Starting a new chapter in life

He Zhijun didn't expect that his casual question would actually lead to a special holiday for their fathers. As for the gifts for the children, he didn't really care. However, seeing that both children were giving Jingyan their attention, he felt a little unbalanced and subconsciously wanted to compete for her favor.

Jingyan trimmed the flower stems and put them in a glass jar. Although the jar was leftover from canned yellow peaches, it still looked quite nice with the flowers in it.

After arranging the flowers, the family sat down at the table to eat. Since there was no custom of not talking while eating in the family, Jingyan asked Zhizhi how long she would rest after filming, where she was staying, and of course, she also casually asked if she had a crush on any boys.

Zhizhi answered each question one by one. She definitely needed to rest, but since the initial filming was finished, she could just occasionally check on things during the post-production editing. Her schedule wasn't tight.

I'll take this time to read through the scripts An'an prepared for me, and make preliminary plans for casting, filming locations, etc. I'll also spend some time with my parents during this period.

She rented out her apartment at the film academy to students there a couple of years ago, since she rarely went back and it would be a waste to leave it vacant.

Before her brother knew she was coming back, he rented an apartment for her in this neighborhood. It was bigger than her brother's, with two bedrooms, so that her parents could live with her. They couldn't always let her brother sleep on the sofa.

Jingyan was of course willing. She had seen her son for more than two months and he was no longer a novelty, but she hadn't seen her daughter for more than two years and missed her dearly. She wanted to spend some quality time together.

Looking at himself being abandoned like this, He Jin'an felt that finding a wife was an urgent matter. He also needed someone to accompany him and comfort him.

That evening, He Jin'an helped the elderly couple carry their suitcases to Zhizhi's house on the same floor. It was not far away, and it was convenient to have dinner together. Moreover, Zhizhi's house had better lighting and the room was better than An'an's.

Jingyan turned around and then started to feel sorry for her son again: "An'an, it's good that you're so generous to your sister, but you shouldn't always be so hard on yourself."

"Take a look and see where you can find a house you like. Once you've chosen one, your parents still have some money. If it's not enough, we'll sell the house near the aerospace institute and use the money to buy you a new one. The house there is quite old, so getting a new one wouldn't be bad."

He Jin'an felt that his heart, which had been slightly injured before, had suddenly healed. He happily put his arm around Jing Yan's shoulder, nuzzled his head against hers, and acted affectionately.

"Mom, you still love your son the most. But there's no need to buy a house. I don't have any particular ones in mind right now, and the company's development is the most important thing. Once the company is stable and on the right track, your son can buy a house himself."

"Let's keep the apartment near the aerospace institute for now. Property prices have been rising steadily in recent years, and rents have increased dramatically too. The rent for that apartment in a month is enough to cover the rent for this one in a month and a half, so I don't have to put any money into it."

Seeing his insistence, Jingyan didn't say anything more. "Anyway, that house has already been transferred to your name. You and your brother now each have two houses, so I won't worry about you anymore."

Zhizhi was surprised to hear this: "Two sets? Mom, we have two sets in total, one for my brother and one for me."

Jing Yan shook her head: "You two also each own an apartment in Haishi, but your brother's apartment is more expensive there, so yours should be much cheaper. Don't think I'm being biased."

From childhood to adulthood, I've given you significantly more love and care than I've given your brother. There's a saying, "Either you give me love, or you give me money." So, the child I've shown more love for gets a cheaper house, and the child I've shown less love for gets a more expensive one. It's fair!

The two children were exasperated. "Mom, it's perfectly reasonable of you not to prepare a house for us. We wouldn't care so much. You're underestimating us. We're both capable of earning our own money now," Zhizhi said coquettishly.

Jing Yan nodded in agreement: "That's right, my children are all very capable and hardworking."

"What kind of house is Haishi? Did you buy it recently? How come I've never heard of it?" Zhizhi was actually quite curious.

"Those two houses weren't given to you by your parents; they were left to you by your great-grandmother. One is one of those small Western-style houses you often see in Republican-era TV dramas, and the other is the house we lived in before we moved to Changxing Island."

Yours is the house we used to live in. That little villa is for your brother, but it needs maintenance; it's currently rented to an overseas Chinese family.

They cherish our house and have maintained it quite well. If they take it back later, An'an will have to put in the effort and money to maintain it herself.

Zhizhi's eyes widened: "Mom, I didn't expect our family to be so well-off. Our house on Changxing Island is already considered very good among my classmates, and we even have other houses. So, I'm a second-generation rich kid too."

Jingyan slapped her forehead: "What kind of rich kid are you? Our family is at most a middle-class family. We don't have to worry about food and clothing. Compared to those established families or those with a lot of assets, we're just nobody. We're not even worth their attention."

If you want to achieve financial freedom in the future, you'll have to earn it yourself. Fortunately, your parents won't hold you back; you're lucky.

Zhizhi nodded repeatedly with a smile: "I know, I know, this is already a wonderful surprise. Xiaoxiao's family is quite well-off, but buying that house almost emptied their savings."

Fortunately, her career has been doing well these past few years, and she's earned a lot of money. However, being an actress is expensive, especially now that she's in the spotlight. She dresses more formally for going out than I do for a cocktail party, so clothing expenses can be quite a significant amount.

Compared to her, I can just throw on a T-shirt and go out. Nobody says directors have to dress up properly; as long as you don't show any skin, it's fine. It's much more comfortable.

Jingyan asked with the curiosity of someone listening to a strange tale: "Buying so many clothes, will you be able to wear them all? Don't throw them away before they're even worn out, what a waste!"

Zhizhi nodded repeatedly: "That's right, but there's no other way. Their industry requires a glamorous appearance. If people find out you're wearing old clothes, they'll be laughed at. Most people don't have the strong heart to withstand that, so they can only go with the flow."

However, her clothes weren't wasted. We're not that different in size. I'm a bit fatter than her, except I don't have her curves. I can wear all her clothes. Whenever she has clothes to get rid of, she tells me and I go pick out what I like. I've hardly bought any clothes in the last two years.

She would donate the remaining, more common styles, and keep the dresses and other formal wear that weren't suitable for everyday wear separately. She would also let newcomers in the industry choose from those that needed them. Therefore, she was well-liked and had a good reputation within the industry.

"It's best not to give your old clothes to your colleagues if you can avoid it. What if there are ungrateful ones who think that wearing your old clothes is disrespectful to them? What if they bite you back one day? You'd be in for a world of trouble. It's better to throw them away than to offend someone. It's not worth it."

Jingyan cautioned that the country is developing too fast now, and too many people are pursuing material things. As a result, the human touch of the past has been almost lost. It can't be said that she is petty, but the world is developing too fast, and there are all kinds of people. We have to be careful.

Zhizhi hadn't thought that much about it at first, but after Jingyan brought it up, she understood what her mother meant and nodded in agreement: "I understand, Mom. I'll call Xiaoxiao about it later."

Neither the mother nor the daughter knows that this seemingly divine advice actually saved Lu Xiaoxiao from a future public feud. The incident that occurred back then involved another celebrity.

She meant well, thinking that newcomers to the industry didn't have much money to buy clothes. Most of her clothes were gifts from major brands, and she hadn't worn them much before they were just sitting idle. Later, when she encountered people in need, she would just put together outfits for them to tide them over, and naturally, she gave away these clothes as well.

But there was one oddball among them. Despite not being well-off, she accepted clothes given to her by others. Unexpectedly, she brought this up later on a popular variety show, sounding quite aggrieved.

If someone spreads this around, well, what started as someone's good intentions becomes someone giving her unwanted, disposable clothes as charity. How shameless! Giving them to her? Throwing them in the trash is much simpler than giving them to her!

But that's how it is with public figures. Some people understand, but many more kick them when they're down. An artist who was originally highly respected for both his talent and virtue suffered a significant drop in reputation. Although he later clarified things, the month-long online harassment left him exhausted.

This incident terrified Lu Xiaoxiao so much that she couldn't sleep for two nights. Her reputation in the industry was already polarized, and if this had happened to her, she would have been ruined. Needless to say, she was extremely grateful to Jingyan and Zhizhi at that time. Anyway, she was still apprehensive when she talked about it with Zhizhi later.

Everything is peaceful now. Zhizhi occasionally goes out to check on the editing progress of the documentary and discusses details with the screenwriter based on the script she has. The rest of the time she stays at home.

After running around outside for more than two years, exposed to wind and rain, her skin became rough and dark. Jingyan busied herself making face masks based on the information she had collected. The mother and daughter applied them together, and with a constant supply of delicious food and drinks, in less than a month, Zhizhi had noticeably gained weight and become a shade lighter. Yes, the phrase "plump and fair-skinned" was indeed accurate.

Jingyan was naturally quite pleased with her successful breastfeeding, but Zhizhi was on the verge of a breakdown. It was truly a case of "feeling good for a moment, but regretting it later." Pinching the obvious fat around her waist, Zhizhi could only go to the company every day to exercise using the equipment there.

They picked up their morning exercise routine again, which had been discontinued. This time, He Zhijun was the only one who could accompany them; the father and daughter would run two laps around the neighborhood every morning, and then practice their movements in the small park across the street.

Every day, many elderly people do their morning exercises here, practicing Tai Chi, playing chess, and it's quite lively. However, young faces are not common. Although He Zhijun is not as old as these elderly men and women, he doesn't stand out from the crowd.

But Zhizhi was really outstanding for her age. In addition, the moves she made with He Zhijun looked quite impressive. Many elderly people in the neighborhood were willing to come over and chat with her. In just a few days, Zhizhi was getting along very well with the elderly people.

It's said that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. How many precious elders are there here? Zhizhi is sweet-talking and always smiling, so these elderly people from Beijing love to follow her lead and chat about many things from the past, including the locations of some quaint and historic buildings, and stories that young people don't know...

Anyway, during this time, Zhizhi was like a sponge absorbing water, receiving a lot of knowledge and insights that she couldn't learn otherwise. Some of these places she thought could be used as locations for her next script. Look at that, what a bargain, she made a huge profit.

Of course, besides the happy ones, there were also some unhappy ones. The older folks were too enthusiastic, and their enthusiasm went so far as to try to matchmake people, without even asking what Zhizhi did for a living; they only knew she worked in media.

Whether they understood or not, they started introducing her to their nephews, grandsons, and the younger generation of the neighbors. It was the first time Zhizhi realized how popular she was, and all the voices of refusal were drowned out by them.

Having finally escaped the encirclement of the elderly, Zhizhi looked at He Zhijun with lingering fear: "Dad, you and Mom are so old, you shouldn't have this kind of hobby, it's quite scary."

He Zhijun... "Everyone likes you and thinks you're a good girl. They want to take you home, which is another kind of recognition. But your physical fitness has declined a lot. If it were before, you could run much faster. Do an extra lap tomorrow."

Before Zhizhi could recover from one blow, another physical one struck. With a wail, she could only accept her fate.

When they got home, Jingyan laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up after hearing the father and son's story. "Don't let your guard down. Since they said they would introduce someone, they might bring the person over in a few days. But just because you're not willing doesn't mean your brother won't like it. How about we start taking your brother to morning exercise tomorrow too?"

Zhizhi's eyes lit up. She thought it was a good idea. Sharing happiness is worse than keeping it to yourself. How could her own brother miss out on such a good thing? So, the next day, An'an, with a face full of confusion, went for a morning exercise with Zhizhi and her father.

A week has passed, and An'an is itching to escape. These days, the park across the street has many more young faces in the mornings, mostly accompanying their elderly relatives for exercise, and, oh yes, to arrange blind dates. Zhizhi and An'an were the instigators, but they haven't made a move. Later, two or three other couples have joined in.

The spot in the park where they initially started has unexpectedly become a matchmaking corner, a small haven for older unmarried young people, which is quite a pleasant surprise.

Zhizhi only stayed at home for about three months before casting for the script in her hand began. Apart from her morning runs, her morning exercises in the park were temporarily suspended. Zhizhi ran to the company feeling refreshed, but her much faster pace gave Jingyan the feeling that she had finally escaped the trouble of being forced to be introduced to potential partners. Jingyan just smiled and didn't say anything.

Although An'an was eager to find a partner, he didn't want to be picked over by older men and women like cabbages. He didn't care about being picked over if he didn't meet the requirements, but those older women were just looking, why did they have to touch him? Even his own mother had never taken advantage of him like that. Since Zhizhi didn't go over there, he was naturally happy to not go over there either.