The eighteenth day of the third lunar month – an auspicious day for weddings.

Han Susu and Yang Guan’s wedding was set for this day.

Chen Xi had been incredibly busy since before May Day.

The wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses Han Susu bought online had shipping problems, arriving ten days later than expected.

Fortunately, when the clothes arrived, the wedding dress was basically as expected, but the quality and workmanship of the two bridesmaid dresses were beyond words.

Chen Xi was willing to make do, but Han Susu absolutely refused.

Afraid that online shopping would cause more problems, they decided to look in shopping malls.

After searching all day without finding anything satisfactory, they had to go back to online shopping.

Chen Xi thought that according to Han Susu’s preferences, the wedding would definitely be held in a hotel.

But this girl, for whatever reason she had in mind, insisted on following old customs and holding the banquet in Yang Guan’s family courtyard.

Li Guangpeng’s family next door would definitely get their share of the newlyweds’ joy that day.

Qin Zhan and Liu Boyang were responsible for the wedding day pickup convoy.

Probably because Fangfang insisted on a honeymoon wedding, leaving Qin Zhan with no chance to show off.

This time for Han Susu’s wedding, Qin Zhan somehow got hold of a super flashy Ferrari, but Han Susu didn’t even glance at it.

She didn’t want a Ferrari, didn’t want a convoy – she wanted Yang Guan to carry her home on his back like when they were children.

After all, the two family courtyards were only a few steps apart.

Qin Zhan and Liu Boyang were unemployed before they even started work.

Fangfang’s second uncle was a famous yellow noodle master in Dunhuang. Any family that could get him for their wedding banquet would be truly honored.

Fangfang had already taken care of hiring the noodle master early on.

While the adults busied themselves with preparations, the children were happiest.

Ruirui and Guoguo were assigned roles as flower girls, and the two little ones rehearsed at home several times every day.

They couldn’t wait to try on the little tulle dresses Han Susu bought them every single day.

One day, after Chen Xi finished dinner, she strolled over to Han Susu’s house to help write invitations. Yang Shan came with Ruirui, too.

Chen Xi lay on the coffee table writing, while Ruirui drew pictures beside her.

Chen Xi’s handwriting was elegant and flowing with a touch of grace, making the invitations look like works of art.

Ruirui suddenly looked up, her big black and white eyes gazing at Chen Xi as she asked: “Godmother, why hasn’t Brother Sensen come back yet?”

Chen Xi’s writing hand paused, her heart trembling slightly.

After the Spring Festival, Chen Xi had called Uncle Shuping several times, asking about Sensen’s situation.

Uncle Shuping was either busy buying groceries and cooking, or busy picking up children from school for his lunch program, without even time to talk to her for a few sentences.

With such busyness, how much time and care could he give to Sensen?

Sometimes when Chen Xi called at an inconvenient time, she could hear a woman’s harsh urging in the background.

That person was probably Uncle Shuping’s second wife – how much gentleness and care could she give Sensen?

One evening, Chen Xi came back from the shop and unconsciously walked to Grandpa Guan’s small courtyard.

The sapling she had planted on Grandpa Guan’s birthday last year had grown much taller.

It stood quietly in the silent courtyard.

Chen Xi stood before the small tree, speechless for a long time.

She remembered what Grandpa Guan had asked her to promise before he left.

Despite ten thousand reluctances in her heart, she had still complied, handing Sensen over to Uncle Shuping.

But was this good for Sensen?

The evening breeze quietly brought a distant hint of summer, and the leaves rustled in the wind.

Chen Xi suddenly spoke: “Grandpa Guan, I said back then that if Sensen wasn’t doing well in Lanzhou, I would bring him back.”

As dusk deepened, Chen Xi returned to her small courtyard.

She understood – the wind had brought Grandpa Guan’s voice.

On the eve of Han Susu and Yang Guan’s wedding, everyone gathered together again.

As night fell, bright charcoal fires lit up in front of Chen Xi’s shop.

The men grilled meat while the women sat on the steps, drinking and chatting.

Several children ran wild in the courtyard.

Chen Xi smiled as she sipped her beer, looking up at the star-filled night sky, vaguely remembering the night her repair shop opened last year.

The same clear night sky, the same bright charcoal fires, the same joyful children.

Only missing were the fireworks and the person who had sat beside her on the car roof in the wind.

Chen Xi silently sipped her beer, suddenly feeling that this past year had been so long.

Wind blew from the desert, gently lifting the hair by her ears.

A beam of bright headlights turned off the highway, heading their way.

Chen Xi drank her beer sip by sip, watching through slightly tipsy eyes as those headlights grew closer and closer, finally stopping beside Qin Zhan’s car.

Chen Xi’s gaze gradually froze as she looked at that familiar SUV, her whole being stunned, not knowing what was happening.

She heard surprised shouts and cheers around her, saw Qin Zhan throw down his brush and run wildly toward the person getting out of the car.

She heard Han Susu call out a name, and saw Yang Guan stand up with a surprised expression.

She felt Yang Shan gently push her, and she staggered, stood up, and steadied her balance.

Qin Lie was being shaken by Qin Zhan, and across the thick night and warm evening breeze, he smiled faintly at her.

Chen Xi stepped down from the stairs and walked toward Qin Lie.

Her face was calm, and her heartbeat didn’t seem particularly fast.

She walked up to Qin Lie, showed him a long-missed smile, and asked quietly: “Why did you suddenly come back?”

Qin Lie’s dark eyes looked deeply at her, smiled, and said, “Came back to be the best man.”

Chen Xi made a sound of acknowledgment, not knowing what to say for a moment.

The two looked at each other silently. Suddenly, Qin Lie reached out to take Chen Xi’s hand and pulled her toward his car.

Chen Xi stumbled a step to follow, hearing Qin Zhan and Han Susu’s teasing laughter behind them.

Chen Xi followed Qin Lie into the car, watching him start the engine without a word and drive toward the desert.

Neither spoke, the headlights hitting the windshield and casting bright and dark shadows on their faces.

Qin Lie’s car drove through empty roads, past quiet streetlights one by one, into the pitch-black night.

Gradually, rolling dunes appeared in their view – the place where they had raced cars that night at the desert music festival.

In the vast desert, strong winds howled, and the stars seemed within reach.

Qin Lie stopped the car and wordlessly kissed Chen Xi.

He was like a wild beast that had been hungry for a long time, wanting to devour his prey completely.

Chen Xi was tightly held by him, breathing rapidly as they twisted and struggled together.

An indescribable anger suddenly surged in her heart, wanting to beat him severely.

But the next second, she kissed him back frantically.

The two kissed and entangled silently.

They were like travelers dying of thirst, cupping life-saving spring water, every cell in their bodies struggling to stay alive.

Gradually, Chen Xi’s body seemed to catch fire.

Something inside her body, like winter ice, began melting under the blazing sun, becoming warm streams flowing through all her blood vessels.

His breath was like some strange enchantment.

Just once, it seeped into her blood, becoming a bone-deep, heart-piercing desire she could never quit for the rest of her life.

Unable to move freely in the car, the two got out with mutual understanding.

Just like the first time, under moonlight, they released the desire and madness in their hearts.

He was like a violent storm, and she rocked in intoxication, sinking and finally lost in towering waves.

Chen Xi’s throat suddenly let out a low moan from the deepest place, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Qin Lie held her tightly from behind, feeling every inch of her skin trembling.

In intense dizziness, Chen Xi suddenly murmured hoarsely.

“Qin Lie.”

Qin Lie, behind her, gave a low, hoarse hum.

“You came back.”

Deep in Chen Xi’s body, one wave hadn’t settled when another rose.

She was almost drunk to death.

In the overwhelming waves, Qin Lie responded to her hoarsely.

“Mm, I came back.”

He trembled, saying quietly in her ear: “I’m not leaving anymore.”

Chen Xi clung to his sweat-drenched neck, murmuring: “Qin Lie, before you came back, I felt empty.”

She pressed against his burning chest, murmuring: “You came back, and I still feel a bit empty.”

Qin Lie buried his head in Chen Xi’s sweat-soaked neck, holding her tightly.

He felt her pounding heartbeat and heard the voice in her heart.

He knew she missed Sensen.

Without that child, their small world couldn’t be complete.

Qin Lie could have arrived in Dunhuang this morning, but he didn’t rush back. Instead, he went to Lanzhou first.

Like Chen Xi, he was concerned about Sensen.

Coming out of Lanzhou airport, Qin Lie carried two large bags filled with food, clothes, supplies, and toys.

There were so many things he couldn’t add anymore, yet Qin Lie still felt it wasn’t enough.

He took a taxi directly from the airport to Sensen’s school, standing in the cold wind, waiting for the lunch dismissal bell.

Classes filed out of the school gates one by one. Qin Lie unconsciously craned his neck, staring at the flag-bearing children from each class, trying hard to identify the numbers on the flags, afraid he might miss Sensen’s class.

Finally, he saw the fourth-grade class five group.

He widened his eyes, scanning the young faces, urgently searching for Sensen’s figure.

His gaze suddenly fell on a boy.

After half a year, he had grown much taller, his hair was a bit long, his small face expressionless as he walked at the very back of the group with his head down.

Qin Lie raised his hand toward Sensen in the crowd, his voice hoarse as he suppressed the emotions churning in his chest, calling Sensen’s name.

But the boy didn’t hear him.

Qin Lie carried the two large bags, pushing forward two steps, but saw Sensen, after coming out of the school gate, walk directly to a large tree at the entrance.

Three children were already standing under that tree, looking like first-grade little ones.

Qin Lie suddenly stopped, watching Sensen take out a notebook and pen from his backpack, making a few marks on the notebook.

The boy stood under the tree, looking toward the school gate, quietly waiting.

After a while, several more children walked to the tree. Sensen called roll while making checkmarks in his notebook.

Qin Lie stood not far away, watching Sensen wait for dismissal time, waiting nearly half an hour before everyone was gathered.

Then he watched Sensen lead a group of children across the road into the residential community across the street.

Qin Lie followed them grimly and wordlessly across the road into the community.

Uncle Shuping’s lunch program was on the first floor. Qin Lie stood outside the window, watching Sensen bring the children inside.

Then put down his backpack and immediately went into the kitchen.

Serving dishes, serving rice, serving water, reminding children to wash hands, and maintaining order.

Only after all the children were eating did Sensen serve himself a bowl of rice.

He finished eating quickly in a few bites, then immediately helped an anxious-looking woman clean up dishes.

That woman was probably Sensen’s stepmother.

Throughout the entire lunch period, Sensen was busy inside and out, not even having time for a sip of water.

Qin Lie stood outside the window, letting the cold wind blow at him.

Tears unknowingly rolled down his ice-cold cheeks.

Two children who had finished eating ran out of the lunch program. Qin Lie quietly called to them.

“Do you know Guan Sensen?”

He asked hoarsely.

The two children nodded, asking curiously: “Who are you?”

Qin Lie handed them the things in his hands, saying quietly: “I need to ask you a favor – give these things to Guan Sensen.”

The two children took the two large bags, continuing to ask curiously: “Who are you?”

Qin Lie: “Go on.”

After saying this, he turned and walked out of the community against the wind.

Under bright moonlight shining on the two intertwined people in the desert.

Qin Lie suddenly said to Chen Xi in his arms: “Chen Xi, let’s go bring Sensen back.”

Chen Xi suddenly looked up, her gaze carrying a hint of surprise as she looked at Qin Lie.

Qin Lie: “Let’s bring him back. In our home, Sensen won’t need to be so mature, won’t need to be so precocious, won’t need to help adults with their livelihood.”

“He’s just a child himself, yet he has to serve other children dishes and wash bowls.”

Qin Lie couldn’t continue.

Chen Xi suddenly cupped Qin Lie’s face, looking at him seriously.

“You went to Lanzhou?”

Qin Lie nodded: “This morning, I flew back to Dunhuang from Lanzhou.”

Chen Xi’s heart warmed. This man always moved her again and again in unexpected moments, making her fall deeper.

The next second, Chen Xi’s heart ached slightly.

“Is he not doing well?”

She asked softly.

“Not well.”

Qin Lie’s eyes darkened as he answered hoarsely.

He paused, then suddenly said: “Although I quit my job in Beijing, I can provide well for Sensen and won’t let him suffer any grievance.”

Chen Xi didn’t speak. She rested her head against Qin Lie’s chest, and after a long while, suddenly said softly: “Qin Lie, let’s get married.”

That night, Chen Xi brought Qin Lie home.

When Fan Mingsu saw Qin Lie, she wasn’t particularly surprised, just smiled and asked: “Have you eaten?”

Just like before, every ordinary night, as if he had never left at all.

Chen Xi and Qin Lie told Fan Mingsu about their decision to bring Sensen back.

Fan Mingsu sat in the small courtyard, looking up at the starry sky, silent for a long time.

Chen Xi gently shook Fan Mingsu.

“Grandma, don’t you miss Sensen?”

Chen Xi asked softly.

Fan Mingsu glanced at Chen Xi and said flatly: “Think it through – I can still help you for a few more years, but when I’m too old to move, you’ll be responsible for this child for life.”

“A child isn’t a cat or dog. It’s not enough just to feed and clothe him. You need to nurture him to success, give him a complete family. Can you do that?”

In the night, Qin Lie spoke quietly.

“Grandma, I’ll take care of this child for life.”

Fan Mingsu looked up at Qin Lie, and the two gazed at each other silently in the moonlight.

Their gazes seemed to establish a solid contract.

After a long while, Fan Mingsu slapped her thigh and slowly stood up.

“If you’re going to bring him back, do it quickly. Don’t drag your feet.”

As she shuffled toward the house, she said: “I’ll talk to your Uncle Shuping.”

The next day, Chen Xi and Qin Lie boarded a flight to Lanzhou.

When they arrived at the lunch program, Sensen was already busy.

Chen Xi walked into the lunch program and went straight to the kitchen.

She saw Sensen’s small figure, wearing a greasy apron, standing at the sink washing dishes.

“Sensen.”

Chen Xi suppressed the choking in her throat and softly called his name.

Sensen suddenly stopped what he was doing and slowly turned around.

Seeing Chen Xi standing in the doorway, he stared in a daze, thinking he was dreaming.

Chen Xi opened her arms toward Sensen and said softly: “Come home with me.”

Dunhuang’s spring was always brief, and before you knew it, it was midsummer.

Today was the last day before elementary school summer vacation. Sensen and several classmates had arranged to play at the VR arcade together after school.

When the dismissal bell rang, they carried their backpacks, laughing and joking as they came to the school gate.

Sensen saw a tall figure in the crowd and hurriedly waved his arms as he ran toward that person.

“Qin Lie Ge, why is it you?”

Sensen hugged Qin Lie’s waist and shook him, looking up and asking: “Where’s Chen Xi Jie?”

Qin Lie looked down at the child hanging on him and said with a smile, “She has some urgent work. I’m picking you up.”

The SUV drove on the straight highway toward the setting sun, soon reaching their destination.

Several children bounced and jumped into the VR arcade.

Sensen stood at the entrance, looking at a factory building under construction to one side, his face full of curiosity.

“Qin Lie Ge, what is this factory for?”

He asked Qin Lie beside him.

Qin Lie looked at the curious boy and answered: “This is a VR equipment production base.”

He looked at the vast Gobi desert and said quietly: “It’s the future.”

Chen Xi finally finished helping a self-driving tourist couple repair their car before nightfall.

She tiredly washed her hands clean and strolled over to the adjacent VR arcade.

Qin Lie had already sent Sensen and his classmates home. In the huge venue, only he remained, typing on a computer keyboard.

Chen Xi walked over and lay on Qin Lie’s back, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Like a sloth, too tired to move at all.

Qin Lie smiled and glanced back at her: “Finished work?”

Chen Xi nodded, looking at the hieroglyphic-like graphics and code on the computer screen, asking: “Is it reliable to run from Beijing to Dunhuang to build a factory?”

Qin Lie smiled and said quietly, “FW is currently making concept products. When they’re popularized and applied someday, production line scale will eventually be an issue.”

“Building a base in Dunhuang is much more cost-effective than in Beijing.”

Chen Xi hummed, but didn’t seem very convinced.

Qin Lie paused and added: “Of course, there’s also the boss’s willfulness.”

Chen Xi: “Willful enough.”

Qin Lie reached back to stroke the boss lady’s soft hair.

He said with a smile, “Isn’t working hard just so we can live willfully?”

During the long summer vacation, cicadas screeched endlessly until dark.

Shazhou Night Market welcomed its annual tourist peak season.

After dinner, Chen Xi and Qin Lie strolled along the Dang River to the night market.

They walked to Fan Mingsu’s little stall but didn’t see her.

Chen Xi asked the neighboring wood carving vendor if he had seen Fan Mingsu.

The vendor pointed toward the far end of the night market.

“The old lady ate a bowl of braised noodles and went for a stroll over there with San Huang.”

Chen Xi and Qin Lie looked for her along the way.

Qin Lie asked Chen Xi with a smile: “The new puppy is called San Huang?”

Chen Xi nodded, saying matter-of-factly: “As soon as you call him, he responds, as if San Huang came back.”

Qin Lie smiled and hummed quietly.

He certainly didn’t believe in reincarnation, but he couldn’t bear to shatter Chen Xi and Grandma’s wishful hope.

This puppy was picked up by Fan Mingsu from outside a few days ago.

The little guy was destined to be with her – she was riding her tricycle around the alley, and the little guy followed her cart all the way home.

Chen Xi bathed the little guy and let him live in San Huang’s den.

The little guy swaggered into the den, sniffing here and there, then lay down contentedly.

Chen Xi crouched by the den, watching for a long while, then suddenly turned to Fan Mingsu and said: “Grandma, let’s call him San Huang.”

Perhaps San Huang had come back.

Fan Mingsu said with a smile: “Good.”

She believed in reincarnation – suffering and joy had cycles, life had cycles.

In the mysterious workings of fate, what began would end someday, and what ended would begin again at some moment.

Chen Xi and Qin Lie walked to the end of the long street and finally saw Fan Mingsu’s figure at a small shop entrance.

The old lady came out of the shop with a pack of cigarettes in her hand, followed by a shop owner with a worried expression.

Chen Xi watched coldly and picked up San Huang, who was wagging his tail as he pounced toward her.

“Auntie, it really won’t work.”

The shop owner grabbed the cigarettes in Fan Mingsu’s hand, saying tearfully: “Ask anyone on this street – who dares sell you cigarettes? If your Chen Xi finds out, won’t she tear down my little shop?”

Fan Mingsu grabbed the cigarettes back and hugged them to her chest, saying carelessly: “It’s fine, it’s fine. How would she know?”

Chen Xi’s cool voice suddenly came from behind: “Grandma.”

Fan Mingsu froze, turned around, and looked at Chen Xi in shock.

“How did you come here?”

Chen Xi said with a fake smile: “Came to take you home.”

Fan Mingsu waved at Chen Xi: “No need, no need. I’ll pedal the tricycle back myself.”

As she spoke, she still clutched the cigarettes tightly.

The shop owner instinctively jumped back a step and quickly explained to Chen Xi: “Your grandma insisted on buying them. I’ve been arguing with her for half an hour.”

Qin Lie remembered last May Day when, to find out who drew the flying celestial on Fan Mingsu’s canvas bag, he was sent by the old lady to this shop to buy cigarettes.

He had solidly incurred Chen Xi’s wrath.

Then, they met.

Then, there was today.

Warmth surged in his heart, and he couldn’t help smiling.

Seeing Fan Mingsu caught red-handed yet still clutching those cigarettes tightly, Chen Xi’s anger flared up.

In front of so many people, she couldn’t lose her temper with Fan Mingsu, so she angrily turned and strode away.

Fan Mingsu waved at the aggrieved shop owner and trotted after Chen Xi.

“Why are you walking so fast?”

Fan Mingsu cheerfully made small talk.

Chen Xi ignored her, walking through the bustling tourists without looking back toward the exit of the night market.

“Such a bad temper – what will happen in the future?”

Fan Mingsu looked at Qin Lie sympathetically.

But Qin Lie looked completely willing, giving Fan Mingsu a slight smile.

At Fan Mingsu’s stall, Chen Xi suddenly stopped and turned to look at Fan Mingsu.

“Grandma, don’t you know your physical condition?”

Chen Xi finally spoke.

Fan Mingsu clutched the cigarettes, smiling at Chen Xi.

After a while, she finally explained: “I quit smoking long ago.”

Chen Xi didn’t believe it, looking at Fan Mingsu with a stormy expression.

But Fan Mingsu wasn’t as guilty as before. She picked up a cloth bag from the ground and stuffed the cigarettes inside.

Chen Xi saw that there were also two bottles of alcohol and several rolls of paper money in the bag.

Chen Xi was stunned, then heard Fan Mingsu continue cheerfully: “When I napped this afternoon, I dreamed that your grandpa and I went to visit Grandpa Guan. We four old folks had a drink together.”

Fan Mingsu put down the cloth bag and said slowly: “I thought I’d go to the cemetery tomorrow to see them.”

Chen Xi stood speechless, the anger in her eyes gradually becoming moist.

Fan Mingsu sat down on her small stool, grabbed a handful of raisins, and chewed them slowly.

“Don’t worry.”

She looked at Chen Xi and Qin Lie, saying with a smile: “I don’t want to smoke a single cigarette anymore.”

She had truly quit smoking because she wanted to live longer.

She still needed to help Chen Xi raise Sensen, and when Chen Xi and Qin Lie had their little one, she would help them raise that child too.

Life was so good – she really couldn’t bear to leave.

During summer vacation, Yang Shan sent Ruirui to Chen Xi’s shop almost every day to do homework with Sensen.

Chen Xi discovered that people’s personalities were truly innate and could be seen from childhood.

Ruirui was a little dawdler, a procrastinator, and had no competitive spirit at all.

So her summer homework was very Buddhist in approach.

Half the summer vacation had passed, and she had barely started her assignments.

Sensen seemed to have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, was highly competitive, and was also a perfectionist.

He buried himself in homework from the start of vacation, finishing it all within a week, then bought math competition problems to work on.

Every time Chen Xi saw them, she couldn’t help wanting to laugh.

This day, Ruirui finally finished writing a short essay and threw down her pen as if granted amnesty.

Breaking free from homework’s heavy shackles, she ran to the refrigerator to get two ice creams, pestering Sensen relentlessly to play with her.

Sensen was so bothered by her that he had no choice but to put down his problems, get up, and run outside with Ruirui.

Chen Xi casually picked up the ice cream wrapper Ruirui had thrown on the homework pile, her gaze suddenly stopping on her Chinese homework book.

The little one had just written an essay titled “My Dream.”

Ruirui had written in crooked handwriting, economical with words: “My dream is to be a kind teacher.”

She couldn’t write the characters for “kind” and was too lazy to look them up in the dictionary, shamelessly using pinyin like a first-grader.

“My dream is to be a kind teacher, speaking loudly from the podium, not complaining even when my voice goes hoarse, just like our kind Chinese teacher.”

Her perfunctory and flattering little thoughts were obvious, while subtly hinting to her Chinese teacher, hoping she would be kind.

Chen Xi burst into laughter.

She couldn’t help flipping through Sensen’s neat stack of homework to find his Chinese assignment.

Just turning to the first page, she saw the same topic prominently displayed.

“My Dream.”

Sensen’s writing was neat and beautiful, hardly looking like a child’s handwriting.

“When I was very young, my dream was for Mom to come back. Later, I learned she had gone to another world.

“Later, my dream was for Dad to come back, but Lanzhou is very far – you have to take an overnight train. Dad runs a lunch program in Lanzhou and really can’t get away.

“Later, my dream was for Grandpa not to leave, but Grandma Fan said people get old and have to leave someday.

“Until I met Qin Lie Ge, who told me dreams could be found in the universe.

“I thought my dream would become an astronaut, exploring infinite unknowns in the universe, but I couldn’t bear to go to the universe.

“The universe is so far away – I wouldn’t see Chen Xi Jie and Qin Lie Ge for a very long time.

“So I prepared an ordinary dream too – to be with them forever.

“P.S.: Chen Xi Jie and Qin Lie Ge got their marriage certificate. I know that after getting the certificate, they become a family.

“I want to get a certificate too. That way, I would be family with them.

“But the people at the civil affairs bureau said children can’t get certificates.

“Fortunately, Chen Xi Jie said that at my age, even without a certificate, I can become family with them.”

Chen Xi gently closed the homework book and put it back in the stack on the coffee table.

With a slight smile on her lips, she looked toward the sunlit corridor.

Her dream was as ordinary as Sensen’s.

The universe was too big, time was boundless, yet what each of us was given was too little.

Ten thousand years was too long, a lifetime too short.

Better to seize the day.

In Dunhuang, in their hometown, they are an ordinary yet warm family.