After settling things, she got up and returned to the room, using the water from the bottle to wash her face, wipe her body, and change her clothes before heading out with Su Cheng and the two little ones.

They first went to the post office to send the telegram, then to the supply and marketing building to buy some candy to take to the school.

When they arrived, Yanzi and Teacher Qingyu were busy as well. Qiuqiu and Qingyu had quietly taken a group of children to skip class, and these children also needed to be educated. The school had called their parents for a small meeting to discuss the matter.

Many of these children were cared for by their grandparents while their parents worked, and they loved their grandchildren dearly. Upon hearing about the incident from Yanzi and the others, they, like Ji Meng, all blamed Qiuqiu and Qingyu.

Ji Meng felt fortunate that she had arrived in time, otherwise, the parents would have petitioned to have Qiuqiu and Qingyu switched to different classes.

When children make mistakes, the adults have responsibility. The two of them spent the entire afternoon apologizing with the children and refunded the pocket money to those kids according to Qiuqiu’s accounts.

Ji Meng and the others had a good attitude, presented gifts for their apologies, and since the children were indeed cute and their earnestness in apologizing was quite pitiful, the parents who had been called over on such a hot day gradually calmed down and did not pursue the matter further.

With the parents’ issues resolved, Su Cheng then found someone to block the dog hole at the school, while Ji Meng expressed her willingness to help organize the Children’s Day cultural performance for the Yuhong class, offering to cover the venue and the children’s costumes, hoping that the school wouldn’t pursue the matter any further.

The children were still young and had made a mistake for the first time. The parents’ attitude was very good, and the school did not say much either, only stating that they would work together with the parents to strictly manage things to avoid similar incidents in the future.

At this point, the matter of selling ice pops in class and encouraging classmates to skip school had finally come to a close.

After Qiuqiu and Qingyu went with Ji Meng to apologize to each of their classmates’ families and heard their reprimands, they also saw how much effort and money their mother had spent due to their mistakes. The two little ones deeply understood that lying and deceiving would never last, and that they had to follow rules and discipline in everything they did.

Wanting to make money was not wrong, but they needed to consider whether it was the right time for them to earn money, the methods they chose, and whether the people they involved were appropriate.

Qiuqiu and Qingyu recognized their mistakes, and afterwards, Su Cheng and Ji Meng also tried to focus more on their family life, adjusting the pace of their careers.

They weren’t stopping their work, they were just trying not to rush anymore.

As they slowed down, they also paid more attention to details, which actually laid a solid foundation for their future careers, though that was a matter for later.

Interestingly, due to the ice pop incident, they received another benefit: when Fang Aihua heard that her granddaughter was getting into serious trouble without any supervision, she immediately forgot about the few acres of land she had received. That day, she packed her bags, found Su Youqing, and sent her to the train station, taking the train herself to the provincial capital.

When Su Cheng and Ji Meng received the call to pick someone up at the train station, they were both stunned.

They didn’t expect it to be so soon, in their minds, they thought the elderly woman would agree to come, and they would personally go back to pick her up.

Unexpectedly, just a day later, she was already at the train station.

At that time, Su Cheng and Ji Meng were both in a meeting, but they couldn’t continue with it. They each took leave to go to the train station.

“Mom, why didn’t you call us first? We could have come to pick you up,” Su Cheng said.

Fang Aihua had come over, bringing everything that could be packed—big bags and small bags of food and supplies. The only thing missing was bedding, and they had no idea how the little old lady managed to get off the train with all that.

Seeing her son and daughter-in-law at the station entrance, she smiled and waved.

Su Cheng and Ji Meng quickly went over to help her with her bags.

Fang Aihua noticed her daughter-in-law looking neat and fashionable, clearly not having done much work since coming back to the city. She didn’t want to let Ji Meng carry her heavy bag because she didn’t want to hurt her hands. Instead, she dumped a bunch of things into her son’s hands and picked up another bag for herself, instructing Ji Meng to walk ahead with her.

With no choice, Ji Meng shot Su Cheng a look that said, ‘You’re the one suffering,’ and followed her mother-in-law while asking her questions.

“Why do I need to tell you? I had the captain send me to the train station, and I went to find Station Master Wu to help me buy the ticket. His wife isn’t with him anymore, so he found another crew member to help me get on the train. It was very convenient, wasn’t it unnecessary to tell you?”

“I talked to Station Master Wu and figured I’d call you when I was almost there. You didn’t have to wait long, did you?”

Since her son returned alive, Fang Aihua had become much better. With the land distributed in the village, she was also given a fifty-acre mountain, which motivated her to work hard. To live a few more years, she had even asked Shi Feng to prescribe a remedy for her health. Now, when she spoke, her voice was strong, and she looked much more energetic than Ji Qinghe, who had already recovered.

Ji Meng was happy to see the elderly lady in good health and heard her speaking with such strength. She smiled back at her, “No, we just arrived not long ago. We were worried you might have waited a long time.”

“What’s the big deal about waiting a bit? I’m just an old woman with nothing to do,” Fang Aihua waved her hand and then asked about Qiuqiu.

Ji Meng explained to the elderly lady that the reason for her hurried trip to the provincial city was to resolve matters, not to make her worry about the children. Upon hearing that, she immediately reassured her that the issues had already been resolved, and she also mentioned how well Qiuqiu and Qingyu had behaved these past few days.

Qingyu was Ji Meng’s brother’s daughter, and she had been writing letters during this time. Fang Aihua knew about this and, upon hearing that the two children had been good, she felt relieved and followed her daughter-in-law to the car.

Su Cheng drove them home, placing the luggage in the trunk and stepping on the gas pedal as he brought the elderly lady back.

Knowing that grandmother had arrived, Qiuqiu was the happiest of all.

Surrounded by their grandmother, the child chattered away, saying how much she had missed her, while she kept calling Qiuqiu a good girl.

At this moment, Fang Aihua had long forgotten that her visit was due to her granddaughter’s mistakes, she simply embraced Qiuqiu, calling her a good little treasure.

Fang Aihua’s arrival made the home livelier. She wanted to help take care of Qiuqiu and Qingyu, so she didn’t stay in the new apartment building, instead, she let Su Cheng offer that space to families in need.

There was another empty room in the Ji family home that was tidied up for her, and she moved in. From then on, she took charge of picking up and dropping off Qiuqiu and Qingyu, as well as cooking at home.

There was a lot to do and it was quite chaotic, but the elderly lady couldn’t sit still. She didn’t allow those who worked to interfere, and she adapted quickly, soon becoming friends with the other elderly women in the alley. When she had free time, they would watch TV together and chat.

Fang Aihua’s presence made Qiuqiu and Qingyu more obedient and understanding again, which eased the minds of Ji Meng, Su Cheng, and even Ji Qinghe, allowing them to appreciate the importance of family more deeply.

Realizing the significance of family, the couple finally found their own rhythm in their careers. No matter how busy they were, they set aside time every weekend to either spend time with the kids or go out on dates together.

They became closer to their children, who began sharing their thoughts with them, whether they were confused or had clarity. This was the most successful aspect of being parents.

Both of them were very happy, and with their joy came a desire to celebrate, which undoubtedly strengthened their bond. They often displayed their affection openly, sometimes making Fang Aihua and Ji Qinghe feel a little sour watching them.

Time passed little by little, and before she knew it, the Qixi Festival was approaching.

Qixi Day, known as China’s Valentine’s Day, has always been celebrated, and while not many people celebrate it, there were still some. The department store had already started selling gift boxes for the occasion.

In the past, Ji Meng was single and didn’t care much about holidays like Qixi Day or White Day. However, this year, with Su Cheng in her life, she suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for a holiday that previously had nothing to do with her.

But she couldn’t be sure if Su Cheng, a man with no romantic experience who only focused on his duties while in the military, even knew about the existence of this holiday.

At the machinery factory, it was mostly men. There were a few female staff members in the factory office, but Su Cheng usually avoided them. He valued his integrity and used this to seek praise from Ji Meng.

Moreover, he has been busy lately. Aside from coming home on time for the kids and her, he hardly had time to go out, and with a man like him, whose mind was filled with work and family, it was uncertain whether he knew about the Qixi Festival.

However, Ji Meng didn’t want to ask or remind him directly.

Asking or reminding felt like begging for a gift, which was rather uninteresting.

She wanted to test the waters but didn’t know how.

With no romantic experience, she felt somewhat at a loss. After several attempts to speak but not knowing what to say, she simply gave up, resigning herself to the situation. Whether he knew about it or not didn’t matter, it would be just another day like being single, at least for this festival.

She thought this way, but when she got to work and heard the female employees discussing their plans for the Qixi Festival with their partners and the gifts their partners bought them, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

She couldn’t help but ponder whether she should just say something, after all, a gift received through hinting still counted as a gift. If she didn’t say anything, that clueless guy would know nothing and prepare nothing. What would she do if they asked about it the next day?

Especially Meng Ling, who saw Su Cheng picking her up and dropping her off every day. She couldn’t resist the temptation and agreed to several blind dates arranged by Aunt Lai. One of them was going quite well, and during work, Meng Ling even mentioned wanting to take things a step further with him on Qixi Festival.

If she found out that Ji Meng was usually affectionate with men but received nothing on Qixi Festival, she would probably laugh herself silly.

There was no doubt that Meng Ling would laugh. Although they were great partners, they also often teased each other.

Ji Meng didn’t want to admit it, but she was indeed very concerned about this. She felt that if she didn’t receive a gift on Qixi Festival, she would be very disappointed—super disappointed!

The night before the Qixi Festival, Ji Meng finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She wore a beautiful nightgown, with a revealing back and a deep V neckline adorned with lace. She had spent a considerable amount of money secretly having it made by a master tailor.

She had two pieces made: one white and one pomegranate red. She originally planned to wear one on Qixi Festival night and the other on Su Cheng’s birthday in August.

But now, she couldn’t help but take out the white one for an early wear.

These days, Ji Meng has been feeling down because of the Qixi Festival situation. Whenever Su Cheng thought of her, she silently offered him her beautiful hand.

At this moment, Su Cheng knew she wasn’t in a good mood, and when she was feeling low, willingly giving him her hand was a bit of a treat for him.

He had nothing to criticize, deep down, he longed for her.

That night, when he returned to the room, he saw her standing in front of the vanity, wearing only a revealing backless dress while washing her face.

Her slender waist, smooth and fair skin like a delicate piece of jade, and the graceful curves of her shoulder blades made Su Cheng momentarily lose his breath, a surge of heat rushing through him. Without hesitation, he strode over and pulled her into his embrace.

Not wanting to take even a few more steps, he leaned against the vanity and captured her bright red lips in a deep kiss.

When the kiss didn’t feel enough, he grasped her ankle and lifted her leg high.

He was wild and fierce, like a beast, making it impossible for her to resist.

Eventually, after an exhausting session, Ji Meng felt herself drifting off to sleep. Suddenly remembering something, she couldn’t help but half-open her eyes to ask him, “Tomorrow…”

Su Cheng had just finished cleaning her basin and stored her damaged spaghetti strap dress. He climbed into bed, held her, and was about to kiss her forehead when he froze at her words: “What?”

With just those two words, Ji Meng felt like all her efforts that night had been in vain. She sank back down, muttering “Nothing,” and turned over to sleep.

Feeling like there was no hope for Qixi Festival, the next morning, she indeed saw no sign from him—not even a “Happy Qixi Day.” Ji Meng’s heart sank completely, feeling like she had wasted a beautiful outfit the previous night.

Her face fell as she leaned against the car, which had almost been broken last night.

Once in the car, she didn’t say a word and was driven by Su Cheng to the entrance of the textile factory. She didn’t even share a farewell kiss with him, she slammed the car door and walked away in her high heels without looking back.

After spending the day watching the female employees showcase their gifts at the collective, and being dragged by Meng Ling to get her hair done for her evening date at the movies, Ji Meng felt completely numb as she left work.

Her heart felt like it had been pickled all day and then frozen. Seeing Su Cheng waiting in the car to pick her up only irritated her. Once home, aside from greeting Fang Aihua and Ji Qinghe, and checking on Qiuqiu’s homework, she didn’t say another word.

After dinner, Ji Qinghe and Fang Aihua mentioned that there would be a movie screening at the square that night. They planned to take Qiuqiu and Qingyu along and asked Ji Meng if she wanted to join.

Ji Meng didn’t want to go, she felt that single people like her didn’t deserve to watch movies and preferred to stay home.

“Mom, you guys go ahead. I won’t join, I’m a bit tired from work today and want to take a bath and get some rest early.”

“Tired, huh?”

Fang Aihua paused for a moment upon hearing that. She couldn’t help but glance at her son, who was looking at his wife but showed no reaction. She didn’t care anymore and said, “Alright then, you rest early. We’ll go, it’s about to start, so we need to get good seats.”

With that, Fang Aihua got up, reminding Su Cheng to remember to clear the table, and said to Ji Qinghe, “Let’s go, in-laws. We’ll take a long bench with us.”

“Alright.” Ji Qinghe said as he went to the corner of the living room to grab a long bench and led the two little ones outside.

The room instantly felt empty, leaving just the two of them and a table full of dishes.

Normally, Ji Meng would help Su Cheng by passing him a bowl or something, but today she didn’t want to move. She only glanced at him and said, “I’m a bit tired, I’ll go back to my room for a while and take a bath later,” before getting up and heading to her room.

She expected Su Cheng to ask her something, but this time, the man who usually cared about her didn’t say a word. In that moment, her frozen heart felt like it was shattering.

The living room was only a few dozen meters from her room, but Ji Meng felt particularly heavy as she walked, unable to keep her eyes from turning red.

She cursed that worthless man a hundred times in her heart.

As she opened the door, she was taken aback.

The room had transformed.

It was getting dark outside, but the room was not at all dim because candles had been lit at some point. Yes, candles—inside small transparent wine glasses—were flickering on the vanity, the tall cabinet, the table, and the high shelf. The bright red flames wrapped in soft yellow light illuminated the room, making it clear and bright.

She could see the red carpet laid on the floor and fresh flowers, colorful ribbons hanging on the walls, and balloons suspended from the ceiling.

The bed had new sheets and a comforter, with a pomegranate red cover that seemed to be satin, smooth and glossy. On the table, which had a matching tablecloth, was a large bouquet of bright red roses and two boxes beside it.

One box contained a complete set of pearl jewelry: a necklace, earrings, a pearl bracelet, and a pearl headband. The other box was unopened, so she didn’t know what it contained.

But just that set of pearl jewelry was enough to leave Ji Meng stunned, these days, there weren’t various types of jewelry for sale, and silver shops only sold silver accessories.

Ji Meng stood frozen at the door for a moment, then clenched her fingers and walked into the room. She picked up a pearl necklace from the box. From a distance, the beads looked white, but when she picked it up, she discovered they were pink. The luster was beautiful, illuminated by the candlelight, with a radiant sheen, and each bead was perfectly sized, clearly carefully selected.

In her past life, Ji Meng rarely liked anything, she didn’t pay much attention to jewelry or such, but she did have a considerable number of pearl earrings and necklaces.

She just loved their round, smooth, lustrous appearance.

But how did this man know?

Ji Meng suddenly recalled a night when they were rarely quiet and held each other closely. The man had suddenly asked her a question: if she had to choose one among gold, pearls, and gems, which one would she pick?

She had laughed and said at the time, “Can I choose two? I like both pearls and gems, I just love shiny things.”

Back then, it seemed like the weather wasn’t warm yet, it wasn’t even May.

So, was he preparing gifts back then?

Ji Meng was momentarily stunned, the heavy heart that had been gloomy all day suddenly felt warm, fluttering and racing like a drum, thundering in her chest.

“Do you like it?” The familiar, deep voice broke the silence as Ji Meng turned her head to look.

Su Cheng had come in from outside. He glanced at the things on the table and then looked at Ji Meng with his deep eyes. “One of my comrades raised pearls after he retired and sent these over. I had them made into these.”

Ji Meng lifted her gaze to him, the room was filled with the light of many candles, and in each other’s eyes, the flames danced. They could see reflections of one another in their pupils, each containing a part of the other.

On the night of the Qixi Festival, it seemed as if to avoid disturbing the meeting of the ^[1]“Cowherd and the Weaver Girl” is a Chinese myth about two lovers, Zhinü (a fairy weaver) and Niulang (a mortal cowherd), who were separated by the Milky Way. Once a year, on the seventh … Continue readingCowherd and the Weaver Girl, the yard was quiet under the bright moonlight, with only a magnolia tree blooming and releasing its fragrance.

Ji Meng didn’t know how long they had been gazing at each other when she finally smiled and said, “Of course I like it! Don’t you know I love shiny things?”

Hearing this, Su Cheng also smiled, his deep eyes like dark lacquer gradually revealing joy. He reached for the other unopened box on the table, opened it, and took out a ring made of gold with a ruby inlay. He knelt on one knee.

“If you like it, will you marry me?”

“Mengmeng, let’s have another wedding, a wedding that belongs to us.”