Chen Mo and Xiaoyu stood just outside the station, waiting.
Xiaoyu was visibly nervous. Her hands were clenched tightly, eyes fixed on the station's exit, and her heart was beating fast.
When three familiar figures finally emerged from the crowd, Chen Mo broke into a wide smile and hurried over.
"Dad! Mom! Zhen Zhen!"
"Ah, Amer." Chen's mother smiled, but her eyes narrowed. "You've gotten thinner again."
Chen Mo sighed. "Where am I thinner, Mom?"
In a mother's eyes, no matter how successful her child becomes, the moment they leave home, they're always thinner and not eating enough.
Chen Mo turned to Xiaoyu and gently pulled her forward. "Dad, Mom, Zhen Zhen—this is my girlfriend, Xiaoyu."
"Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie. Zhen Zhen... nice to see you." Xiaoyu gave a polite greeting, clearly a bit overwhelmed.
Chen Mo had mentioned his parents were coming, but not Zhen Zhen. She wasn't prepared.
"Oh!" Zhen Zhen's eyes lit up in recognition. "I didn't expect it to be you. I almost didn't recognize you! Auntie, this is the girl I told you about last time—the one I introduced to Chen Mo."
"Oh really?" Chen's mother's expression turned gleeful. She looked Xiaoyu up and down with a delighted sparkle in her eye. "So you're the little fish."
The moment she took Xiaoyu's hand, the interrogation began.
"Where are you from? What do your parents do? What's your favorite dish? Can you cook? Do you and Chen Mo fight?"
Overwhelmed, Xiaoyu silently sent desperate glances toward Chen Mo for help.
Chen Mo stood there trying not to laugh. The girl they tried to set him up with last time... was Xiaoyu?
No wonder she made that blind-date joke. I finally get it. He nearly burst out laughing at the irony.
"Alright, alright," he finally stepped in. "Let's chat in the car. It's hot out here."
While his mom and Zhen Zhen continued doting on Xiaoyu, he quietly took their luggage to the car.
—
Back at the villa, Chen's mother and Zhen Zhen walked around in awe.
"Xiaoyu, this place is so clean. Is it yours?"
"Y-yes," Xiaoyu nodded, cheeks flushed. She glanced at Chen Mo again, silently pleading to be rescued from the ongoing admiration.
"Xiaoyu, why don't you take them inside and prepare something to eat," Chen Mo said quickly. "Let me help settle things here."
"Alright." She practically bolted from the room, grateful for the excuse.
As soon as she was gone, Chen Mo found himself facing his mother's pointed stare.
"Chen Mo," she said, voice serious. "Your father and I came to check on how you're really doing. Running such a big company and you never even told us?"
"I did tell you," Chen Mo defended. "During New Year, remember? I said I started a company."
"You didn't say it was a billion-dollar tech empire," she shot back. "And let's talk about Xiaoyu. We love her. You've graduated, you're old enough to get married—and it's time to give us a grandson. Your dad and I are retired. We're free to babysit."
Chen Mo nearly choked. Why does this always come up when I least expect it?!
"She's right," his dad added calmly.
"Mom, Dad," Chen Mo said quickly, "can we slow down? Xiaoyu and I have our own pace. Please don't go setting up wedding dates or visiting her family yet."
A few minutes later, Xiaoyu and Zhen Zhen returned with a fruit platter. Xiaoyu's face was red—clearly Zhen Zhen had said something to her—but she didn't complain.
Only when night fell and they were alone in their room again did Chen Mo and Xiaoyu finally breathe.
Their parents were settled into the guest rooms, and the house grew quiet.
—
The next morning, the five of them sat down together for breakfast.
"Chen Mo," his father said after a few sips of soy milk, "your mother and I talked last night. We've decided to head back home in two days."
"So soon?" Chen Mo was surprised. "Can't you stay a little longer?"
"We're not used to city life," his mom explained. "That soft bed you gave us—my back's been aching since I woke up." She smiled, picking up some vegetables and putting them into Xiaoyu's bowl. "Besides, we want to give you and Xiaoyu some space to get along better."
"Xiaoyu," she added warmly, "if this rascal bullies you, just call me. I'll come teach him a lesson myself."
"Mom…" Chen Mo groaned.
"Save it," she waved him off. "You two need space, and we've got plans. Your dad and I are going to buy a new house back home. You don't need to worry about us—just take care of yourselves."
"Alright," Chen Mo said with a smile. "But buy an extra place for Zhen Zhen too. You'll need company. I'll transfer the money to your account."
"I can't accept that!" Zhen Zhen shook her head.
"To me, you're family," Chen Mo said gently. "No need to stand on ceremony. I also promised Xinxin I'd get her a graduation gift. This counts."
Just then, Chen Mo's phone vibrated.
"Chairman, this is Zhao Min. The R&D team just made a breakthrough on the Marching Ant Computer System. We need you at the office."
"I'll be right there."
He ended the call and turned back to the table. "Zhen Zhen, I'll handle the house. Xiaoyu, take Mom and Dad out today. Shop around, see the city. I'll join you later."
"Okay," Xiaoyu nodded.
"I'll go get changed," Zhen Zhen added.
"Dad, Mom," Chen Mo said as he handed a bank card to Xiaoyu, "buy anything you like. Don't worry about the cost."
After breakfast, Chen Mo headed to the company. On the way, he called Wang Hai and asked him to accompany his parents and Zhen Zhen for the day.
—
Ever since the company's founding, Chen Mo had been building an R&D team to create a proprietary computer operating system—one based on the Marching Ant mobile OS architecture.
Today, they had something tangible.
Thanks to the tech library in the system, Chen Mo didn't need to start from scratch. He just needed the R&D team to produce a stable enough framework. Once it was ready, he could optimize it into a fully polished OS.
When he arrived at the company, he made a beeline for the R&D department.
Just outside the door, Zhao Min was already waiting.
"When did the breakthrough happen?" he asked.
"They've been making progress for a while," she said. "But this morning, both Jiajia and Lao Luo said the desktop system finally reached stable long-term operation. That's when I called you."
"Alright," Chen Mo nodded. "Let's go inside. Once I confirm it, we'll need to start planning marketing. Desktop OS isn't like phones—breaking into this market won't be easy."
Microsoft's Windows had a near-total monopoly. It was the Goliath they'd have to face.
"I've had marketing plans brewing since development started," Zhao Min said as they entered. "Once the OS is finished, we'll move fast."
Inside, Lao Luo and Wang Sijia were already waiting.
"Chairman," Lao Luo greeted. "After months of research, the Marching Ant OS is finally running stably on PC. There are still minor bugs, but it's solid."
"That's a big step." Chen Mo smiled. "Alright—show me what we've got."
Without delay, Lao Luo and Sijia led them deeper into the lab.
Chen Mo was ready. Once he saw even a workable base, he'd unleash the system's optimization capabilities—and bring Marching Ant into the big leagues of computing.