Once they reached the parking lot, Su Mo remained quiet the entire way, barely saying a word.
Jiang Jianhuan glanced at him every now and then, but couldn't discern anything from his calm profile. In the back seat, Yi Qingxue and Jiang Xin were already discussing how to help Shen Zaixi recover after his discharge from the hospital.
Perhaps remembering Jiang Jianhuan's earlier words, after speaking for a while, they fell silent. Jiang Jianhuan looked over and saw the two of them leaning back in their chairs, as if they had fallen asleep.
As I get older, my energy is limited, and coupled with waking up early today, it's normal to feel sleepy now.
Jiang Jianhuan simply closed his eyes and took a light nap.
They slept for so long that they were almost home. Jiang Jianhuan woke up early and saw that Su Mo seemed a bit tired, so he chatted with him for a while. The two of them were also woken up by their conversation and regained some of their energy.
It was already evening when he got home. After a simple meal, several neighbors came to visit and wish him a Happy New Year. It's normal for neighbors to visit each other in the countryside, but Su Mo's identity made things a bit inconvenient. In addition, he had been driving all day, so he went to bed early to rest.
Jiang Jianhuan chatted with her outside for a while, then said goodbye and went back to his room. Only a small bedside lamp was lit inside. Su Mo lay there with a peaceful expression, seemingly fast asleep.
She quietly locked the door, took off her coat, and crawled into bed.
Just as she was about to reach for the light to turn it off, the person sleeping next to her suddenly turned over, hugged her, closed his eyes, buried his head in her neck and gently nuzzled her, his voice muffled.
"Have all the guests left...?"
"Not yet, I'm going to sleep first." Jiang Jianhuan stroked his hair and asked softly.
"Are you not asleep? Or did I wake you up?"
"Hmm... I can't sleep peacefully if you don't come..." Su Mo's voice was barely audible. As soon as she finished speaking, her breathing became steady. She was leaning against her, motionless, sound asleep.
Jiang Jianhuan couldn't help but smile. She turned on the light, snuggled closer to him in the darkness, and, enveloped by his familiar scent, gradually fell asleep.
-
The day before, a lot of dumplings were made, and breakfast was still the same. Su Mo ate a whole plate, just like yesterday, and Jiang Jianhuan joked with him.
"After you go back, do you never want to eat dumplings again?"
"No, I never get tired of Auntie's dumplings," Su Mo said in a casual yet sincere tone, which delighted Yi Qingxue.
"Then when we get back, I'll pack two more bags for you to take and freeze!"
"Thank you, Auntie." Su Mo smiled, her eyes crinkling, and with that deliberately innocent face, she was irresistible to all ages.
"Oh, Su, you're too kind—" Yi Qingxue waved her hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Jiang Jianhuan often buys food for his family, all kinds of things. Some of the food the two elderly people don't eat, so they just pile it up and grab a handful whenever someone comes to visit, which makes it very popular with the children.
A few days ago, they probably knew there were strangers in the house and didn't dare to come over, but now, under the pretext of paying New Year's visits, they've all come over boldly.
Jiang Jianhuan was in his room when he heard a noise outside. He went out to see what was happening and found Su Mo surrounded by a group of children, playing music for them on the piano keyboard on her phone.
The children in the neighborhood range in age from the tallest, who is in third grade and reaches Jiang Jianhuan's waist. The youngest has just started kindergarten; he's tiny, with big, bright, dark eyes, and wears a round cotton-padded jacket, looking like a plump, soft white dumpling.
Holding hands with her older siblings, she stood obediently at Su Mo's feet, her fingers still tightly gripping his trouser leg.
As Su Mo played, she watched them with an incredibly gentle smile on her face. When the piece ended, she softly asked the child in front of her.
"Does it sound good?"
"That was beautiful!!!" Everyone applauded enthusiastically. Su Mo smiled even more broadly, picked up the child at her feet, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Would you like to hear your brother play again?"
"Want—" the children murmured. The little boy in his arms nodded as if he understood, his chubby arms wrapping around his neck.
"think..."
"Okay. Then I'll sing you a song."
Su Mo smiled and gently put the child down, her whole being radiating tenderness.
His fingers danced lightly across the black and white keyboard of his phone, his voice soft and pleasant, like a gentle summer breeze.
"My darling baby, here's something sweet for you, so you can sleep soundly every night..."
Chapter 68
The performance was met with enthusiastic applause, and a group of children clapped enthusiastically. Su Mo squatted down and teased the children.
Have you all eaten yet?
"We ate!" everyone answered in unison.
"Have you gone to school yet?" He seemed particularly fond of the chubby little boy next to him, teasing him as he spoke, the child's voice trembling with childish sweetness.
"Kindergarten...
"Did you behave well in class? What did you learn every day?" Su Mo squeezed his soft fingers. The child was stumped by his many questions. He stared blankly with his big eyes for a long time, but couldn't give a clear answer.
Yi Qingxue came from the living room and saw Jiang Jianhuan leaning against the door. Seeing her staring at the scene not far away, she casually said something.
"Su Mo really likes children and is very patient."
"Um..." Jiang Jianhuan stammered. She dared not say that Su Mo not only liked it, but also really wanted to have one of her own.
On the day Shen Zaixi was discharged from the hospital, Su Mo still drove to pick him up, and the whole family came.
The house in the countryside was spacious, with two empty rooms. Yi Qingxue cleaned up one of them for him to stay in temporarily. The bedding inside was all newly changed, fluffy and soft.
The sun was particularly strong today, so Jiang Jianhuan and Yi Qingxue took all the quilts out of the closet to air them out. After she finished laying them out, she turned around and was surprised to see Shen Zaixi and Su Mo chatting under the eaves.
It's simply a miracle.