Chapter 65: Grandma Tree, Please Bless Her with Eternal Happiness Part 2

“I’m not going back.” Lin Wanjia looked down, her voice flat. “There’s no family of mine there.”

“How can you say there’s no family! We are! Mom, you, me—the blood of the three of us is the closest bond in this world.”

The woman’s hands stopped for a moment. When she looked up, her gaze was so calm it was devoid of any emotion. “Say something in the An City dialect for me.”

Lin Qining was instantly choked up.

She quickly found another point to argue, pointing at the child in the cradle. “What about Youle? You went through so much trouble to have her. Are you going to ignore her too?”

Lin Wanjia didn’t speak, only giving her a deep, searching look.

With just that look, Lin Qining lost the strength to speak. She instinctively curled her body, trying to hide herself away.

Lin Wanjia tilted her lips in a smile. “No need to say more. All those years of being cast aside and neglected can’t be solved by a single sentence from you. Since she doesn’t welcome me, I won’t go looking for her. Rest assured, what belongs to you is yours. As for who you want to give it to… manage it well. Hand over a complete group to Youle, not one that is fractured and falling apart.”

“…Sister…”

“Leave after the New Year. Remember to spend the next year learning how to run a business and corporate management. Lin Shenghui is getting old. Handing the enterprise over to you is only a matter of time.”

Having said her peace, Lin Wanjia carried the remaining plates away, leaving Lin Qining alone, staring at the backs of the two women in a daze.

On the other side, Su Ye and Yue Chengqi walked Qi Sheng to the gate of her rented courtyard. Qi Sheng shared the place with two other families. The courtyard was lively with fireworks, and the neighbors called out for her to join them when they saw her return.

Su Ye waved goodbye to the girl who kept looking back, offering a gentle smile. Only when Qi Sheng closed the gate did the two of them continue their slow walk, hand in hand.

As they passed the main square, Yue Chengqi pointed to the largest, sturdiest tree in the center. “That tree must be over two hundred years old. When An City was being developed, they specifically worked around it.”

“To be able to grow so vigorously on this dry land for two hundred years… how incredible,” Su Ye sighed.

Su Ye leaned her head against Yue Chengqi’s arm. “We tiny humans, struggling to grow and make this world more colorful, are pretty incredible too!”

Yue Chengqi laughed and agreed with her.

Suddenly, Su Ye grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sprint toward the great tree. By the time they reached it, Yue Chengqi was leaning on her knees, gasping for breath.

But the girl had already walked up to the tree with her hands behind her back. She looked up at the canopy, standing slightly on her tiptoes. “Grandma Tree, Happy New Year.”

Yue Chengqi walked over, and Su Ye tugged her arm, signaling for her to say it too.

They pressed their palms together, speaking with reverent sincerity: “Grandma Tree, Happy New Year.”

A breeze swept through, making the shadows of the branches dance.

Su Ye added, “Grandma, you must bless me to make big money and a fortune in the new year, and also… let me stay with the one I love forever.”

Yue Chengqi: …How can she tuck a demand into a blessing? What if the gods don’t like it!

But she couldn’t help herself either. She made a silent wish in her heart: Grandma, if the day comes when I must disappear from this world, please arrange for a reliable person who will love her, spoil her, and accompany her to be by her side after I’m gone. Please.

Since some “god” had sent her here, surely a “god” could help Su Ye escape those twenty-odd years of loneliness.

That person didn’t have to be her, but such a person had to exist.

What she didn’t know was that beside her, the girl with her eyes tightly shut was making a very serious wish of her own. She said: Grandma Tree, I’ll come to spend the New Year with you every year from now on. Can you grant me one small wish? If the person beside me must leave one day, can you please not let her disappear completely? I don’t ask that she must return to me, but I hope she can live somewhere in the world, even if she doesn’t remember me.

Her life has been so hard. Can you let her truly live for herself just once?

In the deep of the night, these two lovers made their final preparations for each other with absolute sincerity. They wouldn’t speak these wishes aloud; they would simply work harder to live their brief lives to the fullest. Even if they were destined to part, they wouldn’t allow that fate to erase the meaning of their lives.

In that same midnight hour, the great tree—which embraced the world with its body and proved that vibrant life could exist on the edge of a desert—opened its invisible arms. It gently embraced these two children who had come specifically to celebrate the New Year with her.

Life existed on this parched land, and in the long river of time, love existed as well.

The branches trembled slightly, sending down a layer of fallen snow.

Su Ye reached out to catch the rustling flakes. “Grandma Tree must have received our wishes. That’s good.”

A six-petaled ice crystal shimmered in the center of her palm. She carefully held it up for Yue Chengqi to see, her eyes fixed on the girl’s face. “Ah Huan, isn’t it beautiful?”

Yue Chengqi gave a soft “mm” and looked up, meeting Su Ye’s gaze.

She touched Su Ye’s exposed neck. “Are you cold?” She shared half of her scarf with Su Ye, draping one arm gently around her waist.

Because of this, they had to stand very, very close—close enough that Yue Chengqi could touch the tip of the girl’s nose just by bowing her head.

Su Ye mischievously nuzzled her nose against hers, whispering, “I love you so much.”

Yue Chengqi’s breath hitched. She tilted her head and captured those soft, red lips.

The loosely tied ponytail at the back of Su Ye’s head swayed gently. she tilted her head back as far as she could, meeting this sudden yet affectionate kiss. With every breath, she wordlessly conveyed her own emotions.

The tree shadows danced, and another layer of snow fell.

Fortunately, Yue Chengqi’s scarf protected Su Ye’s neck, so the snow didn’t fall inside and interrupt their kiss.

They were already quite skilled at kissing.

After a long while, Yue Chengqi released her, asking hoarsely, “We don’t have to wake up early to restock tomorrow, right?”

“Boss Su has been thinking about this all day. Do you want to try tonight?”

When they returned home, they were greeted by Lin Qining, who was sitting at their doorstep clutching her quilt and pillow.

Su Ye: “What’s this look for? Are you running away from home?”

“You should have an extra room on your side, right?” Lin Qining hugged her arms resentfully. “Give me a room. Just for tonight.”

“Why?”

Su Ye peeked at the house where the lights were already out. “Wow, they’ve already gone to sleep. No staying up to see the New Year in today?”

“Are you two going to stay up?”

Su Ye: “No. We do have a spare room, though. You sure about this?”

Lin Qining was silent for a moment.

Whatever, I’m already here.

With a heart full of frustration, she silently went to make her bed.

Su Ye was still laughing as she washed up, laughing so hard the water in the basin trembled. Yue Chengqi splashed a palmful of water at her. “Wash up quickly. The water will get cold, and you’ll catch a cold.”

“Ah Huan~ when I buy a house in the future, I definitely want one with a shower.”

“You could just consider buying one with a bathtub,” the one drying her hair replied.

A bathtub.

Su Ye rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

The water temperature was cooling, but her face was getting hotter and hotter.

Yue Chengqi walked over and felt her forehead. “You aren’t coming down with a fever, are you?”

“No! No! I’m coming out now! I… I’ll go blow-dry my hair!”

By the time Yue Chengqi returned from emptying the water, the girl was still blow-drying her hair. All her hair was tossed forward in a distorted posture as she tried to dry it as quickly as possible.

Yue Chengqi laughed helplessly, walked over, and took the hairdryer. She brushed the girl’s hair back into place, grabbed a section, and dried it slowly.

Su Ye’s hair was thick and coarse, much like herself, but there was more of it and it was in better condition than Chengqi’s own. It was stubborn hair for a stubborn person.

But being stubborn had its perks. If Su Ye had ever shown any sign of retreating, Yue Chengqi probably would have run away even faster… It was only because Su Ye was stubborn enough that she was able to bind Chengqi so tightly to her side.

She had no complaints. She would never have any complaints.

As the last section of hair dried, Yue Chengqi set the hairdryer aside. She cupped Su Ye’s cheeks, one leg bent as she knelt on the chair, positioned between Su Ye’s knees. She leaned down to kiss those soft lips.

The kisses she initiated were always slow—the tip of her tongue carefully tracing every line of the lips, the slow parting of the mouth, and the mischievous knee that nudged Su Ye until she felt like jelly, leaning against the wall with her arms draped over the cabinet.

On the way to being carried to the bed, the girl narrowed her eyes like a pampered cat or a satisfied rabbit. Nestled in Yue Chengqi’s arms, she thought: So this is how comfortable it feels. Can I just lie here and not move?

Ah Huan spoils her so much; surely she could get away with being a bit lazy?

Soon, she didn’t have the mental capacity for such thoughts. The buttons of her pajamas were undone one by one. Skin that had just been soaked in hot water met the slightly cool air, and her pores couldn’t help but shiver and contract.

Warm hands began a slow, gentle massage from top to bottom, serving her every need. Su Ye’s waist arched instinctively, but her hips were held firm, rendering her unable to move. She looked at Yue Chengqi with a pitiful gaze, but the girl only gave a faint smile as her hands moved upward, changing both position and pressure.

It transitioned from a general massage of the muscles to a meticulous, point-to-point focus on two specific areas.

Su Ye bit her lip hard, but the “villain” wouldn’t allow her to bite that beautiful, eloquent little mouth. A thumb rubbed against the corner of her lips, slowly liberating the delicate flesh from her teeth.

Yue Chengqi whispered, “Don’t bite. I want to hear you.”

“There’s… someone… ah…”

“She should get used to it.”

Was that even something a decent person would say?!

But Yue Chengqi was always slow, always patient. Where her fingertips brushed, it felt like ants crawling through her veins, a sensation that spread from a single point to every limb, making the girl on the bed writhe like a willow branch caught in a gale.

Su Ye let out a whimper as she poked her head out from under the quilt, only to be pressed back down. She wasn’t allowed to run, wasn’t allowed to escape; she had to endure this slow torment.

“Ah Huan…” Her voice carried a hint of a sob as she reached out, wanting a hug.

Yue Chengqi, who was meticulously “preparing” tonight’s main course, leaned down and nipped her earlobe. “Don’t rush, don’t rush.”

“Kiss me, please, kiss me…”

Her breathing was so rapid it made her dizzy, her limbs curling inward. She felt as though she had become the source of a river, or a willow branch submerged in a stream—thoroughly soaked from top to bottom, shimmering with a distinct, crystalline brilliance.

Yue Chengqi leaned in to kiss her, patting her shoulder soothingly.

The feeling before reaching the summit was like drowning. All sounds were trapped in her throat, air couldn’t escape, and her arms flailed as she searched for something to hold onto. When she finally grabbed onto a “drifting log,” she gripped it with such force she didn’t even hear the girl’s soft intake of breath.

Soon, Su Ye felt herself being tossed high. There was nothing beneath her but a gradually approaching warmth that settled gently by her ear, whispering—

“Let me teach you another one.”