Chapter 28: Stray Birds

Translator: Vicky_

When Anran and Su Yicheng arrived, Lin Xiaofen and Gu Hengwen were still busy in the kitchen. Seeing them return, Lin Xiaofen sent Gu Hengwen to go out and sit with Su Yicheng, while Anran volunteered to help her mother in the kitchen. Of course, they would be having a private mother-and-daughter conversation in the meantime.

After seeing that Gu Hengwen and Su Yicheng were busy doing something on the sofa, Lin Xiaofen closed the kitchen door and asked her daughter in a whisper, “Anran, does he treat you well?” As a mother, her number one concern was not whether her daughter married up the social ladder. Instead, the most important thing was how her son-in-law treated her daughter. The only way to ascertain whether or not this marriage was the right choice was how he treated her. Otherwise, no matter how good a family he was from, the marriage wouldn’t be a happy one if he didn’t care about her.

Anran nodded. “He treats me well.” She wasn’t just saying so to comfort her mother. In terms of their interactions over those past few days, Su Yicheng had really done nothing wrong.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaofen nodded with relief. In those years, she had watched her daughter get heartbroken over Mo Fei, and she was afraid that history would repeat itself. However, it seemed like Hengwen was right. Since she had been able to meet a man like Gu Hengwen, who cared for her so deeply, naturally Anran would also be able to meet a man who knew how to treat her well.

“Mom, what kind of soup are you making in the stewpot? It smells so good.” Anran reached out to open the lid to see, but Lin Xiaofen blocked her with her hands.

“It’s not ready yet, so don’t open the lid. Black chicken soup with yam, it’s your favorite soup.” Then Lin Xiaofen pushed her aside. “You go out now. There’s too much smoke here. You aren’t of much help anyway, so go out and keep Su Yicheng company.”

Anran stuck out her tongue and said, “Let Dad keep him company. Women shouldn’t participate in their man-to-man conversation.” In reality, the true reason she didn’t want to go out was that she had no idea what to talk about with him. Although they were technically a couple, they weren’t that close.

“Then go to your room. I have packed your things already, so check and see if there is anything I left out.” Lin Xiaofen opened the lid and looked at the soup. It would take about ten more minutes.

Anran hugged her mother from behind and put her chin against her mother’s shoulder like a child, then muttered in her ear, “Mom, I don’t want to move.”

Lin Xiaofen patted her hand scornfully and scolded her teasingly. “Still acting like a child at this age? You are already married now, so if not now, then when do you plan on moving in?”

“I don’t want to move, so why don’t you let me live at home for a lifetime?” Anran replied cheekily.

“Go, go, go. Staying at home for 28 years is way too long.”

“Not enough. I want to stay for a lifetime.”

“Well, it might not be enough for you, but I’m tired of seeing you, so I couldn’t wait for you to get married and move out quickly,” Lin Xiaofen said with a good-natured smile. “Now quit acting so childish. Go and see if there is anything left to pack; dinner will be served in a moment.”

Anran nodded and retreated from the kitchen.

Su Yicheng and Gu Hengwen chatted as they sat in the living room. When Gu Hengwen found out that Su Yicheng also practiced Chinese calligraphy, he took him directly to the study and said he would like to take a look at his characters.

Seeing that he couldn’t refuse, Su Yicheng no longer tried to shirk it out of modesty and wrote the character “Ran” on the blank rice paper.

“Yicheng, how long have you been practicing this character?” Gu Hengwen looked at the character on the table and couldn’t help but nod again and again. Su Yicheng’s calligraphy was really outstanding, and even though Gu Hengwen had been practicing calligraphy for more than 30 years, he couldn’t say with confidence that his skills were much better than Su Yicheng’s.

“Father mustn’t laugh at me. Although I have been practicing calligraphy since elementary school, I still haven’t gotten any better at it over the years,” Su Yicheng said modestly.

“No, no, no, your characters are well written. Your brush strokes are strong and steady, and every stroke is perfectly in place.” Gu Hengwen praised, and he felt even more satisfied with his son-in-law.

Lin Xiaofen pushed open the door, looked at them with a smile on her face, and said, “Dinner is ready. You all can continue discussing calligraphy after dinner.”

“Yes, yes, let’s go eat,” Gu Hengwen said with a good-natured smile.

The three of them came out of the study, while Anran was still in her room. Lin Xiaofen shouted toward Anran’s room, “Anran, come out to eat.”

Even after the three of them had sat down, Anran still hadn’t come out.

“What is that child doing in her room? It’s time to eat already, yet she still hasn’t come out.” Lin Xiaofen stood up and was about to call Anran over, but Su Yicheng stopped her.

“Mom, let me go, instead.”

Lin Xiaofen and Gu Hengwen exchanged glances with each other, then nodded mirthfully, “All right, you go then. Anran’s room is the first on the left.”

Su Yicheng nodded, then stood up and walked toward Anran’s room. He stood in front of the door and knocked. Since there was no response, he simply pushed open the door and entered. He saw Anran sitting on her bed with a stupefied expression on her face while she held a book in her hand. However, she wasn’t actually reading the book and seemed to be daydreaming, instead. She was in such a daze that she wasn’t even aware that Su Yicheng had entered the room.

Su Yicheng came toward her and picked up the book in her hands. The book was Tagore’s “Stray Birds”.

Only after the book in her hand had been taken away did Anran finally snap back to reality. She looked at Su Yicheng, who was standing in front of her, and wondered how she didn’t realize that he had entered.

Su Yicheng flipped the pages of the book and said, “I read this collection of poems when I was in high school, and I haven’t touched it for many years. I guess it probably got lost in my old man’s study.”

Anran stood up and grabbed the poem collection from his hand without answering him. She asked instead, “How did you get in?”

Su Yicheng smiled and turned his head to look around Anran’s room. The room’s layout was simple yet elegant. Plain, white wallpaper was paired with a small wardrobe in the same color scheme. The quilted covers were pink, and instead of the usual vanity set, there was a small desk near the balcony. There were some books on architecture, as well as paper and large rulers for drawing. There was a little table lamp on the nightstand beside the bed, as well a small picture frame. In the photo, Anran had long, shoulder-length hair, wore a bachelor’s gown, and had a dazzling smile on her face.

Su Yicheng bent over to pick up the picture frame and stared at the Anran in the photo, then he said, “You should smile more. You look beautiful when you smile.”

Anran blushed and snatched the picture frame from his hands. She had been thin-skinned ever since she was a child and couldn’t bear to be praised or laughed at.

Su Yicheng smiled, took the book and picture frame from her hands and placed them back on the nightstand. Then, he held her hand and led her out of the room as he said, “Your mother sent me to tell you that the food is ready and it’s time to eat.”

Lin Xiaofen and Gu Hengwen caught sight of them holding hands, and saw that Anran was blushing profusely. They exchanged glances with each other and smiled ambivalently.