While Jinhu's upper circles were in an uproar over the two major cases, Aaron returned to Old Yu's house as though nothing had happened.
Early that morning, when he pushed open his door, he saw Yu Yu.
"Mr. Bai, you're up! I went to the shop at the street corner that you like best and bought pan-fried buns and soy milk. Let's eat together."
Yu Yu had clearly dressed up and was even wearing lipstick.
As she busied herself inviting Aaron to breakfast, anticipation was plain in her eyes.
Beside them, Old Yu opened his mouth, yet could not bring himself to voice any objection.
After all, he was an honest man. He did not possess the later generations' mindset that the debtor was the one who acted like an uncle. Now that he had borrowed someone else's money, he was feeling guilty.
"No... I have an appointment."
Aaron smiled and politely declined, then looked at Old Yu. "I may have to leave for a while soon..."
"Th-this..." Old Yu's hand trembled, thinking Aaron was about to press him for repayment.
To his surprise, Aaron merely smiled. "There's no rush to repay what you owe. If you gather enough someday, you can take it to Mr. Shi Mingsi at Hongshang Publishing House!"
"I'll remember that." Old Yu let out a long breath inwardly, then asked curiously, "Where are you planning to go, Mr. Bai?"
"I'm planning to return to my hometown. After all, I've been away for a long time."
Aaron sighed.
Other people's sons went out into the world, made a name for themselves, even rebelled—and when they returned, they had become entirely different people.
How could something like that ever be explained clearly?
But since Jinhu could no longer accommodate him, there was no harm in going back