After leaving my grandparents' house, I headed to the Children's Palace to pick up Pingping and An'an.

At that time, the children's palace didn't have many talent classes; they were all more traditional.

There are also piano classes, violin classes, dance classes, painting classes... An'an learns martial arts, and Pingping learns basketball. The two can teach each other and learn from each other.

"Mom and Dad, what brings you here?"

"We're going to visit your great-grandparents. It's just the right time to pick you up. Let's go pick up Kuai Kuai and Man Man now."

"Okay, let's go."

After picking up Kuai Kuai and Man Man, the family went home. That evening, they were going to have braised noodles.

In the courtyard, An'an was training Kuai Kuai and Man Man to practice martial arts. The teacher taught diligently, but the two students learned perfunctorily.

Yu Yin and Lu Shurui didn't interfere with the children; they resolved their internal conflicts themselves.

The next day, the children did their homework at home first, and then went to class after lunch.

First, I'll take my younger siblings to Professor An's house, and then to the Children's Palace. My parents won't have to worry about me.

This is only possible now; in later generations, who would dare to fight so freely!

When Yin and Lu Shurui arrived at the garden villa, Brother Huang and the others were already there, waiting outside.

Lu Shurui opened the door, and everyone entered the courtyard.

"Shurui, Yuyin, this is Brother Zhang's uncle."

"Hello Uncle Zhang, thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all. I'm interested too. Let's go take a look."

He's also an impatient person!

Yu Yin led them into the house, and Uncle Zhang touched the furniture and the wooden boards on the walls.

Yu Yin and the others remained silent, quietly watching Uncle Zhang.

"They're all made of good materials, quite old, and very well maintained!"

Uncle Zhang was banging on the door while muttering incantations.

Not only did he look at the first floor, but he also went to the second and third floors. After about half an hour, Uncle Zhang came down.

"Although the furniture in your house isn't made of very expensive wood, it's still made of some good materials. The fact that it's maintained like this for so long means it was properly cared for back then. I can help you with a maintenance session, and it should last for decades without any problem."

"That's great! What does Uncle Zhang need us to prepare?"

Yu Yin was quite happy; she hadn't expected it to actually work.

"I will prepare what I need myself; there are many things you can't get yourself. I will calculate the cost for you, don't worry, I won't overcharge you."

The old man has a good sense of humor!

"No way, we've dealt with Brother Zhang for so long, we trust your character."

Lu Shurui occasionally offers compliments; it's not easy for him!

Uncle Zhang said that it would take about half a month to clean the three-story building, and the labor cost would be 300 yuan.

This is delicate work; it can't be done quickly, and not everyone can do it. Uncle Zhang plans to do it himself; he hasn't done it in a long time, and his skills are a bit rusty. Back in the day…

Yu Yin agreed, and Lu Shurui said he would help out and provide lunch.

The two parties reached an agreement. Brother Huang started repairing the roof, and Brother Zhang helped tidy up the storage room in the backyard, as the window frames were damaged.

Having no opportunity to use her skills, Yu Yin said goodbye to Lu Shurui and left.

There was nothing going on at the shop, and Yu Yin didn't plan to go there. Walking on the street, she felt lost and didn't know what to do.

Since arriving in Shanghai, Yu Yin has lived a monotonous life, going back and forth between home and work every day. She hasn't made any new friends, and apart from Zheng Yue and Yang Xiaomei, she has had almost zero social interaction.

She is slow to warm up and has a very strong sense of defensiveness, making it difficult for her to make friends.

Yu Yin walked slowly down the street. At that time, Shanghai was not yet as prosperous as it would become in later years. People were not in a hurry to come and go.

Thinking back, it seems that over the years, her life has consisted only of her children and home; she's lost herself in it all. Yu Yin has always loved flowers and plants; otherwise, she wouldn't have studied this major back then. But in the last ten years or so, she doesn't seem to have done much with them.

As the wind blew, Yu Yin envisioned building a greenhouse after the villa was finished, and picking up her old skills again.

Now that she has given up her children, she needs to live her own life well, not as someone's wife, daughter, or mother, but simply as Yu Yin herself.

Thinking of this, Yu Yin happened to walk to the entrance of the movie theater, went in, bought a ticket, and watched a movie by herself. She came out with her eyes red from crying.

Life can be slowed down!

During this time, Yu Yin didn't go to the villa or the shop. She strolled around freely, watched movies, drank coffee, and shopped at malls to relax.

Lu Shurui knew Yu Yin was very tense; she was used to having everything under her control and lacked a sense of security. Now that she could see things clearly and loosen her own constraints, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Half a month passed, the house was repaired, and Yu Yin's days of doing nothing came to an end.

Humans are so strange. When they're busy, they want to be idle, but after a while, they can't stand it and feel like they should keep busy. It's such a contradiction!

Yu Yin and Lu Shurui arrived at the garden villa together. Nothing had changed from the outside. The only difference was that a greenhouse that Yu Yin had requested had been added to the east side of the house, which Huang Qiang had managed to build after making many inquiries.

Yu Yin was anxious to look at the furniture in the room, so she pushed open the door and went inside.

Seriously, the craftsmanship passed down from our ancestors is truly amazing. Is it really worth buying a drab, gray house?

The solid wood panels surrounding the wall were restored to their original color and coated with a layer of clear oil. Yu Yin didn't understand it, but they looked very smooth, like they had been waxed. All the wooden items in the house were removed, especially the study, where all the mahogany furniture finally revealed its original appearance.

The carved bed, wardrobe, and dressing table in the master bedroom were all intact. Yu Yin looked through each room and, based on what was already there, Uncle Zhang had filled in any missing parts.

Wow, that's impressive! No wonder you're a veteran craftsman!

"Shurui, you've worked hard!"

For the past two weeks, Comrade Lu Shurui has been working tirelessly here, only going home to sleep. I never expected such a pleasant surprise!

"Do you like it? As long as you're happy."

"like!"

The two stood by the window of the master bedroom, looking out at the courtyard. This would be their home for a long time.

Yu Yin leaned against Lu Shurui, feeling relaxed and content. Her heart and mind were filled with this man, this not-so-strong man who did everything he could to provide her with a comfortable life and shield her from all the negative voices, both from his family and hers.

"The swing set is finished, and the grape trellis is also complete. Brother Zhang said he'll come over tomorrow to install it. The basketball hoop for Pingping and the sandbags for An'an will also be installed."

"The greenhouse might not be quite right, but Brother Huang has done a lot better. He built it like a greenhouse. You can take a look and see if any changes are needed."

"Once the house is aired out, we'll choose some nice curtains and duvet covers that you like, and then go to the flea market to find some nice decorative items. Then we can move into our home."

Yu Yin closed her eyes and listened to Lu Shurui rambling on about these things. It was so beautiful!

A house with a garden, a music room with blue gauze curtains, countless blooming flowers, and a handsome prince—this is the initial dream life of every girl, at least she once longed for it.

And this wish is about to come true!