Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

In the bright and clean bedroom, a little girl with two small pigtails on her head was lying on the floor, sticking her little bottom out, trying to reach the Barbie doll necklace that had rolled under the cabinet.

As she reached for it, she suddenly discovered a box hidden under the cabinet.

Curious, she took it out and opened it—inside were glittering silver pendants engraved with little fish, colorful beads, a small brown cloth bag, a pink handkerchief...

She took things out one by one and spread them all over the floor.

The little girl held up a round wooden plaque, stared at the pattern carved on it for a long time, then burst out laughing and muttered to herself in a childish voice, "It's Daddy."

"An'an, stop playing! You've made a mess of Mommy and Daddy's room again. Come out and wash your hands, it's time to eat."

I waited for a while, but there was no reply.

Yao Xue called out Wu Youning's full name with a strong voice: "Wu Youning!"

"Grandma, look at Daddy!" The little girl ran barefoot out of the room, holding the wooden sign high in her little hand.

She has a pair of bright eyes, sparkling like stars, curving into two little crescent moons, with dimples appearing and disappearing on her cheeks, making her as delicate as a porcelain doll.

"Nonsense, where's Dad? Dad went on a trip to Guizhou with Mom." Yao Xue looked up and noticed what she was holding. She took it and couldn't help but laugh. "You mean this pattern? It's so ugly, how could it be Dad?"

"That's right!" The little girl hugged the wooden sign like a precious treasure, refusing to let go even while eating.

Chai Mingde shook his head helplessly. Squirrel Mandarin Fish couldn't compare to Wu Li, and he couldn't even win over his daughter and granddaughter's affections.

Never mind, from the moment the young couple held hands, he had already treated him like his own son.

Even now, Xiao An'an can't tell whether her grandparents are her mother's parents or her father's parents.

"Why do the two of them go to Guizhou every year? And they even bring a poisonous scorpion with them. That mountain is very haunted; Xiaomi disappeared there before." Chai Mingde frowned, his tone full of concern.

"Don't worry, when has your son ever put your daughter in danger? Tell me, since he came, everything has gone so smoothly at home. My migraines that I've had for years are gone, you can catch a whole bucket of fish every time you go night fishing, and even Qiuqiu's stepfather got into trouble and was arrested, which saved Xiaomi a lot of worry. He's like a lucky star that has descended upon our family."

Upon hearing this, Chai Mingde's eyes lit up, and he leaned closer to ask, "And what about me, wife? What star am I?"

Before Yao Xue could even speak, An'an, whose little mouth was greasy from eating, said earnestly, "Grandpa is Patrick Star!"

"An'an is SpongeBob, we are best friends!" The little girl raised her hands.

Chai Mingde was instantly flattered and picked An'an up in his arms: "Because of what you just said, little girl, what flavor of candy do you want? Tell me, and Grandpa will secretly take you to buy it."

An An cheered and hugged his neck.

Laughter filled the restaurant.

The bedroom door was half open.

A draft blew in through the window, brushing past the scattered objects on the floor and gently opening one of the notebooks.

On the yellowed page, a row of elegant handwriting was written:

"In the summer of my nineteenth year, I stumbled into your world. In the summer of my twentieth year, thank you for stepping back into the rest of my life."

People always say that happy times are always short-lived.

Chai Xiaomi, however, did not think so.

She felt that happy times last forever.

It won't disappear with the passage of time, but will quietly hide in the folds of memory, and one day in the future, it will be blown open by the wind, rushing towards you, still burning hot.

Just like when Wu Li bent down to tie her shoelaces, the small section of skin on the back of her neck was shiny from the sun.

Just like how he was sweating profusely from the heat, yet still handed her the last sip of his iced cola.

Like one evening, he suddenly leaned closer, smiled, and said, "Mimi, look, even the evening breeze is blowing towards you."

Later, even more moments piled up.

In the library, he always reserved the window seat for her, where the sunlight slanted across the pages of her open book, and he would sit beside her, occasionally glancing at her.

It was a gentle night by the playground. He sat with her on the bleachers, enjoying the breeze. They shared an earphone, and their playlist was full of her favorite songs.

During those days of working hard together, he covered her study room desk with sticky notes, one of which read: "Baby, hang in there a little longer. After the exam, I'll take you back to Jingmingtai, see our old friends, and have hot pot."

Then came the day we got our marriage certificate.

He clutched the little red book, turning it over and over as if afraid it would grow wings and fly away.

The photographer told them not to stand so close, otherwise he couldn't get a full-face shot. Other newlyweds were directed to move closer, but they looked glued together.

The moment the shutter clicked, she suddenly remembered what he had said years ago: "Most men in the world are wicked; they all harbor evil intentions, including me."

She couldn't help but smile.

"Congratulations, you scheming bastard, your wish has come true."

"Can I be even more greedy?"

"Hmm?...Ugh!"

None of these moments have gone far away.

Close your eyes, and it's right in front of you.

They remained there, as long and intense as that summer.