"There was supposed to be another meeting, scheduled for tomorrow. I came back early this morning, did the math, and realized if I flew back right after the meeting I’d still make it home in time, so I came back."
Su Xiaomeng braced her hands on his chest, turned over and lay on top of him. She scooped up some foam in her hand and dabbed it lightly on his nose, studying his face closely...
"Your skin’s gotten a lot rougher."
"I’m not a woman."
"But your skin used to be better than a woman’s! Not exactly fair and baby?soft, but the tone was great, and it was really elastic, the pores were tiny, it felt so smooth to the touch."
Su Xiaomeng folded her arms and rested them across Yin Shixiu’s chest, smiling as she looked at him.
Yin Shixiu held her in his arms, watching the slightly damp ends of her short hair sticking to her face. The once slightly chubby round face had been sharpened by time, her jawline more defined, and her features had somehow only grown more delicate.
Her eyes no longer held only the food, fun, and failed exams that boys and girls in their teens cared about.
All these years, he’d watched with his own eyes as she was pushed by hardship, tempered by life, polished by time, watched her take each step, one after another, to get here...
Seven years...
She now had achievements of her own.
Seven years...
She had become, beyond any doubt, an outstanding person.
Seven years...
The pity was, as her husband, he’d never really had the right to judge whether she was happier now than she had been at nineteen, before she met him.
Maybe his gaze on her had gotten a little too intense, or maybe she herself just couldn’t help it—Su Xiaomeng lowered her head and kissed him...
————
The next day, Christmas.
All the decorations in Jun Garden’s courtyard were still up. It had started snowing in the second half of the night, and the courtyard looked as if it had put on a white cotton coat. The little bell ornaments hanging from the plane trees were all dusted with a thin layer of snow.
Yin Shixiu got up early. When he came back from his workout, he happened to run into Ah Su, who was getting ready to make breakfast. Ah Su was startled when she saw him.
"Fourth Young Master, when did you come back?"
"I got in last night."
Ah Su still blinked in surprise. "I didn’t hear Young Madam say you were coming back last night."
"I didn’t tell them. I came back ahead of schedule."
After hearing that, Ah Su shot him a knowing look. "Then what would you like for breakfast, Young Master? I’ll go make it right away."
"Anything’s fine. Ah Su, let me ask you something."
"Mm?"
"Yesterday... did someone come over as a guest?"
"Uh?huh. It was one of Young Madam’s friends—they came with the whole family, brought everyone along. They have a little boy, and he seemed to play really well with Shuangshuang. They said they were spending Christmas together. They didn’t leave until after dinner."
"A family of three came?"
"Mm, a couple and a child. The gentleman’s surname should be Xiao," Ah Su said, trying to recall.
"While I’ve been away, do they often come over to the house to play?"
"Not really, I think yesterday was the only time they came over to play."
"They only came once, and Shuang’er already plays that well with that boy?"
Ah Su thought carefully again, then said, "Every Saturday, Young Master Huang Huang goes to piano lessons, and Young Madam takes Shuangshuang out. Miss Shuangshuang said she goes to play with some little brother—he should be that family’s child, I guess."
"Every week..." Yin Shixiu muttered.
Ah Su teased him, "You’re not at home, so of course Young Madam has to find a playmate for Miss Shuangshuang."
"All right, go on with your work."
"Okay." Ah Su didn’t think much of it. She’d been working for Yin Shixiu and Su Xiaomeng for so long that it never even occurred to her that the reason Yin Shixiu was asking might be that he had some suspicions.
As for Yin Shixiu...
He let out a self?mocking little laugh at himself.
They’re a family of three coming over together, and you’re still worried that this man who suddenly got close to your wife might have some ulterior motive?
They say that once a man reaches forty he’s no longer plagued by doubts. In his career, he indeed had nothing to be confused about. But in other areas, he’d somehow become rather anxious and insecure.
What was he supposed to do about that...?
After Shuangshuang finished breakfast, she went to Zheng Garden with Yin Shixiu. She immediately started showing off to Grandpa and Grandma, telling them all about how Dad came back last night and surprised her.
Yin Shaohui and Zhou Mengqin looked over at Yin Shixiu.
"Wanting to give the child a surprise is a good thing, but it was so late. If you’re coming back, you should at least let the family know first..."
Yin Shixiu just smiled and said nothing.
Su Xiaomeng was still in the study at Jun Garden preparing her lesson plans for next week. When it was time for lunch, she went over to Mengqin Garden, and from the moment they started eating, Shuangshuang was excited...
This Christmas seemed almost too wonderful for her.
The Little Bu she’d been thinking about nonstop would be sent over this afternoon.