The Mid-Autumn Festival of 2018 fell on September 24th, which happened to be Lin Zhixia’s birthday.

Lin Zhixia keenly sensed that Jiang Yubai had arranged a birthday surprise for her.

On the evening of September 23rd, Lin Zhixia pretended to know nothing and lay quietly in bed.

Heavy curtains blocked the moonlight, leaving the bedroom without a trace of light. Jiang Yubai held Lin Zhixia tightly in the darkness. He asked in a whisper, “Are you asleep?”

Lin Zhixia replied shamelessly, “Yes, I’m asleep.”

She heard Jiang Yubai’s soft laughter, which made her feel particularly happy. She found his cheek in the dark and quietly kissed him. He caught her fingers, gently kissing from the base of her fingers to her palm. Her breathing gradually quickened, and she couldn’t help asking, “Will we have guests at our home tomorrow morning?”

“You don’t need to get up early,” Jiang Yubai said ambiguously.

Lin Zhixia hooked her arm around his neck. “Look at the time, it’s already eleven thirty.”

There was no clock hanging in the bedroom, nor any luminous watch. Jiang Yubai kissed her cheek while asking, “How do you know what time it is?”

“I guessed,” Lin Zhixia revealed.

Jiang Yubai skeptically checked his phone, which showed the current time as eleven thirty-one at night.

Lin Zhixia didn’t like staying up late, and Jiang Yubai couldn’t keep her up. He silently put down his phone and gently patted Lin Zhixia’s back. “Your guess was accurate. Time to sleep.”

Lin Zhixia yawned, “Good night.”

“Good night, baby,” he responded.

Lin Zhixia added, “Baby.”

She slept until eight o’clock the next morning. When Lin Zhixia woke up, Jiang Yubai was changing clothes in front of her. She knew Jiang Yubai was deliberately changing for her to see. She sat up straight and carefully examined him from head to toe, as if appreciating a work of art.

Countless associated memories flooded her mind, and Lin Zhixia collapsed back into the soft bedding. She rolled around, wrapped in the blanket, until Jiang Yubai came over and stopped her.

Jiang Yubai skillfully unwrapped her from the blanket.

She said, “Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I want to stay in bed.”

“Until when do you plan to stay?” Jiang Yubai reminded her, “We’re having a gathering at our home at noon. Guests will be coming.”

Lin Zhixia nodded, “I’m guessing you invited my father, mother, and brother, as well as your uncle and aunt. You want to organize a family gathering, but your parents are abroad on business and probably won’t return to the country this September.”

Jiang Yubai wanted to say, “No, you guessed wrong,” but everything Lin Zhixia said was true. He sat on the edge of the bed, and Lin Zhixia rested her chin on his shoulder. Her warm breath passed behind his ear, evoking a subtle feeling of excitement.

“Baby,” Lin Zhixia called him again.

It was as if she had just learned this word last night and was now repeatedly practicing it in Jiang Yubai’s ear this morning.

“Xiaxia,” he called her nickname.

“What?” Lin Zhixia asked in return.

Jiang Yubai stood up suddenly, and Lin Zhixia looked up at him.

He turned and pounced on her like a tiger descending a mountain. She had no time to react and could only grab a pillow to hold against his chest, pushing him away in a half-hearted resistance. They played and laughed for half an hour until Lin Zhixia’s phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Lin Zeqiu.

Lin Zhixia greeted him, “Brother, good morning.”

Lin Zeqiu said directly, “Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Mom and Dad miss you very much. Mom went to the market and bought two jin of shrimp to make shrimp dumplings for you. The dumplings won’t taste good when they get cold. Mom and Dad want to come to your place now to deliver the dumplings. Is that okay?”

Lin Zhixia asked, “Are you coming now?”

Lin Zeqiu answered with another question, “Have you had breakfast yet?”

Lin Zhixia told the truth, “Not yet.”

Lin Zeqiu asked suspiciously, “Don’t tell me you’re still in bed?”

Lin Zhixia immediately jumped out of bed. “How could that be? I’ve been awake for a while.”

Lin Zeqiu placed the blame on Jiang Yubai, “Doesn’t Jiang Yubai’s home have breakfast?”

Lin Zhixia had turned on the speakerphone, and Jiang Yubai heard their conversation. Jiang Yubai inwardly sneered, but outwardly said in a gentle tone, “Your brother grew up with you; he seems to understand your tastes better than I do.”

Lin Zeqiu’s breath caught—it had been a while since he’d encountered this fresh, elegant, deliberately posturing, high-class green tea flavor.

And Lin Zhixia was particularly susceptible to this approach.

She said softly to Jiang Yubai, “You’re the one who understands me best.”

*

To welcome her parents, Lin Zhixia rushed into the bathroom and quickly took a shower. She picked out a dress from the closet and tidied her appearance in front of the mirror. Then, holding Jiang Yubai’s hand, they went downstairs together.

Lin Zhixia’s happy mood deeply affected Jiang Yubai. He smiled when he saw his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and reached out to help his father-in-law carry things. His father-in-law asked him, “Xiao Jiang, have you been busy with work lately?”

“It’s all right,” Jiang Yubai said. “I have these two days off for the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I’m quite free.”

His father-in-law then said, “Being free is good. Get plenty of rest. You and Xiaxia are still young, you should sleep and eat well. In a few years, when you become parents, Xiaxia’s mother and I can help you take care of the children, so it won’t interfere with your regular work.”

Hearing this conversation, Lin Zeqiu’s arm stiffened.

Lin Zeqiu still felt very young and wasn’t ready to be an uncle. Especially since, in his opinion, childbirth was a very painful thing, and Lin Zhixia had an extremely low tolerance for pain. When she was two or three years old, if she accidentally stumbled while walking, she would cry for several days, and the whole family would take turns comforting her.

Lin Zeqiu showed a worried expression.

Jiang Yubai also deflected, “We’ll talk about it in a few years. We’re not ready yet.”

He avoided the topic of children and began discussing the courses at the senior citizens’ university with his father-in-law. Both his father-in-law and mother-in-law had enrolled in several training classes at the community’s senior citizens’ university—his father-in-law enjoyed history and traditional culture. He had signed up for a tea art class and often listened to storytelling and practiced Tai Chi.

“I recently acquired some ancient books,” Jiang Yubai said generously. “I’ll give them to you.”

His father-in-law was about to accept, but then quickly declined, “Those must be very expensive, right? Keep them, keep them, don’t give them to me.”

Jiang Yubai changed his approach, “Then come with me to the study later and take a look. If you like them, I can lend them to you, and you can return them after reading.”

His father-in-law immediately agreed, “That sounds good, that sounds good.”

Jiang Yubai recalled Lin Zhixia’s verbal habit of saying “good, good,” confirming they were indeed family. He couldn’t help but smile.

*

Even though Lin Zeqiu had visited Jiang Yubai’s home several times before, he still paused for a few seconds in amazement when entering.

He stood at the entrance, looking up at the high ceiling, while Lin Zhixia ran past him, closely following her mother, “Mom, your shrimp dumplings are the most delicious.”

Lin Zhixia, who was mature, calm, and decisive in front of others, was almost the same as when she was little in front of her mother. In parents’ eyes, some children may never grow up.

Mom took Lin Zhixia to the kitchen. Carrying the insulated container, she walked and said, “Mom was just thinking of discussing something with you. Mom doesn’t work now and has plenty of time every day. Your school is so close, I could bring you lunch at school every day…”

Lin Zhixia certainly didn’t want her mother to go to such trouble. She said, “There’s no need. The food in the teachers’ cafeteria is very good. Our school has hired chefs from five-star hotels.”

She held her mother’s arm, “Lin Zeqiu and I are completely independent now. You and Dad can start enjoying life. Let me sign you up for a tour group. Where would you like to go?”

“Oh, how about Sichuan?” Mom said. “Your dad wants to go to Sichuan for hot pot. Sichuan snacks are very famous.”

Lin Zhixia agreed, “Good, good.”

While Lin Zhixia was chatting with her mother in the kitchen, her father followed Jiang Yubai to the study.

For the first time, her father talked about his life experience in front of his son-in-law, “In my family, I was the fourth child. My family had poor farmer status, with nothing to our name, just two earthen houses, and the kitchen was built in the courtyard. Xiao Jiang, have you ever seen those earthen beds?”

He gestured with his hands, “When you lift the bedding, it’s a kang bed. There was no table at home, so I would lie on the kang to write and read, borrowing books from educated youth in the countryside—those books had both traditional and simplified characters. During my middle school years, I only did well in Chinese and history, never scoring more than ten points out of a hundred in math.”

Jiang Yubai’s middle school grades had consistently been above ninety points in all subjects. He couldn’t imagine what kind of talents his and Lin Zhixia’s daughter might have.

While his father-in-law continued reminiscing, Jiang Yubai opened a bookcase, took out several old antique books, and handed them to his father-in-law.

His father-in-law let out a long sigh, “Back in the countryside, educated youth had books like these. These kinds of books can’t be found on the market anymore.”

He held the books and read them carefully.

After saying goodbye to his father-in-law, Jiang Yubai left the study. He came to the dining room to find Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu eating shrimp dumplings, while the housekeeper had also squeezed a glass of fresh strawberry juice for Lin Zhixia.

Lin Zhixia ate two dumplings and drank the strawberry juice with satisfaction. Seeing Jiang Yubai, she asked him, “What are we having for lunch?”

“Seafood barbecue,” Jiang Yubai said. “Ever since we came back from Hainan, you’ve been mentioning seafood barbecue.”

Lin Zhixia put down her chopsticks.

Jiang Yubai sat beside her, “And a strawberry cake.”

Lin Zhixia slapped the table, “Perfect!”

“What about drinks? Do you have alcohol at home?” Lin Zeqiu suddenly interjected.

Jiang Yubai replied smoothly, “We have red wine, white wine, beer—which do you prefer?”

Lin Zeqiu and Lin Zhixia had one thing in common—they both had poor alcohol tolerance, yet neither would admit to having poor drinking manners.

Lin Zeqiu wiped his mouth and boasted, “Let’s have some white wine, or red is fine too. Let’s see how much you can drink.”

Lin Zhixia was somewhat puzzled. “Lin Zeqiu, do you have a good alcohol tolerance?”

Lin Zeqiu asked her, “Why are you calling me by my full name?”

“It just came out,” Lin Zhixia said. “Don’t you often call me by my full name, too?”

Lin Zeqiu was left speechless.

After a few seconds, he said, “I am, after all, your biological brother.”

Lin Zhixia copied his words exactly, “I am, after all, your biological sister.”

Since Lin Zhixia had moved into Jiang Yubai’s home, she and Lin Zeqiu didn’t have many opportunities to meet.

Lin Zeqiu quite missed the days of bantering with his sister. However, both he and Lin Zhixia were adults in their twenties, so even if they had disagreements, they would at most exchange a few words of dispute, not yelling and shouting back and forth like they did as children.

Lin Zeqiu sighed.

Lin Zhixia was concerned about him. “Do you have something on your mind?”

“No,” Lin Zeqiu looked away.

Jiang Yubai opened the wine cabinet and selected a wine. Lin Zeqiu looked at Jiang Yubai’s back and lowered his voice, “How has Jiang Yubai been treating you after marriage?”

“Extremely well,” Lin Zhixia quietly answered. “You can’t imagine how good he is.”

Lin Zeqiu was satisfied and continued, “With you not at home, Mom and Dad urge me to find a girlfriend every day.”

“Have you found one?” Lin Zhixia asked.

Lin Zeqiu shook his head slightly.

Lin Zhixia boldly recommended, “Do you remember Deng Shasha? After the wedding, she asked me about you every day. I told her all your shortcomings, and she wasn’t bothered at all.”

Lin Zhixia clearly remembered that many years ago, when she was studying at university in Beijing, Deng Shasha had met Lin Zeqiu. At that time, Deng Shasha had found Lin Zeqiu too talkative. But now, Deng Shasha said, “Being talkative isn’t a flaw, it’s being conversational! It shows your brother knows. That’s great! Your brother has both inner and outer excellence. He’s truly a first-class handsome man!”

“Deng Shasha admires you,” Lin Zhixia said honestly.

Lin Zeqiu promptly refused, “She’s not my type.”

Lin Zhixia pressed further, “What type do you like?”

Lin Zeqiu leaned against the chair back, “I don’t know. I don’t have a girl I like.”

Lin Zhixia rested her chin on her hand. She stared at Lin Zeqiu without blinking, causing him to feel goosebumps all over. Irritated and anxious, he said, “Didn’t you understand? I like women, but haven’t met the right one. That’s what I mean.”

While they were talking, a fluffy Ragdoll cat ran over from a distance. The cat leaped onto Lin Zhixia’s lap. Lin Zhixia stroked its fur while introducing, “This is our cat. Its name is ‘Strawberry.’ Strawberry was shy when it was little, but now that it’s grown up, it’s not afraid of anyone.”

Lin Zeqiu heard his sister say “our cat,” and thought to himself: my sister has grown up, and her home and my home are no longer the same.

Strawberry rolled over on Lin Zhixia’s lap, exposing its soft belly. Lin Zhixia gently stroked the cat’s belly while Lin Zeqiu crouched nearby, studying the structure of the dining table. He inadvertently opened a hidden compartment, and a wooden box that popped out almost hit his face.

He gasped.

Jiang Yubai walked toward the dining table holding two bottles of red wine. He placed the bottles on the table and said, “There are several decks of cards in the box.”

“My mom loves playing cards,” Lin Zeqiu said. “Let me call my parents, and the five of us can play a few rounds together.”

Jiang Yubai was surprised that Lin Zeqiu would say “the five of us as one family.” Lin Zeqiu hadn’t noticed his own choice of words. He tucked away the playing cards and followed Jiang Yubai to meet his parents in the study.

*

To enhance the fun of the game, Lin Zhixia took out a handful of Go pieces from a basket. She used the pieces as chips, distributing them evenly to all players.

At the end of each round, the winner could take the losers’ chips.

Jiang Yubai was the dealer in the first round. He rarely played cards and wasn’t very skilled, but fortunately, his father-in-law and brother-in-law were worse than him. In this round, he achieved the third-best positive result—the first place went to his mother-in-law, though he wasn’t sure if Lin Zhixia had deliberately lost to her.

His eyes met Lin Zhixia’s.

Lin Zhixia smiled at him.

Her smile was sweet and beautiful.

The Ragdoll cat named Strawberry was still lying on Lin Zhixia’s lap. She played cards half-heartedly, teasing the cat with her left hand, keeping her eyes closely on Jiang Yubai, while also talking to her mother. Even so, she still dominated the other players.

After seven rounds, the Go pieces next to Lin Zhixia had piled up into a small mountain, while Jiang Yubai and Lin Zeqiu had lost everything.

Jiang Yubai only had one Go piece left, while Lin Zeqiu had two—they belatedly realized that Lin Zhixia was reluctant to take her parents’ chips, but she showed no mercy to her brother and husband, forgetting old ties.

Jiang Yubai had initially intended to play casually, but suddenly he became serious. He started counting cards and trying to predict the card strategies of his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Lin Zeqiu.

Influenced by Jiang Yubai, Lin Zeqiu also prepared to fight hard. The atmosphere at the card table suddenly became tense and serious. The five family members seemed to have suddenly arrived at a casino in Macau, with each Go piece transforming into real chips.

Lin Zhixia was on high alert.

She no longer played with the cat.

She put the Strawberry on the floor.

Strawberry meowed once.

Lin Zhixia ignored it.

Strawberry rubbed against her leg, and she said, “Be good, Strawberry. After I finish this round, I’ll open a can of cat food for you.”

Strawberry jumped to Jiang Yubai’s feet, putting its paw on Jiang Yubai’s pant leg. Jiang Yubai didn’t even glance down. He was meticulously counting cards when the doorbell suddenly rang loudly.

Jiang Yubai opened a visual interface in the study, and his uncle and aunt appeared on the LCD screen, “Xiao Jiang! Uncle and Auntie are here!”

Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia immediately went out to greet them.

Uncle and Auntie had just returned from Singapore. Uncle carried many gifts, while Auntie held their one-year-old daughter. The little girl was exquisite, with a white, chubby face, looking like a little rice ball.

Lin Zhixia took her from Auntie’s arms, and the girl kissed Lin Zhixia on the face. Lin Zhixia was delighted, “So cute.”

Lin Zhixia had prepared a nursery for Auntie. She led Uncle and Auntie to the guest room while Jiang Yubai stood in the corridor, casually asking his mother-in-law, “Was Xiaxia like this when she was little?”

Speaking of her precious daughter, the mother-in-law smiled, “Xiaxia, when she was little…”

Lin Zeqiu interjected, “Terrifying.”

Father-in-law said seriously, “Lin Zeqiu, how can you talk about your sister like that?”

Lin Zeqiu countered, “Reading academic papers at five years old, isn’t that terrifying?”

He earnestly educated Jiang Yubai, “I’m telling you this to prepare you mentally. Your and Lin Zhixia’s child might be even more, you know what, than Lin Zhixia was as a child. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Jiang Yubai understood his meaning. “Even if that happens, it’s fine. I’ll assemble a suitable team of tutors for the child.”

Lin Zeqiu and Jiang Yubai formed a united front: “My parents often took Lin Zhixia to the provincial library…”

Jiang Yubai commented, “Talent shouldn’t be wasted.”

Lin Zeqiu nodded repeatedly.

*

At noon that day, Lin Zhixia’s family gathering was held on the rooftop garden terrace.

Since today was Lin Zhixia’s birthday, all her relatives had prepared gifts for her.

She happily accepted all the gifts, then made a wish, “My birthday wish is for all of you to be safe, healthy, and happy.”

After that, she blew out the candles.

Jiang Yubai handed her a knife, and she carefully cut the strawberry cake, distributing it to everyone. The flames under the barbecue grill were burning, and Uncle opened a glass of champagne.

Jiang Yubai slightly raised his glass, and everyone’s glasses formed a circle. Jiang Yubai smiled and said, “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.”

He and Lin Zhixia clinked glasses separately, “Happy birthday.”

Fluffy white clouds drifted in the vast blue sky. Lin Zhixia smelled the fragrance of strawberries, champagne, and grilled meat. Her parents were chatting happily, and Jiang Yubai and her brother were also getting along well. Auntie raised her camera, capturing everyone in the frame. Uncle laughed and said, “A Mid-Autumn Festival family photo.”

“I’m really happy,” Lin Zhixia said softly.

Her seat was right next to Jiang Yubai, and only he could hear what she said. He gave Lin Zhixia a grilled lobster and candidly said, “You’ll be even happier with a full stomach.”

Lin Zhixia laughed.

She took a sip of juice. As the sweet juice moistened her throat, she recalled the wish she had made when she was seven years old, hoping to make a friend at school who could understand and support her.

By now, that wish had long been fulfilled.

She turned to Jiang Yubai and said, “Thank you.”

Jiang Yubai thought she was thanking him for giving her the lobster. He smiled and replied, “You’re welcome.”