The generation gap is like a chasm in the sky.

  Ye Meng, who had just hung up Zhang Jin's phone, was no longer frowning and looked radiant. Like someone with ADHD, she jumped up from the sofa, bounced around the living room a couple of times, then flopped back onto the soft couch and picked up her phone again.

  The phone had just connected, and Ye Meng couldn't wait to start chattering: "Boss, my brother-in-law hasn't come back home for the past two days, it's not like you said that he has another woman outside, but because..."

  "Is this for real? I think your brother-in-law knows how to enjoy himself, would he go to the countryside to suffer? Use your brain, don't be so easily deceived. You know, men are the best at deceiving people, especially someone like your brother-in-law who is of that age and has been married before." The voice on the other end of the phone was naturally Ye Meng's love advisor, Guo Jin Qiu, who although had never experienced romance herself, considered herself a 'love expert' through her extensive study of soap operas.

  "It's true, my brother-in-law wouldn't deceive me. He'll come pick me up soon and take me there. Think about it, if what he said before was false, would he so readily agree to take me there?" Ye Meng explained with a blissful face.

  The dating scene is like a battlefield, and Guo Jin Qiu on the dating scene is actually similar to Zhao Kuo who lost 400,000 troops of the Zhao State on the battlefield. So, regarding Ye Meng's current situation, Guo Jin Qiu who was originally confused about love problems and only knew how to talk theoretically, couldn't understand this situation either, and could only thoughtfully respond with: "Oh? Is that so?"

  Then, Guo Jin Qiu, in order to cover up his own low emotional intelligence and maintain the image of his older sister, did not dare to continue entangling himself in the topic "is it true or false". He somewhat abruptly changed the subject: "Little three, it's not me, the eldest, saying this to you. In the past, when we were at the 'Stray Pet Adoption Center', didn't we all tell you not to take the initiative to find him, but to be reserved and wait for your brother-in-law to contact you? You need to have patience in these matters, only then can you grasp the initiative? How could you not hold back for even two days and instead took the initiative to find him?"

  When she heard her sister say that, Ye Meng, who had been actively pestering her brother-in-law without any shame, also felt a bit embarrassed and stammered: "I'm just bored at home during the holidays! Second sister and Xiao Si'er went on a trip with their family, you're always attending this tutoring class or that one, no time for me. I'm so bored alone!"

  "Alright, you don't have to argue with me anymore. We're sisters, and I know you all too well. I'm sure our little sister is already lovesick." After Guo Jin Qiu pierced through Ye Meng's thoughts with one sentence, she continued in a voice that was reminiscent of memories or dreams: "But speaking of which, I still miss your brother-in-law. Every time I think about his craftsmanship, I feel like drowning myself in my own saliva."

  The two women's topic gradually shifted from food to... the "Eight Legs House" has delicious spicy crab...... Mr. Jin's seafood at the seaside is the most delicious...... Next to the "Eight Legs House", there is a new clothing store with super beautiful new styles...... The blue clothes match perfectly with white shoes...... The more they talked, the farther away they went, it was quite absurd.

  The two little girls chatted enthusiastically, their topics becoming more and more numerous, and their giggles never stopped. Even if they saw each other every day, there would always be things to talk about that couldn't be finished. After an hour and a half, Ye Meng, who was lying on the sofa, heard the sound of the key being inserted into the lock at the entrance, and she quickly ended their endless gossip, saying "Older sister, my brother-in-law is back, I won't talk to you anymore, hang up!" Before Ye Meng hung up the phone, she could still faintly hear Guo Jin's discontented scolding from the receiver that had already left her ear: "Hang up, hang up! You're a guy who values lust over friendship. When your brother-in-law comes back, you kick your sister away with one foot. I've gotten to know you! Contempt, strong contempt..."

  As Zhang Jin pushed open the door, he was met with a sweet smile from Hua, who had just hung up the phone and hastily jumped up from the sofa, accompanied by a soft and pleasant voice of reproach: "Brother-in-law~, why did you take so long to arrive?"

  Zhang Jin first raised his head to glance at the quartz clock hanging in the hall, before opening his mouth to explain: "Didn't I tell you that my current place of residence is a bit far from here? Moreover, it's already dark now, and there's still quite a long stretch of mountain road that's not easy to walk on. I'm already not slow." After explaining, he continued to ask: "Xiao Meng, you haven't finished eating yet, have you?"

  Talking about dinner, Ye Meng suddenly felt that her stomach was very hungry, nodding heavily and rubbing her small belly with a worried face, saying pitifully: "Hmm, who would have thought that you would take so long to come back, my stomach is almost starving!"

  He reached out and rubbed Ye Meng's hair, saying with a mix of heartache and doting: "Alright, it just so happens that I haven't eaten yet either before being 'summoned' by our Miss Ye. Driving all the way here, my stomach is also growling. Put on your shoes and let's go, don't be shy about what you want to eat, tonight's dinner is up to you, I'm just a human wallet."

  After hearing Zhang Jin's words, Ye Meng said excitedly: "I want to eat a big meal made by my brother-in-law!" When she said this, her long eyelashes fluttered, and her large, watery eyes shot out a multitude of stars in the direction of Zhang Jin. It was clear that this little girl had been thinking about the two delicious meals that Zhang Jin had personally cooked for her a few days ago.

  Zhang Jin looked at the greedy-looking girl in front of him with a smile, "Look at this quartz clock on the wall, it's already so late. Do you want me to cook now? I haven't been home for days, and my fridge has been empty. If I go downstairs to buy ingredients now, considering the time spent going and coming back, plus cooking, by the time I finish, it'll be at least after 9 pm. Can your stomach take it? I don't think mine can!"

  Ye Meng turned her head to glance at the clock, finding that the hour hand had almost crossed the boundary of eight o'clock. It was indeed not suitable for Zhang Jin to cook in the kitchen anymore. She couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed, and could only put on her shoes while listlessly saying: "Fine, have it your way, whatever we eat is fine!"

  Perhaps the gap between reality and expectation was too great, so although Ye Meng had her secretly admired brother-in-law by her side, and although Zhang Jin chose a restaurant that Ye Meng used to love, she still only ate a little of dinner that night, shouting that it didn't taste good while putting down her bowl and chopsticks.

  Zhang Jin loved good food, but wasn't picky. So despite the chef of this 'Jiangnan Delicacy' restaurant being far inferior to himself, a hungry Zhang Jin still wolfed down his meal in big mouthfuls.

  After getting on the car from the restaurant, Ye Meng found that Zhang Jin was driving in the direction of her home, and she quickly asked: "Sister-in-law, wrong direction... isn't it supposed to be 'Haiwoshi' village? Didn't you say Haiwoshi is in Long District?"

  "Girl, don't you see how late it is? I've told you before, the mountain road to Haiwazi Village is very difficult to walk. Not only is the road condition poor, but there are also no guardrails or streetlights along the way. It's very dangerous to drive at night, and if you're not careful, you'll end up crashing into the valley with the car. So, considering our two lives, I'd better send you back home tonight and take you to my place in Haiwazi Village tomorrow. Anyway, you're still on vacation, so it won't make a difference for half a day." Zhang Jin explained.

  Ye Meng suddenly remembered the various "men's excuses" and "men's deceptions" that her older sister had told her about, and it seemed that one of them was exactly the same as Zhang Jin's explanation and suggestion. After hesitating for a moment, Ye Meng firmly rejected Zhang Jin's suggestion: "No way. I've never been to that seaweed village, who knows if what you're saying is true or false? Maybe you haven't even been in that village these past few days, maybe you're just using this as an excuse to fool me. Then tonight when you send me back home, you can take the opportunity to slip away, and afterwards call me to tell me you have something going on and can't bring me along, or maybe you'll just disappear without a word..."

  Zhang Jin was completely baffled by Ye Meng's train of thought, which seemed to be jumping all over the place. He couldn't help but think to himself, "Indeed, the generation gap is as vast as a chasm." At the same time, he asked in surprise, "Why would I want to run away? If I had planned to run away, wouldn't it have been better for me not to come back in the first place? Is it worth going through so much trouble?"

  Although Ye Meng also felt that Zhang Jin's words were reasonable, she thought of Guo Jinqiu's repeated teachings and still refused to give in, shaking her head and saying: "No, I'm still not at ease."

  Seeing Xiao Yaotou's determined expression, Zhang Jin couldn't help but think of the "dangers" he had faced when driving here earlier. He really started to feel helpless, "Xiao Yaotou, what do you want to do? The mountain road in Haiwocun Village is really not safe at night, you know that? When I came here earlier, my back was all wet from the journey! And it wasn't even completely dark then." Although Zhang Jin's words were a bit exaggerated, the fact was that the mountain road was indeed not a safe route to take at night.

  Seeing Zhang Jin's determination, Ye Meng also felt a bit worried. After biting her fingernails for a while with a furrowed brow, she finally lit up and said with a pleased expression: "The 'Hai Wozicun' you mentioned, whether it's true or false, can be visited tomorrow too. But today I want to go home with you and stay over, so you won't be able to run away. And tomorrow we'll set off directly from your place together, no need for you to take a detour to pick me up, which will save you trouble!"

  "Suit yourself, but even if you come to my place to stay, shouldn't you at least go home and say hello to your parents first?" Zhang Jin didn't have much objection to Ye Meng's suggestion. After all, even after he and Ye Hong got divorced, this girl had stayed overnight at his place more than once or twice. Of course, the two of them weren't sleeping in the same bed or even in the same room.

  "No need to go home and bother, just make a phone call. You can turn the car around now!" Ye Meng said as she took out her mobile phone from her pocket.

  Seeing Xiao Nizi's fingers dancing nimbly on the keyboard, Zhang Jin hastily stopped her and said: "I'm telling you, even if you plan to stay at my place today, you should at least go home and bring two sets of clothes to change into?"

  Before the phone was connected, Ye Meng said with a nonchalant expression: "Alright, alright, I've been going to your house to catch you lately because I'm always sweating when I'm out and about, so I've already left a pile of spare clothes at your place, don't worry about it!"

  He was completely speechless and could only nod in agreement.

  Finally seeing Zhang Jin lower his head, Ye Meng had a triumphant smile on her face and happily spoke into the already connected phone to ask for leave from her mother.

  …………

  "What? You're going to your sister's house tonight and not coming back? Why aren't you coming home again? Are you going to go with those crazy girls from your dorm to those messy places, using this as an excuse to fool your mom?" Ye Meng's mother asked suspiciously on the other end of the phone after hearing Ye Meng's "announcement". Zhang Jin's parents were old intellectuals and had some conservative thoughts. In their eyes, neither bars nor KTVs were decent places.

  "There really isn't any, mom. I'm really going to my sister's husband's house, he said he quit his job and got a new home in the countryside, I think tomorrow morning I'll go back with him directly and visit his family." Ye Meng explained hastily.

  "Nonsense! Xiao Jin is doing well in the hospital, how could he just quit like that? You're really getting more and more muddled with age, can't even make a decent excuse..."

  …………

  After failing to explain, Ye Meng handed over the phone with a huff and said, "Brother-in-law, here. Mom doesn't believe me, you tell him instead!"

  Zhang Jin hastily parked the car by the side of the road, took over the phone, and repeatedly weighed the three titles "Mom", "Aunt" and "Auntie" in his mouth a few times before putting the phone to his ear and saying softly: "Uh... Mom, Xiao Meng didn't deceive you, let her stay at my place today!"

  Zhang Jin's long-awaited greeting not only didn't make Ye Meng's mother feel uncomfortable, but instead made her smile with joy. She hastily agreed: "You really resigned? No problem, resigning is just resigning. With our family's Xiao Jin's abilities, good jobs are everywhere! If you want to go to the countryside to clear your mind, that's fine too... after all, you're not old yet, no rush... However, it's been a long time since you came to see mom, when do you have time to come?"

  After chatting for a while, Zhang Jin finally hung up the phone with some reluctance and handed the mobile phone back to Ye Meng's hand. He was still thinking about Ye Meng's mother's warm and gentle reminder in his heart, and said with a slightly low mood: "Here you are, it's settled!"

  "Mom is like that, she's more affectionate to you than to me and my sister. I don't know who's really her biological child, humph! I'm jealous." Ye Meng said with a pout.

  On the other hand, Ye Meng's mother told Ye Meng's father about Ye Meng staying overnight at Zhang Jin's house. Ye Meng's father had no opinion except for complaining that his wife didn't let him chat with Zhang Jin for a couple of sentences. This couple never felt anything improper about Ye Meng and Zhang Jin, a single man and woman, sleeping over at the same place from start to finish. Although they also knew their second daughter had grown up into a big girl, they simply did not believe that Zhang Jin would "take advantage" of her. In their words, "This child, Zhang Jin, is good in both heart and character; as parents, we absolutely trust him."

  For Zhang Jin, a guy who isn't absolutely evil but can't be considered good either, to receive such high praise is truly baffling. I have no idea how this elderly couple, who have lived for most of their lives, could be so blind.