Mommy, don't be afraid, I'll bring you blind boxes and scam you out of a wealthy family to

The old man was initially a bit angry, but the little girl's earnest yet naive explanation made him laugh instead.

"Okay, I'll trust you for now." He patted Wen Li's head. "So, where do we go now?"

Wen Li volunteered to take his hand: "Li Bao, show Grandpa around!"

"Let's go, let's go, this way!" She was acting like a little tour guide.

Although the tour guide himself didn't recognize the place at all.

The young tour guide took a few steps, then stopped, looked up at the unfamiliar building, and said somewhat uncertainly, "Hmm..."

Duan Yuanzhou glanced at her: "Aren't you showing Grandpa around?"

The young tour guide wasn't embarrassed at all, and turned around to say, "Grandpa, this way!"

After taking only two steps, he silently retreated.

She sucked her thumb, blinked her big eyes, and looked utterly innocent: "Hehe has changed, Libao doesn't recognize it either..."

This is an unfamiliar building, filled with uncles and aunties carrying documents and hurrying around.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like Grandpa and Grandma's yard.

Duan Yuanzhou felt that this place looked strangely familiar.

Before he could figure it out, two young men walked towards him.

One of them asked as they walked, "Xiao Zhou, have the materials been delivered?"

The other person smiled and waved the folder in their hand: "I'll go right now."

Duan Yuanzhou frowned.

This voice, this face... why do they seem so familiar?

Wen Li noticed that her grandfather had suddenly stopped walking. Following his gaze, she saw that he was looking at a strange uncle.

She asked softly, "Does Grandpa know that uncle?"

Duan Yuanzhou did not answer.

Or rather, I don't know how to answer.

Because the slightly immature face in front of me is clearly that of Secretary-General Zhou, who would come to my house to visit during holidays!

However, he looks like an intern right now.

Someone else hurried by: "Director Li, the meeting is about to begin."

Duan Yuanzhou followed the gaze and was shocked once again—when did that old man surnamed Li manage to achieve rejuvenation?

Seeing that her grandfather seemed glued to the ground, Wen Li stood on tiptoe, grabbed his arm, and shook him, calling out, "Grandpa, Grandpa?"

The sweet, childlike voice immediately brought Duan Yuanzhou back to reality.

He knew the little girl was worried about him, but his gaze couldn't help but linger on the people coming and going.

More and more familiar faces overlap with people from the past in my memory.

A strange and illogical guess gradually emerged in his mind:

Could this be the workplace where Zhiyuan worked when she was young?

Just then, the door to the office at the end of the corridor was pushed open.

Wen Li's eyes lit up when she saw it: "Grandma!"

The young Qin Zhiyuan held a document, her long hair tied up, her expression calm, listening to her colleagues while flipping through the documents.

She looked to be no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, even younger than Duan Shimi now. Her face radiated youthful energy, and her steps were far less steady than they would become later. She carried the lightness unique to those just entering society, and the light in her eyes seemed to never be extinguished by any storm.

Click.

The cane trembled precariously before it could barely support its weight on the ground.

Duan Yuanzhou was completely stunned.

The person before him gradually overlapped with, and then separated from, the wife who had been with him for nearly half a century in his memory.

He had almost forgotten... what she was like.

A young woman walked past the grandmother and grandson.

Even though Wen Li knew her grandmother couldn't see her, she still waved happily, "Grandma, Li Bao is here!"

The faint, familiar scent made Duan Yuanzhou subconsciously raise his hand, wanting to hold her.

It stopped in mid-air again, not daring to move forward.

Unfortunately, Qin Zhiyuan was oblivious to this and walked right past him.

There was no stopping, and there was no turning back.

The distance between them is not just a few steps, but decades of time that have slipped through their fingers.

Duan Yuanzhou watched her retreating figure, opened his hand, then clenched it again.

empty.

Wen Li looked at her grandmother, then at her grandfather's hand that was slowly hanging down.

When I first came to the illusion of the rocking chair, I felt just as disappointed as I did when I called out to my grandparents but they didn't respond.

She gently placed her little hand into her grandfather's palm and said softly, "Grandpa, don't be sad. Pear is here with you."

As Duan Yuanzhou held her small hand, the turbulent emotions surging in his heart subsided slightly.

He would never know that he and his wife shared the same thought—

Fortunately, the little girl was there.

Otherwise, how can one person get through such a traumatic memory unscathed?

-

Wen Li followed her grandmother into a large office. The desk was piled high with brown paper bags and folders, taller than her. Even on tiptoe, she couldn't see the top of the stack.

Many uncles and aunts sat at the table, quickly writing something on paper.

Wen Li wondered, "So even adults have to do homework?"

Just as Qin Zhiyuan finished submitting one copy, someone brought her a new one: "Little Qin, could you please double-check this one?"

"it is good."

"Sister Qin, we need to add two more pages here."

"I see."

She didn't even have time to drink a sip of water, she kept writing and revising, revising and writing again.

Wen Li held her grandfather's hand and said, "Grandma is so busy."

This time, the old man refrained from his sarcastic remarks; instead, his expression revealed a deep concern: "She dedicated her entire life to the country."

He seemed oblivious to the pain in his legs, standing there watching his young wife busy herself.

The little dumpling climbed onto the empty chair next to her, her little hands supporting her cheeks, her legs swinging back and forth, as if she were used to this silent companionship.

It was late at night, and people in the office were packing up their things one by one.

Someone stretched and said, "It's finally over."

Another asked, "Xiao Qin, shall we go home together?"

Qin Zhiyuan didn't even look up, still organizing the materials: "You guys go back first."

Duan Yuanzhou wondered, was she working overtime like this on so many nights when he was alone at home waiting?

My colleagues left in twos and threes; there were only a few left.

Someone else asked Qin Zhiyuan, "Aren't you leaving yet? Planning to stay up all night?"

"Yes, I'll feel much better once I'm done." She wrote furiously.

My colleague said, "You're working so hard! Are you planning to finish it all at once? Will you be able to rest this weekend?"

She nodded.

A friendly murmur suddenly broke out in the office:

"Oh my—"

"Resting is just an excuse; spending time with your loved one is the real reason, isn't it?"

"Has your boss, Mr. Duan, arranged another date?"

"How enviable."

Qin Zhiyuan was unusually shy, her slightly flushed cheeks and faint smile making her appear clearly immersed in the joy of her marriage: "...I can't keep my family waiting all the time, can I?"

The group left, chatting and laughing.

Only the soft light of the lamp remained, falling on the young Qin Zhiyuan.

She reopened the materials, page after page, tirelessly.

Because she knew someone was waiting for her at home.

Wen Li jumped off the chair, ran to her grandfather's side, and whispered, "Grandma doesn't abandon Grandpa! Grandma, hurry up and finish your homework so you can go home and be with Grandpa!"

Duan Yuanzhou's Adam's apple bobbed, but no sound came out.

He didn't know exactly which day it was.

But they spent thousands of nights in this way during their marriage.

My wife's time is too precious; every spare moment is squeezed out with all her might.

All that could be squeezed out was left for him and for his family.

In the past, he only saw her resolute departure.

I've never seen how eager she was to get home.

The little dumpling nestled beside the old man, like a tiny elf gracefully arriving from a fantastical dream: "Grandpa."

"Um?"

"Grandma loves Grandpa very much, you know that?"

The old man hugged her tightly, a choked emotion welling up in his throat.

"...Yes, I know."