For a young person, Xu Lin fears nothing and nobody, standing at the pinnacle of the world, worshipped by countless people. How could a young person not be drawn to that?

An ancient saying goes, a true man should be like this.

If Liu Bang hadn’t witnessed the grandeur of Emperor Qin’s travels back in the day, he might never have aspired to rule the world. Which man wouldn’t be stirred by the spectacle of Emperor Qin’s entourage?

More than half an hour later, Xu Lin arrived at Pei Danqing’s home as well.

Xu Lin was relieved to find that his father-in-law, Pei Lingyun, wasn’t there.

His mother-in-law, named Yue Man, was a fifty-year-old woman with a few strands of white hair, but with excellent presence, likely from a scholarly family; still beautiful despite her age, she retained an ageless allure, a trait shared by Pei Danqing who resembles her.

"Lin, did you eat dinner tonight?"

The mother-in-law was very warm. With Xu Lin’s excellence, which mother-in-law wouldn’t be satisfied?

"Auntie, I had dinner before seven, and I’m still full now."

"So early, won’t you be hungry later in the evening?"

"No, thank you for your concern, Auntie."

"Lin, is your work tiring?"

"Not tiring, I always balance work and rest."

"That’s good."

Yue Man asked Xu Lin many questions, all casual chats or inquiries about his work.

Yue Man is a woman of wisdom. If she were a less perceptive mother-in-law, she might ask about his job, his income, his family, and so on.

Even though it’s unnecessary for someone like Xu Lin, a mother-in-law might have similar inquisitive tendencies, determining if she’s an aggressive, snobbish, or loving elder, each style being different.

Yue Man is quite kind, showing genuine concern for Xu Lin, asking questions that never pressure him, but instead make him relax, offering him the feeling of being bathed in spring wind, an experience that can’t be feigned, and not achievable with lower awareness.

So that evening, he went to the room with Pei Danqing.

Xu Lin said: "Your mom is really nice."

As the saying goes, when marrying, look at the wife’s mother. If Xu Lin were meeting Pei Danqing for the first time, knowing Yue Man would likely assure him that Pei Danqing was a good person.

"Yes, she really is," Pei Danqing nodded in agreement.

At this time, Xu Lin surveyed the room and casually asked: "Did you grow up here?"

"Yes, I’ve lived here since I was three, so I grew up here."

"These houses have some history, huh?"

Strictly speaking, this was Xu Lin’s first visit to Pei Danqing’s home; the courtyard house didn’t count. It was as if Xu Lin bought an outside property, lived there for a year or two, and then brought his girlfriend over, but it wasn’t truly ’visiting home’ until he came to where he grew up or where his parents lived.

"Is this your kindergarten graduation photo?"

Xu Lin looked at the wall where some photos hung.

"Yes."

Xu Lin began searching for Pei Danqing’s image.

Quickly he found her; those with high looks stand out even as children.

Pei Danqing stood out, the cutest in a group of children.

This isn’t an ordinary kindergarten; it belongs to a government institution, where some parents hold prestigious positions.

"Quite adorable."

Xu Lin then looked at the elementary school graduation photos.

By sixth grade, Pei Danqing was already tall, standing in the last row for girls, third tallest, and most beautiful.

Next was Pei Danqing’s junior high graduation picture.

"By junior high, she was already graceful and poised, showing signs of a beauty."

"What about high school?"

Pei Danqing pointed out her high school graduation appearance to Xu Lin.

In high school, girls generally enter their most beautiful phase of life.

In the photos, Pei Danqing at seventeen or eighteen radiated youthful brilliance in a simple white school uniform, yet the most striking, wearing a high ponytail, she must have been many boys’ muse.

Xu Lin realized he hadn’t seen Pei Danqing with a high ponytail before.

Then followed the college and graduate school graduation photos, with Pei Danqing completing both undergraduate and master’s at Kyoto University.

During both these phases, Pei Danqing was fully realized, beautiful, confident, dazzling. Xu Lin noticed several boys casting sidelong glances at her in the photos — clearly secret admirers. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

For someone like Pei Danqing, it’s normal for many guys to like her, but due to significant gaps in status, hardly any dared to confess. Their educational paths crossed solely because of her academics.

Her family background was too good; in ancient times, she’d be the woman of emperors and nobles; in modern days, she’s certainly the partner of extraordinary men.

Pei Danqing then smiled: "Was I better looking in college or as a graduate student?"

"Probably in college, a unique phase between youthful energy and maturity."

Xu Lin’s gaze rested again on her high school photo, "Feels like high school was also great. Oh, is that school uniform still around?"

"Why?"

Pei Danqing suspected Xu Lin of having an idea.

"Just tell me if it’s around?"

"It’s in the wardrobe."

Pei Danqing pointed to the wardrobe, then went over to open it and took out the uniform.

Pei Danqing was part of the 2015 high school batch, this uniform is twelve years old but still intact.