For the past two years, Xie Guoli’s stomach and intestines had never been in particularly good condition.
It wasn’t cancer or a tumor, yet somehow, minor illnesses could be the most tormenting.
He had been taking traditional Chinese medicine for some time, and his energy had just begun to improve. But for some reason, his condition had suddenly worsened over the past two days.
He felt nauseous whenever he ate, and sometimes suffered from stomachaches and vomiting. Yang Ying could only keep coming up with different ways to prepare soft, appetizing foods for him.
On Sunday, his good friend Li Kun came to visit. Seeing how thin he had become, he asked worriedly, “What happened to you?”
“Nothing serious. It’s just my old stomach problem.”
Li Kun sighed. “We’re getting old. All the parts on our bodies are starting to wear out.”
Yang Ying brewed tea for the two men. She poured Li Kun a cup of tea in a glass and added some dried red dates and longan to Xie Guoli’s thermos. The doctor had recommended that he drink it.
“You two chat. I’ll go make lunch.”
The thermos on the table was brand-new and attractive. Li Kun noticed it immediately.
“Oh? You got a new cup?”
A proud smile spread across Xie Guoli’s face.
“My son bought it.”
Li Kun burst out laughing and pointed at him.
“Look at you, so pleased with yourself. Your old cup isn’t even broken, and you’re already rushing to use a new one.”
Xie Guoli was particularly happy today, so he openly admitted, “I only brought it out because you’re here today. I wanted to use it and make you jealous.”
Li Kun had once worked at the same factory as Xie Guoli. Later, because of certain circumstances, he quit. Now he made a living doing odd jobs for people. He was already quite old and had never married.
Xie Guoli had urged him several times to find a wife, but Li Kun would only give a long “Ha!” and say, “I’m perfectly happy living alone.”
“Xie Guoli, you really are something else. You originally married the most beautiful girl around here, Yuan Ningwan. She gave you such a handsome son, and then you married again…”
He glanced toward the kitchen.
“And married another beautiful woman. You’ve gotten all the good things in life.”
Xie Guoli smiled and waved his hand as he continued chatting enthusiastically with his old friend.
Xie Yucheng returned home to get some things. He parked his motorcycle outside the courtyard and strode inside.
A little chick was flapping around inside the chicken coop. He glanced toward the kitchen and saw only Yang Ying.
When Yang Ying saw him, she frowned.
Why had this man been coming home every few days lately?
When he entered the living room and saw Li Kun, Xie Yucheng raised an eyebrow and flashed a cheeky grin.
“Oh, Uncle Li has honored us with his presence. This junior failed to welcome you properly.”
Li Kun’s eyes lit up. He pointed at him.
“You brat. You’re always so slick with your words.”
“I learned from you, Uncle Li. I’m not even one ten-thousandth as good as you.”
Li Kun pretended to get up and hit him. Xie Yucheng dodged and slipped into the room.
A while later, he came back out with something in his hand.
Seeing him about to leave in a hurry, Xie Guoli called out, “You’re not eating at home? Your Uncle Li is here. Stay and have a couple of drinks with him.”
Xie Yucheng’s gaze happened to fall on the open door of the room next door.
There was no familiar little figure inside.
After a moment’s thought, he clicked his tongue and said, “Fine. I’ll drink.”
Yang Ying brought a freshly cooked dish to the dining table.
Xie Guoli asked, “Is Shiqing not coming home for lunch?”
“She hasn’t been staying home much these past few days. She’s always out saying she’s meeting classmates. Who else could it be? I bet it’s that Zhou Chen who came here for the blind date last time.”
A cigarette hung from the corner of Xie Yucheng’s mouth. He lowered his head and tried to light it with his lighter.
He struck it twice, but it failed to ignite.
He cursed under his breath, looking as though he wanted to throw the useless lighter away.
Yang Ying had just finished setting the dishes on the table when a lively girl suddenly rushed into the courtyard, covered in sweat.
“Girl, why are you home at this hour?”
At the sound of her voice, Xie Yucheng’s gaze swept over.
Their eyes met.
Both immediately looked away without a trace.
“I came home for lunch.”
Wen Shiqing walked over to the well and splashed some water on her face.
Over the past two days, one of her classmates had introduced her to a tutoring job. She was earning a little spending money.
She didn’t want Yang Ying controlling her all the time, nor did she want to depend on Xie Guoli’s salary like a parasite.
Now that she had graduated, becoming financially independent was the first thing she needed to do if she wanted to free herself from their control.
Her hair near her temples was wet. A few drops of water clung to her delicate, fair face.
Wen Shiqing casually wiped herself with a towel, set it down, and took a seat at the dining table.
She respectfully greeted Li Kun.
“Uncle Li.”
Li Kun teased her, saying that the little girl had grown more beautiful.
She gave him a shy smile, picked up her chopsticks, and lowered her head to eat.
Xie Guoli and Li Kun chatted about this and that.
Since Xie Guoli couldn’t drink alcohol, Xie Yucheng accompanied Li Kun and drank a few glasses of baijiu.
Yang Ying sat on Wen Shiqing’s left, while Xie Yucheng sat on her right.
Beside him, she always felt like a little dwarf.
Whether standing or sitting, he was much taller than her.
Sometimes Wen Shiqing wondered if this man had secretly been eating something special without telling her. How else could he have grown so tall?
He carried an innate sense of intimidation, the strong masculine presence beside her impossible to ignore.
While eating, her leg somehow kept accidentally brushing against his suit trousers.
Wen Shiqing lowered her eyes and saw his long legs bent beneath the table. His slightly loose trousers concealed firm, muscular thighs.
She quickly looked away and silently moved her stool a little closer to her mother.
As the men continued drinking and chatting, Xie Yucheng’s brows subtly tightened for a moment before relaxing again.
The dining table was large, and a plate of sweet-and-sour ribs—Wen Shiqing’s favorite—was sitting far away.
Whenever there were guests at home, she never stood up to reach for food. She would simply eat whatever was in front of her, only occasionally stealing glances at the ribs like a greedy little kitten.
Xie Yucheng was drinking and laughing with Uncle Li.
When Yang Ying went into the kitchen to get more rice, his long hand casually moved the plate of ribs closer to Wen Shiqing.
This wasn’t the first time he’d done something like that.
Xie Guoli noticed but said nothing.
The girl’s cheeks turned slightly red as she silently picked up a rib and put it into her mouth.
She wanted to use a spoon to pour soup over her rice. Her eyes searched the table for one.
Then she noticed that the man beside her seemed to have sensed what she wanted. Somehow, he had produced a small spoon and placed it beside her bowl.
He was still turned toward Uncle Li, chatting away, yet his seemingly unconscious little gestures were smooth and effortless.
She poured several spoonfuls of sweet-and-sour rib sauce over the individual grains of rice, mixed everything together, and shoveled a large spoonful into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out as she ate happily, looking just like a little hamster.
After lunch, Uncle Li stayed for a short while before getting up to leave.
Seeing that Xie Yucheng had come home today, Yang Ying took the opportunity to tell him,
“Yucheng, your father’s stomach has been acting up again these past few days. We’re planning to go to a big hospital in Haishi tomorrow to have him checked.”
Xie Yucheng glanced at his father, concern appearing between his brows.
“I’ll take you.”
Xie Guoli shook his head.
“You focus on your work. Your Aunt Yang can take me.”
As he spoke, he poured out the tea from his new thermos, rinsed it with water, and put it away before taking out his old one to continue using.
“I’m not busy lately. I’ll go with you.”
Xie Guoli still refused and waved his hand.
“It’s nothing serious. I’ll just treat this trip as taking your Aunt Yang on a little vacation. We’ll get out and relax.”
“Fine.”
Xie Yucheng didn’t insist any further.
He packed a couple of changes of clothes, got on his motorcycle, and left.
Yang Ying was relieved. She knew that he hadn’t been coming home much these past two years.
That evening, she gave Wen Shiqing some money and ration coupons.
“There should be malted milk powder at home. You can make yourself some in the morning. I bought some egg cakes and small bread rolls too. They’re in the cupboard. If you want steamed buns, go to the new shop on East Street. They have thin wrappers and generous fillings.”
“You can eat lunch at the state-run restaurant. And don’t eat too much at night. It’s not good for a girl to gain too much weight.”
She rambled on and on.
Wen Shiqing was so sleepy that she kept yawning. She pushed her mother toward the door.
“Mom, I know, I know! I’m not a child anymore. You and Uncle Xie can go without worrying about me.”
Yang Ying reached the doorway, then suddenly remembered something.
“Girl, what about that boy from the Zhou family?”
Her gaze slid toward the expensive watch on her daughter’s wrist, and the corners of her lips lifted.
She was waiting for her daughter to confess.
Wen Shiqing knew exactly what her mother was thinking.
If she said things weren’t working out—or that she and Zhou Chen weren’t dating at all—her mother would nag her endlessly and continue arranging blind dates for her.
So she simply lied to appease her.
“It’s going okay.”
Seeing that her daughter didn’t want to mention the watch Zhou Chen had given her, Yang Ying didn’t expose her.
“Let me tell you, his parents are government officials. I asked around and found out that his family really is well-off. And he’s their only son. You’d better hold on to him. If you don’t find someone while you’re young and pretty, it’ll be harder later. You’ll end up with nothing but ugly ones.”
“Oh, Mom, I know!”
She closed the door and pushed Yang Ying outside.
Early the next morning, Yang Ying and Xie Guoli set off through the morning mist.
When they reached the doorway, Yang Ying glanced at her bag and suddenly remembered something.
She slapped her forehead and hurried back inside.
When she came out, she was holding Xie Guoli’s thermos.
“You really are forgetful. You’re always leaving things behind.”
Xie Guoli smiled.
“That’s why I have you. You’re the careful one.”
The two of them affectionately linked arms and walked away.