There's an old saying that goes something like this: "A mouse's fortune-telling—it forgets it as soon as it puts down its paws."

My sister-in-law, Zhong Rou, is like a mouse; she has an extremely bad memory.

Less than half a day after the scam, he had already forgotten what had happened, forgotten Gao Ruoyun's punishment, and forgotten that he had cheated the children out of their New Year's money. He was jumping around and put the tabby cat and the little dog on the branches of the big tree in the yard.

"Were you two laughing at me last night?" Zhong Rou asked, hands on her hips, interrogating the two pets.

The tabby cat, with its elegant gait, leaped onto the roof using all four legs, then lay down and quietly gazed at Zhong Rou, a hint of human-like smugness in its eyes.

Before it was adopted by Zhong Tingyue, it was capable of flying and escaping, and small trees were no challenge for it.

The little mongrel, however, had a more difficult time. It was adopted by Zhong Rou at a very young age and lacked the necessary skills, so it could only shakily cling to the tree branch, afraid of falling.

"Did you laugh at me?" Zhong Rou asked the little mongrel.

The only response she received was a soft whimper, while the tabby cat on the roof grinned as if mocking her. This enraged Zhong Rou, who immediately pulled out a hose from behind her back, from which high-pressure water gushed: "You're still laughing at me! Do you think I'm easy to bully? I, Zhong Rou, may be kind, but kindness has its limits..."

Chu Fang: "..."

Sister-in-law, do you have a different definition of kindness?

Zhong Tingyue: "... ..."

That arrogant, disliked girl is back.

Headache... ...

... ...

For the next few days, Chu Fang stayed at the Zhong family home. He spent his days either with Zhong Tingyue, shopping, getting to know the Zhong family's relatives and friends, or playing cards at the village's card room with his future father-in-law's friends and the group of young people who had returned home from the village.

They were playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). Chu Fang rarely played cards and only knew the rules. Compared to the other people at the table, his card skills were very poor, so he lost a lot of money.

Zhong Ping sighed from the side, "Xiao Chu, you shouldn't have played your cards like that."

"A true gentleman observes chess in silence."

"That's right, either you hit him, or Xiao Chu hits him."

The other two card players said.

"Why don't you do it, Uncle?" Chu Fang asked.

"Forget it, let's finish this round and not play with them anymore. These guys have terrible sportsmanship."

Chu Fang: "..."

How dare you, old man, say that others have bad sportsmanship?

Just now you saw the cards of the other two card players completely and then taught them how to play.

Humor is a valid point.

Just then, a group of young people came in. They were migrant workers who could only come home for the Chinese New Year. They called out to set up a table.

Zhong Ping then forced Chu Fang to play cards with the group of young people; they were playing Texas Hold'em.

This is a game with a strong doctoral flavor, but because Chu Fang is rich and has a deep family fortune, he often dares to go all in with small hands. After playing for an afternoon, he miraculously won money, and quite a lot of it, at least thousands of yuan.

"Sigh! I was hoping to win money, but I ended up losing it instead."

"There is no justice in this world!"

Yes, yes.

A group of elderly people watching the commotion laughed and said, "You young men should learn from Xiao Chu. Don't think you're something special just because you've made a little money. Even people in Shanghai who own cars and houses aren't as arrogant as you."

"Don't talk about the old folks anymore, tears are flowing. How can the difference between people be so great?"

"Forget it, I'm not going to fight anymore. I'm going to work hard and go out to work tomorrow to earn more money."

"Did you gamble away all your money?"

“... ..."

On the way back, Chu Fang counted the money, then gave Zhong Ping his winnings. The latter was taken aback: "Why are you giving it to me?"

“If it weren’t for my uncle, I wouldn’t have won this money.”

"Bullshit!" Zhong Ping rolled his eyes. "You lost a lot of money at the beginning. According to you, you wouldn't have lost that much money if it weren't for me. Keep the money you won for yourself."

Chu Fang didn't hesitate. He put the banknote in his pocket, and the two walked side by side. He said, "Uncle, Zhong Tingyue and I plan to go back to Shanghai tomorrow."

Zhong Ping stood with his hands behind his back, his feet crunching in the snow: "I know."

"Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"No, as long as you two are happy." Zhong Ping shrugged, intending to shut up, but after thinking for a moment, he organized his thoughts and said, "You are both adults with your own extraordinary careers. You don't need us old folks to teach you anything."

"What you want to do is up to you to discuss and decide. There's no need to ask for our opinion. Whether you want to get engaged, when to get engaged, or get married is entirely up to you. Even having a child out of wedlock is your decision. You must believe that you are the ones who will walk hand in hand with each other to the end."

"No one but you two can accompany you through your entire lives. We elders can't, your relatives and friends can't, and even your future children can't. So you two can decide for yourselves what you want to do."

Zhong Ping is a very carefree person, so carefree that he almost never talks about the future of Chu Fang and the other person, leaving it entirely to the two of them to decide.

Chu Fang paused for a moment, then said as if making a vow, "I will treat Zhong Tingyue well and will never let her suffer in the slightest..."

He was interrupted by Zhong Ping's wave of his hand halfway through his sentence: "Hey, don't talk about those meaningless things. Zhong Tingyue is not a pet that you can protect at will. She has the ability to withstand pressure and can handle her own affairs. If you are to protect her life, what is the difference between her and a piece of trash? Are you dating her? No! You are raising a pet."

"Alright, let's not talk about those meaningless things, let's talk about something serious."

Chu Fang was taken aback.

This isn't a serious matter?

So what is the important thing?

Zhong Ping looked at him seriously, hesitated for a moment, and then waved his hand: "Never mind, it's nothing important."

After saying that, Zhong Ping strode forward, patting his face as he went.

Zhong Ping, Zhong Ping, what are you pretending to be, acting all high and mighty?

You should have accepted the money they gave you earlier, but now you're embarrassed to ask for it back.

Yes, Zhong Ping regretted it, he regretted it terribly!

Chu Fang tilted his head: "???"

No, father-in-law, what are you doing?

... ...

In winter, the sun sets very early, disappearing by six o'clock, and the whole earth becomes dark. Incandescent lights dispel the darkness.

Chu Fang and his group sat at the table, which was laden with delicious dishes, including fish, shrimp, ribs, and mountain delicacies.

Despite having experienced so many partings, Gao Ruoyun was still reluctant to leave.

I feel bad about leaving my two children behind when they are about to leave.

Compared to Gao Ruoyun, Zhong Ping and his daughter Zhong Rou seemed very carefree, eating and drinking as they pleased, not taking anything to heart, they were both heartless and carefree.

Zhong Rou held a spare rib in her hand, toying with the tabby cat in the air. The cat, on the other hand, squatted down, showing no intention of snatching the rib. Instead, it quietly watched Zhong Rou's actions, as if it were watching a... ...what a joke.

Seeing that the tabby cat didn't move, Zhong Rou tossed the piece of pork rib to the little yellow-haired cat by the door, then lowered her head and said to the tabby cat, "Young man, I want to tell you a life philosophy: a simp will eventually have everything, while you will have nothing."

Zhong Tingyue said slowly, "Mother..."

"Don't talk, let me catch my breath." Gao Ruoyun covered her forehead.

It seems that since college, she and her eldest daughter have seen each other for shorter and shorter periods of time. In college, there were winter and summer vacations, during which they could see each other for several months. But after entering the workforce, they saw each other even less. Apart from a few days off during the Chinese New Year, they hardly ever saw each other.

Gao Ruoyun seemed to have already foreseen the days to come.

Zhong Tingyue took out her phone and flipped through the photo album, saying, "Mom, this is the house I bought. It will be renovated as early as this year. If you'd like, we can go to Shanghai this year."

She knew what her mother was thinking.

"Sigh!" Gao Ruoyun sighed, "Other people's parents prepare houses for their children, but you're buying a house for the two of us."

"I was born of you, so why distinguish between you and me?"

Gao Ruoyun was down for a while, but she quickly cheered up because her little girl had eaten and drunk her fill and was practicing "Zhong-style Eight Fists" outside after taking off her clothes.

That brat is causing trouble again!

... ...