After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan, somewhat confused, followed Chen Mo into the Civil Affairs Bureau and obtained a marriage certificate.

After receiving the certificate, she was still unsure whether Chen Mo's decision was impromptu or something he had been planning for a long time.

But at this moment, seeing this generous wedding gift and carefully reading the letter Chen Feifei left for her, she became even more clear-headed.

"Chen Mo, please thank Sister Feifei for me!"

"But this gift is too valuable; I cannot accept it."

Lan Yujuan folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and then put it back in its original place along with the property certificate and other documents on the table.

If only her family background and economic conditions were similar to Chen Mo's, or if she and Chen Mo were truly in love, then they would have gotten married.

She could accept this wedding gift with a clear conscience.

Unfortunately, it is neither.

Lan Yujuan deeply understands one thing: apart from bloodline inheritance, the existence of any other relationship is essentially an equivalent exchange.

She was self-aware enough to know that she did not possess any equivalent value that could be exchanged.

The two had just registered their marriage when Chen Feifei made a big gesture, not because he valued her as a person or thought she was worth the price.

Instead, she hoped that, for the sake of these expensive gifts, she would do everything in her power to treat Chen Mo well.

Take care of his daily needs and fulfill all his desires.

It's estimated that it won't be long before it's ready to be introduced.

But none of these are the lives she's looking for!

Even if the two of them get to know each other better in the future, Lan Yujuan hopes that the relationship will be equal.

She didn't want to be Chen Mo's appendage, to have her life revolve entirely around him, or to become what outsiders called Mrs. Chen. She just wanted to be herself!

The two looked at each other and remained silent for a long time.

Lan Yujuan was still a little hesitant. Would it embarrass Chen Mo if she directly refused?

"Okay." Chen Mo's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he looked at her and replied in a low voice.

"If you don't want to accept it, then don't accept it for now."

"Would you like more tea?" Chen Mo asked, glancing at the teacup she was holding.

Lan Yujuan shook her head. "Thank you, but no need."

"I'm a little tired, I'll go back and rest for a while."

"You go about your business!"

After saying that, he drank the rest of the tea in the teacup in one gulp, then put down the teacup and prepared to leave.

To her surprise, just as she sat up straight and was about to get up, Chen Mo leaned over and, with his hands on the edge of the sofa, forced her back onto it.

"What do you want to do?" Lan Yujuan subconsciously reached out to push him away, her voice trembling slightly.

Through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel the taut muscles beneath the clothes and the strong heartbeat in her palm.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Mo stared at her lips, gently pecked them, and said in a hoarse voice:

What do you think?

Lan Yujuan's gaze moved inch by inch down her palm, and then stopped at a spot that was about to be revealed.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and when she looked up again, her eyes were filled with emotion.

The hand that had pushed him slowly hooked around the back of his neck. Then, she raised her other hand and gently pinched his chin.

Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered:

"Then, shall we skip the rest and try it during the day?"

Chen Mo's breathing quickened, and he immediately scooped her up in his arms and carried her straight back to the bedroom...

*

In the evening, the alarm clock rang.

Lan Yujuan woke up in an unfamiliar environment and was stunned for a few seconds before she remembered that this was 802, Chen Mo's bedroom.

She glanced at her phone, then gently removed the large hand from her waist, preparing to get up to pick her daughter up from school.

"I'll get up too, and go with you to pick up Xiaoman."

Behind her came Chen Mo's low, hoarse voice.

His large hand came up again, pulling her back into his arms. He kissed her from behind before they got up.

At the kindergarten gate, Lan Yujuan, as usual, stood in the crowd early, waiting for the kindergarten to line up for dismissal.

The only difference was that there was a man by her side.

Moreover, this man has been unusually clingy these past few days since their relationship progressed further.

Before she knew it, her hand was in his.

Especially today, they are becoming increasingly blatant.

Lan Yujuan noticed that the familiar parents from the same neighborhood were starting to glance at the two of them, intentionally or unintentionally.

She pretended to smooth her hair and look at her phone, and twice let go of his hand.

However, the man beside her seemed tireless and pulled her hand again.

His behavior even began to give her the illusion that:

Could it be that he has fallen for me?

However, as soon as the idea popped into Lan Yujuan's mind, she quickly rejected it.

She even started reminding herself not to exaggerate or embellish a man's occasional kindness and affection into romantic love.

It's good for the two of them to maintain their current state, keeping appropriate boundaries and distance.

Just as Lan Yujuan finally gave up resisting and let Chen Mo hold her hand, she stood there emptying her mind.

Behind them, gossip-filled voices suddenly came from behind.

One of the parents, watching Lan Yujuan's retreating figure, muttered to himself:

"Didn't you say that the man next to her is her neighbor, and that Xiaolan is a single mother with no men in her family?"

"I was even thinking of introducing Xiaolan to a good boyfriend!"

"I have a nephew from my hometown who came to the city to work. He's very hardworking and earns over six thousand a month!"

"Both of them are divorced. Xiao Lan has a daughter, and my nephew has a son. Together they have a son and a daughter."

"But seeing the two of them holding hands so intimately in public... their relationship... they must be neighbors, right?"

"To me, they look more like a married couple."

Another parent, upon hearing this, immediately whispered to confirm:

"They really are neighbors, absolutely!"

"My husband works at the property management office in our community; he told me that himself!"

"Xiao Lan and Xiao Chen are both single and live in the building in front of us. One lives in 801 and the other lives in 802. They are definitely not a couple."

"What couple would live separately, each in their own apartment?"

"However, a lone man and a lone woman, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, it's probably a bit ambiguous. I think your nephew's chances are slim..."

The parents who were initially skeptical perked up immediately upon hearing that the two were just neighbors and not a couple.

"As long as we haven't gotten the marriage certificate yet, it's not necessarily a hopeless situation!"

Lan Yujuan listened and let it go in one ear and out the other, treating it as a joke.

Unexpectedly, Chen Mo, who was standing next to me, was the first to object!

Lan Xiaoman lined up like a little duck as she came out of the school. When she saw the two of them appear at the same time, her face lit up with surprise.

Chen Mo stepped forward first, opening his arms wide to greet him, and laughed loudly enough for everyone around to hear:

"Come here, let Daddy hold you!"

After saying that, he picked up the little guy, lifted him high above his head, and carried him directly on his shoulder.

The little guy sat happily on Chen Mo's shoulders, one hand holding his big head, the other hand excitedly greeting the other children in the class, looking like he was floating on air.

After picking up the child, the three of them went grocery shopping together to prepare to cook dinner at home.

Just as Chen Mo stepped into his home, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

"There's something going on at the company that requires me to come over now." After finishing the call, Chen Mo patted the little guy's head, his voice tinged with reluctance.

"Then you can go ahead and get busy!" Lan Yujuan said as she put down her things.

"How long will it take you to be back? Should I save some food for you?"

Chen Mo glanced at the time and began to change his shoes:

"You two eat, don't save any for me."

"I estimate I'll be busy until late at night, so I'll just grab something to eat at the office."

Lan Yujuan nodded and escorted the person to the door.

Although she didn't show it on her face, she still felt a little empty inside.

Just as she closed the door, Lan Yujuan's phone rang.

She picked up her phone and saw that it was her own mother calling.

"Feed?"

On the other end of the phone, Lan's mother's voice couldn't hide her joy:

"Has Xiaoman finished school?"

"Don't cook. You take Xiaoman and Chen Mo, and everyone should eat at home today!"

Lan Yujuan glanced out the window. It was still early, so a stroll around would be nice!

She immediately replied with a smile, "Mom, Chen Mo went to the company to work overtime, I brought Xiaoman back!"

Lan Yujuan put the vegetables back in the refrigerator, took her marriage certificate and household registration book, and went home with her daughter.

Now that she has a child, a man, and her career is on track, her parents should be able to rest easy!

On her way home, Lan Yujuan was lost in her own world, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

Her daughter held her hand, skipping and jumping while humming a new nursery rhyme she had learned at kindergarten, and she was very happy!

Lan Yujuan had no idea that just as she stepped into the entrance of her apartment building, a man who had just finished get off work stood silently at the window of his rented room in the building diagonally opposite, lowering his binoculars...

In the evening, Lan Yujuan took her daughter back to her parents' home for dinner.

As soon as she entered the house, her parents surrounded her, one leaning on a cane and the other holding a spatula, looking at her with expectant eyes.

"You and Chen Mo got your marriage certificate today?" Lan's mother asked, her voice trembling with excitement.

Lan Yujuan glanced at her parents, pursed her lips to suppress her laughter, and pretended to be confused while changing her shoes.

"Get a marriage certificate?"

"Who told you that?"

Standing to the side, Mr. Lan rubbed his cane with both hands, clearly no longer calm, and glared at him with a smile, saying:

"Hmph, trying to hide it from us?"

"Chen Mo called me today and even started calling me 'Dad'!"

Lan Yujuan was speechless after hearing this.

"Did he call you today?"

"When did this happen? How come I don't know about it!"

Even though the two of them spent almost the entire day together, Chen Mo didn't mention it once.

Lan's mother stood to the side, covering her mouth and laughing.

"When? This afternoon!"

"Your dad and I were having dinner when Chen Mo suddenly called back."

"He also said you took his household registration book, and since you were in a good mood today, you took him out for hot pot to celebrate..."

Lan Yujuan was speechless. Before she even put down her bag, she took out her household registration booklet and stuffed it back into her father's hand.

"Here, Teacher Lan, I've brought back my household registration booklet."

Then, under the earnest gaze of his parents, he slowly took out the marriage certificate and placed it in Lan's mother's hand.

"And this too, you two can take your time looking at it!"

When Mr. and Mrs. Lan saw the red booklet, they immediately beamed with joy and huddled together, eager to take a look.

Seeing his grandparents so interested in a little red book, the little guy joined in the fun.

"What is that? Let me see!"

"Grandma, I want to see it too!"

As soon as Lan Yujuan handed over her marriage certificate, she was pushed aside by the three of them.

Seeing the three generations of a family, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson craving a marriage certificate, was both frustrating and amusing.

This feeling vaguely reminded her of when she was a child, and the scene of carrying a big certificate home after finishing her final exams.

She had just put her things down when she suddenly smelled a caramel aroma, as if it were coming from the direction of the kitchen.

"Oops!"

Lan Yujuan quickly took the spatula from her mother and rushed into the kitchen.

A braised pork rib dish that was reducing its sauce has been transformed into a caramel-scented "black-braised pork rib".

Fortunately, Lan Yujuan reacted quickly, preventing the food from burning, and the little one ate it with relish at dinner.

After dinner, Lan Yujuan lay down on the sofa, took out her phone, and started reading a novel, not wanting to move at all.

The little guy carried his little backpack and went into the study after dinner; I don't know what he was busy with.

"Oh dear, it's almost eight o'clock!"

After finishing her chores in the kitchen, Lan's mother made Lan's father a cup of hot tea and then sat down next to Lan Yujuan.

"Take advantage of the fact that there are many people taking a walk outside now, you should hurry home!" Mother Lan gently nudged her daughter and said softly.

"If it gets any later, it might not be safe for you two to walk home."

Lan Yujuan rolled over, continuing to read her novel while mumbling:

"It's alright."

"Then let's not go back, we'll stay here!"

Mother Lan was taken aback for a moment, then immediately objected:

"That won't do!"

"Xiaoman can stay at her grandma's house. I'll take her to school tomorrow."

"You're married now, how come you're still living at your parents' house?"

"Listen to me, pack your things and go home right away!"

Lan Yujuan was exhausted and lay on the sofa with her eyes closed, acting like a spoiled child.

"Mom, I'm so sleepy!"

"Chen Mo and I only got our marriage certificate; everything else is the same as before. Why can't we live at home?"

"Besides, Chen Mo is working overtime today, and he probably won't be able to go home until late at night."

Lan's mother wouldn't listen at all, urging him on while chanting scriptures.

Hearing that Chen Mo had to work overtime and wouldn't be home until late at night, he immediately said:

"That's perfect. I'll go to the kitchen and get some food to go; you can take it home on your way."

"If I get hungry in the middle of the night, I can just heat it up and eat it."

"I'm going to the kitchen now, you get up and tidy up!"

Having no other choice, Lan Yujuan could only sigh and struggle to get up from the sofa, preparing to pack up and go home.

The little guy in the study, upon hearing that he was going home, came out with his little schoolbag on his back.

"Mom, I want to go home with you too, and we'll come back tomorrow."

After the little guy came out of the study, he kept his hands on his schoolbag and looked serious. I wonder what treasure he put in his schoolbag.

Lan Yujuan glanced at him a few more times and noticed that the little guy was acting strangely, so she stopped and said:

"Going home with Mom is fine."

"But you have to tell Mom first what you were putting in your schoolbag while you were fiddling around in the study."

The little guy didn't speak, but pressed his backpack and hid behind his mother, shaking his head softly:

"It's nothing."

"The things in my backpack are all my own."

Lan Yujuan was initially only suspicious, but now that she saw the little guy becoming more and more evasive, she became more and more certain.