The return trip was arranged by Mrs. Fang. She originally wanted to buy them plane tickets, but there were no direct flights, and they would have to transfer by train. Commander Zhou found it troublesome, so he took the train instead. It was better to get home directly like this than to go through all that trouble.

Sitting in the train carriage, watching the city recede into the distance, Qin Xiaoyu suddenly realized that she was different from the Qin Xiaoyu who had come here.

She raised her hand; the ring on her index finger was given to her by Are, engraved with his name. His ring, too, bore her name.

From that moment on, she was his.

"This trip was worthwhile." Zhou Xing's mother smiled and reached out to grab her hand.

"Mom, I can hardly believe it, is this real? It feels like a dream. I was so desperate back then, thinking I had lost him forever." Qin Xiaoyu felt resentment when she thought of Lei's letter, how many tears she had shed and how many sleepless nights it had caused her.

“I knew from the beginning that Alex wouldn’t leave you.” The younger sister looked up from her sketchbook, rubbed her nose, and said seriously.

"What do you know, you little kid!" Zhou Xing's mother scolded.

"How could I not understand?" the younger sister said angrily, her eyes wide. "Alex's room is full of his beloved things. If he really wanted to leave our house, he would have someone move it. Why would we just leave it there?"

Qin Xiaoyu chuckled to herself, realizing she had fallen for A Lei's trick.

The younger sister was a child, with the purest eyes, able to see things others overlooked. He waited there, and she was pushed in front of him by her family.

Looking at the way Zhou Xing's mother and Commander Zhou smiled at each other, Qin Xiaoyu realized that she was the only fool.

Qi Si was waiting at the train station early in the morning to pick them up and go home immediately.

"This kid has really become my brother-in-law." Qi Si guessed it just by looking at their group.

"Your brother-in-law is not satisfied?" Commander Zhou rarely joked.

"My sister is so wonderful, I wouldn't be satisfied even if she married the Emperor himself." Qi Si's words struck a chord with Commander Zhou.

"That's what I think too. This Ah Lei is good, but he's always missing something. Si'er, what do you think he's missing?"

"His alcohol tolerance seems a bit low. Let's try getting him drunk this time." Qi Si had been picking and choosing for a long time, and this was the only one he could find.

"You two, that's enough," Zhou Xing's mother couldn't stand it anymore. Wasn't this just nitpicking?

"Brother, I advise you not to try it. I've never seen him drunk before." Qin Xiaoyu was afraid that Qi Si would suffer a loss.

"Girl, you're already siding with him?" Qi Si felt jealous when he saw her protecting A Lei.

"What can I do when I marry a chicken? I'm helpless too." Qin Xiaoyu's expression seemed to suggest that she had suffered a great loss; she was really just being hypocritical.

Fourth Sister-in-law couldn't wait any longer. She stood in the yard looking around, and as soon as the car stopped, she opened the car door. Before Qin Xiaoyu could change her clothes, she grabbed her and asked for the photos.

Tang Wenwen was meticulous; she took nearly a hundred photos of Xiao Zichen, developed them all, and even enlarged two of the better ones.

Sister-in-law Xiao Si and Qi Si stood side by side, looking at the book intently, wiping away tears as they read.

Xiao Zichen and Xiao Zhengxin were about the same age when they were born, and they were about the same age when they were taken away. But in just half a year, Xiao Zichen has become much more promising than Xiao Zhengxin, and his eyes are very clever.

Xiao Zhengxin was still a mischievous, clueless boy. Qin Xiaoyu realized that some things are hard to change. Like father, like son, even though Xiao Zhengxin grew up in a large family.

However, since the fourth sister-in-law and her mother take care of the child more, along with the nanny, none of them are particularly knowledgeable about childcare, which is detrimental to the child's education. We need to find a solution.

Of course, she wouldn't say it directly, as it would be too hurtful. She would try to coax the child into going to kindergarten rather than keeping him at home.

"Hey girl, can't you be a little more reserved? Are you just going to get married like this? Or are you going to offer yourself up?" Zhou Yue deliberately teased her. Qin Xiaoyu was too lazy to argue with a pregnant woman and took out gifts to distribute to her family. Actually, she didn't have much time to go out and have fun; most of the arrangements were made by Madam Fang and Tang Wenwen. She was just using their gifts to give to them.

Finally, they got to eat Northeastern cuisine. Commander Zhou drank a glass of wine, and his mother, unusually, didn't stop him.

Qi Si and Hanhan's grandfather shared a drink. Recently, Wang Lei's father's health has not been good. The doctor said he has arteriosclerosis and told him to quit drinking. He can only watch his son die.

"Uncle Wang is really something, he quit drinking so easily." Qi Si admired people with perseverance.

"Hehe." Wang Lei's father was clumsy with words and could only chuckle sheepishly.

"He just wants to get his health back so he can play with his grandson," Commander Wang said, seeing through his intentions.

"Your father-in-law is so eager for a grandson, what if he has a granddaughter instead?" My sister-in-law couldn't sit still after hearing this.

"Wouldn't that make him ecstatic? He kept begging me to have another daughter for him back then, but I had a special job, and I was afraid of changing my figure, so I always refused..."

"Look at you now, even without having a daughter, you've become so fat." Wang Lei's father found an opportunity for revenge and immediately added insult to injury, showing that his resentment from back then ran deep.

"You! It's the man's decision whether a child is a boy or a girl. You're blaming me for not being able to have a daughter?" Commander Wang was exasperated after being publicly exposed.

"Dad, Mom, please stop arguing. Why do I feel like I'm being rejected?" Wang Lei said with a mournful face.

"I want you." Tang Fengqin raised her head, smiled sweetly, picked up a small meatball, and fed it to Wang Lei's mouth. Wang Lei beamed and went to meet her.

"You two, really," my cousin's wife said with a hint of disdain, but her eyes were practically slits from laughing.

"I love it when it's lively like this. Ah Lei, come back soon, and the whole family will be together." The wife had a bit of a cold, so she didn't dare give her any alcohol, and just looked on longingly.

Because Qin Xiaoyu had just returned from a long trip, Aunt Wang gave her face and came over to eat with them.

Commander Zhou seemed to be acting strangely today, constantly glancing at Granny Wang. With each glance he gave her, Granny Wang became restless.

"What are you doing? You've had too much to drink!" Zhou Xing's mother was also a little annoyed.

"You're such a grown man and you don't even have anything worthwhile to do! Hurry up and find an auspicious time for your daughter's wedding, then you can have the ceremony!" Commander Zhou blurted out his thoughts in his anxiety.

When Aunt Wang heard that she was asked to calculate an auspicious time for Qin Xiaoyu, she immediately grabbed a fortune teller, her face full of arrogance, as if to say, "Come and beg me!" This infuriated Commander Zhou, who remained silent for a long time.

Qin Xiaoyu knew that the two of them had been at odds for a year, and neither of them was willing to admit defeat. She wanted to take this opportunity to make them reconcile, so she pretended to be clueless and focused on talking to Xiao Jin and Zhou Yue about the engagement ceremony.

"Well, godmother, Xiaoyu and Alei's marriage is arranged. Could you please set a date?" Commander Zhou sighed and gave in.

"Since my father-in-law has spoken, this old woman must obey. Okay?" Aunt Wang had saved face and went back to have her horoscopes checked.

"You old woman, what's wrong with saying a word for me?" Commander Zhou looked at Zhou Xing's mother with a hint of anger.

“I’ll say it? You’ll accuse me of talking about feudal superstition again. I won’t say it.” Zhou Xing’s mother suppressed a laugh.