Liwen stood outside the door for a long time until he could no longer hear the crying inside before he left.
"Hey, my parents are both at work, and I'm bored at home. I'm thinking of going back to school."
Li Wu spoke to Li Wen.
"Then hurry up, I've already packed my things, I have class in forty minutes."
Liwen brought out two bowls of noodles; it was just the two of them at home.
"Why didn't you wake me up sooner!"
Li Wu turned around and went back to the house to tidy up. Five minutes later, he picked up his chopsticks and slurped down the noodles. Then he collected Li Wen's bowl, washed it, and put it in the cupboard.
"Grandma left me a cassette tape, why didn't you give it to me sooner?"
As they stepped outside, Li Wu nudged Li Wen with his elbow.
“You’ve been keeping your anger to yourself and isolating yourself from everyone else. There are also many things to do for Grandma’s funeral, so I didn’t have the chance to give them to you.”
When Li Wu was guarding the mourning hall, he refused to eat and stubbornly stayed there. He would either lock himself in his room or refuse to communicate with anyone.
Li Wu remained silent, quietly escorting Li Wen to school before taking a bus back to school himself.
Time passed day by day, and everyone was extremely busy.
Springtime brings warmth and flowers, then the heat of summer arrives, the wheat fields turn yellow and are harvested, and corn is planted. The grapes ripen without anyone noticing.
"Grapes were given to me by Aunt Wang."
Shen Xianjun placed a basket in front of Qin Nian.
"It's kind of you that the old lady has been thinking of us all this time."
Qin Nian took a few pills to eat, tapping on the data in her hand, while Shen Xianjun also sat down and continued drawing on the paper.
The couple worked until midnight, then quickly washed up and went to bed.
"Niannian, eat these grapes from Aunt Wang's house. Mom doesn't want to eat these."
"mom?"
"Hey, what's wrong, Nian Nian?"
"mom!"
Qin Nian rushed towards the light and shadow, tears streaming down her face.
"Niannian? Niannian? Did you have a nightmare?"
Shen Xianjun noticed something was wrong with the person next to him and quickly shook him awake.
"Mother!"
Qin Nian was searching for someone in a daze when she felt herself being embraced.
Shen Xianjun raised his hand to wipe away the tears on Qin Nian's face, but the person in his arms was crying uncontrollably, like water bursting from a dam. Shen Xianjun could only let her lean against his chest and gently stroke Qin Nian's back.
“I dreamt of my mom. I miss her so much. She told me to eat grapes. She had black hair back then.”
As Qin Nian cried, Shen Xianjun paused for a moment, then hugged her even tighter.
After crying for an unknown amount of time, Qin Nian fell asleep again. Shen Xianjun gently laid her down and covered her with a blanket.
Unable to sleep, Shen Xianjun worried that his wife would have nightmares again, so he simply got up and stood by the window looking at the night sky outside.
I stared at it without blinking, and my eyes started to sting. Why did tears start falling?
Shen Xianjun raised his hand to wipe his face, but then covered his face with both hands, not daring to make a sound.
Time flies, and the boy of yesteryear has grown into a tall and handsome young man, wearing a white and navy blue uniform, standing on the deck of a warship to receive his rank.
His gaze was resolute as he looked at the fluttering red flag, and it seemed as if a pair of loving eyes were watching over him amidst the blue sky and white clouds.
"Grandma, I've officially become a naval officer. The vast universe awaits me. Grandma, I've made you proud."
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