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Night had quietly fallen, enveloping the world in a thick layer of darkness.
After leaving the Lin family home, Lin Qingyou didn’t rush home like most people would under the night sky.
Instead, she wandered alone along the wide yet deserted streets. Her steps were slow and heavy, as if this endless road stretched on forever.
Whenever she felt down, Lin Qingyou would always choose to walk aimlessly through the streets.
For her, this seemingly simple act was the best way to release stress and organize her thoughts and emotions.
Many times before, she would only realize how far she had walked once she snapped back to reality—sometimes so far that she no longer recognized her surroundings.
This time was no different.
She kept walking and walking, unaware of where she had ended up or how long she had been walking.
But this time, there was one difference.
As she finally came back to her senses, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
Yin Hanyu was standing quietly not far ahead, waiting.
Lin Qingyou was slightly dazed, worried she was seeing things. She even rubbed her eyes before looking again—only to see Yin Hanyu smiling at her with a warmth as gentle as the sun on a winter day.
He slowly opened his arms, inviting her in.
The moment Lin Qingyou saw this, the dullness in her eyes instantly faded, replaced by a bright gleam. Like an excited little rabbit, she ran toward him without hesitation, throwing herself into his broad and firm embrace.
Yin Hanyu held her tightly, feeling both satisfied and heartbroken.
Truthfully, he had been following her for a long time.
But she had been too lost in her emotions to notice him.
So he chose not to disturb her.
He simply stayed by her side, quietly watching over her.
“Baby, what are you doing here?” Lin Qingyou looked up at Yin Hanyu, puzzled.
Yin Hanyu gently patted her head. “It’s the first day of our marriage, and my wife didn’t come home. Of course, I had to come find her.”
“I’m sorry…” Lin Qingyou tightened her grip around him. “I forgot about our date.”
He had told her he would pick her up after work for a candlelit dinner.
But after her argument with her father, she had forgotten everything.
“Silly girl…” Yin Hanyu took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. “We’ll have plenty of dates in the future. Missing one doesn’t matter.”
Lin Qingyou wrapped the coat around herself and instantly felt warm, her previous gloom disappearing.
“But how did you know I was here?” she asked shyly. “Even I didn’t know where I was going.”
“You…” Yin Hanyu pinched her nose affectionately before tapping the necklace around her neck. “This thing doesn’t just let us talk—it’s also the best tracker.”
“It’s that amazing?” Lin Qingyou immediately lifted the necklace and kissed it.
Then, she clung to Yin Hanyu’s arm. “I had a fight with my dad.”
She didn’t mention that she had been hit.
Otherwise, Yin Hanyu would explode in anger.
But even though it was dark, making it harder to see than in the daytime, Yin Hanyu had already noticed.
Rage. Overwhelming rage. But more than that, he felt heartache.
“So I was in a bad mood…”
“Then why didn’t you come to me?”
“Um…” Lin Qingyou was momentarily speechless. Sensing that Yin Hanyu was a little upset, she quickly smiled at him in a placating manner. “Maybe I’m not used to it yet.”
In the past, whenever she felt down, she always dealt with it alone.
Truthfully, Yin Hanyu wasn’t really angry.
It was their first day of marriage—he wasn’t used to it either.
He didn’t even know how to comfort someone or how to cheer them up.
All he could do was quietly follow her.
But the future was long, and he would learn.
One day, she would rely on him.
One day, she would get used to having him around.
Yin Hanyu held Lin Qingyou’s small hand in his. “It’s the perfect time for the night market. Let’s go eat something.”
“Eat?”
“Not hungry?”
“That’s not it…” Lin Qingyou touched her stomach. She was actually a little hungry. “But I want to eat noodles from that stall.”
Yin Hanyu immediately understood.
Without hesitation, he drove her to that same street from the other night, searching for the noodle stall.
But after searching for a long time, they couldn’t find it.
Seeing Yin Hanyu looking slightly anxious, Lin Qingyou quickly reassured him. “Don’t worry. That stall has always been like this. They don’t have a set schedule. That’s why I told you before—eating their noodles depends on luck.”
By now, it was already late at night.
Lin Qingyou gently wrapped her arms around Yin Hanyu’s and softly said, “It’s really late. Let’s just go home, and I’ll make some for you.”
Yin Hanyu nodded obediently, but his eyes never stopped scanning the streets.
This was the first request she had made after their marriage.
No matter how small, he had to fulfill it.
Luckily, fortune smiled upon them.
After driving a little further, Yin Hanyu’s deep eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement, as if he had discovered a rare treasure.
Without hesitation, he turned the steering wheel and drove into a narrow, dimly lit alley.
There it was—the noodle stall run by the elderly couple!
But unlike before, it wasn’t set up by the bustling roadside. Instead, it was tucked away in this quiet little alley.
Under the warm, dim lighting, the entire alley exuded a peaceful and cozy atmosphere.
The couple worked in perfect harmony—the man skillfully kneading dough, the woman carefully preparing fresh vegetables.
From a distance, they looked so natural together, radiating an unspoken warmth and happiness.
When they saw Lin Qingyou, the couple immediately recognized their familiar customer and greeted her with smiles.
“Little girl, back for more noodles?”
“Yes, Auntie. How was business today?”
“Ah…” The man kneading the dough sighed. “Today was terrible. We got chased by city inspectors for blocks.”
No wonder they had moved to a hidden alley.
“Uncle, from your accents, you don’t seem like locals. What made you come to the capital to sell noodles?”
“We came to accompany our daughter for her studies,” the man said, his face full of pride and love. “She’s incredible—she got into the top university in the capital. She’s the first college student in our family.”
“But we’re just small-town folks. We worried she’d struggle alone in this big city, so we followed her.”
“But the rent here is insane. We couldn’t afford a shopfront, so we set up a street stall instead.”
“Back home, we actually owned a whole noodle restaurant. Business was booming.”
“Do you regret it?”
Giving up a thriving business to hide in a small alley?
“What’s there to regret?” The father smiled warmly. “Our daughter is what matters most.”
“She’s a quiet girl, not good at socializing. If we weren’t here, we’d worry about her.”
“So… will you always stay by her side?”
“As long as we can, we will.”