Young Master Zhang Ruo hadn’t been having a good time these past few years.

Especially since Old Master Lu passed away and Old Master Yan returned from imperialist America.

Every other day, his father would grab him by the ear and berate him for “having poor judgment in choosing friends and bringing trouble to the family.”

Zhang Ruo was depressed. Back then, you were so eager to curry favor with old Lu that you would’ve polished his shoes. I was just following your wishes to be friends with Lu Liu. Who knew that fortunes could change so dramatically? Now you’re blaming everything on me – what kind of logic is that?

Advisor Zhang jumped up in anger, “I told you to be friends with Lu Liu, not to go against Yan Xi!”

Zhang Ruo bit his Armani sleeve, thinking about how he was just a playboy, and interested in men…

Advisor Zhang spat, “You’re more than just a playboy – take off that entire Armani outfit! And as for men, you little brat, look at how old his son is now, while you can’t even get close to Wen Si’er’s sleeve!”

Zhang Ruo’s face immediately fell. Listlessly, he said, “Please spare me. As long as it’s not Wen Si’er, I’ll bring you a daughter-in-law tomorrow and give you a grandson next year.”

Advisor Zhang furrowed his brows, “Zhang Ruo, if you can’t marry a Yan family daughter and become their son-in-law, forget about your future. The Zhang family will be finished before I’m even dead!”

Old Master Yan looked at his great-grandson’s beautiful and delicate little face. If he were to forgive the Zhang family for stirring up trouble between him and his grandson back then, that would truly be insane.

Old Master Yan was so angry he nearly spat blood at the Zhang father and son: “Damn it! You’re the ones interested in men, your whole family is interested in men!”

Lu Liu had been laying low and recuperating. Without this external support as their backing, the Zhang family could only keep their tails between their legs around their old superior.

Advisor Zhang wanted to ease relations between the two families. His scheming mind turned to Wen Si’er, who had remained unmarried and was somewhat temperamental.

If Zhang Ruo married Wen Si’er, the Zhang and Yan families would become in-laws, wouldn’t they…

Advisor Zhang’s calculations were good, but he completely disregarded the disastrous consequences whenever Wen Si’er and Zhang Ruo met. Every time they returned from a date, Zhang Ruo’s face would be black and blue, his suit stained red and green, and he would be crying in misery.

Though Si’er was a strong-willed girl, she was also filial. Seeing her approach thirty without marriage, Mrs. Wen had become quite anxious. Seeing the Zhang family’s son being so attentive, with decent looks and a wealthy background, she kept watching her daughter hopefully. Si’er maintained her resistance against Zhang Ruo but was reluctant to go against her mother’s wishes.

Si’er had originally thought about relying on Yun Zai to buy some time, but that fellow was too clever. Completely disregarding their past friendship, he immediately got a girlfriend and fell into an earth-shattering, passionate love until death do them part. This delighted Yun’s parents to no end. Si’er felt powerless and gave up.

Wen Si Wan often frowned. Though he was an elegant young master, he was heavily burdened. Looking at Si’er and Zhang Ruo, his emotions fluctuated between joy and sorrow until finally, his face became expressionless.

His girlfriend’s situation wasn’t very stable either, coming and going with standards that rose and fell more dramatically than Chinese football, causing the entire Wen family great concern.

His nephew, Young Comrade Yan Xiaobao, sadly concluded: “Uncle, finally, you’ve become numb to finding aunties. All potential aunties look the same to you now…”

Five-year-old Xiaobao had a classic saying: “My potential aunties are everywhere…”

Speaking of troubles, it wasn’t just these supporting characters – Mr. Yan had been quite worried lately too.

The reason wasn’t very presentable; it was just a small matter.

A few days ago, Edward from France had some wild idea and insisted on coming to inspect work at the Chinese branch. He wanted to mix business with pleasure and have Mrs. Yan accompany him around B City, euphemistically calling it “taking a stroll.”

Mr. Yan was furious. Taking a stroll, my foot!

After all these years, this American still hasn’t given up his lecherous ways.

Finally, after consideration and gritting his teeth, he put down his paintbrush and stuck to his wife wherever she went, more clingy than rubber glue.

This normally wouldn’t be an issue – Ah Heng had long been used to Yan Xi being this way. But the summer weather was too hot, and her period was late. She suspected she might be pregnant again, but since it wasn’t confirmed, she was being very careful. She wasn’t happy about Yan Xi following her around like a ghost, emanating cold air and affecting her mood.

She tried coaxing him nicely to go back, but instead of leaving, he stuck even closer like a plaster. Ah Heng frowned and had to push him away.

Yan Xi didn’t understand – he was such a good, gentle, and considerate husband, so why was he suddenly being rejected? Could it be…

He looked at Edward, waves of jealousy rising, grinding his teeth audibly.

Edward was enjoying the show immensely. As a doctor, he understood patients better than others. He knew what was wrong with Ah Heng, but teasing Yan Xi was quite fun, so he deliberately acted more cordially with Ah Heng.

He rolled his eyes and suggested going to the newly opened amusement park. Once there, he wanted to try all the new attractions and compete with Yan Xi. They demonstrated “life’s inevitable encounters” from 360 degrees in the bumper cars, leaving Yan Xi red-eyed from all the collisions.

Finally, Edward suggested maliciously that they ride the roller coaster. Ah Heng had politely declined, but Yan Xi’s temper flared – how could he be afraid of a mere foreigner? He grabbed Ah Heng’s hand to get on the ride, but she shook off his hand, frowned, and said, “Stop being ridiculous.”

In public, he was Yan Xi, still somewhat of a celebrity, whether as DJ Yan or an emerging artist. He needed to maintain some dignity. Being scolded like a child by his wife in public was quite embarrassing.

When the couple returned home, they began a cold war. Yan Xiaobao, who had been playing with toys in the living room, was quite perceptive – he packed up his toys and went to his grandmother’s house. But grandmother’s house was equally frightening, with his uncle and aunt also in a cold war, causing him to sigh deeply.

This world of adults was truly troublesome.

Actually, regarding the Cold Wars, in the Yan family, only Yan Xi felt he was in a cold war, while in the Wen family, only Wen Si’er was depressed.

While playing chess, Old Master Yan watched his old friend constantly muttering, “Could it be that your Wen family’s seedlings are better? That shouldn’t be the case…”

Old Wen was quite calm: “Everything has its natural match, each has their fate.”

Old Yan slammed down his chess piece heavily: “Damn it, are you saying I raised children just for your kids to subdue them? Bah, too narcissistic!”

Back home, Young Master Yan harbored ill intentions, constantly poking his grandson’s chest whenever Ah Heng wasn’t around: “Oh my, has Ah Heng gone to see that American again? Oh, I’m telling you, Yan Xi, what use is good looks if you can’t even keep your wife?”

Yan Xi had been painting but became distracted and called Ah Heng, only to hear the ringtone coming from the bedroom – Ah Heng had forgotten her phone when leaving for work.

Finally, after enduring his grandfather’s schadenfreude for too long, he couldn’t take it anymore. He took his portfolio and fled to his bachelor friend Xin Dayi’s place for refuge.

But when evening came and Ah Heng didn’t call him home, he became even more sullen and simply stayed in Xin’s guest room, considering it running away from home.

The next morning, Yan Xi’s old superior, the former producer of “Sometime,” called. He said that “Sometime” would be celebrating its tenth anniversary in five days, and as the first and most popular DJ, Yan Xi had to attend and record this nostalgic edition.

With nothing else to do, and hoping that Ah Heng would worry about not being able to find him, Yan Xi immediately agreed.

Xiaobao still remembered he had a father and blinked his big eyes, kindly consoling his old man: “When are you coming home? Dad, I saved you some animal crackers left over from kindergarten. Do you want to find time to come home and deal with them?”

When Yan Xi heard this, he thought, “You little rascal, so in your heart, your father is only good for cleaning up leftovers?” His face darkened even more, and he became even less inclined to go home, completely forgetting that he was usually the one stealing his son’s snacks.

He turned his face away and asked awkwardly, “Did your mom say anything?”

Xiaobao pondered deeply for a moment. Yan Xi felt a surge of hope and was about to speak when Xiaobao shook his head again and smiled brightly: “Mom was reading a thick book, and when she saw I was going out, she didn’t even look up. She just said to let you and your godfather enjoy your bachelor life together.”

Godfather Xin, surname Xin, was on the verge of tears.

Yan Xi’s eye twitched as he gritted his teeth: “Even if she didn’t say it, I would!”

Just as he finished speaking, Wen Si Wan, with a gloomy face, kicked open the door and walked in, startling everyone.

They watched as Young Master Wen wrung the bedsheet and said hatefully: “Life can’t go on like this!”

Xiaobao opened his tender little mouth and smiled brightly at his uncle: “Auntie just said at my house, if she sees uncle at godfather’s place, she wants me to pass on a message: if you have the guts, never come home again!”

Although Xiaobao was only five years old, he was a quick-witted little parrot with big eyes who never missed a word when delivering messages.

The three men fell silent together, silence upon silence. Finally, Xin Dayi dryly concluded: Actually, life without women around is quite nice…

As coincidence would have it, five days later, while Yan Xi was doing his radio show, Ah Heng took their son shopping and stopped to rest at the ice cream shop to the left of the radio station. Wen Si’er and Zhang Ruo were having a date at the coffee shop to the right of the station.

It was truly just a coincidence, but what happened afterward got a bit out of control.

First, about the radio station – it had been packed with people since morning, crowded to the point where even air couldn’t squeeze through. Young girls and older women were all waiting to catch a glimpse of their former idol and get a photo, or an autograph. There was also a group with phones ready to send messages to the show, determined to dig up DJ Yan’s past, present, and future deep gossip to satisfy their yearning.

It should be mentioned beforehand that today’s show was somewhat extreme – the audience could ask anything that didn’t touch upon the foundations of a socialist harmonious society, and DJ Yan had no right to refuse to answer.

When Yan Xi found out, he was already sitting in the studio. Unable to back out, he could only reluctantly proceed.

Looking at the headphones and the familiar set of equipment, he felt a sense of temporal displacement, sighing that when he used to sit here, he was only twenty-one, in the prime of his youth.

He said: “Hello everyone, I’m Yan Xi, the ‘Yan’ of Yan Xi, the ‘Xi’ of Yan Xi.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he paused slightly, then smiled into the microphone.

“It’s been a long time, I’ve missed you all. The three years I spent with everyone at Sometime, and now Sometime has walked through ten years. Perhaps many new listeners don’t know who I am, but that’s alright. Consider this as me filling in for one show, leading everyone back to Sometime’s past. If anyone has any troubles, or questions about Sometime or about me, you can send them via message, and I’ll accompany you all.”

The first message was quite direct, asking why the show was named Sometime.

Yan Xi thought for a moment and said: “Sometimes – I chose this name. Everyone has times when they’re fragile and touched by darkness. If at such times, there’s a stranger, whether it’s DJ Yan or DJ Zhang San Li Si, as long as someone is willing to listen and accompany them gently, I imagine that’s something worth looking forward to. This show exists because of the difficult-to-digest pressure in everyone’s hearts – that’s Sometime’s eternal meaning.”

Someone asked, does DJ Yan have such a person to confide in? Has this person always been there?

Yan Xi smiled: “The inspiration for Sometimes came from this person’s gentle companionship. Through this person, I first understood that in this world, there are people who, even without speaking, just standing beside you, leaving only their shadow, can make all difficulties seem surmountable. What does it mean to ‘always be there’? It’s too broad, too vast. I’ve always believed that no one can accompany us until the very end. What’s important are those indelible memories.”

The third message said: DJ Yan, as your fan, I’ve always wanted to ask – not asking makes me curious, but asking makes my heart bitter – do you have a girlfriend? Or, are you married?

Yan Xi smiled slightly, read the message, and answered plainly: “My son is already five years old. His eyes and hair look a lot like mine, but his lips and nose are exactly like my wife’s.”

The fourth message: Haha, he must be a beautiful child, congratulations DJ Yan. What kind of person is your wife? How long have you known each other? Was it before or after Chu Yun? You probably don’t know, but in a previous interview, Host Chu said that DJ Yan was the person she loved most in her life. Hehe, is it too presumptuous to ask this? I’ve always been a loyal fan of both you and Chu Yun, please make sure to answer this question.

Yan Xi twitched one corner of his mouth and muttered: “Friend with number 4302, it is indeed a bit presumptuous. My wife has been giving me the cold shoulder these past few days – are you trying to get me killed? However, I can guess what everyone wants to know most is probably about my wife. Alright, I’ll talk about her. How should I put it… compared to Chu Yun, she’s quite ordinary, not as beautiful, not as dazzling, and her voice is always very soft. During the days when we first met, I spent who knows how much effort trying to encourage her to speak with more confidence.”

He reminisced: “Speaking of how we met, at that time, the most popular song was ‘The Health Song.’ Her family and mine lived in the same compound, though one in the south and one in the north. I would carry her to school on my old broken bicycle. A journey that usually took twenty minutes on foot took us fifty minutes. That day, we were late and had to stand outside as punishment. She told me very quietly that teachers in B City were all very nice and never hit students with their rulers.”

He said: “Chu Yun’s most beloved person was DJ Yan, but my wife, from beginning to end, only knew Yan Xi.”

Someone exclaimed: The Health Song – was that 1998? Have you been together for thirteen years? No wonder Chu Yun said in her interview that she regretted not meeting DJ Yan earlier.

Yan Xi smiled, his expression carrying a gentle tenderness: “It wouldn’t have mattered. Chu Yun could have easily made the young me fall in love with her, that’s undeniable. But the timing of when my wife met me was perfect, unbeatable by anyone.”

Some people felt it was unfair. Isn’t it just because she’s your wife that makes it the right timing? Isn’t it just because DJ Yan is too selfish and unwilling to accept other possibilities? From your description, I feel your wife is a weak, parasitic woman. Is it because this kind of personality satisfies DJ Yan’s masculinity that she wins over the strong and independent Chu Yun?

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow, looking at the message with some anger. He was about to speak but thought better of it, and smiled without explaining or acknowledging: “I just love how gentle and mild-mannered my wife is, unlike my only little sister who’s so fiery that she drives her love interest to run away from home every other day.”

Not long after, the producer saw a beautiful angel-like child with big eyes huffing and puffing as he climbed the stairs to the studio, then climbed onto DJ Yan’s lap, looked up, and spoke slowly: “Just now, mom drank a whole 500ml cup of cola in one go.”

Yan Xi raised one corner of his mouth, smoothed the child’s bangs, and nodded slightly.

The big-eyed child bounced away, leaving with: “Don’t forget my complete set of Transformers.”

Yan Xi continued taking messages. Someone asked how many relationships DJ Yan had before marriage.

Yan Xi smiled teasingly and drawled: “Let me count… one in middle school, one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight in high school, then in university probably more than ten, during the DJ Yan period, besides Chu Yun, there was another one…”

The big-eyed child bounced back up again, saying: “Mom broke the glass cup that had the drink.”

Yan Xi smiled even more cheerfully, nodding and mouthing to his son: “Very good, keep going. If your mom wrecks the shop today, I’ll order you a complete set of authentic Transformers from America.”

The child huffed and puffed back downstairs.

Everyone sweated, asking in confusion: But… but what about your wife? Weren’t you always together?

Yan Xi blinked: “Who said that? She was secretly in love with me all along. She even forced me to marry her.”

The child came back with a dejected face, saying: “Mom flipped the table.”

Yan Xi said carelessly: “Let her break it, I’ll go down and pay with my card later.”

The child said “Oh” and huffed and puffed back down again.

Everyone felt they were being played by Yan Xi and gritted their teeth: “So you don’t love your wife that much?”

Yan Xi smiled with proud eyes: “Well, to tell the truth, it’s not exactly-“

Suddenly, a shadow passed by, and there was an indescribable pressure from behind. Just as he was about to turn around, his son had already climbed onto his lap, teary-eyed and whispering: “I couldn’t stop her, I tried my best, but mom’s coming up to kill you.”

Cold sweat instantly poured down, but Yan Xi maintained his composure and spoke loudly into the headphones: “If you put it that way, everyone has completely misunderstood my meaning. In this life, I love my wife the most – she’s my heart, my liver, three-quarters of my life!”

The pressure from behind eased slightly.

Everyone scoffed – just a moment ago there were so many women, how did it suddenly become that you love your wife the most?

The pressure skyrocketed.

Yan Xi spoke without hesitation: “Those women were all from before I met my wife. When we’re young, who knows what true love is?”

Everyone said: But wait, didn’t you have Chu Yun and another one after meeting your wife?

Mr. Yan remained calm: “The other one was my wife.”

The pressure decreased a bit.

Everyone said: But didn’t you say your wife was secretly in love with you and forced you to marry her?

The north wind blew, and the pressure rose…

Yan Xi cried out in distress: “We were secretly in love with each other, okay? Even if she hadn’t pushed me, I was already planning to propose!”

The pressure disappeared completely.

The shadow stepped forward, picked up the big-eyed child from Yan Xi’s arms, and spoke gently: “We’ll wait for you outside the studio.”

Yan Xi wiped his sweat.

Someone sent a message: I think I just heard a woman’s voice, was that my imagination?

Yan Xi twitched – yes, definitely imagination.

At the end of the show, Yan Xi gave his farewell message, paused, then smiled and said: “Besides wishing everyone eternal happiness, I have one last personal message… Zhang Ruo, I approve of you being my brother-in-law. As for Er’er, don’t be too fixated on things that don’t belong to you – give up.”

Ah Heng watched her husband through the glass window, somewhat helplessly, and smiled. She called Si Wan and quietly instructed their son to keep an eye on Si’er downstairs at the coffee shop.

On the other end, Si’er listened to Yan Xi’s words on the broadcast, staring blankly at her coffee cup, her gaze fixed on the brown liquid.

Zhang Ruo sighed helplessly and spoke: “Wen Si’er, I’ve been entangled with you for five years. To say there are no feelings would be lying to ghosts. I want to marry you, but I don’t know what you think?”

Si’er looked up, still somewhat dazed, and after a long silence, asked softly: “If I marry you, I can still go home often, right? I want to take good care of my grandfather, mother, and… brother. If you agree to this condition, I’ll agree to marry you.”

Zhang Ruo was overjoyed: “What’s so difficult about that? If you had raised this requirement from the beginning, why would we have wasted time until today?”

Si’er smiled faintly, but there were tears in her eyes: “Back then, I probably hadn’t given up hope yet.”

Suddenly, a man in a grey suit walked to the coffee table, panting, with beads of sweat on his forehead. He spoke softly: “So, what about now? Have you given up now?”

Si’er’s tears fell as she curled up her legs and leaned back into the sofa, lowering her head, not daring to look at the newcomer: “Don’t ask me that. If you want to be my brother, be my brother for life. Don’t ask me such questions.”

Zhang Ruo frowned.

Wen Si Wan?

Si Wan leaned on the sofa, bent down to wipe the tears from Si’er’s eyes, and smiled helplessly, speaking gently: “I want to marry you, not be your brother anymore. Can I ask this question now?”

Si’er’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up, swallowing: “Don’t try to fool me. I won’t fall for it. Wen Si Wan, I’m telling you, I won’t fall for it.”

Si Wan’s eyebrows furrowed into a knot, still maintaining that handsome look from his youth. After many years of studying and doing business, he still had that appearance that Si’er loved.

He smiled: “Your undying hope always makes me very troubled. I’ve never seen a sister behave in such an undignified way, and how can I be a proper brother? Every time you get jealous, my heart troubles me once, but if you don’t get jealous and ignore me, I’m even more troubled.

“I asked Yan Xi when he fell in love with Ah Heng. He said who knows, she just had that lovable look in his eyes – it would be strange not to love her.

“Now when I look at you, you have that same lovable look. Not marrying you would be unfair to me. Er’er, will you marry me?”

Si’er took a long time to catch her breath. When she finally realized what was happening, she shook her head while crying.

“Then will you let me marry you?”

Still crying, still shaking her head.

“Then will you not marry me?”

Still crying, still… shaking her head.

After a long day, on the way home, Yan Xiaobao was curled up in his father’s arms, sucking his thumb, sleeping sweetly.

Mr. and Mrs. Yan, having resolved one worry, walked hand in hand back home.

Mrs. Yan asked: “Yan Xi, do you like daughters?”

Mr. Yan answered: “You mean stubborn and difficult like Wen Si’er? I don’t like that.”

Ah Heng said “Oh,” touching her belly, and spoke softly: “I think I’m pregnant again. I was thinking of having a daughter, but you don’t like them…”

Mr. Yan, holding his son, swayed unsteadily, shocked by the impact. After a while, he recovered and shouted in the street: “Who said I don’t like them?! A daughter born by my treasure, a daughter like my baby, hahahahaha, I’ve been waiting for half my life aaaaaaaah!”

Ah Heng smiled, gently stood on tiptoe, and gave him a light kiss on the lips, speaking solemnly: “Thank you.”

Yan Xi lowered his head slightly, puzzled – thank you for what?

Ah Heng embraced him and their sleeping son, and in that deep warmth, smiled sweetly: “Thank you for still being together with us.”

Their faces were as clear as mountains and waters.