After he went home that night, Xu Tangcheng noticed that Grandma was unexpectedly still awake. The bedroom door was opened a crack and light shone out the narrow slit.

He pushed the door and entered and saw her side profile, presbyopic glasses on her nose, one hand moving to and fro, weaving in and out. Her wrinkled and calloused thumb was encased in a thimble that sparkled in the light.

Grandma lifted her head when she saw him come in, shooting him a glance through the lenses of her glasses and smiling right away. "Back already?"

"Yeah."

Xu Tangcheng crouched down and watched as she used coloured thread to sew a round piece of cloth to another cloth that was already embroidered with many patterns. The shape of the cloth was rather odd and looked rather thick. His head turned to a different angle and tilted as he carefully made out the pattern on that piece of cloth.

It seemed to be some sort of small animal that didn't yet have eyes.

"What are you making?" he asked gently.

"Tiger-head shoes," Grandma answered unhurriedly. She slowly unfolded the thing in her hands and showed it to him. "Looks good?"

Xu Tangcheng nodded.

Seeing that he was looking at it seriously and that he seemed to like it, Grandma dug out another shoe cover that already had a tiger head fixed on it from a plastic bag at her side and passed it to him.

It was the first time Xu Tangcheng had seen something like this.

The tiger-head shoe cover in his hands was very finely detailed with a pair of large eyes and also two ears sticking up. Even the colourful whiskers on both sides of the face were incredibly cute. He reached out a hand, gently stroked a patch of colourful threads, and repeated in a low voice, "Tiger-head shoes?"

Grandma's head was lowered. As she poked the thread through the eye of the needle, she recited a popular rhyme, "Tiger shoes, tiger heads. Steady steps, speedy steps. Drives out demons, how mighty and great."

The old lady's intonation was slow and steady, like a movie's faraway background music to a scene that was a long take of a small child's shaky and tottering steps.

"Children wear tiger-head shoes to keep evil away and stay safe and healthy. This kind of shoe also doesn't cover up their feet and is not slippery. It's the most comfortable for children to wear when they're learning to walk."

"Is that so?" Xu Tancheng turned the tiger head shoe cover over in his hand a few more times to study it before looking up and saying with a smile, "It's really beautiful. Who is the child you're making it for?"

Grandma's hands didn't stop moving. She shot him another look and gave an answer that stunned Xu Tangcheng.

"Your child."

Rubbing the little tiger head between his fingers, Xu Tangcheng's jaw quivered. Then, he asked her back in a disbelieving voice. "Mine?"

"Yes." His reaction amused Grandma into laughing and the wrinkles on her face smoothened out. "Two pairs of shoes and two pairs of cotton pants each for the two of you. This is yours. After I'm done with yours, I'll make them for Tangxi."

"You're already making these for my children?" After getting over his shock, Xu Tangcheng lifted his hand high and covered one eye with the shoe cover. He smiled. "There's still a long time to go."

Grandma finished embroidering one tiger eye and cut off the remaining thread. She raised her hand and held the shoe cover far from her, turning it right and left and looking at it through squinted eyes to see how the embroidery turned out. When she was done looking and was satisfied, she finally said, "It's not too early. I'm afraid I won't be able to make them in the future."

"How can that be?"

"How can that not be?" Grandma removed her presbyopic glasses and rubbed her eyes. Xu Tangcheng realised that the corners of her heavily wrinkled eyes were already faintly red and there were also blood lines in the whites of her eyes.

The signs of old age would always appear everywhere.

"These eyes of mine grow worse every year. When a person grows old, every part of their body becomes useless. Who knows, one day, I might really become blind. When that time comes, how am I going to make them?"

With a wide smile, Grandma again took up a black round piece of cloth, then passed the thread and needle to Xu Tangcheng. Xu Tangcheng silently took them. Facing the light, he very quickly threaded the needle and passed it back to her.

"And also, I might not be able to see your little baby."

Xu Tangcheng's brows furrowed. He hadn't withdrawn his hand yet and he now put it on Grandma's knee, giving her a couple of light pats. He rebuked gently, "Don't say such things."

"What 'such things'? Something like this…" Grandma heaved a heavy sigh and made the next stitch. "No one knows for sure."

Xu Tangcheng immediately turned serious and put on an expression of coming to a great realisation. He stretched his head forward and looked up at Grandma from below. "It must be my mum who got you to speak for her. It's not enough that she's hurrying me herself, she even dragged you in?"

Hearing that, Grandma broke into a bright smile.

"I'm not hurrying you. Would my precious grandson have any trouble finding a wife? With such handsome looks, I don't need to worry." Having said that, Grandma let out an oh and moved her head closer to Xu Tangcheng. "You cut your hair?"

"Yeah." Xu Tangcheng turned his head to the right and to the left, and asked with a smile. "Looks good?"

"Looks good." Grandma's hand was heavily calloused and her skin was also dry due to her age. When it brushed against the curve of Xu Tangcheng's ear, the feeling wasn't gentle, and was instead difficult to bear.

She stroke Xu Tangcheng's head and looked carefully for a while before saying, "It looks good no matter how you cut it."

Grandma insisted on finishing the embroidery on the shoe cover before sleeping. Xu Tangcheng stayed by her side to accompany her the whole time.

A night like this was actually very rare. Xu Tangcheng quietly watched the needle and thread dance and fly, his heart filled with a very clear sense of gentleness and peace.

"Grandma, let me take you somewhere for a holiday next year," Xu Tangcheng said suddenly. "We'll take a flight and go somewhere far."

"A flight?" Grandma was rather surprised. Very quickly, she smiled and shook her head. "Not for me. These arms and legs of mine can't handle a long journey."

"You don't need to walk. I'll buy a wheelchair and push you. We won't climb mountains anyway. I'll bring you somewhere warmer. We can go to Hainan. That's where Yikan and his family went last year."

Grandma still shook her head. The embroidery on the shoe cover was done. Grandma put it away in the bag. Xu Tangcheng lowered his head and helped her tie the bag securely.

Amidst the rustling sound, he heard the elderly lady say with a laugh, "I'm not going anywhere. If you all want to go, you should go. Me, I won't go and be a burden."

"What is this, how are you a burden?" Xu Tangcheng straightened up and watched Grandma wipe her glasses with the spectacles cloth.

In his memory, Grandma's hair had turned white very early. It seemed to have started turning white when he was very young, or perhaps it could be said that her hair had gone completely white ever since he could remember. Han Yin had once come to his house and when he saw Grandma, Han Yin told him that his grandma was truly the very image of a kindly old grandmother.

He felt that way too.

Xu Tangcheng laughed softly. He reached out and helped her brush back the hair at the side of her head.

Lunar New Year came very quickly.

Just like in the past, his uncle's family rushed back on the thirtieth. During the reunion on the eve of Lunar New Year, nearly thirty people from all generations of the Xu family gathered together for the New Year's Eve dinner. The flourishing number of people ensured that this meal was a lively one. With the house full of people, they had to split them into at least two groups for the meal. Those that did not drink alcohol ate first while the ones who drank ate later. Because there were some male members of the family who were addicted to cigarettes, after the group that did not drink finished eating, Xu Tangcheng took Xu Tangxi and left early. Before leaving, Zhou Hui pulled at his arm and instructed him to switch on all the lights at home when he got back, saying that on the eve of Lunar New Year, the house must be bright.

When they reached home, they saw people setting off fireworks downstairs. Xu Tangcheng's gaze followed the very small light of a firework up to the sky where it burst and scattered. His eyes swept past the building in front of him; the rows of windows shone brightly with the exception of two darkened windows.

Xu Tangxi scampered over to Xu Tangcheng, her hands in her pockets. "Ge, let's set off fireworks too. You bought some for me, right?"

Xu Tangcheng withdrew his gaze and nodded at her.

Xu Tangxi loved fireworks since she was young and Xu Tangcheng had always bought some for her every year. He went to his car to get them, found a spot that wasn't too cold and let her play on her own for a while while he went up the building, taking two steps at a time. He switched on all the lights in the house and closed the door as he came out. Then, in the rather chilly corridor, he paused his steps.

Even through the windows of the corridor, the fireworks could be seen ascending non-stop to the sky, beam after beam, an endless chain, and were even stirring up the noise of excitement.

Xu Tangcheng looked at the tightly closed door opposite him and took a step forward. He knocked on the door.

No one answered.

So he's really not at home?

Xu Tangcheng wondered if whoever was inside was already asleep. Unwilling to give up, holding on to a thread of hope, he knocked again. This time, the sound of his knocking lasted rather long, so long that Xu Tangcheng seemed to fall into a trance. Hence, when the door suddenly opened, it nearly slammed into his face.

"What do you want?"

Inside the door, Xiang Xiyi's face was full of impatience, looking at him with a frown. The light in the living room was switched on. Looking past Xiang Xiyi's shoulder, Xu Tangcheng could immediately see the mess in the house—the overturned coffee table, the pile of broken porcelain pieces scattered on the floor.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the pajama-clad Xiang Xiyi. His voice sounded like it usually did. "I'm looking for Yi Zhe."

Xiang Xiyi lifted a hand and smoothed the hair on the back of her head. She looked at him steadily for a while, then stretched her lips in a rather strange smile.

"He's dead."

Two words, accompanied by the heavy crash of the door slamming shut. It made Xu Tangcheng stand outside the door in a daze for quite a while.

The light went out. Beyond the narrow window of the corridor, bright lights flashed past. White smoke lingered in the air before dissipating soundlessly.

Xu Tangcheng's feet scraped along the edge of the stairs. After a long while, his body finally lowered, his feet stepping down on the next step.

When he reached the bottom and raised his head to look, there was only one darkened window left. Xu Tangxi shuffled over to his side, holding a cold sparkler, and asked him to make a wish.

He closed his eyes but Xu Tangxi shook him. "Your posture is not right!"

Very quickly, the metallic wire of the sparkler was already more than half burnt. Xu Tangcheng opened his eyes, reached out a hand, and snapped off the sparks it was emitting in all directions.

Inevitably, there was no peaceful sleep to be found tonight. Around five in the morning, Xu Tangcheng was roused by the booming sound of firecrackers. He leaned over and fumbled for his phone on the bedside table, then pressed on it to light up the screen and checked the time. After putting it down, he buried one side of his face into his pillow. He was just planning to continue dozing for a while when an even louder gun salute sounded outside the window. Xu Tangcheng tugged his blanket and turned his body, wrapping himself up tightly, but still could not completely block out these ear-splitting explosions.

He sat up, feeling rather irritated. He stared at his window that was constantly lit up by the bright flames and spaced out for a while.

When his mind was awake, the first thing he did was take his phone, lower his head and send a message.

Less than two minutes later, the screen lit up, notifying him of one unread message.

Happy New Year.

It was the reply from Yi Zhe.

In the reply screen, Xu Tangcheng's fingers pressed on the keypad for a long while but he kept deleting what he typed without settling on anything suitable. Surrounded by chaotic noise, his thoughts seemed to also be jumbled. He gave up on replying and tossed his phone aside. When he put on his clothes, he was still wondering if Yi Zhe had also been woken up by the noise. If he was, where had he slept? If he hadn't slept, from where had he sent this "Happy New Year"?

When he opened his bedroom door, the lights in the living room were already switched on. The dining table was laid with a few bowls, each with a thin layer of vinegar at the bottom. Xu Tangcheng took a look and realised that there was one extra bowl.

Zhou Hui poked her head out of the kitchen. "You're up. Then, I'll start boiling the dumplings now. Tangxi's also up already."

"Mm." Xu Tangcheng walked into the kitchen to help out. He asked curiously, "Why are there five bowls?"

Zhou Hui pushed half a tray of dumplings into the pot. Very quickly, they were submerged in the bubbling water.

"Putting an extra bowl means that our family will have a new member soon."

"What new member?"

Zhou Hui smiled as she shot him a look. "Who do you think? Of course it's the new member that you will bring to me."

Xu Tangcheng paused. He understood now.

"Aiyo." He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You really funny."

Two days later, Xu Tangcheng finally saw Yi Zhe.

Yi Zhe rode his bike and reached the bottom of the building. He saw Xu Tangcheng holding the handlebar of a bike, teaching a small boy how to ride it.

"Use your legs and pedal. Don't let your body fall to the side."

The little boy was riding a rather old women's bike. He was not tall enough, so it took some effort for his legs to reach the pedals. He twisted his body and exerted strength, but ended up making the bike fall to the side. Yi Zhe came to a stop. He watched Xu Tangcheng steady the bike with a patient smile and even wrap an arm around the boy to help him sit upright.

Xu Tangcheng was wearing a dark green cotton jacket today. On the inside, he wore a sweatshirt with the white hood hanging outside. As he looked at him, Yi Zhe cocked his head and thought that Xu Tangcheng seemed to really like to wear light-coloured jeans. Even during winter, he always wore a pair of bleached jeans.

"You're back?"

The person not far away from him suddenly called out.

Yi Zhe came back to himself and pulled his legs back up. The wheels of his bike rolled over the red fragments of the exploded firecrackers. He stopped beside Xu Tangcheng.

"Where did you go?"

Faced with this question all of a sudden, Yi Zhe clearly did not know how to respond.

Seeing that he was staring blankly, Xu Tangcheng added, "On the night of the thirtieth, I wanted to ask you to come play fireworks with us. You weren't home."

Thirtieth?

Hearing that, Yi Zhe's eyes suddenly widened.

As though he knew what he was thinking, Xu Tangcheng immediately said, "Auntie Xiang opened the door. She didn't say anything."

"Mm."

This noise of response was accompanied by a very nasal sound. Xu Tangcheng raised a brow and asked, "Caught a cold?"

Now that he was looking, he finally realised that Yi Zhe's hands were red from the cold. Under his gaze, Yi Zhe rubbed his hands, then thrusted them into the pockets of his down jacket.

"Why aren't you wearing gloves?"

"I was in a bit of a hurry when I left the house. I forgot to." After saying that, Yi Zhe sniffed and explained, "I didn't catch a cold. It was just a little cold just now."

Xu Tangcheng tilted his head. "Your voice already sounds like that and you're still saying you're okay?"

Yi Zhe lowered his head and didn't say anything.

The little boy saw that Xu Tangcheng kept talking to the older boy that had just come and didn't look like he was going to continue teaching him at all, so he called out in a rather anxious tone, "Tangcheng-gege." Xu Tangcheng looked down and patted his head, indicating that he should wait a bit more.

"Do you have medicine at home?"

After asking, Xu Tangcheng felt that his question was rather superfluous.

"Never mind. You should go in first, it's quite cold outside. He's nearly got the hang of it. I'll teach him a while longer and then look for you."

Look for him?

Confused as he was, Yi Zhe still instinctively obeyed Xu Tangcheng's instructions. He took his bike by the handlebar and prepared to leave.

Before he could figure out what this "look for you" meant, the little boy beside them suddenly said, "Tangcheng-gege, this gege's bike looks good."

The little boy looked at Yi Zhe, then blinked and asked Xu Tangcheng, "When I've learned how to ride bicycles, can I ride this one?"

"This gege's bike is too tall, you can't ride it. You can barely handle this one." Halfway through his words, Xu Tangcheng suddenly noticed something and said in surprise, "Hmm? You changed your bike?"

The gears on the new bike were tighter than the previous one. The frequency at which Yi Zhe randomly changed gears had fallen quite a lot. His hands suddenly exerted a lot of strength but he still pretended to be calm as he nodded.

Xu Tangcheng studied the bike. "Why do I feel that it's not very different from the previous one?"

It was also red and it was also a mountain bike. Its outer appearance was basically the same except for the crossbar which was level.

"What happened to the previous one?" Xu Tangcheng asked curiously.

Yi Zhe paused, then said in a low voice, "It's not good anymore."