Shi Nian couldn't help but stare at Azel's face in a daze, his mind was blank, and the surprise in his eyes was clearly visible. It was obviously the same face he had grown up with, but after not seeing him for a few years, he seemed to have gained a bit more... um... charm?

Why hadn't I noticed before that Azel was also quite good-looking? Shi Nian's scorching gaze was glued to Azel's face, as frankly as if he were appreciating a work of art, which made Yu Luhan, who was standing next to him, frown.

Azel was also staring at the time. Facing the time after growing up brought a greater impact. The little glutinous rice ball that had always stuck to him in his memory was replaced by the exquisite boy in front of him.

Those clear black eyes seemed to have crossed the long river of time and came to the present from the other side of memory. They were as familiar as before, just like the first time they met when they were a few years old.

Aizel couldn't help but laugh as he looked at Shi Nian, who was staring at him intently. He put his finger to his lips and smiled softly, "Didn't you call me just now? Why do you act like you don't recognize me now?"

Shi Nian's round eyes were still fixed on him, and she subconsciously replied, "I know him. I've always known him."

Listening to his drawn-out tone, Ezer's heart softened. He felt that he was still as fond of acting like a spoiled child as he was when he was a child, and he wanted to reach out and touch his soft hair.

But the next second, there was nothing in front of me.

Yu Luhan's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death. He grabbed Shi Nian's arm and dragged him behind him. He glanced at Azel with a threatening look, then pushed Shi Nian's protruding little head back down.

Shi Nian pouted in grievance, "Father~"

Why not let him see Brother Azel? They haven't seen each other for so many years. Besides, Azel is so good now, as good as Uncle Annan. What's wrong with him looking at him a few more times?

After witnessing the scene after Shi Nian and Aizer met, Yu Luhan's alarm bells started ringing wildly.

He pushed Shi Nian eagerly towards Shi Yiyu, "We should go back. Paiqi and Kelais are waiting for you at home."

Shi Nian glanced at Azel reluctantly and shouted, "Brother Azel, come back with us!"

Yu Luhan was cold and unkind. "No, he's busy and it's not his turn to get off work yet. He doesn't have time to go back."

Azer was stunned. He had not yet fully entered the military department. He was still in the social practice stage of the university. There was not much work to do at work, and he could leave after finishing it.

And he has already completed his work for the day, so what else does he need to do?

Seeing that Azel was silent, Shi Nian tilted his head suspiciously, "Really? Brother Azel, do you have something to help you with?"

Yu Lu glanced at Ezel with his cold eyes, "Don't you think so?"

"...Yes, I have a little thing to take care of today." Ezel admitted, smiling gently, "I'll come see you tomorrow. You don't have any clothes to wear, right? I can go buy some with you."

Shi Nian readily agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll wait for you at home tomorrow."

Yu Luhan's face was as red as the bottom of a pot. Azel's move could be described as a retreat to advance, giving up today for tomorrow. However, if he continued to assign tasks to Azel tomorrow, it would seem very deliberate.

There was no other way, Yu Luhan could only watch with frustration as the two people agreed on a time.

In order to cover up the lie and not give Yu Luhan any room to maneuver, Aizer and Shi Nian agreed and then took the elevator to the office upstairs conscientiously.

Shi Nian looked at his figure from afar, and only reluctantly withdrew her gaze when the elevator door closed.

Shi Yiyu stood beside him. Now Shi Nian was about the same height as him, and standing together they looked more like a pair of brothers than father and son.

Shi Yiyu followed his gaze and asked in confusion, "Why do I feel like you're even more attached to him than before? Is distance the key to beauty?"

"Maybe." Shi Nian stroked his chin, smiled with his eyes curved, and praised frankly, "He is indeed good. I have seen too much of him."

Shi Yiyu's attitude towards Aizel is much better than Yu Luhan's. Aizel and Annan look alike. Out of love for his good friend, he also takes good care of this child.

Moreover, Azel is the child that Shi Yiyu has watched grow up. He is very happy to see that Shi Nian is willing to live in harmony with Azel.

Yu Luhan crossed his arms and frowned when he heard the name Azel.

Xu Lin, who was standing by, was secretly happy when he saw his expression. He let him steal the cabbages from their old man's house, but now his cabbages were about to be stolen by the wild boar outside.

Just thinking about this, Xulin's mood sank. Shi Nian was also a cabbage in their old Shi family!

grass!

After Yu Chen and Yuan Yunqing separated, he walked back to his family, put his arm around Shi Nian's shoulders, and glanced at his school uniform. "Give me this one tomorrow after you buy new clothes from Azel."

Shi Nian readily agreed, "Sure, please pass it on to Brother Yuan for me."

Yu Chen said calmly, "Yeah."

The three dinosaurs that were running around the field had enough fun and returned to the group together. Shi Nian couldn't tell who was who at a glance and could only distinguish them by their voices.

A dinosaur trotted crookedly in front of Shi Nian, picked up Shi Nian's face with its little paws, looked left and right, and suddenly hugged Shi Nian.

Shi Yichu sighed from inside her doll costume, "Little Rose has grown so big! You guys have grown up so quickly without me noticing."

To be honest, Shi Nian also felt a sense of unreality. "Well, I'm seventeen this year, and in three years I'll be twenty."

It was clear that not long ago his age was still in single digits, but in the blink of an eye he was about to become an adult, and the past time seemed like a short dream.

Nobby also jumped out excitedly, "I'm almost an adult!"

At this moment, the sense of unreality in his heart deepened even more, because he still remembered the scene on the day when Nobby was born.

"Also, Brot, which class are you in?" Nobby's little paws clung to Shi Nian's shoulders. "Can I transfer to your class? I'm too bored being alone."

Shi Nian pondered for a few seconds and looked at Xu Lin, "Should I continue to attend the senior high school? The first year of high school?"

Xu Lin waved his hand casually. "It's up to you. Go ahead and choose whichever grade you want. With your grades, it's no problem to jump directly to the undergraduate program."

Shi Nian didn't plan to go to undergraduate school because he had something else to do, which was the military league in the first half of next year. If he went to undergraduate school, he wouldn't be able to sign up for it.

Shi Nian made a choice, "Then I'll go to the third year of high school."

Xulin nodded and made careful arrangements for him, "Okay, I'll give you a place in this senior year class. The day after tomorrow is Monday, so you can go to school directly.

"Are you living on campus or something? Your original classmates have already gone to the undergraduate program, so you'll probably have to get to know new classmates."

Shi Nian just thought of this and pursed his lips in embarrassment. His social skills were not good. His regular playmates were almost all the ones he had played with since childhood. It was inevitable that he would feel uneasy when he was asked to make friends with new people.

"Brother, come live with me." Nobby invited him. "Morphus has a separate villa on campus. He doesn't live there anyway, so it's perfect for us to move in."

Morpheus nodded generously, "Okay, you two can take care of each other."

Shi Nian thought about it and agreed. It would definitely be great to get along with someone familiar.

The school matters were arranged like this, and the two families went back to their respective homes. Shi Nian sat in the car and stared at the scenery receding outside the window. Many buildings in Plant had changed, and the most obvious change was the increasing number of people.

As they passed the pedestrian street, Shi Nian looked at the dense crowds of people and exclaimed, "There are so many people."

Shi Yiyu glanced at it and said, "Indeed, in recent years, Plante's school has expanded its enrollment. There are more and more students, and job seekers are also coming here."

Shi Nian looked at the Champs-Elysées and found that there were not many people there, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He hates crowded places.

After returning home, the cat squatting at the entrance meowed softly as usual to express its welcome to the returning two-legged beast.

But when it saw Shi Nian, the whole cat was shocked. Its round cat eyes looked at Shi Nian, as if trying to confirm whether this was the two-legged beast cub.

"Paqi." Shi Nian happily lifted it up, spun it around, and held it in his arms, stroking its fur. "You've gained a lot of weight. What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?"

Paige tilted her head to look at him, "Meow?"

Shi Nian smiled and buried his head in the fur on its chest, rubbing it. "Forgetful kitten, do you remember anything when you smell me?"

Paiqi smelled the scent of Manta Rose on him, and confirmed that the boy in front of her was the little cub that had taken the nest with her. She transformed into a little clamp cat again and called out sweetly, "Meow~"

Shi Nian held it in his arms and sat on the sofa, then began to stroke the cat's fur.

Paiqi was very tolerant of the little cub whom she had not seen for a long time. She did not show any resistance as he kissed and rubbed her.

"Little Nian Nian!"

A vibrant voice sounded, and Shi Nian looked over, only to see Koles, who hadn't changed at all, standing at the second-floor stairs, his red eyes filled with excitement.

Shi Nian's eyes lit up, "Kelais!"

Kelais ran down quickly and pounced on Shi Nian. The two of them fell on the sofa together, scaring Paige so much that she jumped to the floor.

Kelais rubbed Shi Nian's neck excitedly, "Wow, Nian Nian, I miss you so much. How could you leave me at home? You don't even know how I've been living these past seven years."

Shi Nianhao asked curiously, "How did you get through?"

"Daniel and I are helping to train the new recruits at the military headquarters. They are so stupid and can't do anything." Kelais complained while thinking about time, "I am really being tortured to death by them."

Shi Xiaonian gave a bitter laugh and stroked his silver hair. "It's good. At least you still have a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear."

Unlike him, he had to endure seven years of refugee life.

Kelais was shocked by Shi Nian's low aspirations. "Niannian, have you been through something? I feel like you're a little different from before."

It's like a rich young man who has experienced bankruptcy and wandered around for a period of time, and his thoughts and ideas have changed.

Shi Nian sighed, "Maybe it's because we've been through too much hardship. Fortunately, you didn't go with me. There wasn't even a place for you to recharge."

Kelais: “…?”

Why did Shi Nian say this? It didn't sound like interstellar study tours, but more like fleeing. However, Shi Nian didn't want to talk about those seven years anymore, but Rice couldn't get any more information from him.