Thanks to Yun Ge’s successful diversion of everyone’s attention from Old Xing using Luke, everyone quickly started gossiping about Luke’s budding new romance. The atmosphere of breakfast was instantly reignited with laughter.

  After breakfast, Hui Zhen stayed behind to help her sister with the cleaning at home, while Uncle Shawn, along with Lily and Yun Ge, returned to the workstation to join the other members of the Thirty-sixth Collection Team.

  Uncle Shawn officially announced the good news of Jamei’s joining the team and, after a brief introduction of Jamei, held a short morning meeting for the team members. Then, the Thirty-sixth Collection Team went back into the forest and started the day’s collection work.

  The honey collection work today was as busy as ever, but since everyone had rich experience in collection, the entire process was still carried out in an orderly manner. Of course, everyone was quite interested in their work today. The reason was that Luke and the newly joined Jamei had become the focus of everyone’s attention. Whenever people looked at the two of them, their eyes would uncontrollably reveal a strong curiosity.

  What made Luke even more speechless was that Uncle Shawn was also a person who loved to watch the lively scene 、. In order to let all the team members better enjoy the gossip, he even adjusted the number of collectors in Luke’s team, directly reducing the originally four-person collection team to only Luke and Jamei.

  Uncle Shawn claimed that this was to allow Jamei to be less influenced by others and better receive Luke’s guidance, so that she could quickly adapt to the working style of the Thirty-sixth Collection Team. But in reality, his true intention was to make Luke and Jamei the most eye-catching focus on the collection field, so that everyone could better enjoy the sweet interactions between the two.

  Today was absolutely a very tough day for Luke. Especially when his mother came to visit with tea snacks made of crushed candies, and loudly praised Jamei’s youth and beauty without considering the impact, and even held Jamei’s hand to invite her to their home for a visit tonight, so that she could try the future mother-in-law’s cooking skills in advance.

  With Luke’s matchmaking through work today, everyone felt that time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was time to get off work again, and Luke could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, Luke’s mood had only relaxed halfway when he again felt the pressure of helplessness, because he would have to take Jamei home for dinner later.

  Seeing Uncle Shawn eagerly urging Lily and Yun Ge to finish work quickly, he knew that he would definitely be the object of everyone’s teasing tonight! Luke now only hoped that everyone would show some mercy tonight and at least leave him some face in front of Jamei!

  Because it was the first time Luke had brought a girl home for dinner after so many years, the atmosphere of the dinner was still very cheerful and lively. Fortunately, everyone knew that the protagonist of the night was Luke.

  So, everyone’s overall performance tonight was quite restrained, and they all unanimously started a awkward praise mode targeting Luke, making Luke so embarrassed that he almost used his toes to scratch a three-bedroom apartment on the ground.

  Today’s dinner also lasted until late at night. Overall, everyone’s performance tonight was very satisfactory. However, the only slightly out-of-place thing was still Luke and Lily’s father, Old Xing.

  Although he was obviously more willing to talk tonight than last night, it was clear to everyone that his interest did not seem to increase with time. Moreover, when people took the initiative to communicate with Old Xing, he always put on an impatient look, which made Lily feel her father’s coldness and her mood became dim.

  Since it was already late at night, Jamei stayed and lived with Lily. The others, after teasing Luke again after Jamei left, went back to their respective rooms to rest. The next morning, Lily still woke Yun Ge up and confirmed again that Yun Ge had not lost his memory.

  Everyone still sat together to enjoy the breakfast prepared by Hui Min, and Old Xing still did not join them, but left home first with breakfast, saying that he needed to get to the office early to deal with official business.

  Seeing this, Lily sighed innocently, because she had carefully recalled her behavior in the past few days last night and confirmed again that she had not done anything to anger her father.

  Uncle Shawn, who had been staying here for the past two days, obviously noticed Lily’s disappointment and angrily slapped the table and said, “What’s wrong with Old Xing these past two days? Why does he always look like he’s half-dead?”

  “I don’t know either! Every time I ask him, he just says that he’s in a bad mood because of work. He doesn’t tell me anything else,” Hui Min said, shaking her head.

  “How about this, Old Xiao, you find some time today to have a good talk with Old Xing! Ask him why he’s been so cold to our girl these past two days?” Hui Zhen said to Uncle Shawn.

  “Sure! I’ll take the time during lunch break to talk to him. Wife, would you like to come with me? After I finish talking with Old Xing, I’ll take you to the gift shop in the town center. I heard that they’ve designed several very nice headpieces, and you can see if there’s anything you like, and I’ll buy it for you!” Uncle Shawn said eagerly, holding Hui Zhen’s hand.

  “Great! Great! I heard that the headpieces they’re launching this time are inspired by the sacrificial activities of the new year, and they’re very collectible!” Hui Zhen immediately responded with a beaming smile.

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  But the next second, Hui Zhen raised her eyebrows and then pinched Uncle Shawn’s ear and asked, “Hey! Wait a minute! Didn’t you give me all your salary? How can you still buy such expensive things? Could it be that you want me to pay for the gift you’re giving me?”

  “ Or have you secretly hidden a petty cash fund from me? Tell me the truth, or I won’t let you off easily!”

  Although Uncle Shawn’s public questioning by Auntie was quite ridiculous, everyone felt more physically uncomfortable about their public display of affection. We haven’t even finished breakfast yet, and you two are already forcing us to eat dog food? Can’t you two have some public morality and consider our feelings? Yun Ge silently complained in his heart.

  The honey collection work is essentially repetitive labor, so there’s not much to recount about the daily work content. The new combination of Luke and Jamei seemed to inject a sweet breeze into the ordinary work, making today’s atmosphere particularly filled with joy and a subtle gossip vibe.

  After Uncle Shawn confirmed that everyone was working in an orderly manner, he hurried back to Candy Town during the lunch break and went straight to the office adjacent to the town hall, preparing to have a good talk with Old Xing.

  Uncle Shawn originally said that he would return to the collection area before the end of lunch break, but by the time work was over, the team members still hadn’t seen him.So, the Thirty-sixth Collection Team returned to Candy Town under the guidance of the deputy team leader, officially declaring the end of the day’s work.

  Since Luke and Jamei were still in the early stage of their courtship, Luke decided to take Jamei for a walk and see her home after work, so that the two could further understand each other during their alone time. As a result, Yun Ge had to return home alone with Lily.

  “Mom? Dad? We’re home!” Lily pushed the door in excitedly, her call echoing in the empty house, but there was no response.

  Lily walked around the house and found no one there, so she said with a puzzled look, “Strange? It’s okay that Dad didn’t come home on time. Why isn’t Mom home either? And she didn’t even prepare dinner.”

  “Could it be that because Uncle Xiao and Auntie have been showing their affection in front of us these past two days, they also went to enjoy their own world?”

  Lily thought for a moment and said to herself, “But that shouldn’t be the case, right? If they were going to enjoy their own world, they would definitely prepare dinner in advance or let us know to eat something outside.”

  “Maybe they forgot to prepare dinner for us? Or maybe they just finished shopping and are on their way back?” Yun Ge speculated.

  Since Uncle Xiao had said in the morning that he would talk to Lily’s father at noon and then go shopping with Auntie Hui Zhen, it was possible that Lily’s father also decided to accompany Auntie Hui Min shopping to please her and enjoy their own world.

  Lily obviously thought of this quickly too, so the two of them looked at each other, then both blushed and avoided each other’s eyes. Because when they thought of “their own world,” they realized that from a certain point of view, everyone going to enjoy their own world also gave them a chance to spend some alone time together.

  Thinking of this, the atmosphere on the scene became more awkward. Because after these two days of contact, Yun Ge indeed found that he and Lily got along very well and had a relationship that was more than friends but not quite lovers.

  At least in Yun Ge’s view, he and Lily were in this kind of subtle relationship. This made Yun Ge feel more nervous at this time, so much so that he just stood there stiffly with a silly smile on his face, and his mind went blank as he didn’t know what to say.

  Finally, it was Lily, who also looked embarrassed, who spoke first, “Oh, oh dear! I really can’t do anything about them! It seems we can only make something to eat ourselves! You sit here for a while, and I’ll go to the kitchen to see if there’s anything to eat!”

  “Right! Right! Oh dear! We’ve worked all day, and if we don’t eat something, we’ll starve to death! You go prepare something to eat first! I’ll clean the house here!” Saying that, Yun Ge also hurriedly ran into the storage room, took out a cloth, and started to imitate Auntie Hui Min’s way of cleaning, wiping the dust in the house.

  One of them was busy making dinner in the kitchen, and the other was cleaning the room outside. Soon, the awkwardness in the air was eliminated, and they gradually enjoyed the current atmosphere and started chatting again.

  But just as they thought they could have a pleasant time, the front door of the house was suddenly opened. Yun Ge ran to the door and saw that the elderly woman who opened the door was Auntie Hui Min. Following her were Lily’s father, Uncle Xiao, Auntie Hui Zhen, and Luke.

  “Hey? You’re back?” Lily, who heard the sound and ran out from the kitchen, asked with a hint of disappointment in her tone.

  “Well, what else? It’s getting dark soon. If we don’t come back, are we supposed to stay outside overnight?” Old Xing responded with a slightly impatient tone.

  “Hey! How can you talk to your daughter like that? Didn’t you remember what I just said?” Seeing that Old Xing spoke to Lily in such a serious tone, Hui Min immediately turned around and knocked on his chest, then scolded him.

  “Daughter! Don’t take your dad’s words to heart! Your dad has had some problems at work, which has made him a bit irritable these past two days, and he always puts on a bad temper when talking to anyone!” Hui Min lovingly helped Lily tidy up the hair on her forehead, then explained.

  “What problem did Dad have at work? Is it serious?” Lily asked with great concern.

  Realizing that he had been rude to Lily again, Old Xing hurriedly answered with a smile, “Oh, don’t worry, daughter! These problems can’t defeat your dad! In fact, I’ve almost solved the problem! Come, come, come! My dear daughter! See what Dad bought for you?”

  Lily took the gift from her father, opened it, and immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Wow! What a beautiful headpiece!”

  “See, I told you Lily would definitely like this headpiece! Come! Auntie will help you put it on! This afternoon when we were shopping, your mom and I each bought a new headpiece.”

  “ Then, your dad said he wanted to buy one for you too. But he and Uncle Xiao, two big men, know nothing about fashion! The headpiece they initially chose for you was really ugly! If your mom and I hadn’t intervened, who knows what a mess they would have made of your appearance?” Auntie Hui Zhen said, while not forgetting to disdainfully glance at Old Xing and Uncle Xiao.

  “Hey! What are you saying! My own daughter, don’t I know what kind of headpiece suits her? Girl, don’t listen to your auntie’s nonsense! Come, let Dad help you put on the headpiece!” Old Xing retorted with a displeased look, then took the initiative to help Lily put on the headpiece.

  Uncle Xiao whistled in admiration and said, “Hey! Look at how beautiful our girl is! The man who can marry our Lily in the future will really be blessed!”

  Upon hearing this, Auntie Hui Zhen immediately poked Uncle Xiao’s stomach with her bracelet and scolded, “You talk too much! Hurry up and give the food to Lily, or our only precious daughter will be hungry!”