Chapter 123

"Samson Nan, why haven't you come down yet?!"

My mom's roar came through the phone.

"Hello..."

He rubbed his eyes drowsily.

"You're still sleeping?! Didn't I tell you to leave at 8 o'clock?"

"..."

He quickly moved the phone away.

His ears were almost deafened...

"You all have already arrived..."

"What do you think?!"

He pulled the curtains and looked downstairs.

Dad's car, which had been running for over ten years, was parked below the apartment.

...

"I'm coming right down."

He said and put on his clothes, rushed into the bathroom, quickly fixed his hair that looked like a bird's nest, and hurriedly ran downstairs.

...

Today is Qingming Festival, and the whole family is preparing to go back to our hometown to visit the graves.

According to tradition, we went to visit mom's side of the family last Qingming, so this year it's dad's side's turn.

"Samson Nan, didn't I inform you yesterday that we're leaving at 8 o'clock? What's wrong with you?"

This time, even Dad rarely reprimanded him.

"Sorry, Dad. I worked overtime until past 1 o'clock last night and overslept..."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Dad is not from the local area. Our hometown is five hours away from the city by car.

They have to leave early to make sure they arrive in the afternoon.

"Grandpa called just now to ask when we will arrive. In any case, you need to pay attention to scheduling next time."

"Why are you still standing there? Get in the car!"

Mom sat in the passenger seat and urged him to get in the car quickly.

"Oh."

After he agreed, he opened the car door and sat in the back seat.

...

"Oh, there's still someone here."

"..."

Raina Nan sat in the back wearing headphones, glanced at him, and remained silent.

"Sorry, let me squeeze in, squeeze in~"

"What are you doing?"

She moved slightly to the side.

"Can't help it, the car is small."

"Just move over a little."

"It's fine, I don't mind."

"I mind!"

Her face was a bit flushed, and she kicked his shin with her foot.

"Why do you two always argue when you meet?"

Mom turned around and glared at them.

"We didn't argue."

Samson Nan smiled and said, finally behaving a bit.

"Xiaoyu, this trip is not for you to play. Did you bring the homework I asked you to bring?"

"I brought it..."

"When we arrive at Grandpa's house later, do your homework instead of thinking about playing!"

"..."

She was speechless. Originally, Mom didn't plan to bring her, saying that she had a heavy workload in her final year of high school and wanted her to stay at home and study...but after some consideration, she felt uneasy and decided to take her along.

"So miserable."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said quietly, showing a little pleasure.

"Mind your own business..."

"~"

Dad drove and soon got on the highway.

It's a long journey, and there's nothing to do except sleep.

He looked at the trees flashing past outside the car window, feeling bored, and then turned his head to glance at her.

"Yuyu."

"What?"

"I want to listen to music."

He looked at her and said so.

"..."

She was silent for a moment, then took off one earphone and handed it to him.

"Hehe~"

He laughed and leaned closer.

Resting his head on her shoulder, he put on the earphone.

"..."

The earphone played her favorite music, and both of them stayed silent, just quietly listening.

Two people who grew up together, as time goes by, anything can become a habit...

At least, for now, it is still like this.

"?"

She was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling a weight on her shoulder.

She turned her head and realized that his head was already resting on her shoulder, sound asleep.

"..."

She fell silent, looking at his distinct profile.

This person rarely shows such an unguarded appearance in front of others."..."

She cleared her throat.

Feeling a bit nervous.

She reached out, lightly poking his cheek with her finger.

"You fool..."

...

...

"We're getting off here~"

"Samson Nan, get the things from the trunk."

"Oh, okay."

The road in the countryside was very narrow, and with the rain today, the car couldn't go further. They had to walk a distance to get to grandpa's house.

"The ground is slippery, Samson Nan, make sure you hold onto little sister."

"Right, she'll probably end up falling into the field again~"

He laughed and patted her on the back of her head.

"None of your business..."

If it weren't for their mom suddenly bringing it up again, she would have almost forgotten about it.

When she first came to grandpa's house in the countryside as a child, she fell into the paddy field because she was too excited and didn't watch where she was going.

As a result, she got covered in mud...

...

"Ha, Yuer is back~"

"Ah~ Sanbiao Aunt"

Along the way, they occasionally encountered people from their dad's hometown who had watched him grow up.

In a small place like this, it took several years to produce a university student back then.

And the Nan family had produced a legitimate university student, which was a big news in the village at the time.

Dad naturally had a bit of reputation here.

...

"We're almost there."

They could see from a distance the two swaying orange trees in front of the old house, knowing that they had reached grandpa's house.

The old man was already waiting at the door.

His thin body stood in the wind, stretching his neck to peer ahead.

"Grandpa~"

Samson Nan called to him, but he looked at Samson Nan without responding.

"Speak louder, grandpa's ears haven't been working well in the past two years."

Dad said softly beside them.

"Grandpa!"

So he raised his voice and called again.

"Ah, alright, alright~ Little Feng and Little Yu, huh? It's been a while, and you've grown taller~"

Grandpa said, pulling them closer and holding their hands.

"Don't just stand there, come in first~"

"Okay."

They walked into the house.

This house had been standing for decades, although it was a bit dilapidated, it was clean and tidy thanks to grandpa's cleaning.

There were some wax candles on the front wall of the hallway and a solemnly placed photo beside it.

It was the memorial altar of their grandmother who had passed away.

The family stood in front of the altar, closing their eyes and clasping their hands together.

This was an unchanging tradition of the Nan family.

Their grandmother passed away when Samson Nan was only a few years old, so he only had some vague memories of her. As for Raina Nan at that time, she was even younger, and their grandmother was probably just a vaguely familiar word to her...

"Grandpa, how's your health now?"

"Me? I'm doing well~ See, except for my ears not being so sharp, everything else is still going strong!"

Grandpa smiled and said.

...

But to be honest, they were quite worried.

Dad was the only child in the family, and it was natural to worry about the old man living alone without anyone to take care of him.

But he seemed to be in good spirits.

In fact, dad had wanted to bring grandpa to live in the city a long time ago, but grandpa had always refused, and his stubbornness eventually made dad give up persuading him.

The only thing they could do was to call and check on him from time to time.

"Aren't you worried about us..."

"Hey, why are you all looking so serious? These old bones of mine are still stubborn and won't die anytime soon!"

Grandpa waved his hand and laughed.

"Besides, I didn't even get to eat at Yufeng's wedding banquet~ I can't even close my eyes in peace! Haha"

"Huh?"

"What? Grandpa cares about your lifelong event! I don't think you're anxious at all!"

"..."

He was speechless. Now, his mom was starting to recite scriptures again...

"Who knows if I'll live long enough to hold my great-grandson one day~"

"Listen to him! Grandpa is still waiting to hold his great-grandchild! Are you feeling guilty?"

"..."

He didn't expect grandpa to be a member of the matchmaking association as well...It must be brainwashed by my mom.

...

"He's fine like this..."

At this moment, Raina Nan, who had not spoken since earlier, muttered quietly.

"What?"

Mom turned her head and looked at her suspiciously.

"..."

She paused for a moment and quickly looked away.

Usually, if mom stared at her like this, she would probably not dare to speak again.

But today, something seemed off...

After a moment of silence,

she spoke softly again:

"As long as my brother is happy by himself..."

...

Samson Nan probably didn't expect her to say this. He widened his eyes and watched her from the side.

"What are you talking about?"

Mom was also surprised. This girl usually sided with her, but today, what happened? She actually went against her...

"What did Xiaoyu just say?"

Grandpa, because of his hearing impairment, didn't hear what she said clearly.

"Oh, nothing~ Dad, let's quickly clean up and go to the cemetery!"

"Ah, right, if we don't leave now, it'll be too dark to go up the mountain later!"

Grandpa said and turned around, walking towards the room inside.

"In the future, don't say these things in front of Grandpa, so he won't have to worry... understand?"

Mom looked at her and said sternly.

"..."

She didn't speak, hanging her head down.

After a while, she nodded.

"Alright alright~ We've been chatting for so long, let's go now!"

Dad, seeing that the atmosphere was not right, quickly came out to mediate.

He pushed mom's shoulder and walked outside.

"..."

In the house, only the two of them were left.

Samson Nan walked past her, pacing back and forth.

He reached out and touched her head.

"Just smile, okay..."

She didn't dare to raise her head to look at his face. She murmured to herself, her voice as small as a mosquito.

Even if she was ridiculed, it was her own fault...

He fell silent.

After a while, he spoke softly.

"Fool."