This long - missed address left Yin Shulan in a daze for quite a while. Seeing that she didn't take the bouquet, Yan Yincheng's lips drooped a bit.
Yin Shulan sighed softly inside. Finally, she reached out to take the bouquet and the gift, saying, "Long time no see. Thank you. You're so thoughtful."
After this exchange, the atmosphere grew awkward. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Yin Shulan patted the seat beside her and said,
"Take a seat."
Yan Yincheng sat down beside her.
Yin Shulan looked at him carefully for a while and said, "You've lost weight. Haven't you been eating properly again? Aunt Xie is here. Let her cook some nourishing food for you in the next few days."
Xie Shi walked over from afar, crossing her arms and teasing, "Does he still need me now? He already has his own personal chef in Haicheng. Am I right, Acheng?"
"Hmm?" Yin Shulan was a bit curious. "Who is it?"
Yan Yincheng replied with a straight face, "It's not true. I just didn't want to trouble Aunt Xie. After all, Aunt Xie has so many customers in Fengcheng. I didn't dare to snatch her away from them easily, lest they unite against me."
"Sure enough, a man in love is different. He's learned to be caring. Before, his mouth was so stubborn, as annoying as a rock," Xie Shi said with a smile as she sat down opposite them.
Yan Yincheng didn't expect her to be so straightforward. Even though he knew his mother was already aware of his relationship and had met the two children, he still felt a bit uncomfortable.
Clearing his throat, he said, "Let Aunt Xie laugh at me."
"You really are a joke. You still haven't brought your girlfriend home yet, making your mother so worried that she can't eat or sleep well. She's lost a lot of weight. It's really not right. I heard you went to the hot springs last week, but it seems things didn't go well. How about it? Do you need Aunt Xie to give you some advice?"
Yin Shulan sat there listening, with only a faint smile on her lips and didn't interrupt.
Remembering what A Biao said, that Ms. Yin had cried like a tearful woman after seeing the two children today, Yan Yincheng's heart ached as if being pricked by a needle. He couldn't help but turn his face towards his mother and said,
"Don't worry. I promise that after the project in Haicheng is over, I'll bring Xiaoxi and the kids back to Fengcheng with me."
Yin Shulan said, "Okay."
"Since you're in Haicheng, stay here at ease. I'll show you and Aunt Xie around Haicheng in the next few days. At the weekend, you can go back with me to attend the wedding."
Yin Shulan was a bit surprised. She looked at her son who suddenly showed affection for her and nodded, saying, "Okay."
Then Yan Yincheng turned to Xie Shi and said, "Aunt Xie, I'll leave my mother in your care."
"Oh, little Orange is so sensible today? Lan, look. You should have found a woman to discipline him earlier. They say that a grown - up boy only listens to his wife, not his mother. It's really true," Xie Shi said with a smile. "Don't worry. Aunt Xie won't treat your mother badly."
Yan Yincheng didn't stay long. Soon he got up and was about to leave. Yin Shulan walked him to the door.
"Acheng," Yin Shulan called out. "Now that you're a father, don't be as willful as before. Be more tolerant and control your temper."
She didn't tell him what she had done today, nor did she comment on the woman he wanted to marry. But he knew that she was respecting his choice.
Suddenly, Yan Yincheng remembered what had happened in his past life. In his past life, Ms. Yin had passed away when he was 39. At that time, she was already in her seventies and suffered from common old - age diseases. There was nothing unusual on the day she passed away. She just seemed to be sleeping in bed, and it wasn't until her body had stiffened that people noticed.
Now, there were still ten years left until that day.
Taking a step forward, he pulled his mother into his arms and hugged her tightly.
Ms. Yin was stunned for a moment, then raised her hand to pat his back and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Mom."
"I will definitely find a way to cure my eyes."
"Before you die, I will see your appearance and carve it in my heart forever. So from now on, you should also take good care of your body and try to live longer, long enough to see your two little grandsons grow up, to see new grandchildren born, and live to be a hundred years old."
He said each sentence clearly and forcefully. By the time Ms. Yin came to her senses, she found that her face was already wet with tears.
After saying that, Yan Yincheng let go of her and left with Wei Shu.
Xie Shi had been waiting in the house for a long time but didn't see her friend come back. Curiously, she walked out and found Ms. Yin crying like a tearful woman outside the door.
"What happened again? Sigh, this boy Acheng," Xie Shi sighed.
Yin Shulan just shook her head. Her reserved nature made it impossible for her to pour out the surging emotions in her heart.
She just felt that everything was so good.
...
At Pei's. Fang Ruiyang excitedly knocked on Xu Zixi's office door.
He put the USB drive that Xu Zixi had given him before in front of her, his eyes shining brightly. "Master, I've successfully cracked it!"
Xu Zixi gave him a half - smiling look and asked, "Really? Then tell me, what's in the USB drive?"
Fang Ruiyang said a bit shyly, "It's my resume that I submitted to Pei's at that time."
Xu Zixi thought for a while, took the USB drive, tinkered with it on the computer, and then handed it back to him. "I've replaced the file in the USB drive with something else. Crack it again for me right here."
Fang Ruiyang quickly nodded. "Okay!"
Opening his laptop, Fang Ruiyang inserted the USB drive into the interface. Holding his breath and looking serious, he started to crack it on - site. For a moment, the only sound in the office was the crisp tapping of fingers on the keyboard. Strings of codes formed commands under his fingers, attacking the protection program of the USB drive.
Xu Zixi watched the codes he was writing while looking at the hands of her watch, calculating the time in her heart.
The protection program was broken. The USB drive, which required the correct password to access, successfully displayed all its contents. There was only one picture in it, a photo of the main entrance of Renkang Hospital.
Fang Ruiyang let out a sigh of relief, turned the screen towards Xu Zixi, and said with a smile, "Master, it's done!"
Twenty minutes. Xu Zixi nodded in satisfaction in her heart. She had thought it would take him half an hour. Twenty minutes was beyond her expectation. It seemed that he had really been studying hard recently.
"OK, congratulations. You've passed my first test," Xu Zixi said with a smile.
Fang Ruiyang was also very happy. His smile looked a bit silly. At the same time, he was eager to try. "What should I learn next?"
Xu Zixi said, "It's still password - cracking. The protection program in this USB drive was just a primary one. Next, I'll increase the difficulty, but this time, I'll set a time limit."
After saying that, she took the USB drive back, tinkered with it on the computer again, and then handed it to him. "Crack it within half an hour."
Fang Ruiyang was so nervous that cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he didn't dare to relax at all. He focused intently on cracking the program in front of him.
If the first protection program could be compared to a thatched cottage that could be easily entered with a gentle push, then the current program was a small wooden house with drafts everywhere, and the codes under his fingers were the axes to break down the wooden door.
The second hand was moving. Twenty - nine minutes and forty - two seconds...
Turning the screen over, Fang Ruiyang said happily, "Cracked!"