Now it was just You Pei and Hu Lijuan left. For a moment, they stood in awkward silence for a few minutes.

Finally, Hu Lijuan spoke up, "It’s getting late, I should head back."

You Pei made a sound of acknowledgment, quickly put down the water cup in his hand, checked his watch, and promptly stood up, "Let’s go, I’ll take you back."

In fact, when You Pei wasn’t speaking earlier, he was observing Hu Lijuan, evaluating what kind of person she was and whether she was suitable or not.

But with the two of them not speaking, it was impossible to understand someone through conversation.

You Pei always believed that when looking for a partner, it’s best to find someone you already know, so you can be sure of her character and compatibility with yourself.

Over the years, there had been only one girl around him who caught his attention. So currently, he didn’t have suitable prospects for reference.

"As a lawyer, are you usually very busy?" On the car ride, You Pei took the initiative to chat with Hu Lijuan.

Hu Lijuan smiled generously and said, "Not necessarily. When there’s a case, I’m busy; when there’s no case, it’s quite leisurely. The law firm I’m at mainly deals with cases involving government departments, so the shortest a case takes could be a month or two."

"Is that so? I don’t quite understand this. What type of cases do you like to handle?" You Pei drove slowly.

"I am now a practicing lawyer, able to take on and charge for cases externally, but I’m personally skilled in civil cases," Hu Lijuan replied with a smile.

"You’re impressive. I used to be with Han Yi and Lin Wan and never noticed they had siblings." He found out just chatting with Lin Wan that Han Yi also had a brother and a sister.

In recent years, he had learned a bit about Han Yi’s family, knowing he was a bastard of the Mei Family, but hadn’t specifically looked into his mom’s side. He only knew his mom had remarried.

Originally, he thought Han Yi wasn’t close to either side, but it turned out he got along quite well with the two siblings on his mom’s side.

You Pei complimented Hu Lijuan, making her almost jump with joy.

She realized that, spending time with You Pei alone like this, he really knew how to sweet-talk people.

"You should know about today’s events, right? They were matchmaking us. Personally, as someone in the army, sometimes I’m too busy to come home for months. And over the years, there’s always been a girl in my heart. Your brother and sister-in-law know about this. But that’s all in the past. Now I’m not getting any younger and want to find a suitable person to marry. I don’t need my partner to be too busy; I want her to be by my side. I don’t want one of us to be busy while the other is nowhere to be seen. Of course, you can have your own career, I’m just saying... as long as you’re not too busy. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hu Lijuan turned to look at him, nodded with a smile, "You mean, as long as I don’t dwell too much on your past or take months to come home, we can give it a try? Or are you trying to relocate me to the Capital City?"

You Pei suddenly let out a hearty laugh, "If you agree, I have a way."

Hu Lijuan shyly lowered her head. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

They really had a unique way of speaking.

You Pei dropped Hu Lijuan off at the compound but didn’t go up to find Han Yi. Instead, he said he’d come by tomorrow.

Hu Lijuan nodded at him, didn’t say much, and went upstairs. Upstairs, Dingding was already asleep. Half an hour ago, Han Yi had also received a call from Lin Wan, knowing that You Pei would be bringing Lijuan back.

He had been watching by the window the whole time. He hadn’t thought to introduce Lijuan to You Pei. For years, they’d been helping You Pei find a partner nearby, never thinking about outside Z City. In his view, Lijuan was supposed to develop and settle in S City. Never had he thought she might one day leave S City and settle elsewhere.

Now he was in Z City, while Hu Dong was in Shanghai. If You Pei became interested in Lijuan, then Lijuan would follow him to the Capital City. By then, only his mom and Uncle Hu would be left in S City. As they age, how could they, as children, feel at ease?

But this wasn’t something for him to worry about; he knew You Pei wouldn’t be interested in Lijuan. No matter how pretty or excellent Lijuan became.

Once there’s someone in a person’s heart, it’s hard to fit another. He couldn’t bring himself to care about anyone else.

However, this time Han Yi was wrong, as You Pei had made up his mind before meeting Hu Lijuan, ready for his new life.

The appearance of Hu Lijuan was precisely the starting point for him to begin a new Chapter. He wanted to give it a shot.

And coincidentally, Hu Lijuan was also interested in You Pei.

Han Yi had intended to talk to Hu Lijuan about her work in S City today, and I even took time out to call Lawyer Xu and brief him on Lijuan’s situation.

After understanding the situation, Lawyer Xu told Han Yi to let Hu Lijuan take some rest; he would handle the matter, and there were new developments in the case that required more negotiation.

When Hu Lijuan got home, she was startled to find her brother in the living room, "Brother, you’re still up?"

"Yes, waiting for you. How did it go?"

Han Yi’s question left Hu Lijuan momentarily speechless, and when she came around, her face blushed red.

Han Yi didn’t need her to answer; he could see the result, and continued to ask, "Don’t you have tickets for tomorrow?"

"Ah... well... brother, can I spend the New Year at your place this year?"

"Your sister-in-law just called me, saying you have something urgent to attend to back home?"

"Oh... I... I forgot about that," Hu Lijuan said with some regret. She had just started to have feelings for You Pei, and his intention earlier was clearly to see where things could go. She thought, since You Pei was in Z City, during the New Year’s visit, they could spend more time together to see if they were compatible.

Now, thinking about her work, her face immediately took on a look of worry.

Seeing her like this, Han Yi lowered his head, clenched his fists, and covered his mouth to hide a smile, then stopped teasing her and pointed to the sofa, "Sit, I have something to tell you."