At the age of four, Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui started attending kindergarten.

On their first day, Shi Niannian was particularly worried that the two children might not adapt well. She was confident about the older brother, but since Jiang Sui used to cry easily whenever she wasn’t around when he was younger, she feared the younger brother would cry inconsolably at kindergarten.

However, by the afternoon of that same day, when school let out, she realized these concerns were completely unnecessary.

Shi Niannian and Jiang Wang stood at the kindergarten entrance, watching Jiang Sui cheerfully chatting with a girl wearing a Snow White dress.

In contrast, Jiang Shen was much more composed. The older brother walked a few steps forward, noticed his brother wasn’t following, frowned, glanced at his parents standing by the car, then looked back at his brother, who was flirting with the little girl.

Jiang Shen coolly walked back, saying to the little girl, “My brother needs to go home now,” before grabbing his brother’s hand and walking away.

Shi Niannian: “…”

Jiang Wang: “…”

After exchanging a few words with the kindergarten teacher, they took the two little treasures home.

Shi Niannian sat in the passenger seat, distributing two small cake boxes they had bought on the way to the brothers, instructing, “Eat slowly, okay? We’ll have dinner when we get home.”

Shi Niannian asked them about their first day at kindergarten.

This kindergarten had been carefully selected after much deliberation. It was a bilingual kindergarten, though the academic pressure wasn’t heavy, and it was famous for its education through play approach.

When Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui first learned to speak, they had already shown they’d inherited the intelligence of Shi Niannian and Jiang Wang, learning much faster than their peers. Now, their language expression logic was also much stronger.

Jiang Shen nodded, saying, “It’s pretty good.”

Shi Niannian asked, “Were the teachers nice to you?”

Jiang Sui said, “The teacher sister is very pretty.”

“…” Shi Niannian sighed.

Seeing his mother’s somewhat stunned expression, Jiang Sui added perfectly, “But not as pretty as mama.”

Jiang Wang, driving beside them, chuckled lightly, looking at Jiang Sui through the rearview mirror, “Little rascal, so which is prettier—the girl you were talking to earlier or mama?”

Jiang Sui didn’t hesitate: “Of course, Mama is prettier.”

Beside him, Jiang Shen was eating his cake, turning his head to glance at his brother, snorting dismissively, completely unsupportive.

Jiang Wang asked again, “Shen Shen, don’t you have a girl you like?”

Shi Niannian laughed, giving Jiang Wang a light tap, “How can you ask such questions as a father?”

Jiang Shen coolly shook his head, “No.”

It was the boys’ first day of kindergarten. They had gotten up earlier than usual, and after eating the cakes, they began to feel drowsy, soon falling asleep in the back seat.

Shi Niannian rested her forehead against the car window, looking at Jiang Wang as he drove.

“What is it?” Noticing her gaze, Jiang Wang smiled, ruffling her hair, “So do you think I’m more handsome or the two little rascals?”

Shi Niannian laughed and gave him a playful punch. “How can you be competing with your sons?”

Jiang Wang persisted, “I’m asking you.”

“You, you, you, you’re the most handsome,” Shi Niannian placated him.

The kindergarten offered many activities to develop children’s interests, including learning instruments, raising small animals, gardening, and sports.

Originally, when Jiang Wang lived alone, his home was always decorated in just three colors—black, white, and gray—with a minimalist style. Now, thanks to the two children, the front garden was filled with various flowers and plants, they kept small turtles and goldfish, and now they were begging their father to raise a large dog.

Jiang Wang was somewhat of a neat freak. The thought of dog hair all over the house made him weary, but since Shi Niannian was also enthusiastic about this, and all three were wearing him down, Jiang Wang had no choice but to agree.

The kindergarten also had many parent-child activities. They had previously agreed to make time to participate in these events whenever possible.

The kindergarten the brothers attended was the most famous bilingual kindergarten in the area, and naturally, the tuition was high. Among the parents of their classmates were several of Jiang Wang’s acquaintances.

Previously, considering Shi Niannian’s preferences, Jiang Wang rarely brought her to business occasions. Now, however, they had met several times at kindergarten parent-child activities.

Only then did people truly understand why Mr. Jiang and his wife’s relationship was rumored to be so magical—Jiang Wang’s public image was completely different from how he acted around Shi Niannian.

Meanwhile, Shi Niannian had originally joined the hospital as Chen Qing’s “final disciple,” and Chen Qing had been the head of the department. Her subsequent series of surgeries as lead surgeon went very smoothly, and she was quickly promoted to Associate Chief Physician, with many patients specifically requesting her for their operations.

The profession Jiang Wang had initially chosen for her had now become her beloved career.

During summer vacation, one of the kindergarten assignments was to travel with parents and take photos to submit.

Jiang Wang and Shi Niannian arranged their work in advance and took their two treasures on a trip at the end of July.

It was Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui’s first time on an airplane. The older brother even gave the window seat to his younger brother. Both were quite curious, looking out at the soft, white clouds, while Jiang Wang and Shi Niannian sat on the other side.

Their travel destination was an island.

Blue seas and skies, tall coconut trees, and people leisurely walking along the beach in swimming trunks.

There was a clothing shop next to the hotel selling many beach-style clothing items. She browsed for a while, finding them cute and interesting, and picked out two pairs of beach shorts with elephant patterns for the brothers.

“Do you like these?” Shi Niannian looked expectantly at her two sons.

Having developed their aesthetic sense, Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui rejected them quite disdainfully, expressing that they didn’t like them at all, as they were too childish.

“How are they childish? Aren’t elephants cute?” Shi Niannian muttered.

In the end, Jiang Wang chose clothes for the two boys. Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui’s tastes were similar to Jiang Wang’s, all preferring simple, clean black, white, and gray. Despite being only 5 years old, they already preferred a cool style of dress.

After buying clothes, the four returned to the hotel to drop off their luggage. When they left the hotel again, it was already six in the evening, though the sky was still bright outside.

Shi Niannian changed into a floral dress. Jiang Wang leaned against the bathroom door, watching her change, his gaze darkening as he walked forward and embraced her waist from behind.

He lowered his head, placing a hot kiss on her neck, saying hoarsely, “Let’s go out after dark.”

Shi Niannian laughed and pushed him, turning around with her back against the cool sink, raising her head to kiss Jiang Wang. Her lips were moistened by his, and the man’s warm, lingering scent enveloped her.

After a long while, Shi Niannian finally pulled back slightly, her arms propped on the sink as she looked at him, “Shen Shen and Sui Sui will be getting impatient soon.”

Jiang Wang still held her without moving.

Shi Niannian reached up to ruffle his hair, “Let’s go, Daddy Jiang.”

Jiang Wang curled his lips, stepping back, but his hands remained on Shi Niannian’s waist. He gazed at her deeply for a moment, then untied the drawstring at the collar of her floral dress.

The man’s movements were unhurried, his fingertips slightly hot as he retied it tightly.

When the two came out of the bathroom after dawdling for a while, Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui had already changed into their clothes—loose black beach shorts with matching white t-shirts.

Fearing it might get cold at night, Shi Niannian coaxed the two into wearing jackets as well.

Seafood was most abundant in island cities. The four found a lively seafood restaurant, and as soon as they entered, they attracted the attention of other tourists.

The father was tall and handsome, the mother gentle and beautiful, accompanied by two adorable, good-looking little ones.

The waiter brought the menu over, unable to stop glancing at the two little ones. Jiang Wang skillfully ordered the dishes. Despite the restaurant’s good business, the food was served quickly.

Jiang Shen picked up a crab. Shi Niannian asked, “Do you know how to eat it? Should Mama peel it for you?”

Jiang Shen shook his head, “I can peel it myself.”

Beside him, Jiang Sui chimed in, “We’re big now, we can peel crabs ourselves.”

Shi Niannian: “…”

The brothers had always been quite independent, putting on their clothes properly by themselves every day. This little-adult demeanor made Shi Niannian somewhat helpless.

As she was thinking this, Jiang Wang placed peeled crab legs in front of her.

Two little heads suddenly perked up beside them, looking at their father and then at their mother. After a moment, Jiang Sui said, “So mama doesn’t know how to eat crab.”

Shi Niannian: “…”

Jiang Wang went along with it, “So you should peel some for mama too.”

The obedient Jiang Shen also placed the crab shell he had just peeled in front of Shi Niannian.

Shi Niannian sighed helplessly, catching a glimpse of sympathy in her sons’ eyes, which translated to “How can Mama not know how to peel a crab at her age?”

When they finished dinner and went out, the sky had darkened, and the seaside was much quieter than during the day.

The noisy crowds had subsided, leaving only the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, tide after tide.

Shi Niannian held hands with Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui as they went to the beach to wade in the water, but they were soon pulled away by Jiang Wang.

After dark, the water temperature dropped. He crouched in front of Shi Niannian, wiping her wet legs dry, then did the same for the two little rascals.

Mr. Jiang put his arm around Shi Niannian’s shoulders, nagging like a mother hen, “Going into such cold water, be careful not to catch a cold again.”

Shi Niannian shrank her neck, not responding, obediently acknowledging her mistake.

However, the brothers weren’t so obedient. Just as they were beginning to enjoy the fun of splashing in water, they were mercilessly pulled back, their lips visibly quivering, about to throw a tantrum.

Shi Niannian quickly said, “We’ll come back to play here tomorrow at noon. For tonight, let’s go back to the hotel to play.”

The hotel had a swimming pool. She adjusted the temperature and gave Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui each a small swimming ring. Most children know how to swim from birth, but Jiang Shen and Jiang Sui have preserved this skill until now.

When they were little, they could swim in the pool during bath time at home.

Shi Niannian and Jiang Wang sat on a bench by the pool with juice, watching the two brothers splashing and playing in the water.

“I sometimes feel incredibly lucky,” Shi Niannian said.

“Hmm?”

She took a sip of juice, looking ahead, “Having you, and having the two of them. Watching them play in the pool now reminds me of you before.”

That radiant young man from before.

In his splendid youth.

She was grateful to have witnessed and possessed that version of Jiang Wang.

“I hope Shen Shen and Sui Sui can grow up always surrounded by love, and I hope they can heal those wounds in your heart that may have been sealed away for a long time,” Shi Niannian said softly. “Make up for the regrets we had before.”

The night sky was vast with stars, the full moon hung high, the two children laughed and played in the pool, and Shi Niannian was beside him, within reach.

Before, he had said that Shi Niannian’s return was the best life for him, but now Shi Niannian had given him an even better life, a beautiful life he couldn’t have imagined before.

Jiang Wang embraced her, saying hoarsely, “I love you.”

Every story begins from that ordinary night, from that breeze, from that first glance.

“Me too,” Shi Niannian said.

She quietly looked at him, her eyelashes fluttering, earnestly repeating, “I love you too.”

His girl was the most precious existence in this world, a gift that led him out of darkness and desolation, an ever-refreshing present.

She was like the purest, cleanest moonlight sprinkled upon his heart.