Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

The group walked out of the courtyard gate and arrived at the open space where Ai Qing and Xiao Yu had previously placed the Gatling gun.

People are already setting off fireworks here, and the sounds of bangs and whooshes are deafening.

Fireworks burst into bloom across the sky.

Xiao Yu followed Ai Qing all the way here, never lowering her head, always looking up at the sky, her eyes sparkling with starlight.

"It's so beautiful."

"If you're pretty, take a look." Ai Qing held her soft little hand and strolled along the cobblestone path in the neighborhood, feeling incredibly peaceful.

He had fantasized about this scene many times before: holding the hand of the girl he loved and taking a walk with his family.

During the Chinese New Year, we live under the same roof and officially become a family.

They just lived their lives peacefully and quietly.

I never expected that something I thought would be impossible to achieve in my lifetime would actually happen just over six months after graduation.

Where can I go to seek justice?

Especially now, not only do you have a lovely partner, but you can even cultivate immortality!

Thinking about this, Ai Qing felt an itch to touch the fireworks again; she wanted to test their feel in a little while.

The group had arrived at the open space and found a quiet spot where few people were around.

Yao Qiang and Lang Xiangying stood a distance away, watching the group of grown men fiddling with something.

The little fish was curious, so it stood closer, but soon it wandered over to Yao Qiang and obediently stayed with her grandmother.

"Did you have fun playing with fireworks outside, Xiaoyu?" Yao Qiang took Xiaoyu's hand, patted it gently in her palm, and asked her with concern.

"Mmm, it was so much fun!" Little Fish nodded repeatedly, pointing to the small pond not far away, and said with a smile, "Just now, my brother and I stood over there and used those Gatling guns to shoot fireworks at the pond. It was so pretty!"

"There are also those sparkling wands that you can hold in your hand and even write on."

Xiao Yu excitedly shared her joy of playing with fireworks with Yao Qiang and Lang Xiangying, chattering away nonstop.

Yao Qiang would occasionally chime in with a smile.

Lang Xiangying stood on the other side, listening quietly, a smile unconsciously appearing on her face. She looked at Xiaoyu with increasing satisfaction.

Not far away, Ai Qing and Ai Zhongguo stood on opposite sides, preparing to light the fireworks.

Ailisong also stepped back to Lang Xiangying's side, putting his hands in his pockets and watching.

However, when Ai Zhongguo took out a lighter, Ai Qing just pretended to hold it in her palm, but showed no intention of pressing the button.

At Ai Zhongguo's command of "three, two, one," Ai Qing directly rubbed two fingers together on the fuse, and the warm current in her body flowed down her arm to her fingertips, quickly creating a spark.

The next second, the fuse was lit.

Ai Zhongguo naturally didn't notice these small details. After lighting the fireworks he was in charge of, he quickly retreated.

Ai Qing also got up and retreated to Xiao Yu's side, feeling a sense of accomplishment from successfully using the Warm Current again.

If you can already create sparks by rubbing your hands together, then you shouldn't be too far away from being able to rub fireballs with your own hands, right?

I'm actually looking forward to it.

As I was thinking this, the fuse of the firework had already burned to the back of the firework box.

The next second, two loud bangs rang out, and two bursts of fireworks rose into the air, finally exploding in the night sky and turning into dazzling fireworks.

Xiaoyu hugged Aiqing's arm, leaned against him, and raised her little face. Every time the fireworks went off, a halo of light fell on her cheeks.

She looked up at the fireworks, while Ai Qing looked down at the little fish.

Seeing the joy on her face and the happiness in her eyes, Ai Qing felt completely satisfied. The emptiness in her heart had been so easily filled.

After the fireworks faded, Ai Qing and Ai Zhongguo carried the fireworks box, and the group walked back, still feeling quite excited.

Yao Qiang took out her car keys and said as she walked, "I'm going to the underground parking garage to get the car. You guys can wait for me at the supermarket entrance in a bit. If Mom and Dad are sleepy, they should go to bed early."

“Okay, you guys go ahead.” Ai Lisong nodded. “Your mother and I will get some rest early, the supermarket has to open early tomorrow morning.”

"Where are we going?" Little Fish, who was following behind, asked curiously as he listened to his elders talking.

"Let's go to the temple in the suburbs to offer incense and pray for blessings." Ai Qing held her little hand, threw the firework box into the trash can at the entrance of the open space, and then followed the people in front of her all the way to the courtyard. "I go to offer incense every year at dawn."

"What does 'burning incense' mean?" Little Fish still didn't quite understand.

“It’s Buddhism in China,” Ai Qing said with a smile. “Many people believe in this. Offering incense is to make offerings to Buddha and pray that Buddha will bless us with a smooth year, family health, and freedom from illness and disaster.”

Ai Qing herself is not a Buddhist, but she doesn't care about burning incense. Whether people believe or not, she just wants peace of mind.

Ai Qing used to have little interest in going to temples, since it would interfere with her happy time at home during the Chinese New Year.

But this year, with Xiaoyu by my side, going anywhere is the happiest thing, so it doesn't matter where I go.

Yao Qiang went to the underground parking garage to drive her car.

Ai Qing held Xiao Yu's hand and followed Ai Zhongguo home. After tidying up and getting ready, she walked out of the supermarket and waited for Yao Qiang's car on the street.

Ai Zhongguo drank alcohol last night, so he definitely can't drive.

But Yao Qiang only drank the juice, so the task of driving naturally fell to her.

However, as soon as Ai Qing led Xiao Yu into the back seat of the car, she unsurprisingly heard her mother's complaints.

"When are you going to learn to drive? If you could drive, I'd like to have a few drinks tonight."

"You've already graduated from university and are making a lot of money now, so why are you still taking so long to learn to drive?"

Ai Qing had heard this story countless times, so she nodded and readily agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll learn it next year."

Actually, he's just rather lazy, and he doesn't go out much usually.

If you only go to Yintai occasionally, or go somewhere else, taking a taxi is fine.

These days, taking a taxi is so convenient. The money he spends on a car is enough to cover his taxi fares for ten or twenty years.

Can a car be driven for that long?

Parking is especially troublesome in big cities nowadays.

Last time I took Xiao Youqian's car to Yintai, we were stuck in traffic for more than 20 minutes in the underground parking garage.

In that time, Ai Qing would have already taken the subway home.

The only benefit of getting a driver's license is probably that it allows my parents to have a drink during holidays and then let me drive.

Whenever she thought about this, Ai Qing lost interest in learning to drive.

After all, he's not someone who cares about appearances and doesn't need a car of a particular brand to enhance his image.

Anyway, no matter what I buy, it will never compare to that guy Kong Fugui.

It's better to save the money and eat better food.

However, compared to Ai Qing's thoughts, Xiao Yu was much more enthusiastic about driving.

She sat in the back seat, quietly leaned against Ai Qing, and whispered in his ear, "Brother, can I drive?"

"You?" Ai Qing glanced at Xiao Yu, then looked troubled. "You don't have an ID card, so you can't learn to drive. You need a driver's license to learn, and without an ID card, you can't even register."

"Oh...I see." Xiaoyu looked a little disappointed upon hearing this. She was quite envious of Yao Qiang's effortless control of the steering wheel, but in the end, she could only sigh, "Okay..."

I don't know if I overheard Xiaoyu and Aiqing's conversation, but I just thought of this.

Yao Qiang, sitting in the driver's seat, suddenly interrupted the conversation, saying to the two of them, "Didn't you tell me about Xiaoyu's problem before? I also talked to your dad about the ID card issue. Zhong Guo, what do you say?"

"Oh, about that?" Ai Zhongguo, who was in the passenger seat, was a little tired and was resting with his eyes half-closed. After being woken up by Yao Qiang, he belatedly said, "As for this, I'll introduce you to someone when we have a family dinner in a few days."

"You can handle it?" Ai Qing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "I checked online, and it seems a bit complicated, right? After all, Xiaoyu doesn't have any documentation to prove it..."

“Oh dear, if you really want to do this honestly, it will definitely be troublesome.” Ai Zhongguo waved his hand. “But when it comes to doing things privately, there are of course other dishonest ways.”

"How exactly are you being dishonest?" Ai Qing asked curiously.

“Your mother, your household registration, and I are all registered here in Jinpan Yunting Prefecture,” Ai Zhongguo said. “But your grandparents’ household registration is still in their hometown.”

“That’s a rural household registration, belonging to the village collective. Do you remember your uncle? He was your grandfather’s cousin’s son. The eldest son in his family is the village chief, and the head of the police station over there is my childhood friend.”

“Your mother was able to transfer her household registration here smoothly before because we asked them to help us with some things; otherwise, it would have been delayed for a long time.”

At this point, Ai Zhongguo paused for a moment before carefully speaking.

"However, the household registration system is definitely much stricter now than it was a decade or so ago, so it's hard to say."

"It's definitely easier back home; things are easier to do in the countryside."

“We all know each other. We can ask one of them to help Xiaoyu register her household registration in the village. Once she’s registered in the village collective’s household, you two can get a certificate and then transfer Xiaoyu’s household registration here.”

After saying this, Ai Zhongguo turned his head and looked specifically at Ai Qing and Xiaoyu, reminding them directly, "I don't have any definite news yet. I just called your uncle to talk about Xiaoyu's situation. We'll have to wait until we meet to discuss the specifics."

"Besides, we should just talk about this in private. Only our family knows about it. Don't tell anyone else."

Ai Zhongguo glanced at Ai Qing, then looked at Xiaoyu: "Our family all like you very much, Xiaoyu. I can also see that you really like Ai Qing too."

“We’re family now. As long as you two are doing well, your uncle and aunt will definitely help you with the ID card issue.”

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Upon hearing that she could get her ID card, Xiaoyu was overjoyed and thanked them.

After all, since becoming human, there have been many things she wanted to try, but Ai Qing would always tell her that she couldn't do them without an ID card.

This always left Xiaoyu somewhat disappointed, and she always felt a sense of alienation from society.

It's like a bug; it exists in the game, but it doesn't fit in with the game at all.

But if you have an ID card, it's a completely different story.

Ai Qing, who was standing next to her father, was also a little surprised after hearing what her father said. She didn't expect that her parents would actually have a way to solve the problem.

"Wow, Dad, you're pretty good." Ai Qing patted the headrest in the front seat, her face beaming with joy. "I thought you were just an ordinary unemployed landlord, but I didn't expect you to have such a hidden talent."

"Pah, pah, pah! What are you saying?" Ai Zhongguo said irritably. "This is only because Xiaoyu's situation is special and we had no choice but to do it. Otherwise, we would never have used such methods to do bad things. Don't overthink it."

"That's how society is. If you have connections, you can walk on flat ground. If you don't, you'll stumble after just a few steps."

"Look at you, you earn quite a bit of money, but you still can't find the right connections, can you? In the end, many things still depend on connections."

At this point, Ai Zhongguo couldn't help but shake his head, "Sometimes you may not like it, but when you really need a connection, you can't do without it..."

People from other places might not be aware of this.