The parking lot at the meeting venue was open-air.

The heel of her lambskin shoes struck the hard pavement, and without the softness of a carpet, even the tiniest pebbles, which would have been almost imperceptible to the eye, became strikingly clear.

Jin Yaotiao, who hadn’t worn heels in a long time because of her busy work schedule and the lack of a need for formal attire, felt like she wanted to throw her shoes in front of the designer’s door after just a few steps.

On her way, she ran into Cheng Chen.

Although he had already gotten into his car, he deliberately came out when he saw her and, noticing the car key in her hand, asked with a smug tone, “Miss Jin, why are you and Mr. Jin still driving yourselves? Doesn’t Mingde have enough drivers?”

Jin Yaotiao immediately forgot about her foot pain and smiled at him: “Of course, we let them go home to spend the New Year with their families. Mr. Cheng, you’re not lacking in compassion, are you? You should learn from Mingde. You had someone waiting for you at the venue for hours on the 29th of the lunar year. Is that how a capitalist should behave? Don’t you feel guilty?”

Cheng Chen, who had come out intending to banter, was stunned for a moment when he heard her words.

Hmm… this sounded quite gentle.

Jin Yaotiao waited a few seconds, but when he didn’t reply, she raised an eyebrow: “?”

Cheng Chen was silent?

The Cheng family’s driver, who had been waiting in the car, overheard the conversation and couldn’t help but glance out the window.

The middle-aged man, in his forties, thought of his wife and children waiting for him at home, and his gaze trembled slightly.

As they spoke, some executives from the conference who had just finished the meeting saw them from a distance and joked loudly:

“Looks like the Jin family’s daughter and the Cheng family’s young man are quite familiar with each other?”

“I saw them chatting in the conference room earlier, and now they’re still talking outside in this cold weather.”

“Hahaha, both families are in the same industry, they must have some fate.”

As they passed by, they overheard Shen Qiming’s voice: “?”

As the car started, Cheng Chen caught a glimpse of a face outside and hurriedly asked the driver to stop, wanting to go down and introduce himself.

However, when he saw that the person was Shen Qiming, who looked deeply at him, he froze.

Cheng Chen was unnerved by the gaze and, when he looked again, Shen Qiming had already disappeared.

Cheng Chen frowned, unsure: “He probably doesn’t recognize me, right?”

Meanwhile, Jin Jiarui, who had been waiting outside with the driver for hours, turned to look at the spot where Jin Yaotiao had been earlier.

Full of resentment from old grudges, he muttered unhappily: “It’s the New Year, a good man doesn’t argue with women. Cheng Ge, don’t take her words seriously. She’s just a woman, what does she know? All she talks is nonsense.”

He turned around only to meet the driver’s dissatisfied gaze.

Then he looked at the rearview mirror to see Cheng Chen, slowly wiping his glasses, not bothering to respond to him.

Instead, he asked the driver: “Lao Wang, are your wife and kids waiting at home?”

Lao Wang, who was driving, smiled: “Yes, my wife just called and asked when I’ll be home. Mr. Cheng, are we still going to some social event later?”

Cheng Chen put his glasses in his pocket and replied: “Don’t go. Just drop me off at the company, give me the car, and head home early to be with your family.”

Lao Wang was stunned, then smiled with joy: “Ah! Thank you, Mr. Cheng.”

He then shot a glare at Jin Jiarui in the front seat.

Jin Jiarui: “?????”

What did I do? Who did I offend?

---

After a satisfying verbal exchange, Jin Yaotiao, ignoring the pain in her feet, unlocked the car.

Just then, the car door handle was unexpectedly pulled open by someone else.

Shen Qiming glanced at her red, sore foot, caused by the high heels: “I told the driver to go home.”

Jin’s father, who had just hung up the phone, seemed confused about the situation and turned his gaze to his daughter: “What’s going on with Little Shen?”

Jin Yaotiao met Shen Qiming’s eyes for a second, then turned away, handing him the car key: “It’s up to you.”

She then opened the car door for her father, circled around the car, and instead of sitting in the front seat, directly sat in the back.

Shen Qiming, after getting in the car, noticed the empty front seat but didn’t comment.

While adjusting his seat, his foot brushed something.

Looking down, he saw the flat shoes Jin Yaotiao had changed out of before getting into the car.

Jin’s father, noticing where Shen Qiming was looking, immediately recalled the time when Shen Qiming’s OCD flared up due to water stains on his clothes during a visit to the branch office.

He was about to explain that his daughter liked to keep things clean, but before he could, Shen Qiming bent down and, with his long fingers, picked up the shoes and handed them to the back seat.

Jin Yaotiao took them and slipped her heels off.

Shen Qiming frowned as he stared at the redness and indents on her feet, which had become more pronounced after removing her shoes.

Jin’s father, noticing his frown, kindly took out two napkins from the armrest and handed them to him. Shen Qiming took them but looked at him strangely.

Jin’s father: “?”

Shen Qiming: “?”

---

Jin’s mother said she was at the supermarket.

It wasn’t far from the Jin family’s home, and it was quite large, selling some ingredients that ordinary supermarkets couldn’t find.

Jin Yaotiao often visited it during her free time.

The residents around didn’t typically visit the supermarket, so it was usually a quiet place, but at special times, people from all over, rich or poor, would gather for the New Year.

Amid the cheerful noise, Jin Yaotiao saw her mother coming to pick her up.

As she glanced at her mother, she was surprised to see another person with her: “Aunt Xu?”

Xu Wan, an employee from Mingde’s branch office, was currently on New Year’s vacation.

Wearing her expensive fur coat and diamond earrings, she looked out of place in the hustle and bustle of the supermarket.

Jin’s mother said: “Aunt Xu lives nearby, so I invited her to come along.”

Xu Wan now lived in Linjiang, not far from the Jin family, in the Shen family’s old house.

When she saw Shen Qiming, she was also surprised: “Little Shen?”

She glanced at the equally surprised Xu Wan and smiled: “What a coincidence! You two are both here getting New Year’s supplies. It’s good to make sure nothing’s missing.”

Shen Qiming looked at Xu Wan, and Xu Wan looked back at him.

The mother and son had rarely spent New Year’s together.

Though they were now living not far from each other, they had never talked about celebrating together.

At that moment, in this situation, the two exchanged glances, one cold, the other complicated.

But neither of them directly rejected the situation.

---

Neither Shen Qiming nor Xu Wan had much experience shopping at the supermarket.

Xu Wan occasionally went shopping, but Shen Qiming, who generally disliked crowds, had never been interested in shopping.

As for Xu Wan, she was no better. She usually liked to shop in quiet, relaxed places and had never been to a supermarket at the peak of New Year’s shopping.

Seeing the crowded entrance, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

The Jin family, however, was not bothered.

Jin Yaotiao and her father, who were used to researching ingredients for their restaurant, often visited both supermarkets and markets.

Jin’s mother loved lively places, and when there was no work at home, she frequently went shopping with Aunt Cen and others.

After Jin’s father had surgery, he reduced his work and became more relaxed, losing his former authoritative demeanor.

This time, the whole family had moved to Shenzhen, and he had helped pick out many things for their new home with Jin’s mother.

Having shopped together so often, the elderly couple had developed a mutual understanding, knowing exactly what the other wanted with just a look.

Shen Qiming frowned as he tried to avoid the crowd, while Xu Wan, clutching her expensive coat, looked somewhat lost in the maze of goods.

What should they buy?

The Shen family’s New Year celebrations had always been sparse.

Over the years, as she traveled the world with her husband, sometimes even the city they would spend the New Year in was uncertain.

Over time, the sense of festivity had become so faint for her that it almost felt nonexistent.

Meanwhile, Jin Yaotiao had already picked out a few “Fu” characters to show her mother: “Which one looks better?”

Jin’s mother, unsure, glanced at Xu Wan, who looked at the characters for a moment before realizing they were part of a domestic tradition.

The Shen family… they didn’t put up these.

But those bright, red “Fu” characters were certainly eye-catching.

She looked and looked, and somehow, the discomfort she had initially felt due to the crowd and noise gradually faded away.

She pointed at one and said, “This one, right?”

A golden, embossed “Fu” character, rounded at the edges, with a zodiac animal hanging at the bottom.

It was indescribably warm and cute.

After choosing for the Jin family mother and daughter, she couldn’t help but pick one for herself and placed it in the car.

Shen Qiming, on the other hand, was watching Jin Yaotiao.

She, wearing flat shoes, was holding her mother’s hand, strolling over to the display case, inspecting the vegetables displayed there.

“Dad!” She called out as she looked around.

Jin’s father didn’t respond, as he was busy watching a supermarket worker write couplets on the spot.

Jin Yaotiao glanced back at her father, her gaze a little helpless, then she went over and forcibly pulled him away from the couplet table to the freezer.

Only then did Jin’s father realize, and without getting angry, he turned and, with his head next to his daughter’s, began debating which box of matsutake mushrooms in the freezer was the freshest.

A celebratory Spring Festival song was playing in the supermarket, its melody clear and cheerful.

The father and daughter were engaged in some conversation, and suddenly, they both laughed.

After Jin’s mother picked out a paper-cutting, she tossed a large bag of snacks into the car.

Jin’s father asked, “What are you buying this for? Isn’t the food at home good enough? Why buy this junk food?”

Jin’s mother glared at her husband. “Everyone buys it. Who doesn’t prepare this for the New Year?”

Jin Yaotiao stood by her mother’s side. “Exactly.”

Jin’s father: “…”

Shen Qiming watched Jin Yaotiao mercilessly suppress her father and couldn’t help but smile.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the large snack gift bags on a nearby shelf, reached over to grab one, and tossed it into the car.

At the same time, another gift bag dropped, and Shen Qiming looked up at the owner of the bag.

Xu Wan stared at the two identical items in the car, a brief look of surprise crossing her well-maintained face, before she realized what was going on.

She glanced at her son, then turned toward the same family that had caught her attention for so long.

The Jin family had already moved on from the gift bag topic and were now selecting other items, still discussing and comparing, even giving their opinions on different brands of buffalo milk.

The song overhead kept playing, and the hustle and bustle continued, but no one was paying attention.

It was strange.

She didn’t even feel that it was noisy here.

Xu Wan turned around, looking at the two snack gift bags in the car, the golden glow of the “Fu” character decorations visible between the overlapping bottoms of the bags.

She froze for a moment, then suddenly spoke up. “Qiming, come home tomorrow and have New Year’s Eve dinner with Mom. We’ll cook at home, not go out.”

Her son gave her a glance, then turned and walked toward the freezer, leaving behind a tall, dignified figure.

Xu Wan smiled faintly to herself.

After so many years, she finally made such an invitation, and it was clear what the result would be.

When her son returned, he placed a box of buffalo milk, the brand Jin Yaotiao had just selected, into the car. His voice, as usual, was calm:

“Mm.”

Xu Wan suddenly looked up.

---

At the supermarket entrance, a senior executive from Jingmao, who lived nearby, suddenly stumbled.

His wife, frightened, hurried over to support him. “What’s wrong?”

The executive looked at the tall figure coming out of the supermarket with a bunch of shopping bags, standing out from the crowd. “Shen… Shen Shen Shen…”

His wife turned around and immediately recognized her husband’s boss’s handsome face. “Wow, Mr. Shen! Mr. Shen is shopping here too?!”

The executive was puzzled. “Yeah… Mr. Shen is actually shopping here…”

The wife took a closer look and saw the bright-colored snack gift bags in the shopping bags her husband’s boss was carrying, one in each hand.

She muttered, “Who would’ve thought, Mr. Shen seems so cold on the outside, but secretly loves these snack gift bags…”

The executive, barely audible, replied, “Yeah, didn’t see that coming…”

Recently, Mr. Jiang kept saying that.

The image… what was it again?

---

On New Year’s Eve.

At the entrance of the Jin family’s neighborhood, several strangers were loitering.

Having stayed too long, even the neighborhood security guards couldn’t help but cast suspicious glances their way.

However, these men were dressed in fine clothes, exuding a sense of elegance, and the cars parked near the entrance were also expensive, making it hard to assume they had ill intentions.

“Second brother.” One of the younger ones asked the oldest among them, “It’s been so many years, and we haven’t been in contact. Do you think the eldest brother will see us?”

The second brother sighed deeply as he looked at the long entrance to the neighborhood. “There’s nothing we can do. For Master’s reputation, these years, no one dared to bring up topics that would destabilize Zhenlong.”

The younger one looked sorrowful. “After our eldest brother returned to Linjiang, he never contacted us again. He must really hate the Shang family.”

The second brother shook his head. “Look at Shang Rong. The things he’s doing now… he treats our eldest brother as a thorn in his side. If I were our eldest brother, I wouldn’t be able to forgive the Shang family either.”

The younger one gritted his teeth. “I… I always hated Shang Rong. Our eldest brother too. Why did he always give in? If Master’s wife told him to leave, he just left! If it weren’t for Master…”

He hesitated and asked, “But, second brother, what if our eldest brother really doesn’t want to see us?”

The older second brother watched the security guard approaching and finally spoke in a low voice. “There was no interaction before, so it was fine. Shang Rong blocked our eldest brother’s paperwork—small stuff, I can pretend I didn’t notice. But now he’s gone too far. He had Xia Ren take people to stir up trouble at our eldest brother’s branch office. At this point, we have to explain things to our eldest brother. Shang Rong represents the Shang family now. We can’t let our eldest brother think we’re all the same as Shang Rong—ungrateful.”

There’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t leak, and news of Xia Ren causing trouble at Mingde had spread within the Shang family.

These people who came today were Jin’s father’s apprentices, who, after hearing the news, went to confront Shang Rong.

Xia Ren’s tactic, though despicable, was undeniably effective.

For any small company that had just entered the Shenzhen stock market, it was a huge trouble.

In a different place, having someone cause so much trouble for you would definitely result in an unbreakable feud.

The second brother hesitated at the neighborhood entrance, unsure whether to have someone report them.

After all, to outsiders, they, the apprentices of the old master, were just as inseparable from the Shang family as Shang Rong.

Who knew if the eldest brother would hate everyone associated with him and tell them to leave too?

So when the security guard came up to ask who they were looking for, he hesitated for a few seconds, unsure whether to speak.

Just then, a deep voice came from behind them, filled with slight uncertainty:

“Xiao Er, Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu?”

The group at the entrance turned around in surprise.

Jin’s father was holding a plastic bag with fish inside, standing not far away. When he saw them turn, he was startled for a moment, then smiled.

“It’s really you guys?”