The dinner party ended late at night, and everyone went home. Little Fatty Cai Guan was practically dragged away by Jiang Wenzhen.

Chu Fang and Zhong Tingyue stood there, watching them disappear into the darkness. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they turned away. The latter turned around and tidied the former's clothes and slightly disheveled hair.

After finishing her preparations, she looked at the handsome young man in front of her, pursed her lips, and smiled brightly: "Handsome!"

"Be humble, handsome."

"Then it'll be Xiao Shuai."

"...You don't need to be so hypocritical, you can be more honest."

"You say it's modesty, but I say it's hypocrisy?"

"Hmm... ...Yes."

"A man with double standards."

They walked home hand in hand.

In mid-September, autumn is just around the corner. Strolling through the streets of Shanghai at night, a sea breeze occasionally blows by, refreshing and pleasant.

"Phew... I've finally gained a foothold," Zhong Tingyue exhaled, as if releasing all the pent-up frustration, feeling instantly relieved. "I was so scared recently, afraid that if I opened the studio and then went out of business without any orders, I would not only have let Nana down, a debt I could never repay, but I was also terrified that if the studio closed, my employees would be unemployed, and their families would be burdened..."

A gentle and cool voice echoed around, telling her heart to her beloved.

She had kept these words to herself for a long time. She didn't say them before because she was afraid of making her boyfriend worry. It's better for one person to be anxious than for both of them to be anxious. At least Chu Fang is happy, and her mood will be much better as a result.

Only after resolving the client's issue today did she finally dare to speak her mind, expressing a complex mix of emotions: helplessness, grievance, and worry.

Chu Fang listened quietly to the other person's story, remaining silent, but simply held that slender hand tightly, letting the other person feel the warmth of his palm.

A beautiful smile bloomed on Zhong Tingyue's face.

Her boyfriend's reaction warmed her heart. He didn't offer much response or constant comfort, but instead listened quietly to her innermost thoughts.

It was less than a single word, yet it delivered 100% emotional value.

Suddenly, a soft sound interrupted her. She frowned, looked at her boyfriend, and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "You're so annoying! Why didn't you turn off the phone? You're not allowed to answer."

Someone called Chu Fang, and he raised an eyebrow: "Are you sure?"

“I’m sure, definitely, and absolutely…” Zhong Tingyue nodded, but when she saw the caller ID on Chu Fang’s phone screen, which was from someone named ‘Mom,’ she suddenly stopped, swallowing the word ‘definitely’ back. “Answer it.”

"I'm not answering."

"... ...Come on."

Chu Fang made a shushing gesture, then answered the call. His father's steady voice came through the receiver: "Um... hello."

The father and son began chatting, which was as awkward as ever. Chu Fang replied, "Okay, Dad, how are you?"

He had a million jokes in his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to say them to his father, giving stiff answers instead.

"good."

Then there was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. Chu Fang knew that his father was thinking about how to continue the conversation. He thought for a moment, then decided that he should speak more naturally than his father, and carefully asked, "Dad, where's Mom?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Fang could almost feel the breath coming from the other side, and he immediately felt relieved. Then he heard his mother's gentle voice: "You two are like enemies. You can't even exchange three sentences before you bring me up. Without me, what's the difference between this house and a morgue?"

Then Mom answered the phone: "Hello, sweetie..."

Pfft!

A soft laugh, seemingly unstoppable, echoed around, immediately attracting Chu's mother's attention. Her voice rose eight octaves: "Good boy, is someone next to you? It's so late, and there's someone next to you? Is it your girlfriend? Hi, Chu Fang's girlfriend, hello! I'm her mother. Let me introduce myself..."

Chu Fang glanced back at Zhong Tingyue, who covered her mouth, narrowed her eyes to slits, and shrank back like a cute little squirrel. Chu Fang twitched the corners of his mouth, ignored her, and replied to his mother, "Colleague."

"A colleague?" Chu's mother was taken aback, then scolded him, "Why didn't you say so earlier? You embarrassed me, my dear..."

Thinking of his mother's nagging, he felt a headache coming on, so he interrupted her: "Mom, what's up with calling me?"

What started as a casual question unexpectedly ignited a fire in Chu's mother's heart: "What's wrong? Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? You won't let me call, and now you're unhappy when I call you? I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, the pain brought tears to my eyes..."

"Serves you right for being so foul-mouthed..." Chu Fang lightly patted his own mouth.

Zhong Tingyue reached out and patted his lips, and he immediately grabbed his girlfriend's arm, their eyes meeting.

You've gone too far, haven't you?

Goodness~~~

Oh dear, that's what my mom calls me.

Goodness~~~

Zhong Tingyue, are you sick in the head?

Goodness~~~

One woman silently called him "darling," while the other murmured in his ear. In one night, he encountered the two most helpless women in his life.

Chu Fang's head really started to hurt.

Chu's mother talked about her ten months of pregnancy until tonight, repeatedly expressing her inner suffering, and even said with a hint of lingering reluctance, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to talk about it anymore."

"I'm too lazy to talk anymore. You've almost finished talking, are you out of words?"... Chu Fang swallowed his complaints and replied with a forced smile, "Mom, you're right. I've let you down so much. I'll definitely take good care of you for the rest of my life."

"Hehe, so sensible." Chu's mother's face changed like a Sichuan opera mask, and she immediately smiled. After rambling on for more than half an hour, she finally remembered why she had made the call and said, "Oh right, I forgot to mention that I'm coming to Shanghai for a classmate reunion during the National Day holiday. I'm letting you know in advance."

"Oh, okay." Chu Fang nodded and readily agreed. "Is my dad coming?"

"No, I have school to do," Chu's mother replied. "I don't want to go with him either. I'm coming to Shanghai alone to find a handsome guy!"

Chu's father sipped his tea, unconcerned.

"Then I'll pick you up from the airport."

"Okay, my sweetie."

He chatted with his mother for a while, mostly her talking, while Chu Fang nodded in agreement, and then hung up the phone.

Finally turning around, she looked at Zhong Tingyue with a smile in her eyes and called out in a sweet, coquettish voice, "My darling~~~"