Lu Zhenping walked out of the hospital, his chest still heaving with anger. Looking at Shen Meng's calm demeanor, he felt overwhelming guilt. If he hadn't agreed to come to Beijing, Shen Meng wouldn't have suffered these grievances.

"Xiao Meng, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you to Beijing. Don't worry, I won't let the wrongs you suffered today go unaddressed."

"It's okay, it's not really grievances. Didn't I fight back? She can say whatever she wants. In the end, it won't be me who's looked down upon. We'll live our own lives."

Lu Zhenping reached out to touch Shen Meng's hair, held her hand, and started walking towards the roadside. Seeing a tricycle not far away, he waved his hand to hail it.

"Zhenping, Zhenping, wait a moment. Sister-in-law, don't rush off. I have a car. Wherever you want to go, I'll give you a ride!"

Bai Yan came running out, almost not catching up with them.

He let out a long breath, and the tricycle also rode over.

"Are you guys leaving or not, comrade?"

"Yes, Xiao Meng, get on the car first."

Shen Meng nodded to him, got on the car, and seeing that the two of them wanted to talk, she took out a handful of White Rabbit candies from her bag.

"Driver, please wait a moment. We're here to visit a patient and need to give some instructions. We'll leave shortly."

"Oh, you're too polite. It's fine, waiting a moment is no problem."

Bai Yan looked at Lu Zhenping apologetically, feeling a bit awkward inside. He hadn't done anything wrong himself, but somehow he felt embarrassed.

"Um, where are you going? I'll drive you. You've come all the way to Beijing, and on the very first day, something like this happens. I feel bad too. While you're in Beijing these few days, if you need anything, just let me know."

Bai Shan and Commander Bai also hurried out, and seeing them talking at the entrance, quickly walked over.

"Zhenping, Bai Yan is right. The attitude of the Yuan Family isn't the attitude of the Bai Family. This morning, your aunt really wanted to come visit you, but she wasn't feeling well. You've met her in the army and had meals together; you know what she's like. How about this, come over for dinner tonight. You've been out since early morning. You can rest or come over."

Commander Bai waved at him, not wanting to force him.

Bai Shan quickly added, fearing his refusal, "Sister-in-law, come for dinner tonight. Grandfather and Grandmother haven't been able to see Zhenping. They have left some things for him. Out of respect for the deceased, come by and have a look. At least see what Grandfather and Grandmother left for you. Even if you don't want them, you can leave them for Ming Kai, as something the great-grandparents left for the child. Is that okay?"

Lu Zhenping turned to look at Shen Meng, who subtly nodded. She had heard that Commander Bai, whether during his time in the army or as a policeman in the Provincial City, had always been good to him, openly and secretly. The children, like Mingyang, were growing up. Even if they didn't want to recognize them back into the family, they could still treat them as relatives.

All of this was based on the premise that they approached Lu Zhenping with feelings of guilt, love, and a desire to make amends.

Of course, she was also considering strategically. Since now Lu Zhenping had a very soft heart, and these family members used to be inconsequential to him, but not anymore. He now had children to think about their future.

"Okay, Xiao Meng and I still have things to do, so we'll leave for now. We'll come by later."

"Alright, alright, I'll have Bai Yan pick you up. How about four o'clock? Bai Yan will meet you at the guesthouse."

After leaving the hospital, Lu Zhenping and Shen Meng had the tricycle driver take them around in the old neighborhoods of Beijing, wandering through the streets and alleys.

The driver understood from Shen Meng's words that they were inquiring about the prices of houses in Beijing. Apart from the old neighborhoods, they also visited the area under the Imperial City twice. Shen Meng wasn't impressed by some of the old alleyways.

What she wanted to buy was a large courtyard, not interested in small, individual rooms.

"Oh my, to be honest, these past couple of years, returning educated youths don't have jobs, and there's a wave of unemployed youth around Beijing all the time. Every day, people are fighting around Houhai. Housing is very tight, but I've heard that there's a policy coming out from above to build commercial housing to solve employment and housing problems for the population. The kind of quadrangle courtyard you want to buy won't be available until a couple of years."

This wasn't what Shen Meng wanted. She intended to buy two sets this year or next year, putting them under Lu Mingkai's name. Although the kid wasn't reliable now, she could see that he had a special organizational and leadership ability, making it best for him to develop in Beijing in the future.

As for Mingyang's children, she had other arrangements. The kids are growing up and have their own ideas. As a parent, she just wanted to leave them the best possible backup, an extra layer of security.

At noon, they treated the tricycle driver to a meal and went back to the guesthouse to rest until three-thirty, then got up to freshen up.

By the time they went down from the guesthouse, Bai Yan was already waiting for them.

"The household is already bustling. They know sister-in-law loves spicy food, so they prepared some dishes. My mom is cooking personally. Oh my, it's been years since she has cooked. You guys are lucky."

"Is Mrs. Bai feeling better nowadays?"

Bai Yan paused for a moment, hearing Shen Meng's polite address, then smiled and said, "Much better. When she heard you were coming for dinner tonight, she couldn't contain her happiness, feeling much better."

"That's good."

Shen Meng placed her bag on a nearby chair casually; Bai Yan didn't mind.

At the Bai Family residence, as soon as Lu Zhenping and Shen Meng got off the car, they saw everyone from the Bai Family waiting at the courtyard gate. Although it was a family compound, the environment was quiet and highly private.

"Zhenping is here, and this must be Xiao Meng. I've wanted to visit you, but my health wasn't cooperative. Luckily, you've come to Beijing. Otherwise, I wouldn't know when I could see you."

"Auntie, don't say that. It should be me and Zhenping visiting you."

Lu Zhenping turned his head to glance at her, then looked at Mou Feng and said, "Auntie."

At his words, the Bai Family's faces lit up with joy. Commander Bai even found his eyes wet for a moment, fearing the younger ones would tease him, he quickly blinked, pinched the corners of his eyes to wipe away tears.

"Come, come, come, let's talk inside."

"Yes, yes, yes, see me, too happy and forgot to welcome. Xiao Meng, Zhenping, come, follow your aunt inside."

In the living room, the housekeeper served hot tea. Everyone sat in the living room, treating Shen Meng and Lu Zhenping like precious guests, cautiously serious, afraid to do or say anything wrong to upset them.

"These are from our hometown, not worth much, but a token of our goodwill. You can use them when making soup to nourish your body."

Shen Meng took out two pieces of old ginseng and one piece of lingzhi from her bag. Besides these items, there were several gift boxes containing some of the most advanced watches from this era, pearl necklaces, and perfume skincare products, one for each person.

For Commander Bai, there was a smoking pipe, handmade, which he loved dearly the moment he held it.