A few days after their wedding anniversary, Sun Jingcheng moved his company to a relatively more prosperous office building. It was still in the new district, and even closer to home.

The reason for moving the company was that someone was joining as a partner—Sun Jingcheng’s high school classmate. The two had been friends for nearly twenty years. These past two years, Sun Jingcheng’s career had been struggling, and his circle of friends knew about it. Several people had previously proposed partnerships, but he had rejected them all.

He was approaching forty now. Over these years, he should have recognized what needed to be recognized and accepted what needed to be accepted. He truly wasn’t cut out to be a businessman, and he truly had limited capabilities and needed help.

He had considered finding a partner last year. The reason he rejected those two was that they would have needed to invest all their savings to join the partnership, and all future expenses would depend entirely on company profits.

This was the situation Sun Jingcheng feared most—it put the greatest pressure on him. He had no confidence in guaranteeing that after their investment, the company would consistently prosper. What if things got worse and worse? Over time, they would turn against each other as brothers. So even during several financial crises, he hadn’t accepted their partnership offers.

Sun Jingcheng understood himself well and admitted he was an idealistic person. Regardless of the circumstances, if he felt he couldn’t do something, then he simply couldn’t do it. Some things he could compromise on; others, once compromised, there was no turning back.

Which path was easier, which had more twists and turns—he knew perfectly well.

The partner he was looking for absolutely could not be the desperate type betting everything they had. Even though he clearly understood that this type of person was most likely to succeed.

He wanted to find someone who recognized his values, preferably someone investing spare money who had the ability to withstand risks. And this high school classmate of his met the last two criteria—he had spare money and could bear risks. As for recognizing his values… the two had been friends for nearly twenty years and understood each other’s character—it couldn’t be too far off.

This classmate also came from a well-off family; his father ran a manufacturing business. In recent years, he had been doing bird’s nest business in Malaysia, only returning to China for development because of the pandemic. He originally didn’t think much of Sun Jingcheng’s company. During a casual dinner conversation, he found Sun Jingcheng to be quite an oddball. The more he thought about it, the more interesting it seemed, and only then did he decide to join the partnership.

He had seen all kinds of businessmen—those with outstanding talent, commercial geniuses. He had seen them build tall buildings and seen those buildings collapse. He had even witnessed someone who was incredibly successful one year, then the next time he saw them, they were driving the taxi he had hailed. Life had its ups and downs, its ebbs and flows—who could predict it?

Sun Jingfei also came to help on moving day. Calling it “helping” was more accurate to say she was just driving by. Actually, there was a moving company, so there wasn’t much help needed.

She first walked around the company. Moving from one dump to another—aside from better parking, there wasn’t much difference. Then she sat on the sofa replying to WeChat messages.

Sun Jingcheng bent over organizing his desk, saying the main purpose of moving the company was that the original location had poor parking and the landlord was also problematic. As he spoke, he played some songs he had recorded years ago on his computer, along with some scattered video clips—all of the siblings imitating popular singers from back then.

Sun Jingfei found it extremely cringeworthy, practically covering her face. “Why do you still have these?”

“I forgot about them too. I saw them in a folder yesterday.” Sun Jingcheng organized while singing along.

Sun Jingfei hummed a few lines too, remembering how in high school, the two of them had scrimped and saved their allowance for a year to chase stars, buying train tickets to go to Beijing to see celebrities. In the hard-seat car, someone groped her thigh. The person denied it and even accused her of being young and badly behaved. She wasn’t one to be trifled with—she immediately reached out her claws and scratched that person’s face into shreds like carrot strips.

Talking about their star-chasing past made the siblings laugh. After laughing, Sun Jingfei asked him, “Do you still like Dou Wei and Luo Dayou?”

“Of course.” Sun Jingcheng said.

“Do you still listen often?”

“In my spare time.”

“I haven’t listened since I started working.” Sun Jingfei felt quite emotional. “If you hadn’t played those recordings, I would have forgotten I once fanatically chased after them.”

Sun Jingcheng hummed along while working, not really responding to her words.

Sun Jingfei stood by a potted areca palm to smoke, flicking ashes into the pot bottom while still sending WeChat messages to Second Sister-in-law, asking her to help figure out how to collect debts. These days, people who owed money had become the masters. She had spent two days running around and hadn’t collected a single cent.

After finishing her cigarette and stubbing it out, she was about to leave when Sun Jingcheng called her back, saying they should eat together tonight—Zhou Yu was away on a training trip and wouldn’t return until tomorrow.

…

Sun Jingfei stood by the areca palm again to smoke, chatting idly with him. They got to talking about how when she was little, she always felt their parents favored Second Brother the most, and it wasn’t until middle school that she learned Second Brother wasn’t their biological child. “But I don’t really have a concept of biological versus non-biological. I just know Second Brother doesn’t have the same parents as us, but emotionally nothing changed—in my heart, he’s still the same as Big Brother.”

“Same for me.” Sun Jingcheng agreed.

“But I don’t understand why Mom always favored Second Brother.”

“Because he’s not biological.”

“I know, but that makes Second Brother seem even more like an outsider.” Sun Jingfei said, “I feel Second Brother minds it too, otherwise he wouldn’t have deliberately failed his exams to rush out and earn money.”

“Second Brother said he deliberately failed?” Sun Jingcheng looked at her.

“Second Sister-in-law said so.” Sun Jingfei instructed him, “Don’t ever say it out loud. Otherwise Mom will overthink things again! I admire Dad the most—how does he put up with Mom? She can think up problems out of thin air.”

“With Second Brother’s usual grades, even if he performed normally, they wouldn’t have been much better, right?” Sun Jingcheng questioned.

Sun Jingfei burst out laughing, scolding him for being so harsh, then said, “Second Brother is the type where it doesn’t matter whether he went to college or not—he can make something of himself anywhere.”

“I agree with that.” Sun Jingcheng concurred.

“Hey little brother, let me tell you some gossip.” Sun Jingfei flicked her cigarette ash. “Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law got divorced a few months ago.”

“Who said so?”

“Mom said when they were doing a census of married people or something… they mentioned it when they came to register door-to-door. Mom is so sharp—she kept quiet and didn’t ask about it until half a month ago when she pulled Second Brother into the inner room to ask. Only then did Second Brother say they had already remarried.”

…

“Mom didn’t believe it, so he even showed her their marriage certificate.”

“They divorced and then remarried?”

“Yes!” Sun Jingfei nodded. “Look at how people get divorced—quietly, without a sound. Unlike us two, shouting about it for half a year and still not divorced. What’s that saying? People who accomplish great things do so silently.”

“If Mom hadn’t said anything, I couldn’t have told at all. Second Sister-in-law also came to gatherings on weekends—I didn’t notice anything wrong.”

“Did Second Brother mess around again?” Sun Jingcheng guessed.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Sun Jingfei shook her head, then after a while said, “If I’m not mistaken, Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have done marriage counseling. Last year a business card from an agency fell out of Second Brother’s bag, and his expression was very unnatural at the time.”

“I always thought Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law had the best relationship.” Sun Jingcheng said softly.

“Me too!” Sun Jingfei agreed. “They’ve gone through so much together… But having said that, in earlier years Second Brother was truly a bastard when it came to relationships with women—no better than Ke Yong. He’s just our own brother, so it’s awkward to say anything.”

Sun Jingcheng didn’t respond.

As they chatted, they wanted to see Second Brother. They asked where he was, went downstairs, got in the car, and drove to his restaurant. On the way, Sun Jingcheng received a WeChat message. When they reached a traffic light intersection, he typed a reply: “I’m also off work, planning to go eat at Second Brother’s place with Elder Sister.”

Sun Jingfei glanced over—their chat content was truly… lackluster.

Zhou Yu had sent: “The training session just ended, we’re about to go eat.”

Sun Jingcheng replied: “Good. I’m also off work…”

Sun Jingfei found it strange. “You guys send these trivial, boring messages all day?”

Sun Jingcheng looked at her. “Very boring?”

“Just say what needs to be said.” Sun Jingfei found it amusing. “You even need to announce when you’re going to eat.”

Sun Jingcheng didn’t think it was anything unusual. “We don’t have that many important things to talk about every day. She’s away for training, so we don’t usually message much otherwise.”

Sun Jingfei had nothing to say. After a while, she finally spoke: “Ke Yong and I haven’t really chatted about trivial things these past two years. Sometimes when he sends me a message I’m busy, and by the time I’m free to reply, he’s busy again. Basically we only message when there’s something specific.”

“There was once when we finally had a rare day off. We didn’t know what to do, so we both played on our phones for a long time before thinking we could go see a movie.” Sun Jingfei laughed. “Then we went and watched an incredibly boring movie.” Right after, she asked, “How are things between you and Zhou Yu?”

“We’re doing great.”

“Oh please, stop being so smug.” Sun Jingfei was speechless. “Did you forget about when you two were fighting?”

Sun Jingcheng laughed heartily. “We still fight now.” Then he said dismissively, “But fighting is fighting—neither of us can change our personalities.”

“Entering middle age really is different. All the sharp edges have been worn away, and naturally we’ve become more tolerant.” Sun Jingfei concluded.

“Not exactly.” Sun Jingcheng turned the steering wheel, saying seriously, “I’m quite satisfied with our current state. The other day when I came back from a business trip, I went to the school to find Zhou Yu. We didn’t say anything, but we both knew we had said everything. That’s enough.”

“As for personalities… I don’t need to change her, and she doesn’t try to change me. We each respect each other’s individuality—seeking common ground while preserving differences. My ideal state of marriage is for both parties to maintain their sense of self without resentment, able to be two independent individuals while also merging together as husband and wife.”

“Now we’ve reached a consensus. We can have small arguments and bicker, but we’ve clearly drawn lines, understanding which words can be said and which words would hurt the harmony.”

“Love is armchair strategy; marriage is real combat.” Sun Jingcheng summarized his personal relationships over these twenty-some years. Youth had its benefits; middle age had its wonders.

Different ages, different insights.

“Too philosophical—I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Sun Jingfei responded. “You’re becoming more and more like Teacher Zhou.”

Sun Jingcheng was noncommittal.

At this moment, a Luo Dayou song played on the radio. Sun Jingcheng adjusted the volume and hummed along. Sun Jingfei looked out the window, pursing away the tears rushing down. She simply pulled out a tissue and covered her face. “I really want to escape back to childhood—best if I could wake up and Mom would still be urging us to do homework.”

“If you could go back to childhood and reset your life, would you go back?” Sun Jingcheng asked.

Sun Jingfei hesitated, then finally shook her head.

“I wouldn’t go back either.” Sun Jingcheng said without hesitation.

“I’ve lost everything. At thirty-eight years old this year, everything has returned to square one. No marriage, no career, no friendship. Not a good mother, not a qualified daughter…”

“Then why not go back?” Sun Jingcheng asked in return.

“Unwillingness.” Sun Jingfei wiped her tears as she spoke. “Going back would mean I’d overthrow everything, admitting my own incompetence and failure.”

Sun Jingcheng understood, teasing her, “If Ke Yu heard this, he’d be so moved—to have such a great mother…”

“Get lost.” Sun Jingfei laughed and cursed at him. “I’m crying here!”

Sun Jingcheng chuckled and said nothing more.

“It’s really good.” Sun Jingfei suddenly said.

“What’s really good?”

“Seeing you and Zhou Yu doing well makes me especially happy for you both, happy for our family. Among us four siblings, Big Brother is gone, Second Brother isn’t doing too well either, I’m divorced—if you weren’t doing well either, how heartbroken Mom and Dad would be…” Sun Jingfei said with tears in her eyes.

“The other day I heard people gossiping, saying my personality isn’t likeable, saying I’ve failed as a person, saying my divorce was inevitable… If it were the old me, I would have confronted them directly, but that day I didn’t say anything—I just quietly left. We’re all ordinary mortals—who can withstand scrutiny, who can withstand being revealed by a truth-revealing mirror?”

After crying, she wiped her tears and touched up her makeup, then instructed him, “You need to work hard in your career. If you’re still only making eighty thousand, this time you’ll have to give away forty thousand.”

…

“You were cutest when you were little.” Sun Jingcheng was at a loss for words.

“Right? The older I get, the more annoying I become.” Sun Jingfei finished fixing her makeup and had him look left and right. “Second Brother won’t be able to tell I cried, right?”

“Can’t tell.”

Sun Jingfei took a breath, adjusted her emotions, and got out of the car with him. Once again she sighed, “Childhood was so good—none of these frustrating troubles.”

Childhood wasn’t good at all! Sun Jiarui was crying in frustration right now. He just wanted to grow up quickly. Tomorrow was Brother Jiaxing’s birthday, and the day after tomorrow was his birthday. Their birthdays were always one day apart. But the treatment for this one day was vastly different.

Jiaxing’s birthday always had the biggest cake, and all the adults happily shared it. When it came to him, it was the smallest cake. Mom said they had just finished Brother’s birthday and everyone was tired of eating cake, so ordering a small one to mark the occasion was fine.

He didn’t want something just to mark the occasion—he wanted a big cake, he wanted all the adults to sincerely bless him. He especially wanted to be like Brother when he turned twelve, wearing a custom-made suit and having an emcee host his birthday party at a big hotel.

He crouched on the floor of the cake shop refusing to leave. He didn’t know how to express the grief and anger in his heart—he could only cry. He didn’t want Jiaxing to order a big cake, because once the adults ate his cake, they wouldn’t be willing to eat his anymore. He clearly remembered last year’s birthday—Auntie ate a lot of Jiaxing’s cake but didn’t eat a single bite of his, saying it was too rich!

Second Sister-in-law was getting a bit annoyed. There were lots of people right now, yet Jiarui kept making a fuss. At this moment, Jiaxing suggested giving his tomorrow’s birthday to his younger brother, and he would celebrate his brother’s birthday the day after tomorrow instead.

When Jiarui heard this, he stopped crying and said he was willing to swap with him. Second Sister-in-law couldn’t help but laugh—as long as they were happy. In the end, she still didn’t know why Jiarui had made such a fuss.

She had just led them back to the car when she received a call from Sun Jingcheng, saying Second Brother was drunk and asking her to come pick him up at the restaurant. Even if he wanted to take him home, he wouldn’t let him—he specifically wanted her to come get him.

In the private room, the three siblings were drunk beyond recognition. Sun Jingfei and Second Brother were drinking with genuine emotion, while Sun Jingcheng was provoked and forced to drink by those two, having no choice but to pretend to go along with them.

Sun Jingfei said now that Big Brother was gone, only the three of them remained, so they should love each other from now on. Then she told them the story of the Peach Garden Oath. Second Brother had already been drinking at other tables to begin with and was already tipsy. Coming to this table, after a few more drinks, Sun Jingfei hugged him, crying and confessing, saying she had done many things to him in the past that she shouldn’t have.

Second Sister was the most introverted among the siblings. Being hugged by Sun Jingfei like this, and with talk of Big Brother, they were all emotional people—she also shed a few tears. She even had the server bring over a bouquet of fake peach blossoms, placed it properly in the center of the table, and wanted to recreate Liu, Guan, and Zhang’s Peach Garden Oath.

Sun Jingcheng wanted to faint.

When Second Sister and Third Sister knelt on one knee, he excused himself to use the bathroom, saying he needed to relieve himself. Sun Jingfei told him to hold it and pulled him over, pressing him in the middle, saying they should take the oath first.

Sun Jingcheng wouldn’t kneel—he squatted in the middle, but those two enforced it. After the oath, Sun Jingfei shouted at Second Sister, “Second Brother!”

Second Sister responded, “Third Sister!”

The two hugged tightly.

Sun Jingcheng leaned on a chair to sit down and drank in silence. Drink up! Once drunk, he’d get into character! But the alcohol was really too hard to drink, and he bore the mission of taking them home, so he could only play along.

Second Brother threw up twice with Sun Jingfei. He felt it was about time to leave, but Second Brother refused, directing him to call Second Sister-in-law instead. At the mention of Second Sister-in-law, Sun Jingfei used her remaining rationality to warn him to treat Second Sister-in-law well—these years had been so hard for her, and so on and so forth.

Second Brother also took a break, sitting there smoking silently. Sun Jingfei asked why they divorced and then remarried. Second Brother said nothing. When pressed, he just said he was a bastard.

“Did you cheat again?” Sun Jingfei couldn’t believe it.

“I didn’t! Why won’t you believe me! I didn’t!” Second Brother got a bit angry.

…

By the time Second Sister-in-law arrived, the private room had quieted down. The three siblings were each drinking yogurt, sitting there obediently chatting. When Second Sister saw her, she called out “Wife,” then announced with a face full of joy, “Your sister-in-law is pregnant!”

…

Second Sister-in-law told him to keep his voice down—she had a headache.

Sun Jingfei was surprised. “Pregnant again?”

“An accident.” Second Sister-in-law looked a bit worried. “Don’t say anything yet—we’ll talk about it later.” After speaking, she tugged at Second Brother. “Let’s go—the two kids are still in the car.”

Sun Jingcheng supported Second Brother to the car. Sun Jingfei chatted with Second Sister-in-law behind them. Second Sister-in-law was still hesitating—first, she was getting too old; second, she was afraid it was a boy.

She only wanted a daughter.

Sun Jingfei advised her, “Then just decide after three months.” After their car left, she leaned over a trash can to vomit while Sun Jingcheng called for a designated driver and rubbed her back.