Anning went over and took Liu Xia’s arm, joking and laughing with her as they went home. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Qu Zhen saw how close Anning and Liu Xia were and helplessly spread his hands, whispering to Liu Xia, "My sister usually talks a lot, but today she clams up when she sees you, not saying much at all."

With a smile, Liu Xia asked Anning, "You’re not from the Capital, right? Are you still in school?"

Anning nodded, "My home is in Hai City. I’m a sophomore now, but I’ve just taken a break from school."

"Right."

Anning remembered something and looked at Qu Zhen, "I recall my uncle mentioned that when my grandfather was alive, he bought a piece of land intending to build a Chinese-style courtyard. Coincidentally, my boyfriend studies this field, so when I came this time, I had him draw up some plans. Later, you can drive me to get the plans before heading home."

"Your boyfriend?"

Qu Zhen frowned, full of disapproval, "You’re so young and already dating. You’re starting an early romance..."

"Ahem, ahem."

Liu Xia gave a heavy cough, "Don’t say that, remember when you tried to pursue me in high school."

Qu Zhen’s face turned beet red.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they went upstairs.

The Liu family lived on the third floor, quite a decent tier.

However, when these old-style buildings were constructed, the space was quite limited.

When the Liu family received their apartment, Father Liu supplemented the cost, so their apartment was reasonably sized at around seventy square meters.

The seventy-square-meter apartment was divided into three bedrooms and a living room, each room pathetically small.

Anyway, when Anning followed Qu Zhen inside, she felt a bit cramped with so many people sitting in the living room.

Madam Liu saw Qu Zhen come in and quickly greeted with a smile, "Qu is here, quickly have a seat. You sit for a while, and we’ll eat soon."

Then, Madam Liu spotted Anning.

"Mom, this is Qu Zhen’s sister." Liu Xia quickly went to introduce, "We happened to meet on our way here, so I invited her to come over for a meal."

Upon hearing she was Qu Zhen’s sister, Madam Liu was particularly warm, "The little girl is so pretty, quickly sit down. Look at how small and messy our house is..."

Anning greeted Madam Liu with a smile, "Hello, Auntie, I’m sorry for visiting without notifying you."

Madam Liu waved her hand, "No worries, no worries. I’m happy you’re here, please sit."

Anning sat on the sofa and smiled at the already stunned Liu Feifei, "Hello."

Liu Feifei also smiled, but her smile was painfully stiff.

"Wait a moment while I serve the dishes."

Madam Liu said to Qu Zhen and Anning, then headed into the kitchen.

Liu Xia followed her in.

As soon as Madam Liu got into the kitchen, she asked Liu Xia, "What’s with that little girl? Didn’t you say Qu Zhen’s family had only him, where did this sister come from?"

Liu Xia explained, "She’s his aunt’s daughter, their family’s in Hai City. She happened to be here for some affairs, she was wandering around today, got lost near us, and fortunately bumped into me and Qu Zhen. So hungry was the little girl that I invited her to our home for a meal."

Madam Liu nodded upon hearing this, "Good to know the relation; they are genuine relatives, so we should treat her well."

She patted her chest, "That scared me; I thought she might be some neighbor girl of Qu Zhen’s. Such childhood friend relationships can be risky."

Liu Xia burst into laughter, "Mom, what are you thinking? Qu Zhen is very proper and not the type to fool around."

Anning sat beside Liu Feifei, smiling as she appeared to chat with Liu Feifei, but secretly she used her Divine Soul to pull out the alien soul, while injecting a thread of vitality into Liu Feifei’s original weakened soul.

Liu Feifei chatted for a bit before leaning on the sofa and closing her eyes.

Liu Xia came out of the kitchen just then, saw what happened, and laughingly scolded, "This night owl, who knows where she played yesterday evening, to be this sleepy now."

Anning said to Liu Xia, "Why not help her back to her room to sleep? She seems really uncomfortable with this tiredness."

Liu Xia agreed, and Anning lent a hand, helping Liu Feifei to her bedroom.

When she came back out, Anning had a grayish lump in her palm, which she tossed to An Xin, "Eat it quickly."

An Xin truly didn’t want to eat it, but fearing the alien soul might escape again, causing chaos in someone else’s life, she reluctantly swallowed the gray lump despite her disgust.

Having eaten, An Xin complained to Anning, "Don’t you love me anymore? I realize you have no place for me in your heart now; it’s all about that little demon Xiao Yuan. Boohoo, boohoo, I’ve fallen from favor, and you make me eat such awful things. A few years ago, who promised everything to me and gave me so many delicious treats? Now that you have someone new, you forget the old, you heartless woman, you..."

Anning sat down with Liu Xia and started chatting, rolling her eyes at An Xin within her sea of consciousness, "Calm down. In this world, I’ll earn Merit for you, okay."

Upon hearing there’s Merit to enjoy, An Xin immediately smiled, eager to please Anning by massaging her back, "Ningning, you’ve worked so hard, oh, I love you the most. It doesn’t matter if you don’t treat me well; I don’t care as long as Ningning is alright. By the way, about the Merit..."

This guy.

Anning couldn’t help but feel amused yet exasperated.

When Mr. Liu returned, they all sat around the table to eat.

Liu Feifei woke up during the meal, yet still blurry-eyed. She didn’t eat, simply greeted everyone and went back to sleep again.

After finishing the meal at Liu’s home, Anning and Qu Zhen took their leave.

Qu Zhen drove Anning to the Science Academy to pick up the blueprints and some items before heading to the Qu family.

Fengtai Village

Si Linna found the village head and talked about Anning and Xiao Yuan’s marriage.

"My sister wants to marry from our village. You also know we don’t have any elders, so we need you to preside over this."

The village head instantly smiled upon hearing this, "That’s great news! Don’t worry, I’ll gather some experienced folks to prepare everything perfectly for you."

Just then, the village head’s wife entered, saw Si Linna, and smiled, "Lina’s here, just in time, there’s something I want to tell you."

"Aunt, what’s the matter?"

Si Linna stood up and asked.

The village head’s wife asked Si Linna, "Are you considering finding someone else? Coincidentally, there’s someone suitable; they’ve asked me to inquire about it."

Si Linna immediately waved her hand, "Aunt, I’m not in the mindset for that now; I just want to focus on my career."

The village head’s wife felt it was a pity, but since Si Linna wasn’t interested, she didn’t insist, "Okay then, I’ll let them know."

Returning to Anning’s matter, the village head’s wife beamed with delight, "This is a grand event, we must organize it well. I’ll gather some people to make a few quilts for Ningning and prepare the dowry."

Si Linna got a bit worried thinking about the dowry.

All the money they had was invested, and they hadn’t seen much return yet, leaving little to prepare a dowry for Anning.

Si Linna thought about selling the house in Hai City to add something for Anning.