Qi Hui observed Chen Nian for a while, noticing that he had been preoccupied ever since he arrived home, even unaware that she was watching him.
She took a sip of soup from her bowl, gently wiping the spilled soup from the corner of her mouth with a tissue, and slowly asked, “Nian Nian, has something been bothering you lately?”
Chen Nian then realized his mother was talking to him, looked up, and tried to appear nonchalant: “Nothing, everything at the company is running smoothly.”
A glint flashed in Qi Hui’s eyes; she immediately understood Chen Nian’s unspoken meaning: “Oh, so you and your wife had a fight.”
Chen Nian lowered his head, concealing the complex emotions in his eyes, and after a moment of mental preparation, he tried to speak: “We’re divorced.”
“She…she probably thinks I don’t love her.”
Qi Hui looked at Chen Nian’s dejected appearance and suddenly found it amusing. He looked exactly like Tuo Tuo used to run out into the wild and come home soaking wet and covered in fur.
“Do you love her?” Qi Hui raised an eyebrow, knowing the answer already.
Chen Nian seemed hesitant to answer, unwilling even to address the question posed by her own mother.
Qi Hui immediately understood the crux of the problem, but she didn’t intend to be blunt. Children and grandchildren have their own destinies; her own marriage had been so disastrous that she wanted to drag Chen Gong down with her. She had no successful experience to guide her child.
Moreover, Qi Hui didn’t like Li Yixun at all. Putting aside the “marrying someone of equal social standing” mentality, she had practically watched Li Yixun grow up. This child was too stubborn and conflicted, not the kind of personality Qi Hui liked. And Chen Nian loved her too much; loving someone always leads to heartbreak. In Qi Hui’s view, it wouldn’t be so bad for Chen Nian to spend the rest of his life peacefully with someone he didn’t love.
Of course, Qi Hui guessed that Li Yixun also liked Chen Nian quite a bit. Otherwise, why hadn’t she said a word to Chen Nian despite all the hostility she’d received? Every time he saw her, Li Yixun would dart away like a mouse before a cat; she could tell at a glance that he was gritting his teeth and enduring it all.
Qi Hui knew perfectly well that if a daughter-in-law could tolerate an unfriendly mother-in-law, it was either for money or for love.
“If you don’t love her, let go. It’s better for both of you,” Qi Hui said, stopping there, and continued drinking her half-cold chicken soup.
Chen Nian gave a lazy, perfunctory reply, his head bowed, lost in his own thoughts.
After lunch, Chen Nian returned to his room in this house, a place he hadn’t visited in a long time.
Although he only stayed home for a few days during the Lunar New Year, Aunt Wang still maintained the habit of regularly cleaning his room.
Chen Nian looked around the room that held his childhood and adolescence; memories of his youth were everywhere.
His bedside table was plastered with Allen Iverson posters, a dartboard he loved playing with in his youth hung in the corner, the bookshelf was neatly arranged with the comic books he used to follow, and his old Xbox lay casually on the table.
All these old things seemed to be waiting for their owner to pick them up again; in the loneliness of time, they appeared both abandoned and carefully preserved.
Chen Nian pulled out the copy of *The Little Prince* from the bottom of the bookshelf, felt for the dusty key hidden inside, and opened the bottom two drawers of the dresser.
He had sealed away things related to Li Yixun here, including the men’s wedding ring he’d only worn for one day, the love letter she’d written when she confessed her feelings, the One Piece merchandise she’d given him in high school, the Polaroid photos they’d taken on their birthdays, the hair tie she’d left behind the first time she stayed at his place, and the sticky notes she’d scribbled down during their time living together…
Without realizing it, he’d kept so many things here.
Old objects are time machines, carrying human emotions and memories; a single glance can transport their owner back to the past.
On Halloween 2015, Li Yixun celebrated Chen Nian’s birthday alone for the first time as his girlfriend.
This was a special request from Li Yixun, because the previous year, Chen Nian’s friends had organized a party for his birthday, a group that spent the whole night at a karaoke bar. Li Yixun ended up falling asleep on the sofa, and even his gift wasn’t given to Chen Nian until the next day.
When Li Yixun made this request, she didn’t notice the barely suppressed smile on Chen Nian’s face. He didn’t tell her that he had secretly informed his friends that he would dedicate his birthday to his girlfriend this year.
By then, they had both graduated from university. Li Yixun stayed in Guanghai City to work, while Chen Nian had moved his entire company back to Shenhai City and bought a small apartment near the company.
Chen Nian suggested meeting her in Guangzhou City when he had time, but Li Yixun insisted on showing her sincerity by taking the high-speed train from Guangzhou City back to Shanghai City to celebrate his birthday. Unable to find a match, Chen Nian had no choice but to pick her up at the high-speed rail station on her birthday.
The Shenhai City high-speed rail station, a major transportation hub, was extremely busy. Chen Nian looked around the exit for a long time but couldn’t spot that familiar figure.
Just as he was about to text her to ask where she was, someone suddenly hugged him tightly from behind, gently resting their head on his back.
Chen Nian instantly knew who it was, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face. He gently squeezed the hands around his waist, pulling her hands to relax, and then turned to hug the person he had longed for.
“Surprised? Unexpected?” The person in his arms tilted their small face up to look at him, their beautiful eyes blinking brightly.
Chen Nian lowered his head and gently placed a fleeting kiss on her forehead: “It would have been a more pleasant surprise to meet you sooner!”
Li Yixun wriggled out of his arms, one hand reaching for her forehead but hesitant to move: “My makeup!”
“No makeup, no makeup!” Chen Nian carefully examined her face, sincerely flattering her, “You look good with or without makeup!”
Li Yixun pouted in dissatisfaction: “Liar!”
Chen Nian took her tote bag; it seemed quite heavy, its contents unclear.
He took her hand and walked towards the parking lot: “Let’s go home, I promised to cook for you.”
Li Yixun liked the tone of Chen Nian’s voice when he said “Let’s go home,” and turned her face away, unable to resist touching her slightly reddened ears.
After dinner, when Chen Nian came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes, Li Yixun had already turned off the lights in the living room and lit the candles on the cake.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
Chen Nian almost doubled over with laughter. Li Yixun had been tone-deaf since childhood; even her birthday singing was a bit off-key.
He slowly walked over and sat down beside her, gazing intently at her young, bright face in the candlelight. When she wasn’t smiling, she was aloof; when she smiled, she was incredibly infectious. How could there be a girl so perfectly suited to his heart? Chen Nian thought silently.
“It’s time for your wish, hurry up!” Li Yixun nudged his elbow, gesturing for him to make a wish and blow out the candles.
Chen Nian clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and sincerely made a wish about the person beside him.
“I hope Li Yixun will always be by my side,” the 35-year-old Chen Nian shouted in his heart, hoping that heaven would feel his sincerity and grant his birthday wish.
“Okay.” Chen Nian opened his eyes, gently blowing out the only light source in the room.
“Go turn on the light quickly, I’m not familiar with your house, I’m afraid I’ll trip.”
By the moonlight streaming through the French windows, Chen Nian could vaguely make out Li Yixun’s silhouette. He didn’t heed her words and rush to turn on the light, but instead used the dim light to approach her, easily finding her face, and cupped her face in his hands to kiss her.
He gently nibbled at her soft lips, gradually increasing the pressure, their tongues playing a playful game of give and take. Gradually, Chen Nian became unsatisfied. His hands released her face, groping in the darkness for the hem of her clothes, deftly slipping inside. He purposefully went straight for her soft spots, kneading them lightly and firmly.
After a long while, Chen Nian reluctantly released her, breathing softly against her ear, his hands still covering her sensitive areas, teasingly pinching them.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice was hoarse as he spoke: “Is it okay?”
In the darkness, even though she couldn’t see clearly, Li Yixun could still feel his burning gaze. She shifted her legs nervously, her knee accidentally brushing against something, eliciting a soft, incredibly sexy groan from him.
Li Yixun immediately realized what she had just touched. Her face flushed crimson, and even her earlobes felt hot. She was now thankful she was in the dark.
Actually, Li Yixun had planned something before coming; she had even prepared the tools. She had hesitated for a long time about the sizes when buying them, finally gritting her teeth and buying a box of several sizes. The cashier gave her a strange look when she paid.
Li Yixun mustered her courage and reached out to touch him, searching for the spot she had accidentally touched. But in the dark, she was completely clumsy, her groping going haphazardly until she even touched his abs.
Li Yixun’s clumsy antics successfully amused Chen Nian. He laughed freely and unrestrainedly in her ear, brimming with youthful exuberance.
Li Yixun, annoyed and embarrassed by his laughter, withdrew her hand and forcefully slapped his hand off her body.
The loud “smack” echoed in the quiet room.
Both were stunned. Chen Nian belatedly felt a slight pain in his arm, and an inexplicable embarrassment successfully dispelled the previous romantic atmosphere.
True to her professionalism as a new media professional, Li Yixun instantly thought of a sensational UC headline—”Woman Assaults Man After Rejection of Sexual Attraction”—and felt so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground.
She did try to get up, but the slightest movement was met with Chen Nian’s precise wrist lock.
Li Yixun was astonished. How did Chen Nian see her like that in the dark?
“Not doing it anymore?” Chen Nian asked bluntly, refusing to beat around the bush.
“No.” Perhaps infected by Chen Nian’s directness, Li Yixun hesitated for a moment before speaking, “But I have no experience… Could you be gentler?”
Chen Nian revealed a sly, foxy smile, his voice muffled and embarrassed: “Um… I don’t either, but I’ve already studied beforehand.”
Li Yixun hadn’t wanted to cause herself any trouble, so she had never questioned him about relationships. Hearing that he was also a novice, she was somewhat taken aback. But soon Chen Nian clung to her, making her forget any remaining doubts.
The moonlight gently peeked into the room, and upon seeing the intertwined figures, it shyly covered its face, hiding in a corner, silently waiting.
Li Yixun later learned that Chen Nian was only direct and aggressive in these situations; on other matters, he was a stickler for words, unable to utter a single sentence.
There was no improvement compared to last year; Chen Nian’s birthday gift still arrived in the early hours of the following day, after his birthday.
After unwrapping the gift, Chen Nian stared at the already assembled Mini Cooper model and asked a question from the depths of his soul: “Li Yixun, this gift seems a bit special?”
Seeing his bewildered expression, Li Yixun frowned and earnestly asked him, “Don’t you really like Lego?… Or did I do something wrong? I followed the instructions for ages!”
Chen Nian didn’t know how to explain to her that the fun of Lego is in the hands-on experience, so a gift should be given unopened, not a pre-assembled model.
But thinking about how Li Yixun had patiently struggled with these little pieces, he suddenly felt that the thought and time she had spent on him was far more precious than simply giving him a box of Lego.
Chen Nian gently pinched her cheek, his gaze filled with tenderness. “Thank you! Let’s build a Lego set together sometime.”
Although Li Yixun couldn’t find enjoyment in assembling these small pieces and even complained that they hurt her hands, seeing the expectant look on his handsome face, she still foolishly agreed.
The cake that day had melted completely and was no longer edible.
Li Yixun insisted that the birthday person must eat cake, forcing Chen Nian to take a few bites with a spoon. Chen Nian, however, disliked the cloyingly sweet cream taste and deliberately shoved a small piece back at her with her mouth.
The two of them, still holding the cake that was almost unrecognizable, took several Polaroid photos together. Their young faces were pressed tightly together, both radiating undisguised happiness, and that beautiful moment was forever captured in photographs.