Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 237 - 233: Bottom of the Box

Chapter 237: Chapter 233: Bottom of the Box

After celebrating the Chinese New Year and changing into new clothes, Qin Guanglin’s life returned to his usual routine of writing and drawing all day.

A few leisurely days passed, and on the fifth day of the new year, his aunt brought her son to pay a New Year’s visit.

Qin’s Mom and her sister had a ten-year age gap but were very close. The two families often visited each other. It had been a longstanding tradition for Qin’s aunt and her child to travel from their hometown to Luo City to enjoy sightseeing and leisure, preserving this custom for many years.

"Auntie," Qin Guanglin greeted with a beaming smile as he stuffed a handful of candies into his cousin Jie’s pocket, "Jie has grown taller, you’ve shot up so much in just one year."

"Thank you, cousin," ten-year-old Zheng Jie said politely, bowing his head in thanks.

"You’ll grow even taller than him," his aunt teasingly said, then looked around, "Where’s my sister?"

"My mom went out for a stroll, ah... she gets bored staying home all day. Please, have a seat."

Qin Guanglin, fetching the teapot and cups, went into the kitchen to wash them and served them water. Unreserved as always, his aunt guzzled down a cup and then had Qin Guanglin refill it, while batting her eyes at him, "I heard from my sister that you’ve moved in with your girlfriend?" She glanced around, "Where is she? Introduce me to your girlfriend."

"We’re just dating, haven’t married, so of course she went back to her own home for the New Year."

Qin Guanglin was straightforward and pulled out his phone, scrolling through it before handing it over to her, "What do you think? Aren’t we a perfect match?"

"Huh, she looks nice, though you’re always a bit goofy. Let me style you a bit..."

"No, no, that’s fine, I’m good as I am," Qin Guanglin quickly refused.

Since he was young, his aunt had loved to dress him in fancy outfits, even applying lipstick and blush on him. Now that Zheng Jie was older and more composed, she still enjoyed fussing over him.

He assumed his poor taste in everyday fashion could well be a lingering effect of being dressed up by her as a flamboyant little girl in his childhood.

Such memories were painful to revisit.

"You look scared," his aunt laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, you’re grown up... when are you getting married?"

"No plans yet, I’m broke and have nothing, what could I offer for a marriage?"

"Hurry up, you’re almost in your thirties. Don’t worry about being poor; your uncle and I had nothing when we got married."

She handed back the phone and casually picked up a banana from the coffee table, peeling and eating it as she spoke, "Housing in Luo City is expensive, if you fall short when buying a house during your marriage, I can’t offer much, but adding a few tens of thousands is still doable. If you find a good girl, seize the opportunity quickly. I heard from your mom..."

"Alright, alright, that’s too far off. Keep your money for Jie, I’m doing fine at work. Look, I just bought a car," Qin Guanglin gently declined, pulling out his car keys to show his aunt, thankful for her ongoing support from his school years to marriage discussions. He had achieved some success in his career and quickly presented the keys to her.

"Huh? How much?" His aunt fiddled with the keys, recognizing from the four rings that it was no ordinary purchase, feeling extremely proud inside.

He had finally made something of himself.

"Over two hundred thousand," Qin Guanglin chuckled sheepishly.

This wasn’t boasting but simply keeping her updated.

During the early years when his family was struggling, his aunt, still single at the time, helped Qin’s Mom tough it out to raise him and only eased when he entered high school.

Although Qin Guanglin and his aunt were only about a decade apart, deep down, he considered her almost like a mother.

"Where’s uncle? Why didn’t he come with you?"

"He’s busy with work; he left on the third day..." As his aunt spoke, she heard the door and turned around, "Sis!"

"Eh, when did you get here? You didn’t call, I would have had Lin pick you up from the station..."

"Next time, we’ll have him pick us up," his aunt replied cheerfully as she stood up, "Lin has made quite a progress, driving a car with four rings, and you never told me, always bragging about your future daughter-in-law on the phone..."

As the two women chatted, Qin Guanglin handed an orange to Zheng Jie and, clapping his hands, went to check the fridge, saying, "I’ll cook lunch today, you take it easy—what would you like? I can go buy something now."

"Oh, you can cook? Don’t poison me... Just make whatever you’re best at," his aunt teased.

"Alright... Jie, want to come with me? See if there’s anything you’d like," Qin Guanglin said as he walked to the door.

"Go ahead, just don’t buy him a bunch of snacks."

"Got it."

He headed out, and with few stalls open at the market during the New Year period, he drove further away to buy groceries, rolled up his sleeves, and put his six months of practiced cooking skills to good use.

A table full of dishes.

"Not bad," his aunt couldn’t help but praise, genuinely impressed, "One of these days I should teach Jie to cook like this; it’ll come in handy when he’s looking for a girlfriend."

"Jie is still so young to be considering girlfriends."

"I’m still young, not having an early love," Zheng Jie looked calm and quiet, yet he seemed to understand everything.

"Hahaha... get ready."

This was the liveliest lunch since the Lunar New Year, jovial and merry. It was only after three adults and one child finished eating that Qin Guanglin remembered something he had forgotten, and he went back inside to fetch a thick red envelope.

"Jie, here’s your New Year’s money."

"No way, why is it so thick?" Auntie glanced at him sideways, "Got a bit cocky from earning money, huh? Swap it out."

"Tsk, it’s for Jie, why do you care so much... Here, take it." Qin Guanglin squatted down to stuff it into Zheng Jie’s pocket, but it was too bulky to fit, so he simply handed it to Auntie, "This is for Jie, just keep it safe for him, and don’t you dare pocket it yourself."

"Look at you..."

"Oh, just keep it, I already told you it’s not for you." Qin’s Mom beamed as she also pulled out a red envelope, not as big as Qin Guanglin’s, and handed it to Zheng Jie for his pocket money, "Take this, and don’t give it to your mom, keep it for yourself to spend, alright?"

"Eh..."

Auntie pinched the red envelope and furrowed her brow, then sighed and relaxed, "Alright, I’ll keep it for Jie—Guanglin really is making something of himself, make sure to earn a bit more this year, aim to buy a house, and get yourself a wife."

"Definitely."

"Thanks, Aunt."

Zheng Jie had long known that the thick envelope wasn’t his, and he was thrilled with his smaller red envelope.

"Thanks, Cousin."

"How did your final exams go?" Qin Guanglin, sitting on the couch and turning into the most annoying kind of relative, asked with a smile.

"Third in my class."

A good student is fearless.

"Huh, I thought you were first last year?"

"..."

Dreadful relatives always manage to be irritating.

"Haha, third place isn’t bad, aim for first place next year."

Qin Guanglin teased Jie for a while longer, then noticed Qin’s Mom and Auntie whispering about something, occasionally glancing over at them, which instantly sent a chill down his spine. He quietly slipped away to the studio to avoid them.

...

Night.

Qin Guanglin lay on the big bed at He Fang’s place, clutching a Doraemon pillow, finding it hard to sleep.

In previous years, the Aunt and Qin’s Mom would sleep together, and if the uncle was there, he would sleep in the guest room. Zheng Jie and Qin Guanglin would share a bed, but this year it wasn’t necessary to be so cramped; Auntie slept in the guest room, Zheng Jie stayed in Qin Guanglin’s room, and Qin Guanglin went back to sleep at He Fang’s place.

It was only a two-minute walk away, and Zheng Jie was sensible, not like other rambunctious kids who would mess things up everywhere, neat and endearing.

Doraemon was soft and squishy, easily deforming when squeezed, then popping back into shape when released. Qin Guanglin squeezed it for a while, but still felt wide awake, wanting to review the proposal that Chen Rui had given him, only to realize he had left it at home.

Sitting on the bed in quiet contemplation for a moment, he decisively got up to sort through their belongings, preparing for a thorough cleaning when they had time the next day.

The room no longer looked as neat as it did when they first moved in, originally just a bed, a desk, and a cabinet. Aside from a pile of books and a computer on the desk and a pillow and blanket on the bed, there had been nothing else. Now, after half a year, various items had accumulated, like extra papers, picture frames, shoe boxes, hangers, storage boxes, reusable cardboard boxes left from deliveries, his makeshift drawing board, exam papers He Fang had brought home, and both of their clothes and bags. Anything that couldn’t fit in the cabinet was packed into bags and stacked to one side.

It was starting to feel more like a home.

Their things, neatly arranged on one side, didn’t look messy but rather gave a sense of coziness.

Qin Guanglin sorted through the items one by one, preparing to discard what was unnecessary and reorganize the rest, chuckling when he saw the glasses in the storage box, setting them aside to continue tidying.

He Fang’s storage box held small trinkets, gifts, and old accessories like retired panda hairbands that he had given her. Qin Guanglin took out each item, examining them closely, a touch of reminiscence and warmth in his eyes.

It had only been since April that they started dating, not even a year yet, yet it felt like they had been living together for much longer.

Maybe it was because they were living together... He smiled, organizing the items one by one, until at the end, only a medium-sized tin remained at the bottom of the box, decorated with mooncake prints.

Curious, Qin Guanglin picked it up, examined it from all sides, and pried open the lid along the seam.

Inside lay a jumbled heap of medicine bottles, their labels torn off.

Glancing back at the small box under the desk holding plasters and cold medicine, then at the tin in his hand, a sudden heaviness filled his heart.