When Li Weiyu entered the living room, his family was already waiting for him.
He sat down next to his young aunt and asked, "Young Aunt, how is your recovery going?"
"Not bad," replied Aunt Tian Jing. "Thanks to your mother and grandmother."
Li Weiyu looked at his father and mother, whose faces were stern, and got straight to the point:
"I want to try dating Sun Baoyun because I'm afraid I'll regret it later. If someone else comes between her and me in the future, it will be too late to regret it."
His words stunned not only Ouyang Meihua and Li Liguo but also Li's mother and Tian Jing.
Tian Jing chuckled, "Xiao Yu has grown up."
"Young Aunt," Li Weiyu said sheepishly, "I'll be 29 after the New Year. In the past two years, working and growing with An An, I've realized how immature I was before."
"Grandma, Dad, Mom, and Young Aunt, thank you for your tolerance."
Li Liguo waved his hand, "Alright, you have indeed grown up. Make your own decisions about your own matters."
Li Weiyu then looked at his grandmother and mother.
Li's mother sighed, "Young people nowadays are different from when we were young. Grandma won't interfere, she's just waiting to hold her great-grandchild."
Ouyang Meihua had never been opposed. "Back when you kept talking about pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, I already knew you wouldn't listen to me. Your father and I gave up on trying to control you long ago. Live or die by yourself."
Li Weiyu stood up and bowed to his family in gratitude.
When Li Zhengguo returned home from work and learned about the situation, he simply said that the children had grown up and it was time to truly let go.
Sun Baoyun formally met the Li family as Li Weiyu's girlfriend.
Li's mother's attitude also shifted. Since she wouldn't interfere anymore and since her fourth grandson wanted to try dating, she wouldn't cause trouble.
After staying with the Li family for two days, Sun Baoyun returned to Kyoto. Li Weiyu drove her back, acting as her boyfriend, and only returned on the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month.
On New Year's Eve, the entire Li family gathered, and Li's mother happily cooked the meal herself.
Xiao Hei squatted beside Tian Jing, occasionally rubbing his large head against her leg.
Tian Jing patted him, "I'm fine, don't worry. Go play."
Only then did Xiao Hei run out to play with Ji Qing and Ji Xiang, joining the six boys and himself in the yard.
...
On the second day of the lunar new year, Da Mai and Xiao Mai returned to their maternal home.
Zhou Yufei was chasing Xuan Xuan, asking for a butterfly clip.
Zhou Yulin chimed in, saying, "It's just a clip, why are you so stingy?"
Xiao Mai pulled her daughter aside and glared at her son, "Give your remote-controlled airplane to Ji Qing and Ji Xiang."
"Why?"
"It's just a remote-controlled airplane?"
"I bought it with my lucky money, I'm not giving it away."
"Then why are you telling Xuan Xuan to give her things to Yu Fei?"
"My remote-controlled airplane is more expensive."
"Xuan Xuan's clip is also expensive. I don't believe you didn't see the diamonds on it. That clip was a birthday gift from Song Yinyu to Xuan Xuan. It's impolite to give it to someone else."
Zhou Yulin fell silent.
Xiao Mai then lectured her daughter, "Yu Fei, if I see you asking for things again, don't blame me for not letting you visit your grandmother."
Zhou Yufei obediently said she wouldn't dare.
Tian Jing watched, shaking her head inwardly.
On the third day, Li Weihao and the others rejoined their teams. Xuan Xuan stayed at home, wanting to spend time with her mother.
In the afternoon, Mai Xingyang came to the Li family's house, saying he had a few days off and didn't want to go home, so he'd come to the Li family to visit for a few days.
Li's mother still had some lingering apprehension about Mai Xingyang. However, since the boy had become the grandson-in-law's disciple, she could only treat him as an ordinary guest.
The fourteen-year-old boy, after spending four years in the special training team, had changed completely. He understood that Grandma Li's feigned politeness was due to his first attempt to "steal" Xuan Xuan.
Therefore, every time he visited the Li family, he behaved very politely and made sure Grandma Li saw how much he cared for Xuan Xuan.
He believed that time would tell, and eventually, Grandma Li would accept him.
Who knew that the next day, a little brat would arrive. The little brat's mature and handsome parent was a friend of Section Chief Han.
This little brat was very eloquent and made Grandma Li laugh uncontrollably.
When he saw the little brat offering a rainbow diamond bracelet to Xuan Xuan, he could no longer hold back. He forcefully knocked away the rainbow diamond bracelet, then bent down, scooped up Xuan Xuan, and ran off.
The nightmare was recurring!
Li's mother rushed out, "Stop! Stop!"
A figure flashed in the living room, and Mai Xingyang, who had just reached the main entrance, had his ear grabbed by Ouyang Meihua.
"You brat, trying to snatch someone away?"
Mai Xingyang hugged Xuan Xuan tighter, "Aunt Ouyang, I don't like that boy getting close to Xuan Xuan."
Ouyang Meihua smiled, "You're a boy yourself."
Mai Xingyang shook his head, "I'm not. I'm an adult now."
"An adult?"
Ouyang Meihua twisted his ear, "An adult snatching someone should be sentenced."
Mai Xingyang ignored the pain in his ear. "I'm not snatching anyone. Xuan Xuan is my future wife."
"Section Chief Han said if I can win Xuan Xuan's heart, Xuan Xuan will be mine. I won't let anyone else get close to Xuan Xuan, so she can only be my wife."
Li's mother had already caught up. Upon hearing Mai Xingyang's words, she was so angry she was about to return to the living room to call Han Lushí to settle the score.
"Grandma."
Xuan Xuan rested her chin on Mai Xingyang's shoulder. "Please don't be angry. Don't listen to Brother Xingyang talking nonsense. My dad said whoever wins my heart will be his son-in-law. It's not just for Brother Xingyang."
"But you can't say that!"
Li's mother was very displeased. "How old are you? Your father..."
Xuan Xuan smiled, "Grand-Uncle has been telling Yao Yao these things for a long time. Grand-Uncle said I need to discuss men more with Yao Yao so she can learn to identify them."
Li's mother frowned, "This Zeng Jingrong is too much!"
Ouyang Meihua whispered in her mother-in-law's ear, "I think Captain Zeng's method is quite good. It's good for a girl to discuss men more so she can develop discernment, just like we buy more clothes to distinguish their quality."
"And look, Xuan Xuan doesn't object at all to being held by Xingyang. She's closer to him than to Song Yinyu."
"You dislike Song Yinyu but don't want to say it directly? It's just right to let Xingyang step in. This rascal fears nothing."
Ouyang Meihua knew Mai Xingyang's background. She also knew that the Jiang family had instigated Mai Xingyang to "steal" Xuan Xuan, and she knew that the Jiang family had been ruined by Mai Xingyang in just a few days. To be honest, with her niece's delicate beauty, she would only be safe in the Mai family.
Even if Commander Mai had retired from the front lines, Mai Xingyang still had two brothers at not-so-low ranks. What a great protective umbrella.
The Song family were just businessmen. Wealth was not as good as power.
Li's mother looked at her great-granddaughter, who was comfortably resting on Mai Xingyang's shoulder, and snorted inwardly. Those who coveted her great-granddaughter were not good people.
"Xingyang, put Xuan Xuan down. It's a matter of etiquette for Yinyu to give gifts. It was very impolite for you to knock away the gift."
Mai Xingyang didn't know what Aunt Ouyang had said to Grandma Li, but Aunt Ouyang winked at him. He obediently put Xuan Xuan down and then said to Xuan Xuan,
"Men who use gifts to buy hearts are all philanderers. Don't be fooled, Xuan Xuan."
Xuan Xuan looked up at him, "But you also gave me a gift?"
Mai Xingyang said proudly, "That was made by my own hands, it's different."
"Okay."
Xuan Xuan nodded, "I wasn't planning on keeping it anyway. Yu Fei will ask me for it again when she sees it."
"Again? You have other gifts from him?"
"Yes, a pair of diamond butterfly hair clips."
Diamonds again?