"We’ve arrived home."

Li Peifeng remembers the last time he returned home was during the summer vacation. Now, after more than half a year, facing the familiar layout and furniture of his house again, he felt somewhat reassured and grounded, even though he didn’t know what kind of scene awaited him.

"Why is there no one in the living room?"

"Should we go in?"

Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning hesitated, peeking from behind Li Peifeng, curiously observing the situation inside the house.

"Let’s go, don’t be nervous, I’ve got this."

Li Peifeng comforted them, taking the lead to step into the hallway.

Before heading upstairs, he used [Hearts Aligned] to feel the emotions of his parents and Zhao Qingge, roughly guessing what the three had talked about, to avoid being caught unprepared.

The situation was more or less as Li Peifeng expected. Zhao Qingge hadn’t revealed everything to his parents but did mention Huang Tianxuan. Although it was tricky, the situation hadn’t reached the worst-case scenario. After careful consideration, he decided to bring Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning upstairs.

After all, avoiding it for now wouldn’t solve it forever. Better to face it head-on: there’s a Chinese saying that means "better pull the band-aid off quickly". Eighteen years later, I’ll be a hero once more!

The cycle of life and death never ends!

Li Peifeng was ready for whatever came his way.

"My palms are sweating."

"I’m a little nervous too. It was already weird, and Zhao Qingge added to the chaos... Xiaofeng, do you think she would openly tell your parents about your situation?"

"No way. Come on in; I’ll handle everything."

The commotion outside wasn’t quiet, and in the kitchen, Li Qiyuan faintly heard voices in the living room. Placing a freshly prepared dish on the table, he said with a faint smile, "You’re back? Welcome, welcome."

Li Peifeng didn’t say anything, as the two girls stepped out from behind him and politely greeted him.

"Hello, uncle~"

Hearing these respectful greetings, Li Qiyuan’s smile froze in place as he awkwardly put down the dish and waved them over, saying, "Come, have a seat. Just put the stuff by the sofa. There are fruits on the coffee table. I’ll pour you two some water. One more dish, and we can eat."

This wasn’t the first time Li Qiyuan met Xu and Wu. He had seen them many times before, but this time they seemed particularly foreign to him...

What a mess!

Inside, Li Qiyuan sighed deeply and returned to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water for Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning.

"Thank you, uncle."

"Sorry for the trouble."

"It’s no trouble for me, but you all went to some expense."

Li Qiyuan glanced at the gift bags on the ground. Through Li Peifeng, he already knew what the two girls had bought for him and his wife. They were expensive luxury items and costly liquor. The one thousand yuan gift was definitely not enough, so he had specially asked Yu Huizhi to take more money and prepare two extra-large red envelopes...

What a mess!!

Li Qiyuan couldn’t help but give Li Peifeng a glare, his tone quite harsh: "And you? Did you return home empty-handed for the New Year?"

"Them." Li Peifeng pointed at the two beautiful and well-mannered women, humbly saying, "Aren’t two enough? I can bring more next time."

"Get out!"

Li Qiyuan suppressed his anger: "Did you know your mentor came for a home visit? All your nonsense..."

Li Peifeng nodded: "Yes, yes, I saw her car downstairs."

"And you still joke about it? Do you know how serious this is?"

"Very serious, very serious. Please stop; if you keep going, I’ll get crushed."

After replying, Li Peifeng ignored Old Li’s attempts to continue the conversation, heading towards the stairs in the corner of the living room. Just as he was about to look up and go upstairs, he saw Yu Huizhi coming down.

"You’re here?"

Yu Huizhi smiled as she walked towards the sofa, not even glancing at Li Peifeng. After passing by her son without a glance, she sat down next to the two girls, warmly inquiring, "Is it cold outside? Did you have breakfast? Was the highway smooth?"

Zhao Qingge slowly descended the stairs, glancing at the sight of Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning in the living room, then at Li Peifeng, smiling lightly: "Is this your first home visit?"

Li Peifeng nodded, "First and probably the last."

"That might not be the case," Zhao Qingge seriously said. "If you continue to do as you please next semester, I won’t just come a second time, but a third, and fourth..."

Li Peifeng frowned slightly: "Next time you come, you won’t be visiting as my mentor! Maybe, this time, you’re not even..."

Zhao Qingge narrowed her eyes but said nothing as Li Qiyuan approached and motioned for Li Peifeng, "Go set the table, get ready for dinner."

The meal was lavish, the atmosphere cheerful yet tinged with awkwardness. Li Qiyuan and Yu Huizhi completely ignored their son, focusing instead on chatting with Xu Manning and Wu Wenyue, discussing their studies, career progress, and future plans, among other things.

The Li couple avoided bringing up marriage, knowing it was inappropriate given the three’s current relationship. Not to mention, besides Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning, there was also Huang Tianxuan.

What a mess!

Thinking about this, Li Qiyuan and Yu Huizhi didn’t even want to look at Li Peifeng, contemplating even sending their son out.

Where did this stranger come from, daring to eat at our table?

Eating one bowl and then a second, and then a third? Are you some sort of reincarnated glutton?

It was the first time Li Peifeng saw such disapproving looks from his parents. He felt a little uncomfortable but could only eat in silence. There was no helping it; after tweaking his digestive and immune systems, his appetite increased significantly.