Mulberry Root Lotus Seed Egg Tea

The mature adult male had only been sitting there for a short while. Even though Xia Jiao said she could stay with him a little longer, Wen Chongyue still shook his head. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

Xia Jiao replied, “Teacher Wen, please don’t think you can change the topic with food.”

Wen Chongyue simply smiled, stood up, and casually patted Xia Jiao’s head, rubbing it. “What topic are we changing? Why aren’t you calling me ‘Chongyue’ anymore?”

Xia Jiao’s face turned red. “…We’ll talk about it later.”

It was strange. She really didn’t know why she had blurted that nickname out just now. It sounded much more affectionate than usual. They walked side by side to the hospital. Father Wen was still resting. Wen Chongyue briefly spoke with the caregiver and, after confirming everything was fine, took Xia Jiao and left.

They had dinner at a restaurant owned by a Shunde boss. They had “One Night Fresh” made from pork belly, along with a papaya soup boiled with cuttlefish. Shunde people were known for their cooking skills with fish and didn’t use much ginger; instead, they used dried tangerine peel and pepper to enhance flavors. As one of the basic flavors of Cantonese cuisine, Shunde often used sugar and soy sauce to season dishes. The first dish Wen Chongyue ordered was “Gathering of Heroes”—not the one with the “radish meeting” from the comedy sketch. This dish first fried river dolphin, crab, and oysters in oil until fragrant, then added roasted pork, sautéed with white pepper and tangerine peel, before braising it in clear water until the sauce was perfectly thickened, finally adding XO sauce.

Xia Jiao felt a little dizzy trying to follow the complex cooking process. She seized the opportunity to ask Wen Chongyue, “How do you know all this?”

Wen Chongyue replied, “The chef is my friend.”

Xia Jiao muttered, “How do you have so many friends?”

Wen Chongyue paused for a moment. “Perhaps I’m what they call a social expert?”

Xia Jiao corrected him. “Teacher Wen, you’re out of touch. The term ‘social expert’ is outdated. Now, we call it ‘social butterfly syndrome.’”

Wen Chongyue scolded, “Student Xia, please don’t use foul language.”

Xia Jiao quietly complained, “You say that so seriously, just like how you didn’t speak earlier in the evening.”

Wen Chongyue remained composed. He took a sip of barley tea and started looking at the dessert menu. Father Wen’s condition was stable, and the reason for his relapse was a strong emotional fluctuation triggered by external factors. Wen Chongyue insisted that Bai Ruolang swear to reduce contact with his father, clearly telling her that if Father Wen’s health worsened due to this, he would cut off all ties with her.

Wen Chongyue meant what he said, and Bai Ruolang clearly understood this.

In fact, Wen Chongyue didn’t care much about what Bai Ruolang thought. Compared to whether his mother was upset, he cared more about his father’s health. Now that things had more or less settled, he naturally focused on making sure his wife, who had been accompanying him, was well-fed and satisfied, rather than worrying about Bai Ruolang.

He also ordered a bowl of “Fritillaria, Lotus Seed, and Silver Fungus Papaya Soup” for Xia Jiao, a nourishing dish perfect for autumn and winter. Wen Chongyue ordered a portion of Mulberry Root Lotus Seed Egg Tea for himself and drank it slowly. Xia Jiao glanced at her dish, then at his, and couldn’t help but feel that his seemed tastier.

Wen Chongyue wasn’t stingy and was happy to share his food with his wife. Seeing that he didn’t object, Xia Jiao eagerly raised her spoon and tried a bite.

Wow, the taste was a bit strange. It looked dark brown, and the tea had a slightly bitter taste. Though it had rock candy, it wasn’t very sweet. The tea flavor came from Pu-erh tea, and the mulberry root was evident. Not to mention the lotus seeds and boiled eggs inside. These unusual ingredients, when combined, gave off a rich and warming taste.

However, Xia Jiao still pushed the bowl of dessert towards Wen Chongyue. “My papaya soup tastes better.”

Wen Chongyue just smiled without saying much. After finishing their meal, he went to buy some Milk Peanut Bird Nest Candy, a specialty from Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay Queen Pastry Shop. However, Wen Chongyue also said that the candy here wasn’t as good as the one from that shop. After asking how many colleagues Xia Jiao had at the store, Wen Chongyue bought a few more boxes.

“Go back and share with your colleagues,” Wen Chongyue instructed. “This emergency leave has caused them some inconvenience. Colleagues, after all, we spend so much time together every day. Send them some small gifts as a token of appreciation.”

Xia Jiao nodded vigorously.

That night, she thought Wen Chongyue would need something, but instead, he simply held her and rested. However, tonight’s embrace was a bit different from usual. Xia Jiao had once disliked her own sensitivity, but now, she realized that being sensitive wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It allowed her to clearly sense her husband’s low mood in this moment. Even though Wen Chongyue said nothing, Xia Jiao couldn’t help but think back to when he had sat under the rock garden’s shade.

Everyone processes emotions differently. What Xia Jiao could do was offer him hugs and chat with him.

What Wen Chongyue wanted to say, he would naturally say when the time was right. There were some things he didn’t wish to talk about, and Xia Jiao wouldn’t push him.

Father Wen needed to stay in the hospital for 48 more hours for observation before being discharged. During these days, Wen Chongyue had cooked and brought meals for him. Father Wen had a healthy lifestyle, and at his age, he was fortunate not to have chronic conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes. Still, Wen Chongyue made sure to prepare light dishes suitable for patients. But when delivering the meals, he would always prepare an extra serving of Xia Jiao’s favorite dish—sweet and sour pork, or braised pork belly with preserved vegetables, or boiled meat slices in hot broth.

While the patient had to eat light, the person accompanying them should enjoy some tasty food to recharge.

Xia Jiao felt that if this continued, her weight would certainly skyrocket. So, one time, while Father Wen was sleeping, she went for a walk in the garden with Wen Chongyue. As they passed a hallway, they saw a scale, and Xia Jiao eagerly stepped onto it.

When the scale’s voice clearly read out the number, she felt as if the sky had fallen: “Teacher Wen.”

“Hm?” Wen Chongyue answered calmly as he helped Xia Jiao off the scale.

“This is our Xiao Jiaojiao’s shortcoming,” Wen Chongyue said, “Next time, we’ll do better.”

Xia Jiao: “…”

Wen Chongyue didn’t suggest that she count calories. To him, as long as she was healthy, it didn’t matter what the number on the scale was or what her body looked like. Teacher Wen didn’t care about such things, but Xia Jiao couldn’t help herself and swore for the seventy-eighth time, “Next time, I will only eat until I’m eighty percent full!!!”

There was no way around it. The food Wen Chongyue made and had her try was just too delicious, making it hard for her to control her appetite.

However, under Teacher Wen’s supervision, Xia Jiao gradually became fond of taking walks after meals. Morning runs were still difficult for her, but nighttime jogs were much easier to manage. The hospital was full of patients, so Wen Chongyue took her to a nearby park for a slow jog. Xia Jiao had lived in this city for many years, yet she rarely visited such places to walk or jog in the evening. There weren’t many elderly people around at night, as most of them went to bed early. Instead, middle-aged people with children filled the streets, and there were even people selling small glowing bamboo dragonflies that could fly into the air.

Xia Jiao was already too old to play with those, but she stopped to watch them for a moment. Wen Chongyue then tugged on her sleeve and asked, “How much for one?”

The seller replied, “Five yuan each, or ten for two.”

Xia Jiao tugged at Wen Chongyue’s sleeve and whispered, “I’m not playing with them, I’m too old for that.”

Wen Chongyue was indifferent. He continued bargaining with the vendor, saying, “Give us a discount, it’s late, and these things might be hard to find if they get lost.”

The vendor replied, “Okay, ten yuan for three. How about that?”

Wen Chongyue said, “There are two of us. Three is hard to share.”

Xia Jiao’s face turned as red as a traffic light. She stood beside Wen Chongyue, watching him calmly negotiate. After a few more exchanges, they bought four glowing bamboo dragonflies for ten yuan. Xia Jiao picked two red ones and two yellow ones. It was a little chilly, so she blew warm air onto her hands and looked up at Wen Chongyue expectantly.

Wen Chongyue paid for the dragonflies and watched as Xia Jiao cradled them like treasures. He smiled, “You like them so much? Didn’t you play with these when you were a child?”

Xia Jiao replied, “I did play with them when I was little, but… well, I kept losing them. There used to be candy attached to the end of the bamboo dragonfly, usually fruit-flavored gummies, and there was a little whistle too. After eating the candy, we could put the dragonfly back together and make it fly…”

She happily reminisced about her childhood toys. Her grandparents had to save money painstakingly. Her grandmother was a typical housewife who occasionally did odd jobs, while her grandfather worked as a construction worker with a team.

Xia Jiao remembered how her grandmother would wrap up even a few cents in a blue cotton handkerchief, organizing them neatly with great effort.

One candy cost two cents.

Xia Jiao always lost her toys, so after a while, she decided not to buy them anymore.

Later, when she entered middle school and lived with her parents, her mother took her to the supermarket and said she could buy anything she wanted. Xia Jiao immediately noticed the bamboo dragonflies with gummy candies attached, but by then, the price had gone up to one yuan each. She asked for one, and her mother was shocked, “Jiao Jiao, you’re so old now, and you still like these? And the candy inside is full of food coloring, it’s not good for you…”

In the end, Xia Jiao didn’t buy one.

Now, after all these years, she finally owned glowing bamboo dragonflies again.

Wen Chongyue showed her how to rub and launch the bamboo dragonflies so they would fly high. When one fell into the grass, Xia Jiao eagerly ran to pick it up. Most of the people playing with them were children, but Wen Chongyue didn’t mind. He smiled as he watched her excitedly retrieve the bamboo dragonfly.

The two of them walked around for over an hour before returning to the hospital. By the time they reached the ward, it was just past eight o’clock, and the doctor was doing his rounds. It was the same doctor who had looked at Xia Jiao several times the day before. After finishing his conversation with Wen Chongyue, he smiled and addressed Xia Jiao, “Xia Jiao?”

Xia Jiao thought the voice sounded familiar but couldn’t place it. She was puzzled and asked, “Who are you?”

The doctor didn’t remove his mask but smiled, his eyes curving into crescent shapes. “Don’t recognize me? We were in the same middle school, don’t you remember? It’s me, Guo Chencai.”

Xia Jiao froze.

The name stirred up unpleasant memories.

It was Guo Chencai who had accused her of reporting to the teacher and led the effort to isolate her.

In the middle school class of dozens of students, many names had become vague memories, but there was one that remained deeply etched in her heart.

Xia Jiao didn’t respond immediately. After a long pause, she politely said, “Long time no see.”

She had no intention of shaking hands with the person.

The other person, seemingly having forgotten about this, smiled and said, “It’s been quite a while. Didn’t we both get into the same high school? I didn’t see you much in high school, but later I heard you went to Beijing…”

Wen Chongyue, who was sitting next to Father Wen’s hospital bed and talking to his father, looked up upon hearing the conversation.

His wife seemed a little shy, lowering her head slightly, her manner communicating with the other person in a bashful way. The doctor, who claimed to be her middle school classmate, was very enthusiastic, chatting like someone who hadn’t spoken to a girl in eighteen years.

Wen Chongyue subtly furrowed his brows.

As the doctor continued, “Do you remember? I used to sit behind you—”

Wen Chongyue stood up and politely interrupted, “Hello, I am Xia Jiao’s husband, Wen Chongyue.”

Guo Chencai was stunned and asked Xia Jiao, “You’re married?”

Xia Jiao replied, “Yes.”

Guo Chencai hurriedly shook hands with Wen Chongyue, though his words were a bit awkward. Since the hospital room wasn’t a suitable place for chatting, the three of them went to the corridor. There were few people in the corridor now, and after a few pleasantries, they shook hands and parted ways. Xia Jiao didn’t look into Guo Chencai’s eyes again. She seemed a bit absent-minded.

Wen Chongyue calmly asked, “Seeing an old middle school classmate here, doesn’t it make you feel a little warm?”

Xia Jiao felt that his tone sounded slightly off, but that wasn’t the main concern. The key was that she had just seen a man who had cast a shadow over half of her adolescence.

Xia Jiao muttered, “It’s not just warm. Seeing him makes me so angry I could explode.”

At this point, she heard Wen Chongyue chuckle.

Confused, Xia Jiao looked up at the man, now appearing relieved, and asked, “Why are you happy when I’m so angry?”

Wen Chongyue smiled and ruffled her hair. “Because tonight, Teacher Wen will make some fish soup to cool down your temper.”

Xia Jiao said, “Your expression doesn’t seem right. It looks less like you’re making me fish soup and more like you’re planning to cook me.”

Wen Chongyue reached out his finger and tapped her nose lightly. “Xia Jiao, please mind your words.”

Xia Jiao protested while covering her nose, “Teacher Wen, please don’t punish me.”

Wen Chongyue just smiled. Xia Jiao couldn’t figure out his intentions today, so she decided to make him suffer tomorrow morning by stealing the aroma of his breakfast, making him eat a tasteless one instead.

The next morning, Xia Jiao didn’t go to the hospital. Wen Chongyue told her to rest well and sleep more. He reassured her that he would handle things at the hospital, so there was no need to worry. Xia Jiao happily slept until 10 a.m. and realized that the message she had sent to Wen Chongyue in the morning still hadn’t been replied to.

She wanted to ask him where the ice cream they bought the night before was.

Yawning, Xia Jiao got up and made herself some salted lemon water. While drinking, she seriously typed a message to Teacher Wen.

Xiao Jiaojiao: “Why haven’t you replied yet?”

Xiao Jiaojiao: “I just learned to type for you.”

Five minutes later, Wen Chongyue replied.

Teacher Wen: “The ice cream is at the very bottom of the fridge, in the farthest corner. It’s blocked, but if you move it, you’ll find it.”

Teacher Wen: “Sorry, I was just discussing the treatment plan with the doctor.”

Teacher Wen: “As compensation, I’ve decided to give Xia Jiao a red envelope. Have you been waiting for me for a few hours?”

Xia Jiao seriously tapped: “Two hours.”

Actually, it was one hour and forty minutes.

But, rounding up.

Wen Chongyue quickly initiated a transfer—two thousand yuan.

Xia Jiao was a bit stunned. She accepted the transfer and then…

Wen Chongyue saw the notification.

“Xiao Jiaojiao retracted a message.”

Xia Jiao had retracted the “two hours” message.

Then.

Xiao Jiaojiao: “Actually, I’ve been waiting for 7200 seconds.”

Xiao Jiaojiao: “Teacher Wen, do I deserve 7.2 million compensation? That would be embarrassing (〃≧ω≦〃)”