Your grandfather came too.
In the office, two figures stood with their backs to the window. Hearing footsteps, they turned around at the same time.
Yu Chunsheng stepped forward excitedly, "Big sister? Brother Xingyao? What brings you here?"
Liu Xingyao took the hand that Yu Chunsheng offered and explained with a smile, "It's Xiao Qiushi's 100th day. Although Xiao Xu didn't want us to come, your older sister said we had to come no matter what."
"I had already bought the tickets, but I got the flu before we left. I was afraid of infecting my child, so I delayed for a few more days."
Yu Chunsheng was flattered, but then he wondered, "Who picked you up? Doesn't Wei Dong work at the city hospital?"
"We ran into Lao Zhang nearby as soon as we got off the train, and he took us straight to the factory," Li Youlan explained.
Old Zhang was the printing factory master they had invited from Beiping.
Yu Chunsheng took two cups to pour them water, and said in a casual manner, "I was worried that the noise and ink smell in the printing factory would affect the child, so I just dropped her off with her/her mother when I came here."
Li Youlan asked with a relieved expression, "Is everything alright?"
"That's wonderful!" Yu Chunsheng gestured for them to sit down, then sat opposite them, picking up the family photo on the table and gesturing excitedly.
"She's so beautiful now, the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen, but Tangtang says my stubble is prickly and won't let me kiss her."
He stared at the photo in his hand as if he were holding the most precious jewel in the world. "You know what? When I made her formula, I thought her face was whiter than the formula itself, and softer than a peeled egg. I would sneak kisses on her when she/her mother wasn't looking, and I could never get enough of them. I wanted to take a bite out of her!"
Li Youlan and his wife exchanged a glance and laughed, thinking the man had gone mad.
"This is a patchwork quilt I sewed for Xiao Qiushi, made entirely of this year's freshly harvested cotton." Li Youlan took out a small, colorful quilt with various fabric patterns from her suitcase.
"Thank you..." Yu Chunsheng calmed down, solemnly took the quilt and glanced at it. The stitching and fabric showed that the owner had put a lot of care into making it.
"And these things, I forgot to tidy up when I came before. This time I thought I'd celebrate with Xiao Qiushi, so I cleaned up the whole house."
Li Youlan then took out a small wooden box and handed it to him. Yu Chunsheng placed the quilt on the table, opened the box with a hint of doubt, and was immediately stunned.
The box contained various pieces of jewelry, such as gold earrings and jade bracelets. Some were part of his dowry, while others were intended for his daughter-in-law. These were all things his mother had saved up over her entire life.
But Yu Chunsheng ignored those and picked up the top photo.
"Some of them are already worn out, but they should be fine after a fresh wash," Li Youlan said upon seeing this.
Yu Chunsheng didn't say anything, but looked at these photos, which he thought had long been extinct, as if they were treasures.
When he was one year old, his mother went to the city to take a photo with him at a photo studio. This photo crossed the battlefield and finally reached his father's hands.
When I was five years old, my family moved to Beiping and took a family photo.
At thirteen in Moscow, he wore a brown plaid shirt and a newsboy cap, looking like a little Pavel Korchagin.
At the age of eighteen, he enrolled at Peking University. His family hosted a banquet to entertain relatives and friends. Amidst the clinking of glasses, he raised his glass to the photographer.
Looking at himself in the photo from six years ago, he still looks as dashing as ever, except for the slight signs of aging from taking care of his children. His friends, however, have aged more than twenty years since then.
Yu Chunsheng couldn't describe his feelings. Before meeting Xu Tangmian, he only wanted to live a peaceful life and grow old alone.
After marrying Xu Tangmian, but before recognizing Li Youlan and the others, he dreamed of restoring his reputation and bringing all those who had harmed him to justice.
Later, they recognized each other; his wife was the granddaughter of his enemy. He felt that this hatred should end there. Revenge wouldn't make him forget the pain, but it would cause her pain again.
When night falls and his wife is not by his side, he often thinks that if he could, he would like to grow old like Sister Youlan and Brother Xingyao.
Xu Tangmian was unaware of his dark thoughts, and fortunately, her job didn't require much business travel, so she didn't give him many opportunities to think like that.
After Xu Qiushi was born, he never had this thought again, because he clearly realized that he was entitled to grow old.
Just like the photos his parents took of him, they will take many more photos like these for Xiao Qiu in the future, and watch her get married and have children.
He will grow old, as will he and Xu Tangmian.
Yu Chunsheng remembered that after Xu Tangmian was discharged from the hospital after giving birth, she had teased him about crying in the hospital countless times.
So this time he suppressed the urge to cry, held up the yellowed baby photo, and then picked up the family photo of himself, Xu Tangmian, and their family of three from the table, placing them on either side of his face, and said with a smile, "I told you Qiu Shi looks like me, didn't I?"
"Alright! Look how happy you are to have a daughter." Li Youlan saw that he was deliberately changing the subject and waved her hand in agreement, saying, "We won't bother you anymore. We originally wanted to see the child, but since Qiushi isn't here, you can just take Xingyao and me to town. We'll go see Weidong."
“It’s on the way.” Yu Chunsheng put the photos back in the box and walked out with the quilt, saying as he walked, “I’ll have Tangtang bring the child out to see the school when we pass by, and then I can take you back. I’ll go get the car, and you can wait for me at the gate.”
"OK."
Li Youlan then directed her husband to pick up the suitcases and leave the factory. A short while later, before Yu Chunsheng arrived in his car, a car pulled up outside the printing factory gate.
The printing factory is rarely visited by cars, so the couple looked over when they saw the commotion.
The car stopped at the gate, and Xu Zhilian, who had changed into clean clothes, walked slowly towards them in leather shoes, looking somewhat surprised yet as if it were expected.
"Xingyao?"
Compared to Xu Zhilian, Liu Xingyao was clearly much more agitated. He stared wide-eyed at Xu Zhilian, then at his wife's face, and shrieked, "You... how could you?"
As he spoke, he turned his head to look behind him, and after a screech of brakes, another car stopped in the factory area.
Yu Chunsheng got out of the car calmly and looked at the three "peers" who were more than a decade older than him, especially the uninvited guest Xu Zhilian. He smiled and said, "You're all here? Perfect, don't go to school, I'll treat you to dinner."
None of them moved. Li Youlan and his wife had dark faces, while Xu Zhilian's face was ashen.
"Kong Lin? Is that you?" Xu Zhilian tentatively reached out to touch Yu Chunsheng's face, but Yu Chunsheng raised his hand and slapped it away.
"Want to know if I'm a human or a ghost?" Yu Chunsheng chuckled twice. "If I were really a ghost, you wouldn't be as happy as you are now."
"Why..." Xu Zhilian had expected it, but he still couldn't understand. "You were already buried... It's impossible for you to still be alive... You!"
He looked him up and examined him carefully for a while, then slowly said, "You haven't changed."
"How come you haven't changed? We're all so old. Are you... a reincarnation?" After saying that, he suddenly took a few steps back in fright.
"You came all the way from Beiping and spent so much money on Liu Peng, did you just come here to see if I'm a reincarnation?" Yu Chunsheng glanced at him casually and walked towards his car.
"I don't have time to catch up with you right now, we're going to eat. You can come if you want, but I hope you don't show your face, because my wife will be unhappy if she sees you."
Xu Zhilian recalled the incident in Beiping and said in a deep voice, "What happened before was an accident. Why did she suddenly appear at my house? I asked Yufen..."
"Yu Fen? You dare mention Yu Fen!" Liu Xingyao roared angrily, "Haven't she harmed A Lin enough?"
Li Youlan also realized what was happening and echoed her husband's shrill question: "Yes! She harmed Alin so badly back then, how dare you mention her!"
Upon hearing Yu Chunsheng mention that Xu Tangmian would be unhappy to see Xu Zhilian, Li Youlan, as if making a connection, angrily retorted, "Little Xu went to Beiping once before. Did she harm Little Xu again? Can't you two swordsmen find another place to cause trouble?"
"Can't you two calm down!" Xu Zhilian finally couldn't help but retort when he started cursing at Liu Yufen. "For so many years, you two have been cursing at me every time you see me. Have I ever said a harsh word to you?"
"That's because you have a guilty conscience!" Li Youlan sneered. "You know what you did. If you have a clear conscience, why did you come all the way from Beiping to here?"
"I'm only here to inspect the bridge projects here." Xu Zhilian ignored the couple's sarcastic remarks and walked straight to Yu Chunsheng, saying calmly:
"I don't care who you are, stop playing tricks. I'm a materialist fighter, and I don't believe those two idiots who believe your nonsense."
Yu Chunsheng remained silent, giving him a look that said, "What's it to me?" before turning to his friend and asking, "Aren't you getting in the car? I'm off!"
In the rearview mirror, Yu Chunsheng could clearly see Xu Zhilian following closely behind them.
"Ah Lin, why did he come here? Did you see him in Beiping?" Li Youlan couldn't help but lean forward and ask him.
Yu Chunsheng hummed in agreement. "Not only did I see him, but I almost got into a fight with him."
"Huh?" Li Youlan slapped the passenger seat hard. "I told you to be careful, and you still went and walked right into his trap? What if he finds out now? He'll definitely trip you up."
Yu Chunsheng didn't take it seriously. "When soldiers come, we'll meet them head-on. I have a clear conscience, so why should I be afraid of him?"
The car soon arrived at Hongxing Elementary School, where there were many restaurants. Yu Chunsheng led Li Youlan and her husband into a restaurant, ordered food, and then quickly drove the car to the school.
It was almost lunchtime, and Xu Tangmian was exhausted from taking care of the child. When she saw Yu Chunsheng coming, she felt like she had seen a savior and quickly picked up the child to greet him.
Yu Chunsheng missed his daughter terribly after not seeing her for a long time. He picked her up and kissed her face several times, ignoring the fact that Xu Tangmian was still there. Xu Tangmian was so anxious that she wanted to hit him but was also afraid that he would lose his balance and drop their daughter.
"Sister Youlan is here." Yu Chunsheng finally remembered his business. "I came here specifically to bring Qiushi to see them."
“The child is old enough to be seen by people, so let him see. I’ll go with you.” Xu Tangmian bent down and kissed Xiao Qiushi’s forehead.
He kissed her, and she kissed him too!
"But I hope you're mentally prepared." Yu Chunsheng guessed that Xu Zhilian wouldn't just leave after meeting him once, and that they would inevitably have to deal with each other in the future, so he gave him a heads-up in advance.
“Your grandfather is here too.”
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