The restaurant was packed with diners at this hour, so Feng Caixia specially arranged for them to sit in a quiet private room on the second floor.

Upon reaching the entrance, Feng Caixia said to the people behind her, "It's right here. I won't go in. I need to go down and help entertain the guests. Ayan, take care of your family. I'll go down first."

Su Yan nodded. "Sister Caixia, you can go and get back to work."

After Feng Caixia left, she looked at Su Yu and asked, "Brother, do you want to knock on the door yourself, or should I do it?"

Su Yu took a deep breath; he had made his decision.

He stepped forward and knocked on the door of the private room.

A moment later, the door was opened.

A familiar yet much older face suddenly appeared before him. Su Yu's eyes stung with tears, and he called out in a trembling voice, "Mother!"

Li Juan stood frozen in place, her gaze fixed on the man at the door, which gradually blurred, and tears streamed down her face.

The next second, she hugged Su Yu tightly and burst into tears, unable to hold back her sobs any longer. "My son, my dear son! I thought you were dead! My heart died with you, sob sob sob..."

Su Yu, who had been trying so hard to hold back her tears, couldn't help but let them fall after hearing these words.

He bent down and hugged Li Juan, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm sorry, Mother, I'm so sorry. Your son is unfilial and has made you so sad at your age."

Su Yan frowned and looked away as she watched this scene.

Qiu Xiaorou felt the same way; she couldn't bear to watch such sentimental scenes.

Grandpa Li and Grandma Li stood behind Li Juan, wiping away their tears.

After a long while, Granny Li finally said, "Alright, come in and chat, don't disturb other people's business."

Su Yu patted Li Juan, who was crying uncontrollably, and said in a hoarse voice, "Mother, come in. Don't cry. You should be happy that your son is back."

Li Juan wiped away her tears, nodding as she said, "Mother is happy, Mother is just too happy."

Su Yan closed the door to the private room and said, "Mother, my eldest brother said he won't leave without saying goodbye again, so please don't cry."

Li Juan looked up at her son and said with heartache, "Why have you become so thin? Have you had a hard time these past five years?"

After pulling her down to sit, Su Yu shook his head and said, "As long as I can come back alive to take care of you, nothing is hard. I was notified to carry out this mission at the last minute, which is why I didn't have a chance to write to you. The army has not sent any messages back all these years in order to protect the safety of my family. It's all my fault for making you suffer."

Thinking of the rumors and gossip of the past five years and the bitterness in her heart, Li Juan couldn't stop her tears. "I knew you wouldn't die. You've always been a tough boy. God won't take my son's life. I haven't waited in vain, sob sob sob..."

After saying that, she threw herself into Su Yu's arms and burst into tears.

She was afraid that her son would disappear from her sight the next second if she didn't touch him.

No one advised her or prevented her from expressing her frustrations, so she kept them bottled up inside.

Li Juan's crying only stopped when the waiter knocked on the door.

The door was pushed open.

A waiter pushed a food cart in and said, "Manager Feng told us to serve the dishes first."

Su Yan responded and then helped Qiu Xiaorou.

Feng Caixia prepared a sumptuous meal, and the dishes all had auspicious meanings, clearly showing that she had put thought into the arrangement.

Eight dishes and a soup filled the entire table.

Grandma Li said, "So much? How can we possibly finish it all?"

"If you can't finish it, pack it up and take it home. It's a kind gesture from Sister Caixia," Su Yan said. "Let your brother eat more; he's too thin now."

After Li Juan finished crying, she picked up her chopsticks and kept putting food on Su Yu's plate. "Yes, eat more. I'll make you lots of soup this month so you can go back to the army healthy and plump."

Seeing that the bowls were piled up like a small mountain, Su Yu quickly said, "That's enough, Mom, help yourself, you eat more."

Su Yan watched this scene helplessly. When she looked away, she noticed Su Lei sitting silently with his head down next to Granny Li. She couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Lei, why aren't you eating? Aren't you hungry?"

Because of Su Yu's return, Li Juan specially asked Su Lei for leave.

Normally, Su Lei would be overjoyed. He spends all his time in class, but if he could rest, he would definitely want to rest, after all, he is still a child.

The others also looked at Su Lei upon hearing this.

Su Lei stiffly looked up, his gaze darting away from Su Yan's. He said dryly, "Sister, I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat."

"You're such a glutton, how can you not be hungry?" Li Juan said irritably. "Eat up, or don't complain about being hungry later, I won't care about you."

Su Lei pursed his lips and remained silent.

Su Yu then remembered that he had such a young younger brother. Looking at Su Lei's face, which resembled his own when he was a child, he said incredulously, "Mom, is this kid really my brother?"

He's already twenty-seven, and he still has such a young younger brother!

He then waved to Su Lei and smiled, saying, "Su Lei, I'm your older brother... your real older brother! My name is Su Yu."

Su Lei glanced at him and whispered, "Big Brother."

Just as Su Yu was about to reply to Su Lei, Li Juan suddenly sighed and explained, "Xiao Lei was born after you returned home during your first year of silence. Everyone in the village said you were dead, and I was devastated. If it weren't for Xiao Lei, I would have cried myself blind all these years."

Even after giving birth to Su Lei, she was still heartbroken, but taking care of such a young child prevented her from thinking about Su Yu all day long, which helped her get through it.

Su Yu's high spirits instantly turned heavy.

His mother was over forty when she gave birth to Su Lei, and getting pregnant at that age carries a great risk to her life.

"Mother, I'm sorry."

He didn't know what else to say besides those few words.

“It’s all in the past. I’m already very happy that you’re back. I don’t ask for anything more, like when you can get married,” Li Juan said.

Su Yu's lips twitched, and he said with a headache, "Mom, I just got back and you're already pressuring me to get married."

“I don’t want to rush you, but look at your age! How can you not get married soon?” Li Juan became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke. “While you’re on leave this month, I’ll arrange for you to meet a few girls. Let’s start talking about them, and we can take our time with the others.”

Su Yu: "..."

He knew that he would be pressured to get married sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to come so soon!

He immediately cast a pleading look at Su Yan.

Su Yan smiled and said to the enthusiastic Li Juan, "Mom, my brother just got back. He'll be busy as a bee after he returns to his unit. He has a lot of work to learn and handle. If you ask him to date at this time, wouldn't that be delaying the girl's time?"

"You can start making arrangements after I'm done with my work. I've been promoted to political commissar now, and many people are eyeing this position. If I don't do a good job, how can I gain their respect? In Beijing, connections are crucial. We can't help you much, but we shouldn't cause trouble either, right?"

Su Yan's words were like a bucket of cold water being poured on her. Li Juan instantly calmed down and nodded repeatedly, saying, "That makes sense. Then I won't worry about it anymore. You should focus on your work and your future is more important. We can talk about finding a partner later."