Chapter 23 : We will come back often in the future

Aunt has always been straightforward, “Chengze clearly doesn’t know how to coax a child. He’s about to be a dad, so he needs to learn quickly how to handle kids.”

As she spoke, she pushed Jiang Yuchen forward. “Aunt can’t hold you, go let your uncle hold you.”

Jiang Yuchen hid directly behind Aunt, shyly only showing his head, “I don’t want Uncle to hold me.”

Aunt smiled and helped, “This child is shy. Just taking him out to buy a bag of candy will make him familiar.”

Grandmother Jiang loves this granddaughter the most. Early in the morning, she asked the chef to prepare more of Jiang Yunshu’s favorite dishes and snacks.

Before dinner, she quietly pulled Jiang Yunshu aside and privately asked how she had been in Beicheng, whether her body and mood were okay during pregnancy, and how the Fu family treated her. After getting positive answers, she finally felt at ease.

After dinner, Jiang Yunshu stayed in the living room, chatting with Grandmother Jiang and Aunt for a while before returning to her room.

She opened the door and saw Fu Chengze quietly leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed. Thinking he had drunk too much and fallen asleep, she walked over and was about to call him to bed when he opened his eyes.

“You’re not asleep?” Jiang Yunshu asked.

“Mm,” Fu Chengze replied, “I’ve been waiting for you to come back.”

Jiang Yunshu quietly looked at him for two seconds, recalling the night of Grandma Fu’s birthday. Unable to resist, she asked, “Did you drink too much?”

Fu Chengze shook his head lightly, “No.”

“Then go take a shower. We need to get up early tomorrow.” Jiang Yunshu urged.

Fu Chengze grabbed her wrist, “Yunshu.”

Jiang Yunshu turned back to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

Fu Chengze slightly tilted his head to look at her, “Are you happy being back in Yunjiang?”

Jiang Yunshu nodded and smiled at him, “Yes, I’m happy.”

“Mm,” Fu Chengze said, “We’ll come back often in the future.”

Jiang Yunshu was a little stunned. She sat down next to him on the sofa.

“Is it because of what Uncle and Aunt said during dinner? They didn’t mean to criticize you. They just said what was on their mind at the moment. I’ve never been away from home for this long before, and my family has been thinking about me. Moreover, you’re busy with work, I could have come back on my own. But this time was special, and I couldn’t take a flight in the first three months, so it’s been almost half a year since I last came back.”

Fu Chengze quietly listened to her finish, then said, “Mm, I didn’t think about it that way. I’m happy to be back in Yunjiang too.”

Jiang Yunshu realized that whenever he drank, he became more talkative, making her feel even closer to him.

Perhaps it was because this closeness was mutual, she unconsciously shared a small wish in her heart.

“It’s very lively in Yunjiang during the New Year. Can we go back there for New Year this year?”

Fu Chengze nodded, “Sure.”

“Wait, no, this year might be difficult because the due date is around New Year’s Day.” Jiang Yunshu smiled, “Let’s bring the baby next year and go back to Yunjiang for New Year then.”

Fu Chengze’s heart stirred slightly as he glanced at her belly, “Okay.”

—

The next morning, Uncle Chen prepared the car and parked it in front of the Jiang family’s house.

As they walked out, Fu Chengze said to Uncle Chen, “Uncle Chen, give me the car keys. I’ll drive today.”

After getting into the car, Jiang Yunshu first had Fu Chengze drive them to a flower shop.

In the shop, she picked out a large bouquet of fresh jasmine flowers.

These were her mother’s favorite flowers when she was alive.

Fu Chengze selected a bunch of white chrysanthemums, and they both took the flowers to the cemetery.

At the cemetery, Fu Chengze placed the two bouquets down and said respectfully, “Mom, Yunshu and I are here to visit you.”

Looking at the black-and-white photo on the tombstone, Jiang Yunshu’s eyes welled up.

Fu Chengze stood quietly by, watching her as she carefully wiped the tombstone with a handkerchief, even though it wasn’t very dusty. His eyelids were calm, and his voice was soft.

As she began to choke up, Fu Chengze moved closer and gently put his arm around her shoulders, softly asking, “Do you need me to wait for you by the car?”

Jiang Yunshu nodded.

Fu Chengze placed a packet of tissues in her palm, looking at the photo on the tombstone. “Mom, we’ll visit you next time.”

Once her emotions calmed down, Jiang Yunshu continued,

“When we had the reunion dinner last night, the house was so lively. Grandmother asked Master Zhang to cook a lot of dishes I like. Aunt was as straightforward as ever, reminding Chengze to take care of the family after marriage, worried I might feel wronged. And then Chenchen was picky and didn’t eat vegetables, so Sister-in-law gave him a serious talking-to. He ate the vegetables she gave him with tears in his eyes. After the meal, Brother patiently explained to Chenchen why he had to eat vegetables, and the little guy ran to apologize to Sister-in-law. He was so well-behaved.”

“The more lively it was, the more I thought of you. I was thinking, it’s so lively here, I wish you were here too.”

Jiang Yunshu slightly tilted her head back, wiping away the tears on her face, forcing a smile.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the good news. I’m pregnant.”

She gently touched her belly. “It’s going to be a happy child. So many people are looking forward to it coming into this world.”

“Although Chengze isn’t too fond of kids…” Jiang Yunshu lowered her eyelashes. “But he’s a reliable person, very responsible. I believe he’ll be a good dad.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m about to become a mom, or maybe because I’m more sensitive during pregnancy…” Jiang Yunshu looked at the photo on the tombstone, and tears streamed down her face again. “I’ve really been missing you a lot lately. Yesterday, I saw the photo of you holding me in Dad’s study, and I couldn’t help but cry. I don’t even know what’s wrong with me.”

She opened the packet of tissues and let out a soft sigh.

“You left Dad and me when I was still a child. Now, over ten years have passed, and I’m about to be a mom. Time really flies.”

After chatting a bit more, Jiang Yunshu wiped away her tears and showed a bright smile.

“Mom, I’m going to head back now. I’ll visit you next time. Dad still comes to see you at sunset, just like before. He’ll stay with you to watch the sunset.”

When they reached the parking spot, Jiang Yunshu deliberately avoided Fu Chengze’s gaze, softly saying, “Let’s go back.”

Fu Chengze didn’t need to look closely to see that her eyes and nose were red from crying.

He didn’t say much, raising his hand and gently pulling her into his embrace.

On the way back, sunlight streamed through the car windows.

Jiang Yunshu opened the window, and a refreshing morning breeze brushed against her cheeks.

Fu Chengze glanced at her and noticed she seemed a bit down. He asked, “Do you want to have breakfast outside?”

Jiang Yunshu turned her head to look at him, still not quite recovered. “Why would we eat outside?”

“Last night, you said you wanted to have the little dumplings and plum blossom cake from Yunjiang before we came back.”

“But before we came to Yunjiang, Mom told me not to eat things from outside.”

“Then do you want to go?” Fu Chengze asked.

Jiang Yunshu hesitated, “I want to go, but…”

Fu Chengze said, “It’s okay to eat it once in a while.”

Jiang Yunshu’s face lit up with a smile. “Then let’s go.”