Before we knew it, it was New Year's Day 1992, and the Spring Festival was just over a month away.
Xia Baozhu picked up Liu Runan from school as usual.
She put a padded windproof cover on the motorcycle, and Liu Runan rested her head on it, feeling like she was sitting on the motorcycle while leaning against a quilt.
When Liu Runan arrived at the store, she refused to get off the bike and asked Xia Baozhu to take her for another ride.
"Open, Auntie." Liu Runan patted the warm windproof shield with her little hands, her fair face showing an urging and tearful expression.
With this windproof cover, she doesn't even need to wear a helmet anymore.
"I won't wear it." That's how she would refuse in her childish voice.
Xia Baozhu stopped taking off her helmet and said gently, "Nannan, you can only do one more lap."
As long as Liu Runan hears "continue," she doesn't care how long it takes; if things don't go her way, she can just cry it out.
Xia Baozhu led Liu Runan around two streets and arrived at the entrance of the Teachers' College, where they met Professor Deng, who was going home to cook. The two chatted for a few minutes.
"Nannan has gained weight again recently. We can't let her eat too much, or it will upset her stomach." Professor Deng took off his gloves and touched Liu Runan's face.
Liu Runan was unhappy to hear this. She hugged her short arms tightly and leaned her head against Xia Baozhu's chest.
"Haha, she's got quite a temper too." Professor Deng laughed heartily at the little girl's smug expression.
"Liu Runan, did you hear what your Grandma Deng said? When you go back, eat less meat and more vegetables." Xia Baozhu teased Liu Runan.
The child was especially cute when she was being teased; sometimes she would even deliberately make Liu Runan cry.
Upon hearing that she should eat less meat, Liu Runan pouted, turned around and stared at Xia Baozhu with her big eyes, tears welling up and glistening in her eyes.
"Haha, she's going to cry again. Come here, Nannan, let Grandma give you a hug, and let's go to Grandma's house for some meat, okay?"
Professor Deng reached out and lifted Liu Runan from the car.
When a child is upset by a relative, she is happy to be close to a kind acquaintance.
Liu Runan leaned against Professor Deng's chest and gave Xia Baozhu a smug look, as if to say: If you don't give me meat, Grandma will.
Sun Xingyan, sitting in the taxi, saw a familiar figure and was about to excitedly get out of the car to greet him, but he didn't expect to see this scene that shocked him.
Is Xia Baozhu married and has children?
This question filled his mind.
Sun Xingyan returned home in a daze and was greeted with a mix of joy and playful punches from his family.
Seeing no joy on Sun Xingyan's face, Sun's mother quickly stopped hitting her son: "It's good that you're back."
Professor Sun also said, "All you do is run around outside all day. Do you think it's so easy to make money out there? From now on, you should just stay at home and take care of your few shops. Stop being so ungrateful."
Sun Xingyan's sister-in-law, Feng Xiujing, was not at work. She was overjoyed to see her brother-in-law, who had been away for almost a year, finally return.
But seeing her brother-in-law's lifeless look, she thought the same as her parents-in-law: that he had wasted a year and hadn't earned any money.
Her brother-in-law is extremely clever. He was originally the apple of his parents' eye, but he only liked making money and looked down on small amounts.
He loves running around thinking about making big money, making his whole family worry.
It was alright when I went to the south to seek my fortune before, as we could still keep in touch by phone. But this year I actually went abroad, to a country that is currently experiencing a huge upheaval. How dangerous!
Thankfully, he knew to write back, otherwise his mother-in-law would have been worried sick.
"Xiujing, pour Xingyan a glass of water. His glass is in the cabinet next to the TV cabinet." Sun's mother pulled her second son to sit down.
"Alright, don't be so downcast. Going out like this is an experience you've gained. You'll learn from your mistakes. Consider it money spent on experience."
Feng Xiujing washed her brother-in-law's teacup and made him a cup of milk tea. Although her skills were far inferior to those of the store-bought kind, she knew her brother-in-law liked milk tea.
Looking at the milk tea that was served, Sun Xingyan felt even more choked up.
He pursed his lips, then suddenly stood up, his eyes revealing a resolute expression as if he were facing certain death: "I'm going out for a bit."
"You just got back and haven't said a word. Where have you been again?" Professor Sun angrily threw his teacup onto the coffee table.
"Alright, the child is feeling down. Let him go out and see some friends, it'll be good for him to get some fresh air."
Sun's mother tried to smooth things over, then took out a fifty-yuan note from her pocket and forced it into Sun Xingyan's hand.
"Go have some fun. It's almost time to get off work. If you run into any friends, treat them to dinner. Xia, who rented your shop, opened a new store, and business is booming. You should try it out."
Sun Xingyan was touched by his mother's gesture of giving him money, but his expression darkened again when he heard the second half of the story.
I felt waves of sharp pain in my chest.
"Dad, Mom, sister-in-law, I'm going out for a walk."
Sun Xingyan walked to the small lake he often visited, where two female students were sitting on a familiar bench, chatting and laughing together.
He didn't stop, and with a heavy heart, he slowly walked towards Professor Deng's house.
When he arrived at Professor Deng's door, he raised his hand to knock but then lowered it.
"Xingyan! You're back!"
Qian Shijie walked to the turn of the stairs and saw Sun Xingyan, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He was pleasantly surprised and took a few steps up the stairs.
"Brother Jie." Sun Xingyan forced a smile.
"Good lad, you've been gone long this time. How was it? Everything went smoothly, right?" Qian Shijie opened the door and warmly invited Sun Xingyan in.
“Your teacher Deng reads the news and newspapers every day, and whenever he sees news about the Great Bear Kingdom, he mentions you.”
"Yes, I'm sorry to have worried Teacher Deng. I just got back today and came here specifically to let her know."
Sun Xingyan then realized he hadn't brought any gifts, but since he was already there, he decided to bite the bullet and go inside.
Professor Deng, who was cooking, was overjoyed to see Sun Xingyan. She immediately turned off the stove, pulled Sun Xingyan to sit on the sofa, and asked him about his situation abroad.
Sun Xingyan stayed for dinner at the warm invitation of Professor Deng and his family. Before leaving, he mustered up the courage to say to Professor Deng, "Professor Deng, I would like to have a few words with you alone."
Upon entering the study, Professor Deng spoke first: "I noticed you seemed hesitant to speak several times tonight, so I knew something was on your mind. What is it?"
Sun Xingyan took a deep breath, stared intently at Professor Deng, and asked with difficulty, "I want to ask, is Xia Baozhu married?"
"No, who told you Xia got married? She doesn't even have a boyfriend," Professor Deng asked in surprise.
Upon hearing this, Sun Xingyan immediately imagined the sound of ice and snow melting and spring flowers blooming, and he couldn't suppress the upturn of his lips.
But he soon thought of the child again.
"Whose child is that?" This question still made Sun Xingyan nervous.
"You mean little Nan Nan? She's Xia's daughter. Her sister works at her shop, and Xia picks up the child when she's busy."
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