Chen Yi’s car stopped in the yard at four o’clock in the afternoon. Grandma Liu Wenqing came out from the house in surprise, “Didn’t you say you were coming over tonight?”
He got out of the car, casually closed the car door, and walked forward a few steps, holding the old woman’s shoulders, “Nothing much, I just came over early.”
Jia Hui Lin temporarily needed to be hospitalized for recuperation, and he left before she woke up. Ruan Mian hurried back to take care of her, and didn’t talk much with him before leaving.
“Where’s your girlfriend?”
Liu Wenqing smiled gently, “Didn’t you say you liked a girl before? How come you still haven’t settled down?”
This time, Chen Yi didn’t evade the question anymore, “We’re settled, I’ll bring her over to eat next time.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true, why would I lie to you?”
Chen Yi supported Liu Wenqing into the house. The air conditioner in the living room wasn’t on. A ceiling fan was hanging from the ceiling, slowly blowing air.
Liu Wenqing called for the maid to serve Chen Yi a bowl of cooled mung bean soup. A few lily petals were floating in the light soup, fortunately without any ice. Chen Yi took it over and drank a few sips.
The old woman sat at the table, “Your uncle is accompanying your grandfather to the nursing home to visit old comrades in arms. They probably won’t be back until 5 or 6 o’clock. Your aunt took Bao’er out shopping.”
Bao’er’s full name was Song Bao’er, the little girl in Chen Yi’s uncle’s family. In order to cultivate her daughter’s independence, Song Huai had sent her to a boarding school since middle school. During winter and summer vacations, the little girl had signed up for various summer and winter camp activities on her own. She only came home a few times a year. It just so happened that she had just returned from the grasslands after finishing summer camp a few days ago. In a few more days, she would start school again.
Chen Yi chatted with the old woman for a while. Then there was the sound of a car horn at the door, and hurried footsteps running in from outside after a short while, “Grandma, is brother here?”
The next second, when Song Bao’er saw the figure sitting on the sofa, she got so excited that she blurted out some English. Her mother Song Yuxiu patted her on the shoulder and scolded her to speak properly. Only then did she restrain herself a little.
Chen Yi greeted Song Yuxiu, and the little girl bounced over to him, “Brother, happy birthday, twenty-seven years old!”
“That might make me happier if you didn’t mention my age.”
Chen Yi had doted on this little sister since she was young. Although there was a ten year age gap between them, the two got along without any generation gap issues.
Song Bao’er giggled mischievously and insisted on taking Chen Yi to play the games she had stored on disks. The siblings played for most of the afternoon. After dinner, Chen Yi went to the kitchen to find the housekeeper and asked her to pack up a portion of the chicken soup to take away.
The housekeeper found an insulated container. When Liu Wenqing heard the movement, she came over, “Who are you taking food to so late?”
“My girlfriend.”
Chen Yi touched his nose, “She’s on duty at the hospital.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were going to take food to someone?” Liu Wenqing went into the kitchen and washed two boxes of strawberries to put in another insulated container, “Or should I make some dumplings for you to take over too?”
“No need, she can’t eat that much for a night snack.”
Chen Yi took the things the housekeeper had packed up, “Then I’ll go over first.”
“Okay, be safe on the road.”
“I know.”
Chen Yi changed shoes at the door. Song Bao’er came downstairs after taking a bath, seeing him about to leave, rushed down the stairs in a hurry, “Brother, didn’t you say you were staying here tonight? Why are you leaving again?”
Liu Wenqing said with a smile: “If your brother doesn’t leave, how can he take food to your future sister-in-law?”
“Wow!”
Song Bao’er became interested, “I want to go too! Brother! Take me with you! If I’m not at home next time you bring sister-in-law back, won’t I miss out big time?”
She pestered him relentlessly. Chen Yi couldn’t do anything with her, so he brought her along. In the car, he sent Ruan Mian a WeChat message.
CY: I’m coming over to bring you some night snack.
CY: My sister is coming with me.
Ruan Mian: Okay, come over.
This message only existed for a few seconds before he saw it change from a white chat bubble to the other party withdrawing a message.
Chen Yi: “……”
He thought it was funny. On the excuse of taking a call, he let Song Bao’er sit in the car while he got out of the car to call Ruan Mian.
The call was picked up very quickly, and he could vaguely hear the sound of a door closing over there.
Chen Yi walked to the artificial pond in the yard. The spring water trickled straight down the rock ridges into the pool.
He pretended to be stupid on purpose, “Withdrew what?”
“Oh, nothing, wrong click.”
Ruan Mian’s voice was suppressed very low, “Are you here already? With your sister?”
“Yeah, on the way.”
“How come I’ve never heard you mention you have a sister before?”
“My uncle’s family.”
Chen Yi looked down at the fish in the pond water, “She’s going into senior year three this year. She’s usually busier than me. I rarely get to see her.”
Ruan Mian oh-ed, “Then let me know when you get here and I’ll come down to find you.”
“Okay.”
On the way to the hospital, Song Bao’er suddenly got a call from a classmate and was busy chatting away, no longer pestering Chen Yi with questions. By the time they reached the hospital entrance, she was still holding her phone shrieking away.
Chen Yi parked the car and messaged Ruan Mian. He stood outside the car waiting for her, listening to Song Bao’er say to the other end of the phone: “Who said I was randomly playing outside? I came with my brother to bring night snack to my sister-in-law.”
He bent his head and hooked the corners of his lips, seeing Ruan Mian’s reply. He put away his phone and leaned against the car door. The cool night breeze was tranquil, the tall buildings propped up a stretch of sky.
A few minutes later, a figure appeared under the building. She was running at first, but slowed down after seeing him.
Song Bao’er peered from the window, speaking excitedly, “Is that her? Is that her?”
Chen Yi hmm-ed, and looked back at her, “Your sister-in-law is a bit shy. Don’t scare her later.”
Song Bao’er just smiled without answering. When the person drew near, before Chen Yi could say anything, she already spoke up, “Sister-in-law!”
She was beautiful and lively. One look was enough to delight people, but she had lost control of her volume. Her voice was especially loud in the quiet night.
Ruan Mian was startled by her. It took her a few seconds to smile at Song Bao’er, “Little sister.”
Song Bao’er immediately got out of the car. At 1.73 meters tall, she was still half a head taller than Ruan Mian. She familiarly pulled Ruan Mian’s arm, chattering nonstop.
In the end, it was still Chen Yi who chased her back into the car, locking the doors and windows, before it finally quieted down for a bit.
Since there was a child present, Chen Yi didn’t show too much intimacy either. He handed over the insulated containers to Ruan Mian, “How’s your senior?”
“She’s better now. She woke up when I went downstairs just now.”
Ruan Mian turned her head and saw Song Bao’er making faces at Chen Yi’s back in the car. She couldn’t help but laugh, “Your sister is quite cute.”
“Cute? She’s a demon king.”
Chen Yi looked back again. Song Bao’er instantly stopped her antics and smiled obediently at the two of them.
The two chatted for a while. When it was close to 10 pm, Chen Yi watched her enter the hospital building, then got back into the car. Song Bao’er squeezed over from the back seat, “Brother, how did you and sister-in-law get to know each other?”
“High school classmates.”
At this point, Chen Yi seemed to recall something. “We got to know each other when we were about your age.”
“Wow! Then how come you didn’t get together back then?”
At her words, Chen Yi fell silent for a while, as if joking and self-deprecating, he said, “Because your brother was too stupid back then.”
Stupid to the point of not seeing her feelings, making them miss out on each other for so many years.
But Song Bao’er misunderstood his meaning, “You’re still stupid now, that makes no sense! Don’t tell me my sister-in-law was an all-knowing child prodigy?”
“Can’t say she was a prodigy.”
Chen Yi said proudly, “But your sister-in-law was the champion in the college entrance exam that year.”
Song Bao’er felt defeated. She lay down on the back seat without saying a word. But after a while, she sat up again and asked Chen Yi, “Brother, why did auntie ask in the group chat why sister-in-law is in the obstetrics and gynecology hospital? What, doesn’t auntie know sister-in-law works at the hospital?”
Just 10 minutes ago, Song Bao’er posted a secretly taken photo of Zhang Ruan Mian in the family group chat, with the caption “My brother’s girlfriend.”
Song Jing had already learned about some of Ruan Mian’s situation earlier from her husband Chen Shuyu, and she also knew that Ruan Mian worked at Xiehe Hospital. Upon seeing the photo, her first reaction was to wonder why Ruan Mian was at the entrance of the obstetrics and gynecology hospital.
She thought about the phone call Chen Yi made to Chen Shuyu that morning, and her thoughts inevitably drifted elsewhere.
Chen Yi of course also understood Song Jing’s doubts and concerns. Holding Song Bao’er’s phone, he sent a voice message in the group chat: “I’m driving, I’ll explain it to you when I get back later.”
On the other side, Ruan Mian was carrying a thermal food jar back when Lin Jiahui was on the phone. From her words, it was easy to guess who was on the other end.
She stood at the door for a while until there was no more noise inside, before going in and asking, “Senior sister, do you want to eat something?”
Lin Jiahui’s eyes were red, her face pale. “I’m not hungry, you go ahead and eat.”
“You should still eat a little.”
Ruan Mian served her a small bowl of chicken soup, “No matter what, your own health is still the most important.”
Lin Jiahui didn’t refuse again. She took it and reluctantly drank a couple sips, then asked, “Where’s Chen Yi? Did he go back?”
“He just left.”
Ruan Mian also sat down with a bowl.
“I really envy you two.”
Lin Jiahui said, with a tear dropping into the soup bowl. She continued speaking to herself, “I’ve known Zhou Yuan for 10 years. I gave him my best years and most precious time. But in the end, just because of the child, he wants to break up with me. But it’s also his child! If I was really afraid of hardship, how could I have been with him for so long?
I never thought about wanting him to be very successful or wealthy. I just wanted a home with him. As long as it was with him, I wouldn’t care about anything else.”
Lin Jiahui covered her eyes with her hand. Ruan Mian was afraid she would spill the soup, so she reached over to take the bowl and set it aside.
She couldn’t deny Lin Jiahui’s envy. Compared to Lin and Zhou’s 10 years together, she and Chen Yi were still in the early stages.
Like those years in the past that no one knew about, the heartaches and sadness she felt because of him, those two years in middle school and even many years after, it had always been just her own one-sided play.
But fate had never shortchanged Ruan Mian. Her previous longing with no payoff, all those regrets and sorrow, have now been written off by time.
After venting it all out, Lin Jiahui was like a deflated balloon, quickly falling back asleep. Ruan Mian finished the rest of the chicken soup. Before falling asleep, she received a message from Chen Yi.
CY: Back.
She rolled over and typed a few words.
Ruan Mian: Rest early.
CY: Mm, good night.
After Chen Yi sent the message and got Ruan Mian’s good night reply, he exited WeChat and called his mother back.
He explained the ins and outs of the matter in a few words. Song Jing was relieved and said, “Even though you’re adults now, you still need to be careful about some things. Also, don’t forget the rules your grandfather set. Even though times are different now, they are still words from your elders, don’t disregard them. Your grandfather cares a lot about this.”
The Chen family was a century-old prominent clan. From ancient times until Chen Yi’s grandfather’s generation, the Chen family only had one son and one daughter.
It was originally auspicious, but the Chen family’s daughter privately pledged herself to a tutor from the academy. Getting pregnant before marriage was a huge taboo and family disgrace at that time. Although old master Chen protected his daughter, she still didn’t have a good ending in the end.
From then on, Chen Yi’s grandfather, who was also Ruan Mian’s grandfather, set down family rules that no matter how many years later, the younger generations of the family were not allowed to engage in improper behaviors before marriage.
Although times were more open now compared to the past, and these kinds of things were already very common occurrences, Chen’s grandfather, as someone who watched his younger sister walk towards death because of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, still cared about and dwelled on these matters unlike most people.
Ever since Chen Yi became an adult, his parents had instilled these beliefs in him, and he had also always followed these rules.
To reassure his mother, he promised over and over that there would be no issues. Song Jing also understood her son, so her concerns were put to rest. She brought up another matter, “Your dad called Uncle Ruan this morning. Now that you and Mianmian are settled, I was thinking when you two come back for Mid-Autumn Festival or National Day, you should go visit your Uncle Ruan. After all, you should formally pay your respects.”
It was a natural course of events, so Chen Yi of course had no objections and was happy to do so. “Okay, no problem.”
Song Jing gave some other instructions, and before hanging up, said: “You’re busy with work normally and don’t have much time. When you’re free, go accompany her more, don’t go out playing with your friends. If Mianmian makes a fuss over this with you, don’t argue with her either. It’s your problem to begin with.”
“Got it.”
Chen Yi defended himself and Ruan Mian, “Don’t worry, she won’t make a fuss over things like this. Besides, I can’t bear to argue with her either.”
“Well behaved.”
The next day, after several hot and muggy days, B City was washed clean by a sudden downpour. After breakfast at home, Chen Yi looked out at the pouring rain and sent Ruan Mian a message asking if she was still at the hospital.
More than 10 minutes passed before Ruan Mian replied with a voice message. The background was clearly the sound of rain. “Not at the hospital. I’m going back now to get some things for my senior sister.”
Chen Yi called her. “Have you gotten in the car yet?”
“Not yet. Hard to get a taxi in the rain.”
Ruan Mian said, “I’m planning to take the subway over.”
Chen Yi made a decisive call, not taking no for an answer. “Wait for me at the subway station. I’m coming to get you.”
The hospital and campus were in the same direction, not too far apart. But the rainy conditions made the road more complex, taking over 20 more minutes than last night.
After picking her up, Chen Yi handed her the ginger tea he had prepared before leaving home. “Drink some.”
“What is it?”
Ruan Mian lifted the cover and the spicy ginger scent burst out. She immediately closed it again and cracked the window open a sliver, feeling the suffocating sensation dissipate significantly.
She put the cup back and explained, “I don’t like anything with ginger flavor, and I didn’t even get rained on just now either. Drinking it or not won’t make me sick.”
Chen Yi didn’t say anything, just shifted his gaze from her drenched shoulder.
The heavy rain outside poured down on the car roof, making dull thudding noises. Ruan Mian didn’t sleep well last night. Listening to the rain now made her drowsy, and she soon fell asleep leaning against the seat.
When Chen Yi stopped at a red light, he glanced over at her empty seat and turned up the AC brightness. He also closed her window tightly.
When they arrived, the car couldn’t drive in. Chen Yi woke Ruan Mian up to confirm the information before being let in. A few minutes later, the car parked steadily below the apartment building.
Ruan Mian undid her seatbelt. “Do you have anything to do after this?”
“No, why?”
“My senior sister’s friend rushed over from their hometown this morning. I’ll go back over in the afternoon, do you want to come up with me and sit for a bit?”
Last time there were others around, so Chen Yi didn’t go up to disturb them. With perfect timing now, he had no reason to refuse. “Sure.”
The two got out of the car. Ruan Mian saw that Chen Yi also brought the thermal food jar, making her eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
The home had been empty for several days and felt somewhat cold and cheerless. Ruan Mian found a pair of clean cotton slippers from the shoe cabinet. “No summer slippers left, just make do with these.”
“It’s fine.”
Chen Yi changed into the slippers and followed Ruan Mian inside. There were a few plushies and plushies with cartoon faces on the sofa in the living room. Although the home was small, it was full of warmth everywhere.
The two bedrooms were connected with the living room separating them, maintaining distance and privacy.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’m going to charge my phone.”
Ruan Mian went into the bedroom and came out quickly. She caught a faint scent of ginger in the air and looked towards the coffee table.
Chen Yi was drinking the ginger tea he had brought.
Ruan Mian wished she could stay meters away from him, but Chen Yi put the lid back on the cup and looked back at her. His voice was low and magnetic. “Come here.”
She hesitated for a moment but still walked over, though in her heart, she resisted accepting that choking smell, emphasizing, “I don’t…”
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Yi pulled her over into his arms, causing her to fall onto him. The man’s unique refreshing aroma strangely suppressed the ginger smell somewhat.
She had no choice but to prop herself up on him and sit up. The living room curtains were half-drawn, and the dim lighting made the distance between them seem especially ambiguous.
Chen Yi leaned in, grasping the back of her neck, and landed a kiss on her forehead.
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