Chapter 85: Chapter 84: It’s Not Too Late

"Oh, so my bachelor son is back!"

Huang Xiuxia said with a look of mock disgust, seeing Gao Yuan standing alone at the door.

He knew perfectly well his mom was taking a jab at him.

"Mom, when is Dad getting back?"

Gao Yuan immediately changed the subject to his father.

"He’ll be home tomorrow. I was hoping you two would come back together, but who knew you’d arrive early."

’Changing the subject was indeed the best tactic right now.’

It wasn’t a random topic change, either. The most effective diversion was always his dad.

You could say his mom and dad were thick as thieves. They’d been bickering nonstop for the forty years they’d been together, but their affection for each other was still as strong as ever.

This was especially true for his mom, who practically worshipped Gao Yuan’s father.

Her most classic line was: "Yes, yes, yes! Your father’s right!"

Whenever Gao Yuan’s father started lecturing him about his career or marriage, his mother would sit beside them chiming in with only that phrase. She was such a good straight man she could have been in a comedy duo.

"How long will Dad be back for this time?"

"I don’t know. He said he’s taking his annual leave, so he should be here for at least a week!"

Gao Yuan sighed in relief. ’As long as Dad isn’t home for too long,’ he thought. Otherwise, he’d be in for another round of lectures on this trip home.

Eating the scallion pancake his mother had made, Gao Yuan took another look at her.

Gao Yuan suddenly realized that he had never noticed how many wrinkles now lined his mother’s face.

In the past, he’d only noticed the increasing number of white hairs on her head, but he’d never really paid attention to the wrinkles on her face.

It seemed that in his memory, ever since he’d started college, his mother had always looked the same as she did now.

He couldn’t finish the scallion pancake.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t hungry, nor was the pancake too big.

It was that the pancake was filled with too much motherly love.

He was completely different now. He finally had the peace of mind to slow down, live properly, and truly see the family around him.

And with that one look, he realized what a bastard he had been in the past.

He had been working for eight years. The first three didn’t bear mentioning; his salary was barely enough to support himself.

Starting from the fifth year, his monthly salary had exceeded ten thousand. In the following three years, it reached twenty to thirty thousand. Adding in his gray income from those years, he had earned at least a million yuan in eight years.

Besides his normal expenses, he had squandered hundreds of thousands.

And what did he have to show for it in the end?

Just a single apartment back in his hometown.

Over half the money he’d earned over the years had been contributed to Hang City’s GDP.

’Thinking about it now, my parents were right to ask me to come back to my hometown to build a life.’

The cost of living was low, he had a car and a house with no mortgage, and with his parents’ pensions, there were practically no worries. Marrying a wife and living a small, peaceful life was truly the best choice.

At this moment, the one thing Gao Yuan was most grateful for was the Money Power System.

Because the system’s appearance had given him a completely new mindset. It was safe to say he had never felt so clear-headed, his self-awareness sharper than ever before.

"Why’d you stop eating?"

"Weren’t you just complaining about being hungry?"

The moment Gao Yuan paused, Huang Xiuxia pointed at the half-eaten scallion pancake on his plate, urging him to continue.

"I ate a little on the high-speed train. I’m full now."

"I’ll eat the rest later if I get hungry in the middle of the night."

Gao Yuan pulled out a wet wipe to clean his hands, grinned, and got up to sit beside his mother.

Gao Yuan took his mother’s hand. It was warm, but very rough.

’It was this pair of hands that raised me.’

In that moment, Gao Yuan fought back tears.

He didn’t want his mother to see him like this. This woman, who had loved him his entire life, had a tender heart; the smallest thing could make her worry and lose sleep.

He wasn’t even going to tell her everything that had happened in Hang City tonight.

He would tell her everything tomorrow during the day, giving her enough time to process it. Plus, with his dad arriving tomorrow, he wouldn’t have to worry about her being unable to sleep.

"Mom, don’t you worry. Now that I’m home, I’m not going to let myself go hungry."

"I’m a bit tired today. I’ll just play on my phone for a bit then go to sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll take you out."

Gao Yuan forced down the many emotions swirling inside him, leaning on his mother’s shoulder like a child and smiling.

"Get to bed early. Tomorrow, we’ll go check on the new apartment and clean it up a bit."

"Okay. You should get some rest early, too."

Gao Yuan watched his mother return to her bedroom, then went back to his own.

Upon entering the bedroom, he saw the bed was already neatly made.

’Mom must have made it up after Dad called the day before yesterday.’

He didn’t immediately lie down to rest. Instead, he went out onto the balcony, sat on a small stool, and lit a cigarette.

While smoking, Gao Yuan opened his phone.

He didn’t immediately check the messages in the "Utopia" group chat.

He had already told Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing he was home on the way back. Right now, he needed to take care of the thing he had just thought of.

He opened the Xudu City People’s Hospital mini-program, went straight to the health check-up section, and selected the most expensive package.

’Since I’m free tomorrow during the day, I’ll take Mom for a full check-up first.’

Only after booking the appointment did Gao Yuan open their three-person group chat.

He expanded the notifications. As expected, both of them had asked if he had arrived home and if he had eaten.

Scrolling down, he saw a message from Lin Wanyu saying the house felt empty without him there at night.

Then she’d shared a picture of the meal the two of them had made.

’It’s not as good as my cooking, but it looks decent enough.’

Gao Yuan knew Lin Wanyu couldn’t cook, so the meal must have been made by Li Mengqing.

Looking at the chat history, Gao Yuan noticed they hadn’t chatted anymore after sending the picture of the food. That was a little unusual.

’Don’t tell me those two went out to have fun?’

Finishing his cigarette, Gao Yuan went back to his bedroom, lay on the bed, and sent messages to his sister and his dad, letting them know he was home.

He wouldn’t be staying home for too long this time.

The main purpose was to see his family, update them on his current situation, and then quickly return to Hang City.

’In these few days, the facial masks should have been mass-produced by now.’

He needed to finalize the marketing strategy for the mask’s launch.

「Meanwhile, in Hang City.」

Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing were both at the Jianglan Bay residence.

In the master bedroom, Lin Wanyu was holding up one outfit after another in front of herself, while Li Mengqing just kept shaking her head.

The bed was already piled high with rejected clothes. In the end, Lin Wanyu only chose three outfits, packed them in a suitcase, and the two returned to No.1 Courtyard.

As soon as they got back to No.1 Courtyard, Lin Wanyu immediately placed a video call to Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan was lying in bed scrolling through short videos when a video call request from Lin Wanyu suddenly popped up on his phone.

The call connected.

"Honey, do you miss me?"

Lin Wanyu’s smiling face appeared on the screen.

"Of course. My body may be in my hometown, but my heart has already flown back to No.1 Courtyard."

Gao Yuan returned a cheesy line of his own to express how much he missed Lin Wanyu.

Their relationship had heated up rapidly lately, and even though he’d only been gone for half a day, he really did miss her.

"Hehe!"

"You be a good boy back home, honey. No flirting with other girls, okay!"

"Qingqing said she’s preparing a surprise for you. I think you’ll be getting it soon."

Hearing Lin Wanyu mention Li Mengqing, Gao Yuan glanced at Li Mengqing behind her.

Li Mengqing happened to look up at him at that exact moment, but she still didn’t say anything.

After chatting for a while,

Gao Yuan sent his home address to Lin Wanyu, and they quickly ended the video call, saying they needed to get to bed early for an early start.

Gao Yuan didn’t try to guess what Li Mengqing’s surprise was. ’It’s probably a gift she bought for me.’

He snuggled into his blankets, which smelled of sunshine, and gradually fell asleep.

「At No.1 Courtyard.」

Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing, however, were packing their things again.

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