Huo Jingyuan sat in the driver’s seat.

When Xue Li saw Wen Ci open the door, he ducked his head and coughed. Immediately, the young men standing behind him shouted in unison, "Hello, sir!"

"Hello..." Wen Ci blinked.

Xue Li could see his confusion and quickly explained, "We’re here to help."

Realization dawned on Wen Ci. He opened the main gate all the way, went back inside to boil some water, and glanced at the clock in the living room. It was already almost five o’clock.

It was almost time for dinner.

Huo Jingyuan carried a wooden plank into the yard.

Wen Ci took small, quick steps toward Huo Jingyuan and waved. Once he was close, he said, "Since you had your subordinates come help, are you going to show off your skills tonight?"

The man’s expression darkened slightly.

His cooking was reserved for his husband, and he had no intention of letting his subordinates have a taste.

"I’ll go get some food from the mess hall later."

"Wouldn’t that be a little rude?"

Huo Jingyuan lifted his gaze. "What’s rude about it?"

The wooden planks for the pavilion were designed for easy assembly. Huo Jingyuan had specifically bought spray paint, feeling that a pavilion with a natural wood finish would look a bit strange.

While working, Xue Li asked, "Sir, can we stay and watch TV tonight?"

Wen Ci gave him a gentle smile. "Of course, you can."

Working together, it only took the group an hour to assemble the pavilion. They also used crushed stones to lay a path leading to it.

Finally, Huo Jingyuan sprayed the pavilion with a pearwood-colored stain before coating it inside and out with a protective sealant. The yard renovation was only about halfway done.

Wen Ci looked at the new pavilion in the yard, extremely satisfied.

-

Meanwhile, in a courtyard compound in Beijing, at the Jiang Family residence.

Jiang Ye had locked herself in her room. Curled into a ball on her bed, she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in three days, surviving only on the few snacks left in her room.

Having been reborn, she was penniless.

Her only option was to use a hunger strike to force them to agree.

Suddenly, Jiang Ye heard a noise outside her window. She rolled over in bed to look, and a figure appeared outside.

Jiang Chen climbed onto the second-floor balcony, opened the window, and vaulted into the room. He walked to the bedside and sighed softly. "Ye Zi, did you really have to go on a hunger strike for three days?"

Jiang Ye hid under the covers without a word.

"Have you really thought this through? You really want to go to the Northwest?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ye’s head popped out from under the covers. Her face was pale and her eyes were filled with tears. She sniffled and said, "I’m serious, brother."

"Sigh." Jiang Chen heaved a long sigh. Over the past few days, he had also had time to think things through. When Jiang Ye set her mind on something, she would find a way to do it, no matter what.

Rather than stop her, it would be better to let her go to the Northwest and learn the hard way.

Jiang Chen took out several hundred yuan from his bag and instructed her in an exceptionally serious tone, "I asked a comrade-in-arms to find you a teaching job in the Northwest Military Region. If you find it too hard there, then come back, study, and take the college entrance exams again."

"Brother, you’ll let me go to the Northwest?!"

The words had barely left her mouth when Jiang Ye threw off the covers and grabbed Jiang Chen’s arm, her voice filled with irrepressible joy. "Brother, do Mom and Dad know?"

"They don’t, so you’ll have to sneak out. That high school boyfriend of yours is still waiting for you at the compound gate."

The Beijing family compound was a restricted government area, and non-military family members were forbidden from entering freely. Without anyone to bring him in, Gu Che could only wait at the gate.

Jiang Ye was speechless.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Ye made up her mind. ’Sneaking out it is, then. It’s not like I’m the Jiang Family’s biological daughter anyway. Once I break up Wen Ci and Huo Jingyuan, my life will be far better than it is with the Jiang Family.’

Jiang Ye took the money from her brother and started packing her suitcase to catch the train to Sea City tonight. As for Gu Che, she had no intention of seeing him again.