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Psst! We're moving!
1
In the morning, I woke up to find my heart was beating irregularly and too fast. I thought it must have been caused by being overly busy and anxious with work recently.
I told Lin Zhiyi about it. Worried that he wouldn’t understand, I pulled his hand to my chest and said, “Feel this—my heart is racing.”
I was like a patient being diagnosed by a doctor, anxiously observing the “doctor’s” facial expressions, hoping to guess my condition through changes in his expression.
His expression changed dramatically: first frowning, then puzzled, then shy... After a while, he said, “Now my heart rate has increased too.”
I couldn’t help but laugh; my anxiety instantly eased.
2
At noon, I was working at my desk when Lin Zhiyi came in and said to me, “Stand up.”
I thought he was calling me to eat, so I stood up as instructed.
When I turned around, I saw that he had a red cloth bag in front of him and asked me, “What does this character read?”
I glanced at the character on the red cloth bag and said, “Qin (親).”
“What kind of word is this?” Lin Zhiyi asked.
“A noun.” Because “qin” is a common term used by shopkeepers on a certain online store.
“No.” He shook his head.
“A verb?”
He still shook his head and said, “No.”
Suddenly, the red cloth bag disappeared, and he kissed me unexpectedly.
Why did my heart start pounding like a little deer?
“It’s a conjunction,” he said after kissing me. “The part of speech of this character is something 99 out of 100 people get wrong. Only I know it has this part of speech, and I just demonstrated it.”
Then, as if nothing happened, he pulled me to the living room: “Today I prepared steamed eggs that are like jelly for you.”
I was still lingering on the kiss that felt like jelly; let me savor it for a moment.
3
Some friends came to Beijing, and we had dinner together.
When the waiter brought out the dessert after the meal, I was already 80% full. But seeing such beautiful heart-shaped pastries, I couldn’t help but be tempted.
However, it remained just temptation—I didn’t pick up my chopsticks.
After a while, we saw the waiter carrying a large plate of something resembling big bread loaves on his shoulder. Each loaf was bigger than a face!
Everyone was shocked: “Ah? What is this? So big?”
“Green onion pancakes,” the waiter replied.
So they were bloated green onion pancakes! But they smelled so good and looked so crispy, though their size was daunting.
In the end, these four plump pancakes were divided among us! Everyone said, “Delicious!”
I suddenly wondered, is it more important for desserts to look good or taste good?
The heart-shaped pastries were visually appealing, but the taste experience mattered more. The flavor of the crispy green onion pancakes lingered longer.
When I got home, I shared my thoughts with Lin Zhiyi and said, “Sometimes what looks good isn’t necessarily tasty, and what doesn’t look good can be very fragrant! Is it like people, sometimes choosing someone who looks good isn’t as good as choosing someone who suits you?”
“I choose someone who is both good-looking and suitable, like you,” Lin Zhiyi said.
4
One morning, Lin Zhiyi said he would drive me to work.
The elevator descended to the B2 level where the underground parking lot was located. Not long after getting out of the elevator, we found some water on the path leading to the parking lot, but there was no other way to the parking lot.
I looked at my black leather boots and hesitated whether to wade through the water when Lin Zhiyi squatted down and said, “Come here, I’ll carry you.”
“Really? Can you carry me?” He hadn’t carried me for a long time.
“If I can princess-carry you, carrying you won’t be a problem,” he said confidently.
I leaned on his back, and he carried me across the flooded area.
I laughed, “I heard that in your hometown, during weddings, the groom carries the bride. Just consider this an experience of your hometown customs.”
“In my hometown, the groom carries the bride from the foot of the mountain to the top. If you don’t lose some weight, I really won’t be able to carry you.”
“...”
Just when I was moved by him carrying me, why did the tone change suddenly?
5
When I finished work, Lin Zhiyi came to pick me up. Not long after sitting in the car, he wanted to play music from his phone but found that the car’s Bluetooth was connected to my phone.
He asked in confusion, “Why did the Bluetooth connect to yours first?”
I was even more confused and said, “I don’t know either.” Clearly, I got in the car later, so why did the car’s Bluetooth favor my phone?
He said, “Because your priority level is higher than mine! In my heart, Dà Níng is always first.
My car follows me.”
How does it feel like I’ve been tricked again...
6
Helping elementary school students with homework is quite a challenging task. Every time Lin Zhiyi helps Xinbao finish her homework, he becomes exhausted like a pile of mud and collapses onto the bed.
When I finished writing and was about to sleep, I went to call him: “Dà Lín, get up and brush your teeth and wash your face.”
“Hmm.” He responded and continued sleeping.
A few minutes later, I called him again: “Get up and take a shower before sleeping.”
“Hmm.” He still responded and continued sleeping.
Seeing that he showed no reaction, I could do nothing but go to the bathroom to shower first.
After finishing the shower, I found that the bath towel wasn’t on the towel rack and quickly shouted, “Dà Lín, help me get the bath towel!”
“Coming!” Soon, Lin Zhiyi brought the bath towel.
Hmm? Why was he so quick now, when earlier I couldn’t get him to wake up?
I seemed to have discovered the correct way to wake Lin Zhiyi up.
7
One day, Lin Zhiyi asked me a somewhat taboo question for women: “How much do you weigh now?”
I said, “I haven’t weighed myself for a long time, I don’t know.”
Because I had just undergone minimally invasive surgery for a breast fibroid, the doctor advised against jumping or exercising for a month, so I temporarily stopped going to the gym and weighing myself.
As a result, the next second, he simply picked me up!
“Isn’t this an unexpected lift?” I was surprised.
“You seem to have become lighter,” he said.
The surprise turned into delight.
“Wow! Great! Can I lose weight without going to the gym?”
“The small monster taken away by the doctor indeed made you a few ounces lighter.”
“...”
Wah wah wah, it seems I was happy too soon.
8
Once, while shopping, I encountered a strange shop owner. I merely tried to haggle, and he sarcastically said, “With the effort you put into bargaining, you might as well find yourself a boyfriend.”
When I got home, I angrily told Lin Zhiyi, “This person actually mocked me for not having a boyfriend. Isn’t this looking down on me?”
Lin Zhiyi said, “I don’t think he looked down on you. On the contrary, I think he overestimated you. By saying you don’t have a boyfriend, he treated you like an unmarried maiden. Isn’t that the greatest compliment?”
That made sense. However, the tone of his words was too harsh. I said, “Aren’t customers supposed to be gods? That person showed no respect for God. I felt like he thought of himself as God.”
Lin Zhiyi said, “Exactly! He had a god’s perspective, which is why he saw you as so young and beautiful.”
“...”
9
Probably because I caught a chill during our trip to Ulan Butong Grassland and ate too much indigestible food at night, my stomach went on strike these past two days, and I had no appetite for anything.
A friend brought me some seasonal hairy crabs, but I had to reluctantly give them away to others.
However, being sick does have its perks. I could enjoy someone’s care with peace of mind—
At work, I received a WeChat message from Lin Zhiyi: “Wife, I ordered takeout for you, something light.”
When I got home after work, he had my mother-in-law prepare millet porridge, a very thick millet porridge, with a texture like baby food.
As for taking medicine, he had his own way. After I drank a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, which was both bitter and spicy, there was a piece of rock sugar waiting in his hand for me.
After eating the rock sugar, I said, “Is this first bitter then sweet?”
He kissed me and said, “This is called sharing both joys and sorrows.”
“...”
10
On my birthday, Lin Zhiyi took the family to a restaurant to celebrate.
I said to Xinbao, “Except for the year I graduated and was job hunting, your dad has celebrated every birthday with me. Even so, it still took seven years before we got married. Finding a partner requires testing, just like trying on shoes—it has to fit just right. Your dad is that perfect fit for me.
Do you agree, Xinbao?”
Xinbao said, “Not at all!”
I said, “What? Is it wrong to say Dad fits perfectly?”
Xinbao said, “Dad is an extremely good, super good, ultra good person.”
11
Recently, I read a book called Our Best Times . The handsome and steady Beihai met the lively and interesting Jingxian when he was young. In those slower times, one misstep could last a lifetime.
In the long course of their lives, there were many touching moments in their mundane interactions. What moved me most was that during the twenty-one years Jingxian was bedridden due to illness, she persisted in reading, and Beihai took meticulous care of her.
Grandpa Beihai touched every reader, except himself. He said, “Twenty years may seem like I was taking care of her, but in fact, she was accompanying me.”
Love, after all, is about “loving one person for a lifetime.” Reflecting on the love in those simple times strengthens the belief in love and reveals that the essence of love is giving.
After finishing the book, I asked Lin Zhiyi, “Honey, if we are together for twenty-one years, will you start to get tired of me?”
“Not at all,” he said.
I was still counting the years we’d been together on my fingers when he said, “I’m tired of you ignoring me.”
The smile that spread from the corners of my mouth reached deep into my heart.
12
There’s always something to talk about between me and Lin Zhiyi. Since we’re busy with work during the day, we often talk a lot before going to sleep each night.
Of course, most of the time, I do the talking, and he listens.
One night, we lay side by side in bed, and I recounted a book I had read to him. After finishing, I shared my thoughts.
He said, “Stop talking. Today is different; we have to catch the high-speed train early tomorrow morning.”
“Alright,” I reluctantly stopped but couldn’t help but say a few more sentences.
He said, “If you keep talking, I’ll go sleep in Xinbao’s room. She asked me to tell her a story before bed, and there’s an evil witch in the book that scared her. She also reminded me to stay with her.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Mainly, it’s affecting your sleep too much.”
“...” Suddenly, a warmth filled my heart. He was worried about affecting my sleep and didn’t want to sleep with me.
Yes! Every time we accidentally end up chatting for an hour.
“No more talking. If you say another word, I’ll spank you.”
I laughed.
He asked, “Does it feel good to be managed by someone?”
“It feels absolutely wonderful!”
When I was little, I hated being managed by my parents. I didn’t like my mom waking me up, calling me to eat during playtime, or urging me to sleep at bedtime.
How did disliking these things change into liking them just by changing the person? It’s strange! Perhaps, when you meet someone who manages you and makes you feel incredibly happy, that’s love?
13
This day, Lin Zhiyi picked me up after work.
On the way home, I said to him, “The book title you helped me come up with this morning was adopted by my author friend. The author said, ‘Your husband is so talented!’”
He calmly drove, showing no change in expression.
“Do you know how I replied?” I continued.
“You wouldn’t have bragged about your husband again, would you?” he said.
“Listen for yourself.”
I opened the WeChat chat with my author friend and played the voice messages for him.
The first voice message—
Last night, I joked with my husband that usually I record the sweet words you say, but if one day I leave this world before you, no one will record them anymore. Then you should write down our stories and the sweet words you want to say to me, like Ping Ru wrote a book for Mei Tang—you should also write one for me. It might become a classic.
The second voice message—
He just hasn’t written it yet, but I’ve always thought he’s very talented. Just like your father admired your mother, I admire my husband immensely. He’s just lazy to write, but not writing doesn’t mean he lacks talent.
After listening, Lin Zhiyi laughed, “You’re feeding dog food on Weibo, and now you’re telling the author these things.”
“I just think good love has similarities, just like their parents’ lifelong affection. We also have commonalities in appreciating and admiring each other.”
He didn’t say anything. I wondered if he was a bit overwhelmed. After all, I rarely praise him directly.
When the car entered the parking lot and we got out, Lin Zhiyi called me, “Dà Níng, come stand behind our car.”
I didn’t know what he wanted and stood behind the car, confused.
He pressed a button, and the trunk slowly opened—
Two pots of roses appeared, like two beams of light in the dark underground parking lot, brightening my heart.
“Since you praised your husband today, I bought you two pots of roses,” Lin Zhiyi said.
“Is this telepathy? While I was chatting with the author at work, could you sense it?”
I was stunned.
“Didn’t Zhang Ailing write Red Rose and White Rose ? I bought you two pots of roses in different colors. My red rose is you, and my white rose is also you.” Lin Zhiyi took the two pots of flowers out of the trunk.
14
Nowadays, people who see me say that I exude both gentleness and literary charm. If literary charm comes from books, then gentle charm comes from Lin Zhiyi.
I still remember the first time Lin Zhiyi came to my house. My mom said to him, “My Dà Níng has a bad temper, is a life novice, and can’t cook. Would you dare to marry such a girl?” (Is she really my biological mother?) Lin Zhiyi said, “It’s okay. I have a good temper, and I can cook. I’ll take care of her.”
That’s when I decided he was the one.
I used to have a bad temper and was impatient, easily getting angry when things didn’t go well. But Lin Zhiyi has always been conflict-averse, and after being with him for a long time, I’ve become calmer and more peaceful.
Friends say I’m passionate like fire, while Lin Zhiyi is gentle like water. Instead of clashing, we complement each other perfectly. Laozi said, “The highest good is like water,” and gentleness has the energy of water.
I will always surrender to gentleness, and Lin Zhiyi is gentleness itself.
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