Yang Mei has two children. Her eldest son, Lin Ze, is 28 years old and works in a government department in Shanghai. His salary isn’t high, but the benefits are good. Her daughter, Lin Nuan, is 20 years old and has signed with an entertainment company, but hasn’t officially debuted yet.

Yang Xia looked at the crowds of people coming and going at the high-speed railway station, the bright lights, and the flashing billboards beside her, and felt a little disoriented for a moment.

“There are so many people at the Shanghai high-speed railway station, I’m dizzy.”

“Follow me.”

Xia Qing took one hand in each of hers and led Yang Xia and Old Grandma out of the high-speed railway station.

Yang Xia was secretly relieved that her daughter hadn’t let her bring too many things; these big and small bags were really too inconvenient. Getting out of the high-speed railway station still required a bit of walking.

Lin Ze said, “Mom, are Grandma and Aunt staying at our place? Nuan Nuan and I don’t live at home anyway, so it’s perfect for Grandma and Aunt to stay.”

Yang Mei saw that her son was still very thoughtful, but she didn’t expect that Lin Zhen had actually booked them into a budget hotel. Although she wanted them to stay at home, after all, home was definitely much more comfortable than a hotel.

“Your dad booked a budget hotel for Grandma and Aunt. Your grandma is still at home.”

Lin Ze also knew his grandmother’s temper and didn’t say anything more.

Soon, after 15 minutes, Xia Qing led Yang Xia and Old Grandma out of the high-speed railway station. As soon as Old Grandma saw Yang Mei, she became excited and walked a few steps faster.

“Mom!” Yang Mei’s eyes also turned red. She had married too far away and could only come home once a year at most.

“Amei!” Old Grandma’s voice was also a little choked up. Although they sometimes videoed, it wasn’t as good as a real meeting, where they could both see each other and feel each other.

Lin Ze looked at the two old ladies and smiled gently, “Grandma! Aunt.”

“This is Xiao Liang, right! He’s grown taller again!” Old Grandma said, looking at Lin Ze with a smile. Lin Ze’s nickname was Xiao Liang, but he was called that less often after he grew up.

“Yes.”

Lin Ze’s gaze fell on Xia Qing, and he was obviously surprised. He opened his mouth uncertainly, “Qing Qing?”

“Yes! Cousin Lin Ze,” Xia Qing said, nodding. When Lin Ze came back to their hometown when they were young, they often played together. She even envied Lin Ze and Lin Nuan back then. They could always wear nice and pretty clothes! Her aunt would also buy them for her every year! So, she was quite close to her aunt.

“Qing Qing, girls change a lot as they grow up. I almost didn’t recognize you! You’re too beautiful!”

Xia Qing smiled slightly and said, “I’m just a bit fairer.”

“You don’t wear glasses anymore either!” Lin Ze said, looking her up and down.

“I wear contacts.” She smiled awkwardly. She couldn’t exactly say that after absorbing the crystal bead, her eyes weren’t nearsighted anymore and her eyesight was very good now.

Once in the car, Aunt, Old Grandma, and Yang Xia seemed to have endless things to talk about. Lin Ze had something urgent to do in the afternoon, so he dropped them off at the hotel intersection and left.

They hadn’t eaten all morning on the high-speed train, so Yang Mei took them to a restaurant.

“Grandma, Xia Xia, take a look and see what you want to eat.”

“Forget it, let me order.” Yang Mei was afraid that they wouldn’t dare to order dishes after knowing the prices, so she ordered directly.

“Mom, I can only ask you to put up with staying in this budget hotel.” Yang Mei’s eyes turned red at this thought.

“It’s okay! It doesn’t matter where Mom stays!” Old Grandma said kindly. She also knew Yang Mei’s suffering. Although she didn’t say it every time she came back, she could still hear something from the children.

After dinner, across the street was the budget hotel.

“What? Only one room!” Yang Mei was so angry that her face turned red. She called Lin Zhen.

The first call was rejected, but Yang Mei didn’t give up and made two more calls, finally getting through. But she didn’t dare to be too strong in her tone. Perhaps being a housewife for so long had made her lose that strength. She said, “Lin Zhen, my mom and my sister have both come, how come you only booked one room?”

“How many rooms do you want to book? One room costs five hundred a night, and besides, they won’t be staying for many days.” After Lin Ze’s engagement was over tomorrow, he would send them back.

Yang Mei frowned and lowered her voice, saying, “My niece has also come. You can’t let the three of them sleep in one bed, right? That’s too crowded.”

“What’s wrong with that? Why can’t a family sleep together? I have a meeting soon. If there’s anything else, we’ll talk about it when I get home tonight. Also, don’t make the dishes too salty tonight, my mom can’t eat anything too salty!” Lin Zhen hung up the phone impatiently.

Old Grandma and Yang Xia had never been to a big city before, and this small budget hotel made them very curious. They didn’t notice the change in Yang Mei’s face.

But Xia Qing’s hearing had become very good, and she had heard the conversation between Aunt and Uncle very clearly. She went directly to the front desk and said, “Open another king-size bed room, and also upgrade the standard room to a king-size bed room. How much will it cost? I’ll pay the difference.”

“Okay, please wait a moment.”

“Please show me your payment code here.”

Xia Qing picked up her phone and scanned it, not paying attention to the payment price on her phone.

At this moment, Yang Xia hung up the phone and walked over with a bad expression. Seeing that Xia Qing had also paid for another room, her face turned slightly pale.

Yang Mei opened her mouth awkwardly, “Qing Qing.”

Xia Qing didn’t want to embarrass Yang Mei and said with a smile, “Aunt, let Grandma go back and rest first. She’s been traveling all day.”

“Okay!”

“Mom, then you have a good rest today. Tell me if you need anything. I’ll come and find you early tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, okay!”

Yang Xia took a taxi home, reluctant to leave. Thinking of Lin Zhen’s attitude, she was both angry and anxious. After thinking about it, she transferred three thousand yuan to Xia Qing.

“Qing Qing, this is for the hotel money just now, and also for your mom and grandma. They are reluctant to spend money, but things are expensive here. Don’t save money. Buy them whatever they want to eat, and don’t let them know the price.”

“Got it! Don’t worry, Aunt!” After thinking about it, Xia Qing still accepted Aunt’s money, otherwise, she might not be at ease.

Yang Xia wanted to stay in the same room with Old Grandma to take care of her.

“This hotel must have cost a lot of money, right? After we attend Xiao Liang’s engagement banquet tomorrow, let’s go back the day after tomorrow,” Old Grandma said with heartache.

“Don’t look at your aunt living in a big city, she’s not happy in her heart,” Old Grandma said, pointing to the location of her heart.

Xia Qing looked at Old Grandma in surprise. All the way here, plus during dinner just now, Aunt had performed very well. If she hadn’t heard the conversation between Aunt and Uncle just now, she wouldn’t have known that their marital relationship didn’t seem to be very good.

And she also remembered that she had visited Aunt’s house once when she was in college and had seen Aunt’s mother-in-law, who looked down on her.

“Impossible! When my brother-in-law was chasing my sister back then, he wrote hundreds of letters a month.” Yang Xia said in disbelief.

“I think my sister is living a good life! My sister is fifty years old, right? But she looks almost like she’s in her forties, younger than me. I also heard my sister say before the New Year that my brother-in-law got promoted again!”