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

Finally, after discussing it, the young couple decided to take advantage of the weekend to go back to Xiahe Village.

Early Saturday morning, the family of three landed in the provincial capital by plane and then took a taxi back to their county.

Finally, we checked into the best five-star hotel in the county.

Just as Lan Yujuan finished tidying up and was about to lie down, her phone rang.

She picked up her phone and saw that it was a message from Lan Qingqing:

"Sis, have you arrived at the hotel yet?"

Lan Yujuan glanced at the time; it wasn't even 1 a.m. yet, so it seemed Lan Qingqing was still awake.

She thought about it for a moment and then immediately returned the call.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

"Hey? Sis, have you arrived at the hotel yet?" Lan Qingqing asked loudly over the phone.

Lan Yujuan was startled and quickly moved her phone away, rubbing her ears.

Even through the internet, she could hear from the phone that the background noise on Lan Qingqing's end was loud, and the sound from the speakers in the distance was deafening.

She gave Chen Mo a look, then quickly took her phone to the balcony and closed the balcony door behind her.

"We've arrived, checked in, and everything's fine!"

"Qingqing, where are you so late?" Lan Yujuan asked curiously.

"A bar!" Lan Qingqing laughed heartily.

He sounded quite happy, like he'd been drinking.

Lan Yujuan was somewhat worried and asked with concern:

"Why did you suddenly decide to go to a bar?"

"Are you alone tonight, or did you go with friends?"

"It's so late, why aren't you home yet?"

Lan Qingqing, who was opposite her, just yawned, then replied with a smile:

"Sis, don't worry, I came with Brother Feng!"

"This is his friend's bar, which just opened today. They invited him to sing there and gave him a lot of cash vouchers."

"He asked me if I was coming. These cash vouchers can be used to buy late-night snacks, fruit platters, and drinks, but they expire after that."

"I figured I might as well come, since Brother Feng is looking after me, so I came along."

Lan Yujuan listened, feeling both heartbroken and wanting to laugh.

According to Lan Qingqing's normal schedule, she gets off work at 7 pm, starts studying at 9 pm, and falls asleep before 11 pm.

It's truly rare to see someone staying up all night at a bar, like today, almost 1 a.m.

In particular, people go to bars to relax and have fun.

People like Lan Qingqing, who are purely trying to recoup their money from the cash coupons, are even rarer.

Hearing that she had gone with Lin Feng, Lan Yujuan felt much more at ease.

"Okay, then take care of yourself."

"It's so late, remember to have Lin Feng take you home."

On the other end of the phone, Lan Qingqing laughed heartily:

"Don't worry, sis!"

"Oh, right, I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish it all by myself, so I called my master and his sister over too."

"My master's sister invited a few more classmates, making a whole table full of people; it was so lively!"

Lan Yujuan smiled and nodded, "Yes, since there are so many of you, have fun!"

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Hearing her prepare to hang up, Lan Qingqing on the other end of the line suddenly remembered her important matter and quickly said:

"Sis, wait a minute!"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you."

"During the day, that guy surnamed Liu came to the coffee shop again."

"He even threatened that if you don't take Xiaoman home with him to see your grandmother one last time, he will come to the store every day to wait for you until you agree."

"Sister, since you're all preparing to go back to Xiahe Village, should I inform that guy surnamed Liu beforehand?"

"To stop him from coming to the store and bothering me every day, I get annoyed just seeing him."

Lan Yujuan thought for a moment and said seriously:

"Don't worry about him for the next couple of days. As long as he orders and makes purchases normally, just treat him like a normal customer."

"If he wasn't lying to me on the phone, then he probably won't stay in Shonan for more than a few days before he leaves."

"Even if I go back to Xiahe Village, I don't want to run into him. It would be best to avoid him."

After listening, Lan Qingqing replied in a muffled voice, "Okay, I understand!"

"I'll tolerate him for two more days, since he paid the bill normally!"

"If he dares to come knocking on your door again after you return from out of town, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Lan Yujuan couldn't help but chuckle. Even though she was thousands of miles away, she could imagine Lan Qingqing's adorable appearance as she clenched her fist and made those fierce remarks.

"Oh, by the way, let me ask you a question." Lan Yujuan suddenly remembered something else.

"You seem to be getting quite close to Lin Feng lately?"

The question had barely left his mouth when the other end suddenly fell silent.

Lan Yujuan could even hear Lin Feng playing guitar and singing in the distance, through the noise and deafening sound.

"Qingqing?" Lan Yujuan asked uncertainly, "Are you still listening?"

She almost suspected that the internet connection at the bar across the street was bad, and that Lan Qingqing hadn't heard her question.

Just as she was about to give up, hang up the phone, and wait until she got home to talk about it, Lan Qingqing unexpectedly spoke up, stammering.

"Sis, um, my lease on the apartment I was renting expired. So, I moved to a different place."

In that instant, something flashed through Lan Yujuan's mind, but she didn't have time to grasp it.

"Oh, and then? So where have you moved to now?"

"Are you renting a place alone, or sharing with others? Do you have enough money?"

Normally speaking, finding a new place to rent out is not a simple matter.

First of all, the deposit of one month's rent plus three months' rent in advance is a considerable expense.

In addition, moving is a hassle; not only do you have to throw away some things, but you also have to buy new ones, which costs money everywhere.

Lan Yujuan encountered a similar situation when she was renting an apartment in Beijing after graduating from university.

Fortunately, her parents were there to support her back then, so she wasn't in a particularly bad situation when her income was still unstable.

However, Lan Qingqing's next few words froze her in place.

"Sister, no need, I have enough money."

"I, I moved to Feng's place and now I'm sharing an apartment with him."

"Although he lives in the suburbs, the house he rents is big enough; it's a duplex."

"Besides the kitchen, he turned the rest of the downstairs space into a studio."

"There are three rooms upstairs. He occupies one, there is a study, and the remaining room is empty."

"Then, he rented me the empty room upstairs..."

Now it was Lan Yujuan's turn to fall silent.

She considered many possibilities, including but not limited to the possibility that Lin Feng had fallen in love with her silly cousin.

But to her utter surprise, these two people ended up renting the same place together!

Lan Yujuan took a deep breath, remained silent for a while, and then asked tactfully:

"Are you two just roommates at this stage?"

Her words were like lighting a firecracker fuse, instantly igniting Lan Qingqing on the other side.

"Of course!"

"My relationship with Feng is purely that of roommates and colleagues; there's absolutely nothing more involved."

"Sis, you should understand me. Right now, all I want to do is make money and build my career. I'm absolutely not interested in men!"

"You know, I've been working for several years now."

"If I don't achieve something soon, my family will be calling me back home for arranged marriages!"

"Men are realistic, and so am I."

"I've seen the world, why would I be willing to go back to the countryside to get married and have children?"

"I myself don't want to go back to the countryside, so what man would be willing to marry me, support my family, or go back to the countryside with me to suffer?"

"Just like my master told me, I have no academic qualifications, no background, and no skills right now."

"If any man is interested in me, it's definitely because of my young and beautiful appearance."

"Instead of wasting time and relying on others, it's better to accumulate experience while you're young so that you can take control of your own destiny in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lan Yujuan began to genuinely admire Qi Lei.

"Yes, your master is right!"

"While I'm away from the shop for the next couple of days, listen carefully to your master."

The two sisters chatted briefly for a few more minutes before ending the call.

Lan Yujuan gently pushed open the balcony door and returned to the bedroom. Chen Mo was leaning against the headboard of the children's bed, working on his laptop.

His daughter lay quietly beside him, fast asleep.

"Finished talking?" Chen Mo looked up at her and asked gently.

Seeing her return to the room, he immediately closed his notebook, tucked his daughter in, and carefully got up.

After putting his laptop away, he took Lan Yujuan's phone and helped her charge it.

Lan Yujuan stretched, lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and murmured:

"Tomorrow is Saturday, it's Brother Li's mother's birthday party."

"Honey, let's get up early tomorrow and go shopping at the mall in the morning. We haven't prepared a gift yet..."

After Chen Mo finished tidying up, he quietly turned off the light, got into bed, and then hugged her from behind.

"Okay, go to sleep."

"I'll wake you up tomorrow morning when I wake up."