CHAPTER 348: CHAPTER 341: THAT KIND OF BEAUTY

Qin Guanglin fell silent and didn’t respond.

He suddenly had a revelation.

Whether in literary works or film and television, time travel stories often don’t have a happy ending.

Actually, upon reflection, it doesn’t have much to do with time travel itself, but rather life itself, whose nature is that things are mostly unsatisfactory, with or without time travel.

It’s just that the deus ex machina of time travel sets people’s expectations too high, making them want to perfectly fill all their regrets, thereby highlighting what’s unfinished and giving a sense of tragedy.

The essence of life is just like that, nothing is perfect, there will always be this regret or that one, what matters is whether people dwell on the past or reset their mindset and embrace the future.

The most precious part of life is still loving life after seeing through its essence.

"The results aren’t out yet, don’t think too much."

He suddenly smiled, leaned in to touch He Fang’s face, and said, "Didn’t you say you had a premonition? Funny, I have one too, she’s just playing hide and seek with us."

After saying this, without waiting for He Fang to reply, Qin Guanglin stood up to clean the table, stacking the empty bowls and dishes together, and carried them to the kitchen to wash.

When he came back out, He Fang had already curled up on the couch, leaning against the backrest, hugging a pillow, and watched the TV program intently.

When Qin Guanglin came over to sit down, she moved the pillow aside, wriggled sideways into Qin Guanglin’s embrace, and, taking his hand, she circled it over her shoulder to enclose herself.

"I’ve saved up more than two hundred thousand," she said softly, still watching TV.

"Is that from the novel?"

"Yes."

The salary from a teacher’s job just covered daily expenses, it was unlikely to save much from that, only the major income came from the novel.

"Pretty good."

Qin Guanglin estimated her sales, compared them with his own comics, and accounting for the money spent on decorating their new home, it was roughly that amount.

"I want to donate it, give it to the Project Hope."

"Sure, I earn enough for us. You can donate your part."

"In both our names."

"Mhm, you handle it."

Approaching middle age, many things had been put into perspective. Qin Guanglin and He Fang were both laid-back by nature; he earned money just so He Fang could live a better life. Now, if He Fang was happy donating money, even if he had to add some to the donation, he wouldn’t mind.

...

...

In the following days, He Fang didn’t open any new test papers and refused Qin Guanglin’s suggestion to go to the hospital for a checkup. She just went to work, to the grocery store, cooked meals, seemingly truly keeping Anya in her heart, thinking of her in silence.

Perhaps she was waiting for the day to come to announce the results.

The accuracy of a pregnancy test ultimately can’t beat the body’s physiological response, and every person’s body is different, with hormone secretion rates and timings varying. In the end, one must wait for the physiological cycle to determine success or failure.

Qin Guanglin was still holding on to hope, checking the reviews for the ending of his comic in his free time, the blessings reassuring his confidence.

"Boss, did you get paid again?"

With the comic finished, Qin Guanglin summarized the income from the physical edition and made plans to meet with Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu took his portion of the image rights in two installments; this time he wasn’t as hesitant as the first time and teased cheerfully.

The baby stood in the stroller beside them, with black, wide eyes blinking, curiously looking at Qin Guanglin.

"Yeah, this is yours."

Qin Guanglin pushed the money over, glanced at the stubble on Xiao Yu’s chin, and couldn’t help feeling sentimental – time really did slip away unnoticed.

The scenes of them, him and Xiao Yu, along with Sun Wen, eating and drinking at Shao’s Restaurant still vividly lingered in his mind, back when the one who said he wouldn’t date already had a son learning to walk and talk.

As for himself and Sun Wen, one was married but without children yet, and the other had disappeared without a trace, probably still unmarried.

Life is unpredictable.

"Becoming a stay-at-home dad now? Where’s your wife?" Qin Guanglin turned his head to glance at the baby and casually asked.

"Why do you care about my wife?" Xiao Yu curled his lips, "I told her to clean the house, tidy up everything inside and out, and then I’ll take our son back once she’s done with all that busywork."

"Is that so? You’ve turned the tables?"

Qin Guanglin didn’t believe him one bit, he reached out to playfully tease his son, and suddenly said, "Let me be your son’s godfather."

"Sure, I was actually thinking the other day... No, wait, that won’t work!" Xiao Yu was secretly plotting, "Let’s wait until you have a kid too. If you have a son, my boy can recognize you as his godfather, and they can become sworn brothers. But if it’s a girl, heh, heh, heh..."

"Get lost, even if I have a daughter, your son has nothing to do with it, don’t even think about it," Qin Guanglin laughed and cursed. Although Xiao Yu did have some thoughts, it was more of a joke. Like Qin Guanglin, he wanted the next generation to handle their own affairs and didn’t want to interfere too much.

They decided not to confirm any godfather, just as a precaution to avoid any unnecessary complications in the future – what if they really got along well?

"Isn’t it much more interesting to be a father-in-law than a godfather? When the time comes, you can scold this little guy and give him a beating if he pisses you off, hahaha..."

The baby in the stroller stared with his innocent big eyes, still oblivious to the fact that his dad was already selling him out.

"Enough about that... Hey, I notice your beard looks quite unpleasant, like a traitor’s. Can you shave it off, please?"

"A traitor’s beard is a goatee, mine is a stylish man’s beard, you don’t know anything."

Xiao Yu touched his chin, quite self-absorbed, "You guys all work out so much, you look good even without a beard. I need this little mustache to add some character."

"Give me a break... How is Sun Wen doing?"

"He’s really made it big, I heard he became a little boss, not the kind that runs a shabby studio, but an actual shop owner, a gym, the big boss now makes money just lying down... pfft, I mean resting and making money."

Saying ’making money lying down’ usually wasn’t a big deal, but it seemed a bit inappropriate when it came to Sun Wen, no matter how successful he had become. It reminded people of his past incidents and was a bit of a sensitive phrase.

"That’s good, that’s good."

Instead of drinking as they used to, Xiao Yu, with his child, sat at an outdoor table at Starbucks, watching the willow fluff drift about and the traffic coming and going. They talked about everything from Sun Wen to college to work, enjoying this leisurely Saturday afternoon.

Unknowingly, life was already halfway over, yet looking back, they could still see the shadow of their youthful selves.

That’s why they loved reminiscing.

...

...

When he got home, He Fang was sitting upright on the sofa, the TV turned off, its screen a black void. She sat cross-legged like someone in meditation, staring at the TV, and only turned to look when she heard the door.

"Having an epiphany?"

Qin Guanglin casually placed his keys to one side and walked over to give her a kiss, "Why didn’t you turn on the TV?"

He Fang, nearing thirty, hadn’t changed much in appearance, still youthful as when she had graduated, with just a hint more maturity in her eyes and brows, fully transitioning from a girl to a young wife, exuding a different charm.

At this moment, her face wore a serious expression, her brows slightly furrowed, and she said uncertainly, "My period is supposed to start in a day or two."

"Hmm?" Qin Guanglin paused, "And?"

"This time, I don’t have that feeling of soreness and fatigue before it comes." He Fang’s eyes sparkled mysteriously as she looked at Qin Guanglin, speaking softly as if afraid to startle something, "You’ve been helping me keep a regular cycle..."

"So..."

Qin Guanglin licked his lips, feeling his heartbeat accelerate.

"Test again!" He turned to grab the test strip.

"No!"

He Fang bowed her head, looking at her stomach in silence for two seconds, then said, "Let’s wait another two days."

After a pause, she suddenly found her slippers, put them on, and pulled Qin Guanglin into the study to turn on the computer.

"Let’s donate the two hundred and thirty thousand first."