The car slowly drove into the small town as the sun set in the west, leaving behind a magnificent crimson glow in the sky.
The town was filled with wisps of cooking smoke, and the aroma of food wafted through the air, creating a peaceful and natural atmosphere.
Life in Tangshui Town moved at a slow pace. Many households only started cooking after the sun had completely set.
This was precisely dinnertime.
The car came to a smooth stop in front of the Huo family’s house. Huo Chuxue deliberately honked the horn heavily a few times, the sharp sound audible from far away.
Yet, even so, her parents did not come out to greet them. The slight was unmistakable.
Instead, it was the Zhou family who heard the commotion and rushed out of their home.
Ms. Deng, Zhou Mo’s mother, saw that Huo Chuxue had brought a man back and quickly walked up with a smile, asking, “Xiaoxue, is this your boyfriend?”
Huo Chuxue smiled and replied, “Yes, I brought him back to meet my parents.”
Then she turned to He Qingshi and said, “This is Doctor Zhou’s mother, Auntie Deng.”
He Qingshi was humble and polite, beaming with joy. “Hello, Auntie Deng.”
“Ah!” Ms. Deng responded cheerfully with a bright smile. “Hello, hello! This young man is really handsome! Old Huo and Mingrou are really something—their son-in-law is here, and they don’t even come out to greet him!”
The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart. Huo Chuxue stiffened slightly but smiled and said, “We’re all family—what’s there to greet?”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhou Mo and Zou Yi also came out of their house. The couple had returned to their parents’ home for the weekend.
Seeing He Qingshi at the Huo family’s home, Zhou Mo and his wife were somewhat surprised.
Zou Yi was already visibly pregnant, her belly round, wearing loose maternity clothes, her cheeks rosy, and her complexion glowing.
Her smile was the most graceful and natural. “What a coincidence, Xiaoxue! You’re back today too!”
Huo Chuxue smiled lightly and pointed to He Qingshi beside her. “I brought him to meet my parents.”
He Qingshi said, “Hello, Doctor Zhou, Mrs. Zhou.”
Zou Yi and Zhou Mo spoke in unison, “Hello, Mr. He.”
Zou Yi held her belly, her smile delicate and sweet. “Mr. He, the apartment Zhou Mo and I bought in the city has been fully renovated. We’re hosting a housewarming party in two weeks. You must come with Xiaoxue to join us!”
He Qingshi smiled slightly. “It would be my honor. I’ll definitely attend.”
After a brief conversation, Huo Chuxue said to Zhou Mo and his wife, “We should head in now. We’ll chat more later.”
Zou Yi waved her hand. “Go ahead and take care of your business.”
As the two entered the house, Ms. Deng eagerly asked Zhou Mo, “What does Xiaoxue’s boyfriend do? He looks so refined and gentle.”
Zou Yi pursed her lips and replied, “I heard from Xiaoxue that he’s a university professor, teaching at University A.”
Ms. Deng smiled contentedly. “So he’s a university professor! No wonder he looks so scholarly and fair-skinned.”
Zou Yi, holding Zhou Mo’s arm as they walked inside, whispered to him, “Zhou Mo, you miscalculated this time. You said they wouldn’t work out, but now he’s meeting her parents. I have to say, Xiaoxue is really bold to dare to be with a divorced man. Can you imagine how angry Uncle Huo and Auntie Xie must be?”
Zhou Mo immediately straightened his expression and said seriously, “Why are you meddling in Xiaoxue’s affairs? She knows what she’s doing.”
Zou Yi pouted, displeased. “How am I meddling? I’m just stating the facts. This Mr. He is indeed divorced!”
Zhou Mo’s tone turned cold. “Even if it’s the truth, it’s still Xiaoxue’s business.”
Zou Yi said, “Fine, fine, it’s Xiaoxue’s business. I won’t say anything more, okay?”
The couple’s conversation was heard word for word by Ms. Deng. She was utterly shocked and quickly pressed for more details. “Yiyi, what did you just say? Xiaoxue’s boyfriend has been married before?”
—
She had expected her father to fly into a rage, inevitably leading to a fierce confrontation. But in reality, nothing happened—it was surprisingly calm.
Chef Huo prepared a lavish feast to entertain He Qingshi, treating him with courtesy and consideration. However, his attitude was distant, and he ignored He Qingshi from start to finish.
He Qingshi had a meal at the Huo family’s home. Xie Mingrou warmly entertained him, showing great enthusiasm.
During the meal, Ms. Xie also chatted amiably with He Qingshi but never mentioned his relationship with Huo Chuxue. She neither expressed approval nor opposition, nor did she ask about his name, background, or family situation—as if she were merely entertaining a guest.
He Qingshi understood the situation perfectly. The elderly couple’s attitude clearly indicated they did not approve of him. It was expected, so he wasn’t particularly surprised.
Huo Chuxue secretly comforted him, “Let me talk to my parents.”
He Qingshi nodded. For now, that was the only way.
After dinner, Huo Chuxue took He Qingshi for a walk around the small town.
The town was small, and after one round, everyone knew that Chef Huo’s daughter had found a boyfriend.
At eight in the evening, He Qingshi drove back alone. Huo Chuxue had a feeling that a “criticism session” was unavoidable that night. Coincidentally, she also planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with her parents to make her stance clear.
Huo Guangyuan returned the gifts He Qingshi had brought, untouched. He Qingshi felt awkward, and Huo Chuxue was even more frustrated.
She was on the verge of tears. “Mom, how could Dad do this?”
Xie Mingrou sighed softly and said, “Take them back for now. Don’t upset your father.”
Given the circumstances, He Qingshi had no choice but to take the gifts back.
After seeing He Qingshi off, Huo Chuxue returned home. Huo Guangyuan and Xie Mingrou were sitting upright on the sofa, calm and composed. It was clear from their demeanor that they were waiting for her to return.
Xie Mingrou held a cup of tea, taking small sips as she spoke slowly, “Xiaoxue, your father has something to say to you.”
Huo Chuxue sat down opposite the couple, relaxed. “Dad, go ahead and say what you need to.”
Huo Guangyuan’s face was stern, and his voice was loud. “Huo Chuxue, I’m telling you—if you want to marry such an old man, it’ll be over my dead body.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
—
Inevitably, the parent and child had a huge argument, and Xie Mingrou couldn’t stop them.
Huo Guangyuan lost his temper and said all sorts of hurtful things without thinking.
Huo Chuxue was so angry that she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
In the middle of the night, she ran to He Qingshi’s house in a disheveled state and cried for over half an hour, breaking Professor He’s heart.
Doctor Huo held a box of tissues, crying her heart out. “My dad has always doted on me since I was little, but today he actually scolded me… You have no idea how harsh his words were… They were unbearable…”
He Qingshi wrapped his arm around her shoulders and comforted her gently. “Alright, don’t cry. Didn’t I tell you to talk to your dad properly? How did it escalate into such a mess?”
“I wanted to, but you don’t know how unreasonable my dad is. He won’t listen to reason at all—it’s infuriating…”
She cried for as long as he comforted her, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion.
He Qingshi carried her to the bedroom. The small figure in his arms felt like a ball of cotton—light and weightless.
This girl was really too thin!
In early December, the apartment Zhou Mo and Zou Yi had bought in the city center was fully renovated. They picked a good day to move in together.
Zou Yi was pregnant and had difficulty moving around. Zhou Mo wouldn’t let her lift a finger, but she couldn’t sit still and busied herself organizing clothes in the walk-in closet while Zhou Mo tidied up the study.
The study was filled with books. Sorting through them one by one was a physically demanding task.
After organizing for over half an hour, Zhou Mo found a box in the corner.
It was a large cardboard box, sealed with transparent tape and covered in a thick layer of dust.
Zhou Mo stared at the box, unable to remember what was inside.
He brushed off the dust, found a small knife, cut open the tape, and opened the box. Inside were many things—photo albums, classmate yearbooks, celebrity posters, figurines, and various other small items.
Only then did Zhou Mo remember that these were things from his high school days. Some were birthday gifts Huo Chuxue had given him.
As far back as he could remember, Huo Chuxue had given him a gift for every birthday—all sorts of little trinkets. Some he had lost, some were kept at his parents’ house, and the ones in this box were from his three years of high school.
In contrast, Zou Yi had never given him a proper birthday gift in all these years.
Huo Chuxue had had a crush on him since childhood, something he had always known. However, he had always seen her as a younger sister and nothing more.
Ever since Zou Yi transferred to Class 3, his attention had been entirely on her, and he had largely ignored Huo Chuxue. He had hardly ever looked closely at the gifts Huo Chuxue gave him, simply tossing them aside after receiving them.
Zhou Mo took out the small items one by one, and looking at them felt like returning to his high school days.
Inside the box was a photo album. He gently opened the cover to find it filled with photos from his high school years, many of them group photos. Basketball games, volleyball matches, singing competitions, New Year’s Eve parties, cultural performances—all kinds of events were captured in group photos.
They were well-preserved, not damp or damaged, and still clear.
Flipping through them one by one, he felt a wave of nostalgia. So many years had passed in the blink of an eye.
One photo in particular caught his eye, and he couldn’t look away.
Because the photo featured someone he never expected to see.
The background was the auditorium of Qingling No. 1 High School. The students of Class 3, dressed in performance costumes, stood in two rows. Teacher Su stood in the center of the front row, and everyone smiled sweetly at the camera, their expressions bright.
In the corner, a young man had unexpectedly entered the frame. His face was all too familiar to Zhou Mo.
Zhou Mo remembered that this photo was taken during his second year of high school. That autumn, the school held an English cultural performance. Under Teacher Su’s guidance, Class 3 of the second year performed Jane Eyre.
Huo Chuxue was Teacher Su’s class representative at the time, excelling academically and speaking fluent English. She played the lead role of Jane Eyre, while he played the male lead, Rochester.
The performance was brilliant, captivating the audience and earning enthusiastic applause. Class 3 of the second year outperformed all others and won first place.
To commemorate their victory, the homeroom teacher borrowed a camera to take a group photo.
The man who had unexpectedly entered the frame, Zhou Mo remembered, was Teacher Su’s husband. On the day of the performance, Teacher Su’s husband had come to the school specifically to watch their show.
He never expected to see him again after so many years, and in such an unexpected way.
It was a flawed photo, but no one had noticed the man who had suddenly entered the frame at the time.
Zhou Mo pieced everything together in his mind and suddenly understood.
No wonder the name had seemed so familiar when he first saw it on the medical record. It was because, many years ago, during the rehearsals for Jane Eyre, Teacher Su would call out this name every time she answered the phone.
Life was so absurd, once again challenging his understanding of the world.
Zhou Mo stared blankly at the photo, momentarily lost in thought.
“What are you looking at?” Zou Yi walked into the study and saw Zhou Mo squatting on the floor, staring at a photo in a daze.
Zhou Mo snapped back to reality and quickly put away the photo. “Nothing.”
Zou Yi found it strange and snatched the photo from his hand, glancing at it briefly. “Isn’t this the photo from our class’s cultural performance that year?”
“Exactly,” Zhou Mo nodded lightly. “I just found it while tidying up the study.”
Zou Yi looked at the people in the photo, feeling a bit jealous. “What, still reminiscing about your childhood days with Huo Chuxue?”
Zhou Mo glared at her. “Don’t talk nonsense. Think about the baby.”
Zou Yi rolled her eyes and took a closer look at the photo, chattering away. “Back then, you and Huo Chuxue were the class’s golden couple—both top students and a perfect match…”
Suddenly, Zou Yi stopped mid-sentence, covering her mouth in disbelief. “Zhou Mo, who is this? Why is he here… I remember Teacher Su’s husband came that day… Oh my, this can’t be so absurd…”
Zhou Mo straightened his expression and said seriously, “We mustn’t tell Xiaoxue about this. Let’s pretend we don’t know!”