On the morning after the golden wedding banquet, soft sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices and quietly fell onto Su Jinli's dressing table. Su Jinli sat at the dressing table as usual, preparing to put on her makeup. Inadvertently, her eyes were drawn to a piece of yellowed paper. She gently picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it. In an instant, her eyes were filled with surprise and emotion. It turned out that this was the sketch of the phoenix sugar painting that Jiang Yan had copied fifty years ago. The edges of the paper had curled slightly due to the baptism of time, but the ink marks of his revisions from that year were still clearly visible on the tail feathers. Those ink marks seemed to be a unique mark left by time, carrying the beautiful memories of their youth.

"When was this painted?" Su Jinli turned to look at Jiang Yan, who was sorting books nearby, with curiosity and tenderness in her eyes.

Hearing the question, Jiang Yan put down the book in his hands and slowly walked over. His eyes fell on the drawing, and a trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes. He reached out and gently brushed the drawing with his fingertips, as if touching the past years, and said softly, "That was after your coming-of-age party. Ever since we parted, I've always wanted to see you again. I drew this phoenix from memory. Every time I see it, it's like seeing you again." Jiang Yan's voice was low and gentle, as if he was telling a long-cherished secret.

Su Jinli gazed at the slightly childish brushstrokes on the drawing, her thoughts instantly drifting back to that year, during the apricot blossom and drizzle season. She remembered stumbling upon him outside the prime minister's residence, crouched on the ground drawing a sugar painting. The scene played out clearly in her mind, like a movie, and she couldn't help but smile as she said, "You even laughed at me back then, saying my dragon looked like an earthworm."

"I lied to you." Jiang Yan smiled gently and pinched her face lovingly, his eyes full of affection. "The first time I saw you, I felt that this woman was different. There seemed to be a bright light hidden in your eyes, which attracted me immediately."

At this moment, the door creaked open, and Pan'er, like a cheerful little bird, rushed in with a group of grandchildren laughing and joking. "Grandma! Grandpa! Let's listen to a story!" Pan'er's clear voice echoed in the room.

Xiaotang hugged the sugar phoenix tightly, tilted her rosy little face upwards, eyes gleaming with anticipation, and said eagerly, "Grandma, please tell us the story of you and Grandpa fighting over the sugar painting! We can't wait!"

Su Jinli looked at the cute faces of her grandchildren, each one full of anticipation, and couldn't help but smile. "Okay, then I'll tell you about the funny story of that stupid champion who stole my sugar painting..."

Sugar painting romance: A glimpse of beauty 50 years ago

"That year, I had just come of age. I felt so suffocated in the Prime Minister's residence that I secretly ran away." Su Jinli gently waved her round fan and began to narrate. Her voice was soft and soothing, as if she was taking everyone back through time and space, back to that youthful era.

"Are you going to see some handsome guys?" Nianzu blinked mischievously with a sly smile on his face, causing everyone to laugh.

"Go away!" Su Jinli pretended to be angry and tapped him lightly. "I heard that there were people selling sugar paintings on the street. I was curious and wanted to go and have a look. Unexpectedly, in front of the sugar painting stall, I met a poor scholar in a blue shirt who insisted on snatching the phoenix sugar painting from me." Su Jinli said, with a hint of reminiscence in her eyes.

Jiang Yan added with a smile: "I saw the little girl standing on tiptoe, trying hard to reach the sugar painting. The hairpins in her hair swayed gently with her movements, and it felt like they were about to fall off. She looked so cute that I couldn't help but want to tease her." Jiang Yan recalled the scene at that time, his face filled with a happy smile.

"It was obviously you who was greedy and wanted to eat the phoenix sugar painting!" Su Jinli glared at Jiang Yan in reproach. "In the end, I was smart and grabbed the phoenix sugar painting first." Su Jinli raised her chin slightly, with a hint of pride in her eyes.

"Yes, yes, yes," Jiang Yan smiled dotingly and followed Su Jinli's words, "Then you took a bite, frowned and said it was too sweet, and even gave me half." Jiang Yan's eyes were full of nostalgia for that beautiful memory.

Pan'er was so engrossed in listening, her eyes wide open, that she couldn't wait to ask, "Grandma, what happened next? What happened next?"

"Then," Su Jinli looked at Jiang Yan, her eyes full of smiles, as if she had returned to those innocent days, "that poor scholar would come to the sugar painting stall every day, finding all kinds of excuses to wait for a share of my sugar paintings."

"So grandpa is a glutton!" Xiaotang couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing. The crisp laughter echoed in the room like a silver bell.

Jiang Yan pretended to be angry and said, "Little Tang, if you make fun of grandpa again, I won't make sugar paintings for you anymore."

"No!" Xiaotang hid behind Su Jinli when he heard it, and stuck out his little head and said, "Grandpa is the best. Xiaotang won't laugh anymore." Everyone looked at Xiaotang's adorable appearance and couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

Amidst the laughter in the room, Su Jinli suddenly realized that the sugar painting she had made fifty years ago had already, without her realizing it, quietly and inadvertently, sealed their lifelong connection. That sugar painting wasn't just a sweet treat; it was the beautiful beginning of their love story.

Fun Facts About Grandchildren: The Logic of Little Kids

"Grandma," Nianzu asked, tilting his head as if suddenly thinking of something, "You and Grandpa have been together for so many years. Have you ever had any arguments?"

Before Su Jinli could speak, Jiang Yan said first: "Yes, your grandma is very powerful. She quarrels with me every day." Jiang Yan deliberately acted aggrieved, causing his grandchildren to laugh.

"No way!" Su Jinli quickly retorted, "It's you who makes me angry every day!" Su Jinli looked at Jiang Yan pretending to be angry, but there was a hint of smile in her eyes.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!