"Absolutely not!" Su Yun refused immediately. "This is about Xiao Jiao’s future marriage. She has always had a mind of her own, and even as her parents, we won’t make this decision for her."

Du Liya said anxiously, "I know, I understand. I just wanted to talk to you two about it first. And besides the annual profit sharing, the clothing factory also has a cafeteria. If you’re willing, you could work there. After all, opening a restaurant involves a lot of work and a large investment. You could use the factory’s cafeteria as a stepping stone."

Su Yun remained firm. "We don’t care about the profit sharing or the cafeteria. This matter is still up to Xiao Jiao herself."

Of course, Qin Zhonghui wasn’t happy about marrying off his daughter. He frowned and said, "You could always find someone else. It doesn’t have to be Xiao Jiao."

Du Liya replied, "But our Xiao Yi only likes your Xiao Jiao!"

Qin Zhonghui and Su Yun exchanged a look of utter surprise. It was obvious that after all this time, Shen Yi’s parents still hadn’t figured out what was truly on his mind!

While the adults were talking, Xiao Shi broke off a sprig from an osmanthus tree, sniffed its fragrance, and had a sudden realization.

’So Brother Shen Yi is going to be my brother-in-law!’

Qin Jiao was still unaware of what was happening at home. She and Shen Yi had registered for the driver’s test, skipping the practice lessons in between and signing up for the earliest possible exam date.

If all went well, she could get her license before school started.

However, the registration fee was quite high at the time. Although Qin Jiao had money, she hadn’t brought that much with her. Shen Yi paid for it all without a second thought. When Qin Jiao looked over, he said casually, "You can just pay me back after you get the cash."

"Okay." Qin Jiao wasn’t the type to be fussy. After all, the two of them were so close, there was no need to dwell on such a small thing.

Chen Feng, who was a few steps behind them, found a staff member and said he wanted to register the same way they did, for the earliest test date. The staff member asked, "Have you learned to drive with someone before?"

Chen Feng was taken aback. "What? No, I haven’t."

The staff member said, "Oh, in that case, you can’t take the test soon like them. They have prior experience. You’ll need to get a lot of practice in. The written test and the road test are done together. Let me see... Yeah, you should just sign up for this session."

Chen Feng took one look and frowned.

That was over a month away. By then, school would have already started!

But he had no other choice. If he wanted to register, this was the only time available.

Meanwhile, Qin Jiao and Shen Yi squeezed onto the subway again. They happened to catch a large crowd of people heading somewhere, and the car was quite packed. A slight smile played on Shen Yi’s lips as he carefully shielded Qin Jiao in a corner.

Qin Jiao was speechless. "Shen Yi, I really didn’t expect this. You’re nothing like the Shen Yi I used to know."

"We’re starting over, after all. Of course there has to be a new vibe, a new life, right?"

Qin Jiao let out a dry laugh.

’A fresh start, and a much thicker skin,’ she thought. ’I’m impressed, truly.’

After getting off the subway, they passed a KFC. Qin Jiao went inside and bought two orders of fried chicken for Xiao Shi. In this life, she would work hard to buy Xiao Shi whatever she liked to eat.

But when they returned to the courtyard house together, they found the atmosphere to be a bit... strange.

The small courtyard had already been tidied up. Some vegetable seedlings were arranged on the ground—peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

There were also some Chinese roses. They hadn’t bloomed yet and weren’t very tall, but some had tiny little buds.

Qin Zhonghui and Su Yun, along with Beidou and Du Liya, were all busy in the yard. But the strange thing was, the four of them hardly seemed to be talking to each other at all.

’Did they have a fight?’