When Liu Nanwei saw Xu Lai remain silent, her heart leaped into her throat. "Is my fate a bad one?"

"Your fate is very good," Xu Lai said, finally setting Liu Nanwei's mind at ease.

A person's life is a journey across thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, with countless travelers passing by. Some choose to stop and gaze at the rivers and mountains with you, but many more merely rush past. But when looking back on the past, every chance encounter, every shoulder brushed, holds extraordinary significance.

By choosing to settle on Earth, Xu Lai had unintentionally changed the destinies of many people, and even that of the planet itself.

Zhou Feng couldn't help but agree. "That seems to be true. Since meeting Director Xu, my luck has gotten much better."

It was more than just 'better.' Although he hadn't become the head of the school's infirmary and joined the management team like he'd always dreamed, his situation was improving in other ways. Both his salary and his standing in the school and the wider medical community were skyrocketing! He was even a named contributor on the upcoming Nobel Prize… Most importantly, his medical skills were improving daily. You could say he was at the pinnacle of his life!

"How has your luck improved?" Liu Nanwei huffed. "Don't forget Director Xu told you to be careful after work!"

A worried look crossed Zhou Feng's face.

「After work.」

Xu Lai walked out of the school infirmary and saw his sister-in-law, Ruan Lan, standing at the door, yawning with a blank expression.

Xu Lai pretended not to see her and kept walking.

"Brother-in-law!" Ruan Lan quickly called out, hurrying to catch up.

Xu Lai feigned realization. "Oh, Ruan Lan. What are you doing here?"

"..." Ruan Lan was speechless. Feeling frustrated, she said, "That's going too far, brother-in-law! I'm a whole person standing right here, and you pretended not to see me!"

Xu Lai rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I remember you have evening self-study. Did you need something from me?"

Ruan Lan giggled. "You really are something else, brother-in-law! You even guessed that. Impressive! Anyway, I actually do need to ask you something."

She grabbed Xu Lai's sleeve, glanced around furtively to make sure the walls didn't have ears, then whispered, "Brother-in-law, could you do me a favor?"

"We can't do anything that would betray your sister," Xu Lai said earnestly.

Ruan Lan rolled her eyes before her expression turned serious. "Today is Xiaoxiao's birthday, and we're planning to pull an all-nighter. I need you to cover for me. Just tell my sister I'm staying at the dorms."

Since giving up her dorm room and moving to Haitang Court, Ruan Lan needed to get permission from her sister, Ruan Tang, if she wanted to stay out overnight.

Xu Lai lectured, "You should be honest."

"I have all the photos of my sister from birth until she was fifteen, including ones of her in split-crotch pants, drinking milk formula, and bawling her eyes out. They're all one-of-a-kind collector's items that my sister probably doesn't even have!" Ruan Lan said mysteriously. "Cover for me, and I'll give you these."

Xu Lai stared at her with deep eyes.

Ruan Lan spoke with a guilty conscience, "Look, brother-in-law, I know this isn't great, but it's Xiaoxiao's birthday. I can't be a party pooper, can I?"

SMACK.

Xu Lai's hand landed on his sister-in-law's shoulder. He said gravely, "Deal!"

"Huh?" Ruan Lan blinked. It was that easy? And here I was, ready to offer up even more of my sister's things as leverage.

Ruan Lan tilted her head and asked, "We're going to a bar tonight. Are you coming, brother-in-law?"

"No."

Xu Lai thought for a moment and then took a jar of Pear Blossom Wine from his Storage Space. The wine had a low alcohol content, similar to a rice wine, but it had incredible beauty and health benefits for women. It was highly sought after by countless female cultivators in the Immortal Domain. However, its production was extremely limited. Xu Lai only had a few jars, all gifts from Divine General Taotie a long time ago.

"This is a gift for Xiaoxiao. You can all drink this tonight."

Since Yu Xiaoxiao also called him brother-in-law, Xu Lai felt he should give her a gift.

Ruan Lan happily accepted it. "Xiaoxiao will definitely be thrilled."

Xu Lai drove to pick up his wife and daughter and returned home.

Ruan Tang, who was in the living room playing with Yiyi, suddenly asked, "Ruan Lan is staying at school tonight... she told you, right? Hasn't she already moved all her bedding out of the dorms?"

"She went to the mall and bought new stuff this afternoon. She said that with all the academic pressure lately, it's just more convenient for her to stay on campus." Xu Lai's eyes flickered, and he cleared his throat. "She's an adult now. We don't need to worry about her so much."

"Stressed about her studies, is she?" Ruan Tang looked skeptical, but seeing Xu Lai's serious expression, she figured perhaps nothing was wrong.

After finishing the cooking, Xu Lai headed straight for his room upstairs.

Ruan Tang asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

"..."

Watching Xu Lai return to his room and shut the door, Ruan Tang's brow furrowed slightly. I just have a feeling Xu Lai is acting a little unnatural today. The moment I mentioned Ruan Lan, his eyes flickered! A bold suspicion suddenly formed in Ruan Tang's mind: Xu Lai and Ruan Lan were hiding something from her!

Ruan Tang smiled at her daughter. "Your daddy isn't eating. If he gets too hungry, he'll end up in the hospital. Yiyi, could you go get him for me?"

"Mommy, you want me to go see what Daddy is doing, right?" Xu Yiyi blinked her big eyes.

Ruan Tang coughed. "I'm concerned about his health."

"Oh. Then Mommy should go get him herself." Xu Yiyi picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and ate it, a look of bliss on her little face.

"..." Ruan Tang was out of tricks. She said stiffly, "Alright, I just have a feeling that your father is hiding something from me, and that's why..."

"I get it," Xu Yiyi nodded vigorously. "I'll go do some recon for Mommy!"

Ruan Tang was at a loss for words.

Xu Yiyi chuckled. "I know, it wasn't Mommy who asked me to go."

Ruan Tang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. My daughter is getting too sharp and mischievous!

「In the room.」

Xu Lai locked the door behind him and took out the photo album Ruan Lan had given him. The album was somewhat yellowed, clearly many years old.

He turned to the first page and saw a baby cradled in the arms of an older woman, both of them smiling. The baby was Ruan Tang. The woman was Ruan Tang's grandmother.

One month old, six months old, one year, two years, three years…

Xu Lai went through them one by one.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by a sweet, childish voice from outside. "Daddy."

He rushed to the door. That was the sweetest sound in the world, capable of melting a ten-thousand-meter-high iceberg.

He opened the door to see his daughter with her arms outstretched, her big eyes bright. "Daddy, hugs."

Xu Lai picked up Yiyi and smiled. "Why aren't you eating? Did Mommy bully you?"

"I can't eat if Daddy isn't there," Xu Yiyi said softly.

Xu Lai's heart melted. "Alright, alright, alright. Daddy will go down and eat with you, okay?"

"I don't want to." Xu Yiyi clung to Xu Lai's neck, her big eyes scanning the room. "Daddy, what's that on the bed?"

"Shh!" Xu Lai glanced over the second-floor railing into the living room. Seeing that his wife, Ruan Tang, wasn't there, he whispered, "It's your mommy's photo album."

"Ah?" Xu Yiyi said eagerly, "I want to see!"

"Let's eat first," Xu Lai said.

Xu Yiyi pouted, looking at Xu Lai with a wronged expression. "But Daddy, I want to see it now."

"Alright, alright."

Xu Lai carried his daughter into the room, but this time he didn't lock the door. He flipped the album, which he had been halfway through, back to the first page.

Xu Yiyi, sitting in Xu Lai's lap, pointed to the baby in the photo and asked, "Daddy, is this Mommy?"

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