“Our children’s engagement is a joyous occasion, and they insisted on coming after they found out. I didn’t invite them! Now that they’re here, I can’t just ask them to leave, can I?”
"You think I'm three years old? Do you think I'd believe you?" Grandpa seemed genuinely exasperated. He reached out and grabbed Qu Ba's goatee, saying, "You're always pushing me! You've been pushing me like this since I was little. Now that I'm old, why are you even going after my granddaughter?"
Not to be outdone, Grandpa Qu grabbed my grandfather's beard and said, "When did I force you? I'm only trying to help you and save you! You bookworm! You old fogey! These two children are destined for each other, you can't break them up!"
"What extraordinary fate? You're the only one stirring things up!"
"Me, meddling? Do you know that there was a picture of Yuanyuan hanging on my wall ten years ago? Do you know that your granddaughter rode on my grandson's shoulders and acted like a tyrant ten years ago? She even rode on my grandson's shoulders, how could she not be my daughter-in-law?"
"...What...what did you say?" Grandpa was stunned. He had never known that I had met Qu Ling when I was a child.
“My grandson is thirty years old now. Every time I urge him to go on blind dates and get married, he points to Yuanyuan’s photo and says, ‘What’s the rush? My future wife isn’t even grown up yet!’” Grandpa Qu said with increasing pride.
"Grandpa!" Qu Ling suddenly stepped out from behind Qu Ba, her face, which was usually expressionless except for a smile, was flushed red with embarrassment. "Grandpa Su! Don't listen to my grandpa's nonsense, those were all jokes! Yuan Yuan did meet me when she was little, but I never had any other improper thoughts!"
My grandfather stood there speechless with shock. The old man was already quite fragile, and Grandpa Qu kept attacking people with heavy bombs. It was really too unkind of him.
Grandpa, still in a daze, was pulled away by his family to take his seat, accept toasts, and eat. It wasn't until after several rounds of drinks that he began to recover slightly. He lowered his head and pondered for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up. He beckoned Zhuang Dayuan over, dragged her in front of Grandpa Qu, and said, "Old Qu, it's not that I don't want to marry my granddaughter to your grandson, it's just that my granddaughter has been betrothed since childhood! Look, this child is Yuanyuan's fiancé; he came back from England specifically to see her!"
"Oh?" Grandpa Qu raised his eyebrows and looked Zhuang Yuan up and down, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Su Wentong! Do you know who this child is?"
"Huh?" Grandpa turned around and looked at Zhuang Yuan, puzzled.
Zhuang Yuan suddenly bowed his head and respectfully greeted Grandpa Qu, "Greetings, Grandpa Qu!"
"You...you know Qu Ba?" Grandpa's fragile mind was dealt another heavy blow.
"Know him? More than just know him, he is my granddaughter Qu Hudie's real fiancé. They are the ones who were truly betrothed since childhood!"
"What?" Grandpa's reading glasses, which were perched askew on his face, fell to the ground with a thud, truly astonishing him.
The author has something to say: The simpler you are, the happier you are; your heart is like a tree full of flowers.
Does the tree in our hearts still bloom with fragrance and abundant blossoms?
Standing in the heavy rain, are we still hoping for a rainbow?
The moon is in its first quarter moon phase today, a crescent shape like an eyebrow, crystal clear and bright.
If it's a sunny day in your city, remember to open your window and look at the night sky before you go to bed.
The moon is truly beautiful tonight.
A small star accompanies the moon; that is Jupiter.
ˇThe Drifting of Happinessˇ
The battle at the family reunion banquet ended in a complete defeat for my grandfather.
The old man was devastated and unhappy for several days. He sat by the small pond in the garden with his little fishing rod and fished, saying it would cheer him up.
Apart from the few turtles that Uncle San brought over last time, there wasn't a single fish in the pond.
Forget it, as long as Grandpa is willing, let's just pretend he's in a state of confusion!
Ever since Zhuang Yuan met Grandpa Qu at the engagement banquet, he packed up and ran away the very next morning, leaving me only a letter asking me to keep an eye on Fang Jingyan and such. That brat! He's been betrothed since childhood, and he still dares to mess with my Jingyan? Go away and cool off somewhere else! You'd better stay in England and never come back!
Su Tiantian repeatedly said he meant what he said and would give me his beloved Xiaoling, but I firmly refused. He wouldn't give up until I raised my cane again and he finally shut up.
I went to get my fractured lower leg checked again on Friday. The doctor said it was healing well and would be fully healed in about a month.
What can I do? I'm in good physical condition! (Su Yuanyuan has already forgotten that she has fatty liver! = =!)
On Sunday, to cheer up Grandpa's gloomy mood, Dad decided to take him fishing at Wuhekou, with the whole family joining them. It was a rare family outing in the winter, and everyone was in a particularly good mood. Mom prepared a basket of delicious food, Grandma made Grandpa's favorite multigrain pancakes, and also brought him a small pot of his favorite yellow wine.
Under a clear blue sky and warm sunshine, under a big willow tree, covered with a straw hat, listening to the sound of the wind blowing across the river, with a fishing rod beside you that might be bitten by a fish at any moment, just thinking about it is wonderful and full of anticipation.
Unfortunately... everyone only realized I couldn't go when we were about to leave.
It's not that I can't go, it's just that my leg is in a cast, and I need to take up three seats. If I sit on the bus, there will be no room for others.
Finally, Dad patted me on the shoulder and said, "Yuanyuan, Dad is entrusting you with a glorious and arduous task!"
"Huh?" I sat inside the gate, looking at him with a sullen face.
"You're in charge of looking after the house! Dad will treat you to fish soup tonight!"
"Me, watch the house? Isn't Xiao Yuan here?"
"Xiao Yuan went fishing with us. It hasn't been out to play in a long time, and your uncle kept scolding it. It's so pitiful!"
"Hmph!" I turned my head away angrily and slammed the door shut.
How tragic! Breaking her leg was bad enough, but then she was abandoned by her whole family.
I returned to the house full of resentment, only to realize that my mother hadn't left me any food!
I'm going to vomit blood! Am I supposed to go hungry for a whole day?
Fine! Let me starve to death! I'll make you regret it when you come back! Thinking this, I wheeled myself back into the hall and picked up "The Wind in the Willows" again, sitting in the morning light to read it.
If I could, I'd want to be the little field mouse in the story, with a caring friend like the water mouse, living freely in the forest and fields—a thousand times happier than being human! And that speeding toad is hilarious; stealing cars, crashing them, getting caught and thrown in jail, yet still unrepentant! Uh—wait a minute, that... speeding toad seems a bit like me? What does Qu Ling mean? Giving me this book, is he deliberately mocking me for being like that toad?
Thinking of Qu Ling, her face flushed slightly again. She'd actually gotten engaged to him so easily! Sigh, these past few days have felt like a dream. It all happened so suddenly; the impact was like crashing into a guardrail at 200 km/h on a highway. Except, if it were really on a highway, the guardrail would have been shattered to pieces, while she seemed to have suffered no adverse effects.
As the sun rose higher and higher, I lowered my hand holding the book lower and lower. Suddenly, the sound of the book falling to the ground startled me awake, and I realized that I had fallen asleep without realizing it.
It's already 1 PM, well past lunchtime. My stomach is completely empty; the feeling of hunger is truly awful. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to fend for myself!
I slowly rolled my creaking wooden wheelchair to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and looked for convenient foods like frozen dumplings and steamed buns. Luckily, I still had a box of shepherd's purse and pork buns from last time. I put water in the steamer, placed the buns on the steamer rack, turned on the heat, and they were done!
While waiting for the steamed buns to cook in my wheelchair, I was bored and dozing off on the dining table, drooling, when my phone rang again.
Upon opening it, I found it was Qu Ling.