After the meal, Shen Rong took Lin Yan and Xu Haoran to the guesthouse.
At the guesthouse, Xu Haoran handed Shen Rong the gifts Lin Yan had bought for her.
"The things I brought back were just some snacks I bought casually. I know they don't really welcome me anyway. These were specifically bought for you by Yan Yan, and she spent a long time picking them out!"
Xu Haoran took credit for Lin Yan, "Yan Yan knew she was coming to see you, so she specifically took leave to buy you gifts."
"I know, thank you Yan Yan!" Shen Rong looked at the two of them, feeling particularly gratified.
She only had this one son, and seeing him happy was enough for her.
Moreover, her daughter-in-law was beautiful, highly educated, had a good job, and most importantly, her son liked her.
From childhood, her son had never shown any particular preference for anything, or perhaps it was because she was too busy and didn't notice.
Shen Rong felt she had failed her son, and it wasn't until today that she realized how much hardship her son had endured without her knowledge.
"Mom, if you have time, you can come to our place to relax. You can taste Commander Xu's cooking then." Lin Yan, noticing Shen Rong's low spirits, quickly changed the subject.
"Xiao Ran can cook?" Shen Rong was surprised.
"It's a newly discovered skill. Yan Yan and I are both busy, so we usually eat at the mess hall," Xu Haoran explained.
"But we can't eat there every day, so we learned to cook ourselves. I didn't expect Yan Yan to have no talent for it, but I, on the other hand, cook exceptionally well."
Lin Yan smiled gently at Xu Haoran. In fact, it wasn't that she couldn't cook, but he simply didn't give her the chance to try.
This man had always tried his best to treat her well and always protected her in front of his mother.
"Then when I have free time, I'll come and stay with you for a few days and taste your cooking!" Shen Rong could obviously see Xu Haoran's protectiveness towards Lin Yan.
But she felt no discomfort. After all, her own marriage hadn't been very happy, but she hoped her son's marriage would always be happy.
Back at the military region, Lin Yan became busy again. She now held a pivotal position in the research institute.
Especially since many of her ideas and suggestions were highly constructive. Their ordnance depot and several affiliated military factories had developed exceptionally well.
While many ordnance depots were struggling to stay afloat due to their self-funded operations, their ordnance depot was thriving.
One day, Lin Yan had just arrived at the research institute and hadn't been seated for long when she received a call from her mother-in-law.
She had given her mother-in-law the number to her office phone for easy contact, as she spent most of her time there.
"Yan Yan, I'm planning to come to your place for a few days to relax in a couple of days." Shen Rong's tone was casual.
"That's great, Mom. I'll pack a room for you when I get home tonight." Lin Yan pretended not to notice Shen Rong's unusual tone.
"Mom, how long can you stay here? I just finished a project recently and have some free time."
"I can probably stay for quite a while. Don't you two get tired of me then," Shen Rong said with a smile in her voice.
"How could we be tired of you! Mom, we'd be overjoyed if you came!"
"But Mom, why do you suddenly have a vacation?" Lin Yan asked cautiously.
"I've separated from that Commander Xu. My dormitory hasn't been approved yet, so I was planning to stay with you for a few days until my work is transferred over. Then I'll come back."
Just as she thought, Lin Yan mused. However, her mother-in-law was quite decisive. It was much wiser to cut losses promptly than to suffer together.
"Then I'll take a few days off to accompany you and help you relax, no Xu Haoran!" Lin Yan said with a smile.
"Alright, I've bought my ticket for tomorrow. I should arrive the day after tomorrow!"
"Then Xu Haoran and I will come to the station to pick you up."
After Lin Yan hung up the phone, she began to consider what items they needed to purchase. After all, it was her mother-in-law's first visit, so they had to prepare everything.
That evening, Lin Yan mentioned it to Xu Haoran. Xu Haoran was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with relief.
"As long as she's happy. I'll tidy up the spare bedroom tomorrow, and we can go together to see what we can prepare for her."
"Okay. It's Mom's first time here, so we have to make her happy." Lin Yan said, "I'll take some time off to go out with Mom."
"Then I'll see if I can take some time off too," Xu Haoran quickly added.
"You're not coming, it's just us!"
"Alright then, bring more money." Since he couldn't be there, he could only provide financial support. "Buy whatever you want."
"Don't worry, we have money!" She and her mother-in-law both had salaries and weren't short of money.
When Shen Rong arrived, they accompanied her to tour their living environment and even cooked a grand meal for her.
Looking at the two of them cooperating so well, although there were no intimate gestures, one could tell at a glance that their relationship was very good.
This was true marriage. She hadn't achieved it, but her son had.
Lin Yan and Xu Haoran didn't ask Shen Rong what had happened and instead devoted their attention to accompanying her. Truly helping her relax.
By the time her vacation ended and she was about to leave, Shen Rong was somewhat reluctant to go.
But she still had her job. Before taking leave, she had applied for a transfer, which had now been approved.
She was transferred to a county in the south to be the director of the education bureau. It wasn't a wealthy county, and it was far from the center of power.
Most importantly, she and Xu's father would be in the north and south of the country respectively. If nothing unexpected happened, they would never see each other again in this lifetime.
She felt it was for the best. She hadn't taken anything from Xu's father, only her own belongings.
She didn't want her son to be pointed at and told that everything he had was due to his father.
Shen Rong left everything belonging to Xu's father to his other two children. She wanted to see how far his favored children would go.
Shen Rong's departure was very resolute, and her move was thorough. They had been introduced by an organization, and the person who introduced them had since passed away.
They no longer had to consider others' opinions. Xu's father's comrades tried to persuade her, but Shen Rong's attitude was too firm, and no one could sway her.
After obtaining the divorce certificate, Shen Rong packed her belongings and headed south.
Xu's father sat in the empty house, not understanding why things had turned out this way.
He didn't feel he had done anything wrong. Xu Zheng and Xu Qing were children from his first marriage.
They had suffered a lot together, and his first wife had passed away early, so he naturally had to take good care of their children.
Furthermore, Xu Haoran had a mother to look after him, but Xu Qing and Xu Zheng did not. If he, their father, didn't look after them, what would happen to them?
He hadn't intended to do anything to Xu Haoran at the time; he just wanted him to give up. After all, by the time he was born, his family's life was already quite comfortable.
He hadn't gone through the hardships of his elder siblings. If he were just given some difficulties, he surely wouldn't be able to endure the hardships of military life.
But he hadn't expected his son to grit his teeth and endure. When his old comrades spoke of his son's excellence, he was undeniably proud.