In Lanjing North, outside a bakery called Nuoxin Miko Cake Shop.

A young woman wrapped in a black trench coat, radiating a powerful aura, closed the door of her Porsche.

She glanced up at the bakery’s name, paused for a moment in thought, then walked inside with light steps.

The young woman wore a black turtleneck sweater with a short skirt and over-the-knee socks. Her leather shoes gleamed in the sunlight, and her entire being exuded an air of sophistication and youthful charm. Because she wore sunglasses and a mask, her face wasn’t clearly visible, but anyone would assume that a stunning face was hidden beneath the mask.

No one would have guessed that this young woman, radiating such a youthful aura, was already twenty-six years old.

Carrying an expensive-looking handbag, she caught the attention of the front-desk clerk the moment she walked in.

"Hello, ma’am. What can I get for you?" the clerk asked hurriedly.

"You make birthday cakes here, right?"

"Of course. We’re Nuoxin Miko Cake Shop, a national chain. Our birthday cake sales rank in the top three in Lanjing, and we have over a hundred varieties to choose from."

"Can you customize them based on a customer’s request?" the woman in the black trench coat inquired.

"Yes, you can tell me what you want, and I’ll relay it to the pastry chef."

Hearing this, the young woman’s interest was piqued, and she leaned in closer.

"Um... can you make the cake a little... ugly?" The young woman glanced around before whispering conspiratorially, "The kind that would make someone think it was made by a person who’s bad at baking."

"Huh?" The clerk didn’t understand at first and just stood there, stunned.

...

After returning from their trip to Lanjing City to visit their son, the busiest thing for Mr. and Mrs. Chen, aside from work, was the matter of renovating their home.

Ever since Chen Yuan had started high school, the couple, both teachers, had stopped taking on roles as homeroom teachers.

Being a high school homeroom teacher was the hardest job. Students at that age lacked the innocence of middle schoolers whose worldviews were still forming, yet they didn’t have the well-rounded character of university students. Plus, they were all dealing with puberty. That’s why there was a saying in the profession.

Leading a single class of graduating high school seniors will take at least ten years off your life.

Back when Chen Yuan was still young, the couple had the drive to work hard and earn money, but now, their lives weren’t going to change in any major way.

They were just waiting to retire and enjoy their golden years, watch Chen Yuan get married and have grandchildren, and then the old couple would help raise the kids.

This was the life they most looked forward to.

After their last trip to Lanjing, Chen Yuan had given them the huge surprise of his twin girlfriends, which had been a real headache for Liu He for quite some time. Thankfully, Mr. Chen was there to comfort her every day, telling her not to worry herself sick, which kept her from losing sleep over it every night.

In other words, her worrying and losing sleep wouldn’t solve any problems.

Children eventually grow up. Their lives are their own. As parents, it was difficult to make them follow a path laid out by adults; how they chose to live and what they chose to do was ultimately up to them.

Liu He was happy that Chen Yuan had found two wonderful girls who loved him very much, but her worries were also centered on this pair of twins...

「Qishui County Ninth Middle School. A little after nine in the morning.」

A crowd of high school students, not yet at their long, happy break between classes, were still slogging through their second academic period. Just then, an electric scooter emerged from the staff dormitories at the back of the campus. Liu He sat properly on it, a grocery bag hanging from the handlebars.

Her first class was over, but Mr. Chen was still teaching, so the duty of grocery shopping fell to her.

Her Highness the Mother’s shopping list for the day was as follows: two and a half jin of pork, a bag of sweet potato vermicelli, two heads of cabbage, one jin of oysters, several carrots, and an assortment of seasonal vegetables... Oh, right, they were also out of soy sauce. She had forgotten to buy it at the supermarket yesterday.

This shopping trip wasn’t for stocking up.

The reason was that Chen Yuan’s aunt and uncle were coming to visit. Liu He figured it was because their son, her nephew, would be starting high school next year. If he managed to get into Qishui County Ninth Middle School, they would undoubtedly want to get him into a good homeroom teacher’s class. That had to be the reason for the visit.

As it happened, Chen Yuan’s uncle worked in interior design.

You could say both families had something the other needed, and these topics could be discussed properly over dinner at the dining table.

Liu He returned home from the market, carrying bags of all sizes. By this time, Mr. Chen was also back from his class. The music for the morning exercises during the long break was playing at the school, and even through several walls, the couple could still hear the students shouting and calling out.

This was the one good thing about living so close to the school—they could always feel the youthful energy of the vibrant students.

Mr. Chen picked up a large head of cabbage and went to wash it under the tap.

"We should probably ask them for the details during dinner. To be honest, I think we’d be better off hiring a professional designer. An acquaintance isn’t necessarily the most reliable option, and it’s actually harder to speak your mind with someone you know."

"Oh, come on, it’ll be fine, Chen. Don’t you trust your own brother-in-law?"

"It’s not about trust. I’m just worried about hurting feelings. If there’s a problem with the design, it’ll be awkward for us to complain, right?"

"What’s there to be awkward about?" Liu He, on the other hand, was quite frank. "You men are all obsessed with ’face.’ Business is business, and personal is personal."

"As long as you’re the one saying that, I’m fine with it." Mr. Chen was relieved after hearing her words.

"I wasn’t counting on you anyway."

Mr. Chen didn’t take offense at Liu He’s eye-roll. Instead, he just shrugged and went back to washing the cabbage.

A moment later, she said, "Oh, right, it’s our son’s birthday tomorrow. Remember to send him a red envelope later. No need to tell him about the renovation; he doesn’t need to worry about it."

"It’s his birthday? I’d completely forgotten," Mr. Chen said, placing the cabbage on the cutting board. He wiped his hands on a towel, went to the living room to look for something, and then returned. "Here’s my phone."

He handed the phone to Liu He.

"I’m cooking. What do I need your phone for?"

"For the money. Aren’t you sending him a red envelope?"

"Right. So you’re saying you don’t have a single penny on you," Liu He said, exasperated. She didn’t press the issue, though.

She knew Mr. Chen handed over his entire salary card to her; she held all the purse strings. The red envelope money couldn’t come out of his monthly allowance. That would be too unfair.

Liu He had just taken the phone and was about to make the transfer.

The next second.

"RING RING RING—"

The phone rang.

Liu He looked at the caller ID and froze for a second. She hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hello? Auntie? Hello?"

The caller was, of course, not Chen Yuan’s maternal aunt. Liu He was surprised because the call was from Ke Bing’s family, who had moved to Sanya long ago. Chen Yuan had even visited them during his trip there.

A very young voice came from the other end of the line.

"Oh, it’s Rourou!" Liu He said, pleasantly surprised. "What made you decide to call? ... That’s right, Chen Yuan’s birthday is coming up... You actually remembered his birthday! That boy is so lucky to have a big sister like you... Oh, I see."

Liu He’s face was all smiles as she chatted warmly with Rourou.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chen’s expression had turned a bit strange. He noticed the shifting look in his wife’s eyes and grew curious about the phone call.

"Sigh. Just you wait, I’ll make that little rascal add you... Yes, his uncle and I are just getting ready to cook... Don’t say it’s a bother, that’s too formal between us. Okay, let’s leave it at that for now."

The call ended.

The smile vanished from Liu He’s face. She took a deep breath.

"What’s wrong?" Mr. Chen asked tentatively.

"It’s your wonderful son!"

"??? What’s wrong with my son?"

"He’s got a pair of twins over here, and now his childhood ’big sister’ also remembers his birthday! She wants to send him a gift, but she couldn’t contact him, so she called us, the elders, to get his contact info. She said he’d deleted her at some point and she didn’t know why."

"Isn’t that a good thing? It proves their ’big sister, little brother’ bond is strong."

"Bond, my ass! They’re young adults in their twenties. Can’t you read between the lines?! It’s obvious Rourou has feelings for Yuan, too. She didn’t show it before, and now that the situation is already like this, she decides to jump in and stir the pot. It’s a total mess!" Liu He sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Then why did you agree to make Yuan add her?"

"She didn’t say anything explicitly, so what was I supposed to do? It would have been so awkward to refuse, wouldn’t it?"

"Now you’re the one talking about ’face.’ You women... you always manage to argue it both ways," Mr. Chen muttered.

"What, you got a problem with that? Let’s hear it!"

Hearing this, Liu He immediately put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"No... my opinion is that you should hurry up and transfer the money to me so I can send our son his red envelope."

"Red envelope, my ass! Look at this mess he’s gotten himself into! Neither of you, father or son, ever gives me a moment’s peace. Just you wait, I’m going to call and chew him out!"

...

「At that very moment.」

Chen Yuan had just left campus. He’d bolted right after his first class and was now driving to his company.

He had just turned at a traffic light when his phone began to ring.