Xiao Shi peeked at her sister. Seeing no objection, she beamed at Shen Yi and nodded vigorously.

Although Qin Jiao didn’t stop Xiao Shi, she turned to look at Shen Yi reproachfully. "You’re quite good at spoiling kids."

Shen Yi was drinking his soda. His hand paused. "Too bad I’ve never had a kid to spoil."

He looked up, his gaze serious as it met Qin Jiao’s. But she just picked up her soda, took a sip, and turned to look away.

’Don’t try to hint at anything with me. He was the one who didn’t want to live a proper life back then!’

’If they had just lived their lives properly, maybe she would have been willing to have a child with him eventually.’

When Shen Yi saw Qin Jiao’s expression turn cold, he figured she was thinking about their past life again. The light in his eyes dimmed as he picked up the nearby soda and drained it in one go.

After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they got some fried chicken to go, grabbed their groceries, and headed back to the courtyard house.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Qin Jiao saw her father, Qin Zhonghui, with his sleeves already rolled up and hard at work. The courtyard house had been derelict for too long. It was quite large, and some materials that had been stored there—probably paint—had caked onto the ground. The expansive yard was now a mottled mess, and Qin Zhonghui was using a hoe to pry up the paint-caked dirt.

Shen Yi immediately took the groceries inside, then came back out, took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and started working alongside Qin Zhonghui.

Qin Jiao was shocked by his diligence. But on second thought, ’This is his house, after all. It’s not so surprising that he’d be hardworking.’

Du Liya had set aside two adjacent rooms for their family of four to use for the time being, and their luggage had already been placed inside. Qin Jiao and her sister, Xiao Shi, took the inner room and began unpacking their daily necessities. Fortunately, the bathroom had hot water. Since they hadn’t had a chance to bathe earlier, Qin Jiao and her sister quickly took turns showering and changing into fresh clothes.

Xiao Shi said happily, "Sis, I love North City!"

Qin Jiao tapped her on the tip of her nose. "Is it because the fried chicken is so good?"

"Hehe, that’s part of the reason. Sis, Aunt Du’s house is so big."

Qin Jiao stood in the doorway, drying her hair with a towel. She nodded and said, "It is pretty big."

In her past life, Qin Jiao had also lived here. But back then, it wasn’t just her and Shen Yi, or Du Liya and Shen Zhengfeng. Shen Zhengfeng’s mother, his sister’s family, and his brother’s family were all living here too.

The place was large, but with so many people living there, it was chaotic.

Back then, Shen Yi had a terrible temper, which made Qin Jiao feel like she didn’t belong in the family. Even so, no one was willing to move out, mainly because everyone wanted this courtyard house for themselves.

This life was better. The courtyard house now belonged to Shen Yi and Aunt Du. Shen Zhengfeng and the rest of the Shen family couldn’t covet it anymore, because the property had already been transferred into Shen Yi’s name.

Meanwhile, Li Xiaomei had arrived at the Shen residence. She was affectionately holding Mrs. Shen’s arm and chatting warmly with her. She had even brought Mrs. Shen an expensive gift—paid for by Shen Zhengfeng, of course. It wasn’t just Mrs. Shen; even Shen Xiaoya and her child, who were still living at her eldest brother’s home, received presents.

Looking at the fashionable dress, Shen Xiaoya smiled. "Wow, Sister-in-law, you have such great taste. I absolutely love this dress."

Li Xiaomei replied gently, "I saw a photo of you before. The moment I saw this dress, I just knew it would look perfect on you. And what do you know, it does."