When she got home, An Lan took off her high heels. Looking around the apartment, her expression was one of surprise.

"This place is actually quite nice!"

She noticed a pair of men's slippers and sneakers on the shoe cabinet. They must belong to Zhang Yuxi's "boyfriend," she thought.

The two of them put the groceries they had bought in the kitchen. Zhang Yuxi then ran to the bedroom and changed into some comfortable loungewear. An Lan didn't feel like a guest, so she started looking around the apartment. The layout was well-proportioned and the decor was lovely, perfectly matching An Lan's taste.

When she reached the balcony, she found it had a view of the Pearl River at night. The streetlights were winking on one by one, creating a beautiful scene. An Lan also noticed that the clothes rack on the balcony was full of baby clothes. They were packed densely together—at least ten outfits!

Back when Zhang Yuxi left Modu for Yangcheng to drown her sorrows, all An Lan knew was that her friend had gotten pregnant by accident. She had no idea how many babies Zhang Yuxi had actually given birth to.

Seeing Zhang Yuxi come over, An Lan asked curiously, "When I visit other friends with kids, their homes are always a mess. But your place is spotless! Did you hire a nanny?"

Zhang Yuxi smiled. "A nanny?"

At this, An Lan immediately clamped her mouth shut, afraid she had said the wrong thing and offended Zhang Yuxi.

"The babies' father tidies up," Zhang Yuxi said lightly, a happy smile on her face.

An Lan's pupils contracted. She asked in utter shock, "The babies' dad? Is he... the biological father... or a white knight?"

That was another reason she and Zhang Yuxi had a falling out. The baby's father was nowhere to be found, yet Zhang Yuxi had insisted on having the child.

Zhang Yuxi looked somewhat speechless and sighed. "Of course, he's the biological father! Not long after I gave birth to the babies, I ran into him again..."

An Lan didn't know much about what had happened two years ago. She only knew that after returning from studying abroad, Zhang Yuxi had discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her. That's why she had fled to Yangcheng to drown her sorrows, which led to everything that followed. Hearing the story now, she could only feel that fate had a twisted sense of humor.

After listening to Zhang Yuxi, An Lan suddenly realized a very critical problem. "Yu Xi... What does the babies' father do for a living? How much does he earn a month? Does he own a house in Yangcheng?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuxi seemed hesitant to speak.

Seeing this, An Lan's heart skipped a beat. "Is he a wage-earner?"

It wasn't clear if she was trying to comfort Zhang Yuxi or herself, but An Lan quickly added, "That's fine! As long as he's ambitious and hardworking, that's what matters!"

"An Lan, you know I'm a teacher, right?" Zhang Yuxi glanced at her.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"He's... my student," Zhang Yuxi said lightly.

Hearing this, An Lan was stunned. Her eyes, framed by false eyelashes, grew as wide as saucers.

"Stu... student?!" she stammered. "Doesn't that mean he's younger than you, and you have to take care of him?"

An Lan looked at Zhang Yuxi with an incredulous expression, completely dumbfounded.

Zhang Yuxi shook her head and explained, "He's a student, yes, but he's the one who takes care of me and the babies!"

"So what's your plan now? He's still a student, so you can't rely solely on your income to support the family. How will that work? Raising children costs a fortune. Between that and the rent, your monthly expenses must be at least twenty or thirty thousand, right? You're teaching at a university—how much do you even make a month? If you're supporting everyone on your own, aren't you going to work yourself to death?" An Lan fired off a volley of questions, deeply concerned for Zhang Yuxi.

Zhang Yuxi poured her a glass of water. "Don't get so worked up. Here, have some water and calm down."

An Lan picked up the glass and took a few large gulps. "How can I calm down? If the babies' father were wealthy, that would be one thing! But he's still a student. He can't even support himself, so what can he possibly do to support you? You were raised in the lap of luxury, and now life has forced you into this. How do you expect me to feel good about that?"

Just then, Zhang Yuxi's phone rang. It was Lin Feng.

"Honey, I'm driving the babies home now. The weather looks like it's about to turn. Don't forget to grab the babies' clothes from the balcony, okay?"

Zhang Yuxi smiled. "Okay, I'll go get them now."

Watching this exchange, An Lan felt a surge of irritation. Things are this bad... and you still think this is sweet? I feel like everything I just said was a complete waste of breath!

After hanging up, Zhang Yuxi glanced outside. The weather was indeed starting to turn, so she hurried to the balcony to bring in the laundry. An Lan quickly went over to help and was surprised to find that names were written on the clothes.

"First Treasure, Second Treasure... and there's a Third Treasure?" As An Lan collected the clothes, her expression grew more and more shocked. When she got to the Fourth Treasure's clothes, she felt completely numb. She stared at Zhang Yuxi in utter disbelief. "Yu Xi, just how many babies did you have?"

At this question, Zhang Yuxi seemed a bit embarrassed and held up four fingers. "I gave birth to quadruplets..."

An Lan was utterly floored. "Yu Xi? You're incredible! You actually had four?"

Zhang Yuxi gave An Lan a stern glare.

An Lan hurriedly explained, "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that! It's a compliment!"

But this only made An Lan more worried. Raising one baby was expensive enough. Raising four at once? They'd go bankrupt for sure! "Yu Xi, you..."

"I know what you want to say, but... things aren't as bad as you think!" Zhang Yuxi gathered the clothes and walked into the bedroom.

An Lan followed behind her. As Zhang Yuxi sorted the clothes, she told An Lan about what had happened over the past two years. When An Lan heard the story behind the apartment, her expression turned to one of shock.

"Yu Xi, you're saying this apartment belongs to the babies' father?"

Zhang Yuxi nodded. "Not just the apartment, the car we're driving now belongs to the babies' father too. Moreover, Lin Feng and his roommate started a baby clothing store together. The business is booming. On its opening day yesterday, they had a net profit of fifty thousand!"

Hearing this, An Lan was even more shocked. "A net profit of fifty thousand?"

Even though her family was very wealthy, with a chain of restaurants valued at over one hundred million, for a small clothing store to have a net profit of fifty thousand in a single day was still a terrifying prospect.

Zhang Yuxi nodded and continued, "Besides that, Lin Feng takes great care of me and the babies. Every morning, he gets up to make me breakfast, and when I get home from work, a hot meal is already waiting for me. I see all the effort he puts into me and the babies. I believe our lives will only get better and better!"

Upon hearing this, An Lan fell silent. After a long while, she spoke softly, "Yeah, I believe he's a good man." To be willing to sacrifice his own ambitions for his family... Men like that are one in a million.

"Yu Xi... I have something else I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember Lu Boyu?"

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Yuxi's expression turned sour. Lu Boyu was her ex-boyfriend, introduced to her by her mother. They had only known each other for a short while before Zhang Yuxi went abroad to study. By the time she returned, a series of unpleasant events had already unfolded.

Seeing Zhang Yuxi's face darken, An Lan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Du Qian is with Lu Boyu now."

Du Qian had also been one of Zhang Yuxi's best friends. Before Yu Xi went abroad, the three of them—Yu Xi, An Lan, and Du Qian—were inseparable. But while Zhang Yuxi was away, Du Qian got together with Lu Boyu. An Lan, disgusted by Du Qian's betrayal, had a huge falling out with her and cut off all contact. Zhang Yuxi herself only learned the truth after returning to the country, and the shock of the betrayal is what sent her fleeing from Modu to Yangcheng to drink herself into a stupor. On the day Zhang Yuxi got drunk, Du Qian had actually been there as well, but she left before Lin Feng arrived.

"An Lan, I've already let go of that matter," Zhang Yuxi said. "Even if they get married, it has nothing to do with me. All I want now is to live my life, raise my four treasures, and not think about anything else..."

But An Lan wasn't willing to let it go so easily. "Yu Xi, you might be able to stomach this, but I can't. I even suspect..."

An Lan stopped abruptly.

"Suspect what?" Zhang Yuxi asked curiously.

"Nothing... it's nothing." An Lan shook her head and then changed the subject. "When will the babies' dad be back? I want to see what he looks like."

At the mention of Lin Feng, Zhang Yuxi's eyes lit up. "The babies' dad is very handsome, you know!"

Seeing Zhang Yuxi's lovestruck expression, An Lan was skeptical. "Please. I'm An Lan. In my time, I've dated at least eight, if not ten, handsome guys!"

I'm dying to see just how handsome this guy is, handsome enough to capture the heart of Modu's number one goddess.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.