IMH - 49

After having lunch together once, Old Cheng frequently found excuses to invite Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian back to his home for meals.

Sometimes, Cheng Xiaonan would retort, asking if he was lonely and bored by himself, envious of him and Yu Qian.

Old Cheng would just say that the auntie at home had made soup, saying it was good for invigorating energy and good for Yu Qian.

Cheng Xiaonan would never refuse anything that was good for Yu Qian, so the two often went back to Old Cheng’s place for a meal or to chat and have afternoon tea.

The atmosphere in Cheng Xiaonan’s family was very relaxed.

Sometimes, upon entering, Cheng Xiaonan would carry the things he bought for Old Cheng and say, “Empty-nest old man, your future son and daughter-in-law are here to see you.”

Old Cheng wouldn’t humor him: “You can leave, Little Qian is staying to have dinner with me.”

Each time, Yu Qian would also smile faintly, lowering her gaze.

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In late January, the temperature in the imperial capital city rose slightly.

One time, during dinner at Old Cheng’s place, after the meal, Old Cheng received a call and very politely addressed the caller as “Mom.” Yu Qian initially thought it was Cheng Xiaonan’s paternal grandmother, but Cheng Xiaonan, standing beside her, called out “Grandma” (maternal grandmother).

Later, Cheng Xiaonan said that if Old Cheng addressed someone so formally as “Mom,” it definitely wouldn’t be his paternal grandmother.

They had driven straight from “Wutong Li” after work. On their way back, Yu Qian, sitting in the heated car, felt a bit sleepy.

These days, she had started feeling drowsy again, wanting to go to bed early.

In her drowsy state, she vaguely heard Cheng Xiaonan speaking on the phone in a low voice with someone.

When she fully opened her eyes, the car was parked in the underground garage, the cool white lights shining quietly. Not far away, a red car was backing into a parking space.

Cheng Xiaonan had already turned off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt, turning to face her: “Awake?”

“Mmm, were you just on the phone?”

Cheng Xiaonan nodded: “My maternal grandmother called, just hung up. The old lady said she wanted to meet you, but didn’t dare to disturb you, hoping you’d have time to visit her and have a meal or something.”

Cheng Xiaonan had a large family.

Both his maternal and paternal grandparents were still alive. On his maternal grandmother’s side, he had 4 maternal uncles and 5 maternal aunts. On his paternal grandfather’s side, he had 3 paternal uncles and 2 paternal aunts.

He briefly went over them for Yu Qian, and then, fearing she might be intimidated, said comfortingly, “You don’t have to remember all of them. We don’t have to go for New Year this year. Take your time to get used to it, don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.”

She just found it incredible; she had never been exposed to such a large family before.

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There was a package at the building entrance, from an underwear brand Yu Qian had previously collaborated with.

The owner of this brand was very good at managing relationships. Yu Qian and a few other female models were among the first female models when the company was founded.

Regardless of whether there was new collaboration with Yu Qian, every year they would ask Yu Qian for her address and send her a gift.

The express box was quite large. Yu Qian held it in her arms, tearing off the outer layer as she entered the door, and then opening the gift box.

Inside the black gift box, tied with a wide satin ribbon, was a set of lingerie adorned with crystals.

The brand’s women’s loungewear was all exquisite and beautifully designed.

Cheng Xiaonan closed the door, turned around, and as he took off his coat, he inadvertently glanced into the gift box in Yu Qian’s hands.

His eyelids twitched.

“Is the owner of this brand a man or a woman?”

“A woman.”

“Oh.”

Perhaps Cheng Xiaonan’s reaction was a bit awkward. Yu Qian let him help her take off her coat, leaning against the wall, and intentionally picked up the clothing with her fingertips: “Does it look good?”

The dangling crystals swayed gently.

The lace pattern was semi-transparent.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

Cheng Xiaonan raised his hand and flicked one of the crystal beads dangling from it. The bead swung widely, and he said, “Well, you’ll have to wear it for me to see if it looks good or not.”

He originally thought Yu Qian wouldn’t say anything, but it seemed like she intended to carry this fire to the end today.

The crystal beads reflected colorful light spots under the entrance lamp, and Yu Qian squinted: “Alright.”

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Cheng Xiaonan’s maternal grandmother knocking on their door the next morning was something neither Cheng Xiaonan nor Yu Qian had expected.

Fortunately, around 6 AM, Cheng Xiaonan was woken up by scattered crystal beads digging into him on the bed.

They didn’t get up late. When the old lady arrived, they had already eaten breakfast.

Yu Qian’s yoga mat was spread by the floor-to-ceiling window. She was sitting on it doing yoga, with several blooming Shirley Poppies behind her, her figure enveloped in the sunlight.

Cheng Xiaonan had washed the dishes and came out of the kitchen, seeing this very scene.

Perhaps the lingering effect of the crystals, torn off and scattered across the bed by him, was too strong, making his mind wander a bit. He walked over, squatted beside Yu Qian, and wanted to kiss her.

But before his lips could touch hers, there was a knock at the entrance.

Hardly anyone ever came to their house.

Peter was abroad for a fashion show these days; Sun Yue wouldn’t pick Yu Qian up when she wasn’t working; Shen Shen and Ji Ran treated the place like their own, always just entering the password directly.

Who could it be?

The two looked at each other.

The person knocking was very polite, knocking a few times unhurriedly, pausing, then knocking a few more times.

“Coming, coming.”

Cheng Xiaonan quickly kissed Yu Qian’s cheek and went to open the door. “Grandma, why are you here so early in the morning?”

Yu Qian got up from her yoga mat and saw the elder wearing a fur-collared cashmere coat outside the door.

The elder’s face was kind and somewhat resembled the photo of Cheng Xiaonan’s mother.

Without needing an introduction from Cheng Xiaonan, the elder had already walked up to Yu Qian. She seemed afraid that the outdoor chill clinging to her might make Yu Qian cold, so she took off her coat before giving Yu Qian a hug.

The elder looked at Yu Qian, her eyes full of tenderness: “Little girl, it’s been so many years, you’ve worked hard, you’ve worked hard.”

“When you were very young, I saw your advertisement on the street. Even then, I thought, such a beautiful girl must be my grandson’s wife. Look, look, we truly have fate, don’t we?”

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Cheng Xiaonan’s maternal grandmother didn’t stay long at Cheng Xiaonan’s house, saying she was just in the area for some errands and couldn’t resist coming to see her future grandson’s wife.

The old lady very kindly held Yu Qian’s hand and chatted with her.

“If it had been a few years earlier, if someone said you were my future grandson’s wife, I wouldn’t have dared to acknowledge it. After all, my grandson isn’t very promising, and his grades weren’t good either. Fortunately, he’s barely achieved something now, and he can barely be worthy of you.”

Cheng Xiaonan “tsk”-ed from the side, pushing the tea towards his maternal grandmother: “Grandma, what if we weren’t awake so early in the morning? How awkward would it be if you came and we weren’t up?”

“Grandma isn’t that tactless. I looked from downstairs; the curtains on your floor were open, and the bedroom windows were open for ventilation. How could you not be awake?”

“Old lady, so eager to see your future granddaughter-in-law?”

“I heard your father talk about Little Qian’s past, and I couldn’t help but worry. I didn’t sleep well last night, and since I happened to be passing by today, I thought I’d come and see.”

Cheng Xiaonan’s maternal grandmother was a professor in the Department of Psychology at a university and a resident psychological counselor at an affiliated hospital before she retired.

She had seen too many people under great mental stress. In her own words, she was afraid that the past rumors and gossip would harm this angelic and beautiful girl.

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Before leaving, Cheng’s maternal grandmother quietly told Yu Qian that if she felt burdened and unwilling to confide in others, writing things down was also good.

She said, “You need to let out those bad things that affect you, whether by writing them down or talking to others. In any case, don’t keep them hidden to yourself; it’s too tiring.”

It was from that day on that Yu Qian frequently received goodwill from Cheng Xiaonan’s family.

As the New Year approached, these relatives knew that the young couple had finally gotten together, and it wasn’t convenient to disturb them. However, they all valued Yu Qian, so they entrusted Cheng Xiaonan to bring her gifts.

Cheng Xiaonan’s maternal grandparents gave Yu Qian a pillow filled with calming herbs, while his paternal grandparents brought Yu Qian a jade green bangle.

Aunts and cousins also sent gifts, each one thoughtfully chosen. There was even a letter from Cheng Xiaonan’s junior high school cousin, saying how much she liked Yu Qian and how excited she was to call her “sister-in-law.”

The coffee table was piled with gift boxes. Yu Qian unwrapped them one by one, while Cheng Xiaonan joked irreverently beside her: “These people, I’ve lived this long and none of them have ever bought me New Year gifts with such a grand gesture. It’s truly because she’s a beauty, everyone loves her.”

But after saying that, he also pulled a gift box from his pocket and handed it to Yu Qian.

Yu Qian looked up at him, and he just smiled: “Take it, sister. They all sent gifts, so of course I have to send one too. Can’t let my family outdo me, right?”

It was a very delicate watch, its dial so miniature that when Yu Qian unwrapped it, she thought it was just a diamond-encrusted bracelet.

Cheng Xiaonan said that the mechanical movement and style of the watch were almost identical to the one worn by Queen Elizabeth upon her ascension. To this day, its movement remains the smallest and lightest in the world.

Moreover, he himself wore a full-diamond men’s watch, and this one looked quite similar, like a couple’s watch.

“Old Cheng recommended it to me. I thought it was pretty good.”

Cheng Xiaonan sat next to Yu Qian and helped her put it on. “Those rumors might not stop, there might even be other rumors, but I hope you are your own queen, and whatever others say, screw them.”

“You’re swearing.”

“I said all that, and you’re not touched? You only heard me swear?”

Of course not.

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More than 20 gift boxes were piled in front of Yu Qian, and she was wearing the watch Cheng Xiaonan gave her on her wrist.

Such a massive, weighty amount of love from Cheng Xiaonan’s entire family—how could she not be moved?

It was because of Cheng Xiaonan that she had the opportunity to receive care from elders, and the chance to experience the feeling of a large family.

To feel this weighty welcome.

After this New Year, she would be virtually 29 years old.

Yet, she never expected to be pampered like a child by a large family at this age.

In the past, the New Year held nothing particularly joyful for Yu Qian.

Perhaps it was the longing for the man who had once woven a dream of love with lies for her. The more these holidays approached, the less silent and talkative Qu Liwen became.

So, in Yu Qian’s memory, New Year often meant silently eating a plate of dumplings with Qu Liwen, and then watching Qu Liwen silently stare blankly at her wrist watch.

This New Year was quite different.

It seemed that ever since she got together with Cheng Xiaonan, she had more connections with the world.

Yu Qian asked Cheng Xiaonan for his phone, and, referring to his contact list, carefully saved his family members’ phone numbers. Then, she composed thank you and New Year’s greeting messages for each family member who had given her a gift and sent them one by one.

After sending them all, she looked up at the living room’s French windows.

Cheng Xiaonan had long ago hung strings of small, color-changing light bulbs on the windows. He had set them to white, making it look like a string of stars draped by the window, creating quite a New Year’s atmosphere.

She also remembered the day he hung the lights. Cheng Xiaonan brought a ladder out of the storage room. As soon as Yu Qian stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Cheng Xiaonan standing on it.

She asked him what he was doing, and he lit up the string of lights he held, changing them to red.

He said irreverently, “For our wedding night, I’m setting the mood.”

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After being together for a while, Yu Qian also noticed that Cheng Xiaonan wasn’t actually a talkative person with others.

Only when he was with her, topics flowed one after another; he loved to tease and had a sense of humor.

So, she also tried to open up to him a little.

That’s why that day she said, “I used to be envious.”

Cheng Xiaonan seemed afraid he hadn’t heard clearly, so he leaned down from the ladder, asking, “What?”

Yu Qian said she used to envy the lively atmosphere of other families during the New Year, with their festive lights.

The imperial capital city of the past was far from as prosperous as it is now; not every place had towering buildings.

The early buildings had no elevators and no high-rises over ten stories; they were all 6-7 story buildings, where every household knew each other, and there were always elders gathering to chat in the community.

At that time, there wasn’t the same environmental awareness as now; fireworks and firecrackers were not banned.

Yu Qian would stand on the balcony and watch the children in the community light firecrackers or show off who had received another red envelope.

Later, when she was older and firecrackers were no longer allowed, a different way of celebrating the New Year’s spirit emerged. Balconies were adorned with colorful lights, and some people would push carts, selling old-fashioned paper lanterns in the community.

Yu Qian liked watching these flickering things.

But Qu Liwen would tell her to go practice the exercises assigned by her physical conditioning teacher if she had nothing to do, instead of just standing idly on the balcony.

So Yu Qian said, “I used to envy families that hung colorful lights during the New Year.”

“You have it now, don’t you?”

Cheng Xiaonan jumped down from the ladder and stood in front of Yu Qian. “What else did you envy? Tell me about it? Maybe I can help you achieve it?”

Yu Qian shook her head.

Perhaps along the way, there had been many quiet envies, but standing in front of Cheng Xiaonan, she couldn’t think of any at the moment.

The young man then pulled her wrist, his thumb caressing the spot where her pulse beat, and quipped, “Sister, have you ever envied a house full of children and grandchildren?”