Sun Jingcheng first went to his uncle’s place and didn’t return to the company until nearly noon.

After he left, the uncle hastily ate his meal and rode his bicycle to the clinic. He chatted with Sun Youping for quite a while before Sun Youping finally understood the situation. His face immediately showed embarrassment, and he said nothing more.

Sun Mother listened for a long time before going upstairs, curling her lip at Sun Jingfei who was helping Ke Yu pack books. “Clearly your father has more prestige among the people than your uncle, has better medical skills, yet he went to your uncle to ask about traditional Chinese medicine succession! Tell me, isn’t that infuriating!”

“Uncle has broader connections at the hospital and more authority.” Sun Jingfei didn’t take it seriously. “You said it yourself—Dad only has prestige among the people. To put it bluntly, he’s just an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor…”

“That’s because your father has more benevolence than your uncle!” Sun Mother found her words harsh. “It’s so difficult to see a doctor at hospitals now—all the queuing and registration, plus those with connections cutting in line… Your father opened a clinic for those who can’t afford to go to hospitals or whose minor ailments don’t warrant going to big hospitals.”

“You’re really good at beautifying things,” Sun Jingfei was resigned.

Sun Mother was too lazy to deal with her, scolding the two siblings for being outsiders. Then she hung out the three backpacks from the washing machine—school was about to start, the house would finally be quiet. Still feeling upset after busying herself, she said: “Regardless, Sun Jingcheng shouldn’t have bypassed your father to go to your uncle! What does he mean? That your father has no connections, no ability to help him?”

“Then call and scold him.” Sun Jingfei was busy packing books.

“I won’t call—I can’t out-talk you people anyway, won’t look for that kind of trouble!” Then thinking about it more, she felt sadder and sat in the dining chair feeling miserable.

“Is this little thing worth it?” Sun Jingfei comforted her. “Don’t you know, he’s had things to talk about with my uncle since childhood…”

Sun Mother poked her forehead, saying in a low voice: “Don’t let your father hear that.”

“If your father heard, how heartbroken he’d be… You children… don’t even know how you hurt your parents’ hearts.” Sun Mother’s voice choked slightly.

Sun Jingfei said nothing more.

“Just now your uncle thought your father knew, came up and started talking business right away. Your father listened for ages before understanding… you didn’t see how embarrassed your father was…”

“Alright, alright.” Sun Jingfei consoled her. “I’ll tell him off tonight.”

Sun Mother quickly waved her hand. “Let him be. I’m not looking down on him… but with that dissolute energy of his, to apprentice for three to five years to get certified, spending two or three days a week apprenticing—hmph, let’s see how many days he can persist.” After speaking, she got up to tidy the kitchen.

“Mom, don’t overthink it.”

Then the children swarmed back, roughhousing and sprawling on the sofa. Sun Mother saw them and told them off—she’d just washed the sofa covers, don’t dirty them again. Returning to the kitchen to continue tidying, she wiped away tears, took out the bones soaking in the basin that she’d prepared to stew for her grandchildren, pulled out the best piece of meat from the refrigerator, chopped it up, and made the meat soup that Sun Youping loved.

She wouldn’t serve those grandchildren!

Sun Jingfei was single-mindedly busy with moving—she’d already moved more than half bit by bit. Mother and son loaded two boxes of books into the trunk. On the way back to the new house, Ke Yu said he wanted to buy materials—several nearby bookstores didn’t have them, he wanted to check the new district.

The car arrived at the new district. Just as they parked and were about to get out, Sun Jingfei saw Ke Yong leading that mother and daughter into the bookstore. Ke Yu unbuckled his seatbelt preparing to get out. She grabbed him—just a few seconds, an evil thought arose, and she released her hand letting him get out.

The lawyer had tactfully suggested that if the child knew the truth, it would be most advantageous for her custody fight. A heaven-sent opportunity. She was certain that if Ke Yu saw the picture of them as a family of three, he would choose her without hesitation.

As if possessed, she headed toward the bookstore… but each step was like walking on knife points.

Ke Yu called to her.

She touched her face and found it covered in tears.

Ke Yu asked what was wrong.

She couldn’t hear clearly, could only frantically wipe away tears.

Ke Yu was about to ask something when she suddenly hugged him. Looking at the family of three coming out of the bookstore, she said: “Mama wants to hug you.”

Ke Yu’s body was a bit stiff. After a long while he slowly raised his hands to hug her back. Only when the car had completely disappeared did Sun Jingfei release her hands as if surviving a disaster, looking at him and saying: “You’re so thin.”

“I’m not thin at all.” Ke Yu was a bit uncomfortable. Since becoming aware, this was the first time he’d formally embraced his mother.

Sun Jingfei wanted to ruffle his hair but he dodged. “I’ve grown up already.”

Sun Jingfei was stunned, then smiled: “You’re a whole head taller than me.” Speaking, she felt weak all over and slowly squatted down in place.

Ke Yu nervously asked: “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Mama…” Sun Jingfei said: “Menstrual cramps, want to drink a hot beverage.”

Ke Yu jogged off to buy it. Sun Jingfei quietly squatted there—too surreal, she’d almost been bewitched.

On the way back, Ke Yu was talkative, asking if Uncle was so smart, he must have attended a prestigious school back then?

“He… doesn’t count as prestigious.” Sun Jingfei said while turning. “He’s most clever at crooked ways—his studies weren’t as good as your eldest uncle’s.”

“Then why do I feel Uncle’s confidence is like someone who came out of a prestigious school?”

Sun Jingfei smiled, her mood relaxing considerably. “He’s good at talents and socializing, gets praised by people.”

“Oh. I thought Uncle was best at studying.”

“Which uncle do you like most?” Sun Jingfei chatted idly with him.

“Fourth Uncle, I guess. Fourth Uncle is most interesting.” Ke Yu said: “Eldest Uncle is most impressive, Second Uncle should be happiest.”

“Why is Second Uncle happiest?”

“His career is most successful, he’s richest.”

“Silly child.” Sun Jingfei laughed at him. “Success is success, happiness is happiness—not the same thing.”

“Then if success doesn’t represent happiness, why does everyone aspire to Tsinghua and Peking University?”

“Precisely because people confuse success with happiness, that’s why ‘everyone aspires to Tsinghua and Peking University.'” Sun Jingfei said: “That’s where the problem lies.”

“You’ve confused me.”

“I can’t explain it clearly to you either—you’ll understand later. In short, all roads lead to Rome. In your eldest uncle’s words, people must learn flexibility to have brightness when one side isn’t bright.”

“What does ‘when the east isn’t bright, the west is bright’ mean?”

Sun Jingfei hummed: “Green willows, level river waters, hearing my love singing on the shore, the sun rises in the east…”

“Mom, you’re really good at making things up. This is ‘sun in the east, rain in the west’ from ‘Bamboo Branch Song.'” Ke Yu was speechless.

“Remembered wrong.” Sun Jingfei smiled: “‘When the east isn’t bright, the west is bright’ means if this side doesn’t succeed, that side will eventually succeed…”

Mother and son chatted on their way back to the clinic. Sun Jingfei had him go up first. Before Ke Yu got out of the car, he hesitated looking at her: “Mom, you’re not sad anymore, right?”

Sun Jingfei was stunned, then smiled with particular warmth. “Mm, Mama’s not sad anymore.”

After watching him go upstairs, she sat alone in the car for quite a while until all emotions had completely settled before going up.

Passing the clinic, she raised her chin at Sun Youping as a greeting. Sun Youping couldn’t stand her dissolute manner and ignored her as usual. A neighbor seeing the doctor on the side envied them directly: “Your family’s four children—each more accomplished than the last, each more filial than the last. Not like our two—hearts run wild, only come back to visit during holidays. Usually when there’s a headache or fever, can’t even see them…”

Upstairs, Sun Mother was busy in the kitchen. Whenever Sun Jingfei saw her, she was busy in the kitchen. Her conscience suddenly appearing, she tied on an apron and went over. Sun Mother mocked her: “Oh my, did the sun rise from the west?”

“Go outside and look, then you’ll know.”

“Just be glib.” Sun Mother said: “I’ve never seen people as glib as you siblings.” Then she criticized Sun Jingcheng again, still brooding over the noon incident.

Whenever Sun Mother criticized either sibling, she’d bring up the other. And whenever either sibling made a mistake, it would implicate the other. Sometimes it was pointing at the mulberry to curse the locust, sometimes there was deeper meaning. Like now—five minutes ago criticizing Sun Jingcheng, five minutes later praising him as most filial, praising the pajamas he bought Sun Youping as sturdy, praising the bedding he bought as good. In short, all good and bad words in her mouth, she could chew them over, turn them over, and finally round them back to you whole.

Sun Jingfei went along with her: “You go play mahjong, I’ll cook dinner.”

Sun Mother nimbly untied the apron, went back to the inner room to put on the gold bracelet Sun Jingcheng and his wife bought her, and went to the mahjong table in a pleasant mood.

Sun Jingfei found it amusing—where was she going to play mahjong!

Sun Jingcheng was playing piano at the marital home when he received Sun Jingfei’s call telling him not to eat too much, they’d go clubbing tonight. He’d deliberately left work early today just to come to the marital home to play piano for a while.

In the past two months the company hadn’t been doing well. Before the New Year he’d taken out a mortgage loan on the new district house. Originally he only wanted to borrow enough to pay employee salaries and year-end bonuses, but coincidentally Sun Jingfei was buying a house, so he simply borrowed a large sum and the siblings split it.

He hesitated whether to tell Zhou Yu about this.

That evening when the siblings met, Sun Jingfei first mentioned the uncle coming to the house, also mentioning Sun Mother’s complaints. Finally the two made a unanimous conclusion: how big of a deal was it? Mom just loves making mountains out of molehills!

Then she mentioned going to the bookstore with Ke Yu and running into Ke Yong. She didn’t go into detail, only saying she was almost bewitched.

Sun Jingcheng also disagreed, saying adult matters were adult matters, children’s matters were children’s matters.

She said she planned to lay everything out after the Lantern Festival, give Ke Yong an apartment in the east district and a car, have Ke Yu stay with her. She had a hundred ways to completely ruin Ke Yong’s reputation, have him dismissed from his public position. But she thought it over again and again—first, she feared his dismissal from public position would affect Ke Yu’s political review in the future. Even if the impact was minimal, she wasn’t willing to bear that risk. Second, she found it shameful, too shameful—better to handle the matter decently and quickly. Furthermore, no matter what, it couldn’t erase the fact that he was Ke Yu’s father. If his reputation was ruined, Ke Yu wouldn’t look good either. On the other hand, and this was a very important point, she feared that in the end if Ke Yong had nothing and was too miserable, it would make Ke Yu feel sorry for him, backfiring instead.

She worried about many, many things. It wasn’t about venting her anger satisfyingly, going to his workplace to make a scene, making him have nothing to feel relieved. And then what? What next? All the aftereffects would have to be borne by herself and her son.

She talked to Sun Jingcheng about many things, about the gap between ideals and reality. The ideal was how to destroy him to feel satisfied, the reality was swallowing broken teeth with blood. The adult world had its own adult cruelty and helplessness. If you wanted satisfaction, you had to pay the corresponding price.

She went from initial anger, to gradually becoming calm and peaceful, to finally feeling parched.

Since childhood the siblings had been inseparable, as if they had a special telepathy. Some things when said to the eldest or second brother, they would comfort her, would think of ways to vent for her. But the twin brother was different—he could distinguish which of her words needed him to stand up for her, which were simply venting. And he would be a listener at the right time, letting her speak, letting her complain.

The two bounced in the dance floor for a while, bouncing until covered in sweat. Carrying beer bottles out, they sat on the curb by the door. Sun Jingfei said how carefree childhood was—stealing Dad’s money, calling friends together to play.

“No kidding, how wicked we were then.” Sun Jingcheng said.

Sun Jingfei saw the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, suddenly realizing childhood was already a very, very long time ago. So long they could rely on their age.

“Brother, we’re both getting old.”

“We’re already thirty-eight. How could we not be old?”

Sun Jingfei took a drink, instructing him: “Don’t tell eldest brother or second brother.”

“Mm.”

“Don’t tell your wife either.”

“I’m as talkative as you.” Sun Jingcheng asked her: “How did Mom know Zhou Yu and I wanted to divorce?”

“Mom is capable. She extracts information about you from my mouth, information about me from your mouth.” Sun Jingfei distanced herself.

“I suspect you did it on purpose.”

…

Sun Jingfei felt guilty and changed the subject. “About the loan you just mentioned—don’t tell Zhou Yu either.”

“Why?”

“You’re getting divorced anyway, no need. Besides, I’ll pay you back next month…”

“Who said we’re getting divorced?”

“You’re not divorcing anymore?” Sun Jingfei looked at him.

“Are you hoping every day for us to divorce?”

“Ridiculous, am I the one making you two unhappy?”

“Who said we’re unhappy?”

“You’re good again?”

Sun Jingcheng said nothing.

“That’s good. If you can stay together, even better!” Sun Jingfei patted his shoulder. “You two are perfect for each other!”

The two chatted idly. Sun Jingcheng casually sent Zhou Yu a message: “Not checking up on me?”

Zhou Yu replied: “Check up on what?”

Sun Jingcheng asked: “It’s so late and I’m not back, you don’t even ask?”

Zhou Yu replied: “Why aren’t you back yet?”

Sun Jingcheng replied: “I’ll be back later.”

Zhou Yu asked: “Are you very idle?”

Sun Jingcheng replied: “I want to eat sour soup noodles for a late-night snack.”

Zhou Yu replied: “Very tired, too lazy to cook.”

Sun Jingcheng replied: “Okay.” After sending, he felt weight on his shoulder. Turning his head, Sun Jingfei had fallen asleep leaning on him. He slowly carried her on his back to the parking lot.

When Zhou Yu received his message, she’d just finished playing badminton behind his back. On the way home she saw the bright moon, held up her phone to take a picture and casually sent it to him.

Sun Jingcheng understood Sun Jingfei was pretending to be drunk. He also understood that she’d said everything except one thing—the most private and hidden thing: Ke Yong was someone she’d truly loved, someone she’d married without hesitation. Now that their marriage had come to this, she accepted it. There was nothing to say.