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

Zhiyuan laughed, "I wonder when I'll be able to reunite with them again."

It was said to be a story of parting sorrows, but Zhiyuan and Qinglang did most of the talking, while Qingtian didn't say a word. However, Zhiyuan took the initiative to ask her a few questions about her life as a teacher, and Qingtian simply replied "okay," that everything was fine, and then said nothing more.

Zhiyuan thought that as girls grow up, they might not have anything in common with boys anymore. He didn't know what to talk about with girls, so he stopped talking to Qingtian and only got along very well with Qinglang.

Around 3:00 PM, Qinglang and Qingtian said their goodbyes.

When they came to pay their respects for the New Year, they naturally brought New Year's gifts. Qingtian also gave Lin Qingping and Zhangzhu a special gift, which was jewelry she made herself from seashells.

"Huh? Only my mom and Zhangzhu have it? I don't?" Zhiyuan joked.

Sunny blushed and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes! I was afraid you... wouldn't like it..."

As he spoke, he took out a coral stone strung on a rope.

"Brother Zhiyuan, this is for you..." she said softly, handing over the coral stone.

"Of course I like it, why wouldn't I?" Zhiyuan quickly took the stone.

Neither Zhiyuan nor Qingtian noticed, but Qinglang's expression changed slightly.

"Aunt Lin, Zhangzhu, we'll head back now. Happy New Year," Qingtian whispered.

"Happy New Year." Lin Qingping couldn't help but pat her head and took out two red envelopes to give them.

The siblings quickly withdrew their hands, refusing to accept the money, saying, "We're both at work now, how can we accept New Year's money?" They gave Zhangzhu a red envelope containing New Year's money.

"As long as you're not married, you're still kids!" Lin Qingping said, stuffing two red envelopes into their hands. "You can't refuse!"

The Qingtian siblings had no choice but to thank Lin Qingping and take their leave to go home.

Zhiyuan escorted them downstairs, and when he came back, he said to Lin Qingping, "Mom, Qingtian is so funny. She's like she's afraid of hurting herself when she talks to her. How can she manage her students if she speaks so softly? Won't the naughty students bully her?"

Zhangzhu spoke up for Qingtian, "Sister Qingtian is an excellent teacher! Don't talk nonsense! Brother Qinglang said that the students love her, and she has a lot of authority among them!"

"Really?" Zhiyuan looked unconvinced and laughed loudly. "Did she look authoritative just now?"

Lin Qingping rolled her eyes. "I don't know if Qingtian has any authority, but I do know that my son, whom I've raised for almost thirty years, is getting dumber and dumber!"

Zhiyuan: ? ? ? No, Mom, why are you swearing? It's New Year's Day! Mom!

Even after leaving Qinglang and Qingtian, the atmosphere on the way home was still quite unusual.

Qingtian kept her head down and didn't say a word, avoiding her brother's gaze.

Finally, Qinglang couldn't hold back any longer and said, "That coral stone of yours was passed down from my maternal grandmother's mother. My maternal grandmother gave it to my maternal mother, and my maternal mother gave it to you after you came of age, do you know that?"

Qingtian remained silent.

"So you just gave it to Zhiyuan? Even though it's not anything valuable, but..."

“I know.” Qingtian interrupted her brother, her eyes filled with a faint, bewildered light. “Grandma and Mom both said that coral stones are a gift from the Sea Goddess to us sea people, that they can protect us and keep us safe. Our whole family owes a debt of gratitude to Aunt Lin, and the reason Aunt Lin is so kind to us is because of Brother Zhiyuan. If it weren’t for Brother Zhiyuan, I would have been beaten to death in front of the fish stall back then. How could I have been safe? If coral stones can really keep us safe, then let them protect Brother Zhiyuan and keep him safe for life…”