Chapter 19, Chapter 108: This...
"You brat, I think you deserve a beating." He Qingzhao raised his hand, making a gesture as if he was about to hit his son.
He Cheng turned and ran, shouting as he ran, "Mom, stop him!"
He Xing watched his brother run away and found it amusing. He slid down on his short legs, saying, "Daddy, put me down, I want to chase after my brother."
The two children ran happily away, one after the other.
Cheng Jiamo watched the two children run away until they were completely out of sight before turning to He Qingzhao. She tapped his chin with her slender, fair fingers and said, "You're only happy when you've really angered your son. Be careful, or he might really resent you later."
He Qingzhao hugged her, rested his chin on the top of her head, and said casually with a smile, "No, even if I did spank him, he wouldn't hate me."
Cheng Jiamo smiled and teased, "Oh? Mr. He, are you that confident?"
He Qingzhao smiled and said, "Because his father loves his mother very much, and he also loves him."
Cheng Jiamo was startled and turned to meet his gaze.
He Qingzhao lowered his head and kissed her lips, their tongues entwining passionately.
The couple were being affectionate in the garden, while their two children chased and ran around the garden.
He Xing quickly caught up with her brother, grabbed his clothes with her little hand, and said in a childish voice, "Brother, I caught you."
He Cheng grabbed her hand: "Come on, let's go play in the back."
The two children ran to the back of the main house and saw He Rong'an sitting under the eaves of the back porch reading a book.
He Cheng knew this person was his grandfather, but he wasn't familiar with his grandfather, so he didn't immediately go forward. Instead, he stood aside and watched quietly.
He Xing didn't think too much about it. She only knew that her grandparents were family. She happily ran over and jumped into He Rong'an's arms like a little cannonball, sweetly calling out, "Grandpa!"
He Rong'an was suddenly hugged by a little baby and didn't react for a moment, clearly stunned.
Looking at the little girl in his arms who looked almost exactly like his son, He Rong'an's heart softened, but then it felt like being pricked by a needle, with a sharp, tingling pain.
Seeing that her grandfather was looking at her without saying a word, He Xing raised her fair face and smiled sweetly at him: "Grandpa, what are you looking at? Why aren't you playing with Grandma and the others?"
He Rong'an quickly composed himself, put down the book in his hand, and said with a smile, "Grandpa is reading." He then asked, "Does Xingxing like reading?"
He Xing pouted, "Grandpa, I'm only three years old, I don't know how to read yet."
He Rong'an laughed heartily, turned around and looked at He Cheng, who was standing quietly to the side, and beckoned: "Grandson, come here."
He Cheng walked to Ye Rongxiang's side and obediently called out, "Grandpa."
He Rong'an replied with a kind smile, "Yes."
He Cheng also squeezed into He Rong'an's arms, and He Rong'an held one of them in each arm.
Looking at He Cheng, He Rong'an couldn't help but think of He Qingzhao when she was three years old.
On his thirtieth birthday, his three-year-old son recited a long birthday greeting in front of everyone, winning applause from the audience.
At the banquet, everyone who came to congratulate him praised him for his excellent parenting skills.
Thinking of this, He Rong'an asked He Cheng, "What about Chengcheng? Does she like reading?"
He Cheng pursed his lips and remained silent, while He Xing waved his little hands and said loudly, "Grandpa, my brother is the same age as me, and he can't read either."
He Rong'an asked in surprise, "You don't recognize a single word?"
He Xing blinked her big eyes and counted on her little fingers, saying, "No, we know our own names, our parents' names, our grandparents' names, our great-grandmother's names, our uncles' names, and all the titles like 'parents' and 'grandparents.' But knowing all that doesn't help us read books, because we don't recognize many of the words in them."
The little one, with his tiny mouth, rattled off a long string of words.
Although he was barely literate, he spoke with such conviction that He Rong'an burst into laughter.
He Rong'an patted the two children's heads and said with a smile, "If you don't know them, you don't know them. You're so young, it's time for you to play. Come on, Grandpa will take you to feed the fish."
When Cheng Jiamo and He Qingzhao returned to the house, they didn't see the two children. They went to the backyard to look for them and saw He Rong'an leading one child by the hand and walking towards the fish pond.
The grandfather, grandfather, and grandson walked to the fish pond. He Rong'an picked up the fish food that the butler had already placed there and gave a handful to each of them.
He Xing threw all the fish food in his hand onto the ground, and watched as a large group of red, yellow, white and black goldfish came to snatch the food, clapping his hands and laughing.
"So many fish, Grandpa has so many fish."
He Cheng walked to the side and threw the fish food into the fish pond one by one.
He Rong'an looked at the lively He Xing, then at the quiet He Cheng who was feeding the fish, trying to discern which of the two children's personalities was more like He Qingzhao's. However, after looking at them again and again, he found that he could not tell.
It was only at this moment that he realized he had missed out on He Qingzhao's entire life.
"Sigh." He Rong'an couldn't help but sigh.
He Xing looked up, her little eyebrows furrowed, and pouted as she asked, "Is Grandpa unhappy?"
He Rong'an smiled and touched He Xing's fair face, saying gently, "No, Grandpa is very happy."
He Xing asked, "Then why did Grandpa sigh?"
Just as He Rong'an was about to speak, He Qingzhao's voice came from behind him: "You sigh even when feeding the fish. If you don't want to feed them, then don't. That's right, feeding fish is not as interesting as you holding power and pointing out the country."
Cheng Jiamo tugged at He Qingzhao's hand, shook her head at him, and gestured for him not to say these things in front of the child.
He Rong'an didn't speak, but rested his hand on the white jade railing and looked down at the goldfish scrambling for food in the water.
He Cheng, who had been quietly feeding the fish, walked up to He Qingzhao, took his hand, and led him toward He Rong'an.
He Qingzhao looked down at the little figure he had copied and raised an eyebrow.
He Cheng took He Qingzhao's hand and placed it in front of He Rong'an, then looked up at He Rong'an and said, "Grandpa, Dad wants to feed the fish too."
He Rong'an glanced down at the two hands, one big and one small, grabbed a handful of fish food from the bucket, and placed it in He Qingzhao's hand, stiffly instructing, "Don't throw it all in..."
However, before he could finish speaking, He Qingzhao threw a handful of fish food into the fishpond.
He Rong'an: "..."
When He Xing saw her father feeding the fish, she excitedly ran over, reached into the bucket, grabbed a handful of fish food, and tossed it into the fishpond. Watching the goldfish swarm in, the little girl jumped and danced with joy.
"Daddy, Daddy, let's have a fish-feeding contest and see who feeds the most!" the little girl excitedly requested.
He Qingzhao smiled and said, "Alright, let's have a match."
At this moment, He Cheng grabbed a handful of fish food and walked over to Cheng Jiamo, giving half of it to his mother. The mother and son stood on the other side, feeding the fish politely.
He Rong'an glanced at the father and daughter throwing handfuls of fish food into the fishpond, then looked at the elegant mother and son feeding the fish on the other side.
The case is solved!
He knew which child resembled his son more.
at night.
The enormous moon hung in the sky, casting a mysterious, deep blue light upon it.
There were two barbecue grills and a large round table in the courtyard, on which were placed various flavors of mooncakes, candies, and all sorts of snacks and fruits.
He Jingyang and He Zihong were in charge of the barbecue, while Zhong Jin and her sisters-in-law sat on the side eating skewers.
He Qingzhao sat in a rocking chair like a remnant of the Eight Banners, pointing out the state of affairs, occasionally reminding He Jingyang to turn over, and occasionally asking the child to get him an orange.
Cheng Jiamo patted his leg: "Don't just order people around, don't you have hands of your own?"
He Zihong lifted his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead and grinned, "It's all because of my sister-in-law's spoiling. She's spoiled my brother like a remnant of the Qing Dynasty."
He Qingzhao reached out and wrapped his arm around Cheng Jiamo's waist, then turned his head to kiss her.
Cheng Jiamo quickly dodged and moved to the side.
He Xing stretched out his chubby index finger and scratched his face: "Shy, shy, shy, Daddy wants to kiss Mommy again."
This made everyone burst into laughter.
He Zihong had just finished grilling a skewer of chicken wings. He picked it up, blew on it to cool it down, and looked at He Xing, calling out, "Xingxing, do you want some chicken wings?"
He Xing ran up to He Zihong, her big eyes blinking as she looked at him: "I want to eat, Fourth Uncle, I want to eat."
He Zihong didn't give it to her right away, partly because he was afraid of burning her, and partly because he wanted to tease her a little.
"Want some? Then recite a poem for your fourth uncle. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Recite a poem related to the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I'll give you some."
No sooner had He Zihong finished speaking than a piece of orange peel hit him in the face.
He Qingzhao raised an eyebrow: "Are you asking for trouble?"
He Xing said, "Dad, I can. I can recite the poems about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Grandpa told me today that 'Quiet Night Thoughts' is a poem related to the Mid-Autumn Festival."
After saying that, she put her hands behind her back, looked up at the moon, and began to recite "Quiet Night Thoughts".
After reciting it, the little girl shook her head triumphantly.
A round of applause erupted, and everyone clapped and praised.
He Xing happily ran up to He Cheng with the chicken wings in her hand: "Brother, you have to memorize them too, only if you memorize them can you eat chicken wings."
He Cheng recited Su Shi's "Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Bright?" without hesitation, without missing a single word, fluently and completely.
This is much harder than "Quiet Night Thoughts". Not to mention three-year-old kindergarten children, many six- or seven-year-old primary school students can't memorize it.
After reciting it, He Cheng didn't openly show any pride, but his eyes were full of arrogance, meaning, "See, I'm much better than my sister."
Now He Rong'an finally understood: in terms of appearance, the two children looked almost exactly like He Qingzhao.
Internally, He Qingzhao's personality was divided in two for the children: the mischievous side was passed on to He Xing, while the deep and aloof side was passed on to He Cheng.
He Xing, the younger sister, may seem lively and mischievous, but deep down she is as gentle as Cheng Jia Mo, without the slightest hint of arrogance.
On the surface, the older brother He Cheng appears refined and elegant, but deep down he is cold, arrogant, and profound.
Two large platters of barbecue were laid out, including chicken wings, grilled squid, and grilled oysters.
Two children stood by the table, their little mouths glistening with oil from eating.
Cheng Jiamo leaned against He Qingzhao and opened her mouth to accept his feeding.
She originally wanted to carry the food herself, but He Qingzhao wouldn't let her, not wanting her to get her hands dirty.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day will soon follow.
During the seven-day National Day holiday, He Qingzhao chartered a plane and flew to Beijing, Thailand, with Cheng Jiamo and their two children.
Although the two children had visited Thailand with their parents a long time ago, and even stayed at a Pattaya estate there for a while last winter, they were still too young at the time—only two years old, not even three. Now, after more than half a year, they've almost forgotten everything.
Looking at the lush, luxurious manor, He Xing's mouth formed an "O" shape as she asked curiously, "Mommy, is this also our home?"
Cheng Jiamo replied with a smile, "This is also our home. We can come here to celebrate the New Year every winter from now on."
After all, winters in northern Beijing are too cold. Although there is heating, it's cold outside, so the children can't go out to play.
He Xing exclaimed happily, "Wow, that's great! We have another home now!"
The little girl shouted and ran into the banana grove, wandering around inside.
The next morning, the family went to Yunfo Temple.
He Qingzhao had been here many times, but had never kowtowed.
This time, he knelt and kowtowed three times and obtained three strings of consecrated Buddhist beads, which he then placed on the wrists of Cheng Jiamo and the two children.
"What about you?" Cheng Jiamo asked him, "Don't you wear one yourself?"
He Qingzhao smiled and touched her face: "As long as you are safe and sound, I am safe and sound."
Cheng Jiamo smiled, tilted her head, and leaned on his shoulder.
A family of four sat on a bench under a Bodhi tree, facing the Buddhist temple.
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A fleeting glimpse under the Bodhi tree years ago sparked a deep and abiding attachment to love, hate, greed, and delusion.
In this life, I have achieved what I wished for.
He Qingzhao, may we be safe and sound year after year.
(End of article)
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