Sun Youping’s 69th birthday happened to fall on Grain Buds. The children didn’t understand what Grain Buds meant, so Sun’s mother explained it to them at length. As for the birthday celebration, they deliberated again and again. These days with the pandemic, everyone was having a hard time, and outsiders, happy or not, wouldn’t come empty-handed. So they simply crossed all distant relatives off the list, inviting only close family, calling over Uncle’s household of three to five people, and having a chef from the restaurant come cook at home.

But unexpectedly, on the last day before the birthday, Uncle sent word that his children were all coming back. On the birthday itself, over a dozen people suddenly poured in. The house couldn’t accommodate everyone, so naturally they went to the restaurant.

That day, Feng Yiqun and Grandma also went to the restaurant. Early on the birthday morning, Zhou Yu had conveyed Feng Yiqun’s greetings and birthday gift on her behalf. The older generation valued etiquette, so Sun Youping immediately called Feng Yiqun, inviting her to bring Grandma that evening as well. Who knows what they discussed, but that evening Sun Jingcheng picked them up and brought them to the clinic, where Sun Youping took the opportunity to check their pulses.

Arranging the birthday banquet for the evening was especially suitable—it was Friday, so the next day the children who didn’t have school wouldn’t have to go, and the adults who had weekends off could rest.

That day was especially lively, with just the right atmosphere. Sun Youping sat in the birthday chair, holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms, letting his grandchildren run wild on his face with cake—drawing white beards on him, putting birthday hats on him.

The finale was the birthday greetings Zhou Yu had taught the children. Each one was different. When it came to Sun Yuyan’s turn, he got so excited he forgot, and improvised on the spot: “The thread in a loving mother’s hand, the clothes on a wandering son’s body…”

It made everyone laugh.

Afterward, Sun’s mother praised Zhou Yu endlessly—the pre-meal snacks, the longevity cakes and peaches, even the longevity noodles that day had all been thoughtfully prepared. Although the children’s birthday greetings were all stumbling and nonsensical.

The old couple was truly happy. Since their eldest son’s passing, they genuinely felt content and satisfied.

The next day, the couple slept with their butts sticking up until nearly noon. Zhou Yu had been exhausted lately and needed to catch up on sleep. Sun Jingcheng wouldn’t get up because she wasn’t getting up. Zhou Yu kicked him with her foot, telling him to hurry up and get up—he still had to go to the clinic to study with his teacher.

Sun Jingcheng refused, insisting he wouldn’t get up unless she got up. Zhou Yu scolded him, then slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed, tied up her hair, and went over to open the floor-to-ceiling window.

The weather outside was really nice!

She stood by the window, contentedly stretching her limbs. Sun Jingcheng hugged her from behind, his chin resting on her neck, continuing to sleep. Zhou Yu turned her face to urge him, “Wake up.”

Sun Jingcheng wouldn’t wake up. His mischievous claws dishonestly covered her chest, kneading and squeezing forcefully, praising how nice the weather was.

Zhou Yu jabbed him with her elbow. He used it as an excuse to be even more unreasonable, lying on the bed and refusing to get up at all! Zhou Yu ignored him, took off her clothes and went to the shower to bathe, preparing to go back to the family compound.

While she was showering, Sun Jingcheng came over to use the toilet. She was disgusted to death and pulled open the shower curtain to scold him.

Sun Jingcheng had his reasons… “The guest bathroom toilet is clogged.”

“Can’t you hold it for a while?”

“You’re already disgusted with me now—can I still count on you when we’re old?” he said while wiping his butt and flushing the toilet, then standing in front of the bathroom mirror to brush his teeth.

“You’re really fast.”

“My intestines are good, not like you—squatting once means scrolling on your phone for over ten minutes before coming out.”

…

Zhou Yu didn’t argue with him. She wrapped herself in a towel and came out, applied a face mask, and went to the kitchen to start the stove. Then, after eating something light, one of them went back to the clinic to study with the teacher, and the other went to the family compound.

She stayed at the family compound all day. In the morning she rummaged through the wardrobe for Feng Yiqun and Grandma’s summer clothes, washed them all and hung them on the balcony to dry. In the afternoon she took Grandma to the park for a walk, letting Feng Yiqun rest for a while.

Yesterday Sun Youping had checked Grandma’s pulse and blood pressure, saying the old lady was in great health, with better energy than Feng Yiqun. Zhou Yu didn’t doubt it at all, because when she was tired and wanted to sit down and rest, Grandma was still full of energy wandering around aimlessly—watching people’s children fishing for turtles for a while, then standing in front of the zodiac sugar sculpture stall and refusing to leave.

Zhou Yu wanted to buy one for her, but she said there was no rush. She watched for a good half hour before finally saying to the vendor: “I’m a Dragon. Draw me a dragon.”

“Oh my, you’re quite advanced in years, ma’am. Your descendants are greatly blessed!” the vendor flattered.

Grandma didn’t care about blessings or not. After observing for so long, she only knew that the dragon was the biggest and used the most sugar syrup. She was actually born in the Year of the Snake, but the vendor drew the snake like an earthworm—not worth the money.

…

Zhou Yu naturally understood Grandma’s little scheme and cooperated, telling the vendor to draw it a bit more elaborately, to capture its imposing spirit of summoning wind and rain, overturning clouds and stirring seas!

“Yes, yes, yes, my granddaughter is right!” Grandma chimed in. “Don’t draw it like a dragon that’s been starving for three years.”

…

In the end, Grandma held up a huge dragon, walking and licking it. She kept offering it to Zhou Yu to eat, instructing her to lick it to make it last longer.

The old lady licked that one dragon for two hours.

In the evening, Zhou Yu also took her to eat lamb soup with stewed noodles—one bowl had two portions of noodles and one liang of meat. She ate for a full hour, eating every bit clean before returning home satisfied. She was very happy on the way, praising how delicious the stewed noodles were—fresh soup, fragrant meat, chewy noodles, and most importantly, lots of meat! She said these days really felt like celebrating the New Year!

The grandmother and granddaughter arrived home before dark. In the kitchen, two people were chatting in low voices—it couldn’t be more heartwarming. When Sun Jingcheng saw her return, he said to her, “Only Mom thinks about me, specially made delicious food. Not like some people who love eating alone.” After speaking, he continued bustling about helping Feng Yiqun.

The kitchen was full of talking and laughing. She sat on the sofa watching TV while Grandma, probably exhausted, dozed off beside her. She got up to help Grandma back to the bedroom, served the old lady until she was asleep, and came out to find all the dishes on the table.

Jade eel segments, scallion-fried lamb, blanched asparagus, fresh mushroom soup, stuffed bitter melon. Except for the stuffed bitter melon, everything else was to Sun Jingcheng’s taste.

Sun Jingcheng was so pleased—he could even taste that these were the first batch of eels to emerge from their holes. Then he praised the white asparagus, praised the fresh mushroom soup… praised each dish in turn. His mouth never stopped—taking a bite and praising, taking a bite and praising.

Zhou Yu found the noise unbearable and couldn’t eat. She put down her chopsticks and moved to the sofa to play on her phone. Sun Jingcheng called to her, “You’re not eating?”

“I’m full,” Zhou Yu responded.

Sun Jingcheng wanted to say something, but thinking it wasn’t his place to interfere with her family matters, he continued eating and chatting with Feng Yiqun, no longer paying attention to her.

Zhou Yu sat there for a while, loathing herself for a while, then went to the balcony to collect the laundry, hanging up the summer clothes one by one and folding the spring clothes piece by piece.

After eating, Sun Jingcheng dismantled and washed all the air conditioner filters—summer was coming after all. Then he helped Feng Yiqun take down the spring and autumn curtains and replace them with thick summer sunshade curtains. When he finished and went to the bedroom to seek Zhou Yu’s approval, he was unexpectedly cursed at with “Get lost.”

It wasn’t a playful, teasing curse—it was an angry outburst like venting frustration.

Sun Jingcheng froze for a few seconds, then turned and left.

On the drive back to the new district, the two didn’t speak the entire way. When they got home, Sun Jingcheng changed clothes to go to the sports center. Zhou Yu asked him, “Hey, what do you want for a late-night snack?”

Sun Jingcheng slammed his palm on the table and cursed at her, “Am I a dog you’re raising?!”

“Kick me away when you’re annoyed, feed me a piece of meat when you want to coax me?”

Zhou Yu pressed her lips together and said nothing.

“How did I offend you?” Sun Jingcheng looked at her, throwing the racket from his shoulder onto the sofa. “Tell me, what did I do to upset you!”

Zhou Yu still said nothing.

“Speak up. As long as you say what I did to offend you, I’ll admit it all!”

“Have you gone mute?”

“Let me ask you, you’re not my mother—what right do you have to curse at me for no reason?!”

Zhou Yu quickly retreated to the bedroom. The instant she was about to lock the door, Sun Jingcheng jammed his foot in. She couldn’t close it, so she could only turn around and lie back on the bed.

“You’re angrier than me?” Sun Jingcheng was incredulous, about to explode with rage. “Go ahead and be difficult, go ahead! If you think you can train me like a dog, no way! I, Sun Jingcheng, am an upright, dignified person! I am not your dog!”

After speaking, he went downstairs with his racket. As he was about to exit the elevator, he encountered a careless person who, wearing a helmet, crashed hard into his chest.

The other person hurriedly apologized, saying he had been staring at the order on his phone and hadn’t noticed he would crash into him. Perhaps because he was so young, he was almost choking up as he spoke. Sun Jingcheng saw the food delivery box in his hand and waved him away.

He clutched his chest as he arrived at the sports center. He couldn’t play ball anymore and could only sit on the sidelines to watch. His racket was also borrowed by a friend.

Even if his chest didn’t hurt, he wouldn’t engage in strenuous exercise. He was very careful about his health, doing a thorough physical examination once a year. It wasn’t that he was afraid of death—it was being responsible to himself and his family. If something happened, at least he could prepare in advance.

Over the years, his friends and classmates had all been approaching the big hurdle of 40—either late-stage cancer, fatty liver, diabetes, or erectile dysfunction. Hair loss, obesity, and high blood pressure were the lighter issues.

A few days ago when chatting idly in the group, a classmate remarked that it’s not that men generally settle down after 40—it’s because they’ve been squeezed dry in every aspect and have no energy left. Women have it better—when women age, it’s just menopause. For men, things can go wrong and destroy their dignity.

Sun Jingcheng sat there chatting with people for a long time, then packed up his racket to go home, having completely forgotten about being angry with Zhou Yu. When he got home and couldn’t find her, he remembered the two of them were fighting. Her phone was still on the coffee table, and he had no idea where she had gone.

He went downstairs to search for a long time, finally finding her in the coffee shop outside the residential complex. He had originally had a bellyful of anger, but seeing her, it all disappeared. He sat down beside her and asked, “Still angry?”

Zhou Yu turned her head away and ignored him.

Sun Jingcheng clutched his chest and warned in advance, “Don’t make me angry. An hour ago someone crashed hard into me, and it still hurts right now!”

Zhou Yu looked at him.

Sun Jingcheng was just short of swearing an oath—a delivery guy wearing a helmet had crashed into him, and if she didn’t believe it they could check the elevator surveillance. As he spoke, he asked her to rub it for him—her gentle little hands rubbing it would make it better.

…

Zhou Yu reached over to rub it for him. Sun Jingcheng enjoyed it immensely, praising how her little paws had magic power—rubbing it once and all ailments vanished. Then he grasped her hand, kissed it by his mouth, and unilaterally declared, “This old man forgives you. But next time I won’t let you off!”

Zhou Yu pinched his waist. Sun Jingcheng laughed heartily.

Laughing aside, joking aside, Sun Jingcheng still wanted to ask her why she had lost her temper.

Zhou Yu held her coffee cup and said, “It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?”

“Ai ya, it’s just nothing.” Zhou Yu apologized to him, saying sorry.

Sun Jingcheng looked at her. “Sorry for what?”

“I shouldn’t have vented my anger on you.”

Sun Jingcheng said half-seriously, “I was genuinely hurt for a moment there. I went over early to help Mom, and even helped dismantle and wash the air conditioner filters, and then you told me to get lost.”

“Who asked you to go help?”

“Wasn’t it for you?” Sun Jingcheng said. “I wanted to make Mom and Grandma happy. I wanted to contribute more, to make Mom feel that marrying her daughter to me wasn’t a mistake.”

…

“Hah, I suspect you’re just putting on a show! Creating a false impression for my mom that you do all the housework diligently,” Zhou Yu guessed.

Sun Jingcheng threw his head back and laughed. It was impossible to have a pleasant conversation with her. He went back inside the café to order a cup of black tea. Then he came back and sat down, shamelessly proposing that from now on he’d take care of all the housework at the family compound, she’d handle the clinic housework, and they’d split the new district housework.

“This way it’s a win-win, mutually beneficial,” Sun Jingcheng said strategically. “Your mom will think this son-in-law couldn’t be found even with a lantern. My mom will think that marrying you is a blessing our family cultivated.”

…

Zhou Yu didn’t even respond to him. He kept talking about splitting the housework at home, but after half a year of talking, he hadn’t done anything—or if he did do something, she still had to redo it.

Sun Jingcheng was quite happy. After being happy, he felt something was wrong, realizing that no matter how legitimate and justified his reasons for arguing were, everything always ended up fizzling out. Before he could puzzle it out, Zhou Yu called him to go home, saying she’d cook him a late-night snack.

On the way home, Zhou Yu asked him what he wanted to eat, her arm linked through his. He said he wanted shrimp dumplings.

Zhou Yu said they were out of shrimp at home and she’d make them for him tomorrow. Then she enumerated what they currently had at home and what she could make.

Sun Jingcheng said, “Steak then.” After speaking, he rubbed his lower abdomen. “But I’m afraid of getting a potbelly.”

“It’s fine, one steak won’t make you fat,” Zhou Yu said naturally. “Even if you get fat, I won’t have the slightest bit of disdain.”

Sun Jingcheng was so inflated with pride. “Then steak it is. I also want a vegetable salad without salad dressing.”

“Okay, I’ll make it all for you,” Zhou Yu said very gently.

Sun Jingcheng’s heart softened so much. He felt it was really wonderful—his wife was really wonderful. Even this late, whatever he wanted to eat, she was willing to make!

Zhou Yu was also in a pleasant mood. Originally she had been sitting there in self-loathing, unable to get herself out of the situation. Thinking about it, she squeezed their tightly interlocked fingers hard. Some words reached her throat, but in the end she said nothing.