Ouyang Yanan quickly finished a piece of spare rib and said, "Mom, what is a home?"
"Well..." Wan Feng was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing how or from what angle to explain.
"It's just a place to eat and sleep!" said Ouyang Can, the eldest sister.
"Sis, that's far too shallow. People always say home is a warm harbor that shelters wandering souls; home is a tree like a giant umbrella, blocking the scorching summer sun; home is a refreshing drizzle that washes away the dust of exhaustion; home is an eternal longing, the stub that preserves the stubs of happiness.
That's all true, but in my mind, home is a place where one can find peace of mind; home is the only place without restraint; home is a place where one can let down their guard; home is a place free from deceit and treacherous scheming.
Outside, you have to mind your image, chew your food slowly, and weigh every word carefully. But at home, you can stuff your face, grab the bones with both hands, and gnaw away completely unconcerned with how you look. At home, you can speak without any inhibitions; you can do whatever suits your fancy and your heart's desire; when you're tired, there's a place to lie down, and when you're sad, there's family to keep you company! That is what a home truly is!"
Ouyang Yanan rattled off a long string of high-minded principles in one breath. Ye Lingtian fell into deep thought, and the Ouyang family pondered her words as well. That's right, she was right — this is what a home is!
Seeing that her speech had the desired effect, Ouyang Yanan thought to herself: Now they won't say I have no manners, right? Let me grab a big pig's trotter to gnaw on!
"Sheyoh in, zai gago bong yao tai jiun shu (So yeah, just don't be too constrained at home)!"
Seeing Ouyang Yanan with grease all over her mouth, supporting a huge pig's trotter with both hands and tearing into it wildly, everyone broke out in dark lines across their foreheads.
"So this was your real purpose all along! How did I ever give birth to such a foodie daughter?" Wan Feng shook her head and sighed.
"Pfft! Hahaha!" A second ago, Ye Lingtian had still thought her words made a lot of sense, but seeing Ouyang Yanan's completely unhinged way of eating, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Little sister, you really are a total foodie. To feed your face, you managed to rattle off such a whole bunch of high-flown theories, and I actually find myself unable to refute them!" Ouyang Can raised a hand to cover her face. Was she really sure this utter glutton was her own flesh and blood sister?
"Hahaha, right, don't be restrained at home, eat up!" Ouyang Fan said with a laugh, expressing his approval as he picked up another sweet and sour spare rib and placed it in Ouyang Yanan's bowl, overflowing with paternal love!
The meal passed amid cheerful laughter and chatter.
Seeing that everyone was almost done eating, Ouyang Yanan said, "Dad, Mom, General Manager Li just called to say we can pick a date to move in!"
"So soon? Shouldn't we air the place out for three months first before moving?" Wan Feng thought for a moment and said.
"No need, Mom. General Manager Li said he used zero-methane materials, and the furniture is completely furnished. We just need to buy a few personal items and daily necessities of our own. We can move in a day or two!"
Wan Feng said happily, "That's wonderful! Then let's start sorting our things and wash all the duvet covers, curtains, and sofa cushions for the new house!"
"Mm!"
Ye Lingtian chimed in, "Uncle, Auntie, I calculated it — three days from now is an auspicious day well-suited for moving and weddings!"
Ouyang Fan agreed, "Having Xiaotian calculate the date couldn't be better!"
Early the next morning, Wednesday. The Ouyang family finished breakfast.
Ouyang Yanan said, "Then Mom, Sis, and I will go to the new house to take things apart, wash them, and clean up. Lingtian, you come with us too!"
"Alright!"
Ouyang Yanan paused, looked at Ouyang Fan, and said, "Oh, and Dad, please make a phone call to invite Grandpa and Grandma, our uncles and aunts, Grandpa and Grandma on Mom's side, and my uncles and aunts on that side to come over to the new home for a casual meal. Let's make it lively!"
"Oh! Alright, alright!" Ouyang Fan said with reddened eyes. He had never been able to afford to build a house his entire life, but now he finally had a brand new home, and he could stand a bit straighter in front of his siblings. All of this was thanks to his daughter's good fortune. Ouyang Fan's heart was a swirl of mixed emotions.
Wan Feng also secretly wiped at her eyes.
"Alright! Let's go, action!"
The new housing estate Ouyang Yanan bought was called "Happiness Estate." In front of the building was the main national highway, but to reach the apartments one walked around to the elevators in the back. Behind the building was a small park. Since it was early summer, the trees in the park were lush and all kinds of pretty flowers were in full bloom. There were also winding paths through the woods and little pavilions — it was a wonderful place for a stroll.
"Mom, whenever you're bored in the future, you can come down here for a walk. The air is pretty good."
"Mm, the environment really is nice!"
Opening the door to room 606, it looked completely different from what they had seen three days ago. The renovated apartment was simply stunning. The decor was simple yet elegant, with pure, quiet tones, and the furniture consisted of top-tier, high-quality brands. The overall design style was classy without losing its refined taste. Ouyang Yanan was extremely satisfied.
"There really isn't much of a chemical smell at all!" Ouyang Can said with a smile.
"Now, let's pick our rooms!" Ouyang Yanan announced.
Wan Feng said, "You bought the apartment, so you should pick yours first. The rest of us can just divide up the remaining ones however. They're all the same size anyway, and every room has a window, nice and bright!"
Ouyang Yanan grinned. "Alright then! I'll choose." She pretended to think for a moment and said, "Well, Mom and Dad should take the master bedroom with the attached bathroom. The remaining three rooms are all the same size, so let's assign them by age: Eldest Sister's room will be right next to Mom and Dad's, I'll take the one directly across from Mom and Dad's, Little Brother can have the one right next to mine, and the other study has a bed, so Lingtian can use that for the time being. How does everyone think of that?"
"Yanan, you bought the apartment, how can we possibly take the master bedroom? That's not right!" Wan Feng didn't agree. She felt that being able to live in a new home was entirely due to her daughter's blessing; how could they usurp the best room?
Wan Feng was always broad-minded and reasonable.
"Little Sis, the room you assigned to me is precisely the one I wanted! Thank you!" Ouyang Can smiled sincerely!
"Hehe!" Ouyang Yanan chuckled and said, "Mom, you just said I bought the house, so how it gets divided is entirely up to me! Besides, while parents are still with us, there's no reason for the younger generation to take the master bedroom!"
"But..."
"Mom, besides, your daughter is going to be even richer in the future. Later on, we'll build a big villa, a nice four-story one with a master bedroom on every single floor. How does that sound?"
"You little brat!" Wan Feng's eyes welled with tears of deep emotion. Yet, thinking of her daughter's illness... Alas! She only hoped her daughter's great fortune would spare her!
"Well, the rooms are settled, so let's start taking things apart and washing them now! Let's see what each room is still missing, make a list, and we'll have all day tomorrow to go buy everything!"
"Great! Little Sis, then your big sister won't stand on ceremony with you!" Ouyang Can said with a mischievous grin.
Ouyang Yanan said helplessly, "Eldest Sister, when have you ever stood on ceremony?"
"Hahaha..."
After taking everything down, Mom Wan Feng and Ouyang Can were responsible for the washing, while Ouyang Yanan and Ye Lingtian were in charge of cleaning!
Starting from 12:30 PM, they cleaned and scrubbed continuously all the way until 7:30 PM before finally finishing completely!
When they got back home, Dad Ouyang Fan had already prepared a table full of dishes.
"I'm exhausted!" Ouyang Yanan said limply.
"I told you guys to come home and eat first, but you insisted on finishing everything before coming back. You didn't even eat lunch, no wonder you had no strength left to work!" Ouyang Fan scolded on the outside, but his heart was full of care.
"Alright, wash your hands and let's eat first!" Wan Feng commanded.
Dad's cooking couldn't compare to Mom's, but by this time everyone was starving, and they wolfed down a hearty meal until they were full.
After putting down her bowls and chopsticks, Ouyang Yanan suddenly remembered something. She pulled out a set of keys and said, "Almost forgot! These are the keys to the bedrooms in the new home — one for Mom and Dad, one for Sis, one for me, one for Little Brother, and one for Lingtian, there you go. And here are the front door keys, one for each of you. Little Brother's key can wait until he comes back tomorrow noon, Mom can give it to him then."
"Alright, sounds good!"
With everything arranged, Ouyang Yanan prepared to clear the bowls and chopsticks.
"Leave those!" Ouyang Fan suddenly spoke up.
"What's wrong, Dad?"
"You kids have been working hard all day. I'll take care of cleaning these up! Go take a shower and get some rest!"
"Oh, alright then! Thanks for your hard work, Dad!"
Lifting her wrist to check her watch, it was 9:15 PM. Ouyang Yanan wanted to take a bath and go to sleep too, so she didn't insist. She took a shower and went straight to her room!
"The Feng Shui here is quite good, but just to be safe, I'd better set up a defensive array. Aside from keeping out evil spirits and monsters, it will also prevent any trespassers from breaking in," Ye Lingtian stood in the living room of the new 606 apartment, looked around, and muttered softly.
As it turned out, after Ye Lingtian returned to his room, he had jumped out of the window, made his way to the new apartment, and specially set up a defensive array!
Ye Lingtian truly had incredible foresight. After he and Ouyang Yanan had left, a major incident actually occurred at the Ouyang household; if not for the protection of the array, the consequences would have been unthinkable!
Ye Lingtian had taken out several third-rank demonic beast crystal cores, embedding one in the exact center of the balconies of all four bedroom windows, one in the middle of the small bathroom window ledge, and one at the array's core (directly above the top of the main entrance frame), forming an all-encompassing Bagua defensive array. Not even a stray bird could fly in unnoticed — it was as safe as safe could be.
None of this was known to the Ouyang family. However, after moving into the new home, Wan Feng kept marveling: A new home really is different; I haven't seen a single one of those mosquitoes I hate so much, and I don't even need to put up a mosquito net when sleeping at night, and so on...
At 11:50 PM, Ye Lingtian returned to his room through the window. Just as he was adjusting his breath, Ouyang Yanan walked in!
"I knew you'd be cultivating! My room isn't convenient, so I came over to cultivate with you!"
"Alright!"
Without wasting any breath, Ouyang Yanan immediately crossed her legs and entered a meditative state of cultivation.
Ye Lingtian: "..." The ungrateful girl didn't even want to cuddle with him for a bit! Was he really that unappealing? Ye Lingtian felt a wave of frustration wash over him! He shook his head and likewise entered the state of cultivation!
Early the next morning at 6:30 AM, Thursday. A brilliant white light surged all around Ouyang Yanan's body, and Ye Lingtian instantly snapped his deep-set eyes open: This girl has broken through again! He hurriedly waved his hand and cast a barrier!
"Ha!" Ouyang Yanan let out a soft cry as the blinding light flared, directly stepping into the Realm of Refining Essence into Qi - Level 7!
"Hoo~" Exhaling a breath of stale air, Ouyang Yanan not only felt no fatigue from cultivating the entire night, but instead felt refreshed and invigorated!
"Congratulations, you've leveled up again," Ye Lingtian congratulated her.
Lifting her gaze to look at Ye Lingtian, Ouyang Yanan smiled knowingly. "Thank you for guarding me!"
"I'm naturally more than happy to be of service to my future wife!" Ye Lingtian teased.
Ouyang Yanan's fair and tender face instantly flushed red. She turned her head away and said in a low voice, "Smooth-talking!"
"I speak purely from the heart."
"Hmph! As if I'd believe that! I'm going to wash up, or Mom's going to start letting her imagination run wild later!" Ouyang Yanan grabbed an excuse and bolted — she ran away...
"Why is this wife of mine so easily embarrassed?" Ye Lingtian grinned widely, his deep eyes overflowing with gentle warmth.