Over the years, although Shen Du has not taken care of or accompanied the child, he has never shortchanged Yuanbao in terms of money. Moreover, it was Ye Zhao herself who prevented him from contacting the child, not Shen Du himself. Therefore, Ye Zhao never thought of erasing his existence from the child.

Little Yuanbao, seemingly understanding but not quite, asked again, "But other people's parents live together, why don't my parents live together?"

Ye Zhao touched his fair little face and patiently explained, "Because your mom and dad are separated. Look at Ya Ya, her mom and dad don't live together either, right?"

Little Yuanbao frowned, still looking puzzled. Ye Zhao smiled and said, "You're still young now, you'll understand when you grow up. Even without Daddy by your side, our Yuanbao is still the bravest little kid, isn't he?"

No sooner had the words left her lips than Yuanbao replied in a soft, sweet yet firm voice, "Yes! I am the bravest child on Guihua Road!"

Ye Zhao chuckled. Guihua Road was the name of the street near their residence. Yuanbao had often heard people mention it and had memorized it.

Under the dim streetlights, the figures of the mother and son grew smaller and smaller in the distance...

The weather in Shangyang is warm and comfortable, and life is leisurely. Ye Zhao has been learning to make desserts from the dessert shop owner on the street corner for the past two days. She was busy all morning and managed to make two finished products, but they didn't look very good. However, they were much better than the ones from the previous two days.

It was almost noon when Ye Zhao finally came out carrying two finished products.

"You're here to learn how to make cakes today too? Where's Yuanbao?"

As soon as Ye Zhao stepped out, she ran into her neighbor, Aunt Zhou, who smiled and replied, "Yuanbao has been taken to play by her aunt these past two days, so she's not home."

Aunt Zhou laughed and said, "I was wondering why I hadn't seen him these past two days. When is he coming back? The alley is so quiet without him."

Aunt Zhou and her husband Uncle Fang are both locals from Jiashui. Their children and grandchildren live in other places. Yuanbao is about the same age as their grandson. The couple dotes on little Yuanbao and always brings him some of their favorite treats. When Yuanbao is at home, he goes to their house to play for a while every day.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhao replied, "It'll probably take another two days..."

Yan Xi had just picked up the child a couple of days ago. Ye Zhao originally wanted to come along on this trip to B City, but she had bought a house and was currently renovating it. She wanted to oversee the renovations herself, so she didn't go.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Aunt Zhou, Ye Zhao carried the small cake back to the guesthouse. Before she even entered, she saw the young man from City A who had come a while ago hurriedly walking in the opposite direction with his luggage.

Ye Zhao ran into Yang Juan as soon as she entered the room. Presumably seeing a guest off, she asked, "Why did he leave in such a hurry? Didn't he say he would stay for a few more days?"

Fei Ming stayed here for several days. After that meal, they got to know each other quite well. Ye Zhao heard him say that he would stay here for a while before leaving.

Yang Juan replied, "I heard his boss came, and he was busy picking him up."

Ye Zhao nodded without saying anything more, and handed her the small cake in her hand: "Take it and eat it. Although it doesn't look good, it should taste good."

Yang Juan took it, examining it closely while praising, "You've improved! It looks much better than yesterday's."

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Of course!"

As she spoke, she headed towards the kitchen, when suddenly someone came out carrying freshly cooked dishes, and Ye Zhao nearly bumped into them.

"Didn't you say you were going to Maple Forest? Why are you back here again?" Ye Zhao asked.

Maple Forest is a guesthouse that Ye Zhao opened in the north of Shangyang. It covers a large area and the guesthouse rooms are scattered throughout. It is filled with red maple trees, hence the name Maple Forest. The one in the south is named Green Field by Ye Zhao because the guesthouse in the south is full of green plants. Even the courtyard is covered with ivy, which looks lush and beautiful in the summer.

The man, dressed in a formal suit, carefully carried the dishes in his hands. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I heard that Aunt Zhang's braised pork is delicious, so I came to try it."

Ye Zhao laughed and said, "That's right, Aunt Zhang's cooking skills are almost as good as Xiao Lin's."

Just then, Xiao Lin came out with a long face and said to Ye Zhao, "Boss, how about you switch my position with Aunt Zhang's? I can do cleaning too."

The group laughed upon hearing this. Aunt Zhang, who happened to be following behind, overheard this and said with a smile, "That won't do. I'm just an old woman who can only cook simple home-style dishes. If the guests want to eat trendy dishes, I can't help them..."

Ye Zhao also said, "That's right, everyone has their strengths. It's still hot lately, so you should focus on making drinks."

It's still a bit hot during the day in Jiashui recently, but the nights are quite cool. In this kind of weather, Xiaolin's refreshing and delicious drinks are very popular with customers.

After finishing their meal, Ye Zhao and Feng Cheng, the guesthouse manager and the young man who had served the dishes earlier, headed to the maple forest together.

The maple forest is located on the outskirts of Shangyang Ancient City. A gentle breeze blows, and the vibrant red leaves sway in the wind, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Not far away, many tourists were taking photos. As Ye Zhao walked in, Feng Cheng reported to her on the recent operation of Maple Forest.

The maple forest covers a large area, and the vibrant red maple leaves are very distinctive, attracting more guests. Therefore, although Feng Cheng manages all of Ye Zhao's guesthouses, he spends most of his time here.

"It's a bit far from the ancient city, only a few hundred meters away, but it's still not very convenient for guests with luggage."

Ye Zhao had thought of this a couple of days ago, so she replied, "I've hired a new driver, and he'll be the one to pick up and drop off guests coming from Jiashui city."

Feng Cheng nodded in agreement; that was the best possible outcome.

He accompanied Ye Zhao on a tour of the guesthouse, discussing everything that needed to be discussed and agreeing on any necessary changes before the two of them strolled out of the maple forest.

Ye Zhao frowned and fanned away a mosquito that flew in front of her, saying, "Do you know any better ways to repel mosquitoes? There are too many mosquitoes in the forest, which is affecting the guests' experience."

They came out after walking around inside, and their bodies were covered in bite marks.

Feng Cheng frowned and fanned away the mosquitoes, then echoed, "Okay, I'll think of a way."

The two walked out along the path and arrived at the entrance of the guesthouse. Feng Cheng wanted to take Ye Zhao back to the city, but she refused. Today, the autumn sky was clear and the wind was gentle, perfect for a stroll.

The main road outside the ancient city was lined with willow trees. Ye Zhao walked along the shade of the trees into the city and encountered a group of people coming out of the city. They were all dressed in suits and ties and were talking about coming out of the city.

Ye Zhao glanced around and saw that some of them were wearing red name tags, guessing that they were government employees. So she turned and went in another direction.

Jiang Che, standing in the crowd, only saw one figure turn the corner and didn't think much of it.