Feng Yanzhi learned about Hu Jianming’s matter when Yu Hao was pregnant with her second child.

Lu Huaizheng discussed with Huo Ting and found an appropriate time to tell Feng Yanzhi the whole story from beginning to end without omitting a single word. Yu Hao and Lu Xin were in the room with the children, while the others talked in the study until midnight. Through the door, they could hear the children’s playful shouts and screams.

Yu Guoyang kept his head lowered without saying a word, while Feng Yanzhi covered her face.

Yu Hao and Lu Xin’s soft, gentle conversation occasionally drifted over from next door. She said she hadn’t been sleeping well, and the fetal movements of her second pregnancy seemed stronger than with her first. “Lu Huaizheng always says I kick off the blankets at night and will make his daughter cold.”

Lu Xin laughed softly, “He’s just being stubborn, using his daughter as an excuse. And how does he know it’s a daughter?”

Yu Hao replied helplessly, “He insists it’s a daughter.”

Lu Xin giggled, “He hopes it’s a daughter. What about you? Do you hope for a daughter or a son?”

Yu Hao thought for a moment and said, “A son, I think. With a son, I won’t have to worry about him being bullied in the future.”

When these words reached the next room, Feng Yanzhi could no longer contain herself. She covered her face and sobbed several times. Her heart felt as if someone had cruelly carved out a piece, leaving an empty, drafty hole that rubbed against her wounded surface, causing pain so intense she nearly fainted.

She desperately grabbed Yu Guoyang’s shoulders, pushing him, hitting him, gritting her teeth while keeping her voice down: “Beast! You’re all beasts! There’s not a single decent person in your family! Get out! Get out of here!”

Yu Guoyang remained unmoved, allowing her to push him. Eventually, Lu Huaizheng restrained Feng Yanzhi. Huo Ting couldn’t bear to watch and said to Feng Yanzhi, “It’s useless to hit him. If you want to blame someone, blame Yu Hao for keeping it secret.”

After sensing Lu Huaizheng’s fierce glare, Huo Ting changed his tone: “That’s not quite right either. Most girls who suffer abuse from someone they know feel ashamed to tell their parents, especially introverted girls like Yu Hao. I’ve interviewed some girls with similar experiences about this issue. In the earlier days when sex education was lacking, sixty percent of parents of girls with such experiences didn’t know about it. Another ten percent of parents wouldn’t believe it, and only thirty percent of parents would take up legal weapons to protect their children. But now things are different—times have progressed, and sex education has opened up, so we can talk about these things. Huaizheng has discussed this with me several times. He was hesitant about whether to tell you, but the recent chaos made him afraid of disrupting your lives. Now that things have finally stabilized, we’re telling you not to make you feel guilty, but to hope that in this family, you can also change your perspective and always stay clear-headed.”

Yu Hao had finally managed to put Yi Li to sleep.

She turned to see Feng Yanzhi standing at her bedroom door, hesitating to come in. She poked her head out and softly called, “Mom?”

Feng Yanzhi gripped the corner of her clothes tightly and responded with a low sound.

Yu Hao came out of the room. “Why are you standing here?”

Feng Yanzhi kept her head down without speaking.

Yu Hao sensed something was wrong and looked down to see her eyes. “What’s wrong? Where’s Dad?”

Feng Yanzhi: “He went home. Lu Huaizheng took your father back and will return later. He asked me to let you know.”

Yu Hao nodded while leaning against the doorframe. “Why are you crying? Did you argue with my father?”

“No. Is Yi Li asleep?”

Yu Hao looked back. “Just fell asleep.”

Feng Yanzhi wiped her tears. “All right, you rest. I’m going to sleep too.”

However, Feng Yanzhi only turned around but didn’t move. She pursed her lips, unable to say what she wanted to say. Finally, she wiped away her tears and hurriedly returned to her room.

Seeing that something was wrong, Yu Hao quickly followed.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

Back in her room, Feng Yanzhi had somehow produced a large suitcase and was taking clothes from the wardrobe, and putting them into the suitcase. “Nothing. I’m going back to Quancheng to see the old lady.”

“Why are you suddenly leaving?”

Feng Yanzhi crouched on the floor, her hands pausing. Her mouth quivered: “I miss my mother.”

Yu Hao couldn’t help but smile: “You’re so grown up and still miss your mom?”

“I also have a mother, of course, I miss her.”

“Won’t you miss me and Yi Li when you go back?”

“You and Yi Li have Lu Huaizheng to take care of you. My mother has no one now.”

“Aren’t there your brothers?”

“I’m retired now, so I should be the one taking care of her.”

“Why do I feel like you’re trying to hide? Every time you argue with Dad, you go back to Quancheng. Haven’t you made up with Comrade Lao Yu yet?”

Her hands suddenly stopped. Feng Yanzhi wiped her tears again. “Don’t worry about me. Take care of your pregnancy. The Huo family has housekeepers, they don’t need me.”

“If you want to leave, I can’t stop you. Tomorrow I’ll have Lu Huaizheng drive you. Get some sleep early tonight, stop packing.”

“Mm.”

Yu Hao turned to leave. Her hand had just grabbed the doorknob when she heard a very light voice, like a feather gently falling on her ear, fleeting but still caught by her.

“Yu Hao, Mom is sorry.”

After Feng Yanzhi said this, tears immediately poured down like rain. She crouched on the floor, tilting her head back with her hands covering her eyes. “I apologize for my past stubbornness and blindness. Today, watching Lu Huaizheng educating Yi Li, I suddenly thought of you as a child. I remembered how you cried and begged me, ‘Mom, I don’t want to practice piano,’ crying and telling me you wanted to go out and play. I was afraid you would fall behind in school, afraid you weren’t smart enough, afraid you would be bullied, afraid you would be looked down upon. I was always forcing you, forcing you to do things you didn’t want to do. Lu Huaizheng said you had no childhood, didn’t watch cartoons, didn’t play games, so you could never find common topics with others and had few friends. Only now do I realize that because of my selfishness, I almost ruined you. I don’t deserve to be your mother.”

Yu Hao sighed, turned back, and hugged Feng Yanzhi. She gently rested her chin on her shoulder and said softly: “It’s precisely because of this that I met Lu Huaizheng. Because of him, I have everything I have now—Yi Li, my aunt, my uncle, and you and Dad. No one’s life goes smoothly all the way. Whatever happens, I will always support you and respect any decision you make. Whether you and Dad choose to stay together or separate, as long as you follow your heart and don’t live for anyone else. I liked the Ms. Feng from before. Do you remember once when my aunt criticized me, saying I didn’t know how to say pleasing words? To defend me, you slammed down a bowl and said if she wanted to hear pleasing words, she should go outside—what child is born saying nice things? Then you took my hand and left. At that moment, I thought my mom was so powerful, so awesome. Not like now, when you’ve been yielding to Dad.”

Hearing this, Feng Yanzhi couldn’t help but twist her mouth: “Powerful my ass. You were bawling your eyes out at the time.”

“That’s because the bowl you smashed scratched my hand. It was bleeding, and I cried from pain.” Yu Hao, seeing her smile, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “You were once my hero, so don’t think about the past anymore. Whatever decision you make, Lu Huaizheng and I will support and respect you.”

Feng Yanzhi looked at her for a while and finally couldn’t help but smile.

“You married a good husband. Now you know how to comfort people so skillfully.”

Lu Huaizheng returned reeking of alcohol.

Yu Hao was lying in bed, about to drift off to sleep when someone embraced her from behind. She faintly smelled alcohol and naturally nestled into his arms, asking softly, “Why did you drink?”

Lu Huaizheng was extremely tired. He adjusted his position to hold her better and closed his eyes, his voice heavy: “Watched a ball game with your dad and had a few drinks. My car is still at your father’s place.”

“You took a taxi back?”

“What else?” He was exhausted.

“Did you check on Yi Li when you got back? He was crying for his daddy before bed.”

“Mm, when I went in he was sucking his finger and staring blankly at the ceiling.”

“Ah, he woke up again? He must be hungry.”

Yu Hao made to get out of bed, but Lu Huaizheng firmly held her in his arms. His sharp chin rested on the top of her head, rubbing slightly as he said, “I made him formula milk. Just put him back to sleep. Don’t worry about it.”

Yu Hao was still concerned and wanted to get up.

Lu Huaizheng grew impatient, “If you keep this up, I won’t be so nice.”

“I’m pregnant!”

“You’re past three months, it’s fine.”

“How can you be such a jerk!”

“Are you going to sleep or not?”

“I’ll sleep.”

They embraced each other again. Yu Hao snuggled against him, finding a comfortable position with her head buried at the level of his chest. His skin was slightly warm as she spoke in a muffled voice: “Lu Huaizheng, my mom apologized to me today.”

The man, eyes closed, made a sound of acknowledgment, very patiently asking, “What did she say?”

“She said she was sorry for not letting me have an interesting childhood, always forcing me to practice piano, making me do things I didn’t like. I’m not sensitive about these things. Even now, I can’t understand why my mom suddenly became so emotional today. She said watching you educate Yi Li reminded her of me in the past.”

“Don’t think about it anymore. The past is gone.”

“Lu Huaizheng, thank you.”

She suddenly said.

Lu Huaizheng opened his eyes and ruffled her fluffy head: “Thank me for what, silly?”

“Thank you for giving me Yi Li.”

He couldn’t help but smile wryly, “Then I also thank you for accompanying me through this lifetime.”

A lifetime is enough.

As for whether there’s a next life, that’s another matter.

Yu Hao once asked him why he named their son Yi Li. Yi Li—one grain. A lifetime is so long, the future days are so long, missing even a minute, a second, a millimeter, a grain would not do.

I love you, Every grain, every millimeter, every inch, every minute.

Having seen the interconnected paths and crisscrossing roads of this world, now all that remains is the joy within this small space.

Many, many, many years later, in a restaurant for couples, there always sat a little old man.

He was silent and taciturn, rarely speaking, ordering only a plate of beef tongue. Then he would sit for an entire afternoon, gazing absently through the glass window, just like years ago when he sat in his car, watching the young girl through this same glass window, slowly and methodically eating all the food on the table by herself, occasionally casting a casual glance through the glass, her appearance both charming and mischievous.

It was April then when beauty filled the world, and they were still young.

Many people have asked.

Who is he?

He was once a fighter pilot with brilliant military exploits.

As for you all.

Always maintain a heart of reverence, don’t let the trivial matters of life wear down your passion.

Because life itself is boundlessly ordinary.

When young, live with intensity.

When old, imagine yourself as you were when young, forever vibrant.

Finally, I wish you all a peaceful life and a splendid future.

—From Lu Huaizheng’s Family Letter