It must have been the three Xu brothers who had spoken to her!

“Dad loves you, I swear to God.  If you don’t want to date Zhao Xilie, that’s fine. If you don’t like Sisi touching your things, I promise it won’t happen again. Xiaoqi, come back home; that’s where you belong!”

Mu Yuehui didn’t even understand himself.  Was he being so conciliatory out of love for his daughter, or because he couldn’t stand the three Xu brothers’ arrogance?

“That’s your home with Jiang Xueqin, not mine.” Mu Xiaoqi said coldly. “You still don’t understand. Not all apologies can be forgiven. Ask yourself, was your so-called fatherly love mixed with something else!”

After saying this, Mu Xiaoqi left without looking back.

Mu Yuehui kicked a willow tree hard, taking a while to wipe his face.

Xiaoqi was just as sharp as her mother!  He both loved and feared them, fearing they would see through his weakness.

Liu’s cold noodles were always in high demand in the county town. Mu Xiaoqi was lucky to get the last one.  Her good mood wasn’t ruined by Mu Yuehui’s appearance. She returned home with a smile.

“Grandma, look, I bought a big one.”

The Xu family matriarch saw Xiaoqi leave with her father from the second-floor window.  She had thought Xiaoqi would be sad and upset.

Now it seemed her Xiaoqi had truly grown up.

“Xiaoqi, come over here.” The matriarch beckoned, a look of relief on her kind face.

Mu Xiaoqi put down the noodles and approached. She nestled against her grandmother, smelling the pleasant scent of ink on her grandmother.

“Let me tell you about your mother’s childhood. Do you want to hear it?”  The matriarch’s eyes were filled with memories. Xiaoqi was becoming more and more like her younger daughter; their eyebrows, eyes, and personalities were identical.

Xu Jiayun had been gone for many years, but she wasn’t a taboo topic in the Xu family.

She was always their pride, the pearl in their hands.

In less than a day, Xu Yingyong obtained all of Zhao Xilie’s information. He and his two brothers reviewed the files and angrily threw them on the table.

“That hypocritical woman Jiang Xueqin, she certainly had ulterior motives!”

“Her mother ran away, her father died early, and she has a younger sister. She really chose a ‘good’ family.”

“You don’t know, Wanxing Village is notoriously poor. That dog Mu Yuehui doesn’t treat Xiaoqi as his daughter. He provides good food and drink for someone else’s daughter, yet he wants to marry his own daughter off to the mountains.”

The three brothers became angrier and angrier, wanting to tear Mu Yuehui and Jiang Xueqin apart.

Xu Yingjun paced around the room, then picked up the files again.  Thinking of Xiaoqi’s eyes, he made a concession.

“Let’s do this. I’ll go to Wanxing Village tomorrow. These papers don’t say everything.”

The Xu family never judged people based on appearances. Based on these files, Zhao Xilie was indeed unworthy of Xiaoqi.

However, their Xiaoqi, knowing Zhao Xilie’s situation, had still brought it up without hesitation. This showed that Xiaoqi truly cared about this man named Zhao Xilie.

Xu Yingyong and Xu Yingcai nodded; they trusted the third brother with this matter.

Mu Xiaoqi had no idea that her words had caused her three uncles so much worry. She was sitting at her desk, writing a letter to Zhao Xilie.

Every time they met, it took him a whole day. For the first time, Mu Xiaoqi learned to consider things from another person’s perspective. He had to support his family, send his sister to school, and had many future plans. She couldn’t selfishly demand that he frequently meet her.

After all, dates cost money.

“Comrade Zhao Xilie, I hope this letter finds you well!”

After just writing the salutation, Mu Xiaoqi already liked this form of communication.  It didn’t matter if communication was slow; her three uncles were right; time was the best test.

After writing three pages, Mu Xiaoqi reluctantly put down her pen.  Folding the paper and putting it in an envelope, she imagined Zhao Xilie’s expression upon receiving it.

She sealed it, writing Zhao Xilie’s name and address on the envelope.

Reborn in the 1980s, Mu Xiaoqi wasn’t used to the slower pace of life; she found it novel.  Unlike in the future, a phone call or a text message could solve everything.

Putting the envelope in her drawer, she waited to mail it at the post office tomorrow morning.

On Mu Xiaoqi’s desk was an old brown notebook. Mu Xiaoqi’s slender fingers traced the leather cover and slowly opened her mother’s diary.

Gradually, a smile appeared on Mu Xiaoqi’s face.

Through the words, she felt her mother’s joys and sorrows. The diary made her mother’s image clearer than ever before.

After reading it, Mu Xiaoqi pressed the notebook tightly to her chest. In her past life, she had been pushed into the abyss by her stepmother and stepsister, and the name Xu Jiayun had gradually faded from her world. She had become a failure in the eyes of others, causing those who loved her sadness and disappointment.

Mom, did you give me a second chance?

That night, Mu Xiaoqi smiled in her sleep. In her dream, her mother hugged her tightly, a familiar warmth.

The next day, Mu Xiaoqi got up early. After going for a run, she bought her grandmother’s favorite tofu pudding, her eldest uncle’s favorite meat buns, her second uncle’s favorite soy milk and fried dough sticks, and her third uncle’s favorite scallion pancakes.

When the Xu family came downstairs after washing up, Mu Xiaoqi, wearing an apron, smiled brightly.

“Good morning! Let’s eat.”

The table was filled with a variety of food.  Besides the breakfast she bought, there was porridge, eggs, and pickles made by the matriarch.