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

Li Jiaxin led Bai Li through the door and entered.

The old man was sitting on the bed sewing insoles when he heard the noise. He looked up and squinted at the door.

Upon recognizing his granddaughter, his weathered face immediately relaxed.

"Jiaxin is back."

Grandma smiled kindly, her gaze following her granddaughter to Bai Li.

She quickly pushed the sewing basket aside and stood up, supporting herself on her thighs with her hands.

"Jiaxin's friend is here too, please have a seat."

The old man greeted them as he walked to the square table.

On the table was an iron plate with the double happiness symbol printed on it, containing a few shriveled oranges.

She picked out two slightly larger ones, held them in her hand, wiped them with the corner of her clothes, and then handed them to Bai Li.

"Young man, last time you came over, fed me my medicine, and left right away. Grandma didn't even have time to thank you."

"Eat oranges, eat oranges."

Bai Li gathered the nutritional supplements in the corner and took them with both hands.

You don't even need to touch these oranges; you can tell at a glance that they've been sitting for a while.

Li Jiaxin hooked two wooden stools with her foot.

Hearing her grandmother still using the word "friend," she pouted, about to correct her.

"Grandma, we..."

The words hadn't even been spoken yet.

Bai Li then interrupted:

"Grandma, Jiaxin and I are dating."

As Bai Li spoke, she lowered her head and peeled the orange.

Then, tear off the white veins on top, break off half of it, and hold it to Li Jiaxin's mouth.

"Jiaxin, you eat first."

Li Jiaxin froze for half a second, then opened her mouth and bit down.

Bai Li then threw the remaining half into his mouth.

So sour.

He swallowed it without changing his expression.

The old man had not yet spoken, nor had he expressed his opinion.

Bai Li felt a little nervous and uneasy.

Oh no, I hope Grandma Jiaxin won't approve of us being together...

Although Bai Li had never encountered anyone opposing him, he couldn't help but overthink things when faced with this situation.

Fortunately, the old man spoke soon after.

"Are you dating?"

The moment those four words were uttered, the tense atmosphere immediately dissipated.

"That's great!" Grandma patted the quilt and said happily.

"I knew it last time. You two were destined to be together."

"Jiaxin has been a wild girl since she was little, just like a boy."

"But she was unusually well-behaved in your presence that day."

The old man stretched out his withered hand and patted Bai Li's hand.

"She called you that night, didn't she?"

Li Jiaxin, who was picking at her nails, stopped when she heard this.

Grandma, oblivious to her granddaughter's unusual behavior, continued slowly:

"My fever actually broke in the middle of the night, and I woke up early that night."

"I heard her tiptoe outside to call you."

The old lady turned to look at Li Jiaxin, her expression surprisingly mischievous:

"Did you think Grandma was asleep?"

"Grandma!" Li Jiaxin jumped up from the stool and hurriedly interrupted.

Her fair face turned red at a visible speed.

But it wasn't because I was shy about being caught on the phone by my elders, it was because...

That night, Chen Tingting, Lin Xiaoshuang, and I all went home and weren't with Bai Li.

In just a short while, the eldest brother was caught off guard by that vixen Zhang Qian and launched a fierce attack on the crystal!

When she found out, she was so angry she almost smashed her phone.

After all, it was she, Chen Tingting, and Lin Xiaoshuang who met Bai Li first!

Why did Zhang Qian, this later bitch, manage to take advantage of the situation?

She sat back down on the stool and turned her head.

This is something that makes me angry no matter when I think about it!

Her eyes were full of sparks, and her teeth were grinding together.

Bai Li felt a chill run down her spine from the gaze of this little wildcat.

He shifted half an inch to the side, gave a dry laugh, and tried to fool the situation.

"Well... Jiaxin is usually quite clingy, that's normal."

Bai Li chuckled and reached for the oranges on the table:

"Grandma, let me peel another orange for you..."

His hand had just been raised halfway into the air.

A sharp pain shot through the soft flesh of my waist.

Li Jiaxin twisted her wrist 180 degrees.

"hiss--"

Bai Li gasped in shock.

This girl is too rough; she's even bringing up old grudges now.

"Be gentle, it hurts."

Grandma sat on the edge of the bed, watching the two young people play around, laughing so hard her eyes disappeared.

However, she still reached out and patted Li Jiaxin's hand on the back:

"For a girl like you."

Her words were a complaint, but her tone was full of doting affection:

"Why can't you break this habit of touching me?"

Li Jiaxin withdrew her hand and snorted:

"He's the one who made me angry."

Bai Li rubbed her lower back, smiling but not replying.

Grandma patted her knees and tried to stand up.

"Are you thirsty? I'll go get you some hot water."

Li Jiaxin quickly stepped forward, grabbed the old woman, and pressed her back onto the bed.

"Grandma, you're so old, don't bother with all that."

She helped him up while complaining.

"We have hands and feet, you can pour yourself some water if you want, just sit down and rest for a while."

After saying that, she turned around, picked up the thermos on the table, and pulled out the cork.

While pouring water, Li Jiaxin caught a glimpse of the bed against the corner of the wall.

There was a bamboo basket there, filled with red and green balls of yarn.

Several half-finished insoles lay scattered nearby, covered with dense stitches.

Li Jiaxin put down her water glass and frowned.

"grandmother."

She pointed to the basket of things, her voice full of heartache.

"Your eyesight is already bad, you can't even see double, why are you doing all this stuff?"

"From now on, you can just enjoy your retirement. Don't knit anymore."

Li Jiaxin sighed:

"You won't get much money from it anyway, and it's not worth ruining your eyes."

In the past, the elderly woman would weave insoles to sell, earning only ten or eight yuan per pair, all to raise money for her granddaughter's tuition and living expenses.

Grandma looked at the basket of yarn that had been pushed aside, but instead of being annoyed, she smiled and said:

"These I'm knitting now are no longer for sale."

Li Jiaxin was stunned for a moment.

She turned her head and asked, puzzled:

"Then why bother doing this?"

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the small window.

The old man reached into the basket and took out a pair of insoles.

Two flowers are embroidered on it with red thread, the stitches so fine that it doesn't look like something an old person would do.

"Grandma is getting old."

Her voice was slow and tinged with the weariness of time.

She raised her head, her cloudy eyes looking at Li Jiaxin, filled with deep reluctance.

"He's incompetent and hasn't accumulated any wealth in his entire life. He has nothing to leave you."

"The withered leaves on the tree might fall down one day when the wind blows, and then Grandma won't be able to stay with you anymore."

Li Jiaxin's heart clenched, and her hand trembled as she poured the water.

"But these insoles are sturdy. Grandma made them stitch by stitch."

She smiled kindly.

"They will accompany you on many, many journeys in the future."

She then pointed to the several large clumps of brightly colored yarn next to her.

"I was thinking that I should knit as soon as I can still hold a needle."

"As soon as possible, I'll knit you all the thermal underwear you'll wear for the rest of your life."

The old man looked his granddaughter up and down.

Looking at her striking purple hair and her fair, slender legs.

She said, with a mixture of pride and heartache:

"My granddaughter is so beautiful, I can't let her get cold in the winter."

Li Jiaxin's eyes were brimming with tears, but she forced them back.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Her voice was thick with a nasal tone as she sat on the edge of the bed, tightly hugging her grandmother's thin arm.

"You're in great health, you'll live to be a hundred, you know?"

She rested her head on the old man's shoulder, like a child who had been wronged outside and returned home.

But she quickly suppressed her tears.

He raised his head again, his face now displaying an arrogant and smug expression.

"and……"

Li Jiaxin sniffed and proudly puffed out her chest.

"Didn't I tell you on the phone? I'm all grown up now, and I can earn money myself!"

She reached out her other hand and grabbed Bai Li's large hand.

Pull hard.

She pulled Bai Li directly to her side and held his arm tightly.

She raised her chin, exuding confidence.

"Spend all the money I transferred to you however you like!"

"If you want to eat meat, buy meat; if you want to buy new clothes, go buy them!"

Li Jiaxin waved her hand:

"If you need more, just ask me! I'm very wealthy now!"

Grandma was very pleased to see Li Jiaxin looking so proud.

During this time, her granddaughter nagged her a lot on the phone, saying that she was making money under Bai Li's guidance and was very proud of herself.

However, it is difficult to change the minds of the older generation in a short period of time.

"Money shouldn't be spent recklessly."

She patted Li Jiaxin's hand and spoke earnestly.

"You'll have to make a living in the future, and there will be many places where you'll need to spend money. You need to be careful."

Just as Li Jiaxin opened her mouth to retort, a sudden knocking sounded on the door.

"Knock knock knock".

Immediately afterwards, the door hinges made a scraping sound, and the door was pushed open from the outside.

A middle-aged man swaggered in.

The man had a round beer belly and was fiddling with two strings of walnuts in his hands, making a crackling sound.

It was the landlord of this large courtyard.

Li Jiaxin was originally leaning against her grandmother, but as soon as she saw this person, she immediately stood up straight.

"Landlord? What are you doing here?" Her beautiful eyes turned cold.

Because her landlord used to frequently cut off water and electricity, raise rent, and charge cleaning fees in disguised ways, she had a very bad impression of him.

It could even be described as a childhood nightmare.

As soon as the landlord entered, he immediately forced a fake smile.

"Oh, Jiaxin's here too."

The landlord greeted him with a forced smile, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You've come back just in time."

"I'll let you know all at once."

Li Jiaxin, with a cold face and some impatience, said:

"What notification?"

The landlord wasn't annoyed.

He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat.

Feigning a helpless and troubled expression:

"Oh, is that so, ma'am?"

"You've lived here for quite a few years now."

"This courtyard may be a bit run-down, but the location and the surrounding area are absolutely top-notch."

He paused for a moment to observe their reactions.

Seeing that no one responded, he didn't feel embarrassed and continued talking on his own.

"Recently, too many people have come to work in this area, and it's extremely difficult to find a room. It's a real struggle to find one."

"Because the housing market here is extremely hot."

The landlord drawled out his words:

"So, I've decided to collect next year's rent in advance."