So, the hesitant Li Xiaoyun eventually declined the Wu family’s invitation and left, even though Wu Hao’s parents had already treated her as their daughter-in-law for quite some time. That’s precisely why they had invited her to stay at their home after their last trip.

However, over the following two months, they noticed that after Li Xiaoyun had been staying with them for a while, she seemed increasingly unhappy and anxious. Eventually, despite their attempts to persuade her to stay, she left, which made Wu Hao’s parents feel a bit resentful towards him for not coming home even after two months.

During this period, Wu Hao’s parents had called him to inquire about Li Xiaoyun, but Wu Hao was busy with various matters at the base and had to make excuses. In reality, it wasn’t that he didn’t come home because of Li Xiaoyun staying there.

Instead, it was due to the physical changes from his recent evolution and his desire to complete the base’s construction as soon as possible.

At this moment, seeing his sister and parents bring up the matter again, Wu Hao decided not to make excuses any longer. Since his parents liked Li Xiaoyun and she had been taking good care of them, he didn’t want to make them unhappy by refusing to accept Li Xiaoyun, even though he didn’t have any romantic feelings for her.

“Well, actually, I’ve always been clear about my intentions! Haven’t you always treated her as a daughter-in-law?” Wu Hao said with a light smile, officially acknowledging his relationship with Li Xiaoyun.

Wu Hao’s parents smiled upon hearing this. “That’s right! Son, Xiaoyun is such a wonderful girl, and she’s always been so devoted to you. How could you not be moved at all?”

“Yes! Brother, Xiaoyun is indeed very good—she’s always been kind to me and our parents, and she’s so pretty too,” Wu Xiaoxiao added with praise.

Wu Hao could only marvel at how well Li Xiaoyun had managed his family’s affairs. He didn’t deny that Li Xiaoyun was indeed an ideal candidate for a homemaker, even though when he first met her, she had proactively asked him to support her. This was because of specific circumstances, and Li Xiaoyun had made this decision out of necessity.

Moreover, when Li Xiaoyun met Wu Hao, she had been encouraged to speak up because she felt he wasn’t like other wealthy people. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited to meet Wu Hao to express her needs.

Given her conditions, if she wanted to, many wealthy men would be willing to support her. However, whether she would have fallen or maintained her last bit of dignity is unknown.

Throughout history, almost all examples show that environments change people, rather than people changing environments.

“Son, since you have feelings for Xiaoyun, you should call her now and invite her to dinner with us!” Wu Hao’s mother said cheerfully after finally receiving a satisfying answer.

In fact, Wu Hao’s mother had informed Li Xiaoyun about his return in advance. Although Li Xiaoyun was happy to hear that Wu Hao was coming back, she felt uneasy because he hadn’t called her privately for a long time, and she only learned of his return from his mother.

Thus, although Li Xiaoyun was eager to go with Wu Hao’s parents to pick him up at the airport, she was afraid of the awkwardness of seeing him, given her ambiguous status in his family. Although she had received the approval of Wu Hao’s parents and sister, Wu Hao himself hadn’t given her a clear answer.

“Okay! I’ll call her right away,” Wu Hao said, seeing his mother’s persistent urging. Since he had now officially acknowledged the relationship, he had no intention of avoiding it.

From the start, Wu Hao had no intention of avoiding anything; he was simply letting things progress naturally. Since Li Xiaoyun hadn’t given up even after such a long time, and his family accepted her, he felt it wouldn’t be an issue to accept her as his partner, even if he didn’t have romantic feelings for her.

Wu Hao had no intention of only finding one woman for life, nor did he plan to seek many women deliberately. He simply let things progress naturally, and if he met another woman he liked in the future, he wouldn’t mind accepting her as well.

After all, countless examples and history prove that a successful and powerful man can never have only one woman in his life.

Not only successful men but even ordinary people often have similar experiences, just some are hidden and not publicly acknowledged.

On the other side, Li Xiaoyun, who was working, was stunned for a long time upon seeing Wu Hao’s call on her phone. She remembered that Wu Hao had rarely called her first.

Given that Wu Hao should be on his way home, why was he calling her now? Despite her confusion, she gathered her composure and answered the phone, cautiously saying, “Hello?”

Upon hearing Li Xiaoyun’s voice, Wu Hao didn’t delay and said directly, “Xiaoyun, my parents have invited you to come home for dinner with us. You’re at work now, right? We’re coming to pick you up right away!”

“Ah! Go to your house for dinner? This… might not be appropriate! I’m an outsider…” Li Xiaoyun said, feeling unsure.

Zhang Huilan, who had been listening, couldn’t help but speak up, taking the phone from Wu Hao and saying, “Xiaoyun, how could you be an outsider? You’re the daughter-in-law I’ve chosen. That’s settled then; we’re coming to pick you up now!”

Then, Zhang Huilan whispered something to Li Xiaoyun on the other end of the line. Li Xiaoyun, delighted, ended the call and hurriedly prepared herself, asking her boss for leave.

Given the special circumstances surrounding Li Xiaoyun at her company, her situation was well known among senior management and many employees. So when Li Xiaoyun requested leave, her boss merely smiled and nodded in agreement without asking for details.

Ten minutes later, when the company employees saw Li Xiaoyun get into the boss’s car, they understood she was on leave to meet the big boss. Some young women, both envious and jealous, fantasized about being noticed by the big boss someday.