Shen Xuyue was sleeping on the bed in the inner room, so tired that he was snoring. Zhao Mingyue was doing her work, listening to his voice, and felt particularly at ease. He was finally back, and she no longer had to wait anxiously for news of him or worry about his safety.

Shen Xuyue slept until sunset before getting up, while Zhao Mingyue and Mao Jianlan were still busy under the lamp. Shen Xuyue leaned against the doorway, watching Zhao Mingyue with her head down and back bent, drawing lines on the table with a ruler. The exquisite curves of her body undulated, finally settling on her round and pert buttocks, revealing the sensuality of a mature woman. Shen Xuyue's throat involuntarily tightened. His Mingyue had grown up.

Zhao Mingyue felt his burning gaze, turned her head to look at him, and gave him a shy smile: "You're awake?" Her bright eyes and white teeth made the world seem brighter.

Shen Xuyue lowered his eyes, composed himself, and stretched: "Hmm. Let's go eat, you must be hungry."

Zhao Mingyue put down the chalk in her hand and called to Mao Jianlan, "Jianlan, stop busy and go eat."

"Okay, let me sew on the last button." Mao Jianlan's hands kept moving as she deftly sewed the button; she was now doing these tasks very skillfully and beautifully.

Shen Xuyue took them to eat in Xidan. It was almost dusk, and although it was past the beginning of autumn, there was still a hint of the lingering heat during the day. But by evening, it felt very cool, and a dry breeze brought the scent of autumn. Autumn comes earlier in Beijing than in the south, but it also ends quickly.

Shen Xuyue said casually, "Autumn will be here soon. Autumn is the most beautiful season in Beijing, with the most pleasant weather, just the right temperature, perfect for going out and having fun. We'll go climb Fragrant Hills then, where the red leaves will cover the mountain like clouds and rosy hues, it's especially beautiful. I haven't climbed Fragrant Hills for more than ten years." Shen Xuyue couldn't help but sigh with emotion when he said this.

Zhao Mingyue understood his feelings: "Okay, we'll go together then. Jianlan, you should go too."

Mao Jianlan smiled and said, "We'll see. If everyone else goes, I'll go too." If it's a group activity, then she'll go. But if it's just the couple going alone, what would she do? She'd be in the way.

The three of them had dinner at a small restaurant. Mao Jianlan went back to the shop first, while Zhao Mingyue accompanied Shen Xuyue to visit Uncle Song and Aunt Fang. Although Zhao Mingyue always lived nearby and had a close relationship with Song Xiaorui, she had never visited the Song family before. After all, with Shen Xuyue not around, she had no right to go. Zhao Mingyue was sensible about this; maintaining a good relationship with the Song family was one thing, but creating trouble out of nothing would be seen as fawning and ingratiating, which would make one lose dignity and be looked down upon. So, she hesitated when Shen Xuyue asked her to go today.

Shen Xuyue said, "Go ahead, I just got back and I'm here with you, let's go visit together. I'll take you back later."

Zhao Mingyue said, "There's no reason for this. What would I do there?"

“There’s no need for a reason. You’re my girlfriend, so there’s nothing wrong with you coming with me to visit my elders. You haven’t met my Uncle Song yet, have you? He’s very curious about you. He asked about you a few times before,” Shen Xuyue said with a smile.

Zhao Mingyue wasn't sure if he was telling the truth: "Okay, let's go buy some fruit and snacks. By the way, didn't your parents say they got their jobs back? How's that going?"

"I don't know either. I'll just go ask Uncle Song this time."

The two entered the military compound where Uncle Song lived. When they reached the outside of the Song family's courtyard, they heard bursts of laughter coming from inside. Zhao Mingyue stopped and asked, "It seems like they have guests at his house. Is it appropriate for us to go in like this?"

Shen Xuyue stopped: "It's alright. We're guests too. How can we come to visit and then turn back at the door?"

Zhao Mingyue mainly felt that Commander Song held a high position and wielded great power, and the people who came to visit her home were definitely not ordinary people. It would be bad if she offended them.

They were hesitating at the door when they suddenly heard Song Xiaorui call out, "Xiaoxu, Mingyue, is that you? Come in, come in!" It turned out that she was chatting with someone under the osmanthus tree in the yard when she noticed the two of them lingering at the door. Before they could come in, she had already run into the house.

Zhao Mingyue had no choice but to go in. Shen Xuyue took her hand and led her into the courtyard. This time, he saw another person in the courtyard and was stunned: "Big sister?"

Zhao Mingyue saw her too. It was a woman of medium height with two braids, standing under the osmanthus tree. Her features were obscured by the shadows of the tree, making it difficult to see clearly. Zhao Mingyue could sense that the woman was watching her and Shen Xuyue, so she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Little brother!" the other person called out, choking back tears.

Shen Xuyue rushed over and hugged the woman tightly. She began to sob. Shen Xuyue also choked up, too overwhelmed with emotion to utter another word. Zhao Mingyue watched them silently. He knew Shen Xuyue had an older sister, the eldest in her family, who had responded to the call to action years ago to reclaim wasteland in the Great Northern Wilderness, where she had married and had children.

The lively conversation inside had stopped. Zhao Mingyue saw several people standing at the door. A middle-aged woman glanced into the yard, then quickly stepped out and took a few steps: "Xiao Xu?"

Shen Xuyue shuddered, released his eldest sister, slowly turned his head to look at her, his throat trembling, and it took him a long time to finally speak: "Mom—" He walked over and hugged his mother, then looked up and saw the person at the door, "Dad—" He could no longer hold back his tears, which streamed down his face.

Zhao Mingyue's eyes were also wet. She hadn't expected to run into Shen Xuyue's parents so coincidentally. She was filled with mixed feelings and hadn't prepared at all. What should she do now that she had met Shen Xuyue's parents so abruptly?

The whole family was reunited, and everyone was crying their eyes out. It was normal to be excited after not seeing one's own flesh and blood relatives for more than ten years. Zhao Mingyue was naturally forgotten.

Fortunately, Aunt Fang and Song Xiaorui, the two hostesses, were competent and stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, this is all a happy occasion, why are you crying? Come inside, everyone. Mingyue, come in too, don't stand in the yard."

Song Xiaorui ran over, took the things from Zhao Mingyue's hands, put her arm around Zhao Mingyue's waist, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Mingyue, I didn't tell you in advance. They only arrived in Beijing yesterday, and I only found out when they came to my house today. I was planning to tell you tomorrow, but I didn't expect you to come today."

Zhao Mingyue also felt it was too much of a coincidence: "Xu Yue just returned to Beijing today and said he wanted to come visit your family. I said I wouldn't come, but he insisted. As a result, I met his parents without any preparation. What am I supposed to do?"

Song Xiaorui said, "Since we've already run into each other, why not meet today? Maybe they'll be in a good mood and happy to see you, and then they'll approve."

Zhao Mingyue thought to herself, "Their family has finally reunited, and I'm clearly an outsider. I even have to take Shen Xuyue away. That mother definitely won't be happy. Can she really accept me so easily?"

The two of them entered the house last. Zhao Mingyue looked around and noticed that not only were people from Song Xiaorui and Shen Xuyue's families present, but also many unfamiliar faces. Among them was someone she recognized—Wu Jie. It seemed the Wu family was also there. As soon as Zhao Mingyue entered, she found that almost all eyes were on her.

Song Xiaorui laughed and said, "Xiao Xu, look, you're so happy that you've forgotten about your wife."

Shen Xuyue quickly let go of his mother, walked to Zhao Mingyue's side, and took her hand: "Dad, Mom, this is my girlfriend. Her name is Zhao Mingyue, and she's a student at Beijing Normal University. Mingyue, these are my mom and dad, this is my older sister, this is Uncle Song, this is Uncle Wu..."

Zhao Mingyue maintained her standard eight-tooth smile, greeting everyone he introduced. She carefully observed that everyone's expressions were polite, but most were forced smiles; it was probably a first meeting and they couldn't possibly like her. Only Commander Song's smile was genuine: "This must be Comrade Zhao, right? Come and sit down. Your Aunt Fang and Xiao Rui have told me about her many times, but I've never had a chance to meet her. It's such a coincidence that everyone's here today; let's get to know each other."

Shen Xuyue gently helped Zhao Mingyue sit down on a single sofa, while he himself sat on the armrest next to her. This was a common gesture between couples, but Shen Xuyue's mother frowned slightly. Zhao Mingyue, ever observant, whispered to Shen Xuyue, "You sit on the sofa, I'll go get a stool."

Shen Xuyue stood up himself: "You sit down, I'll go." He brought over a small stool and sat down next to Zhao Mingyue. There were more than a dozen people in the room, all sitting around the tea table, seemingly drinking tea and reminiscing.

Shen Xuyue's emotions had calmed down: "Mom and Dad, when did you get back?"

Mr. Shen said, "We arrived in Beijing yesterday; your sister arrived a few days earlier."

Shen Xuyue turned to look at his older sister: "Big sister, where is my nephew?"

Sister Shen's happy face suddenly froze. She waved her hand and said, "Let's not talk about me first, let's talk about you."

Shen Xuyue said, “I’m fine. As you all know, I’ve always been in Jinan. Although it’s a bit poor there, the natural environment is still okay, not as harsh as my older sister’s place in Northeast China. The people there are also very nice, kind and simple. Then last year I took the college entrance exam and came back to Beijing. During the summer vacation, a professor in our department was doing an environmental survey report, and I went with him for more than a month, traveling around Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong. I just came back from Shandong today. I was just going to visit Uncle Song and Aunt Fang, and I didn’t expect to run into you. It’s so great.”

“Yes, we only heard from Xiaorui that you went out to do research, so we didn’t go looking for you. You’ve all suffered so much out there all these years. Xiaoxu, come sit here with your mother.” When Chen’s mother parted from her son, he was still a boy. When she saw him again, he was already a dashing young man. But in her heart, she still felt that he was a child asking her for food. Her beloved youngest son had never grown up.

Zhao Mingyue whispered to Shen Xuyue, "Go and keep your parents company."

Shen Xuyue glanced at Zhao Mingyue, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Xiao Xu has grown up. Now he has a wife and doesn't need his mother anymore."

Everyone in the room laughed, except for Wu Jie, who snorted and pursed her lips. Zhao Mingyue felt uneasy, and Shen Xuyue's dark face also looked uncomfortable. Both of them were somewhat awkward. Zhao Mingyue nudged his shoulder, and he had no choice but to get up and go to accompany his parents. Logically, he should spend time with his parents, whom he hadn't seen for many years, but it was also Zhao Mingyue's first time meeting them, and he felt he should accompany her to meet his parents as well.

"Come eat some watermelon, Xiaoxu and Mingyue brought it." Song Xiaorui brought the sliced ​​watermelon from the kitchen for her mother, then gave a slice to Zhao Mingyue who was sitting a little further away. She sat down on the small stool where Shen Xuyue had been sitting, winking at Shen Xuyue as if to say, "I'll take care of her for you." Shen Xuyue gave her a grateful look.

After catching up for a while, their excited emotions gradually calmed down, and Shen Xuyue's mother finally had the energy to pay attention to Zhao Mingyue. She was a very strong-willed woman, unlike Aunt Fang, who was a housewife. She was a revolutionary, even a cadre, with a rather assertive personality. Despite years of reform alongside Shen's father, her defiant spirit remained undiminished, demonstrating her fierce nature, though she must have suffered greatly. She asked Zhao Mingyue, "Girl, where are you from? What does your family do?"

Shen Xuyue quickly said, "Mom, Mingyue is..."

Chen's mother interrupted him: "I'm asking about Comrade Xiao Zhao. Can't she tell me herself?"

Zhao Mingyue smiled and said, "It's like this, Auntie. My family is from Jinnan, in the same brigade where Xuyue was sent to work. My family are farmers, and my father used to be a substitute teacher."

Chen's mother continued, "When did you two get together?"

Shen Xuyue interrupted his mother: "Mom, Uncle Song and Uncle Wu are here. Let's talk about this privately."

Mother Shen glared at her son: "It's not like it's something shameful, what can't you say?"

Mr. Shen interrupted her, saying, "Never mind, Pei-jun, this is a private matter for our family. Let's talk about it in private. We old friends still need to catch up."

Chen's mother glanced at everyone and said, "We women can't get a word in edgewise when it comes to your men's conversation. You all chat, and we women will go into Xiaorui's room to talk, okay, Xiaorui?" It seemed she was determined to get to the bottom of things.

How could Song Xiaorui refuse? So she had no choice but to say, "Sure."

So, Mother Shen led the way into the inner room, and Zhao Mingyue had no choice but to follow Song Xiaorui, with Wu Jie also coming along. Shen Xuyue saw that they were moving to another place and wanted to come along, but his older sister pressed his shoulders down and said, "Are you a man or a woman? Don't get involved in our women's conversations. Chat with Dad and the uncles."

Shen Xuyue could only watch helplessly as Zhao Mingyue left with her mother, feeling like he was sending a lamb to the slaughter. Zhao Mingyue turned around, smiled at Shen Xuyue, and gestured for him not to worry.

Shen Xuyue's heart was in turmoil. He knew his mother was definitely not a gentle and kind woman; she had always been very assertive and liked to make decisions for her children. Sometimes, Shen Xuyue even felt that if he had stayed by his mother's side all along, he might have become the kind of person with an overly dependent mentality. Although he had suffered a lot by leaving home at a young age, it might have been a good thing for his growth.

Zhao Mingyue went into the inner room. Mother Shen and Sister Shen sat by Song Xiaorui's bedside. Song Xiaorui sat with Zhao Mingyue on a stool. Wu Jie glanced around and sat on the other side of Mother Shen. Just as they were seated, Aunt Fang appeared at Song Xiaorui's door, smiling, "Oh, what kind of meeting is this?" She had been busy in the kitchen and had just finished. Seeing that the women in the room were gone, she said they had come to Xiaorui's room, so she followed them. Finding the atmosphere somewhat somber, she realized that Shi Peijun was probably not entirely satisfied with Mingyue.

Mother Shen smiled and said, "Fang Lin, come and sit down too. What kind of meeting is this? It's just a casual chat to get to know each other."

Aunt Fang moved a chair and sat between the bed and the stool.

Mother Shen looked at Zhao Mingyue: "Your name is Zhao Mingyue, right? I'll call you Little Zhao then. How old are you, Little Zhao?"

Zhao Mingyue said, "Okay, Auntie. I'm nineteen this year."

"You're still very young. How many siblings do you have?"

Zhao Mingyue said, "Four, three older brothers."

"You're all married?"

“My third brother isn’t there yet; he’s attending university in our region,” Zhao Mingyue answered honestly.

Mother Shen then asked, "How did you meet Xiao Xu? How long have you been dating?" Her son went to the countryside to work as an educated youth and found a rural woman. Although this woman had already been admitted to university and escaped rural life, she was still from the countryside and her family's circumstances were far inferior to hers. She would have carefully considered her son's choice of someone from the city, let alone someone from the countryside.

Zhao Mingyue said, "He was the Party Secretary of our village, and we got to know each other over time. We've known each other for a long time, but we officially started dating last year." To be more precise, it started the winter before last, but it wasn't official then.

Mother Shen then said, "Given your situation, you'll most likely be assigned a job back to your hometown in the future, right?"

Generally speaking, if Zhao Mingyue performs well, she has a very high chance of staying in Beijing. Moreover, she doesn't particularly care where she's assigned to work; if she's really dissatisfied, she'll go into business and go wherever Shen Xuyue works. "I'm not too sure about that; it depends on the school's assignment."

Shen's mother said, "Our Xiaoxu will definitely stay in Beijing in the future. If you two can't work in the same place, then it's not very realistic for you to be together." What she meant was, "Look, I didn't break you up; it's the policy that forced you to separate."

Zhao Mingyue said, "I will work in the same city as him."

"You mean you'll stay in Beijing?" Shen's mother looked at Zhao Mingyue.

Aunt Fang laughed: "Peijun, isn't it easy to keep Mingyue in Beijing?" Actually, it's just a matter of them saying a word to keep Zhao Mingyue in Beijing. As long as she performs well, they just need to give the school a heads-up.

Mother Shen said very seriously, "We can't control this, we absolutely won't interfere, we can't break this rule." She spoke in a very high-sounding manner.

Zhao Mingyue said, "I don't know which city he's in, but I'll go wherever he goes." As long as Shen Xuyue doesn't break up with her.

Looking at Zhao Mingyue, Chen's mother said coldly, "If you two can't be assigned to the same place, you're not going to work, but instead following him around everywhere?" What does this girl mean?

Zhao Mingyue smiled and said, "Of course I have to work. I will have my own career."

Wu Jie, who had been silent until now, suddenly interjected, "Making clothes for people?"

Zhao Mingyue looked at Wu Jie with a mocking smile on her face.

Chen's mother asked Wu Jie, "What did you mean by what you just said?"

Wu Jie smiled and said, "Little Zhao didn't go home for summer vacation. He opened a clothing store in Beijing, making clothes and dresses for people. Business must be very good. He must have made a lot of money."

Zhao Mingyue didn't know how she knew about her shop, but she figured it wouldn't be too difficult to find out. She gave Wu Jie a cold look.

Song Xiaorui looked at Wu Jie and said, "What's wrong with making clothes for others? We're earning a living with our own skills, not stealing or robbing. What's shameful about it?"

Mother Shen's expression turned sour: "Aren't you still a student? How come you've started doing business?"

Zhao Mingyue said, "My family isn't well-off, so I'm looking for something to do in Beijing during the summer vacation to support myself while studying."

Wu Jie said, "Don't you teacher training colleges provide subsidies? Why do you still need to work part-time? Isn't the money enough for you?"

Song Xiaorui frowned and glared at Wu Jie: "Wu Jie, what's it to you?"

Wu Jie glanced at Song Xiaorui, then turned to face Chen's mother, taking her arm. "Aunt Shi wants to know? I'm just explaining the situation. She's Xu Yue's girlfriend, is there anything wrong with Aunt Shi wanting to know more?"

Mother Shen patted Wu Jie's hand: "Thank you for your concern, Xiao Jie. She's right, I do want to know more. I'm very touched that you're determined to follow my Xiao Xu, but I strongly disagree with this approach. The country and your parents have spent money to raise you; you can't waste your talents like this, graduating from university only to become a street vendor. That would be worse than not studying at all. It would be a disservice to the country's investment in you, and probably also a disservice to your parents' expectations." In China, business people have always been considered inferior, and the status of merchants is still discriminated against, especially in families like theirs.

Zhao Mingyue thought to herself, "This is quite a heavy label." She smiled slightly and said, "I've never thought about becoming a street vendor. Besides, I'm only a freshman in college; it's too early to talk about my future." Of course, she wouldn't be satisfied with just being a street vendor.

Mother Shen sighed and said, "Yes, you still have three or four years until graduation. It's too far ahead of your time to worry about the future. Let's just treat this as a casual chat. Don't take it to heart. Just focus on your studies." This implied that whether she could be with her son in the future was uncertain, and all her worrying about it so early was pointless.

Zhao Mingyue's first unexpected encounter with Shen Xuyue's parents ended unpleasantly. She knew she had many tough battles to fight. However, no matter how she fought, it all depended on Shen Xuyue's attitude; otherwise, her military prowess would be useless.