"Oh right, since we're not going to the Great Wall today, after we eat and go to the zoo, let's go to that shopping mall to buy some things. Lu He is getting married, and I haven't had time to prepare anything." Xia Xiaoli has been busy with her child and work these days, so she hasn't been able to prepare much for Lu He's wedding.

"It's alright. Your presence is already the best gift for Lu He." Shen Qiaoyue said to Xia Xiaoli, "Gifts can't compare to feelings. Don't always think about giving her gifts; you should also prepare some things for yourself."

Shen Qiaoyue knew that Xia Xiaoli and Lu He were very close, but there was really no need to prepare so many gifts.

Xia Xiaoli had already prepared a lot of things for Lu He. The two of them usually sent each other gifts. This time, she had prepared a bag full of gifts for Lu He. Now she was going to the department store to buy Lu He a gift.

"No, I have to buy it for her. I haven't found a suitable gift for her as a wedding present. The main problem is that the things I've given her are not presentable, and Lu He already has everything I can think of." Xia Xiaoli only regretted that she was not capable enough. She wanted to buy Lu He some useful things, but not only could she not buy them even if she had the money, some things also required waiting.

Shen Qiaoyue laughed and said, "You practically want to buy everything in the store for Lu He—this face cream, new shoes, handmade new clothes and pants. You started preparing as soon as you heard they were getting married during the National Day holiday. You know what? If you buy another gift for Lu He, I, as her sister-in-law, should give her a gift in return." Shen Qiaoyue was seeing these two sisters, so close and affectionate.

Even she, as his sister-in-law, would be incredibly envious.

"Sister-in-law Qiaoyue, you have no idea, they even write letters to each other often. The way they address each other is so intimate that it makes me jealous. If Lu He were a boy, I would never be able to find a wife in my entire life," Li Qingming teased.

"Brother Qingming, what nonsense are you talking about?" Xia Xiaoli was embarrassed by the teasing.

Shen Qiaoyue held Xia Xiaoli's hand and comforted her, "Now that you're a mother, you'll need money for baby formula, clothes, and everything else after giving birth. You need to think about yourself. As long as Lu He knows how you feel, that's enough."

"Sister-in-law Qiaoyue, it's alright. Zaozao has a lot of clothes, all sent back by Lu He. We agreed in our letter that Zaozao would recognize Lu He as her godmother and become her goddaughter." Xia Xiaoli looked at her daughter, feeling happy just thinking about Lu He.

“Lu He prepared a red envelope for her goddaughter and also prepared a lot of things for her beforehand. My daughter’s godmother is getting married, how can I not care?”

Like her, Lu He started from nothing and had similar circumstances.

Now that they have both found their own happiness, she just wants to give Lu He the best of everything and let Lu He get married in style.

Shen Qiaoyue glanced at Xia Xiaoli's expression and then stole a look at Li Qingming. Xia Xiaoli was so good to Lu He, and Li Qingming had no objections at all.

"Just because Lu He gave you some medical notes, you've remembered them for so long, and you praise Lu He to everyone you meet. She's lucky to have a good friend and sister like you." Shen Qiaoyue knew that Lu He didn't have many friends. She and Xia Xiaoli went from being strangers to becoming close friends in the family compound, promising to become better versions of themselves. Such friendship is rare in this world.

“That’s different. She gave me notes and helped me study. She guided me. When we were doing free clinics in the countryside, Lu He taught me a lot. From that moment on, I knew Lu He was my best friend.”

Xia Xiaoli still remembers how good Lu He was to her.

Shen Qiaoyue and Lu Chen exchanged a glance, unable to persuade him. Friendship could be as strong as family. She was happy for Lu He for having such a good friend.

“Sister-in-law, don’t try to persuade her anymore. Let Xiaoli buy it. Xiaoli said she’s Lu He’s family, and we can’t let Lu He feel insecure. We should prepare as much as we can.” Li Qingming added, “We brought tickets from Fucheng to buy a basin and a kettle. We plan to make a pair for Lu He as part of her dowry.”

“This is too expensive, it’s not appropriate. We prepared this ourselves.” Shen Qiaoyue was surprised after hearing this.

Xia Xiaoli turned around and took Shen Qiaoyue's hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, please grant my request. When I got married, Lu He also prepared a gift for us. If you don't let me prepare one, I'll feel really bad."

Shen Qiaoyue said enviously, "I really envy your friendship. When I got married, none of my good friends gave me any gifts."

“Friends can become family, and in my heart, Lu He is my family,” Xia Xiaoli said.

These days, she's under a lot of pressure during her pregnancy. When she was giving birth, Lu He couldn't come over because of work, so she always sent her nice things: baby formula, formula coupons, baby clothes, and shoes. She even said she wanted to be the baby's godmother, so their friendship would turn into family ties and would last a lifetime.

During her postpartum confinement, Lu He always asked Shen Qiao, the postpartum nanny, to provide her with all sorts of nutritious food to help her recover. Such friendship is truly precious.

In Xia Xiaoli's mind, friendship is more important than love.

Seeing that Xia Xiaoli had already gone this far, Shen Qiaoyue felt it wouldn't be right to stop her from buying Lu He a wedding gift.

At noon, the group went out to a restaurant and ate roast duck.

They went to the zoo together to see the animals, and Da Nian and Xiao Nian imitated the animals' calls.

Shen Qiaoyue noticed that Li Qingming held Zaozao the whole time, so as not to let Xia Xiaoli get tired.

Lu Chen wanted to help carry her halfway through, but Zaozao was shy and kept pulling on her parents. Xia Xiaoli carried her for less than ten minutes before Li Qingming felt sorry for her and wanted to hold his daughter.

Shen Qiaoyue was truly envious of this couple. Looking at Lu Chen, she saw him carrying one in his arms and another on his back, completely oblivious to the fact that his wife was also getting tired.

However, seeing the children's tired expressions, Shen Qiaoyue came over and touched Xiao Nian's face.

"Mommy, come and hug Xiao Nian." Shen Qiaoyue reached out to hug Xiao Nian.

"It's okay, I can carry both children." Lu Chen refused Shen Qiaoyue's offer, saying, "You're tired too, I'll carry them."

"Aren't you tired of doing it all by yourself?" Shen Qiaoyue asked Lu Chen with concern.

"It's alright. This weight is nothing at all, I can handle it." The two children together weigh exactly 100 pounds, and he's a man who can lift several hundred pounds.

Upon seeing this, Shen Qiaoyue withdrew her hand.

My feet are so tired after walking for so long.

I won't force myself.

After leaving the zoo, I took a bus to the nearest department store, got off, bought my things, and went home.

On the way back, I bought some braised dishes and eyed a roast duck.

At this time, Lu He and Xu Feiming returned home half an hour after Shen Qiaoyue and her husband went out.

Knowing that there would be a dinner party that evening, Lu He and Xu Feiming put down their things and went to buy groceries.

Xu Feiming was cooking in the kitchen, while Lu He was eating cucumbers on the side.

With no one home, she leaned on Xu Feiming's shoulder, eating as she smiled and asked, "Are you nervous?"