Together Forever

Chapter 18.3

What Life Looks Like

Instinctively, she clutched at his shirt. Gu Pingsheng seemed to deduce something, and his hand that was resting on her waist gently patted her.

"Yan Yan." Grandmother had not spoken, and it was her father who first opened his mouth. His hands were carrying two large, orange bags. "Dad remembered that you love to eat mandarin oranges so I specially went and bought a few pounds of them for you."

Her mother was known for being a beautiful woman, but in contrast, her father seemed very old. As he spoke, he pulled off his cotton hat. He had not even reached the age of fifty yet but already more than half of his hair had turned gray.

"Perfect. We can serve these to guests who come during the New Year's celebration period." Smiling, Grandmother took the orange plastic bags and headed toward the kitchen. "Today is Friday. You can stay here for the day, and when Little Gu gets home from work, we can have a nice meal together."

This entire time, Tong Yan had been leaning against the side of the cabinet beside the chalkboard with a rather dazed expression, uncertain how to cope with this meeting that had come about so abruptly. Gu Pingsheng had never seen her parents before, nor had he ever asked her about them. She had always hoped to wait until one day when the opportunity arose, and then she would tell him everything.

She had not expected that this ordinary morning would catch her completely off guard.

Her father opened the shoe cabinet and carefully bent over, looking about inside and trying to find a pair of slippers that was meant for guests to wear. As he gazed at those dress shoes and sneakers that were neatly lined up inside, though, he was at a loss, and tentatively standing himself back up straight, he looked toward them with a sheepish smile.

Tong Yan shifted slightly, but she was unwilling to even utter a sound.

In that period of hesitation, Gu Pingsheng had already stridden over with a few steps and pulled open the second compartment of the shoe cabinet. Taking out a brand new pair of slippers, he bent down at the waist and set them beside her father's feet. "You can wear this pair. The size should be about right."

"Little Gu, Little Gu, don't trouble yourself ..." her father said hastily and reached to support Gu Pingsheng back up by the arms.

Gu Pingsheng did not see his words so did not answer. When he straightened himself and saw her father looking as if he had just closed his mouth, he immediately smiled, "There are some problems with my hearing for the time being. In the future, if you want to say something to me, just let me see the shape of your lips and that will work."

Tong Yan walked over as well and instinctively reached for his arm.

"No problem, it's no problem. Your grandmother told me everything already. It's no problem." While repeatedly telling them it was no problem, her father rather flusteredly changed out of his shoes and, in the end, even did not forget to set them on the doormat so as to avoid getting the floors dirty.

Seeing her father looking so uneasy, the icy expression she had been wearing from the outset gradually began to melt. However, since Grandmother fell sick, her father had only ever made a few appearances and had his eyes on the money from the sale of the apartment. These were things that had left a dark imprint on her heart. She watched as he walked over alone to sit down in one corner of the sofa, an almost-elderly man who was grasping his own hat with both hands, and still did not know how she should break her silence.

Gu Pingsheng cast a glance at the time and hurriedly sat down to have a couple bites of breakfast before grabbing his suit jacket from the bedroom to get ready to head into the office. Tong Yan followed behind him closely into the front entryway where, behind a narrow corner, the two of them were hidden from view.