After two knocks, the door creaked open, followed immediately by the familiar sound of Zhang Wenying's sharp voice.

  "Wake up! It's already noon! Why are you still sleeping?"

  Gao Shen was startled awake. His first instinct was to grab his quilt tightly. Fortunately, he didn't have the habit of sleeping unclothed. Letting out a groan, he flopped bato the warm, cozy bed and looked weakly at his mother.

  "Mom, I'm still jet-gged…"

  Before he could finish, his mother interrupted, displeased.

  "Jet g? You've been back for three days! You still haven't adjusted?"

  Speechless, Gao Shen simply pulled the quilt over his head, pnning to tinue sleeping.

  Meanwhile, his mother busied herself tidying his room, muttering all the while.

  "Don't just lie there all day. Go out for a walk, go shopping, or look at houses. I heard the prices are going up again."

  "Mom, we already have enough spa the house," Gao Shen replied, his voice muffled from uhe covers.

  "Enough? Sure, it's enough for now. But what about ter? You'll get married, have kids—at least two kids—and then they'll have kids, and their kids will have more kids…"

  Gao Shen almost colpsed uhe weight of her logic. She made it sound so iable, he had .

  "Fine, fine, buy whatever you like," he mumbled. "Just let me sleep a little longer."

  "Sleep? Young people like you should be full of energy, not zing around in bed all day."

  That got under his skin.

  "Mom," Gao Shen sat up slightly, looking at her with a hint of annoyance, "Didn't you tell me a few days ago to e back so you could spoil me a me rest? You said you missed me and hadn't seen me all summer. Now that I'm back, you've been nagging me non-stop. Where's the 'rest' you promised?"

  His mother froze, caught off guard.

  "Didn't you say you missed me so much you'd cook all my favorite dishes? And now I'm back, and you're hounding me all day. When do I get this 'good rest' you keep talking about?"

  Caught i, Zhang Wenying reached out aly patted Gao Shen's head.

  "You ungrateful kid. I say a few things and you won't eve me speak anymore."

  "Fine, fine, say whatever you want. Just let me sleep a little lao Shen groaned.

  He was starting to realize something, parents everywhere were the same.

  When they weren't around, they'd call, text, and stantly say how much they missed you. But the moment you came back, the nagging began. Still, he'd flown home for Christmas because he missed them too.

  But now, two days ter, his mother was treating him like an annoyance.

  It roof, Gao Shen thought to himself, that he was definitely her biological son. No one else would put up with this kind of treatment.

  ---

  As his mother fiidying up the room, she suddenly sat down beside his bed and gave him a little nudge.

  "Hey, does Xiaoqing know you're back?"

  "She doesn't know," Gao Shen replied, his voice still zy. "I flew directly from Italy to Shanghai. How would she know?"

  "So you didn't tell her you were ing back?"

  "Why would I?" he replied, a little irritated now.

  For some reason, Gao Shen really didn't like his parents meddling in his retionship or ck thereof with Su Qing.

  His mnored his tone and tinued.

  "I heard from Aunt Lin that her unit's leaders think very highly of her. They're fog on her development, and a lot of people are trying to introduce her to potential partners. But she's rejected all of them."

  That caught his attention. Gao Shen opened his eyes but said nothing.

  "She's 28, same as you," his mother went on. "She's not like a boy, you know. No matter how indepe and strong she looks, she still needs love and care."

  Gao Shen remained silent uhe quilt.

  "I watched Xiaoqing grow up," Zhang Wenying tinued. "She's always been a likable girl, and she has her own ideas. I used to think she looked at you like a brother, but in the past couple of years… every time someoions you, her eyes light up."

  Seeing him still lying motionless, his mother became frustrated and pushed him again.

  "Hey, do you uand what I'm saying?"

  "Ah?" Gao Shen pulled the quilt down, squinting at her with feigned fusion. "What did you say?"

  "Fine, fine. Pretend I didn't say anything. Don't e g to me if yret it ter," she snapped, annoyed.

  She truly felt her son was hopelessly dense. Even Su Qing's mother, Lin Xiuhui, had hinted multiple times that Su Qing had feelings for him.

  But Gao Shen was pletely clueless.

  "You should think about it carefully," his mother said, her voice softening. "When you wao go to Engnd, your father and I didn't agree at first. But she came over and expined everything to us. She even vinced us to let you go."

  "You know what she said back then?"

  Gao Shen stayed silent but listened ily.

  "She said, 'You've always been supported by your parents and teachers. They've guided every major decision in your life. But this time, let him decide for himself.'"

  "Do you know what else she did?" Zhang Wenying's tone grew emotional. "She gave us the money she'd saved during college, money from cutting ba her own living expenses and from tut. She gave all of it to us to help you go to Engnd."

  "Tell me, where else in the world would you find a girl like that?"

  She paused, then said firmly, "You've e a long way now, Gao Shen. You're more capable, more successful. Sure, Xiaoqing doesn't e from the same background as you. But don't fet where you started. Those girls chasing after you now, do they really like you, or do they like your identity and status?"

  "Fet it, fet it. I won't bother you anymore. I'm going to the market to buy some vegetables. You should get up soon," Zhang Wenying said as she left the room, still muttering to herself.

  She grumbled about how "a grown-up child 't be trolled by his mother anymore" and warhat if Gao Shen missed this opportunity, he would surely regret it iure.

  Lying quietly in bed, Gao Shen couldn't help but think of Su Qing.

  Sometimes, te at night when the world was silent, he'd find himself w how he really felt about her.

  There were definitely feelings. Thoughts too. Isn't that how it is for all men?

  What man wouldn't have thoughts when looking at someone as beautiful as Su Qing?

  But having grown up together, their retionship had always been like a cup of lukewarm water her cold nor hot, just ordinary and uful.

  Sometimes, Gao Shen wondered what he would do if Su Qing suddenly told him she had a boyfriend or was getting married.

  He quickly dismissed the idea.

  She wouldn't.

  Why?

  Because Su Qing wasn't that kind of person.

  It was the same reason she had never asked him whether he had a girlfriend while he was in Europe.

  Over the three years Gao She in Europe, his name had appeared in the papers tless times, often alongside photos of him with beautiful women. When he moved to Italy, there was even gossip about an Italian celebrity wanting to have a child with him.

  But Su Qing never asked him about any of it. Not once.

  He knew why.

  Because just as he trusted her, she trusted him.

  A, Gao Shen couldn't figure out what their retionship really was.

  Was it love?

  Shouldn't love be passionate?

  How could something so lukewarm be called love?

  Still, his mother's words had left him feeling uneasy, eveless.

  Su Qing might appear indepe, but at heart, she was quite traditional. Once she made up her mind, she wouldn't easily ge it. And if her feelings ever did shift, winning her back would be nearly impossible.

  The thought filled him with irritation.

  Any lingering drowsiness evaporated pletely.

  ---

  Despite all her nagging, Zhang Wenying prepared a vish lunch fao Shen, filled with his favorite dishes.

  His father, Gao Jianguo, and Su Zhijun were both busy with work, frequently traveling to South America for business.

  It eak season for Chilean cherries, and the business was thriving. Acc to Su Zhijun, the pany's turhis year rojected to be several times that of st year, and it was only the beginning.

  With the tinuous expansion of their sales work, future growth seemed limitless.

  The sale of Chilean wine was also booming, with their business steadily growing in their hometown and Shanghai. The outlook was highly promising.

  As a result, both the Gao and Su families were busier than ever.

  Meanwhile, Gao Shen was reaping the rewards of his own success. The farms and wineries in Chile and Peru, run by his partners Sanchez, Vidal, and Vargas, were also flourishing. Their profits tio rise, and their lives had improved signifitly.

  Vidal and Sanchez were even expl the possibility of acquiring neighb pntations and wio expand their operations a a's growing demand.

  Fortunately fao Shen, he didn't have to worry about these things.

  ---

  After lunch, Gao Shen tried lying down again, but he couldn't fall asleep. His mind was too uled.

  Eventually, he grabbed his phone, checked flight schedules, and booked a ticket from Shanghai to the capital that very afternoon.

  He didn't bother pag any luggage or even bringing a ge of clothes. He simply told his mother he was going to visit a friend and wouldn't be home that night.

  Standing by the upstairs baly window, Zhang Wenying watched as Gao Shehe building and disappeared from sight.

  Satisfied, she left her apartment and knocked on the door across the hall.

  "Did he leave?" Lin Xiuhui asked with a delighted smile as she opehe door.

  "Of course," Zhang Wenying replied, smiling proudly.

  "I just saw him cheg flights online. I'm pretty sure he's heading to the capital."

  After a pause, she added in a tone of mock wisdom, "My precious son, I wouldn't dare say I know everything, but I do know his temperament. All I o do ut a little pressure on him, aake a. Just wait and see. Good news is ing!"

  Lin Xiuhui couldn't hide her joy.

  As the saying goes, the more a mother-in-w looks at her son-in-w, the more she likes him.

  She had always liked Gao Shen. Over the past few years, as he became more aplished, her admiration for him only grew. She'd enced her daughter several times, but Su Qing had always been slow to act.

  Now that Zhang Wenying had stepped in, Lin Xiuhui finally felt a sense of relief.