Just like the New Year's Eve dinner in previous years, the family sat around the stove and ate until eight or nine o'clock.

The two little ones were too young to stay up all night; they went to bed at ten o'clock.

Xiang Zhilan came out to help her mother clear the dishes. Firecrackers were going off outside, and the mother and daughter were talking and chatting in the kitchen.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiang Ma asked, "I heard Achao call you 'wife' this morning. Have you and Shen Muzhi made up?"

"Mom, you're overthinking it. A-Chao just hasn't changed his habits." Xiang Zhilan put down the rag, poured herself a glass of water to quench her thirst. She had drunk some wine with her father at dinner, and now she was feeling a bit tipsy.

"Then why did he send Ah Chao to bring you here? Actually, if you want to remarry, we won't object. Although we don't know what happened back then that made you leave while heavily pregnant, more than two years have passed, and if..."

"Stop." Xiang Zhilan said helplessly, then joked, "Mom, are you trying to persuade me to go back to my ex because you're worried I'll never get married again?"

"Nonsense." Xiang's mother glared at her, knowing she was saying it on purpose, and continued, "But speaking of which, you'll be twenty-eight tomorrow. You've been divorced for so long, you should start thinking about remarrying. I heard from Aunt Zhou next door that her nephew just returned from studying abroad for his doctorate..."

"Mom, please have mercy on me and let me go." Xiang Zhilan immediately begged for mercy, put down her water glass, and used the excuse of needing to urinate to make a quick getaway.

Xiang's mother shook her head and smiled helplessly. Just like before, she would run away at the mention of blind dates.

After Xiang Zhilan slipped into the room, she only turned on a small lamp by the bedside. She lay on the bed, listening to the sounds of the Spring Festival Gala program in the living room and the distant sounds of fireworks and firecrackers. Everything here felt familiar and warm.

She had been drinking and her cheeks were a little hot, but the joyful mood kept her awake. Her phone was bombarded with New Year's greetings, so she simply lay in bed and played the red envelope game on WeChat.

A while later, a friend she was on good terms with messaged her privately, asking if she had returned to China.

After chatting for a while, her friend mentioned a gathering on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and asked if she had time and wanted to come. She thought about her schedule and agreed.

A little while later, her phone ran out of battery, so she plugged it in to charge by her bedside and stopped playing with it.

Feeling restless and unable to sleep, she thought of the bag of books Shen Muzhi had given her. She got up, took the bag out of the closet, put it on the bed, turned on the bedside lamp a little, and then took out the books one by one.

She hadn't finished reading that book yet that day, and she didn't know if Shen Muzhi had put it in.

Xiang Zhilan took it, her eyes lit up, and she quickly took it out.

Then she noticed that underneath the book wasn't a book, but a rectangular leather box that looked quite high-end, somewhat like a jewelry box.

Could this be the real gift Shen Muzhi gave him?

Xiang Zhilan chuckled, annoyed. Was she deliberately hiding it under the book because she was afraid the girl would return it?

She took it out, stroked the box, and slowly opened it.

She paused for a moment when she saw what was inside, then took it out of the box. It was a pink stick, about twenty centimeters long.

"What is this?" Xiang Zhilan didn't understand. Looking into the box again, she saw a charging cable and a small remote control.

She reached for the remote control, wondering if it was a toy for the children.

As she was studying the remote control, her phone vibrated. She saw it was Shen Muzhi, reached out and unplugged the charger, then answered the call.