In just over half a month, Meng Zihan lost a lot of weight and was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Finally, when Zhou Shixian once again flew into a rage because Meng Zihan hadn't ironed his shirt properly, Meng Zihan couldn't help but retort.

As a result, he received a merciless beating and the punishment of having his allowance canceled for the rest of the month.

After venting his anger, Zhou Shixian kicked Meng Zihan in the stomach and slammed the door shut as he left.

Meng Zihan was in so much pain that she curled up on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.

In the end, I had to call an ambulance myself and was taken to the emergency room.

Lying on the cold hospital bed, the doctor examined Meng Zihan and told her that her injuries were soft tissue contusions and nothing serious.

But when Meng Zihan looked at herself in the mirror, with the bruises all over her face and the shocking bruises on her arms, she felt as if she had been torn apart, and the pain almost made her faint.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking her pillow.

At that moment, for the first time, she felt a deep-seated fear.

No, we can't put all our hopes on Zhou Shixian alone.

If Zhou Shixian can beat her like this today because of a shirt, he might kill her tomorrow for something else.

He might wait until she gets old and loses her beauty, or until he gets tired of her, then he'll discard her like trash.

She had to find a way out for herself.

Over the past few months, she has met many different kinds of wealthy people at various dinner parties with Zhou Shixian.

Some people looked at her with undisguised ambiguity and interest.

She didn't want things to come to that, but a voice inside her coldly reminded her: if she didn't plan for herself while she was young and beautiful, she would eventually lose everything and suffer a miserable end.

While Meng Zihan lay on the cold hospital bed, secretly plotting her way out, Ye Linchen's life was a completely different story.

The semester has come to a successful end, with her final exam scores all being excellent, firmly placing her among the top students in her major.

More importantly, her collaboration with her classmates and Sanmu Software Company has yielded impressive preliminary results after several months of hard work and collaboration.

That afternoon, their startup project team held their last summary meeting of the semester in a small house they rented near the school.

The small rented room was filled with various documents and books, several computer screens were lit up, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of instant coffee and instant noodles.

Everyone sat around a small table, and the atmosphere was lively.

“Time is running out.” Ye Linchen patted the thick stack of reports in his hand. “We have less than a year until we can formally present our business plan. Our project plan is still in the early theoretical stage. Starting next semester, we must speed things up and come up with a practical application model.”

The other students in the project team nodded earnestly.

They all knew very well that their time was running out.

The meeting didn't end until evening. Ye Linchen didn't even have time for dinner before rushing off to tutor outside the school with his schoolbag on his back.

That year, because her startup project took up a lot of her time and energy, she did not take on any new tutoring students.

I only have the two I taught before left, and they've both entered their senior year of high school this year, currently in the most crucial sprint stage.

She promised to stay with them through the college entrance exam, which was a perfect ending to her tutoring career.

By the time she finished her last tutoring session and left the student's house, it was already very late at night.

Gu Jingran's car was parked under a streetlamp. When he saw her come out, he opened the car door and got out.

The cold wind of the winter night blew by, carrying a chilly feeling.

Ye Linchen quickly climbed into the warm passenger seat, put the thick stack of lecture notes and test papers on the back seat, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing her rubbing her shoulders in exhaustion, Gu Jingran asked with concern, "Are you exhausted?"

"It's alright, I'm used to it now," Ye Linchen replied with a smile.

Gu Jingran didn't say much, started the car, and took her to a newly opened Hong Kong-style hot pot restaurant in the center of Jiangcheng City.

The restaurant is stylishly decorated, with bamboo curtains separating the booths, which is both elegant and ensures privacy.

A steaming pot of soup in the center of the table emitted thick white steam, dispelling all the chill of the winter night.

As soon as the dish was served, the rich aroma of bone broth wafted over.

Gu Jingran used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of freshly cooked, tender beef and placed it in her bowl. Looking at her face, flushed from the steam, he asked casually, "Xiao Chen, what are your plans for the Chinese New Year this year?"

Ye Linchen was engrossed in eating the food in his bowl when he heard this. He shook his head and asked, somewhat indistinctly, "What's wrong?"

She could never go back to the Ye family.

In previous years, I spent the Lunar New Year alone in my rented room.

Gu Jingran looked at her, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"My parents mean... they want you to come back to Beijing with us for the Chinese New Year this year."

When Ye Linchen heard Gu Jingran mention going to the capital for the New Year, his hand holding the chopsticks paused in mid-air.

Going to Beijing? For the Chinese New Year?

These two words together carry considerable weight.

This is no longer a simple meeting between boyfriend and girlfriend and their parents; it's more like the prospective daughter-in-law going to the man's home to celebrate the Spring Festival, a symbol of family reunion.

Ye Linchen's mind raced.

In her previous life, she gave everything for the Ye family, but they only treated her as a bloodsucker and she never enjoyed a single day of family affection.

After falling ill, he was kicked out and left to fend for himself. He couldn't even enter the Ye family's house, and he spent the New Year all alone.

In this life, has Ye Linchen finally found a place he can call "home"?

Half of my heart was filled with sudden nervousness, while the other half was filled with uncontrollable anticipation.

Ye Linchen looked up and saw the seriousness and expectation in Gu Jingran's eyes, as if he was worried that she would refuse. Ye Linchen's anxiety instantly dissipated.

Ye Linchen is dating him with the intention of spending her life with him. Although they haven't considered marriage yet, meeting each other's parents is a perfectly normal thing.

Since Gu Jingran and his parents are so sincere, why should she be coy?

Having figured this out, Ye Linchen broke into a big smile, put his chopsticks back into the bowl, picked up a large piece of fish, and readily agreed.

"Sure! My tutoring students are on winter break, and I'm free. How about we go for a few days?"

Gu Jingran breathed a sigh of relief, his smile deepening.

"My parents think it would be best to stay from the 29th of the lunar year to the 5th of the new year, making it a total of seven days. Of course, it mainly depends on your schedule. If you feel it's inconvenient, we can discuss it further."