Perhaps it was because little Xie Yue was too adorable, or perhaps Gu Yunshu felt a little lonely on New Year's Eve, but in any case, at the Xie siblings' warm invitation, Gu Yunshu finally went home with them.

Of course, she couldn't just go to someone else's house and eat and drink for free, so she specially brought the meat and vegetables she had prepared for the New Year's Eve dinner.

The house where Xie Jing and his sister live is a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment, which is very clean.

The three of them cooked a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner together and made dumplings together. Xie Jing looked at Gu Yunshu, who was playing with her younger sister, and a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes.

For his sister's safety, Xie Jing always forbids Xie Yue from going out alone on missions.

Xie Yue listens to her brother very well. She always stays in the house obediently. Sometimes when Xie Jing is away on a mission and can't come back, she stays at home alone for several days.

But at her age, she should be making friends. Staying at home alone for too long has made her less cheerful and outgoing than before.

Furthermore, Xie Jing's Qilin Squad members were all men, so Xie Yue couldn't get along with them.

Xie Yue was overjoyed that a beautiful older sister had finally come to play with her.

Just as the three of them were about to eat, Xia Qingqing called.

Gu Yunshu was chatting with Xie Yue at the time, which is why she didn't immediately answer Xia Qingqing's video call.

"Sister Yunshu, where are you?" Xia Qingqing asked, looking at the obviously unfamiliar surroundings behind Gu Yunshu. This was clearly not Gu Yunshu's own home; she had seen Gu Yunshu's home before.

"I'm at a friend's house. They invited me to have New Year's Eve dinner with them," Gu Yunshu said, a smile still lingering on her face.

"Oh, did I disturb your meal?" Xia Qingqing was a little embarrassed. She didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that Gu Yunshu was eating at that moment.

She was worried that Gu Yunshu would be lonely spending the New Year alone and planned to spend more time with her. Now that she knows that Gu Yunshu is spending the New Year with her friends, she is very happy for her.

"Sister Yunshu, go eat now, I'll hang up first," Xia Qingqing said with a smile and waved to Gu Yunshu.

"Okay, I'll go eat first, and we can chat again when I get home tonight."

When Gu Yunshu came out of the restroom, she saw the Xie siblings sitting in their seats waiting for her, and she subconsciously curved her lips into a smile.

After dinner, Gu Yunshu played with Xie Yue for a while before deciding to go home.

Xie Yue held Gu Yunshu's hand reluctantly, not wanting her to leave: "Sister, why don't you stay and keep vigil with us? You can sleep in my room tonight."

"I have things to do when I get back, I'll come play with you again next time," Gu Yunshu said, gently stroking Xie Yue's soft hair, which felt wonderful to the touch.

After seeing Gu Yunshu off, Xie Yue stroked her chin and looked Xie Jing up and down. Xie Jing was a little confused by her serious expression.

"Yueyue, what are you looking at?"

"Brother, do you like Sister Yunshu?" Xie Yue asked, her big, watery eyes wide, as if she were a little adult.

Xie Jing was taken aback by the question, but quickly came to his senses: "No, why would you think that?"

"But you kept peeking at Sister Yun Shu just now. If you don't like her, why would you be peeking at her?" Xie Yue frowned in confusion.

Actually, she didn't quite understand what romantic love between men and women meant, but she felt that her brother's feelings for Gu Yunshu were very different.

Before the apocalypse began, Xie Jing would often take her out to play. When they encountered other young ladies who came up to him, he would always keep his distance, let alone stare at Gu Yunshu several times like he did just now.

"Don't think nonsense, kid. I only glanced at you two because I saw you having a lot of fun," Xie Jing subconsciously defended himself.

How could he possibly like Gu Yunshu? It's hard enough to live in this world, let alone take care of his sister. How could he have the energy to like someone else?

"Okay, then I'm so glad I didn't realize it," Xie Yue said with some disappointment. She had been thinking that if her brother really liked Sister Gu Yunshu, she would be a wingman and help him pursue her.

Xie Jing said in a serious tone, "You're not allowed to say anything out of line in front of Captain Gu, do you hear me?"

"Okay, okay, brother, don't always treat me like a little kid. I'm not that stupid," Xie Yue said, a little unhappy. She was already 12 years old, not 2.

Xie Jing: "......"

If 12 years old isn't a child, then what is 27 years old?

——

A few days after the Spring Festival, the educated youth who had gone home to visit their relatives returned one after another.

After returning to the educated youth settlement, Liang Shuang packed her things and immediately went to the Xia family to give Xia Qingqing some butterfly pastries and canned luncheon meat, which she had brought from Shanghai.

"Qingqing, let me tell you, these butterfly cookies are so delicious! They have a milky flavor and are my favorite snack."

"This luncheon meat can is also very delicious. It tastes so good and is just as good as the pork belly in state-run restaurants."

Xia Qingqing didn't stand on ceremony with her and accepted the two bags of pastries and two cans of food with a smile: "Thanks, I'm in for a treat today."

At that time, canned food was not as readily available as it is in later generations, and people could not buy it whenever they wanted. In many places, even if you had money, you couldn't buy canned meat. At least, you couldn't buy it in Pingxi County.

The luncheon meat can that Liang Shuang brought is a specialty of the Shanghai Canned Food Factory. It's made of pure meat and tastes incredibly delicious.

The brand remained in business for decades, and Xia Qingqing had eaten it a few times, but she didn't know how the canned food tasted different from that of later generations.

"These were all prepared by my mom. She heard that I made a really good friend in the countryside, so she asked me to give you some local specialties."

Liang Shuang was speaking normally, but when she mentioned her mother, her tone suddenly became somewhat downcast, and her eyes reddened slightly.

Xia Qingqing understood what was wrong with her. Some girls in her dormitory used to be like this too. Every time they returned to school from home, they would inexplicably feel like crying for a couple of days, but they would feel fine after those two days.

Xia Qingqing reached out and hugged Liang Shuang, gently comforting her, "Don't be sad. You'll be back in the city soon." She really wanted to tell Liang Shuang this, but she couldn't say it now.

Liang Shuang buried her head in Xia Qingqing's shoulder, tears seeping into her clothes.

After venting her homesickness, Liang Shuang quickly composed herself and began to share with Xia Qingqing what had happened during her time at home.

"Qingqing, let me tell you, my brother is now taller than me! When I went home and saw him, I almost didn't recognize him..."

Xia Qingqing listened patiently to her sharing, occasionally picking out interesting things that had happened during this period, and emphasizing the things she had taught Zhang Hongyan to study in the past few days.

"Wow~, Aunt Zhang is amazing!" Liang Shuang gave her a thumbs up. It's admirable that Zhang Hongyan, at her age, still has a thirst for knowledge.