Chapter 90: Spring Festival
After Ren Yun Shen left, Teng Hao remained despondent for a long time. The once cheerful and laughter-loving boy suddenly became quiet and withdrawn. Every time he passed the Ren family’s house, he would stop for several minutes, staring at the tightly shut door, lost in thought.
His final exam results were disastrous. Not only did he fail to make the promised five-rank improvement, but he also dropped out of the top twenty.
Though Ruan Yu wasn’t responsible for this outcome, she still felt deeply guilty.
Fortunately, finals weren’t the college entrance exams—they still had time to recover.
As the Spring Festival approached, Shen Bing was too busy to return home, so Teng Yi and Teng Hao planned to go abroad to celebrate the New Year with her. Ruan Yu had originally intended to stay in Liaocheng to work and earn money—after all, many jobs offered triple pay during the holiday, an opportunity too good to pass up. But Teng Yi couldn’t bear the thought of her working through the festivities. He said if she didn’t go home, he wouldn’t go abroad either and would stay in Liaocheng to keep her company.
Just as Ruan Yu was torn between her options, her grandfather, who rarely reached out, unexpectedly called and asked her to come home for the New Year this time.
Since her grandfather had spoken, Ruan Yu naturally agreed. She booked her train ticket home that same day.
Ruan Yu’s hometown was in Sanmenxia, where her grandfather, Ruan Heping, was the only family she had left.
Ruan Heping was a tailor who ran a small shop in town, specializing in alterations and custom clothing. He had raised Ruan Yu single-handedly, but the two weren’t particularly close. Her grandfather was especially strict with her, especially after her father and grandmother passed away one after another and her mother left without a word. Since then, he had rarely smiled at her.
Ruan Yu was somewhat afraid of him.
When she was little, if she misbehaved, slept in, or neglected her homework, her grandfather would strike her palms with a wooden ruler—over and over, never relenting.
In a way, her good habits and academic achievements were all "whipped" into her by him.
On the day of her departure, Teng Yi drove Ruan Yu to the train station. Before she left, he hugged her tightly and repeated the same reminders—"Be careful on the road," "Don’t talk to strangers," "Text me when you arrive"—like a parent sending their child off on a long journey.
Ruan Yu leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You know what? Even my grandfather isn’t as naggy as you."
And then, she was kissed fiercely.
The station was bustling with people, but he kissed her without hesitation.
Ruan Yu boarded the train with flushed cheeks and teary eyes. It was just an ordinary, short separation, yet for some reason, she suddenly felt like crying. Watching Teng Yi standing on the platform, his gaze lingering on her for a long time, she felt an indescribable sense of steadiness and security.
That very steadiness and security brought tears to her eyes.
Once, Liaocheng had been just another city to her—a place where her school was located, nothing more. She had no expectations, nor was she expected by anyone. But now, she had someone she longed to see, no matter the storm, and someone who would always wait for her return, rain or shine.
A drifting lone sail had finally found its harbor.
A wandering duckweed had finally found its anchor.
Falling in love, it turned out, was this beautiful. This warm.
Ruan Yu waved at Teng Yi through the window, and he smiled, waving back.
--?--
The train rumbled northward, and Ruan Yu slept all the way to Sanmenxia.
Located in the northwest of Henan, Sanmenxia was the closest city to the Yellow River among all its bordering cities and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.After exiting Sanmenxia Station, Ruan Yu transferred twice by bus before reaching her home.
The moment she stepped off the bus, a gust of cold wind hit her, making her shiver uncontrollably. Fortunately, the sunlight today was generous. She tucked her neck into her scarf, pulled up the hood attached to her coat, and slowly dragged her suitcase toward home.
She hadn’t told her grandfather she was coming back today.
With the Spring Festival approaching, every household in the small town was adorned with red lanterns and couplets, radiating a peaceful and festive atmosphere.
Ruan Yu walked through the alley and arrived at her doorstep, only to find it desolate—nothing hung, nothing pasted, except for her grandfather’s "Repair Price List." A sudden pang of bitterness welled up in her heart.
Had he planned to spend the Spring Festival like this if she hadn’t come back?
"Grandpa," Ruan Yu called as she pushed the door open.
Inside, Ruan Heping was sitting at the sewing machine, head bowed as he mended a pair of pants. The sewing machine was an old-fashioned one, its black body adorned with faded gold patterns, powered entirely by foot pedals.
Hearing the noise, Ruan Heping adjusted his reading glasses and looked up.
"Grandpa, I'm back," Ruan Yu walked toward him.
A flicker of delight flashed in Ruan Heping’s eyes when he saw her, but he quickly masked it.
"Couldn’t you have told me you were coming back in advance?" He stood up. "Two years in university, and you still don’t plan things properly?"
Ruan Yu knew he was about to lecture her again, so she kept her head down and stayed silent.
After scolding her for a while and seeing she didn’t retort, Ruan Heping’s tone gradually softened.
"Are you hungry? Have you eaten?"
"No."
Truthfully, she was a little hungry. During the five-plus hours on the train, she had barely eaten anything except for a few crackers.
But she was afraid that admitting it would earn her another reprimand.
"Fine, then. I’m heading out for a bit. Go get your bedding and pillows out to air in the sun." Ruan Heping abandoned the pants on the sewing machine, grabbed a coin purse from the drawer, and hurried out through the courtyard.
Ruan Yu set down her suitcase, went inside to fetch the bedding, and spread it out on the bamboo poles in the yard.
The sunlight was especially warm.
Two hours of this would be enough.
After taking care of the bedding and dusting the room, the last of her energy was spent. Her stomach felt completely hollow.
A loud growl escaped—thankfully, her grandfather wasn’t home, or she’d have been caught.
She decided to look for something to eat in the kitchen. But when she lifted the food cover on the table, she froze. Underneath was only a bowl of dark, pickled vegetables, clearly eaten over several days.
This old man… What kind of life was he living?
Ruan Yu pressed her throbbing temples and turned to open the fridge. It was empty—not even powered on. A stale, unused smell rushed out, stinging her eyes until they reddened.
She knew her grandfather scrimped and saved to set aside money for her education, but she hadn’t realized he had cut back to this extent.
Tears suddenly spilled over, unstoppable.
Ruan Heping returned an hour later, carrying several bags. Yam and celery peeked out from the tops—he must have rushed out to buy groceries.
"What are you sitting here for?"Seeing Ruan Yu sitting by the drafty doorway, he scolded her half-heartedly before shooing her inside, then turned and entered the kitchen.
Soon, the aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen.
Dinner was unusually lavish—fish, shrimp, meat, and several of Ruan Heping's signature dishes—giving the feeling of an early Spring Festival celebration. That plate of pickled vegetables had mysteriously disappeared somewhere.
At the table, neither grandparent nor granddaughter spoke, both focusing on eating. They rarely chatted; Ruan Heping seldom asked about her school life, and Ruan Yu never volunteered information.
Silence was their way of coexisting.
After dinner, when Ruan Yu offered to wash the dishes, Ruan Heping refused. On the surface, it was because he found her in the way, but she knew he just didn’t want her getting her hands greasy.
The old man was tsundere—he never knew how to say things properly.
Fortunately, Ruan Yu understood him well.
Back in her room, she chatted with Teng Yi for a while before showering and going to bed.
That night, she slept soundly, truly feeling the comfort of being home.
Over the next few days, Ruan Yu stayed home with Ruan Heping, venturing out nowhere. The tailor shop had almost no business, save for the occasional elderly neighbor coming to mend torn pants or split coat linings. Young people no longer subscribed to the "make do and mend" mentality—even new clothes would be discarded after a year if they went out of style.
The folk craft of tailoring was gradually being swept away by the tides of time.
As Ruan Heping worked the sewing machine, Ruan Yu sat nearby, reading or memorizing vocabulary. They still rarely talked, but the silence carried a rare warmth.
Neighbors, hearing Ruan Yu had returned, came to see her. After all, she was the top scorer from Sanmenxia—after her college entrance exams, she’d been somewhat famous around town and the city.
Auntie Sun from next door also dropped by, using clothes-making as an excuse to visit.
Auntie Sun’s daughter, Pei Qian, was the same age as Ruan Yu. Unlike the academic overachiever Ruan Yu, Pei Qian was a classic underachiever—she disliked studying and school life, so she’d dropped out of high school early to work and had her marriage arranged young.
In their small town, girls like Pei Qian were common, hardly remarkable. It was driven girls like Ruan Yu who were often seen as oddities.
"Ruan Ruan, it’s been so long—you’ve lost weight," Auntie Sun frowned as she looked Ruan Yu over. "Is studying that hard?"
"It’s alright," Ruan Yu replied with a smile.
"If you say it’s alright, it must be hard. Ah, I say, why should girls push themselves so much? No matter how much you learn, you’ll still end up married with children."
Ruan Yu stayed silent.
She’d heard such comments often. Though she fundamentally disagreed, she couldn’t be bothered to argue. Values weren’t something everyone shared equally.
Of course girls should study more—only by improving themselves could they have more choices. Even if they ended up married with children, at least they could match with better partners and raise more accomplished children.
"Our Ruan Ruan can’t compare to your Qianqian. I heard Qianqian’s due early next year?" Ruan Heping interjected. On the surface, it sounded like he was siding against his granddaughter, but in truth, he was steering the conversation away from what made Ruan Yu uncomfortable.
"Yes, yes!" Auntie Sun beamed.
"I heard it’s a boy.""Yes, yes," Aunt Sun grew even more delighted. "The hospital doesn’t allow gender testing for the baby, but we did it secretly—it’s a boy."
"Congratulations then."
Ruan Yu had thought that by actively drawing out each point Aunt Sun wanted to boast about, she could wrap up the conversation and send this unwelcome guest on her way. But it seemed there was more.
"Yuanyuan, listen to Aunt Sun. Don’t just focus on studying in college—remember to find a boyfriend. Otherwise, by the time you graduate, all the good men will be taken. Look at Uncle Chen’s daughter over there—already thirty and still single."
"Thirty isn’t old."
"Thirty isn’t old? Back in our day, women that age already had several kids."
"Times are different now."
"What’s so different? Just because people these days have a bit more education, they think they’re something special?"
"Aunt Sun, that’s not what I meant."
Ruan Yu was speechless. Aunt Sun had brought up the topic herself, yet somehow she was the one getting upset. She was the epitome of the "ignorance is terrifying" type among middle-aged women—constantly harping on marriage and children as if they were the sole measures of success. Not only did they impose these standards on their own children, but they also loved meddling in others’ lives. If anyone dared to disagree, they were labeled rude, oblivious to how ridiculous they themselves sounded.
"Yuanyuan, don’t mistake kindness for ill intent. I’m only looking out for you."
"Thank you for your concern, Aunt Sun, but I already have a boyfriend," Ruan Yu blurted out.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed Ruan Heping’s gaze shift toward her.
Ruan Yu immediately regretted it. But to her surprise, Ruan Heping didn’t comment—not even after Aunt Sun left. It was strange. Normally, he would’ve lectured her about focusing on her studies and not getting distracted by relationships.
Time at home flew by, and soon it was New Year’s Eve.
That night, Grandpa Ruan Heping handed Ruan Yu a red envelope for good luck. Inside was a savings certificate for fifty thousand yuan—his entire life’s savings.
"Grandpa, what’s this for?" Ruan Yu was at a loss.
She had felt something off about him ever since she returned home.
"Are you not feeling well?"
"Nonsense! Are you cursing me on New Year’s Eve?" Ruan Heping glared.
Ruan Yu quickly shook her head. "Of course not. I just want you to be healthy—nothing else matters."
"Enough of that. Put the certificate away safely. The password is your birthday. If you ever need money, withdraw it. This should be enough to see you through college. And don’t send money home anymore. What kind of student works part-time and sends money back instead of focusing on studies?"
"I don’t work part-time. That was my scholarship."
"Who are you fooling? Do you think I’ve gone senile? What kind of scholarship leaves that much after tuition?" Ruan Heping saw right through her.
Ruan Yu fell silent, the slip of paper suddenly feeling as heavy as lead in her hand.
"And one more thing…" Ruan Heping paused. "That so-called boyfriend of yours—bring him around sometime. I need to see him, vet him for you."
"Grandpa! That’s really not necessary!"
"Of course it is! What judgment does a green little girl like you have?" Ruan Heping said sternly.
Ruan Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.After dinner, Ruan Yu relayed her grandfather Ruan Heping's words to Teng Yi, but there was no reply from his end.
She remembered—he was flying abroad tonight.
As the crackling sounds of firecrackers erupted outside, her phone also began buzzing incessantly.
Ruan Yu glanced at it. Most of the messages were New Year's greetings forwarded by her classmates. She didn’t reply to each one individually, only sending a simple "Happy New Year" in the dorm group chat before going to sleep.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ruan Yu woke up unusually early.
As soon as she got out of bed, she noticed that there was a guest at home.
It was Teng Yi.
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