Chapter 127 : Too Blind To Watch

Jiayu who was sitting on the sofa, holding an admission letter in each hand, playfully waving them around. His thick black eyelashes fluttered as his curious eyes sparkled with interest, as if he was especially eager to explore what was in his hands.

“Hey, little ancestor, these are not toys for you to play with,” Ma Xiuzhi, who had just come out of the kitchen, exclaimed, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. Quick as lightning, she snatched the letters from Fan Jiayu’s hands and carefully placed them on a high shelf.

Not understanding what he could or couldn’t play with, Fan Jiayu only knew that his beloved toys had been taken away by his doting grandmother. He immediately pouted, ready to burst into tears.

“Here, drink your milk.” Ma Xiuzhi, noticing the situation was going awry, quickly handed him a bottle. Sure enough, the little one who was about to cry immediately quieted down, his big eyes turning into crescent moons as he giggled.

Liang Qingqing, who had witnessed the whole thing while munching on a crispy persimmon, also laughed, “I think it might still be possible to send Jiayu to learn face-changing techniques now.”

“What face-changing?” Ma Xiuzhi, puzzled, asked curiously. When she saw Liang Qingqing shake her head, she scolded, “How dare you laugh? You let him play with such important things. If he tears them up, I’ll see where you go to cry!”

Hearing this, Liang Qingqing shrank her neck in guilt and quickly shifted the blame to Fan Yanxing. “It was Fan Yanxing who left them there after picking them up from the post office.”

Just then, Fan Yanxing returned from hanging the laundry.

“…”

“You’re old enough, hurry up and lock these in the cabinet. You’ll need them for the registration later,” Ma Xiuzhi handed the letters to Fan Yanxing with a huff. When he silently took them and respectfully put them away, she nodded in satisfaction.

Such important matters must not be mishandled! If the letters were damaged or lost, and she couldn’t register them, it would be exactly as she said—there would be no place to cry!

With three college students in the family, she could hold her head high wherever she went. Anyone who saw her couldn’t help but offer admiring compliments. She absolutely could not allow anything to go wrong with the younger generation’s future.

Seeing Fan Yanxing being scolded, Liang Qingqing couldn’t help but snicker a little. However, as soon as she smirked, Ma Xiuzhi shot her a sideways glance and pointed at her nose. “And you, not keeping an eye onJiayu while eating.”

“I was just eating,” Liang Qingqing replied with a dry laugh, waving the crispy persimmon in her hand.

Ma Xiuzhi gave her a reproachful look but said no more. She glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing it was still early for dinner. Seeing that Fan Jiayu was being watched, she decided to go out for a while. Having stayed here for a while, she had made a few good friends of the same age and would often gather with them to chat.

“Go ahead, Mom. Jiayu has me and Fan Yanxing to look after him.”

“Jiayu’s grandparents are coming over for dinner tonight. I’ll be back later to cook beef brisket, so remember to soak the mushrooms…” Ma Xiuzhi gave a few instructions before grabbing her keys and heading out.

Liang Qingqing quickly finished her persimmon, washed her hands, and then picked up Fan Jiayu. The little one, seeing her, immediately dropped his bottle and reached out his arms to hug her neck, babbling happily.

“Say ‘Mommy.'” Liang Qingqing persistently taught him, with gentle patience.

It wasn’t clear how long it took, but finally, she heard the mumbled words from him “Ma, ma.”

“Our little Yu is so smart, Mommy loves you so much,” Liang Qingqing said as she lifted Fan Jiayu high with both hands under his armpits. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made him gasp in surprise, and he immediately broke into a big smile. Just as he was enjoying the moment, he was suddenly caught and placed into another embrace.

His little legs flailed in the air for a moment before being caught by a pair of large hands and then gently set down on the sofa.

“Mommy loves you, and I love Mommy.” Fan Yanxing kissed Fan Jiayu on the cheek and spoke sweet, almost sickly-sweet words of affection, making Liang Qingqing so embarrassed she just wanted to find a hole to hide in.

“What are you saying in front of the child?” Seeing Fan Yanxing sit down with the baby, Liang Qingqing didn’t hesitate to pinch his arm.

Fan Yanxing exaggeratedly drew a breath, and although Liang Qingqing knew he was pretending, she still rubbed his arm for him.

“Why didn’t you think of Jiayu when you wronged me earlier?” Fan Yanxing raised one eyebrow with a half-smile, though his tone was melodramatically aggrieved.

Sending Fan Yanxing to learn face-changing techniques might be more appropriate.

“Mommy scolding you is definitely lighter than scolding me. You’re my man, so what if you take some scolding for me? Not happy?” Liang Qingqing huffed with righteous indignation, leaning back and resting her legs on his thighs, comfortably closing her eyes.

Hearing her words, Fan Yanxing’s lips curled into a smile, and he deliberately emphasized, “Fine, it’s because I’m your man.”

He watched her face, pleased to see the two red blushes suddenly rise on her cheeks.

The winter sunlight streamed through the glass window, capturing this warm moment of the three of them.

As spring arrived with blossoming peach flowers and the green train set out on its journey accompanied by the fragrance of flowers, the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination also stepped into new directions in their lives.

At the train station’s entrance, friends and family, large and small, crowded the square to see them off, and everywhere you looked, there were heads bobbing up and down in the bustling crowd.

“We’ll wait for you to come back home,” Ma Xiuzhi said, leading Liang’s family in sending them off. Her words made everyone’s eyes well up with tears.

Seeing the unmistakable gray hair on Ma Xiuzhi and Liang Xueyong’s heads, Liang Qingqing felt a pang of reluctance about leaving for the first time. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, forced a smile, and said, “We’ll come back to see you whenever we have a break, and we’ll keep in touch by phone and letter. Mom and Dad, you must take good care of yourselves.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be keeping an eye on things at home,” Wang Xiaomei and Huang Yali, who were standing together, reassured them. “But your older brother, he’s not familiar with Beijing, so you’ll need to take extra care of him.”

“We don’t need to stand on ceremony with family.” Liang Qingqing winked playfully at Wang Xiaomei, easing some of the tension of their farewell. She then turned to Songzi, “Songzi, make sure to look at the sketchbook I left you and draw well. Maybe one day our family will have a great artist.”

Songzi, who had already been crying, nodded vigorously at Liang Qingqing’s words. “I’ll be good. Auntie and Daddy, can’t you stay? Wuuu.”

Children speak without filter, but their words reflect everyone’s feelings. However, partings are inevitable in this world.

Liang Qingqing was silent for a moment before crouching down to pat Songzi’s head, bringing their gazes level. She gently wiped the tears from his face. “There are some things Auntie can’t promise or deceive you about, but I can promise that I’ll come back this summer to pick peaches with you and paint peach trees, okay?”

Upon hearing this, Songzi thought of the newly refreshed peach mountain in the village, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. He extended his small hand, “Let’s make a pinky promise.”

“Okay, pinky promise.” The two pinky fingers, one large and one small, intertwined to seal their farewell promise.

Time ticked away, and soon they arrived at the departure point. Liang Qingqing stood at the train station entrance, holding Fan Jiayu’s arm and waving at them. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

The train tickets Fan Yanxing bought were all for connected sleeper cabins. Liang Qingqing slept on the lower bunk with the child, Fan Jiayu, while Xiao Jinhua and Qu Anming, who were older, also slept on lower bunks. Fan Yanxing and Liang Shuqiang took the upper bunks.

To avoid troubling others, the couple catered to Fan Jiayu’s every need, making him feel like a little emperor. Fortunately, he was well-behaved and didn’t cry much along the way, which greatly eased their worries.

They only relaxed when the train finally arrived in Beijing.

Once they exited the train station, they were met by Lin Feng, Liang Qingqing’s brother-in-law. He drove a stylish military SUV with a spacious trunk that easily accommodated all their luggage. They chatted briefly in the car before arriving at the Fan family home.

There was no one at home, Lin Feng explained that Fan Fangming and Qu Qingying had been very busy lately and couldn’t take time off, so they wouldn’t be able to meet them until the evening. Fortunately, with Fan Yanxing there, who knew the house inside and out from his childhood, and with Qu Qingying having prepared everything in advance for their stay, there was no need to worry about a thing.

This was Liang Shuqiang’s first visit to Beijing and to the Fan home. He remained unusually quiet throughout the trip. Only when he was alone with Liang Qingqing did he dare to comment, “Yanxing’s family background is quite impressive.”

“I was also shocked when I first came,” Liang Qingqing noted, sensing Liang Shuqiang’s discomfort. She deliberately put a hand on her chest and, lowering her voice with a hint of pride, said, “Your sister really accomplished something, didn’t she? She managed to snag such a big catch.”

“…” Liang Shuqiang pressed his lips together. While her words were blunt, they were indeed true, leaving him with no way to argue.

“Brother, we’ll be staying here until we check in. Your room is next door. If you need anything, just knock on the door. I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open, I’m going to take a nap.” Liang Qingqing yawned and changed the subject.

Seeing her current state, Liang Shuqiang dismissed his scattered thoughts and urged, “Alright, go rest.”

The siblings each went to their rooms and didn’t see each other again until dinner.

At the dinner table, Fan Jiayu was held by Fan Fangming, sitting still like a well-behaved doll. His usual mischief had vanished, and he was adeptly displaying his ability to discern who was serving what on the plate.

Liang Qingqing, the mother, couldn’t bear to look.

Fan Fangming and Qu Qingying, who hadn’t seen their grandson in a while, were thrilled. To avoid disturbing them during their rest, they decided to let the child sleep in the master bedroom for the night, which delighted Liang Qingqing with the peace and quiet.

Fan Yanxing was even more proactive, delivering everything Fan Jiayu would need for the night to Qu Qingying.

“Mom, sorry to trouble you and Dad these few days.”

With that, he shut the door with a decisive “click,” cutting off all external sounds.