Lin Wan felt it was a bit too fast when she heard Hu Lijuan say that.

In less than half a month, Han Yi had come to terms with it and was now advising her, "If they’ve made up their minds, let them get married. Think about us back then, we had only met a few times before we started talking about marriage. They’ve at least spent some time together now."

"Yeah, back then, I was hiding it from my family. At least now, both of them are aware of this... Let’s not worry about them, they’re adults and can make their own decisions. But it’s Little Star I’m concerned about; apart from a call to say she arrived safely, she only called on New Year’s Eve. It’s been a week now, and she hasn’t called."

"You weren’t worried at all when she left. Now that she’s over there, you’re restless every day?"

"The child has never been away from me for so long; I’m just not used to it. School starts after the sixteenth. Little Star should be coming back."

"Call her tomorrow. Let’s sleep, we need to send off Lijuan and You Pei tomorrow."

"Mm."

The next morning, the two got up early to send off Lijuan and You Pei, and after returning, they made a call to Little Star. It turned out Chen Haichang said she went out with a sister to sketch and wasn’t home.

She’s supposed to return in two days. Considering the dates, she’ll be back just in time for school.

Lin Wan didn’t rush her, as long as she’s happy over there.

...

"When are you coming back? You didn’t come back for the New Year either, it’s been so long, how many times have you returned?"

"I’ll be back after a while, Mom. Just take care of yourselves; I’m doing fine here. You wanted to tear down the old house, so just do it, rebuild it. It’s not like we’re lacking money."

The call was from Xie Lingzhi to her son. Mei Langchi, along with Li Xiao’ai, had moved to a new big city for development. Having just started here, he was quite busy. Though he called home regularly, it had been over a year without returning.

Xie Lingzhi didn’t understand why her son went so far away. At home, Old Mrs. Mei was sick, often bedridden. With her son gone, she wasn’t working with the company and thus found herself idle at home, with nothing to do.

The home was extremely quiet now. This New Year, her son didn’t return, and Mei Shuping was occupied with activities in the military base, leaving only her, Old Mrs. Mei, and the maid at home. There was hardly anyone to talk to, making life even quieter.

Speaking of the old house, truly, ever since moving into the new house, their family had seen smoother times: her husband got promoted, her son’s business was successful, and there were fewer concerns at home. The old house really needed to be torn down and rebuilt.

Now people have newly built small buildings that are quite beautiful, although they cost a lot.

With no one living in the old house, she planned to build something simple.

Her son was supportive of building a new house. Since she was idle at home, she decided to hire someone to build a new house.

With something to do now, Xie Lingzhi stopped focusing on her son. Mei Langchi was doing well, living comfortably, having both a career and a wife. Looking back, it felt like a bad dream; now, he just wanted to distance himself from those people and live his own life.

.....

When Little Star returned, it was Chen Haichang’s assistant who brought her back. Chen Haichang had been busy lately, pursuing someone, as Little Star mentioned upon returning. But she didn’t know who, only that it was a woman with a child.

"Your third uncle fell for someone?"

Little Star shook her head, "I don’t know. But once I overheard the assistant saying that my third uncle asked the woman’s child to call him dad."

Lin Wan laughed lightly; that really was his style. It seemed like just gossip to listen to from her daughter, not to be taken seriously.

In a flash, May arrived, and Lin Wan’s factory had just gotten on track. Now she supplied goods to some nearby clients. Though production wasn’t large-scale, a few recent business deals involved substantial orders for uniforms.

One order included seasonal uniforms for a school, requiring a design proposal. Lin Wan had been busy preparing the school’s proposal these past few days. This order included both design and supply, bringing in about forty to fifty thousand dollars. In future, their factory would handle all of the school’s uniforms. If they secured a few more such orders, the factory’s basic expenses would be covered.

These days, Lin Wan had been working nine to five, not exceptionally busy, maintaining a relatively regular work schedule.

.."Why suddenly a business trip? You’ve barely traveled over the years."

As soon as Lin Wan arrived home today, Han Yi mentioned he had to go on a business trip to the Capital City.

"There’s a meeting I need to attend. I’ll be back in four or five days." Han Yi pulled Lin Wan into their room and whispered, "Also, the Mei Family called—Old Mrs. Mei is hospitalized, they want us to return. I’m considering going alone since we can’t leave the kids unattended."

"Hospitalized? Is it serious?"

"They didn’t say, but asking everyone to return now suggests it might be serious. Junzi and his wife have already gone back," Han Yi said, packing a few clothes.

"Really... then you probably won’t be back in four or five days." Seeing he only packed military uniforms, Lin Wan quickly prepared several sets of casual clothes for him.

"We’ll see. If I can’t return in four or five days, I’ll call you. You’ll be alone at home with the two kids, try not to come back too late."

"Got it, I don’t have much going on these days. I’ll be home. Dingding has been having a bit of a runny nose lately, so it’s a good time to take him for a check-up."

"Hmm, okay."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning’s train."

"That’s really quick. How come you didn’t mention going on a business trip earlier?"

Han Yi chuckled, hugging Lin Wan, "The meeting was a last-minute decision from above. Are you reluctant to see me go?"

"Hmm... I’m constantly busy with our two kids. I’d love to go out and about with you." Lin Wan wasn’t being pretentious; she naturally wrapped her arms around Han Yi’s waist, resting her head on his shoulder and giving him a light kiss on the chin. Though they’re an old couple now, she started acting playful, which worked like a charm on Han Yi.

Han Yi was especially taken by Lin Wan’s antics, "When I get back, the kids will soon be on summer break. Then, we’ll send them to S City, and when we return, wherever you want to go, I’ll take you."

"You better not go back on your word."

"Have I ever not honored my promises to you? But... for today, can you satisfy me first? I’ll be gone for several days."

Lin Wan gave him a teasing look and laughed, "Then go lull your son to sleep. I’ll be waiting for you in the room, okay?"

Han Yi, hearing her, laughed agreeably. Whenever they wanted to do something, the mandatory step was always getting the kids settled first. Han Yi had often been troubled by having kids too early, missing out on quite a few things...

With Han Yi going on a business trip, the happiest one was Dingding. Without Dad around, he wouldn’t have to be "suffering" under his watchful eye. So early morning, he sweet-talked Han Yi onto the car.

As soon as Han Yi left, Dingding even went to school excitedly.

Lin Wan didn’t go to work today; she tidied up the house, did laundry, and spent a busy morning.

In the afternoon, she received a call from Wang Leqin, announcing her pregnancy with congratulations.

"That’s pretty fast indeed," Lin Wan teased on the phone.

"Yang Wei is getting older, and I’m not young either. We need to hurry and have a child. My mom said once the baby is born, she won’t let me raise it, so we can focus on our own things while she helps out."

"Oh, that’s great, having parents to help. Two kids within two years wouldn’t be an issue."

"I don’t want to have two. Women lose their shape after having kids, and one is enough trouble."

Lin Wan chuckled at Wang Leqin’s words, knowing she would say that. But Leqin was only two months in, already saying she was experiencing a lot of symptoms, and she’d been resting at home lately. Lin Wan wanted to visit her, bringing along some sour foods.

"Alright, only you would meet someone like me. Tell me, what do you want to eat? Tomorrow, I’ll come visit the national treasure that you are."

"Oranges and sour plums."

"Wow, only eating the expensive stuff, got it, my lady. Get ready tomorrow for a feast. You’ll surely enjoy it."

"Okay, okay, looking forward to it."

After their banter, they hung up, and within minutes, Lin Wan received another call from Saozi, saying Ying Han had finished the design plans and invited her over.

"Saozi, how about tomorrow afternoon? In the morning, I’ll visit Wang Leqin, and in the afternoon, we’ll go to Ying Han’s place."

"Sure, Ying Han said she’s off tomorrow, so anytime works. Just come over to my place first; I didn’t go to the office today either."

"Alright."

The next day, after sending the kids to school, Lin Wan drove to the market and picked out "a batch" of fruits for Wang Leqin. She went to their compound. It’s the same compound as Wang Leqin’s mom, but it’s a newly built building in the front. They lived on the second floor.

When Lin Wan arrived at their home, Yang Wei had just left for the military. Because of Wang Leqin’s severe symptoms, he had stayed back for a while before leaving.

"Not bad, Yang Wei treats you like a panda, doesn’t he?"

But as soon as Lin Wan said the words, Wang Leqin hugged her, "Xiao Wan, thank you, really thank you for introducing such a wonderful man. Honestly, he’s far better than Gao Ran."

"Of course. When I introduce someone, I definitely wouldn’t introduce those who are dodgy and unappealing. Are you happy now?"

Wang Leqin nodded repeatedly, "Yes, happy, very happy." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Alright, alright, don’t be pretentious. Here, your fruit, eat as much as you like."

"Oh, the wind has been particularly strong lately, no idea when it’ll pass. I don’t dare go out now; going out and throwing up feels awful. My mom says I should live at home, but Yang Wei disagrees, saying he can take care of me. I’m going along with him and didn’t go back. Indeed, Yang Wei takes care of me better than my mom does. My mom complains I’m too picky and always says something, but Yang Wei never does."

"Alright, alright, you’re showing off now."