1
Lin Yingtao had rarely experienced health issues since childhood. So when she felt nauseous, inexplicably seasick-like discomfort, she left the office and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test.
In one of the three tiny stalls of the teacher’s restroom next to the office, Lin Yingtao called her husband.
“I think it’s real…” she said softly, covering her mouth.
At 5 PM, Jiang Qiaoxi hurriedly parked his car and ran across the sidewalk. The kindergarten security recognized him and let him in directly.
Several teachers saw him and joked, “Coming to pick up Teacher Lin so early?”
Jiang Qiaoxi passed by the White Horse classroom door, where children were learning English rhymes. A trainee caregiver saw him and quickly said, “Teacher Lin just went back to the office!”
As he opened the office door, there was no one else inside. Jiang Qiaoxi closed the door behind him and immediately embraced his wife.
“Let me see…” he said softly, rubbing Yingtao’s shoulders.
Those two short red lines were the first signal of “Jiang Chunlu’s” appearance in this world.
2
Lin Yingtao was clearly more bewildered and anxious—she wasn’t even 25 years old yet. Although she had anticipated this happening soon, it suddenly came, and she wasn’t fully prepared mentally.
Whenever she was alone, she tended to overthink. She felt lost; she still wanted to be a child, yet she was going to be a mother again.
Only when Jiang Qiaoxi was with her did she realize that she and this little baby might be the most important people in Jiang Qiaoxi’s life. Her husband was so eager for the arrival of a blood relative, so longing for a family member.
“We can’t really name them ‘Jiang Chunlu’, can we?” Lin Yingtao pondered late at night.
Jiang Qiaoxi slept on his side next to her. He no longer dared to casually hold his wife, only clutching her hand. “What do you think we should name them?” he asked casually.
Lin Yingtao began flipping through dictionaries at every opportunity. Whenever she read novels or magazines, she paid attention to any names she came across. While working at the kindergarten, she would glance at the enrollment lists, feeling like she was sneaking peeks at other test-takers’ answers.
Lin Dianggong, eating his meal, suggested to the young couple: “Choose a name that’s easy to pronounce. It’s important for the child’s future schooling, work, and making friends.” He frowned and said, “Jiang Chunlu is too difficult to pronounce. This name is so strange!”
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head, eating his meal, unable to suppress a smile. Lin Yingtao, holding her rice bowl beside him, turned to look at him. Jiang Qiaoxi continued eating without raising his head.
Du Shang asked in the Mountain Small Dining Table group chat: “Yingtao, when’s your due date?”
Lin Yingtao replied: “End of October.”
Du Shang said: “Oh, maybe we’ll have the same zodiac sign!”
Cai Fangyuan suggested: “See what you like to eat during your pregnancy.”
Lin Yingtao said: “I don’t feel like eating anything now. I just had a bowl of tofu pudding this morning.”
Cai Fangyuan said: “You could name them Jiang Shrimp Chips, Jiang Tofu Pudding, or Jiang Fried Dough Stick.”
Yu Qiao chimed in: “Born in October? How about Jiang Jianguo?”
Du Shang agreed: “Jiang Aihua.”
Yu Qiao said: “Jiang Jianguo for a boy, Jiang Aihua for a girl. Done.”
Qin Yeyun: [face palm][face palm]
Lin Yingtao has left the group chat.
Cai Fangyuan invited Lin Yingtao back to the group chat.
Cai Fangyuan said: “Everyone, be mindful. Pregnant women’s emotions can be volatile. Let’s be considerate.”
Lin Yingtao said: “What kind of godfathers and godmothers are you all [crying][crying] Not a single constructive suggestion [crying][crying]”
Du Shang sighed: “I’m only 25, and I’m already going to be a godfather.”
Yu Qiao said: “I’m still a baby myself, and I’m already going to be a godfather.”
Qin Yeyun: “@Lin Yingtao, you still have several months, why are you in such a hurry? Isn’t Jiang Qiaoxi a study genius? Let him think about it! @Jiang Qiaoxi, you think about it too!”
Jiang Qiaoxi returned home from work, carrying not only his work documents but also several pages of faxes from Hong Kong. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and sat at the dining table, pulling his wife close.
The first few pages were about visa arrangements for Lisa, who was professional in caring for both mother and baby, which put Jiang Qiaoxi’s mind at ease. The last page was handwritten in traditional characters, listing about a dozen names.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked down at it, his eyes slightly downcast: “These are names my uncle and cousins chose.”
Lin Yingtao also brought over her little notebook. She had already thought of several names but hadn’t decided yet. Her favorite name was at the top, a girl’s name, “Jiang Qingyi.”
“Don’t you think it’s cute?” she looked up and asked Jiang Qiaoxi, “Yi? As in Jiang Qingyi?”
The carefully chosen second tone made people feel good just hearing it.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked at his wife’s face, resisting the urge to pinch her cheek. He lowered his head to look at the names his uncle and cousin had chosen, saying, “Most of the last characters they chose are also second tone, some first tone. They’re easy to pronounce.”
Lin Dianggong particularly liked a name chosen by Jiang Qiaoxi’s uncle: “Jiang Youci.”
“This name is great!” Lin Haifeng said softly to his daughter, “It has a good meaning too. It’s a good name.”
Lin Yingtao raised her eyebrows slightly, quite doubtful. Her mother smiled and remarked to her father: “It sounds so cultured, much more than the ‘Qile’ you chose.”
Jiang Qiaoxi also liked this name. But Lin Yingtao couldn’t quite explain what she was unsatisfied with.
“I feel like it’s my ancestor’s name,” she said, turning from the passenger seat.
Jiang Qiaoxi had just taken a sip of water and hadn’t started the car yet. He screwed the cap back on the water bottle and put it down.
Lin Yingtao spread her hands in front of her, gesturing to Jiang Qiaoxi: “Like those in the Xinhua Bookstore, filling a whole bookshelf, ‘The Collected Works of Jiang Youci’! Don’t you think it sounds like that?”
Jiang Chunlu transformed from a little fairy with rainbow-colored hair, riding on a somersault cloud and holding a magic wand, into a little ancestor that made Lin Yingtao anxious.
In her heart, perhaps only the post-90s study genius Jiang Qiaoxi could keep the post-2015 literary talent Jiang Youci in check.
On March 5, 2015, Lin Yingtao stayed home to celebrate her husband’s birthday, just the two of them. The birthday cake was only 6 inches in size because Lin Yingtao was pregnant. Even though she craved sweets, she only dared to eat a single portion. She didn’t have particularly severe pregnancy symptoms. From the time she confirmed her pregnancy until now, she hadn’t felt very uncomfortable, which might be related to her active lifestyle since childhood, or perhaps just good luck.
Du Shang posted on his social media, sharing a video of Jay Chou’s wedding at a church in Yorkshire, England, in January.
“Jay got married, and one of my best friends is about to have a baby,” Du Shang wrote, “Time flies so fast.”
Jiang Qiaoxi stood by the sink, rolling up his sleeves to wash the dishes. Lin Yingtao sat at the dining table, opening the wedding video to watch. Her gaze seemed to be on the singer who once had many worries on the “Fantasy” album cover, but now happily married his bride. Her peripheral vision unconsciously glanced at the man behind the phone, patiently and meticulously wiping the dishes clean.
Lin Yingtao hugged Jiang Qiaoxi’s waist from behind. Jiang Qiaoxi finished washing the dishes and wiped his hands. His hands were cool as he held Lin Yingtao’s hands that were hugging him. He then turned around, embracing his wife as they stood in the kitchen. They were like a couple who had just finished dancing, resting in each other’s arms for a long time.
It was the third month of “Jiang Chunlu’s” existence in this world.
For Jiang Qiaoxi, there couldn’t be a better “birthday gift” than this.
3
Lin Yingtao had understood since she was young.
As girls grow up, they face more and more pain in life.
She lay on the bed, her dress wet underneath, feeling scared. The bed was pushed along the corridor, with her mother by her side, trying to smile to comfort her, yet worried for her daughter and afraid on her behalf. Jiang Qiaoxi was hurriedly talking with the anesthesiologist, turning his head anxiously to look in her direction as he spoke.
Lin Yingtao could clearly hear her own breathing. She thought that no matter what difficulties lay ahead, she could overcome them.
Her long hair was scattered, damp with sweat on the pillow. The anesthesiologist and obstetric nurse came to check on her from time to time. Jiang Qiaoxi leaned down to ask her, “Does it hurt?”
Lin Yingtao was in a daze, shaking her head.
“I don’t feel pain anymore,” she choked up, and he kissed her cheek.
The sky over the provincial capital darkened. It was early autumn, and the weather had cooled. Lin Dianggong was so worried he couldn’t eat a bite, pacing back and forth in the corridor. At this time, his old friend, Team Leader Yu, arrived. Yu asked from afar, “Has Yingtao given birth yet?”
The baby’s first cry was accompanied by the nurse’s exclamation: “Oh, double eyelids!”
Lin Dianggong’s phone had run out of battery. He borrowed his son-in-law Qiaoxi’s phone and crouched on the hospital staircase where there weren’t many people. As soon as the call connected, he had only spoken a couple of sentences before he wiped his face, choking up with laughter.
His sister congratulated him on the phone: “Alright, as long as Yingtao is safe. Haifeng, after more than twenty years of worry… You’re a grandfather now!”
“I still feel like I just got the call telling me Juan had given birth to a daughter,” his sister said. She was silent for a moment, “That was back in 1990.”
[Author’s note: Pasting 6 cold, unfunny Jiang Chunlu parenting anecdotes ;_; — 2019.6.17]
1
Jiang Youci curled up in her father’s office doing homework. She raised her pen in protest: “Why does my name have so many strokes! Dad, what kind of name did you and uncle choose?”
Jiang Qiaoxi sat behind his desk looking at data. His secretary came in and brought him coffee.
Without even looking up, Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Your mom used to name you Jiang Chunlu.”
“Jiang… what?” Jiang Youci asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi casually wrote those three characters on the back of a piece of paper and let her come over to look.
Jiang Youci took one glance and turned back angrily. She lowered her head and continued writing her elementary school homework, feeling wronged.
2
Jiang Youci stood outside the bathroom door, pitifully asking, “Mom, can I play with your phone…”
Lin Yingtao had just finished showering and was wearing her pajamas, applying skincare products. She said to the little girl peering at her through the door crack, “I still want to play with it.”
Jiang Youci didn’t argue or make a fuss. She ran out to the master bedroom, pulled open her parents’ blanket, and smoothed it out. She stood on tiptoe to reach for the bottle of melatonin her mom occasionally took from the cabinet, struggled to twist it open, and poured two pills into her palm. She ran back to the bathroom door: “Mom! Go to sleep quickly! Playing with your phone is not good!”
Lin Yingtao turned off the hair dryer and said, “I don’t want to sleep now. You go to sleep first, and put the melatonin back!”
Jiang Youci pouted, turned around, and ran off again. In no time, she dragged her dad in.
Jiang Qiaoxi was confused: “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yingtao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, unsure of what to say. She told Jiang Qiaoxi, “She wants to play with my phone…”
3
In summer, they went to her grandparents’ house for the weekend. Jiang Youci was held by her grandfather and Uncle Yu as they went fishing. She played by the fish pond, getting several mosquito bites and her arms turned red from the sun. By evening, she was running around following her grandmother. Finally, she obediently sat on a small stool, helping her grandmother wind yarn. Grandmother said she had knitted several pairs of gloves for her, her mom, and her dad to wear in winter.
On Sunday afternoon, when her dad came to pick her up, grandmother hadn’t finished washing Jiang Youci’s clothes. Jiang Qiaoxi rolled up his sleeves, helped his mother-in-law wring out the clothes, and packed his daughter’s still damp little clothes into a bag to take home and hang dry.
On the way home, Jiang Youci sat in her child seat and said wistfully, “It’s so much fun at grandpa and grandma’s house…”
Jiang Qiaoxi was driving in the front and suddenly remarked, “Your grandmother used to wash my clothes too.”
His daughter frowned, “Why did grandma have to wash your clothes?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Because not everyone is as fortunate as you.”
4
Often, the relationship between Lin Yingtao and her daughter was quite good.
Early in the morning, Lin Yingtao was tidying up the sofa in the living room. As soon as she lifted the sofa cushion, she saw several ties that had fallen inside. She started scolding, “Jiang Qiaoxi, you’ve carelessly tossed your ties again! One, two, three—”
Jiang Youci ran out from the master bedroom, holding up a bundle of socks: “Mom, look at how dad carelessly throws his socks!”
Jiang Qiaoxi called from the bedroom: “Jiang Chunlu, give me those socks!”
Lin Yingtao laughed and said to her daughter, “It’s ties.”
Jiang Youci ran back in. Lin Yingtao walked to the bedroom door and saw Jiang Youci tugging at the tie around her dad’s neck, about to pull it off to hand over to the state, but ended up being picked up by her dad.
5
Sometimes, the mother-daughter relationship was tense.
Jiang Youci tilted her head back and said, “I’m going to tell your mom!”
Lin Yingtao said, “Go ahead and tell!”
Jiang Youci said indignantly, “I’m going to tell your husband!”
So Jiang Qiaoxi, in his hotel room on a business trip, listened on the phone while drinking coffee as his daughter wailed and accused her mom of bullying her.
Not long after, often while in a meeting with clients, his daughter would send a WeChat message.
“I declare that mom and I have officially reconciled. Please forget about the previous phone call.”
6
Throughout the year, Dad often traveled for work, while Mom rarely left her daughter’s side.
However, this time, the kindergarten recommended Lin Yingtao to go to the United States for an exchange program to attend the Montessori Education Conference, which was a rare opportunity.
Jiang Youci remembered her mother saying before she left to take good care of Dad and spend more time with him. In the middle of the night, she got up to use the bathroom, thinking about this. She walked into Dad’s room to tuck him in and gently patted his head. Dad was indeed not in a deep sleep; he woke up as soon as she touched him and turned on the bedside lamp.
“Don’t cry, and don’t feel lonely, okay?” Jiang Youci said seriously to her dad. “Mom will be back in a few days…”
Jiang Youci leaned against her dad as they watched cartoons on his phone together. Holding her dad’s phone, she came across a photo of a little girl in the phone’s album.
The little girl had two ponytails, wore a school uniform, and held a medal, standing on the podium at a sports event with a big smile.
“Who is this?” Jiang Youci asked curiously.
“This is your mom.”
The child’s eyes widened as she looked at the photo of another child from before the passage of time.
She nestled closer to her dad.