âEr⦠Grandma, he is Li Wei. He is my class⦠boyfriend.â
The old lady laughed as soon as she heard her awkward speech. The wrinkles on her face became more and more prominent because of the smile. She suddenly felt more radiant.
She looked at Zhang Man, then at Li Wei, and said with a smile, âThese two children are really good. They are childhood sweethearts. They are so young and innocent. A perfect match.â
âYour grandpa and I were together at around sixteen or seventeen years old. We met when we were studying in London. At that time, I had just arrived and my English was not good. I couldnât become friends with any of the other foreign students. During the reception, everyone was talking and dancing. I was so panicked that I hid on the balcony and cried alone. Your grandpa was famous for being social in the school. After drinking a round, he came out from the reception hall to breathe, and saw me here alone. Without saying anything, he handed me his handkerchief.â
When the old lady said this, she could not hide her gentle smile.
âAt that time, I really felt that he was like a god. Later, your grandpa accompanied me to practice English every day and he explained the European history that he was studying. He repeated it until I could repeat it back.â
âOh how time flies! More than 50 years passed by in a flash. We grew old together. Unexpectedly, the old man left first.â
She meant to try and lessen Zhang Manâs embarrassment, but to be honest, she ended up becoming sentimental.
At this age, life and death, cycles of ups and downs, after every turn of life to the present, the tears cried when the past was thought of were not sad tears.
Just looking at this young couple, the old lady suddenly remembered the past, when she was full of energy and her heart was pounding for that young man.
Zhang Man looked at the old lady and was stunned by her words.
From a young couple to old partners.
When she thought of it, she felt heartache, warmth and upset. In her mind, she could see Li Weiâs handsomeness in his youth. In the next second, he was in a suit when he attended an international academic conference. And⦠how he looked before his death.
She knew how he looked in his youth, but she couldnât figure out what he would look like when he was a grandpa. Would he be like an ordinary grandpa, with more than half of his hair white, many wrinkles on the corners of his eyes, and age spots?
Would he be like now, calm and reserved, but had a gentle light in his eyes when he looked into her eyes?
Zhang Man looked back and looked at the faint yearning in the old ladyâs eyes. It made her feel a little upset. She was also not very talkative, and patted the old ladyâs hand reassuringly.
But from another perspective, a big stone fell in her heart.
Zhang Huifang was really lucky in this life. She was honest and not very sensitive. She didnât care about offending other people. Although the old lady had delicate thoughts, she looked like a tolerant and understanding person.
As the banquet was booked from noon to the evening, no one left after dinner. The adults stayed in the private room to chat and brag. Without being stopped, the younger generation went into the small private room next door. They moved two square tables there and played mahjong.
Zhang Man knew how to play mahjong, but she was far from proficient.
Among the young people, aside from Li Wei, there were exactly seven people. There were two tables and one more player was needed. Thus, several female cousins tapped on Li Weiâs shoulder and asked him to play a game.
That table ended up with Zhang Man, Chen Feier, Li Wei and one of the older female cousins.
This cousin was four years older than them, and she was studying at a university in Z City.
How could Li Wei play mahjong? Fortunately, Chen Feier was a master. She taught him the rules as they played the first few rounds, and he soon learned.
The hotel didnât have automatic mahjong machines. Everyone had to stack their tiles manually. Young people were used to playing and stacking tiles quickly. Chen Feier and the cousinâs speed almost dazzled them.
Zhang Man and Li Wei looked like they were flustered.
She secretly looked up at him. The youthâs jaw was tight. In order to keep up with everyoneâs rhythm, his slender hands quickly and carefully stacked the mahjong tiles.
âEach time, they stacked 18 tiles on top of another 18 tiles.
When he finished stacking, he didnât forget to help Zhang Man. It was as if he was afraid that Chen Feier would shun her for being slow again.
Zhang Man thought it was a little funny.
It was even more interesting when they played. He shouted âchowâ, âpongâ, âkongâ, or âwinâ1Â a little more seriously than the others. It was like the mahjong tile in front of him was an honorable object and needed to be treated thoughtfully.
Zhang Man suddenly felt that he should explore more of himself in the future. He used to only do things alone. Outside of studying and sleeping, he didnât even have a cell phone, let alone socializing. He lived too monotonously and did not try many things. She would have to try new things one by one with him in the future.
â⦠Man Man, can you stop staring at your boyfriend all the time? I just said pong, so let go of that tile in your handâ¦â
Chen Feier was so annoyed that she wasnât letting go of that tile. She then picked up the one that her cousin had just thrown out on the table, paired it with her two tiles and threw out a new tile to the table.
Zhang Man looked embarrassed and put back the tile she had just grabbed.
Unexpectedly, the youth also expressed his opinion.
He chuckled low and deep. He tidied up the tiles with his right hand, and patted Zhan Manâs head with his left hand.
âMan Man, concentrate on the game. If you always look at me, I canât play well.â
Zhang Man was worried. She grabbed his hand and patted at the back of it. âYou canât blame me if you donât play well.â
Chen Feier was not used to the amount of affection they were showing. She just rolled her eyes, while Zhang Manâs cousin, who has been single for many years, swallowed her saliva quietly.
On the outside, she had to maintain the image of being the older cousin. However, she was already howling on the inside several times.
Sh**! Damn!
The boy is too f***ing handsome. He just touched her head so gently⦠wuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu.
Are high school students this flirty now?
And my new younger cousin, who I thought was beautiful and cold when I first met her, how could she turn into a white rabbit in front of this boy? How is there so much love in her eyes when she looks at him?
???
How is it possible?
Why did I watch two high school students fall in love and my aunt smile about it?
No way! Zhang Manâs cousin coughed twice. She decided that she had to bring out her older cousin aura and use the dreaded college entrance exam to cause some alarm for these two high school kids.
I canât be abused with dog food for no reason!
âMan Man, are you a first year student now? Do you have a university you are aiming for? Do you two plan on going to the same university?â
Before Zhang Man could answer, Chen Feier threw out the tile confidently and said for her, âNorth Wind! Yes, they are going to B University together.â
â?????â
B⦠B University?
The cousin who just wanted to cause some trouble for these two high school students about college swallowed her saliva again.
Oh, sorry to bother.