This person is clearly a male protagonist in a female-oriented novel, yet he is excessively lucid.

After experiencing the vibrant atmosphere and ancient charm of the Yangtze River in Wuhan, at 6:30 the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Yu Chenzhou took Xiao Yilin's hand and slowly walked out of the hotel where they were staying.

The morning breeze carried a slight chill, but it did not dispel the complex emotions hidden in their eyes about their journey home.

The trunk of the car was already packed full of gifts prepared for relatives.

He did this not because he particularly liked these relatives, but to shut up these busybodies and prevent them from nitpicking and gossiping about his relationship with Xiao Yilin.

Although he can ignore or even argue back, it gets irritating after hearing it too much.

As for those who are still not satisfied after receiving the gifts, who keep talking nonsense and don't know how to be appreciative, then don't blame Yu Chenzhou for being hard-hearted and showing no mercy at all.

Although Yu Chenzhou's father's lineage was not particularly large, it still involved many relatives, both near and far.

Moreover, in the countryside, the elderly neighbors love to gather together and gossip about each other's affairs, so he had to make thorough preparations in advance.

To avoid the morning rush hour traffic in the city, Yu Chenzhou drove straight onto the Fourth Ring Expressway after getting in the car. The wheels rolled through the faint morning light, the engine hummed, and they sped towards their hometown. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from city buildings to suburban landscapes.

Yu Chenzhou's hometown is a quiet town under the jurisdiction of Wuhan. Courtyards with blue tiles and white walls are arranged along a winding river, exuding a rustic and simple atmosphere.

At this time, the rice paddies still shimmered with the golden hue of the unharvested rice from late September. A gust of wind blew, and the layers of rice waves gently surged, carrying a faint fragrance of rice into the distance.

Xiao Yilin leaned back in the passenger seat, her gaze following the pastoral scenery rushing past the window. Her fingertips unconsciously tightened slightly. The unease in her heart was more complicated than when she first met her parents. Images of being coldly treated by Yu's mother in the past flashed through her mind from time to time.

In fact, when Xiao Yilin chose to break up with Yu Chenzhou, besides worrying that a long-distance relationship would be difficult to maintain and would ultimately end in mutual harm, Yu Chenzhou's mother's tough and picky attitude was also an important reason that crushed the relationship.

Yu Chenzhou caught a glimpse of her tense fingertips and slightly furrowed brows out of the corner of his eye, instantly understanding the unease in her heart. He immediately freed one hand from the steering wheel, gently took her slightly cool fingertips, and softly stroked them with his fingertips, soothing her in a low voice:

"Don't be nervous, I'm here."

As he spoke, a gentle smile lingered in his eyes, and his tone was full of reassuring affection and certainty.

Hearing this and feeling the warmth of Yu Chenzhou's hand, Xiao Yilin felt much more at ease.

However, to Yu Chenzhou's utter surprise, when he pushed open the door to his home with Xiao Yilin, his parents did not show the coldness and resistance he had expected. Instead, their attitude was even somewhat deliberately attentive, offering him water and inviting him to sit down.

This sudden change forced Yu Chenzhou to swallow back all the words he had prepared, leaving him filled with doubt.

Not only was Yu Chenzhou baffled by his parents' sudden change, but Xiao Yilin was also completely bewildered.

She still vividly remembers her mother's cold face and sharp words when she last came here, and the embarrassment of not being recognized still seems to linger in her heart.

To verify whether his parents were deliberately putting on an act, pretending to accept him first and then obstructing him from behind, Yu Chenzhou simply went straight to the point, saying that he brought Xiao Yilin back this time to get a marriage certificate with her.

In other words, Xiao Yilin is no longer his girlfriend, but his rightful fiancée.

If they do not explicitly object now, the matter will be irreversible, and there will be no turning back.

Unexpectedly, when his parents heard the news of their son's marriage, their faces instantly lit up with smiles. They were overjoyed and praised Xiao Yilin for being well-behaved and sensible, saying that the two were a perfect match.

Yu Chenzhou's father was even more decisive. He turned around and took out the household registration book from the bedroom drawer, solemnly handed it to him, and urged him to take Xiao Yilin to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate at any time, fearing that something might happen if he was a step too late.

Yu Chenzhou held the thin yet heavy household registration booklet in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and repeatedly observed his parents' expressions. Finally, he realized that they were not faking it and that their joy was genuine.

According to the original setting, Yu Chenzhou's mother was an extremely self-centered and controlling person.

In the original story, the reason she disliked Xiao Yilin from the bottom of her heart was simply because she asked Xiao Yilin to cook a meal, but Xiao Yilin declined because she was not good at it and was even unwilling to learn from her.

However, in her view, she had taken the initiative to teach the other party how to cook out of kindness, so that the other party could better manage the household in the future. However, the other party was so ungrateful, clearly showing a lack of understanding and not taking her seriously. Such a person was not worthy of being the daughter-in-law of the Yu family.

That's why she kept making things difficult for Xiao Yilin.

The only reason for such a dramatic change in her attitude is likely that they already knew about Xiao Yilin's family background.

However, this is for the best. After all, they are the biological parents of this body, and Yu Chenzhou doesn't want to make the relationship too strained or awkward.

After the two returned to Yu Chenzhou's room and closed the door behind them to block out their parents' voices, Xiao Yilin approached Yu Chenzhou and asked in a low voice with an incredulous look on her face:

"Chen Zhou, has your mother lost her mind?"

Her attitude towards me today was so strange; she was completely different from last time.

"I guess she probably knows you're a wealthy woman from a well-off family."

Yu Chenzhou stood in front of the wardrobe, calmly stating his conjecture, but a barely perceptible hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

"Just because of that?"

Xiao Yilin stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her tone filled with disbelief. She had never imagined that Yu's mother's change of attitude would be so drastic.

"Otherwise what?"

Yu Chenzhou smiled, his tone becoming even more sarcastic.

"These days, everyone puts on an air of superiority, criticizing those who marry into wealth for being sycophantic, but is what they really despise about marrying into wealth itself?"

It's nothing more than scorn that the person who hooked up with a rich man isn't herself; deep down, she's just filled with jealousy.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yilin felt a warmth in her heart and instantly understood the self-deprecation and loneliness in Yu Chenzhou's words.

She walked emotionally behind Yu Chenzhou, who was standing in front of the wardrobe tidying up clothes, gently stretched out her arms to wrap around his waist, pressed her face tightly against his back, and whispered:

"Darling, I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that."

Moreover, my mother specifically told me that the jewelry set you gave me cost no less than six million in raw material costs alone. If it is properly managed and developed into a high-end brand, its market value will only be higher.

And those two outfits you prepared for me are things that are hard to buy even if you have money.

So, the one who really leeches off others is actually me.

"No!"

Yu Chenzhou patted the back of her hand and teased her with a smile.

"What's so great about hugging my legs?"

But your long legs are so slender and straight, they're so comfortable to hug, so fragrant and smooth, especially your deadly scissor kick, it's absolutely mesmerizing.

"I'm being serious with you, and you're daydreaming and making fun of me. You're not serious at all."

Xiao Yilin playfully pinched the soft flesh on Yu Chenzhou's side with the hand that was wrapped around his waist. Her tone was full of helpless complaints, but her eyes held an unyielding sweetness.

Yu Chenzhou took her hand that was wrapped around his waist with his other hand, his fingertips gently caressing the back of her hand, and then turned around and gently embraced her.

He looked down at the undisguised sweetness in the eyes of the woman in his arms, his nose brushed against the top of her hair, and he caught a whiff of the delicate fragrance of lilies. His tone softened, the teasing from before gone.

"I know you're serious, but with me, there's no need to distinguish between primary and secondary matters, let alone who's sucking up to whom."

Xiao Yilin snuggled closer to him, tightening her arms around his neck, and looked up into his deep eyes, which sparkled with tiny starlight.

Yu Chenzhou lowered his head and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her rosy lips, his voice so tender it could seep into her heart:

"I've made you suffer a lot in the past. From now on, with me here, I will never let you feel uneasy because of anyone, whether it's my mother or any other irrelevant person."

Xiao Yilin pursed her lips, a sweet smile playing on her lips. She leaned in and lightly pecked him on the lips, her voice soft yet remarkably firm:

"Yes, I believe you."

No matter why your aunt and uncle changed their attitude, as long as you're there for them, that's enough.

Yu Chenzhou smiled and tightened his embrace, holding her firmly in his arms. The room was so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats. Their intertwined breaths were filled with the warmth of peaceful times, washing away all the previous unease and anxiety.