The old man pulled that fake-death stunt, and for a while I seriously started questioning my life. He had a great time on this little outing, sure, but I was exhausted in both body and mind. My mentality was basically shattered—

I originally wanted to push him back to the hospital, but he refused. He still wanted to wander around some more. So all I could do was helplessly keep pushing him along. After that, I kept staring suspiciously at the ground, wondering whether I was still mentally normal.

I pushed the old man down the slope. After one turn on the long downhill road, we finally came to a street with cars on it. The light was red, and several cars were quietly waiting there. Beside it was a fairly big little park. Kids were on the swings, laughing and messing around with other children, and bursts of laughter rang out from time to time. There were also some elderly people with strong legs stretching. Their hair was already gray, but they still looked full of energy, holding themselves up on the parallel bars and pull-up bars.

The old man watched them for a while without saying a word. I pushed him along the edge of the park. Beside the park was a middle school. It was vacation, so there were no students in class, but it was still pretty lively. On both sides of the main gate was a sports field, and near the entrance was a row of basketball courts. A group of middle schoolers were going back and forth, playing ball.

The old man told me to stop here for a bit. I wiped my sweat and thought of those middle schoolers from earlier who had passed by while dribbling. I watched for a while, and sure enough, that same group of students in short sleeves were all there, seriously playing offense and defense on the court closest to the gate.

The old man tilted his head and said, “Xiaofeng is really good at basketball. I went to watch one of their school sports meets before.”

I gave a weak little grunt.

Old Han wasn’t just “good.” She was a freak.

The old man watched for a while, then smiled and sighed. “It’d be great if Xiaofeng were here. I really want to see that kid play basketball again…”

I didn’t say anything. The old man asked me, “Isn’t Xiaofeng out of town? When’s he coming back?”

All I could do was give a bitter smile. “How would I know?”

The old man gave an “oh,” then went back to watching those middle schoolers on the court.

They kept dribbling back and forth. Someone made a layup just then, and the old man clicked his tongue in appreciation. “They’ve got some decent form... but if Xiaofeng came, these kids wouldn’t even get to play anymore…”

“Old Han is already twenty. Even if these students all know each other and play together, if Old Han really came, they still probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with her...” I said helplessly.

The old man sighed and said,

“Talk to Xiaofeng for me. I really miss him... If I can see him one last time, I won’t have any regrets.”

I didn’t make a sound. After saying that, the old man turned his head and watched those students play, completely absorbed.

The old man said he wanted to see Old Han once. An old man with one foot in the grave, saying he wanted to see his grandson—put like that, it was perfectly reasonable...

But Old Han was a daughter now. A perfectly good grandson had turned into a granddaughter. I had no idea whether the old man could accept that—

I sighed and thought it over. Since this was the old man’s wish, then if there was really no other way, if it really came down to it, I’d just have Old Han come to the hospital and lay everything out for him...

I also looked at the court. There was a smiling boy on the court who made a handsome layup and scored a point. The people around him all cried out in surprise. The boy just smiled, nodded to his teammates, and walked out of bounds to inbound the ball.

I sighed and said, “Then I’ll ask.”

The two of us stayed there for almost half an hour. The old man got tired too, so I pushed him back to the hospital. After leaving the hospital, I remembered that Old Han and Old Shen were still over at X High playing ball. There was nothing to do if I went home now anyway, so I just took a cab to X High.

The school grounds were pretty empty, but the main gate was open, and the teaching building wasn’t locked either. I passed through the building and arrived at the same courts I’d come to with Old Han last time.

X High had quite a few courts too, at least more than twenty. But just like that middle school from before, even though it was vacation, there were still plenty of students here playing basketball. At least half of the twenty-some courts were occupied. I stood outside and watched for a while, then spotted a familiar hooded figure. That tall boy named Huang Li was there too. At that moment, Old Han shook him off with a crossover. This time he looked completely helpless. He’d probably been schooled too many times already, so he just gave up defending and watched Old Han make the layup. Only then did he sigh and slowly walk under the basket to get ready for the rebound.

On the chairs by the hoop sat two familiar figures, one big and one small. I stood there watching for a bit, then went to the little shop nearby and bought four bottles of sports drink. Carrying them in a plastic bag, I slowly walked toward the two of them under the basket.

Old Shen was propping up her head with one arm, her hair draped over her shoulders, idly watching the court.

Little Yao couldn’t sit still on the chair either. She kept looking around. Then she suddenly saw me walking over with the plastic bag. She immediately let out a little cry, grinned, stood up, and threw herself into my arms. I helplessly reached out and caught her. Old Shen came back to herself too, turned to look at me, and smiled. “You’re here.”

I sat down on the chair, holding Little Yao with one arm. I set the plastic bag on the chair, took out a bottle of drink, and handed it to Old Shen. “Here, a care package.”

Old Shen took it and smiled. “Thanks.”

Little Yao clung to me like a puppy. Her warm breath came through my clothes against my chest. I awkwardly stretched out a hand, pulled a bottle from the plastic bag, and lightly tapped her little head. “This one’s yours.”

Little Yao lifted her head from my arms. She was probably thirsty too. She stared at my chin for a while, and I looked at her helplessly. She twisted around with effort in my arms, sat on my lap, took the bottle, and struggled with the cap for quite a while before saying pitifully, “I can’t open it...”

I casually took the bottle back, twisted the cap right off, and handed it to her. Little Yao shrank back a little more and pressed herself hard against my chest. She took the drink, lifted her little head, and gulped it down. After a while, she let out a “puh-ha” breath and looked at the court in boredom.

Old Shen smiled. “Three years minimum...”

I gave a bitter smile. “Screw off.”

Old Shen looked at me with a smile, but she seemed a little gloomy. I held Little Yao and stared at her for a while. “What’s bothering you?”

Old Shen was clearly startled. “Nothing?”

I nodded and didn’t say anything else.

Whenever Old Shen relaxed, she always showed that slightly melancholy expression. Come to think of it, I should’ve gotten used to it by now. It was just that now that she’d become a woman, facing this delicate face, it looked like I’d need some time to get used to it all over again.

I raised a brow and looked back at the court. Old Han made another layup and scored again, then casually glanced this way. When she saw I’d arrived, she smiled at me.

I nodded back at her.

Little Yao leaned obediently in my arms, though she still looked around from time to time. When the little thing turned her head, a strand of hair brushed across my nose. It tickled a little, so I raised a hand and rubbed my nose. Old Shen turned to look at me, lazily propping up her head, and said, “What were you busy with this morning? Why’d you suddenly stop replying to me?”

I said helplessly, “Taking care of Old Han’s grandpa. The old man woke up, so I had to push him out for a walk and let him get some sun.”

Little Yao turned her head and tilted it. “Grandpa? What happened to Grandpa?”

I rubbed her little head and said helplessly, “Your grandpa went on a roller coaster with me. Scared the hell out of me...”

Old Shen silently looked at me for a moment, then idly turned back to the court. “Makes sense. She can’t go see him right now anyway.”