Near the opening of school, Tao Huijun suddenly arrived at Shuntian House.

  The moment Wang Jingxue received the phone call, she was slightly surprised.

  Recently, Wang Jingxue has been quite idle, with no album to work on, no need to practice singing or dancing, and the company has also suspended their commercial performances. Every day, going to the company is just a matter of warming up her voice in the practice room and then running and exercising. When she received her mother's call, she immediately called Wang Jingluo, then went home to pick her up, and the two sisters went to the train station together to pick someone up.

  After receiving the person, Wang Jingluo naturally thought that her mother was uneasy and came to see her off to school, so she was overjoyed. But Wang Jingxue couldn't help but ask: "Mom, why did you suddenly think of this place?"

  Tao Huijun walked alongside them, stopping when she heard the words. She looked at one and then the other, and in front of outsiders, although she hadn't been able to give birth to a boy for Old Wang's family, her two daughters had always made her incredibly proud. At this moment, with only her two daughters in front of her, she couldn't help but sigh, looking at the two girls and saying: "You're so stupid, I just came to support you, who knows if you'll get separated along the way?"

  The two sisters were both stunned and had no idea why their mother suddenly said that.

  After exchanging glances, the two sisters looked at their mother simultaneously.

  Tao Huijun couldn't help but smile wryly and turned to look at Wang Jingxue, "You've been pretty free lately, right?"

  Wang Jingxue was taken aback for a moment, and instantly understood what her mother meant. But given the current situation, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.

  Then Tao Huijun said: "You weren't popular at that time, and you were busy all day long, performing everywhere, even when I called you in the first half of the year, you always said you were too busy to even touch the ground, and it was even busier than before. So can you tell me, your band just released a new album recently, shouldn't this be the busiest time? Why did you suddenly become idle?"

  Wang Jingxue remained silent.

  Tao Huijun said in a low voice: "The album didn't sell well, did it?"

  Wang Jingxue was speechless and silently nodded her head.

  Tao Huijun asked again, "Currently the only solution is to find someone particularly awesome and have them produce a high-quality album for you, right? That's the only way to salvage some of the situation and make you popular again."

  Wang Jingxue fell silent for a moment, then raised her head and asked in a tone with a hint of sharp anger, "Did Wu Jie call you?"

  Tao Huijun heard this but didn't respond, instead asking back. Moreover, her tone suddenly became extremely severe, "If I hadn't come, when would you have been able to do something so simple properly?"

  Wang Jingxue was stunned for a moment, lowered her head and fell silent.

  Sister and mother were talking, Wang Jinglu just stood quietly on one side, looking at this and then that, her eyes blinking. Vaguely, she felt that the topic seemed to have something to do with herself.

  At this time, Tao Huijun asked Wang Jingxue to be speechless, and then turned her head to look at the clever and intelligent little daughter, speaking out in a tone that seemed softer than before, no longer as sharp and piercing as when talking to Wang Jingxue, but still asking three or two sentences that made Wang Jing tongue-tied.

  "You still have a pretty good relationship with Li Qian, right? Then can you tell Mom what he's been busy with lately?"

  "He... He was... He drove around the country for a while, and then returned to Jinan Prefecture. He just got back a few days ago, and we even went shopping together yesterday."

  "Is your answer to my question?"

  Wang Jinglu was stunned, then also lowered her head and fell silent.

  Tao Huijun asked again, "You've both been waiting in Shuntian Prefecture. Mom hasn't asked about the two of you for a long time, has she? She's not stopping you anymore, is she? So, tell me, what progress have you made between each other?"

  Wang Jinglu was tongue-tied and stuttered for half a day. In the end, she didn't say a single word.

  But this was obviously not the end of Tao Huijun's interrogation, she continued to ask coldly: "Even I know that Li Qian has bought a large two-story building on this side of Shuntian Prefecture, and it is said that he is preparing to open a music studio. It seems that it is being renovated and will be completed soon. So, I ask you, as his girlfriend, do you know where he bought the building? Have you even taken a look at it? How does he plan to run this studio, has he told you? If not, have you asked him proactively? And during the period when he was not in Shuntian Prefecture, who helped him take care of the renovation? Even if that person is not you, shouldn't you be lending a hand instead of thinking it's completely unrelated to yourself?"

  She paused for a moment, and without waiting for Wang Jingluo to speak, she continued: "Your sister is currently facing a temporary predicament. I am thousands of miles away, but you are able to see her every day. So, have you noticed anything wrong with her? Have you asked her what's wrong? Have you thought of ways to comfort her?"

  Wang Jinglu was thoroughly stunned and completely speechless.

  At this time, Tao Huijun looked at her most beloved youngest daughter with a calm expression and said in a flat tone: "This summer vacation, you stayed in Shuntian Mansion and were busy to the point where you didn't even return home once. Now tell me, what have you been busy with?"

  Wang Jinglu hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.

  Tao Huijun turned her head to look at Wang Jingxue and asked, "Do you still think that career is the most important thing for a woman now?"

  Wang Jingxue opened her mouth slightly upon hearing this, but in the end, she too chose to slowly lower her head just like Wang Jinglu.

  Tao Huijun looked at this and then that, seeing the two precious daughters with their heads down, looking dejected, couldn't help but let out a sigh of resignation, saying: "Let's go, I'll take a look at where you live... Oh right, Xiaolu, give Li Qian a call and ask if he has time to come home for a visit! Just say I'm here and want to see him."

  …………

  Putting down his phone, Li Qian raised his hand and stroked his chin, furrowing his brow in deep thought.

  The sound of hammering and drilling continued to come from all around, and the sound of electric saws would occasionally ring out - looking up, you could see that this future workshop was already starting to take shape.

  Qijie saw him answer a phone call and then fall silent, unable to help herself walking over to ask: "What's wrong?"

  Li Qian took a deep breath, and the smile on his face was somewhat helpless. He shook his phone and said: "Xiao Lu's mother has arrived. Xiao Lu just called me and said her mother wants to meet me and invited me over for a visit."

  Qijie heard this and blinked her eyes, nodding slowly.

  "What about the Five Elements, what did you say?" she asked.

  Li Qian smiled wryly and shook his head. As he put away his phone, he furrowed his brow and said uncertainly, "It's probably true. But... uh, you've met her mother before, right?"

  Jian Qi shook her head. Li Qian thought for a moment and said, "Aunt Tao is usually very kind, but... think about Wang Jingxue, you've also had dealings with her before, don't you have an impression of her? Xiaolu, you're even more familiar with them. The two sisters, in my opinion, basically inherited some of Aunt Tao's good qualities."

  "So... one big hurdle?"

  Li Qian shrugged and nodded in agreement, "A major hurdle!"

  Before Qijie could say anything, Liao Liao walked over and said with a smile: "I think they did a good job, huh? You guys think that in the future I should let them decorate my house?"

  Only after she finished asking did she realize that the expressions of the two people seemed a bit off.

  So she shut up and turned to look at Qi Jie. Qi Jie reluctantly told her about Wang Jinglu's mother coming to Shun Tian Fu, and Liao Liao suddenly understood. With her cleverness, she couldn't help but sigh: "If it was her own decision to come over, then your future mother-in-law is quite something! Your little girlfriend is still young and a bit naive, and your older sister-in-law is too concerned about face. This is perfect, she's taking the initiative herself, so you should give your future mother-in-law some face, right? Hmm, if you still want to take advantage of Hua Ge's singing skills, when you go see her, be sure to withstand the pressure! Don't get intimidated by your mother-in-law!"

  Li Qian smiled and shook his head, then let out a long sigh. "Forget it. Let's go buy some stuff and see him off!"

  …………

  That afternoon, Li Qian took some fruit and snacks to Wang Jingxue's home.

  When Wang Jinglu came downstairs to pick him up, Tao Huijun was already smiling and waiting at the door.

  She put a brand new pair of men's slippers on the floor and smiled slightly: "Come over and sit down, what are you carrying?"

  Li Qian smiled and said while changing his slippers: "Just some fruit."

  As they spoke, several people entered the house.

  It's been a long time, Wang Jingxue seems to have lost some weight, at least her face looks thinner, but her complexion looks good, only her expression seems somewhat gloomy, and she doesn't seem too happy.

  Li Qian entered the door and saw her, then smiled at her and nodded, "Hello, Xue Jie."

  Wang Jingxue also forced a smile, between them, had long since lost the harmony of when they cooperated in Jinan Prefecture to make that one song "Sisters Stand Up". She still forced herself to ask, "I heard from Xiaolu that you bought a car and drove here?"

  Li Qian nodded, and Tao Huijun said: "Xiao Xue, I've always heard your sister praise your cooking skills. How about it? Are you going to cook today?"

  Wang Jingxue put away her smile, nodded slowly and said "okay", then turned around and entered the kitchen.

  At this time, although it was her own boyfriend who came, Wang Jingluo looked like she didn't dare to speak at all, and simply ran to boil water, then carried the kettle over to make tea for everyone.

  They sat down facing each other, Tao Huijun's face was kind and gentle, while Li Qian seemed nonchalant.

  Only Wang Jinglu was as cautious as if he were facing a great enemy.

  But in fact, Tao Huijun said is just a trivial matter at home.

  But Li Qian was also very serious, sitting there chatting with Tao Huijun about family matters - what did you learn in photography class? Why did you want to study photography in the first place? The new semester is about to start, are all your things ready? Where did you go on this summer trip? Look at how dark you've gotten, it seems like you didn't stay in one place for long, what did you gain from it?

  Two people sat there and chatted seriously for over half an hour. Tao Huijun finally stood up, letting Li Qian sit down, and smiled as she said: "I'll go help Xue Jie with some work, you two chat!"

  Li Qian stood up at this time and said: "Auntie, you don't have to hurry, let Xue Jie not hurry either. I won't stay for dinner, I still have a lot of things on my hands. I came over just to take a look at you."

  But Tao Huijun smiled and said: "What's wrong, are you afraid that Snow's cooking won't suit your taste? Then I'll go cook, how about that?"

  Li Qian smiled awkwardly, wanting to say something else, but Tao Huijun said: "We've been together for so many years, and we haven't even sat down to have a meal together. How is it that you don't get along with Auntie?"

  What could Li Qian say? He could only laugh and explain a few words, then obediently sat down to wait for dinner.

  When Tao Huijun also entered the kitchen, Wang Jinglu saw that there was a sound of water splashing over there and didn't dare to come over. She twisted her body and turned sideways, whispering: "I guess my mom is going to mention my sister's affairs and your studio." After finishing speaking, she quickly said: "Mom, I'll help too!" Then she pretended to shout: "You watch TV by yourself, I'll go help!"

  Li Qian raised an eyebrow and thought: This summer's group performance was a complete waste of time, with no improvement in acting skills at all.

  …………

  Before Li Qian arrived, Tao Huijun had already made preparations, as the three mothers and daughters spent about an hour cleaning up a table of quite sumptuous dishes.

  Well, I have to say, it's quite skillfully done.

  Moreover, their family seemed to have a rule of not speaking while eating. Once the dishes were on the table, except for letting Li Qian serve herself, the three of them didn't utter a word. Li Qian also relaxed and ate openly.

  Wang Jingxue half a bowl, Tao Huijun one flat bowl, Wang Jinglu also one flat bowl, Li Qian two bowls.

  Seeing Li Qian eating so deliciously, Tao Huijun looked very happy.

  It's evening, after dinner, it's obviously not suitable to drink tea. But it's just as well, Shandong people have a rule for eating, dinner is called "drinking soup", and each person gets one bowl of soup, which is almost enough to fill you up.

  As she ladled out the soup, Tao Huijun slowly opened her mouth and asked Li Qian if he was full.

  Then, Wang Jingxue and her sister Wang Jinglu suddenly became tense again.

  But when it came to her own mother, even Wang Jingxue didn't dare to interrupt casually.

  So, on the desktop, there were only Li Qian and Tao Huijun's question and answer.

  But surprisingly, until this meal was completely finished, Tao Huijun didn't mention anything else, and continued to make small talk.

  After dinner, Li Qian sat for a while and then got up to bid farewell. Tao Huijun also only symbolically asked him to stay and chat for a while longer. Seeing that Li Qian really wanted to leave, she didn't keep him either, smiling and saying: "There are only three women in our household, so we won't ask you to stay overnight. You should have a place to stay on this side too?"

  When Li Qian told her that he had already rented a house, she smiled and nodded, saying: "You are like your father, a meticulous person."

  Then Li Qian changed his shoes, bid farewell, went downstairs, waved goodbye to the mother and daughter who sent him off, started the car and left.

  But after leaving their line of sight, Li Qian couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  Do things thoroughly?

  Alright!

  Back in his own home, he thought for a moment and dialed Qijie's phone number, saying: "You get in touch with Huage tomorrow and tell them that Wu Xing Wu Su's next album is mine, let them give me a quote!"

  …………

  After a few minutes, Liao Liao's phone call came in. As soon as she spoke, she asked: "Is your mother-in-law so fierce? In the time it takes to eat a meal, she made you look like a coward?"

  Li Qian heard this and smiled wryly for a moment before answering her: "From start to finish, she didn't say a single relevant word."

  On the other end of the phone, Liao Liao was stunned for a moment, and after a while, she said slowly: "Awesome!"

  …………

  He hung up the phone and walked to the window, standing there for a long time.