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

"Mom, let's go inside and talk about what we're having for dinner. I'm starving." Zhiyuan helped her up.

"I'm not so old that I need your help!" Lin Qingping said with a smile. "Also, don't talk nonsense, don't keep talking about death or life."

“Okay!” Zhiyuan agreed, but his gaze was fixed on Lin Qingping.

Her hair had grown long again, and there was a silver strand in the hair on her forehead.

There was only one strand, yet it stood out starkly against the backdrop of black hair.

Zhiyuan's nose suddenly felt sore.

When he came into her life, she was only twenty years old. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and she has now entered her forties...

"Mom, how have you been lately?" he asked with a forced smile.

"Great! I'm fine!" Lin Qingping was concentrating on what to eat for dinner. Her son was back, so she had to make his favorite dishes.

"Brother! Brother, you're back!"

When Zhangzhu rushed back, Zhiyuan was in the kitchen picking vegetables.

"Yes, Zhangzhu, where have you been?" Zhiyuan smiled and his eyes crinkled when he saw his sister.

"I was doing my homework at Huanhuan's house when her brother said he saw you come back, so I rushed home!" Zhangzhu had been with her brother since childhood, and they rarely saw each other until Zhiyuan went to college. She was overjoyed to hear that her brother was back.

"I bought you some delicious food, it's outside, go check it out," Zhiyuan said with a smile.

"Great!" Zhangzhu's eyes lit up.

Lin Qingping couldn't help but laugh. "You can fly away at the mere mention of delicious food. We're not short of food at home."

“How can that be the same? Am I greedy? This is my brother’s kindness! I care about my brother’s kindness!” Zhangzhu said, turning around.

"You think you can talk so much!" Lin Qingping laughed even harder.

Zhangzhu opened a bag of chocolates, ran to the kitchen, and fed Lin Qingping one. "Mom, is it delicious?"

Zhangzhu is in sixth grade and is almost as tall as Lin Qingping. She runs around on the island all day and has a healthy, tanned complexion.

"You didn't eat any? I don't know if it's good or not?" Lin Qingping took a bite from her daughter's hand.

"I haven't eaten yet!" Zhangzhu said, then squatted down opposite her brother and fed Zhiyuan a bite as well.

"Aren't you going to eat first?!" Zhiyuan said, with a chocolate in his mouth.

"No way!" Zhangzhu asked Zhiyuan while continuing to unwrap the chocolate. "Brother, why did you suddenly come back? Weren't you on holiday yet? Did you do something wrong and come back to ask your parents to come home?"

These words made Lin Qingping and Zhiyuan burst out laughing.

"Who made a mistake that requires a parent to be called in? Zhangzhu? What trouble have you gotten into this time?" Gu Juncheng's voice came from the doorway.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Zhangzhu asked, displeased. "When have I ever caused so much trouble?"

"Have you caused enough trouble already? Your mother's practically living at school..." Gu Juncheng followed the voice to the kitchen and was both surprised and delighted to see Zhiyuan sitting on a small stool picking vegetables. However, his face remained calm. "You're back?"

"Yeah, I missed you all, so I came back to see you." Zhiyuan chuckled.

Gu Juncheng tapped him on the head. "You think you can hide it from me? Something's definitely up!"

"Dad!" Zhangzhu complained, "Don't hit my brother on the head! If you make him stupid, he won't be able to see a doctor in the future!"

Everyone laughed at what he said.

Lin Qingping laughed and said to him, "Zhangzhu is right, Zhiyuan is all grown up now, why do you still keep hitting him?"

"Big?" Gu Juncheng snorted. "No matter how big he is, he's still my son! Can't I hit him?"

“Knock, knock.” Zhiyuan smiled promotionally. “You can knock anytime, just like you have to cook with my mom whenever you come back, no matter if you’re a division commander or a corps commander.”

Gu Juncheng clicked his tongue.

Lin Qingping shook her head with a smile, "Zhiyuan, you're just asking for trouble."

"What's wrong? I'm praising my dad! Isn't it natural for a man to love his wife?" Zhiyuan was quite reasonable.

Gu Juncheng nodded. "Remember your words."

"What's wrong with remembering?" Zhiyuan picked the vegetables and took them to wash under the tap.

Gu Juncheng fell silent.

Lin Qingping turned around and laughed, "Your dad's getting anxious. You're already in your mid-twenties and still don't have a girlfriend."

Zhiyuan, who had been smiling, suddenly fell silent.

Actually, Lin Qingping wasn't reborn with parents who pressured her to have children or get married, but Gu Juncheng wasn't either; Gu Juncheng was quite traditional in some ways.

"Hey Mom, how about I show off my skills today? I'll take charge of the cooking! Dad can help me out! You and your sister can just wait and eat." As soon as Zhiyuan finished speaking, he received a glare from Gu Juncheng, as if to say: You're bossing your dad around now? How ambitious!

"Are you sure you can do it?" Lin Qingping asked with a smile.

"Mom, I often cook at home now, and my cooking skills are pretty good!" Zhiyuan said, patting his chest.

"Okay, then I'll really be waiting to eat."

Zhiyuan wasn't exaggerating; he prepared a table full of delicious and visually appealing dishes. Lin Qingping tasted each one and praised them highly. Then she asked Zhiyuan, "So, what brings you back?"

Zhiyuan paused for a moment, then said, "Mom, I might be sent abroad to study."

"This is great news!" Lin Qingping was very happy, but seeing Zhiyuan's lack of enthusiasm, she asked, "Don't you want to go?"

"Mom, I...I can't bear to leave you..." Zhiyuan lowered his eyes.

What he didn't want to say was that he had a dream a couple of days ago in which Lin Qingping was bedridden and no one cared about her. There were also two people he didn't know who actually pulled out her oxygen tube.