Chapter 53

Secretary Gao took Wu Yanying away, and the area downstairs was completely unaffected. The sounds of champagne being opened, glasses clinking, whistling, and laughter filled the air.

Such noise made Shen Hanyang yearn for peace and quiet even more.

The computer screen remained frozen on someone's social media profile for two whole hours. He stared at the page almost without moving, while the ashtray beside him gradually filled up.

Her portrait, that mathematical symbol, represents something beyond infinity.

In reality, this person is extremely stubborn, self-isolated, and confined to their own little world; they are not nearly as open-minded as their profile picture suggests.

"What a contradiction." He thought to himself with a cold laugh, but after the laugh, a wave of bittersweet tenderness surged forth.

How long has it been since he last saw her?

When will I see her again?

Various thoughts arose one after another, and the cigarette pack was empty. He was restless, so he disregarded the fact that it was his break time and grabbed the phone to call Assistant Hao.

"How about it?... We can speed things up... We don't need to give him too much time... This idiot doesn't have the brains... Yes... Let's hurry..."

Gong Meiping unexpectedly escaped with her life.

When she opened her eyes in the ICU, the first thing she saw was her daughter, Huang Qian. For some reason, the old lady suddenly flew into a rage, making "ooh ooh ooh" sounds in her throat, drool dripping from the crooked corner of her mouth, and shaking her body violently.

No one understood what she was trying to say.

"Post-stroke sequelae." The doctor shook his head regretfully, telling the family to be prepared.

"It's alright, as long as you're alive," Huang Qian thanked the doctor and called out to Gong Meiping, "Mom."

Gong Meiping was still angrily groaning, but her face was wet. It was not only covered in saliva, but also tears.

Huang Qian wiped her face, silently accepting her sudden outburst of temper. Yan Qing stood by, handing her a basin and washing a towel, feeling both heartbroken and helpless. How could she not understand Gong Meiping's anger? The once decisive and efficient female engineer probably found it most unbearable to face the world in such an embarrassing way on this day when she was old and frail.

The nanny refused to continue, no matter what Huang Qian said. She tried everything to persuade her, spending the whole afternoon trying to convince her, and even promised to increase the care fee and pay her wages in advance. Only then did she manage to keep the nanny.

However, after Gong Meiping was discharged from the hospital and returned home, the nanny, who had received a high salary, only worked for three days before packing her things and leaving without saying goodbye.

Huang Qian was caught off guard; she was preparing for a quarterly report at a provincial-level fund when she received the news. Left with no other option, she called Yan Qing for help again.

Gong Meiping can speak now, but her tongue is stiff, and she speaks as if she has a mouthful of water, making her pronunciation unclear. But this doesn't stop her from throwing tantrums. The doctor has repeatedly warned her against eating salty food, which has led to the current scene of Gong Meiping lashing out at a table full of green grass.

"You're going to feed the patient this?" the old lady demanded sharply. If she weren't mostly paralyzed, she would have gotten up and cooked two dishes herself.

“Mother-in-law,” Yan Qing said earnestly, “you must now pay attention to a light diet, with less oil and salt.”

"I'd rather go to the underworld sooner than eat this!"

Gong Meiping went on a hunger strike in protest, refusing to eat no matter how Yan Qing tried to coax her. Just as they reached a stalemate, the doorbell rang. Gong Meiping rushed to open the door, but she could only move her left arm, which was still not very flexible, and she struggled to control her wheelchair. Yan Qing wanted to help, but Gong Meiping firmly refused: "This old woman isn't useless yet, she doesn't need you to serve her like this!"

Yan Qing sighed helplessly. She knew that Gong Meiping was struggling with her half-crippled body.

Finally, Gong Meiping managed to get herself to the door with one hand, and then clumsily opened it.

There were six people standing outside the door: one adult and two children, all of them busy with their hands.

"Grandma, we're back from buying yummy food!" Huang Yanxiang proudly waved her shopping bag. Cheng Jiaming wasn't to be outdone, quickly following suit and waving his own bag, "Grandma, there's some here too!"

Gong Meiping's face, which had been contorted with worry all morning, finally relaxed a little as the two chattering children pushed her wheelchair toward the living room. Across the threshold, Yan Qing, wearing an apron, and Shen Hanyang, carrying two large shopping bags, stood facing each other.

"Uncle Shen, come in quickly!" Huang Yanxiang took two ice creams out of the refrigerator, one for herself and one for Cheng Jiaming. Cheng Jiaming slurped his ice cream and swaggered past the door, glancing at Shen Hanyang and then at Yan Qing, before blurting out, "You blockhead, you can't even walk past Teacher Yan."

...

Yan Qing quickly made way, even though she hadn't actually been blocking the way.

When Yan Qing turned around, she saw Gong Meiping pulling Huang Yanxiang aside and secretly taking a bite of ice cream. Yan Qing caught her red-handed, but the grandmother and granddaughter didn't seem to care and laughed heartily. Knowing that Gong Meiping wouldn't listen, Yan Qing still patiently reiterated, "You should eat less sweets too."

Gong Meiping smacked her tongue for a bit of chocolate sauce and said angrily, "Send me to prison. Even prisoners don't have this many restrictions."

Shen Hanyang had already spotted a table full of lush green grass and said calmly, "Less oil and salt doesn't mean no oil and salt, and less sweets doesn't mean zero sweets."

He walked straight into the kitchen, the sound of plastic bags rustling filling the air as his tall figure moved back and forth between the counter, refrigerator, and shelves. Yan Qing hesitated for a moment before following him into the kitchen. Shen Hanyang had already neatly categorized and arranged the newly bought meat, eggs, and vegetables. He even washed the pan she had used to stir-fry the vegetables, leaving the kitchen tidy and spotless.

Yan Qing stared blankly.

"What, are you surprised to see me?" Shen Hanyang walked past her to get the sink. "Huang Feihong's school held a sports meet these past two days. It rained in the afternoon, so the sports meet ended early and the children had a holiday."

Yan Qing glanced hesitantly at the living room, where Huang Yanxiang and Cheng Jiaming were huddled on the sofa watching TV. She wanted to say something, but before she could speak, Shen Hanyang interrupted, "Cheng Jiaming's school is also having a sports meet." Shen Hanyang looked at her and asked with great gentlemanly manners, "Are these explanations sufficient to justify the three of us being here?"

Well, anything involving Shen Hanyang makes perfect sense. Needless to say, he heard about Gong Meiping's illness through Huang Yanxiang and Cheng Jiaming.

Shen Hanyang had already rolled up his sleeves and started cleaning several thin, narrow little fish. Yan Qing was surprised; could such unassuming little fish taste good? She liked to eat fish, but she didn't have many opportunities. Once, Jiang Xiaoman made mandarin fish at home, and the taste was unforgettable for Yan Qing. While she was lost in thought, Shen Hanyang had already cleaned the fish and rubbed them with coarse salt to marinate. Then, he added some corn pieces, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and yams to the steamer. After washing the apples and celery, he suddenly asked, "Do you have a juicer?"

Yan Qing was a beat slow to react, "Oh, yes." She expertly took a small juicer from a cabinet. Shen Hanyang then put in the chopped apple, celery, and ginger slices, and finally squeezed in lemon juice. Just as he was about to rinse the cutting board under the tap, Yan Qing took it from him.

"I'll do it."

Shen Hanyang didn't stop her, but the moment he looked up, he noticed a patch of discontinuous, light brown marks on her arm, visible beneath her short-sleeved shirt. They stood out starkly against her fair skin, like some kind of old scar. He then realized that even in summer, she rarely wore short sleeves. Even the last time at the Anchuan Waterworks residential compound, when she was cooking, she only rolled up her sleeves, exposing her wrists.

Perhaps his gaze was too direct, but Yan Qing went out quietly and returned wearing a cardigan over her short-sleeved shirt.

Within half an hour, a dish of steamed small fish, a pitcher of apple and celery juice, and a plate of steamed mixed grains were added to the table. Gong Meiping's refusal to eat was finally reversed. Although everything was very bland, Gong Meiping, who had been addicted to strong flavors all her life, ate it with great relish.

"What kind of fish is this? It tastes so delicious!"

Cheng Jiaming answered quickly: "Grandma, this is a Yangtze River knife fish."

"Oh, oh," Gong Meiping nodded as if she understood, and took another sip of the fruit and vegetable juice: "This is delicious, sweet and sour, I've been so thirsty my throat is parched."

Upon hearing this, Yan Qing silently put away the boiled water that had been left to cool.

While eating, Gong Meiping put on her reading glasses and began to examine Shen Hanyang across from her: "This young man looks familiar, hasn't he been here before?...Xiao Yan's boyfriend?"

Yan Qing exclaimed "Ah!" Luckily, Cheng Jiaming answered for her, "Grandma, he's not her boyfriend." But because he choked on a sweet potato, he quickly drank a sip of juice to clear his throat before saying, "It's unrequited love. He secretly looks at Teacher Yan's photos at home every day, but Teacher Yan never pays any attention to him."

Yan Qing's hand trembled, and the chopsticks fell to the ground. Shen Hanyang, on the other hand, remained unfazed, calmly replacing her chopsticks with a new pair. He even managed to leisurely refill Cheng Jiaming's empty drink cup with juice.

Yan Qing covered her mouth and coughed a few times, but her throat was still tight.

Gong Meiping asked Yan Qing with concern, "Is a fishbone stuck in your throat? This knife fish tastes good, but the only drawback is that there are too many small bones." The aftereffects of cerebral infarction had not spared this elderly woman with her unfortunate fate; in addition to the decline in physical function, forgetfulness also followed her like a shadow. Therefore, after a series of distractions, Gong Meiping seemed to have forgotten Cheng Jiaming's topic about "unrequited love" and instead talked about her experiences when she was young: "You all know that the fish in Jiangnan are plentiful and the water is beautiful, but you probably don't know that our motherland also has a treasure trove of aquatic products—the Great Northwest! When I was stationed in a factory in Xinjiang, I couldn't go back to the mainland for the New Year, so the local cadres would invite me to their homes for New Year's Eve dinner. There was a steamed rainbow trout on the table, and I thought about it for three whole days after I ate it." Gong Meiping said nostalgically, "The fish raised in the cold water lakes of Xinjiang have firm flesh and a rich flavor. They are delicious no matter how they are eaten, whether raw, smoked, grilled, or stewed."

Cheng Jiaming and Huang Yanxiang, the two little ones, listened in stunned silence, repeatedly expressing their amazement and support. Encouraged, Gong Meiping became even more engrossed in her storytelling. At one point, Gong Meiping suddenly spotted Shen Hanyang and asked curiously, "This young man looks familiar. Are you... Xiao Yan's boyfriend?"

Hmm, we've come full circle again.

After these few days, Huang Yanxiang has gradually come to accept her grandmother's fluctuating mental state. The little girl patiently said, "Grandma, he is not Qingqing's boyfriend, he is Cheng Jiaming's father."

"Has a child?" Gong Meiping was clearly enraged. She slammed down her chopsticks, completely disregarding Chen Hanyang's cooking, or perhaps she simply didn't remember who had cooked. A muffled roar erupted from her diaphragm: "Absolutely not! I always say, women should cherish themselves. When looking for a man, virginity is the priority! Secondly, a simple dating history and no sexual relations. At the very least, he must never have been married, and his resume must be clean..."

Gong Meiping, disregarding the presence of children, uttered all sorts of inappropriate words, and Yan Qing couldn't stop her at all. Shen Hanyang, on the other hand, remained silent, observing everything from a detached perspective. Yan Qing's gaze met his, and she even detected a hint of detached, amused mockery in his eyes.

"Both men and women must love themselves, otherwise the outcome will inevitably be tragic. There are precedents for this! In our factory, there was once a female employee who was among the first batch of college students after the resumption of the national college entrance examination. She was beautiful, intelligent, and won first place in the workshop's skills competition every year, making all the male technicians feel ashamed. In the end, she fell in love with a divorced man. Guess what happened in the end? She died of syphilis." These four words were a wake-up call. Fortunately, by this time, the two little ones had already lost patience and ran to the bedroom to play on the computer, thus avoiding being subjected to such an ear-piercing revelation.

"And another thing!" Gong Meiping glanced at Yan Qing with a gloomy expression and said sadly, "Your good teacher, my good-for-nothing daughter, didn't she also get involved with a married man and become the laughing stock of others!" It seems that no matter how forgetful she is, Gong Meiping can't forget the great humiliation that happened to her daughter.

"So, Shakespeare warned you all that any relationship not aimed at marriage is immoral! Hey little... what's your last name again?"

“Chen,” Chen Hanyang replied politely.

"Xiao Shen, before you officially register your marriage with Xiao Yan, you absolutely must keep your third leg in check."

Yan Qing: "..." It seems the old lady has forgotten that Shen Hanyang has a son again.

Shen Hanyang laughed jokingly, "This kind of thinking is too feudal. Modern people pursue romance. As long as the feeling is right, it's easy for everyone to be partners. Why must we be bound together for life by that restrictive contract?" After saying that, his eyes lingered on Yan Qing's face for a moment, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

"Nonsense!" Gong Meiping's face changed drastically. "No matter how romantic you are, can you be more romantic than Shakespeare?! I know young people are full of energy, and it's inevitable that things will get out of hand when men and women get together. But don't ruin someone else's whole field of vegetables for the sake of a rotten radish!"

Rotten radish... Gong Meiping subtly changed the subject, or perhaps she was completely unaware of it. In any case, it was now Shen Hanyang's turn to stop laughing.

"I'm really impatient, we must always have condoms on hand..." Although Gong Meiping was still recovering from a serious illness and her speech was not fluent, her sharp tongue had not faded. With her strong willpower, she managed to give Shen Hanyang and Yan Qing a half-day lesson on physiology and hygiene. However, because her thoughts were a bit scattered, she would occasionally forget something after saying it, and she would often repeat herself incoherently.

Huang Qian rushed back from the Provincial Department of Science and Technology. The house was quiet, and seeing Gong Meiping sleeping soundly in the second bedroom, she felt somewhat relieved. She then peeked into the master bedroom, before returning to the living room and muttering under her breath, "That girl Huang Feihong has no manners at all, letting Jiaming sleep on the floor..."

On the balcony, Shen Hanyang had just hung up his work call. He stepped over the clutter piled up by the sliding door and walked into the living room. After exchanging greetings and pleasantries with Huang Qian, he said he wouldn't disturb him any longer. Then he went to the master bedroom and picked up the half-asleep Cheng Jiaming. Cheng Jiaming was so sleepy that he was practically swaying back and forth. As soon as he was pulled into the living room, he lay down on the sofa and continued to snore.

Shen Hanyang looked at the brat with a headache and was about to carry him away when Yan Qing's phone call made him stop what he was doing.

The old telephone still had a problem with leaky audio. He vaguely heard:

"...the laboratory building...crying and making a scene..."

The color drained from Yan Qing's face quickly, her lips turned ashen, and she hung up the phone absentmindedly and walked out the door, seemingly ignoring Huang Qian calling her.

The elevator arrived quickly. Lost in thought, she stepped inside, completely unaware of the footsteps behind her. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Shen Hanyang appeared outside. He blocked the closing doors with his arm, then strode in. He then canceled the first-floor button and pressed the basement button directly.

Yan Qing stared at him in disbelief: "What are you doing?"

Shen Hanyang, with one hand in his pocket, said, "Huang Feihong gave me the Bluetooth sign for this community's parking garage. My car is parked on the basement level. I'll take you there."

Yan Qing frowned: "You don't even know where I'm going."