Chapter 1513: Three-Day Home Leave

He picked up Yueyue and gently tapped her nose: "Yueyue is so well-behaved, you're getting prettier as you grow."

"Yueyue is the prettiest." The little girl was very confident.

"Right, our Yueyue is the prettiest. Second Brother brought you a gift, want to see if you like it?"

Litian held his younger sister with one arm, opened his suitcase with the other, and took out a beautifully wrapped large box from inside.

Inside the box was a Barbie doll, exactly the kind of thing a girl that age would like.

Once Yueyue saw the gift, Second Brother was no longer important.

Shi Youxuan had the nanny take Yueyue away, and she instructed the servants to clean Litian's room and prepare a sumptuous meal.

Zichen and his brothers had gone to the basketball court to play, and Shi Youxuan was about to call them back, but Litian said there was no need; he had already spoken to his eldest brother before arriving home, and they would be home soon.

The mother and son sat on the sofa talking.

Shi Youxuan said with a heartache: "The military is too inhumane, only three days of home leave..."

But she quickly cheered up again, smiling: "It's fine, three days is three days, even one day would be good..." She hadn't seen her son for a full year; no matter how she looked at him, he was wonderful. First she was happy, then she felt heartache.

"You've tanned, you must have suffered a lot out there, your hands are so rough."

"It's okay, Mom. Didn't you often say that to achieve great things, one must endure hardship in their muscles and bones, and hunger in their skin? The little bit of suffering I've endured out there is nothing. The important thing is that I've learned a lot..."

Litian had changed since returning this time.

He had become much more talkative and cheerful.

"Second Brother."

"We're back."

"Litian, Litian..."

Before the three brothers had even entered the house, their voices arrived, filled with joy and happiness.

"Eldest Brother, Zirui, Zihan!"

Once the four brothers were gathered together, there was nothing left for their mother to do.

She went to the kitchen to see how the meal was coming along.

The brothers were chatting in the living room, their laughter and chatter almost blowing the roof off.

The kitchen was far from the living room, but even in the kitchen, one could hear the children's laughter!

Soon, Sheng Hanyu and Shi Ran's family of four also returned.

The Sheng Family was finally reunited.

All the children in the family were gathered, and even the children had children of their own.

Shi Ran now had Shi Yuan and Yun Heyu.

Everyone noticed that Litian was much more cheerful than before; he used to dislike talking and often had no presence in crowded settings.

But now he had a rather eloquent air about him, speaking freely and fluently!

Shi Youxuan, standing to the side, secretly wiped away tears.

Her husband handed her a tissue box: "Look at you, everyone is happy on this reunion day, what are you crying for?"

"You're silly, I'm happy."

"Shouldn't you be laughing if you're happy?"

"Do you understand what it means to be moved to tears of joy?"

"Fine, you win!"

When it came to bickering, Sheng Hanyu was never a match for her.

The brothers surrounded Litian, constantly asking about what happened in the military, their hearts filled with longing.

Zihan asked Litian: "Second Brother, what do you think if I go join the army too?"

"When do you want to go?"

Zihan rubbed his hands in excitement: "Didn't some famous person say, 'fame should be sought early'? I might as well go now, the sooner the better."

Litian answered honestly: "No, don't be impulsive and go wherever your head tells you. As for joining the army, wait until you get into university."

"Why?"

Zihan was unconvinced: "You can join the army in high school too, I want to join now!"

He was a person with a romantic temperament, and he always liked to imagine the unknown as something very beautiful.

His eldest brother kindly reminded him: "You can't handle the hardships of the military. Have you forgotten when you went to learn martial arts with your Second Brother?"

When they were children, once they did something wrong and had to face punishment, Litian volunteered to go learn martial arts from Nianyin.

Zihan thought it was a good gig and wanted to go too, but he ended up exhausted and crying before half a day had passed.

"When did I ever learn martial arts?" He had indeed forgotten and couldn't recall it.

If there was anyone who understood Zihan best, it had to be Zirui. Zirui used only one sentence to make him consider backing out.

Zirui said: "There are no women where Second Brother is stationed, not a single one."

"Then forget it. Actually, I think Second Brother is right; it's not too late to join the army after university." Zihan changed his mind immediately, and everyone burst into laughter.

On Litian's second day at home, he found his mother as if he had something to tell her, but he felt too embarrassed to say it.

He was hesitant and stammering.

Shi Youxuan asked: "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Mm."

"Go ahead."

"I'm afraid you'll be angry."

Shi Youxuan said: "If you hide it from me now, won't I be even angrier when I find out for myself?"

Litian no longer hesitated.

He told his mother that Lu Feifei was now his girlfriend.

Shi Youxuan did not speak, her expression very serious; clearly, she did not agree!

"Mom, what are your thoughts?"

Shi Youxuan said crossly, "Can't you tell what I'm thinking? I don't really approve of you dating Lu Feifei; have you forgotten the hurt she caused you back then?"

Shi Youxuan did not understand everything that happened to Lu Feifei in university, so it was normal for her to have misunderstandings, which Litian could understand and patiently explained.

"Mom, Feifei is truly a good girl. Many things have happened to her during this time that can prove she is a good girl at heart, and Big Brother can also testify to that."

"Both of us are sincere in this relationship; she likes me, and I like her. It won't affect the relationship between us brothers..."

Even though he said this, Shi Youxuan still did not want to agree.

She tried to persuade her son: "Litian, the military doesn't allow dating, right? There's no rush for your personal affairs. You are still young, and it will be in time to consider these things later..."

Shi Youxuan adopted a roundabout strategy.

But Litian was stubborn; he did not hear that his mother wanted to use a delaying tactic, but instead asked with pleasant surprise: "Do you mean that after a few more years, you won't oppose Feifei and me anymore, right?"

Shi Youxuan:...

That was not what she meant.

She suddenly realized that using a delaying tactic against Litian was the wrong approach.

Litian was stubborn; as long as you gave him a promise, he would remember it for a lifetime!

So Shi Youxuan immediately denied it: "I won't agree to you two being together in a few years either. There are so many good girls, why must you fixate on Lu Feifei?"

"I don't know, I just like her," Litian said in a small voice.

"Let's talk about this later. You are both still young, and besides, the military doesn't allow dating." Shi Youxuan vaguely pushed it off; until she could think of a better way, she could only shelve it for now.

Litian was leaving that afternoon, and Shi Youxuan found it strange: "Isn't it a three-day leave? Why are you leaving so early?"

"I want to go back to school to see my teacher; I haven't seen Teacher Li in a long time."

"I don't object to you seeing your teacher, but I'm afraid it's not just to see the teacher, is it?"

Litian: "How about you come with me?"