Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

"Pfft!"

The atmosphere immediately relaxed.

The annoyance from the stench and farce just now vanished.

Bai Li, with one hand in his trench coat pocket, glanced at the numbers on his phone screen:

"Alright, take it."

His voice was gentle:

"Anyway, it was a gift she gave voluntarily, so let's just consider it a gift to calm Grandma's nerves."

Lin Xiaoshuang blinked twice.

She looked down and opened her phone, fiddling with the screen for a while.

"Drip-drop".

Grandma Lin's phone beeped.

The old lady took it out and stared at it for a long time.

That was a text message from the bank announcing the deposit.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...

A full 50,000 yuan was transferred in.

"Oh my God."

Startled, Old Mrs. Lin gripped her phone tightly and quickly stepped forward, grabbing Lin Xiaoshuang's arm.

"Xiaoshuang, what are you doing? Keep the money!"

The old lady was so anxious she kept stamping her feet.

"You young people are struggling in big cities, and you need money for everything. You can't do that, you can't do that."

"I'm an old woman with one foot in the grave. This toilet collapsed, but I just put together a couple of planks, and it's fixed in a few days. It won't cost much at all!"

Lin Xiaoshuang held her grandmother's calloused hands and gently shook them twice.

"Grandma, please listen to me."

Her little face was tilted upwards:

"Let's stop using random wooden planks. Build a better one, a sturdy cement toilet."

Seeing that the old lady was still declining, Lin Xiaoshuang simply straightened her back and added:

"Besides, you can use the rest of the money. Eat and drink whatever you want, don't always be so stingy."

"I'm with my older brother now, I'm loaded! I really don't need this 50,000 yuan!"

Seeing this, Chen Tingting also came over to chime in:

"Yes, Grandma, please accept it. It's good for self-defense."

Li Jiaxin, her purple hair swaying slightly, continued to persuade:

"Take a few hundred yuan and hire someone in the village to clean and tidy up this yard properly."

"Building a toilet will only cost a few thousand yuan at most. You can spend the rest of the money without worry."

Zhang Qian nodded repeatedly.

Four pretty young girls surrounded the old lady, trying to persuade her with their words.

After declining for a long time, Old Mrs. Lin wiped her eyes and finally accepted the money.

The matter is settled.

The group turned around and took another look at the dilapidated courtyard.

The dry toilet, its roof blown off, was covered in yellowish-brown stains, a sight that filled everyone with sighs of sorrow.

At this time.

Bai Li's phone vibrated twice in his pocket.

When I took it out, I saw it was a text message from Wang Wei.

[Brother Li, you're still not back?]

[The short drama's backend is full of requests for updates. Can you really bear to let those viewers wait anxiously for new episodes?]

Bai Li glanced at the screen.

These past few days, accompanying the girls home has definitely taken up a lot of my time.

But he was reluctant to leave the old man behind and was prepared to decline the offer.

He opened the input box and typed with one hand:

Money can be earned anytime, but some things are too late...

Before she could finish typing, Grandma Lin walked over with two glasses of water and caught a glimpse of the screen out of the corner of her eye.

The old lady stopped in her tracks:

"It's urgent..."

Bai Li pressed the lock screen button, just about to speak.

"Then let's hurry back."

Grandma Lin put down the water glass, her tone resolute, leaving no room for negotiation:

"Young man, your future is more important. Don't let my old woman interfere with your important business."

"Grandma is doing well. You can come back to visit her again when you have time in a while."

Bai Li didn't reply.

He turned his head and his gaze fell on Li Jiaxin and Zhang Qian.

"You decide for yourselves."

Bai Li gave them the choice.

Li Jiaxin and Zhang Qian exchanged a glance.

The two women then looked at Chen Tingting and Lin Xiaoshuang in unison.

Chen Tingting tossed her red hair and spoke in a carefree manner:

"Don't look at me and Xiaoshuang."

"We've both been home already. You two can decide what to do next."

Li Jiaxin bit her lower lip, making up her mind.

"I won't be going back yet."

"Anyway, my grandma's house is in the county, so there's no rush."

Zhang Qian gathered her blue hair:

"Me too, I'm not going back yet."

Hearing them say this, Old Mrs. Lin nodded repeatedly, a look of satisfaction on her wrinkled face:

"That's more like it."

"We can watch you anytime. You guys need to work hard outside."

"Grandma, we'll head back now..."

Lin Xiaoshuang picked up the glass jar filled with broken stars and walked to the old lady to say goodbye.

Grandma Lin gave a few words of advice.

Lin Xiaoshuang walked out of the gate and glanced back at the old courtyard.

There was no sadness of separation or death, nor any lingering grief.

She felt more at ease than ever before.

Because she knows that she now has the confidence to come back whenever she wants.

Lin Xiaoshuang turned around, facing the sunlight, and gave Bai Li a sweet smile.

"Big brother, let's go!"

【Ding! 】

The system notification sounded in Bai Li's mind.

Lin Xiaoshuang's affection level has increased by 7 points. Current affection level: 99

The Panamera reversed on the dirt road, its engine roaring, and drove out of the village.

Lin Xiaoshuang sat in the passenger seat, her little hands holding the glass jar.

The jar contained paper stars that had been torn to shreds by the mischievous child.

Bai Li gripped the steering wheel, glancing at the jar out of the corner of his eye.

Piecing together the shredded paper is a huge undertaking.

He secretly calculated that he would probably have to reassemble those thousand stars and give them to himself.

This girl's last 1 point of affection will be enough to reach 100.

Once we left the village and got on the road, the atmosphere in the car gradually became more lively.

The three girls in the back row were chattering away, gossiping.

As they chatted, the topic suddenly veered off course, and the relaxed atmosphere in the car changed.

Lin Xiaoshuang's big eyes darted around, and she turned her head to stare intently at Bai Li's profile.

"Big brother," Lin Xiaoshuang said in a soft, sweet voice.

"Has Li Mengmeng contacted you these past few days?"

A bead of sweat trickled down Bai Li's forehead.

He looked straight ahead and spoke somewhat guiltily:

"No……"

Chen Tingting immediately followed suit in the back row, her large tattooed arms draped over the seat back:

"I knew it! Big brother is the most obedient."

She scoffed with a look of disdain:

"Besides, if it weren't for Dalizi, who would be there to nurse Li Mengmeng back to health?"

Bai Li coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment, wisely refraining from replying and focusing all his attention on driving.

next second.

Bai Li had just placed her phone on the armrest box when a small, fair hand took it away.

Checking up on you!

Lin Xiaoshuang skillfully unlocked the screen and went straight to WeChat.

It slid up and down.

Li Mengmeng's chat history is very clean.

The other day, they made a video call and didn't leave any text messages.

These girls naturally couldn't see anything amiss.

Having found no fault, Lin Xiaoshuang breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to put her phone back.

My thumb accidentally swiped onto another unread pinned chat window.

That was a message from Jiang Ruyue.

Lin Xiaoshuang clicked on the link to take a look.

Come back soon!!

Sunday is almost over!

【If you don't play with me, you know what I'm capable of! (Roar of the dragon)】

Upon seeing these lines, Lin Xiaoshuang's expression changed.

She turned her head and held up her phone screen to Bai Li's face.

"So that's why..." Lin Xiaoshuang drawled, her tone wistful.

"Besides rushing back to update the short drama..."

"He even made a promise with that idiot Xiaoruyue behind our backs..."

......

...

Jiang Ruyue!