To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Wu Tianjiao smiled mysteriously, "Her background will scare you to death!"

Yunqi's eyes lit up when she heard this. "Sister Tianjiao, now that you say so, I'm really curious!"

"She goes to the same school as you, didn't you know?" Wu Tianjiao refused to say.

"Huh?" Yunqi was taken aback. "Excuse me, ma'am, which department are you in?"

"Chinese Language and Literature," Lin Qingping said frankly, without any aversion to Yunqi calling her "sister." Yunqi did look very young, while she herself had only entered university at the age of twenty.

Yunqi was even more surprised and looked at Yu Chengzhi, "Isn't that your classmate?"

Lin Qingping smiled and said, "I'm not very familiar with Yu."

Yu Chengzhi's face immediately darkened.

But he was good at pretending, and quickly put on a nonchalant act, striking up a conversation with Lin Qingping in a fake manner, "What a coincidence, classmate! We should exchange ideas more often in the future!"

Lin Qingping chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.

Just then, voices came from outside again. Yunqi reacted quickly, "Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu are back." He even rushed to open the door first.

Two elderly people with graying temples entered.

The woman had short, ear-length hair that was slightly permed, which made her look very knowledgeable and dignified.

The man seemed to have a slight difficulty walking, but he was tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding an imposing aura and piercing gaze. Wu Tianjiao resembled him, possessing a commanding presence.

Wu Tianjiao then pulled Lin Qingping aside to introduce her, "Mom and Dad, this is Comrade Lin Qingping I was talking about. She's currently studying at Capital University." After saying that, she added to Lin Qingping, "These are my parents. They've been asking you to come over to visit for a while, but I said they've just arrived in the capital and haven't settled in yet, so we'll wait and see. That's why we postponed it until today."

Old Wu nodded repeatedly as he looked at her, praising, "Good child, you've got potential!"

Wu Tianjiao's mother smiled apologetically, "I'm so sorry, we, the hosts, were all out when we had guests. It's really because Uncle Wu is so careless; he sprained his ankle at home. I accompanied him to the hospital. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

“Aunt Xu, please don’t say that. We’re all family, why be so polite?” Yunqi interjected.

So Lin Qingping learned how to address the two of them.

Aunt Xu was quite humorous, teasing Yunqi, "We are apologizing to Qingping. She came to our house for the first time and we were waiting for her. Unlike you, who used to stay at our house all day long when you were little, pestering Tianping to play."

"Hehehe..." Yunqi chuckled, looking very obedient.

"Alright, Mom, stop talking while standing and let her sit down!" Wu Tianjiao said.

Lin Qingping took out the gift at the right time, and Old Wu said, "Oh, no need to bring a gift! You're too kind."

"Just accept what Qingping gave you. It's her first time visiting our house, do you really expect her to come empty-handed? Is Qingping that kind of person?" Wu Tianjiao said to Lin Qingping with a smile, "You don't need to bring anything next time."

Her words made everyone burst into laughter, and Aunt Xu even teased her, "You're such a smooth talker!"

“You say I’m being sarcastic? Then I’ll be even sarcastic! Let me see what this is!” Wu Tianjiao was very unrestrained in front of her parents.

It is an excellent family relationship.

This scene clearly shows that the Wu family attaches great importance to Lin Qingping, their guest.

Yu Chengzhi was left out in the cold, unable to respond to any of their conversations.

Being ignored wasn't pleasant, but he didn't understand why. What exactly was Lin Qingping's relationship with the Wu family? It was clearly her first time here, so why was she being treated with such importance?

In just a few short minutes today, this question has gone through his mind countless times.

Now Wu wanted to see the gift she had given him, and he secretly hoped that the gift was not good, so that Lin Qingping would lose face and the Wu family would not treat her well in the future.

Wu Tianjiao opened the long box, took out a scroll painting, and unfolded it to reveal a snowy landscape of green pines.

Yu Chengzhi immediately glanced at the signature, and seeing that it wasn't a famous or ancient painting, he was immediately relieved, inwardly sneering: Lin Qingping, your time to embarrass yourself has come.

However, Wu Tianjiao exclaimed in surprise, "This...this is wonderful! Dad, look, this reminds me of the story you told me when I was a child! 'The snow presses down on the green pine, yet the green pine stands tall and straight.' The upright spine and unyielding integrity you spoke of when you were young, for the sake of your beliefs, really came to mind when I unfolded this painting."

Old Wu nodded slightly. "This painting truly touches my heart. Excellent, Comrade Lin Qingping, I love this gift! Thank you!"

Lin Qingping smiled slightly, neither humble nor arrogant, "Uncle Wu, it's not much of a gift. I don't really know anything about painting, but when I saw this painting, I was inexplicably deeply moved by a certain power, so I brought it here. Being able to resonate with you has deepened my feelings."

Old Wu pointed at her in the air, "Of course you're moved, because you're a soldier's wife!"

Lin Qingping smiled knowingly, "Yes! Uncle Wu, I am proud to be a soldier's wife!"

Old Wu smiled and said, "Even soldiers would be proud to have a wife like you!"

Finally, he asked, "Do you know how to play chess?"

Lin Qingping will meet.

Old Wu was delighted. "I'll go get the chess pieces! You sit for a moment, I'll be right down!"

Aunt Xu said with a smile, "I get really excited when it comes to playing chess. I hope the children won't laugh at me. Qingping, please sit down. I'll go check on the kitchen."

Aunt Xu is going to prepare dinner. Although there is a nanny at home, she still has to go and make arrangements.

Wu Tianjiao smiled at Lin Qingping and said, "I'll help my mom carry her things inside, and I'll come keep you company in a bit."

"Sister, let me go! Don't you need my readily available help?" Yunqi went to help.

Only Yu Chengzhi and Lin Qingping remained in the living room.

Yu Chengzhi felt a pang of sadness and couldn't help but say, "That was so close! What if Elder Wu didn't like the gift after it was opened?"

His words revealed his concern for Lin Qingping.

Lin Qingping didn't want to pay any attention to it, because she knew that Wu Tianjiao was trying to save face for her. Regardless of whether Old Master Wu liked the painting or not, Wu Tianjiao had to make the old man say that he liked it!

Of course, the old man really liked it.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Yu Chengzhi felt even more uneasy, feeling bitter, angry, and a little regretful. If he had known Lin Qingping had this ability, he shouldn't have left so heartlessly back then. At least now there's room for maneuver...

But who knew! I just can't understand how Lin Qingping, a country girl, could have such a destiny.

Voices could be heard coming from downstairs again.

When Yu Chengzhi walked to the stairwell again, he was surprised to see Lin Qingping's country bumpkin husband.

Looking at this dark-skinned, rustic man, he felt even more bitter. If he hadn't rejected Lin Qingping in the first place, how could this man have gotten all of this? He probably wouldn't even have been able to get his hands on the door of this compound!

He sneered inwardly.

But on the surface, he pretended to be very concerned about Lin Qingping, saying, "You brought your lover along too? You'd better be careful. He's never seen anything like this before. If he comes to a family like this, he might embarrass you. It's best to tell him not to say anything. The more he says, the more mistakes he makes. It's better to keep quiet."

Lin Qingping could tolerate everything else, but she really couldn't tolerate the slander against Gu Juncheng anymore!

They were secretly squeezing out people at the Capital Department Store before, and now they're doing it openly?

Her face darkened. "You'd better keep quiet! Otherwise, I don't care who you came with, you came in standing up, but I'll make you crawl out!"

Yu Chengzhi's expression changed drastically.

Lin Qingping didn't bother with him, opened the door, and rushed downstairs to pick up Gu Juncheng.

Gu Juncheng had already reached the stairs, carrying a bag of fruit in his hand.

She flew towards him joyfully, like a swallow, calling out, "Gu Juncheng!"

Gu Juncheng looked up, and in the backlight, she smiled radiantly, her eyes shining even brighter and more captivating than the sunlight of the day.

"How long have you been here?" he smiled at her.

"Not long ago! Just arrived! Come on, let's go upstairs. Old Wu said he wants to play chess with me, let's go together!" She took his hand and walked upstairs.

"Okay." He held her soft little hand and gently squeezed it.

The two returned to the Wu family's living room one after the other, and bumped right into Yu Chengzhi.

Yu Chengzhi looked at Gu Juncheng's simple attire and sneered inwardly, just waiting for this man to make a fool of himself! Even if he didn't make a fool of himself, he would create an opportunity for him to do so today!

Gu Juncheng never expected to run into this person here. He glanced at him but said nothing.

Wu Tianjiao came out of the kitchen with a plate of watermelon cut in the kitchen. She saw Gu Juncheng and smiled, "Perfect timing, come and eat some watermelon!"

Grandpa Wu brought down a chess set from upstairs. Seeing that Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng had both arrived, he smiled and said, "Alright, you two can decide for yourselves whether Comrade Lin will play with me or you will play with me."

Wu Tianjiao deliberately cracked a joke, "When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can break metal! Why can't other people go together?"

"What do you know? Get out of here!" Old Wu glared at him, and when it came to playing chess, he became as serious as a child.

Gu Juncheng looked at Lin Qingping, "Can you do it?"

Old Wu was displeased upon hearing this. "You brat, don't you know whether your own wife can play chess or not? You have to ask her? You deserve to be criticized!"

Gu Juncheng smiled and said, "Yes, Uncle Wu is right."

"Go back and write a self-criticism!" Old Wu pointed at him, then said to Lin Qingping, "We'll do it together!"

"Okay!" Lin Qingping happily sat down and played chess with Elder Wu.

Yu Chengzhi was delighted to see this. See? He'd offended them! He'd been scolded! What big scenes had this country bumpkin ever seen? In situations like this, even if you don't know, you have to pretend you do! A country bumpkin is just that—a country bumpkin.

Lin Qingping was actually quite good at chess, and he was very serious when playing chess with Master Wu.

But Wu Tianjiao wanted to join in the fun, saying, "Dad, you can't just keep dragging Qingping to play chess with you like this."

"Why not?" Old Wu was pondering something and was very unhappy to be interrupted.

"You have to offer a prize!" Wu Tianjiao laughed. "Who would bet with you if there's no prize?"

Old Wu's eyes widened. "What the hell? You've learned all those crooked and evil ways instead of the good ones?"

Wu Tianjiao replied, "What kind of crooked tricks are these? We're not gambling, we're just adding a little something to the game so we can have some fun if we win!"