Chapter 39

Cheng Zi had always wanted to have a cat, but Lu Shenxing thought he must be dreaming. "Cat hair will shed everywhere, not to mention the smell. And their claws will pick up feces. There will probably be claw marks on everything in the house, including the sofa, bed, desk, coffee table."

"...Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything." Cheng Zi's hairs stood on end.

A few days later, Cheng Zi brought back two goldfish from somewhere. Less than half a month later, the fish's eyes bulged, their bellies bulged, and they died. The reason was that he fed them too much.

Lu Shenxing, who had just returned from get off work, placed his briefcase on the sofa, took off his suit, and walked over to Cheng Zi. He reached out and touched the top of Cheng Zi's dark hair, "My condolences, I will accept the change."

Cheng Zi's mouth twitched, and he took the fish tank and closed it somewhere to continue seeing off the two fish.

In order to catch up with the work, Cheng Zi no longer worked from nine to five, and often worked overtime. It was common for him to stay up until three or four in the morning. The working hours were chaotic, and he often dragged his tired feet home to find that Lu Shenxing was already asleep without even saying a word.

Cheng Zi felt uneasy about the reduction in the time they spent together. He rejected his boss's request to stay and quit his job to join a real estate company.

When Lu Shenxing found out, he asked curiously, "Why don't you come to my side?"

Cheng Zi didn't say that he had seriously considered it and had even researched the pros and cons of a couple working in the same company, but in the end he decided to choose another way out.

"Go and take down the packages from the study." Lu Shenxing didn't ask any more questions and was busy changing his clothes and going out.

Cheng Zi took the things and the two went to Cheng Tiandao's house for dinner.

"Seventh Brother, don't blame me for being harsh. When you're old and don't have any younger generations, who will take care of you?" Cheng Tiandao frowned and took a sip of white wine. "Are you really planning to go to a nursing home and become a lonely old man?"

An elderly widower? Lu Shenxing's facial muscles twitched. "Brother, I have a family. I have a wife."

"Xiao Zi will also grow old one day," Cheng Tiandao glared at him.

"By the time he gets old, I should have already gone to see the King of Hell." Lu Shenxing smiled.

"..." Cheng Tiandao listened to the other party's indifferent tone, as if going to see the King of Hell was the same as seeing Mr. Wang next door.

"Having a child means hope and expectation, and that is what makes it complete."

Cheng Tiandao had a lot to say but he hadn't finished speaking when he caught a glimpse of his son looking towards him with a dark gaze. He looked away guiltily.

Cheng Zi came over and glanced at the wine glass on the table, "Dad, what did the doctor say?"

"You can't drink." Cheng Tiandao coughed, "Dad was happy that your uncle came, so I took a small sip."

He secretly winked at Lu Shenxing, but Lu Shenxing pretended not to see.

"Okay, Dad promises not to drink." Cheng Tiandao surrendered reluctantly under Cheng Zi's gaze.

During the first ten years of Lu Shenxing and Cheng Tiandao's marriage, Cheng Tiandao fell seriously ill and didn't even recognize people. Fang Wen stayed by his side, taking care of his eating, drinking, and toilet needs.

Cheng Xiaomi, who is already in elementary school, is well-behaved and sensible. When she sees Lu Shenxing, she will sweetly call him "uncle". When she is naughty, she will lie down next to him and whisper in his ear, "sister-in-law".

She grabbed Lu Shenxing's hand and pulled him into the room, saying that she wanted to see the paintings.

"This is Daddy, and this is Mommy." Cheng Xiaomi giggled, revealing her missing front teeth. She looked cute and serious like a little adult. "This is me," she said with a smile. "And this is my brother and my uncle."

Lu Shenxing glanced at the painting that Cheng Xiaomi was holding. Each face of the crooked people in it was painted in various colors, and there were small trees, the sun, and a small river next to them.

This is the world of children, clean, simple and beautiful.

"Uncle, why doesn't my father recognize me yet?" Cheng Xiaomi's mouth flattened, and he poked the first dwarf with his finger, his voice sounding aggrieved.

Lu Shenxing rubbed the little girl's face and wiped away the tears. He had seen too much birth, old age, sickness and death, and had become numb and was hardly moved.

In a room downstairs, the old man on the bed looked dazed, mumbling something, saliva dripping from the corners of his crooked mouth, which was wiped away by the handkerchief held out to him.

"Xiao Zi, Auntie can't take this money."

Fang Wen pushed away the card that Cheng Zi handed over. "Your father has worked hard all his life and has saved quite a bit, enough for us to use."

"Then consider it as a gift from your elder brother to Xiaomi." Cheng Zi put it in Fang Wen's hand and turned away without waiting for her to say anything.

Fang Wen raised his hand to wipe his eyes and sighed.

Four years later, Cheng Tiandao passed away. Cheng Zi was in a meeting that day. He heard Cheng Xiaomi gasping and crying, and the pen in his hand fell to the ground.

Perhaps it was the days and nights of four years that eroded Fang Wen's hope and sadness. She calmly participated in Cheng Tiandao's funeral. Only Cheng Xiaomi called "Dad" with a hoarse voice from crying.

Lu Shenxing was wearing a black suit, which blended in with the umbrella in his hand. He stood next to Cheng Zi, looking at the person on the tombstone, with an indescribable feeling.

"Seventh Brother, eldest brother is gone, why don't you take it seriously at all?" The third brother said angrily.

Lu Shenxing's eyes were dry and there was no obvious sadness on his face, which really gave people the illusion that he was attending a stranger's funeral.

The sixth brother Cheng Tianyuan frowned, "Third brother, the seventh brother is just not good at expressing himself."

I think he is cold-blooded. The third brother curled his lips, glanced at the tombstone, and called his wife and children to leave together.

Lu Shenxing took out a handkerchief and handed it to Cheng Zi. He sighed and said, "You are an adult now, wipe your nose."

Cheng Zi lowered his head and took it, twisting his nose in silence.

After her husband passed away, Fang Wen focused her life on her daughter Cheng Xiaomi. She carefully supported her to go to college and taught her how to be a good person and to be grateful.

Cheng Xiaomi now has her own family, a loving husband and lovely children. The elderly Fang Wen finally has no worries anymore and passes away peacefully.

Life is inseparable from joys and sorrows. Some people cry, some people laugh, there is death, and there is rebirth.

In the second year after Fang Wen left, Cheng Xiaomi became an elderly mother. She intended to give her child to Cheng Zi for adoption, but Cheng Zi rejected her without hesitation.

"I don't want to share him with anyone."

Cheng Xiaomi was stunned. She could never understand her uncle's love for her brother. It was too extreme. But her uncle never rejected it, as if he had been accustomed to it for several lifetimes.

One time, Lu Shenxing and Cheng Zi went on a trip and met Wei Ni's family of three. They talked about the paintings in the sketchbook back then, and Cheng Zi pursed his lips and smiled.

"Why didn't I think of it at all at that time?" Wei Ni was speechless about his own stupidity.

Cheng Zining stared at the man who was sitting by the river with his back to him, fishing. He was completely unaware of what was happening, and by the time he realized it, there was no way out.

At night, Lu Shenxing found that the person in his arms was moving around like a loach. His breath was choked, and he turned sideways and hugged Cheng Zi from behind. The two of them were sweating profusely in the quilt for a long time.

The stock was completely gone, so the next day Lu Shenxing went to the roadside and acted like a good boy who found a penny and gave it to the police uncle.

Year after year passed, Lu Shenxing was so old that he could hardly walk, but he was still in this world. Cheng Zi and their home were real, and the tasks and systems seemed to be his dreams.

Cheng Zi's greatest wish in his life was to support his uncle at home and let him depend on him. He finally got his wish when he was 49 years old.

When spring comes, people tend to feel sleepy. When they wake up, they don’t even know what time it is. Outside, the birds are singing one after another, noisy and continuous.

Lu Shenxing curled up in the quilt in a daze and smelled the fragrance of steamed buns.

"Uncle, get up and have breakfast."

Cheng Zi wiped the table back and forth twice with a rag, then brought in millet porridge and freshly-cooked white steamed buns. He stirred them gently in the bowl with a spoon to let the heat dissipate.

"Uncle?"

His body felt lighter and the quilt was lifted. Lu Shenxing squinted his eyes and put on the clothes that Cheng Zi had placed on the bedside early in the morning, then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

There was no mirror in front of the sink. This was Lu Shenxing's request because he didn't want to see an old man with a wrinkled face in the mirror.

"Uncle, the porridge is getting cold."

Cheng Zi's voice rang out from outside. Lu Shenxing wiped his face and went out. "You don't have to go to the company today?"

"I'll be home with you all day today." Cheng Zi curled his lips at Lu Shenxing's strange look, "Today is your birthday."

"Nephew, thank you for not mentioning birthday." Lu Shenxing rolled his eyes.

Cheng Zi's mouth twitched. "Uncle, you really don't have to worry about how you'll look when you get older. You already look..."

Before he could finish his words, Lu Shenxing stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth.

After eating the porridge fed by Cheng Zi, Lu Shenxing looked at the birdcage hanging on the door. When he was hungry, someone cooked for him; when he was cold, someone gave him more clothes. He had lived this way for many years.

Having cooked longevity noodles many times before, Cheng Zi was already very skilled at it. He picked up a noodle with his chopsticks and put it into Lu Shenxing's mouth. "Don't bite it off this year."

"Could it be possible that if I eat a whole one, I can really live a hundred years?" Lu Shenxing ate his noodles while paying attention, his speech unclear.

Cheng Zi paused, lowered his eyes, and held the chopsticks seriously, not moving.

He said he would accompany Lu Shenxing for a day, and he really stayed by his side the entire day, never taking his eyes off him.

After having dinner early in the evening, Cheng Zi brought water for Lu Shenxing to soak his feet. After a while, he put his feet in and rubbed them against each other as he did before.

Lu Shenxing pressed his instep, staring at yesterday's football game replay while wearing reading glasses, "Be good, don't make trouble."

"I looked, the result is three to one." Cheng Zi said slowly.

“…” Lu Shenxing.

Upset about this, Lu Shenxing didn't bother with him until bedtime.

Cheng Zi reached his hand into Lu Shenxing's sparse white hair, placed his fingertips against his scalp, and combed it gently.

"Don't touch me anymore, or it will all fall off." Lu Shenxing leaned against the pillow and took Cheng Zi's hand away.

"Uncle, let me tell you a story." Cheng Zi was lying next to him, propping up his head and saying, "Once upon a time there was a kitten who loved eating fish. One day he went for a walk by the river and saw a fish lying on the bank..."

Lu Shenxing's thoughts became increasingly heavy, and he fell asleep to Cheng Zi's gentle voice.

"The kitten fell in love with the fish, and they lived happily together." Cheng Zizai kissed Lu Shenxing on the forehead and said softly, "Good night, uncle."

In the second half of the night, I could vaguely hear the sound of wind and rain. I wondered how many peach blossoms had fallen from the peach tree in the yard.