He cleaned Chu Xia’s body, wrapped her tightly, and laid her on the bed, covering her belly with a thin blanket.

After turning on the fan, he finally got up and went to the bathroom.

When Chu Xia woke up, it was completely dark outside.

The room was also pitch black, and it took her a while to adjust before she realized they were home.

Yawning gently, she turned on the light and saw that her nightgown only exposed a bit of her neck.

She felt a bit speechless. She wondered why she always felt constrained when sleeping; it was because of this dress.

To prevent her from exposing herself?

Cen Zhengnian really did his best to wrap her up so tightly, even finding a dress like this.

She should be grateful he didn’t give her a dress with sleeves, or she would have really woken up hot.

The bedroom door opened from the outside, and when Cen Zhengnian saw that Chu Xia was already up, a smile appeared in his eyes. “Dinner is ready.”

“Did you cook or was it An An?” Chu Xia asked as she walked outside.

Cen Zhengnian hesitated for a moment before responding, “An An cooked; I just helped.”

Chu Xia laughed, her entire face lighting up. “You really don’t cook as well as An An.”

Cen Zhengnian shook his head, smiling, not minding her blunt honesty.

At the dining table, Chu Xia lavishly praised Cen Huai An’s cooking skills, to the point that An An ended up taking over the family cooking for the summer vacation.

While washing the dishes with Cen Zhengnian, he was still happy about Chu Xia’s compliments, completely unaware that he had been set up.

The next day, taking advantage of the holiday she had with Cen Zhengnian, Chu Xia drove An An to her grandpa Jiang’s house, with the trunk filled with various specialties they had brought back from Yangcheng.

Most of it was clothes, jewelry, and similar items.

The clothes from Yangcheng were trendy and cheap; as long as you had a unique eye and knew how to bargain, you could buy many clothes, shoes, and accessories that you would be satisfied with.

Once they arrived at Grandpa Jiang’s house, all the women loved the items Chu Xia brought, crowding around excitedly with the clothes.

Jiang Zhiguan showed no restraint in her excitement.

After confirming that Chu Xia’s clothes could be picked freely, she directly rushed over, trying them on one by one.

Luo Peng also spotted a dress she liked.

Usually gentle, she quickly grabbed that dress, unwilling to let go.

Zhang Lu didn’t like dressing up, but the sportswear inside caught her attention.

Jiang Weixi loved various small dresses and kept rummaging through beautiful little dresses in Chu Xia’s arms.

Yang Mei and Zhou Huaying, the older generation, were more reserved and didn’t join in.

Chu Xia had anticipated this situation, so she had prepared clothes for the two of them in advance, ready to hand them over directly.

Yang Mei held the clothes, her eyes shining with surprise, a smile on her face. “Chu Xia, how did you know I like this kind of clothes?”

Chu Xia replied, “I bought it based on what I usually see you wear, Auntie.”

“So thoughtful!” Yang Mei loved Chu Xia even more, holding her hand as if she wished she were her own daughter.

Zhou Huaying received a cheongsam, from an old shop in Yangcheng, with modified designs that were elegant, intellectual, and feminine, perfectly matching her style.

Not knowing how to express the compliments Yang Mei had, she turned to Chu Xia and nodded, saying, “You picked the clothes well.”

Just as Chu Xia was about to explain, Yang Mei glanced at Zhou Huaying and said, “Since it’s nice, you should thank Chu Xia.”

Zhou Huaying looked down at the dress, not saying a word, which made Yang Mei even angrier than Chu Xia.

“You, my second aunt, at this age, still don’t know how to be a decent person.”

Chu Xia, not very bothered, said, “It’s okay. That dress wasn’t actually bought by me; it was bought by Zhi Yi.”

Looking at Zhou Huaying, Chu Xia explained, “Second Aunt, when Zhi Yi and I were shopping together, she thought this dress suited you and asked me to bring it back for her. To avoid overshadowing her intentions, I prepared a silk scarf for you instead.”

If it weren’t for the worry of not buying Zhou Huaying a dress and causing conflicts among the Jiang family since others would have outfits too, impacting Grandpa Jiang’s health with arguments, Chu Xia wouldn’t even have wanted to give her this scarf.

Zhou Huaying stiffened, wanting to throw away the dress but reluctant to do so.

“All she knows are these flattering little tricks. If she really wants my forgiveness, she should come back to the capital and apologize to me.”

Chu Xia responded, “She can’t come back now. She asked me to bring a message to you and the second uncle; she’s following the ambassador abroad to become a foreign correspondent.”

Zhou Huaying froze for a moment, her expression shifting to one of anger, urgency, and worry.

“She’s becoming a foreign correspondent? Why didn’t you and Zhengnian stop her? It’s so dangerous to be a journalist abroad!”

Zhou Huaying spoke furiously, wanting to grab Jiang Zhi Yi back immediately, but now she didn’t even know her phone number or how to contact her.

“Chu Xia, do you know how to reach Zhi Yi?”

Chu Xia replied that she didn’t know; Jiang Zhi Yi hadn’t sent any news yet.

All she knew was the country she was heading to and the location of the Chinese embassy there, but nothing else.

She conveyed this to Zhou Huaying.

Zhang Er Jiu’s face was also anxious; he frowned at Chu Xia. “We definitely can’t go abroad now. Chu Xia, can you give us Zhi Yi’s contact information?”

He thought Chu Xia was helping Jiang Zhi Yi hide.

“I really don’t have it,” Chu Xia replied seriously. “Moreover, besides asking us to convey this message, Zhi Yi also asked me to tell you that she misses you both.”

Zhang Er Jiu and Zhou Huaying’s expressions stiffened, and different emotions surfaced in their eyes.

However, soon, that emotion was quickly hidden away.

“If you want us to come back, why haven’t we returned for so long?” Zhou Huaying’s tone was still very harsh.

Chuxia had no way to answer this question.

At that moment, Cen Zhengnian had just helped Grandpa Jiang tidy up the things that he and Chuxia had given him.

Hearing the conversation between Uncle Jiang and Zhou Huaying, he walked over and said, “Uncle, Aunt, we don’t need to deceive you. Just as you said, you can’t go abroad to bring Zhi Yi back, and Zhi Yi also knows that we have no reason to hide her contact information from her.”

Uncle Jiang and Zhou Huaying were not unaware of this, but now the only ones in the know were Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian’s family of three. If they didn’t press Chuxia for answers, what else could they do?

Cen Zhengnian continued, “Once Zhi Yi is settled down over there, she will reach out to the family on her own.”

Uncle Jiang and Zhou Huaying stopped pressing Chuxia further.

They sat on the sofa, their brows tightly furrowed, showing no signs of relaxation.

When Grandpa Jiang learned that Jiang Zhi Yi had gone to become a foreign correspondent, he did not show any surprise on his face.

There was some worry in his eyes, but he remained much calmer compared to Uncle Jiang and his wife.

“With Zhi Yi’s ambition and character, this is something she would do. That small country may be poor, but there are no wars to disrupt it, so it’s relatively safe.”

Uncle Jiang and Zhou Huaying didn’t have Grandpa Jiang’s extensive knowledge and were not familiar with many countries.

Yang Mei added, “I know the ambassador from that country; I can ask about the situation over there.”

Uncle Jiang and Zhou Huaying only then realized what kind of job Yang Mei had, and they looked at her with hope in their eyes.

“Big sister-in-law, please take extra care of Zhi Yi over there.”

Yang Mei nodded. “They are all our own children; there’s no trouble. I also hope Zhi Yi is doing well over there.”

A few days later, Jiang Zhiyi contacted her family, using the embassy’s communication equipment.

The signal was a bit poor, but it didn’t affect her report on her safety to her family.

Her tone was still excited as she described the differences she saw in the foreign scenery compared to her home country.

She only talked about the good things abroad and didn’t mention any hardships.

Yang Mei told her about colleagues from the ambassador’s office whom she knew and encouraged Jiang Zhi Yi to ask them for help if needed.

“Don’t worry about owing favors; your aunt will bear that burden for you.”

Zhou Huaying never spoke softly. The conflict between her and Jiang Zhi Yi was too deep, so she simply asked, “Are you coming back now?”

Jiang Zhiyi replied that she wouldn’t be returning, and Zhou Huaying didn’t say anything else.

Uncle Jiang tried to persuade Jiang Zhiyi, explaining that the small country was poor and that local diseases were easily transmitted, with limited medical resources.

Before he finished, Jiang Zhiyi interrupted him, “Dad, I won’t come back.”

Then she said, “It’s time,” and cut off the communication.

Uncle Jiang and his wife couldn’t do anything with their thoughts.

Jiang Zhida had found a partner, and Yang Mei started asking him when he would get married.

Jiang Zhida was getting older; his peers already had children in elementary school, and he still wasn’t married.

“Mom!” Jiang Zhida sat at home, casually biting into an apple and said, “Before you urged me to find a partner; now that I have one, you’re urging me to get married. If I do get married, will you start urging me to have kids?”

Yang Mei replied, “Having kids is your own business; I won’t urge you on that.”

She only cared about matters related to her son.

“You should take a look at your peers.”

Jiang Zhida said, “I thought you’d have a more open mindset since you deal with foreigners every day.”

Yang Mei slapped him lightly on the arm and said, “I’m a Huaguo person!”

Jiang Zhida jumped up from the hit and ran outside, saying, “Mom, we still want to date for a while; let’s wait another two years to get married!”

Yang Mei threw a slipper at him, but Jiang Zhida was quick and closed the door just in time, and the slipper hit the door with a loud “bang.”

Once outside, he didn’t appear as relaxed as he did at home.

He walked toward his car with a furrowed brow, opened the door, sat inside, rolled down the window, and lit a cigarette.

Puffs of white smoke drifted from the car, carrying the scent of nicotine.

This smell made Jiang Zhida feel more alert.

After finishing one cigarette, Jiang Zhida started the car and drove towards Yunmengze.

Halfway there, he turned the car around and drove to the research institute’s family quarters.

Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian had already started working, and only Cen Huai’an was at home.

He was sitting in the living room, taking apart a semiconductor radio.

Jiang Zhida made himself at home, casually finding a place on the sofa to sit down.

Curiously watching Cen Huai’an’s actions, he asked, “Why are you taking apart a perfectly good radio?”

Cen Huai’an didn’t look up. “I want to see the internal structure.”

Jiang Zhida didn’t understand this scientific thinking and nodded nonchalantly, “Alright, once you take it apart and put it back together, if you can’t, call me. Your Uncle Wei at Yunmengze also likes to tinker with these things.”

“Okay.”

However, Cen Huai’an didn’t need his help and quickly reassembled the radio.

Jiang Zhida stood up and turned on the radio. “Let me see if it works.”

The radio was able to perfectly receive all broadcasts and could continue playing tapes for music.

Jiang Zhida looked at Cen Huai’an in admiration, “How did you get such a good memory? You can take it apart and put it back together just as it was!”

Jiang Zhida wondered if he had that ability; he could only take things apart.

Cen Huai’an replied in a calm tone, “If you understand the principles, it’s easy.”

Jiang Zhida rubbed Cen Huai’an’s head irritably and sat back on the sofa.

“An’an, let me ask you a question.”