I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

I took the opportunity to glance at the file in Zhang Jianguo's hand. There was a picture of a little girl on it, who looked somewhat like Bai Xiaoqi. I wondered where Director Nie got it from.

"Thank you." Zhang Jianguo picked up his water glass and took a big gulp. His mouth was really dry after reading so much. Then he asked...

“I never went to school. I only received some basic education in the welfare home. Later, the director, Li Xianzong, passed away, and the welfare home was forced to close down, leaving only you and a few other children who were not adopted.”

You didn't want to go to another welfare institution and wander the streets alone, so you came to this city a year ago, right?

"Correct."

Zhang Jianguo glanced at the person taking notes next to him, then looked at Chen Shuo, "Is he your boyfriend, whom you met a year ago?"

"Yes."

"Have you been living together ever since you met?"

"Ah."

Zhang Jianguo nodded, not continuing the topic, and instead asked, "Have you had any contact with the children in those welfare homes in recent years?"

"..."

Faced with this question, Bai Xiaoqi remained silent as expected. She didn't even know where the orphanage was, and could only shake her head.

"No?"

"Ah."

Chen Shuo couldn't help but ask, "Comrade, have you considered verifying this with the children in those welfare homes?"

He paused for a moment, then added, "This is more convenient, and it can also indirectly prove my girlfriend's identity."

"Over the years, whether they were adopted or went to other welfare institutions, those children have all developed their own lives. It would be very difficult to do this, as they may not be willing to cooperate, and it would also require a lot of time and manpower."

Besides, we also have her information here.

"Oh, I see..."

Chen Shuo looked enlightened and felt relieved. He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was worried that he would have to go to those friends in the welfare home to verify, and when he asked, he would definitely find out that they didn't have any.

"What about the results of the medical examination report..." Chen Shuo asked again, this was also quite worrying.

"It has already been reported. We will also report the information we learned during this visit, and then conduct the final approval. If all goes well, the household registration and ID card should be issued in about ten days."

"What if something unexpected happens?" Bai Xiaoqi asked.

"No surprises," Chen Shuo said.

.......

Bai Xiaoqi, holding onto the balcony railing, watched the two people downstairs leave, then turned and asked, "My household registration is about to be issued, right?"

"Remove 'right' from the table. I told you that day that you would definitely be able to get it done. You're just overthinking things."

"..."

Bai Xiaoqi ignored the question, grabbed his arm and shook it forcefully, asking, "Should we celebrate?"

"Okay, how should we celebrate?"

Although I knew I could get my household registration sorted out, I was just worried about the results of my medical examination.

But I'm still a little excited and thrilled, and of course, I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. It feels like a huge stone has finally been lifted off my shoulders.

"Shall we go out for a big meal?" Bai Xiaoqi suggested.

"What kind of fancy meal are we having?"

"Hmm... how about a buffet?"

"This is the feast you were talking about?" Chen Shuo felt that this girl was still naive and didn't know anything about the world. She thought a buffet was a feast?

"Come on, come on."

.....

It was past 7 p.m. when we finished the buffet. In summer, the days are long and the nights are short, so the sky was just a little dark.

In the spirit of celebration and not wanting to lose money, the two of them ate a lot, left their electric scooter by the roadside, and planned to take a few laps around to enjoy their food before going home.

I didn't dare go too far, for fear that my car would be stolen; I just went to a nearby shopping mall.

The mall was busiest at this time, and the two of them didn't know what to look for. Bai Xiaoqi couldn't resist walking past a milk tea shop and dragged him to buy milk tea.

Although you can do it at home, it's fine to go out for a drink occasionally; it's about the ritual.

"Hello, I'd like two taro ball coconut milk teas, no ice, and both with normal sweetness."

"Don't you like cold drinks?" Chen Shuo asked in a low voice. His relative had passed away a couple of days ago, and it would be so nice to drink something ice-cold on such a hot day.

"Adding ice would be a waste," Bai Xiaoqi explained softly. The milk tea cup is only so big, so adding ice would mean putting in less milk tea.

"OK."

After waiting a while, the two of them continued shopping in the mall, each holding a cup of milk tea. In a few days, it would be June 1st, and a stage was being set up in the mall's lobby, seemingly in preparation for June 1st activities.

And it seems they're planning to build a giant bear, quite a large one, with a frame that's several stories high.

Chen Shuo led her to stand aside and watch. Bai Xiaoqi took small sips of her milk tea through the straw, then turned her head and asked, "Why are we watching this?"

"Because it's very interesting, don't you think?"

I don't think so.

"You do not understand."

Chen Shuo watched intently; the clanging and banging of construction and the erection of things was quite interesting.

It's second only to watching an excavator dig a hole in the ground in terms of how interesting it is.

Bai Xiaoqi stayed with him for a long time, and even finished her milk tea, but he showed no sign of leaving. So she reached out and tugged at his sleeve to urge him, "Let's go home."

"No rush, there's still plenty of time."

"..."

Bai Xiaoqi looked around. There were quite a few people. After hesitating for a moment, she stood on tiptoe and pulled his neck down so that Chen Shuo would bend over. Then she whispered something in his ear.

Her warm breath tickled his ear, and Chen Shuo thought she was about to say something, but unexpectedly...

"You're using this to test your cadres?"

Don't you want to?

"How could I possibly think about something like that... Let's go home now."

.........

A dozen minutes later, standing in the neighborhood supermarket, Chen Shuo's expression was indescribable. "Is this the ice cream you're talking about?"

"Hmm, what else did you think it was?"

"I...I thought it was this one too." Chen Shuo waved to the shop owner, "Boss, a case of ice cream, please."

He paused, then added, "I want it with cream."

Chapter 155 Will You Miss Me?

The old neighborhood was peaceful and quiet. By the end of May, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, with temperatures consistently above 30 degrees Celsius.

Especially in the afternoon, when the sun is shining brightly, it gets even hotter.

The fan in the house was whirring, and the wind blowing from its five blades brought a slight coolness to my body, barely dispelling the heat.

Bai Xiaoqi was working on her workbook on the coffee table. She had just graduated from elementary school in Chinese a while ago, and these past few days she had been focusing on math, hoping to reach the level of a fourth grader as soon as possible.

After finishing a problem, she got up, ran to the refrigerator, took out an ice cream, tore open the packaging, and put it in her mouth.

Upon entering the mouth, a chill spread through the oral cavity.

The creamy ice cream, coated with a layer of chocolate icing, hadn't even had a complex flavor yet. Just the simple taste of its cool sweetness was enough to make Bai Xiaoqi's eyes crinkle with joy.

She carefully cracked open the chocolate coating with her teeth, stuck out her little tongue to lick the cream inside, and her eyes immediately curved into a happier smile.

Chen Shuo looked up at her and asked, "Could you...?"

"I just solved a really, really hard math problem, and this is my reward to myself."

"No, what I meant was, could you get me one?"

"That's all. This is the last one."

"Didn't we just buy a box of these two nights ago?"

As he spoke, Chen Shuo put down the computer, walked over and opened the freezer compartment of the refrigerator; it was indeed gone.

"This box contains twenty-four. We bought it less than three days ago, so let's say three days. I remember I ate seven in those three days, which means you ate six a day."

"........"

Bai Xiaoqi remained silent and took two steps back. She had been doing math problems for the past few days. The math problems were very difficult and gave her a headache, so she would reward herself with an ice cream after doing a few problems. But she would keep doing these rewarding herself until the ice cream was gone.

"It's not six every day. I ate four today, seven yesterday, and only six the day before yesterday."

"You ate seven yesterday? No wonder you were groaning and complaining of a stomachache in the middle of the night, even though you didn't have your period yesterday."

"A stomachache isn't necessarily caused by eating ice cream."

Chen Shuo didn't argue with her about that, and beckoned to her, "Come here."

"What?"

"Come over here and I'll tell you."

As she stepped closer, Chen Shuo suddenly lowered his head, put the ice cream in her hand into his mouth, and then took a big bite.

Bai Xiaoqi watched helplessly as Chen Shuo bit off half of her ice cream, not knowing what to do for a moment, her eyes filled with confusion.

"..."

This bite was really big. Chen Shuo held the ice cream in his mouth, feeling a bit numb in his temples. He breathed on the ceiling and waited until the ice cream was almost melted before chewing it a few times and swallowing it.

Feeling the coldness in his throat, he exhaled again, then waved his hand and said, "Go do your homework."

"Oh..."

Bai Xiaoqi looked at the ice cream that was now only half left in her hand, and then looked at the refrigerator. Now that there was no ice cream reward, she felt that her enthusiasm for studying had greatly diminished.