Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

He turned to look at his wife, his lips moved, and after a long while he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Did you see that just now?"

"I saw it."

Lu Wanqing's expression was also quite subtle.

"Yiyi came back smiling."

"Um."

"She has never smiled since she was a child, when she came home from school."

"Um."

"She always walks in with a blank expression, and at most says 'I'm home' before going into her room."

"Um."

Shen Chuan remained silent for a while, then suddenly stood up.

"That young man from villa number one! It's him! It's definitely him!"

He turned to look at his wife, his voice carrying a complex emotion.

There was anger, helplessness, and the powerlessness of an elderly father watching helplessly as his own cabbage walked towards the pigsty, only to find that he couldn't even lock the door.

"He just said he wanted to study with his classmates, and Yi Yi said she wanted to study with her classmates too! He left first, and Yi Yi followed him out right after! This is clearly..."

"Alright, alright, sit down."

Lu Wanqing tugged at his sleeve and pulled him back onto the sofa.

"Your daughter hasn't said anything, so why are you getting so worked up?"

Besides, even if it really is him, Yiyi isn't a child anymore; she has her own judgment.

You were just saying you admired that young man, and now you have this expression.

"I admire him, I admire him! But that doesn't mean he can be with my daughter..."

Shen Chuan got stuck; he realized he couldn't continue speaking.

He remembered the young man's humble yet assertive manner when he spoke to him in the neighborhood earlier.

He leaned back on the sofa, picked up the glass of cold tea that had been refilled three times, and drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Wanqing poured Shen Chuan another cup of tea, this time it was hot.

She pushed the teacup in front of him, speaking slowly and deliberately, as if she were giving a pep talk to a child throwing a tantrum.

"Old Shen, things are still very uncertain, you have to trust our daughter."

"When has Yiyi ever caused us any worry since she was little? She's very sensible; she knows better than anyone what she should and shouldn't do."

Shen Chuan picked up the teacup, but didn't drink it, and put it down again.

"And also..."

Lu Wanqing leaned back on the sofa, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

"Who was it that couldn't sleep at night and kept me up discussing my daughter's sexual orientation?"

Now that it's proven otherwise, you're still not happy?

Shen Chuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but realized that he had indeed said those words.

After returning from the parent-teacher conference last year, he tossed and turned in bed all night. The next morning, he said to his wife with great concern, "Wanqing, do you think Yiyi isn't interested in boys?"

He was really worried back then, but now that his daughter is interested in boys, he's even more worried.

He opened his mouth several times, but it eventually turned into a deep sigh.

Lu Wanqing waited until he finished sighing before continuing, her tone becoming more serious than before.

"Let's find out in secret whether he is the young man from Villa No. 1."

If it's him, then try to find out more about the child's character.

If someone has good character and comes from a good family, then we don't need to worry about them.

If someone's character is flawed...

She paused, her tone slightly lowering.

"No matter how good his family background is, or how insistent Yiyi is, we, as parents, have to stop them."

Yiyi is still young and prone to impulsiveness. She can't see people clearly, so we need to help her see them clearly.

Shen Chuan remained silent for a long while, then slowly nodded.

"That's the only way."

Zhang Yifan also left the villa shortly after Shen Zhiyi left.

He stood in the entryway and glanced at the empty house one last time, then locked the door and walked out along the stone path in the community.

His steps were much lighter than when he arrived, and he couldn't quite explain why he was so happy.

When he arrived at the entrance of the residential compound, the new security guard was standing ramrod straight.

As Zhang Yifan passed the guard post, he casually waved to him and said, "Good evening."

The security guard was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood at attention and returned the salute. He watched Zhang Yifan's figure disappear around the street corner before turning to look at his colleague who was flipping through the work schedule.

"Old Li, the owner of Villa No. 1 just said 'Good evening' to me."

"Just say it."

"No, is it normal for a homeowner to greet a security guard?"

The last person who got fired left because of him.

He actually greeted me with a good evening; he's a really nice person.

You don't understand the world of the rich.

After leaving the residential compound, Zhang Yifan took out his phone and called a ride-hailing service.

The taxi arrived quickly. He opened the door, got in, and gave the address of his old neighborhood.

The driver was a man in his forties, wearing black-rimmed glasses. He only said three sentences throughout the entire journey: "What's the last four digits of your license plate?", "We've arrived," and "Take care."

Zhang Yifan sat in the back seat. The car was quiet, with only the navigation occasionally making a notification sound.

He leaned back in his seat, watching the street scene rushing past the window, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Finally, I've met a driver who doesn't like to chat.

I must say, it's really comfortable when no one bothers you.

He closed his eyes, and the image of Shen Zhiyi standing at the door saying "okay" flashed through his mind again.

When she smiles, her eyes curve into crescent moons, and the tips of her eyelashes seem to hold a glimmer of light.

The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up again.

When I got home, the living room light was still on.

Zhang Rongshan sat on the sofa with his legs stretched out and slippers on his feet, perfectly embodying the Ge You slouch.

Liu Guilan sat at the dining table, rubbing the web between the thumb and index finger of her other hand with one hand, then switching hands to continue rubbing.

Both of them were physically exhausted, but mentally they were unusually excited.

Seeing Zhang Yifan push the door open and come in, Liu Guilan spoke first: "Son, where have you been so late?"

"Studying English with classmates."

"Study hard, you need to do well on the English exam. Go wash up and go to bed, you have an exam tomorrow."

Zhang Rongshan stood up from the sofa, patted his son's shoulder. His hand, which was rough and calloused from years of holding a spatula, felt surprisingly light on his shoulder.

"You guys should get some rest too, you've all had a long day."

"Not tired!"

Zhang Rongshan waved his hand, his voice full of energy, a stark contrast to his earlier state of sprawling on the sofa.

"This is nothing. Working in the factory was really tiring."

More than a hundred customers came to the store today. Your mom was so busy collecting money that her hands were sore, and I was so busy cooking that my hands were sore.

But I'm not tired at all, I'm happy!

Did you see that news report? Your dad was on TV!

Even though it was only for two seconds and only showed his back, it still made it onto TV!

Looking at his father's tired but excited face, Zhang Yifan suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

His original intention was to let his parents open this small restaurant so they wouldn't have to get up early and work late to sort vegetables at the market or carry cement at the factory like before. But now, it seems that running a shop is more tiring than going to work.

But on second thought, the reason it's so lively today is probably because of the buzz generated by the reporters' coverage. Once this hype dies down, the number of visitors should return to normal.

His parents shouldn't be so tired then, at least they won't be busy from morning till night every day.

After washing up, he lay down on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and found that he couldn't fall asleep.

His mind was filled with images of Shen Zhiyi standing at the door, the warmth of her fingers on his Adam's apple, her trembling eyelashes as she closed her eyes, and her smile when he said, "I want to apply to the same university as you."

He rolled over, buried his face in the pillow, and found that the pillow was a little hot.

He rolled over again, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, and replayed the events of the night from the beginning.

After tossing and turning countless times, he finally fell asleep.

He was dreaming.

In her dream, Shen Zhiyi sat in front of that grand piano, still playing Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major.

He stood behind her, and although she didn't turn around, his hand naturally rested on her shoulder.

She stopped playing the piano and looked up at him.

He lowered his head...

After the alarm clock rang.

He opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and froze the last image of his dream in his mind for a moment.

Then I got out of bed, grabbed a clean pair of underwear, and pushed open the bathroom door...