Since their family rents a small two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with little privacy, when Huang Ying’s brother is at home, her mom says he can take care of things, allowing her to go out with Li Yan. Since returning home after the New Year holidays, it has been primarily the daughter taking care of her, with the remainder of the time spent on cooking and housework. Now that her boyfriend is here, they definitely need some space for romance.

Of course, Huang Ying’s brother isn’t clueless; it’s just that tasks like using the bathroom, bathing, and changing clothes are more convenient for Huang Ying, being female, and as for cooking, her brother surely can’t manage.

The desire to look good exists in everyone. While taking care of her mother at home, Huang Ying dresses very casually, but now that she’s going out with Li Yan, she’s wearing the new coat she bought before so as not to embarrass him.

Even though she’s out with him, she still doesn’t feel quite accustomed to the nearby area. Now during the holiday, there are even more people outside.

"Get in the car!"

"Oh."

Huang Ying didn’t ask where they were going, she got in the car with Li Yan, letting him lead the way.

"Your mom returning is definitely a good thing for you all, but it makes home a little inconvenient for you personally. So, we’re going to a place first," Li Yan explained proactively.

"Go... go to a place? Good... sounds good." Huang Ying glanced at him briefly, then quickly turned her head back, feeling a bit anxious.

Your mom returned home, why does that make it inconvenient for me at home? What does this mean? Is he saying it’s inconvenient for us to... date?

She pondered for a moment, conceivably they would go to a hotel, no need to tidy up; however, thinking about frequenting one together in the future, it might be easy to bump into acquaintances, perhaps they would rent a room somewhere inconspicuous. This thought made her smile wryly.

After the car drove off, Li Yan glanced around the area and asked, "Have you lived here long enough to know of any reliable housekeeping services nearby?"

"Housekeeping services?" Huang Ying felt extremely puzzled. For such things... why look for a housekeeping service? Even renting houses is done through real estate agents, right?

Seeing her look at a loss, Li Yan smiled, refrained from explaining further, knowing she usually wouldn’t need this and likely hasn’t paid attention to it. He parked by the side of the road, then used his phone to go online, used Baidu Maps to search the area, and marked all related housekeeping service points nearby with the keyword "housekeeping," noting down several nearby addresses.

Watching his busy manner, Huang Ying began to sense there was another meaning behind this, asking softly, "Are you taking me to the housekeeping agency... to find a caretaker for my mom?"

"Your mom is in the post-operative rehabilitation period right now, and a regular caretaker won’t suffice. You need someone professionally trained, preferably coming from a medical institution. But considering that cooking is involved as well, hiring both a nurse and a caretaker might be too much for you, so we’re going to the housekeeping agency first to see if there is a caretaker who has general care training; the salary might be a bit higher." Li Yan stated his goal and started the car again.

Huang Ying felt deeply embarrassed; he was wholeheartedly considering her mom, while she was associating it with those things, mistakenly thinking he was concerned about inconvenient moments of pleasure. This presented another concern for her.

"I... don’t want a caretaker or a nurse to take care. I want to take care of my mom myself. Even the best caretaker is only working for money, they have their moods, surely, they can’t care as much as we children do."

"Haha, I knew you’d have this thought, so instead of seeking your opinion, or giving you a suggestion, I directly brought you here!"

Upon hearing Li Yan’s words, Huang Ying mumbled quietly, "This is too domineering... this is my mom..."

Despite her words, the fact that Li Yan was treating her mother’s issues as personal matters, ensuring they were addressed directly, was a clear reflection of his attitude toward her. Her heart felt warm.

Once convinced of the necessity, Li Yan further explained, "Your idea is good, but its feasibility is too low. Right now everyone is on holiday, so it seems manageable. Yet soon you’ll be back to work, and you might feel your brother can help, but what happens when he starts school again? Like before, rush home after work? What about when you both aren’t around? Don’t forget, during hospitalization, your mom felt pained for you all. If this causes a disruption in your studies or work, she’ll likely feel guilty, hindering her recovery!"

Huang Ying was taken aback; she merely desired to personally fulfill filial duties for her mother without realizing it might also place pressure on her!

"She doesn’t want to burden you, she’d attempt all sorts of rehab hastily, likely doing more harm than good, even causing an accident, which indeed would be counterproductive! Your filial intention, I believe your mom appreciates greatly, but fulfilling filial duties also requires a proper method, you all leading prosperous lives allows her peace, relief and joy, which would benefit her recovery! Just like moments ago, she lets us have a space for dating, going out to enjoy ourselves today because your brother is home, and if he wasn’t, I’m sure your mom would insist just the same; she might say not needing someone to watch over briefly won’t be an issue. If you reject her intentions, it burdens her with guilt; or going by those words, exposes worries and risks..."

"I understand now..." Huang Ying nodded earnestly, "You’re right, I can’t make mom worry any longer. Let’s find an auntie to look after her!"

...

Only when they reached the third housekeeping service company did they find a satisfactory nurse-caretaker. After completing the payment and all procedures, they arranged for the service to start the next day.