CHAPTER 389: CHAPTER 379: UNWITTINGLY GROWING WHITE HAIRS

Summer days are long, and even after the sun has completely set, it takes a while before night falls.

The aroma of food wafts out alongside the sizzling sounds from the kitchen. The dining table in the living room is set up, Gu Xiaoqing teases Anya, and He Fang goes to wash some fruit.

"Come on, come on, bring the dishes."

Qin Guanglin waves his spatula and calls out.

"Coming! Wow~ It smells so good, Brother Qin’s cooking is just the best."

"Flatterer, hurry up and serve them."

"Heh heh heh."

Gu Xiaoqing really likes the atmosphere here, a million times better than the constant nagging and bickering at her home—it’s what a normal family should be like.

"Brother Qin, is your comic nearing its end? The plot seems to be advancing really fast."

At the dinner table, she gossips with Qin Guanglin. Although he’s quite prolific, one series taking two or three years is indeed wearing.

"Yeah, probably another month or two... or maybe drag it out for a couple more months, wrap it up around New Year’s Day."

Qin Guanglin nods, "Started on New Year’s Day, ending on New Year’s Day, it’s nicely rounded off."

"That’s fantastic, have you thought about your next piece yet?"

"Not yet." Qin Guanglin looks at his daughter, who He Fang is feeding, still undecided about starting a comic titled "Daughter."

Originally, "Daughter" was planned, but she was too young, and there wasn’t much to draw. Frequent updates would drag it down; waiting a bit longer would be better.

"We’re having dinner and you’re talking about comics? Xiaoqing, eat more." He Fang calls, spooning some porridge into Anya’s mouth and raising an eyebrow, "Isn’t she well-behaved? Eat as soon as she’s fed."

"Little foodie." Gu Xiaoqing laughs, "Do you want godmother to feed you?"

"Yes! Godmother hold me..."

"Hahaha, come here."

Taking Anya from He Fang’s hands and placing her on her lap, Gu Xiaoqing carefully spoons food into her mouth.

He Fang takes the opportunity to eat quickly, while Qin Guanglin shakes his head, "She should be eating by herself now, still being held and fed at this age."

"How is she big? She’s so tiny, no rush... When is she starting kindergarten?"

"Five years old, I guess. Connect the senior class and primary school together, I don’t want it too early."

"Hmm, that’s good."

Every holiday, the couple would bring Anya over to Gu Xiaoqing’s place, following Luo City’s customs, they had become like half-family, closer than the usual relatives.

After dinner, when the sky had just darkened, Gu Xiaoqing wasn’t in a hurry to leave and went for a walk with He Fang. Qin Guanglin followed behind with his daughter, walking on the path.

"The first time we met, didn’t we go for a meal? Back then, he was also outside. Seeing the two of us leave together, he mistook you for a man and almost rolled up his sleeves to confront us..."

"He’s that jealous?" This was the first time Gu Xiaoqing had heard this and she was quite surprised, "Then why didn’t he join us at that time?"

"I told him to go eat by himself to avoid interrupting our chat."

Remembering Qin Guanglin’s silly look back then, He Fang couldn’t help but laugh, "That seemed to be the first time he got jealous, and it was over you."

"Heh heh heh... silly." Gu Xiaoqing looks back at Qin Guanglin who’s following them and calls out, "Brother Qin!"

Qin Guanglin looks up. Gu Xiaoqing wraps her arms around He Fang’s neck and plants a loud kiss on her cheek, then looks at him.

"..."

"..."

Seeing Qin Guanglin standing there dumbfounded, both women can’t hold back their laughter, link arms, and continue walking.

Qin Guanglin, baffled, scratches his head, unsure of what they are up to.

As the night deepens and stars sprinkle the sky, the sky isn’t as brilliant as in previous years; the dimmer stars have vanished, confirming what He Fang had said.

The faster the city develops, the more severe the pollution becomes.

He still remembers what a young He Fang had said to him, while they sat together on a bench:

"Waking up together every day, staying in bed a while, then having breakfast before leaving the house; coming back from work in the evening to buy groceries together, I cook, you wash dishes, then we find a favorite movie to watch. I prepare lessons at the table while you paint in your studio, a plain day goes by, then repeat, repeat, always repeat, no matter how many times, it never gets old."

Qin Guanglin blinked at the night sky, then looked down at his daughter by his side, and the two people laughing and playing in front of them.

Now... he had done it, hadn’t he?

"Daddy, why don’t the stars fall down?" Anya looked up at the sky, expressing a child’s curiosity.

"Because they’re grown in the sky," Qin Guanglin thought about it but decided not to mention anything about celestial stars.

"Let’s get a ladder to pick the stars, to eat the stars."

"?"

"They must be delicious."

...

When Anya was four and could brush her teeth by herself, she was hurried off to her own room to sleep separately from her parents.

In her little room, there still hung a painting Qin Guanglin had done before her birth. It depicted a family of three standing at the washstand, brushing their teeth together – a scene fulfilled perfectly when Anya was four.

Qin Guanglin was quite proud of this, feeling he had the ability to predict the future.

That day,

Bare-footed and admiring himself in the mirror, Qin Guanglin struck various poses as he finally got his weight down to 158 pounds. He felt he was back in form.

However, reality struck him a heavy blow.

"Wife! Wife! Come here quickly!"

"What happened?"

He Fang shuffled in wearing slippers, only to see Qin Guanglin with a look of disbelief, pointing at the mirror, "I found a white hair!"

"...Isn’t that quite normal? Much ado about nothing. It’s just an occasional white hair, I’ll pull it out for you."

"What’s normal about it? You don’t have any... It’s all over, I’m old."

Qin Guanglin shook his head and dodged He Fang’s hand dejectedly; he had never imagined he would get white hair himself.

"An occasional hair doesn’t mean anything; I used to get a few when I was writing novels too, it’s normal."

He Fang held back her laughter as she saw him lose heart and sat down to console him, "It’s like this with creative work – mental fatigue. Didn’t your comic recently come to an end? Just take a break for a while, and it will be fine."

"I’m moving from an uncle to an old man."

"No worries, just pull it out, and it will be alright."

"...Don’t pull it out; it’s a marker. I need to observe it to see if a cluster will grow."

He Fang said helplessly, "Observe what? It’s just an occasional hair, you won’t go white in another few years."

"No, I’m not reassured."

Qin Guanglin looked at He Fang, growing more mature each day; the woman was now like a blossoming, tender flower, at her most beautiful, and here he was suddenly sprouting a white hair. That just wouldn’t do.

"I’m still young," he told himself.

"Right, you’re still young," He Fang nodded.

"I’m strong enough to punch a cow to death."

"Mhm, you can punch a cow to death."

"What are you laughing at?"

"I’m not laughing...haha, what are you doing?"

"You clearly don’t believe me, come here, I must prove it."

He Fang dodged left and right, "Stop it, our daughter hasn’t fallen asleep yet, I’ll go check on her."

The life of a long-married couple always had to wait until after their daughter was asleep to begin.

He Fang turned at the door and looked back to see Qin Guanglin flicking his fingers and muttering something, prompting her to ask curiously, "What are you mumbling about?"

"I’m wondering whether or not to take out the wedding dress from the wardrobe."