The Ke family.

Lu De'an was eloquent and, intentionally to give Ke Chongshan face, spoke with great skill. After the meal, Ke Chongshan was in a good mood and asked Lao Hei to make tea.

Lu Minghui sat upright, her black hair straight and neat, her eyes carrying a docile smile.

She is very well-mannered.

“Xiao Hui, my grandson just arrived in Shanghai. He spends all his time working with Mr. Liu and doesn’t have much time to make friends. You two are about the same age, so you can chat when you have time.”

Lu Minghui nodded: "Okay, Grandpa Ke."

When an elder in the family said such things, Lu Minghui understood what Ke Chongshan meant.

He was trying to bring them together.

Ke Chongshan has been regressing in recent years, and in a few more years he will retire when he reaches the age where he has no room for advancement. Moreover, his children are all disappointing.

The second daughter was wrongly labeled a rightist and is now dead. The husbands of the eldest and third daughters are also just ordinary people.

We can't count on them.

However, it was also a stroke of luck. The one found in the countryside does have some merit; being able to get close to General Liu as a backer suggests a promising future. But...

Lu Minghui felt conflicted.

Although Li Xian was handsome and had powerful connections, he was still from the countryside and was not a good match for her.

On the way back, Lu De'an said, "Xiao Hui, Dad knows you have high aspirations and look down on that country bumpkin, but Lieutenant General Liu is only in his forties. He will definitely climb to the top in the future. You should seize the opportunity, but you don't need to respond. Just keep things going."

Lu Minghui nodded: "Okay, I understand."

The morning stars shone brightly, and the night was still and quiet.

The man had a cold expression and walked hurriedly.

It wasn't until I opened the door and saw the little person on the bed, lying there with her legs playfully dangling back and forth.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and said with a smile, "You're back?"

The coldness in his eyes slowly dissipated.

"Um."

Xu Nuo closed the book and reached out to him.

Li Xian walked over and gently kissed the top of her head, without hugging her: "I smell of smoke."

Xu Nuo had already smelled it, and she ruthlessly pushed him away, saying, "Go take a shower."

"good."

After taking a shower, Li Xian started bustling around, mopping the floor and cleaning the room. After he finished showering, he put on a white vest and inspected the house to see if there was anything else to do.

The house is always kept clean and tidy, and there doesn't seem to be anything that needs washing.

"Do you have any clothes that need washing?"

Xu Nuo pointed to the white dress she was wearing today: "I have one."

"good."

Li Xian took her skirt to wash; her clothes were made of soft fabric, so he always washed them separately.

After hanging up the clothes, Li Xian went inside and took a sip of water. He saw Xu Nuo covering her mouth, looking at him with a smile on her face.

He touched his face. "What's wrong?"

Xu Nuo was amused by his appearance and giggled.

"Li Xian, you sound like an old father."

Even though he had heard her say it many times, Li Xian still felt embarrassed to be described as a father. He walked over, picked her up, and hugged her.

He sighed, "I'm worried."

Xu Nuo knew what he was talking about. She pouted, hugged his neck, and snuggled onto his shoulder, saying sweetly, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself."

She's so small, weak, and timid; she also likes to cry when she wakes up.

Li Xian couldn't help but recall the image of the spoiled brat sitting on the bed crying alone without his coaxing, her eyes red and swollen, and she even had to wipe away her tears in a pitiful manner.

He sighed again, his usually stern face now showing worry and heartache.

I don't feel comfortable leaving her home alone.

I really want to hold him in my hand and take him with me.

Xu Nuoyuan hadn't thought about Li Xian leaving, but after what he did, he realized that Li Xian would be leaving the day after tomorrow, and that he wouldn't be gone for more than ten days.

No one lulled her to sleep, no one accompanied her to school, no one picked her up from school, and no one talked to her.

The belated farewell finally arrived. She leaned on his shoulder, her eyes instantly welling up with tears from the reluctance and sorrow she felt.

She blinked her eyes, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

Noticing that something was wrong with her, Li Xian quickly turned her over. When he saw that she looked distressed, with red eyes and a tear on her face, his heart ached.

"Hmm, you're leaving." She was afraid that if she cried too much, he wouldn't be able to bear to leave, so she held back a little, whimpering like a kitten, but her big eyes were full of reluctance and she looked so aggrieved.

Li Xian felt a pang of sadness seeing her cry, so he quickly hugged her tightly and gently patted her back.

He reassured her, saying, "I'll be back soon."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nuo cried even harder: "It'll take more than ten days, sob sob..."

Li Xian wiped away her tears, "Then I won't go."

"No, sob sob, I have to go." Xu Nuo said with teary eyes, "I can't not go, going back on my word is annoying."

"Okay." He lowered his head and kissed the corners of her tear-stained eyes.

Once Xu Nuo started crying, she couldn't stop. The more she thought about it, the sadder and more aggrieved she felt. Her small, dark eyes were filled with tears on her small face.

"You have to, hiccup, eat well, and go to bed early..." She hiccuped a second time and continued, "Come back soon, waaaah, I won't cry, I don't want to cry anymore, my eyes will be swollen tomorrow."

But the more she thought about her eyes being swollen tomorrow, the more she couldn't help herself, and in the end, even Li Xian's eyes turned red from crying.

Her crying stopped abruptly, and she looked at him with her round eyes: "Don't cry."

He nodded obediently, suppressing the tears welling up in his eyes.

Perhaps because he had managed to keep it from her once, Li Xian would hold her every night before bed and tell her about what had happened during the day. When he mentioned that Ke Chongshan had invited a family surnamed Lu to have dinner together, Xu Nuo hummed in agreement and poked her head out of his arms, asking, "Did you see Lu Minghui?"

Li Xian asked in confusion, "Who is it?"

"That's their daughter."

Li Xian nodded, his expression unchanged, and said, "I saw him."

"How about it?"

Li Xian shook his head: "I don't know."

He only glanced at it and didn't remember its appearance at all.

Xu Nuo said domineeringly, "I don't like her, so don't talk to her."

Aside from her, Li Xian didn't want to talk to anyone else, so he nodded without thinking and said, "Okay."

The bed was large, with Li Xian sleeping on the outermost side, while Xu Nuo occupied two-thirds of the bed by herself. At this moment, she rested her head on Li Xian's stomach, reminding him, "Why are you asking me?"

Li Xian couldn't see her, so he reached out and pulled her to his chest, his breathing a little erratic: "Why? Lie down."

"Oh." Xu Nuo obediently lay on his chest and said, "Because she is Lu Xueyun's older sister. I don't like Lu Xueyun, so I don't like her older sister either."

Despite such unreasonable remarks, Li Xian found nothing wrong with them. Although his spoiled daughter was prone to crying, she rarely lost her temper and was always kind and gentle when interacting with others. There must be a reason why she disliked someone.

Li Xian gently patted the top of her head and said, "Okay."

Xu Nuo asked casually, "Do you know who Lu Xueyun is?"

"have no idea."

Xu Nuo patted his arm. "He's an educated youth from Luxian Village. He works in the canteen with my sister."

Li Xian: "..."

He still doesn't know.

Because they chatted late into the night, Xu Nuo woke up very late the next day, and the room was empty when she woke up.

She didn't get up, but rolled over, rubbed her eyes, and called out in a childish voice, "Li Xian."

If Li Xian was busy in the kitchen, he would come over when he heard her voice, but there was no sound for a long time.

It seems they've gone out.

Xu Nuo lay on her pillow and sighed sadly.

I'm leaving tomorrow, and I'm so reluctant to go.

I feel like crying.

As I was thinking, I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

She vaguely heard the door close, and immediately opened her eyes, calling out, "Li Xian."

"They're here."

Hearing his voice from outside, Xu Nuo immediately jumped up like a fish out of water, excitedly shouting, "Where did you run off to?"

Li Xianting opened the door and came in, picking her up in his arms. "I'm going to buy groceries."

He's leaving tomorrow, and he'll be gone for more than ten days. He must make sure to buy everything for her.

He knelt down and helped her put on her slippers, then said in a low voice, "Have some porridge first, then we'll have lunch later."

Xu Nuo leaned against his shoulder and obediently nodded.

After helping her brush her teeth and wash her face, Li Xian ladled out the porridge from the pot. He wasn't picky about food, but Xu Nuo wanted sugar in her mung bean porridge, so Li Xian added a spoonful according to her preference. Holding her bowl, he saw her squatting on the ground looking at the flowers, so he went over and took her hand.

She looked at his newly bought pile of things with a puzzled expression: "Why did you buy a blanket and mosquito net?"

Li Xian said, "I'll have you take it to school."

Xu Nuo suddenly realized that Li Xian had even bought all her daily necessities for her. She happily hugged his arm and gave him a kiss on the arm.

Li Xian's hand trembled, and he almost spilled the porridge.

"Uh, I...I'll take you to the new house later."

"Why do we have to go to the new house?"

"My parents will be here in a few days."

After Li Xian finished speaking, he secretly glanced at her expression. He was secretly delighted because he had called her "Mom and Dad".

"Oh right, my parents are coming in a few days and we don't have a place to stay. You're so smart, Li Xian." She happily gave him two more kisses on the arm, and then he pulled her onto his lap.

Twenty minutes later.

Xu Nuo covered her mouth and cried, "It's swollen, it's swollen, sob sob sob. We still have to go to the new house this afternoon."

Li Xian patted her back gently and coaxed her softly, "No, you're very pretty."

…

3 PM.

Sufang Road.

The house is a three-bedroom apartment, facing south, with a considerable area, bright and spacious.

The house was previously confiscated and rented out and allocated as public housing until recently when the residents finally moved out.

Li Xian came over this morning to clean up and buy all the necessary replacements.

We bought a fan, mosquito coils, a mosquito net, and four pairs of slippers for the room.

He hid one of the pairs first.

"What is this?"

There was a piece of paper on the table that looked like a map, with a few simple arrows drawn on it and coordinates marked on it.

Li Xian said, "You always get lost, so I drew a map."

The small house in the very center is labeled "Home". Above that is a department store, and above that is an agricultural and sideline products store.

Li Xian pointed to that place and said, "If you run out of food, you can go to this place with your parents to buy more. The black market is too far away, and I don't trust you to go."

Xu Nuo hummed in agreement and nuzzled her head against him affectionately.

The map also marks the way to Shanghai University and the train station, as well as other landmarks. Each line is drawn very clearly, showing how meticulous the mapmaker was.

She felt like crying again.

"Uncle Liu isn't bringing Master Chen this time. I've already told him that Master Chen will pick you up on the day Mom and Dad come. You should come downstairs at 10 a.m. Master Chen wears glasses and is very thin. I've written the license plate number here. Make sure you confirm it before getting in the car, okay? Uncle Liu will also pick you up on the first day of school. You'll go to school with Mom and Dad then. Remember to go home first and put your things... Nuonuo?"

He pulled her into his arms: "Don't cry, Nuonuo. I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

"Yeah, you have to, hiccup, come back soon."

With red eyes, she said with great reluctance.

Li Xian nodded: "Okay, I will. I'll write to you as soon as I get there."

Xu Nuo, her eyes blurry with tears, paused for a moment, her heart filled with even more...

It's heartbreaking that in this day and age, without even cell phones, the two people can't even contact each other.

She emphasized, "You must think of me every day."

"good."

"Think of me a hundred times a day."

Li Xian nodded seriously: "Okay, I think about you every second."

"Okay." She nestled into his arms, looking aggrieved.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her cheek tenderly: "When Master Chen comes to pick you up, have him take you to the supply and marketing cooperative first. Make this call."

Xu Nuo took the phone: "Is this the reception desk's phone number?"

"Yes, if I were here, we could talk."

"Okay, I'll call you then."

Xu Nuo carefully put the phone number away, making sure she didn't lose it, otherwise she wouldn't be able to call Li Xian.

Seeing Li Xian looking at her with concern, Xu Nuo reached out and hugged him, then smiled through her tears: "Li Xian, don't worry, I'm all better now. Go and do your job well, and think of me when you have time."

Her big eyes were still glistening with tears, her little nose was red, and her smile was sweet and endearing: "I'll come pick you up when you come back."

"Okay, I'll have Master Chen pick you up. Uncle Liu is also very eager to meet you."

Xu Nuo looked up, asking expectantly, "Do you think he will like me?"

Someone as cute and well-behaved as her should be able to do it, right?

If you don't like her, try to bribe that uncle with herbal tea.

Li Xian's eyes darkened slightly as he cupped her face in his hands and sighed softly, "Only I can like you."

Xu Nuo pouted and shook her head: "You should say you love me."

Before meeting her again, Li Xian was indifferent to this word, because it had nothing to do with him and was something that someone like him would never have.

He never imagined that one day he would say those words so naturally and so sincerely.

"Nuonuo, I love you."

Xu Nuo's eyes curved into little crescents: "Li Xian, I love you too, I love you so much, so much, so much!"

Li Xian's eyes welled up with tears, and his voice choked as he murmured, "Mm."

Nuonuo, I love you.

Because she had to get up early the next morning, Xu Nuo climbed into bed early.

"Li Xian, you have to call me tomorrow, okay? I want to give you something."

I'm leaving very early tomorrow.

"Then you have to call me. You can't just sneak away on your own, or I'll get angry."

"good."

Li Xian held Xu Nuo and coaxed her for a while until she fell asleep.

He was breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.

Li Xian, however, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.