Ren Jun drove into the residential complex called "Brocade Garden."

"Oh, they redid the exterior walls?" he remarked with a hint of surprise.

Xue Rui was curious, too. He hadn’t been back to see this old apartment since elementary school.

He followed his memory to the apartment door and fished out the key from under a flowerpot.

"Can’t believe it hasn’t been stolen, leaving it in a place like this."

Xue Rui was speechless. ’Maybe this place just isn’t worth robbing,’ he thought.

Lin Ruoxi was clearly a little nervous, constantly sizing up her surroundings.

With a CLICK, the door swung open, revealing floors and furniture coated in a thick layer of dust.

"COUGH COUGH!" Xue Rui tripped on some clutter on the floor as he walked in, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He pinched his nose and went inside.

It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. The master bedroom had a double bed, and the second bedroom had a bunk bed, which he used to share with his sister.

He slept on the top bunk, of course.

A certificate Xue Rui had won in kindergarten was still hanging on the wall.

"How embarrassing." Xue Rui casually tore it down.

An award that everyone gets isn’t worth displaying.

He didn’t touch his sister Xue Yao’s certificates, though.

Because Xue Rui had to admit, his sister’s awards actually had some prestige.

"Brings back memories," Ren Jun said wistfully. He had lived here for a while during high school.

"What’s there to be nostalgic about?" Xue Rui’s eyes narrowed as he asked, "Did you ever bring any girls back here?"

Ren Jun rubbed his nose, averted his gaze, and said loudly, "Of course not! Am I that kind of person?"

"Whatever, I don’t care anyway." Xue Rui waved his hand, signaling for Ren Jun to go down and move their things.

Lin Ruoxi had very little luggage. The heaviest items were the rice, flour, and cooking oil he had bought... and now they’d been moved here.

There were originally over ten cartons of cigarettes in the trunk, but now only four were left, along with two bottles of liquor. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Xue Rui winced. ’Since most of them are gone already, might as well just take the rest,’ he thought.

He and Ren Jun exchanged a look and saw the same idea reflected in each other’s eyes.

"Fifty-fifty," they said in unison.

"You move it. I have to return this suit," Ren Jun said, making an excuse.

In the end, Xue Rui, huffing and puffing like a donkey, hauled everything from the trunk upstairs. Da Huang was a good boy, too, trotting upstairs with a washbasin in his mouth.

Lin Ruoxi was cleaning the apartment, which was a mess of swirling dust.

"I’ll put the stuff here. I’ve got something to do, so I’m leaving. You can clean up yourself." Xue Rui put the things down and turned to leave.

He had no intention of helping Lin Ruoxi. He’d be willing to help with other things, but the dust here was just too much. Even if he could take advantage of the situation a little, he wasn’t in the mood.

"Um... how much is the rent? I’ll pay you," Lin Ruoxi said, grabbing the corner of Xue Rui’s shirt.

She was afraid he would run off and never mention the rent again.

"No rush on that. I’m going to leave some money here with you." Something suddenly occurred to Xue Rui.

He still had fifty thousand yuan in cash, plus the cigarettes and liquor he’d swiped. He put it all in a cabinet in the second bedroom.

"Bank cards have restrictions if you’re under eighteen," Xue Rui muttered.

When they passed a bank earlier, Lin Ruoxi had deposited all her money into a passbook. Xue Rui had only asked a few questions and was told that cards for minors had many restrictions.

Since that was the case, he figured he might as well not deposit it.

Xue Rui didn’t linger and headed straight for the complex’s property management office.

"So much to do," Xue Rui sighed.

First, he had the management office turn on the water and electricity and paid some of the fees. Then, he hired a cleaning service to come to the apartment, paying them in advance.

He wasn’t going to help clean, but he could at least hire someone who would.

If he didn’t pay in advance, Lin Ruoxi would probably try to foolishly clean the old apartment all by herself, and who knew how long that would take.

"So thoughtful." It wasn’t the first time Ren Jun had been surprised by Xue Rui.

"Let’s go to my place."

Xue Rui wiped the sweat from his brow. By the time he’d finished dealing with all the miscellaneous tasks, it was getting dark.

"I’m staying at your place tonight," Ren Jun said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Five hundred a day," Xue Rui said gravely.

"What?! That’s so expensive!"

"Take it or leave it." Xue Rui crossed his arms.

What was Ren Jun scheming? As if Xue Rui didn’t know.

Xue Xiaying hadn’t been out of college for long, so there was no way she could afford a house. She didn’t have a boyfriend right now, and his family’s home was in a convenient location, so she was staying with them for the time being.

’Let me think...’ Xue Rui began to ponder.

’So much has changed in this life. I just sent Ren Jun to run an errand, but I didn’t expect him to run into my aunt.’

’Based on how things went in my past life, Xue Xiaying will move out before the end of the year to live with that scumbag.’

"Uncle, you’d better step up your game. A gym teacher from my school is chasing my aunt. If you don’t make a move soon, it’ll be too late," Xue Rui said.

"You’re rooting for us? I knew it! You really are my dear nephew!" Ren Jun said, surprised.

Xue Rui sneered. ’Rooting for Ren Jun?’

’Wrong. It’s all about comparison. Compared to that scumbag who cheated on her repeatedly after they got married, Ren Jun is clearly a major step up.’

’At the very least, Ren Jun’s relationships always have a proper beginning and end.’

To this day, Xue Rui could still remember the sight of that scumbag kneeling before his aunt, begging for forgiveness, only to commit the same offense again a few months later...

Filled with anticipation, Ren Jun pressed a little harder on the gas pedal.

Soon, the two arrived at Xue Rui’s home.

It was a three-story villa with a small, open-air swimming pool by the entrance.

However, no one in his family knew how to swim.

This was the first time Xue Rui would see his parents since his rebirth. Was he feeling expectant? Nostalgic?

Neither, really. Even before his rebirth, his parents hadn’t even reached fifty.

This was 2012. His parents were the same age, only about thirty-six right now.

It suddenly occurred to Xue Rui—he was born when his old man was just twenty?

’That animal!’ Xue Rui couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

’No wonder Mom’s always nagging me to get married. Their whole life is on fast-forward.’

Xue Rui walked into the living room. Ren Qunfang was wearing a face mask and shot the two of them a hostile glare before casually peeling it off.

Even though Ren Qunfang was entering middle age, she had maintained herself well. There wasn’t a single wrinkle at the corners of her eyes. While her skin wasn’t as firm as a young girl’s, it had a smooth, jade-like quality that made it look very healthy.

Seeing her son return, Ren Qunfang’s almond-shaped eyes lifted slightly, blossoming like peach flowers. Her delicate red lips curved into a slight pout, revealing a hint of girlish playfulness amidst her mature and graceful demeanor.

"Where have you been messing around?" Ren Qunfang caught sight of Ren Jun out of the corner of her eye, and the corners of her own eyes suddenly drooped.

One was her son, the other her younger brother, and they were two peas in a pod.

When these two were together, Ren Qunfang was never in a good mood.

"Mom, I was out helping women and the elderly," Xue Rui said with a smile.

"Sis, I can vouch for him. It’s true," Ren Jun said with a solemn face.

"Get lost! Look at you, all dressed up like you’re selling insurance." Ren Qunfang tore open another face mask and mumbled, "If you haven’t eaten, have Aunt Wang make something."

’We really are family...’

Ren Jun’s eye twitched. He thought he looked pretty sharp in a suit, but it turned out both his nephew and his sister thought he looked like an insurance salesman.

"Mom, you’re getting more beautiful every day," Xue Rui complimented.

He was telling the truth. His mother’s looks could definitely hold their own even when compared to girls in their twenties.

As Xue Rui said this, his expression suddenly stiffened.

He remembered something terrifying: when his mother was young, she looked a lot like Gu Muxue...