Chapter 26

Yu Li's family lives in a small county in southern province.

The flight was less than two hours long, and Yan Shiting had bought a first-class ticket, so the journey was not uncomfortable.

Yu Li woke up to find the plane preparing to land, covered by the blanket given to her by the flight attendant.

A few minutes later, the plane landed smoothly at the airport in the capital city of the southern province.

It's raining today, and the temperature is a bit low.

After getting off the plane, Yan Shiting took Yu Li to the airport parking lot.

Yan's has a large shopping mall in the southern province. About one-third of the shops in the mall sell products under Yan's brand. The products are of good quality and have favorable prices. As a result, the mall has maintained a high customer traffic in the southern province for many years.

When the mall's general manager learned that Yan Shiting was coming, he sent a driver to take care of their travel for the next few days.

It only takes a little over an hour to travel from the provincial capital back to the small county town.

After entering the county town, Yu Li gave the driver directions to the best-rated hotel in the county.

However, standing in the hotel lobby, Yu Li heard the receptionist say, "Two tour groups have come in the last few days, and all the rooms in our hotel are fully booked."

Yu Li was stunned. "There aren't even any rooms left?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Yu Li frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled.

The hotel facilities in this small county town are generally poor; this one is barely considered one of the better ones.

Or, how about letting Yan Shiting stay in the provincial capital?

Just then, the receptionist received a phone call. After hanging up, he said to Yu Li, "A guest in a double room just said they wanted to check out. That room is available now, but it has a small window facing the corridor. Would you like it?"

The receptionist continued, "There aren't many hotels in our county to begin with, and recently a tourist attraction became very popular during the National Day holiday. Many people came to visit outside of peak season, so other hotels may not have many good rooms available."

Yu Li was undecided. He didn't know if Yan Shiting was picky about the environment he stayed in, but he was subconsciously worried that Yan Shiting had been pampered since childhood, and that staying in such a place might be unfair to him.

However, Yan Shiting, who was standing to the side, had already handed over his ID card: "Okay, please help me book this room."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Yu Li was taken aback and turned to look at Yan Shiting.

Perhaps his gaze was too direct, for Yan Shiting also turned his head to look over.

However, Yan Shiting did not explain anything, but simply led Yu Li to sit down on the sofa in the hall.

After the guest checked out and left, the front desk notified the housekeeping staff to clean the room.

Not long after, the front desk registered Yan Shiting's check-in information.

Yu Li thought for a moment, then followed Yan Shiting upstairs, intending to check out the room.

Upon opening the door, one is greeted by a cramped room of less than twenty square meters. A large bed occupies most of the space, with a television and a table opposite it.

On the wall near the corridor, close to the ceiling, there is a small window that is less than a meter long and about half a meter high.

The room was poorly soundproofed; I could hear people walking in the hallway and even talking in the next room.

If you don't insert the card and turn on the lights, the whole room will be completely dark.

It's very depressing.

It's not even as good as the room Yu Li rented in Y City during the summer vacation.

Yu Li frowned and tugged at Yan Shiting's sleeve.

Yan Shiting paused in his steps.

He turned around and glanced lightly at Yu Li's hand that was holding his.

Yu Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "Brother Yan, why don't you stay in the provincial capital? It's only a little over an hour's drive from there, very convenient."

“Yu Li.” Yan Shiting looked at Yu Li.

Yu Li is so easy to understand.

Almost instantly, Yan Shiting could guess the guilt he felt at that moment.

He knew that Yu Li was somewhat sensitive and insecure, and that if he lived in such a room, Yu Li would only feel that it was all his responsibility.

Yan Shiting said in a deep voice, "I am not a person who is picky about where I live."

He patiently explained, "The Yan family's donation of Hope Primary Schools requires on-site inspection. When we went to the village, the conditions were really bad, and we even slept in the villagers' woodsheds and idle cowsheds."

Yu Li gradually came to her senses and slowly released her grip on his sleeve.

He then realized that he didn't actually know Yan Shiting.

In fact, after hearing so many comments about Yan Shiting from the outside world, he unconsciously developed some stereotypes about him.

Yu Li pursed her lips and stopped talking.

They set off early in the morning, and it's lunchtime now.

After putting away his luggage, Yan Shiting turned around and saw Yu Li standing at the door with a confused expression.

He stepped forward, took Yu Li's wrist, and said, "Let's go eat first."

He then added, "Don't overthink it."

Yu Li nodded.

The room door closed, and it wasn't until they entered the elevator that Yu Li noticed Yan Shiting holding his wrist.

But the next second, Yan Shiting let go of her hand.

Yu Li paused for a moment, then gently lowered her hand.

...

We had lunch at a Cantonese restaurant.

The food was light and not as good as the private chef's in Y City, but Yu Li could still eat it.

His morning sickness was only severe a while ago; recently, except for the mornings, the symptoms have actually become much less severe.

After lunch, Yu Li felt a little sleepy.

Yan Shiting escorted him home.

Yu Li's home is in an old residential area in the county town. Many years ago, this was the best location in the center of the county town.

My parents took out a loan to buy a house, but my father died while saving someone just a year later, and the burden of paying off the mortgage fell on my mother's shoulders.

So over the years, my mother has never dared to stop working to earn money.

The car stopped outside the residential area. Yu Li looked at the familiar place and felt a little emotional.

He looked at Yan Shiting beside him and said, "Brother Yan, I'll head back now."

Yan Shiting nodded: "Get some rest."

"good."

After returning home, Yu Li tidied up her room briefly and took a long nap.

When he woke up, he heard the sound of running water coming from the kitchen.

Yu Li rubbed his eyes and walked over, where he saw his mother washing vegetables.

Hearing the noise, Lin Jiarong turned around and said, "You're awake? You child, you didn't even tell me you were coming back."

When she got home from get off work in the afternoon, she found that Yu Li had returned, but seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she didn't wake him up.

Yu Li smiled and stepped forward to help wash the vegetables: "Mom, aren't you working overtime today?"

"It's the off-season now, there are fewer orders at the factory, so we're not working overtime." Lin Jiarong made room for Yu Li by the sink and wiped the water off his hands.

"It's still school time, why are you back?"

Yu Li said, "I have completed all my credits and have no classes."

He pursed his lips: "I found an internship, so I won't be coming back for the Chinese New Year. That's why I wanted to come back now to see you and my sister."

He'll be showing during the Lunar New Year, and then it won't be appropriate for him to appear in front of his relatives.

Lin Jiarong smiled, but said accusingly, "If you've found an internship, then work hard. Xin Xin and I are both fine. When will we not see each other? At worst, I can bring Xin Xin to see you."

"You haven't even started earning money yet, and round-trip train tickets aren't cheap."

Knowing that she was just saying one thing and meaning another, Yu Li got used to it and smiled, "I've saved all the money I've earned from part-time jobs over the years, as well as my scholarship money, so don't worry, Mom."

"Of course I'm worried. You need to save more money now, because you'll need a lot of money to buy a house, a car, and get married in the future."

marry……

Yu Li paused in washing the vegetables.

When my mother talks about marriage, she naturally means marrying a girl.

Yu Li lowered her eyes.

But he is already married, and married to a man.

He will definitely disappoint his mother in this matter.

However, he can't tell his mother yet.

After washing the last bok choy, Yu Li said, "That's all for later. There's no rush now."

Seeing that Lin Jiarong seemed about to say something again, Yu Li quickly smiled and said in a coquettish tone, "Mom, I haven't eaten your cooking for more than half a year."

Lin Jiarong's attention was indeed diverted.

She smiled helplessly, turned on the gas stove, and started cooking.

During her meal, Yu Li received a WeChat message.

He quietly opened it and peeked inside, seeing Yan Shiting asking him:

Are you feeling unwell?

Fearing that Lin Jiarong would find out, Yu Li did not reply.

After dinner, as he was clearing away the dishes to wash them, he finally had a moment to reply:

I'm not feeling bad; Mom's cooking is delicious.

Yan Shiting: [Okay.]

Yu Li thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you eaten?"

【have eaten. 】

【OK. 】

Yu Li then put down her phone.

He quickly washed the dishes, sat with his mother in the living room and watched TV for a while, and then set off at 8:20 p.m. to pick up his younger sister, Yu Xin.

There was only one electric scooter at home, so Lin Jiarong rode that one, while Yu Li went outside the community and picked up a shared bike.

They arrived at the school where Yu Xin studied. As soon as Yu Li stopped, she saw a man smiling as he walked up to her mother.

The man was about the same height as Yu Li, but much stronger, and looked rather intimidating.

"Xiaolin, here to pick up your daughter again?"

Hearing his affectionate address, Yu Li's heart skipped a beat.

Could this man be the uncle my sister was talking about?

Lin Jiarong's expression was somewhat unnatural. He secretly glanced at Yu Li and hummed in response.

She led Yu Li to the streetlights outside the school gate to make sure Yu Xin could see them as soon as she came out.

The man followed behind, keeping a distance of two steps, and continued to talk to Lin Jiarong:

"Is this your son? He looks a lot like you."

Lin Jiarong nodded, "Yes, both of my children look more like me."

The man smiled and greeted him, "Hello, I'm your mother's colleague."

Yu Li couldn't tell whether the man was a good person or not, but she still greeted him politely, "Hello, Uncle."

Lin Jiarong tugged at Yu Li's sleeve and said to the man, "Team leader, my son is coming with me to pick up my daughter today, so you can go back first."

The man stood there, waved his hand, and said, "It's alright, since we're already here, I'll wait with you."

Lin Jiarong then stopped talking, grasped Yu Li's wrist, his eyes struggling as if trying to confirm something.

Yu Li glanced back at the man.

Standing there as a man, he was undeniably imposing, so much so that the parents picking up their children around them silently kept a distance from him.

Yu Li turned her gaze and saw a familiar black Mercedes-Benz not far away.

That was the car the shopping mall's general manager used for entertaining guests.

Knowing that Yan Shiting was nearby, Yu Li felt much relieved and quietly withdrew her gaze.