"It's very late, very late, time to sleep, sleep, we can be busy again tomorrow," Cen Yemeng's voice was soft.
"Be good, you sleep first," Jiang Ye said.
"Not good," Cen Yemeng pinched her husband's ear and whispered in his ear, "Jiang Ye, are you my man?"
Jiang Ye's defenses crumbled. He stood up abruptly, picked up Cen Yemeng, and rushed out of the study.
...
Some time ago, Jiang Ye used to sleep past midnight and wake up at six or seven in the morning.
But on the first morning of the holiday, Jiang Ye opened his eyes to find it was already eleven o'clock.
His whole body felt like it was falling apart, all his muscles were soft, and his bones made soft cracking sounds when he shifted. Jiang Ye had been feeling a sense of fatigue for the past few weeks, but after this deep sleep, he felt like his energy bar had been refilled.
Cen Yemeng had already woken up and was playing on her phone in bed.
"You're awake, husband." Cen Yemeng's eyes were bright, and she reached out to hug Jiang Ye.
"Wife, you're so clingy." Jiang Ye stopped moving.
"I like being clingy with you, husband," Cen Yemeng said happily. "Just holding you like this makes me feel very comfortable and at peace."
"I feel very comfortable too," Jiang Ye said. "We're like the little monkeys in the zoo; monkeys like to stay close together, grooming each other's fur and such. Zoologists say this helps strengthen bonds and show affection."
"I see you've been very tired lately, and as your wife, I feel very concerned. I think holding you helps relieve your fatigue," Cen Yemeng said softly. "When I first met you, you were a dashing young man full of spirit, like a vigorous little beast running around the mountains with nowhere to vent its energy. Now you're often tired, and you have a few wrinkles, turning into a steady, silent, and pensive old beast."
"It seems I need to get my age changed. I'll book a surgery later," Jiang Ye sighed. "Time spares no one."
"Do I need age-changing surgery?" Cen Yemeng asked.
Jiang Ye examined her seriously. "It's optional."
"What do you mean, optional?" Cen Yemeng chuckled. "Do you think I'm prettier now, or when you first met me?"
"Both are beautiful."
"Don't flatter me now, tell me the truth."
"Really," Jiang Ye said seriously. "When I first met you, you had that innocent look of a young girl, very pure. Your eyes would sometimes shyly dart away, but then you'd boldly look back. I remember those times I saw you at Jiedian Star; every time you saw me, your eyes would widen with excitement, and then you'd smile. In that moment, your eyes truly had a light in them, and it was clear you genuinely liked me, which touched me deeply."
"Really?" Cen Yemeng blushed. "Maybe I'm a bit nearsighted; I widen my eyes when I see anyone."
"You're beautiful in a different way now," Jiang Ye said. "More individual, more mature. But when you're with me, you're still the same as you were back then, which touches me greatly."
"You're the same, husband," Cen Yemeng's tone softened. "I feel like your attitude towards me hasn't changed over the years; you even love me more. When I first gave birth to Senlin, I was very worried. Many couples, after a long time together, have little romance left, and even start to dislike each other. But with you, this emotional fading hasn't happened; instead, you've continued to love me deeply. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel so happy that I don't know what to say."
"I saw our son a couple of days ago," Jiang Ye said. "He happened to be passing through and called me. Then I went out and had dinner with him and we chatted."
"Our son came to see me too," Cen Yemeng smiled. "He's very well-behaved, calling me 'Mom' like a child, but when he talks about things, he sounds like an adult. He's also much better than he was as a child; I feel like he's been raised into a proper adult. What did you and he talk about?"
"We talked about his travels across the planet," Jiang Ye said. "Towards the end, we chatted a bit about his personal life."
"Tell me about it."
"He's experiencing his first love now," Jiang Ye thought for a moment. "He had a few romantic encounters during his travels, and he told me briefly about them. This kid is quite lucky; after all, he's handsome and talented, and he can occasionally show off his wealth."
Cen Yemeng's smile faltered. "I was worried he'd fall into the corrupting influences of society and be unable to resist the temptations of the world. Did he do anything reckless?"
"No," Jiang Ye said. "He specifically told me about two experiences that left a deep impression on him."
"Oh?" Cen Yemeng's smile returned.
"In Liuxiang City in the Southern Hemisphere, it's a leisurely city with beaches, oceans, and coconut trees, mainly developing tourism with no heavy manual labor," Jiang Ye said. "Our son met a young girl there who made a living by collecting seafood. She would go to the beach every day with a bag, collecting various marine creatures to sell at barbecue stalls."
"Did he meet her on the street?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"No, he met her by the sea, on a secluded stretch of beach. Our son was sketching in the area, wanting to paint a picture, and the girl was curious, so she went over and struck up a conversation with him. That's how they met," Jiang Ye said. "The girl was a model who had illegally immigrated from another planet. She was undocumented. The modeling company was too exploitative, and she couldn't stand the constant late nights, so she ran away alone to find a way to survive. Our son gave her a lot of money and hired her as a guide to tour the entire city. For nearly a month, they ate, slept, and traveled together, just like a couple."
"Did anything happen?"
"Our son said no," Jiang Ye said. "His reasoning was that he was too young to be responsible for such matters, so nothing happened. When they parted ways, our son helped the girl get her identity sorted out and then introduced her to a job as a formal tour guide at a tourism company, thus settling her down."
"Good son," Cen Yemeng nodded approvingly. "What about the other story?"
"In Mahayu City, near the North Pole, the city is built on permafrost and ice fields, with snow covering the streets for over two hundred days a year. There are vendors selling fish by the roadside; the fish freeze solid on the ground, becoming as hard as stones, so they never spoil. The heating pipes frequently freeze and crack, so local houses use electric blankets and heaters indoors, while public areas use fireplaces."
"Fireplaces?" Cen Yemeng exclaimed. "You mean those stone structures where they burn wood for heat?"
"Yes, quite ancient, isn't it?" Jiang Ye nodded. "Our son was staying in a luxurious hotel, and each floor had a large fireplace. One night, around one in the morning, our son got tired of reading in his room, so he put on a thick bathrobe and left his room to go to the fireplace on that floor. The night was very quiet, and there was only one person by the fireplace, a woman past her prime, but still very beautiful."
"That woman was very interested in our son, and they started chatting by the roaring fire. As they talked, a certain unspoken feeling developed between them," Jiang Ye said. "From then on, every night at one o'clock, our son would go to the fireplace, and the woman would be waiting for him. She would even prepare hot tea and snacks in advance, and they would talk by the fire. This waiting was completely unspoken, without any verbal agreement. Oh, I forgot to mention, that woman had a very special identity."