This year's Spring Festival is particularly early, with Lunar New Year's Eve arriving just after New Year's Day.

It was the weekend, and the Cultural Bureau had arranged a three-day work week starting yesterday. Jinzi accompanied Xiaoyu to the hospital for a check-up on Saturday, and early on New Year's Day, he drove the company car more than 200 kilometers to a friend's pastoral area to buy New Year's goods.

On the first day of the new year, transportation in Suicheng was fully restored. Wu Fangtian also asked Ha Yue for two days off and took the train back to his hometown to reunite with his family.

Aunt Siqin is going to stay at Ha Yue's house with Zhao Chunni. This morning, only Cao Xiaoyu was minding the shop at Chunni's convenience store.

Because she did not experience any early morning sickness or poor appetite after being discharged from the hospital, Cao Xiaoyu has gained weight rapidly recently, especially her belly, which is so big that even her loose winter clothes cannot hide the fact that she is pregnant.

Yesterday, the baby's Down syndrome screening results were normal during the physical examination, but she was severely reprimanded by the doctor because she was overweight and had high blood pressure. If she cannot control her weight before the next prenatal checkup, the doctor will consider having her hospitalized again for pregnancy preservation and ask the nutrition department to provide her with dietary guidance.

So when she got home that day, Jinzi immediately followed the doctor's advice and, together with her mother, strictly controlled Xiaoyu's diet.

To maintain her weight and stabilize her blood pressure, Cao Xiaoyu can't eat snacks anymore, nor can she eat high-oil, high-salt barbecue, spicy hot pot, or other similar foods. So today, Cao Xiaoyu's breakfast is boiled vegetables and cooked beef.

Having eaten a bland breakfast, Cao Xiaoyu sat behind the counter, drooling as she looked at the snack section after the store opened.

It wasn't lunchtime yet, but her mouth felt bland, her teeth were itchy, and she wanted to eat everything. She even wanted to hug her own arm and take a bite. Every now and then, she would reach out and rummage through the lunchbox her mother-in-law had packed for her to see what food was inside.

Two sweet potatoes, three boiled eggs, and half a box of celery stir-fried chicken. By the time she finally saw what was in the bag, all the food was already in her stomach.

At 11:30, Cao Xiaoyu let out a burp towards the windproof curtain. Her stomach was too full from eating, and the electric heater in the prefabricated house was too hot, making her a little sleepy. As she drifted off to sleep, customers kept coming in to buy things. Afraid that she might make a mistake in her calculations while she was still half asleep, she got up and stood at the doorway, "exercising" by bumping her back against the door frame while scrolling through short videos on her phone.

So when she saw the name Xue Jing, she didn't realize that the "man below" was her benefactor and neighbor, Teacher Xue.

But who knew Xue Jing had so much news? After watching this video, and then a few more mukbang videos, Xue Jing's face appeared on the phone screen again. She quickly opened the comments section to see what everyone was talking about.

The short video was taken out of context and couldn't be explained clearly, so she hurriedly downloaded a Weibo app under the guidance of another helpful netizen, registering just to see the whole story behind the gossip.

Unexpectedly, the gossip spread to her own backyard. Seeing the sarcastic and heated arguments about Xue Jing and his "girlfriend" in the comments section, Xiaoyu immediately became anxious and sent the full version of the Weibo post to Hayue.

But Xiaoyu didn't really mean to do anything bad. As soon as she sent the message, she regretted it, feeling that she had really been meddling in other people's business.

Her parents said that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years. At first, she was very indignant when she heard this, but recently, because she is pregnant, she gets tired easily, so her brain, which was not very smart to begin with, seems to be working even slower.

Better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage.

In her eyes, Ha Yue and Xue Jing were a match made in heaven. She didn't want to make a foolish mistake by believing the rumors on the internet and ruining Ha Yue and Xue Jing's impending marriage. That's why she quickly withdrew her statement and made that insincere excuse.

Fortunately, Ha Yue was, after all, the older sister she had always admired, and she handled problems much more calmly than she had. She didn't seem angry at all and quickly replied, "It's okay, I know."

The two chatted for a while about the children and the convenience store before Xiaoyu went back behind the counter, supporting her back as she sat down again.

She had just taken a sip of water when Jinzi returned. He excitedly lifted the curtain and told Xiaoyu that he had picked out two whole sheep in the pastoral area this time, and it had cost him a lot of blood. One sheep was to be sent to her father-in-law's house, and the other was to be taken home to be processed. The sheep's head, tail, offal, and scraps were to be kept at home, while the two hind legs and the ribs were to be sent to Hayue's house.

Even if Ha Yue doesn't charge them interest on the transfer fee for the time being.

As soon as the young couple sat down, Cao Xiaoyu immediately ran to the shelf and picked out a bottle of orange juice and a few small bags of puffed snacks. She placed them in front of Jinzi with a smile and said, "These aren't very good dates. You must be tired after a busy morning. Have something to eat."

Jinzi didn't stand on ceremony. Without saying a word, he tore open the packaging and poured it into his mouth. Xiaoyu watched him eat with shining eyes, chatting with him about the gossip about Xue Jing that she had seen online that day.

Xiaoyu had only spoken halfway when Jinzi became impatient. He threw down the packaging bag, unscrewed the drink cap, and said nonchalantly, "Can anything you read online be true? Look at those netizens, they're so bored, they meddle in other people's business more than their own parents. Listen to what they're saying, don't you know who I am?"

"Anyway, I heard from the director of the Cultural Bureau that they have started to draft a list of books to be donated. Most of them are children's books, and there are also quite a few on women's education. I don't know the specifics of the education, but you can go and take a look when the time comes."

"Don't just sit in the store all day watching short videos. Many leaders in the bureau say that prenatal education is very important. Why don't you buy a few books and sit here to read?"

He was impatient, and Xiaoyu was too lazy to listen. She muttered casually, "I'm not a college student, what's the point of studying? You know I get sleepy as soon as I look at a book when I'm in school." As she spoke, Xiaoyu's attention was still on the snack wrappers. She flipped over one and found that there was nothing left inside. Her face immediately fell. She picked up a few more and found that her husband had devoured all the food inside. Then, staring at the orange juice in his hand, she continued to tell him how she had texted Ha Yue, but fortunately, Ha Yue said it was okay.

Jinzi was so angry that he threw the orange juice bottle into the trash can, pointed at his wife's face, and said, "Oh, you! You're really up to no good. Even if I'm angry, do you think I'd take it out on a pregnant woman like you? How do you know she really doesn't care!"

“She’s not one to be trifled with either. I need to ask my brother if they’ve already started fighting at the airport.”

"If they break up because of you, how can we keep this shop? Didn't I even bring you back gifts from abroad?"

Jinzi frowned and was taking out her phone to call Xue Jing when Xiaoyu suddenly let out a loud "Aww!"

Tears streamed down her face like two small streams, quickly gathering at the corners of her eyes and reaching her double chin. Her face was streaked with tears, and her voice boomed like thunder: "I'm done! I'm not going to live with you anymore!"

"Whoever wants to be with you, just ask them to! I'm not going to be with them."

Jinzi thought to herself that she hadn't said anything too harsh, so why was she upset? She quickly reached out to wipe away her tears and asked, "Why are you crying? I didn't say anything to you. It was wrong of you to send that message, wasn't it? You're stirring up trouble and somehow you've found a reason to be right?"

"It's fine if you can't concentrate on reading, but you still need to do prenatal education, right? Didn't you say before that we both suffered from not being educated, and that you were determined to send our child to university?"

"It's not about those things!" Xiaoyu wailed as she sat back down on the stool, angrily shouting, "Jin Zhenliang! You eat all the food yourself and then you poop in the dirt! I gave you snacks, but you didn't leave me a single bite?! I can't eat too much barbecue, and I can't even try one shrimp chip? And orange juice! There was still almost half a bottle left, why did you throw it in the trash? Couldn't you even let me have a sip?"

"And the food my mom made for me had no flavor at all; it didn't help at all."

“Last night before I went to bed I said I wanted to eat cherries today, but you didn’t even listen and just turned your back and said they’re high in sugar and you wouldn’t buy them for me! But I just want to eat them! I’m not eating them for myself, the kids want to eat them too.”

Xiaoyu cried so loudly that it shook the heavens and the earth. Jinzi was afraid that she would disturb the baby, so she tried neither scolding nor coaxing her. Speechless, she quickly put her arms around Xiaoyu's shoulders and tried to soothe her.

Inside the shop, the young couple were arguing over Xue Jing and cherries. Meanwhile, in Lincheng, 40 kilometers from the airport, at a large cold chain logistics center, Ha Yue and Xue Jing were selecting boxes of fruit in the imported fruit and vegetable section.

Half an hour earlier, Xue Jing had also received a message from Zhou Shuang in the underground parking lot.

Unlike Zhou Shuang's concerns about marketing blemishes, since the book number for the new book had already been obtained and the publishing contract had been signed long ago, he focused all his attention on how to prepare Ha Yue in advance.

He is innocent and doesn't care at all about how online public opinion speculates about him committing fraud in donations or smearing his private life. He doesn't feel wronged by the attacks on him for making money by advertising and selling courses, because it is a fact and there is no room for criticism. If people feel that he has disgraced the integrity of a scholar, then they should probably vent their anger by scolding him.

But Xue Jing was genuinely afraid that Ha Yue would see the video interview in which he "slandered" his ex-girlfriend.

Moreover, heaven and earth can bear witness that he said those veiled and insinuating things more than once. He said it once when he thought of Ha Yue when he used the royalties from "Afternoon Rooftop" to buy a Bentley. He said it again when he went to the Jida alumni reunion but did not see Ha Yue. He said it again when he was on his deathbed with a high fever while visiting Yale and found that Ha Yue had not removed him from the blacklist.

In short, he was in a bad mental state in the days immediately after the breakup. He knew that thinking about Ha Yue would make him feel bad, but he actively let himself think about it. And every time he thought of Ha Yue, he would tell the story as a joke in revenge.

The grave-digging party was quite polite, only taking a screenshot of his "complaint" debut. He should thank their ancestors eight generations back.

He was also grateful that Ha Yue hadn't paid any attention to his work or been involved in literary circles after their breakup; otherwise, he would never have had a chance to get back together with her. If they were to reunite, let alone get a ride on her tricycle, he wouldn't even be worthy of eating with her or accepting her apology; she'd probably kick him into a ditch.

Who would want to be labeled "gold digger" and "snobbish" by their ex in public? Besides, it's all a misunderstanding. Ha Yue has his own reasons for breaking up, and he wasn't necessarily better off than Ha Yue when they broke up. If the situation were reversed, he would also be angry if he heard that Ha Yue was badmouthing him everywhere after the breakup.

It's reasonable to be angry, but breaking up with him over this would be a bit of an exaggeration. After all, they're no longer just lovers. Psychologically speaking, relationships progress from the physical to the mundane, and only eventually do they escalate to sharing each other's hidden emotional traumas.

Their relationship is far more than just three levels; their soul compatibility has already broken through the atmosphere.

So Ha Yue probably won't break up with him over such a trivial matter as his lack of magnanimity and his sharp tongue, right?

But even after thinking about it for a long time, Xue Jing felt more and more uncertain. He was very nervous and didn't say a word while driving. He didn't say a word when he arrived at the cold chain to find a place to park. He didn't say a word when he got out of the car and went to see the fruit with Ha Yue.

Because he couldn't write a good speech draft, he was distracted and didn't have the energy to manage his facial expressions. So he lost his warmth and looked like a cold, good-looking vampire who had just jumped out of an ancient castle.

Ha Yue, with her sharp eyes, noticed that Xue Jing's face was pale and his eyes were filled with gloom. However, she assumed that he was angry because he couldn't bear the criticism from netizens. She thought that it must be painful for a great writer to fall from grace and have his bubble burst. So, Ha Yue let him be quiet and wanted to give him some time to clear his mind and calm his emotions.

The two, outwardly friendly but inwardly distant, squeezed into the crowd of shoppers buying New Year's goods, hoarding their belongings like squirrels collecting their treasures, one after another using a borrowed handcart to load several large boxes of fruit, seafood, and dried goods back onto the vehicle. Ha Yue, panting, glanced at her watch and suggested they grab a bowl of noodles at a nearby hole-in-the-wall restaurant before continuing their journey.