak, but listened quietly.

"I'm almost fifty this year, I've lived more than half my life, and I've walked a longer road than you. There are some old paths that I don't want you to walk again."

"...But," he began, "no matter which path you take, shouldn't you follow your own wishes? Xie Shu told me that she actually didn't want to go abroad."

"Xiaobai, I don't object to you being with Xiaoshu, but can you guarantee that you will make her happy in the future? Besides, does happiness always depend on someone else? I just want my daughter to have the ability to achieve happiness on her own."

Li Mubai remained silent for a moment.

"Perhaps in three or ten years, you will understand what I am saying." Xu Ting's voice remained unchanged.

"But why does she have to go abroad?" Li Mubai didn't understand, and vaguely felt that Xu Ting was only doing this to fulfill her own regrets.

A soft chuckle came from Xu Ting in the front row. She didn't answer his question, but continued speaking:

"If you feel unwilling, your aunt and Uncle Xie can give you some financial support and help you get out."

As she finished speaking, Li Mubai's fingers twitched slightly. He thought of the cat named Shutong, which had been given the mission of companionship from the very beginning and whose place in life had been arranged for it.

He suddenly realized that perhaps Xie Zhiqiang and Xu Ting also viewed him in this way.

The light from the streetlights outside the window swept across his face again and again. Li Mubai didn't reply, remaining silent with his eyes lowered.

The car fell completely silent, with only the sound of tires rolling over the road remaining...