The aroma of food in the air made He Jingyu's empty stomach even hungrier.

He Jingyu was astonished when he saw the bowl of tomato and egg noodles in front of him, which looked delicious. It was topped with tomatoes cut into uniform sizes, a bright yellow and white egg, and noodles cooked to the perfect firmness.

From this bowl of noodles, He Jingyu now believes that his daughter has a past life. He Tiantian, who only has one child, rarely cooks. Last month, she cooked him a bowl of noodles, but it didn't look nearly as good as this; the noodles were mushy, and the eggs and tomatoes were overcooked.

He Tiantian also served her mother a bowl and brought it over. In this life and the next, this was the first time He Tiantian had cooked a proper meal for her parents.

While cooking this meal, He Tiantian held back her tears, comforting herself that there was still a chance, and that she would cook for her parents often in the future and take good care of them.

Wang Shuping, like her husband, hadn't eaten dinner. Seeing the fragrant noodles in front of her, her eyes reddened, and her heart ached. It was the result of her daughter's lifelong hard work to make such delicious noodles.

The daughter made egg noodles, and the family of three forgot about the troubles outside, each having a bowl of egg noodles and enjoying them immensely.

After eating the noodles, He Tiantian said, "Mom, bring me everything you can from home, because we don't have anything left at home. These things are top-notch in the countryside. I can give away the things I don't wear to other villagers so we can get along well. So don't worry about me being bullied."

As the only daughter in her family, Wang Shuping had a lot of clothes of all sizes, which were precious items at the end of the year when supplies were scarce. Originally, Wang Shuping wanted to have a baby to give the clothes to her child, but she hadn't gotten pregnant and couldn't bear to give them away, so she kept them all.

"Oh, there's plenty more at home, I'll keep tidying up." Wang Shuping agreed. No matter where you go, maintaining good relationships with those around you is always a great benefit.

He Tiantian and He Jingyu were chatting, discussing their future plans. He Jingyu no longer treated his daughter like a child, especially after hearing about the situation that was about to unfold; he was utterly astonished.

The darkness before dawn will not last long; light will soon follow, filling He Jingyu with hope for the future. No matter what, he must not give up hope and must find every possible way to overcome all difficulties.

"Ding ding ding..." The clock in the house struck ten, and He Jingyu realized that it was already ten o'clock.

"Shall we go see if your mother has finished packing?" He Jingyu suggested, and came over with his daughter to take a look.

He Tiantian saw four huge military green canvas bags on the ground and opened her mouth in surprise, saying, "Mom, there are too many! With my small frame, I can only carry one on my back and two smaller ones in my hands at most. I can't possibly carry all of these."

“Yes, there’s too much. You should collect the clothes that Tian Tian can use right now, and bring less. Once Tian Tian is settled, tell us your address, and then we’ll send the things over.” He Jingyu also felt that there was too much stuff on the ground, and his daughter couldn’t possibly carry it all.

Wang Shuping had to reduce her supplies, preparing six sets of summer clothes, one set of winter cotton-padded clothes, as well as shoes, hats, socks, and underwear. She also prepared face cream for girls, hair ties, menstrual pads, an enamel mug for drinking water, a water bottle to carry with her, a lunchbox, a washbasin, and even a small basin for washing her bottom.

Seeing this, He Tiantian couldn't help but hug her mother, choking back tears as she said, "There's no one better than a mother in this world; a child with a mother is a treasure."

In her previous life, due to the suddenness of the event and He Tiantian's constant crying, her parents were worried and hastily prepared some things, but they weren't as comprehensive as they are now.

Although she is still following the path of her previous life, there are many forks in the road and many opportunities. She must keep her eyes open, seize every opportunity, and gradually change her own life and her parents' fate.

"Sigh," He Jingyu said with a mournful voice when he saw his wife and daughter like this, "Only Mom is good, so Dad isn't good?"

"Whether it's a father or a mother, it's the best for a child." He Tiantian said with a smile. As long as her parents are alive in this life, she will be happy. This is her mission after being reborn.

As for Huo Yingjie, she will love him wholeheartedly.

He Jingyu put his arms around his wife and daughter and said softly, "We are all fine, all fine."

It was already late at night, and He Tiantian was told to go to sleep; she needed to catch the train the next day and couldn't be tired. But He Tiantian couldn't sleep. In her past life, it wasn't a matter of who wronged whom between her and Huo Yingjie. Just the fact that he valued the old town of his hometown so much showed that he wasn't indifferent to her.

Fate is cruel. In this life, she no longer wants to be a turtle, hiding in her shell whenever something happens and letting others control her destiny.

Thinking of this, He Tiantian opened the screen window, stood on the chair, and secretly climbed out.

He Jingyu and Wang Shuping heard the commotion but didn't stop her. They figured the girl was saying goodbye to Huo Yingjie.

He Tiantian reached the corner of the wall and stood next to the persimmon tree.

"Meow~~~~Meow~~~~~Meow~~~~~" He Tiantian imitated a kitten's meow; this was her secret signal, hoping that Huo Yingjie in the neighboring yard could hear it.

Just when He Tiantian thought Huo Yingjie wouldn't come out, three cries of "Cuckoo cuckoo... cuckoo cuckoo..." came from next door.

He Jingyu and Wang Shuping were both amused and exasperated. These two kids were acting like underground operatives. At this hour of the night, what cuckoo could there possibly be?

"Sweetie, is that you?" Huo Yingjie asked softly, while rustling as he put on his clothes.

“It’s me.” He Tiantian lowered her voice. “Brother Yingjie, my dad signed me up. I’m going to board the educated youth train tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Yingjie became anxious and said, "You're so young, how can you go to the countryside?"

“Something happened at home, and my dad was worried that something would happen to me too, so he sent me away,” He Tiantian said. “Don’t worry about me, I’m all grown up now and I can take care of myself.”

“Something’s happened. Find my dad and we’ll solve it together. You…” Huo Yingjie was breathing heavily. He turned around to find his father, hoping that he could keep Tian Tian.

“Brother Yingjie, please don’t go. Dad is doing this to protect me,” He Tiantian said. “It’s just going to the countryside, not that I’m never coming back. I can write to you when I get there.”

"Can't it be changed?" Huo Yingjie thought bitterly. "What will I do if I can't see you anymore?"

“Brother Yingjie, you’re going to the National Defense Industry Institute in a month, and we won’t be able to see each other very often. But we’ve agreed to keep in touch regularly,” He Tiantian said. “Today I’ll tell you our secret code for writing letters. The last character of each of the first three paragraphs, when combined, forms the pronunciation of our names. These three characters don’t have to be in order, and you can even switch their positions. For example, in the letter I wrote to you, the last character of the first three paragraphs is the same pronunciation of Huo Yingjie. Did you remember that?”

He Tiantian no longer wanted Huo Yingjie to misunderstand because of the letter, or for Qi Jianguo to take advantage of the situation. That was the reason she called Huo Yingjie out.

"Okay, I've remembered. I can write the pronunciation of He Tiantian's name." Huo Yingjie said, "I'll see you off tomorrow." Huo Yingjie reached out and tugged at the leaves of the persimmon tree that had grown into his yard, expressing his reluctance to part.

The same scene, at different times, evokes two different moods.

"Okay." He Tiantian agreed. In this life, she would not avoid his gaze, but stand with him.