Siheyuan: Domineering life

Yang Jun naturally cooked the family reunion dinner that evening.

Of course, he still took the food from his spatial storage; he couldn't possibly cook for dozens of people.

It was a smooth year. The whole family was healthy, and our studies and work went well. It was a perfect year, which ended perfectly with the family reunion dinner. Now, a new year is about to begin.

After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family chatted in the living room.

Some of the younger children went to bed early, while the older children gathered together to play hide-and-seek. Yang Jun and a group of women sat around the sofa in the living room, chatting and keeping vigil for the New Year.

Since his mother passed away, Yang Jun has become increasingly aware of the importance of family reunions, so he will always spend time with his family whenever possible.

Outside, flames blazed and firecrackers crackled incessantly, illuminating the entire sky. At this moment, snowflakes began to fall, marking the first snowfall of the year. This timely snowfall added to the festive atmosphere of the year's end.

"It's snowing, it's snowing."

"Let's go have a snowball fight."

Although they were all from the north and used to snow, they still had a special fondness for snowball fights, and the children ran out to have a snowball fight.

It had just snowed outside, and the ground wasn't covered yet, so they couldn't have a snowball fight. They stood in the snow, arms outstretched, looking up at the sky, letting the snowflakes fall on their cheeks, feeling the coolness on their faces. Only then did they understand the meaning of winter.

"I'll go as well."

Nini muttered something under her breath, then quietly followed the child out.

"Pfft!"

Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they saw this.

“Nini is still a child at heart, she hasn’t grown up yet,” Yi Qiushui said.

"Hehe, don't let her status as a mother fool you. She's only nineteen at most, so she's still a child herself." Huang Yani said.

As he said this, all the women glanced at Yang Jun, their meaning clear: he was a scumbag for marrying a child.

Yang Jun sat there quietly sipping his tea, ignoring their words. These women had nothing better to do than make fun of him.

"Oh, Nini is still a child." Meng Wenya deliberately raised her voice an octave.

The other women looked at Yang Jun again.

Yang Jun sat there calmly, pretending not to have heard anything.

"I'm going to play in the snow too."

At this moment, Li Jingqiu got up and walked outside.

“Another child,” Yi Qiushui said with a smile.

"Jingqiu is only in her early twenties, practically a child."

Among Yang Jun's women, the oldest is fifty years old and the youngest is only nineteen. There are also women in their thirties and forties, representing various age groups. Therefore, each of them has a different temperament.

“I’m going to play in the snow too,” Yang Jun suddenly said.

The women were all stunned for a moment, then they all stood up and followed Yang Jun.

Yang Jun walked to the middle of the courtyard and looked up at the sky.

The sound of firecrackers was incessant, and the sky was lit up from time to time by firecrackers and fireworks. The firelight shone on his face, sometimes bright and sometimes dim. He gazed quietly at the sky, letting the snowflakes fall on his face.

Although the firecrackers were loud, Yang Jun felt very quiet at this moment, at least in his world. He couldn't hear any sound, and could only feel the snowflakes melting on his face.

The feeling was wonderful. Time seemed to slow down at that moment. He could even see the shape of the snowflakes and how they melted step by step. Everything seemed to move very slowly in his eyes, and he could see the essence of everything.

He used the spatial mode to isolate himself from the mundane world and quietly enjoy this wonderful time.

Several women, including Yi Qiushui, surrounded him, talking about something. To Yang Jun, it was as if they were performing a silent pantomime; he could see them gesturing, but he couldn't hear a sound.

Yang Jun smiled at them without saying anything, then continued to look up at the sky.

A snowflake slowly landed on his face, on his eyelashes, and then into his eyes. He then witnessed the entire process of the snowflake melting, a process that was like the entire process of life's formation and disappearance, like the entire process of a person's birth and death, all laid bare before his eyes.

"What is the meaning of life?" Yang Jun murmured to himself.

He looked up at the sky, gazing at the dark and boundless horizon, his thoughts lost in confusion.

Huang Yani and the others were standing to the side talking about something, seemingly about the meaning of life, but Yang Jun couldn't hear anything at the moment, nor did he want to listen. He just wanted to slowly understand it himself.

His life is different from others' lives, so other people's answers may not be suitable for him.

For example, his immortality is something that others cannot explain. Therefore, the meaning of his life is different from that of others. If time is eternal, then life has no meaning. If time is short, then perhaps the things he does are very meaningful.

Yang Jun belongs to the former category. His life is already eternal. No matter what he does, it has no meaning. For him, life is loneliness, solitude, and endless torment.

He didn't have the courage to end his own life, so he could only continue to endure this loneliness.

"Lao Yang."

"Old Yang, wake up."

Yi Qiushui and the others kept calling out to him and shaking his body from time to time.

At this moment, Yang Jun was blocked by the space and could not hear their voices, but when he turned around and saw their anxious expressions, he quickly came out of the space.

"what happened?"

Yang Jun looked at them with a bewildered expression.

"Old Yang, are you alright?"

"I've been calling you for ages and you still don't answer."

Yang Jun smiled slightly and said, "I'm fine."

After a slight pause, she continued, "I was just daydreaming and enjoying myself when you guys dragged me back."

"You're daydreaming? I think you're sleepwalking!" Yi Qiushui rolled her eyes at him and said, "You wouldn't answer no matter how we called you just now, it scared us to death."

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm perfectly fine."

"You must take good care of yourself; our whole family can't live without you."

"Yes, Lao Yang, you must take good care of yourself."

Yang Jun smiled slightly upon hearing this.

He reached out and took Yi Qiushui's hand, and Huang Yani's hand with his other hand, saying, "Let's hold hands and experience a spiritual journey with me."

"Dreaming?"

The girls looked constipated, but they still held hands and stayed with Yang Jun.

The group held hands, formed a circle, and looked up at the sky.

With a thought, Yang Jun's consciousness entered the space again.

Over the years, he has mastered the use of space functions and developed each function to its fullest potential. For example, he used to be able to enter the space alone, but now he can bring others into the space with him.

Of course, he wouldn't drag Yi Qiushui and the others into his space; he would simply use the space to eliminate the complexities of the outside world.

Time suddenly slowed down, the sounds outside suddenly disappeared, and the whole world became unusually quiet. Yi Qiushui and the others all showed incredulous expressions. They looked at each other, completely bewildered.

When they looked at Yang Jun, they saw him gazing at the sky with a calm and smiling expression. So they followed suit, abandoning their restless state of mind and slowly trying to calm themselves down.

Sure enough, they found that the quiet was a real treat.

Especially after isolating themselves from external noise, their souls experienced an unprecedented tranquility. That tranquility brought them extraordinary peace of mind. They felt that there was nothing more enjoyable in the world than inner peace, and at that moment, all the world's troubles were irrelevant to them. Some opened their eyes and gazed at the sky, while others slowly closed their eyes, feeling the wind and snow brushing against their faces. In that moment, they seemed to witness the origin and transformation of life, gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning of life.

The time lasted about fifteen minutes before Yang Jun emerged from the space.

The moment he stepped out, the world returned to its restless state, and everyone looked at Yang Jun with bewildered expressions.

"How does it feel to be in a trance?" Yang Jun asked them with a smile.

The group looked serious, as if they hadn't yet emerged from their reverie, seemingly reluctant to leave the tranquil world they had just experienced.

After a long pause, Nalan Qingyun sighed, "I thought you were joking, but I never expected... that you really could travel the world in spirit."

"It's just a pity... that the time was too short."

"Yes, it would be better if it could take a little longer."

Everyone sighed, looking as if they hadn't had enough.

All the women looked at Yang Jun with curiosity, hoping he could explain what had just happened.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jun simply smiled slightly.

"You must have already grasped the meaning of life after your recent reverie, right?"

The women remained silent and nodded gently.

Although their understanding differs, and everyone has a different interpretation of the meaning of life, they have to admit that they have gained a higher level of understanding and insight into the world and life.

"The meaning of life lies in experiencing life."

"The meaning of life lies in doing what you believe is worthwhile."

"Life has no meaning...it is a delusion."

"..."

Each of Yang Qingxiang and the others shared their understanding of the meaning of life.

Yang Jun listened and smiled slightly.

"Yes, that is the meaning of life. Everyone understands it differently. Don't get hung up on right or wrong. Life is a process of enlightenment. Everyone's enlightenment is different, which does not mean that the meaning of life is different."

"Existence is its own justification; the Creator created man for a reason."

"Don't dwell on things too much, don't get stuck on minor details. Life is really just an experience—experiencing birth and death, experiencing love and hate, experiencing joy, sorrow, troubles, and passion..."

Yang Jun shared his insights on life, and the other women listened intently.

In truth, he didn't know what the meaning of life was. Each time he entered a state of reverie, his insights were different, so he couldn't explain the meaning of life. If he had to define the meaning of understanding, it would be experience.

"Honey, can we experience this dreamlike journey one more time?" Chen Ruolan asked.

She is highly educated and has a stronger comprehension ability than others, so she really wants to experience the feeling of spiritual travel again.

Yang Jun listened and shook his head with a smile.

"No need."

"You should first comprehend and digest this spiritual journey. Don't try to do too much, or your mind will become confused."

"Husband, how did you manage to make us wander in our dreams?" Nalan Qingyun asked the question that everyone wanted to know most.

Yang Jun pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I am a deity."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed constipation, but no one refuted it. Just based on the fact that he had just managed to put everyone into a trance-like state, it was no different from the methods of a god.

"Stop asking."

At this moment, Yi Qiushui spoke up. She knew Yang Jun best and knew that he had some supernatural abilities, so she stopped everyone from asking any further questions.

"The snow is getting heavier, let's go back inside and stay up all night."

At this time, the snow was getting heavier and heavier, and soon it covered the entire ground.

The children ran wildly around the yard, shouting for the snow to fall even heavier.

"Go back to the house."

The others ignored the child and went back to their rooms.

Today is Chinese New Year, let them go crazy for once.

Back inside, everyone brushed the snow off their clothes and sat back down on the sofa.

Meng Wenya brought over a large pot of hot water and poured a cup for everyone to warm themselves up.

Soon, the children all came inside, because the gala was about to start.

Turn on the TV and wait quietly for that moment to arrive.

It's almost eight o'clock, and we still have more than four hours to stay up all night. Fortunately, we can watch TV together, so the time doesn't feel so long.

Before long, the gala began, and the whole family watched it intently.

Everyone except Yang Jun enjoyed watching the gala.

The variety shows of later generations were much richer and more exciting than those of today. He didn't even like those kinds of variety shows, so how could he possibly like the variety shows of today? After watching for a while, he started to yawn.

Seeing this, Nalan Qingmeng sat down beside him and asked softly, "Are you sleepy?"

"Well, sort of."

"Why don't you go to sleep first, we'll keep watch."

Seeing everyone watching the gala with great enthusiasm, Yang Jun felt that leaving at this time would be somewhat out of place, since staying up late on New Year's Eve was usually done by adults with children, and he was the head of the family.

"Let's hang in there a little longer," Yang Jun said, yawning.

"Don't insist, there are still several hours left."

Nalan Qingmeng glanced at everyone and whispered, "I'm sleepy too, why don't I join you?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun immediately smiled.

"So you were waiting for me here."

After saying that, he paused slightly and whispered, "You go first, I'll be there soon."

"Okay, you absolutely have to come."

Upon hearing this, Nalan Qingmeng was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

There were too many wolves and not enough meat at home, so she only got her turn once or twice a month. Excluding inconvenient days and days when Yi Qiushui domineeringly took her turn, the number of times she got her turn was very few.

"Ah... Oh!"

Nalan Qingmeng yawned and said, "I'm sleepy, I'm going back to sleep."

After saying that, he gave his child a few words of advice and left.

After Nalan Qingmeng left, Yang Jun didn't rush to leave. Instead, he sat there and forced himself to watch TV for half an hour. Finally, when he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, he left.

Afterwards, they went directly to Nalan Qingmeng's courtyard. (End of Chapter)