Zou Minchen took the luggage and greeted Xiao's mother in a rather "well-behaved" manner: "Hello, Auntie."

"Then I'll have to trouble you during this time. My son Chengnuo has quite a few problems, so please bear with him." Mrs. Xiao replied with a smile, then turned to look at Qingyun but didn't say anything. She knew that Qingyun didn't want to go home. Others might not know about Qingyun's achievements abroad over the years, but Mrs. Xiao knew some of them.

She felt a surge of pride. Qingyun was right back then; after leaving the Xiao family, her son had become increasingly successful.

“No trouble at all, Cheng Nuo and I... don’t need to talk about these things.” Zou Minchen said to Xiao’s mother in a seemingly gentle manner, but in reality, he was extremely anxious.

His original plan was for him to hug Qingyun as soon as they met, followed by a passionate kiss, and maybe even something else in the car. Once they got back to their place, he planned to let Qingyun rest for the night, and the next day they would have a whole day to do all sorts of things they wanted to do.

But now… with Xiao's mother present, Zou Minchen dared not do anything. He wasn't stupid; how could he not see how much Qingyun valued Xiao's mother? Naturally, he was treating his mother-in-law with the same respect he would show her.

"Oh, it's still early, but you've been on the plane for so long, you should go back and rest." Although Xiao's mother said this, she was still a little reluctant to let her go.

Upon hearing this, Zou Minchen perked up.

Unexpectedly, Qingyun shook her head and said, "I'm not tired. Tomorrow is Grandma's birthday. Let's go pick out a gift for her."

"Really?" Xiao's mother's face lit up with joy, while Zou Minchen's mood plummeted again.

Qingyun nodded, then looked with interest at Zou Minchen, who looked somewhat dejected at the moment: "Goodbye...?"

"……goodbye."

Zou Minchen nodded helplessly. He watched Qingyun's departing figure, covered his face and sighed, but then his eyes softened when he saw the luggage in his hands.

Qingyun got into the car with Xiao's mother. Xiao's mother was obviously very happy and chatted with him while driving: "I always thought you were just one of those good-for-nothing friends from before. I didn't expect this one to be so nice."

"Although he looks a bit fierce, he has a pretty good temper."

"You just look a bit older, but you should make more friends with these mature and stable people."

As she spoke, Mrs. Xiao frowned and said, "You didn't tell me their name either. Weren't you being a little rude just now?"

Qingyun listened to these words about Zou Minchen with a smile on her face the whole time, until this moment when she raised her eyes and dropped a bombshell on Xiao's mother:

"Name? Oh, he is Zou Minchen."

Xiao's mother froze for a moment, and the driver of the Xiao family in front was also clearly shocked, causing the car to drift slightly.

Xiao's mother immediately recalled the incident three years ago that shocked the entire upper class of Yancheng. She turned her head sharply and asked Qingyun, "Is it the one from the Zou family? Are you sure it's surnamed Zou, not Zhou?"

"Mm." Qingyun nodded casually.

Having received affirmation, Xiao's mother slowly turned her head, completely unaware of what she was thinking.

She wasn't present when the incident happened, and when others brought it up later, she only thought it was an exaggerated rumor. After all, in her mind, Zou Minchen's aloofness and unapproachability were deeply ingrained.

Who would have thought that the Zou family patriarch, who was said to have an extremely bad temper, would be so... servile in front of his own son?

Suddenly, a thought struck her: if what happened back then was true... these two are living together again now...

"Son...you two?" Xiao's mother asked cautiously, but then suddenly felt it was unnecessary, so she waved her hand and put her forehead, saying, "Never mind, don't tell me."

Regardless of Qingyun's answer, Xiao's mother knew in her heart that she had no power to interfere. In any case, it seemed that her son would not suffer any loss, so what was she afraid of?

Qingyun had just returned. Although he was supposed to be picking out a gift for his grandmother, Xiao's mother was worried that he would get tired, so she only took him for a quick look around.

However, a minor mishap occurred when it came time to pay: Qingyun accidentally took the wrong card and swiped Zou Minchen's card.

Because the mall belonged to the Zou family, even the manager was alerted and respectfully saw the two out.

Qingyun didn't think anything of it. Knowing he was returning to China, Zou Minchen had sent him quite a few things supposedly commonly used in the country. Little did he know that this guy had also smuggled in some personal items. But Xiao's mother was clearly overjoyed, simply because she had met two good friends earlier, and this scene made her feel quite proud.

After Qingyun and Xiao's mother left, Xiao Chengzhe and Zou Qiyao slowly walked down the stairs together.

Xiao Chengzhe ignored his female companion, his gaze fixed on Qingyun's retreating figure. He hadn't expected Xiao Chengnuo to reappear. In the past few years, Xiao Chengnuo had essentially disappeared and had never had any contact with Zou Minchen again. Many people had already forgotten what happened three years ago.

But now that Xiao Chengnuo has suddenly returned, and is even openly swiping Zou Minchen's card in a shopping mall under the Zou family's control, what is he trying to do? Is he really trying to get close to the Zou family, as Xiao's father said?

Xiao Chengzhe scoffed. He had initially thought Xiao Chengnuo had some backbone, but now it seemed he was nothing special. But was it so easy to cling to Zou Minchen's coattails?

He withdrew his gaze and patted Zou Qiyao on the shoulder beside him: "Look, that was Xiao Chengnuo who just went out. You still remember what happened three years ago, right? It seems that President Zou really treats him well."