Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 263 - 259: Live in the Present

Chapter 263: Chapter 259: Live in the Present

The sand didn’t naturally pile up.

The two of them had no such craft; squatting on the ground and mucking around with wet sand, they could only mound up something oddly shaped without knowing what it was.

"You this is..."

"Us two." Qin Guanglin, however, was rather pleased with himself, looking at the two bumps on the ground with satisfaction.

"Look, this is the head, this is the hand... Hey, don’t mess it up."

The two little sand dunes hadn’t lived long before He Fang squashed them into oblivion with one hand each.

"Too ugly!"

He Fang patted the two mud figures flat and sat on the beach with a plop, tugging at him to lean in, "Come over for a photo."

Qin Guanglin gestured towards his bare torso and hesitated, "This isn’t... indecent?"

He Fang was dressed brightly and beautifully, like a fairy descending to earth. Him, bare-chested by her side, it looked rather incongruous however you looked at it.

"We’re not showing anyone else, just taking our own photos... Hurry, smile."

Click.

Click click click.

A series of photos came out, and He Fang immediately sent them to the family group chat.

During the National Day long holiday, Zhao Qing and his wife didn’t go out, replying swiftly to the messages.

"Even He Shan never took me to the beach."

"What’s so fun about going out with the crowd? We’ll go during the tourist off-season."

He Shan’s thinking was exactly like He Fang’s, both detesting the heat and the crowd.

"Where are the kid’s clothes?" He’s Daddy noticed the omission.

Without needing He Fang to speak, He Shan and his wife started explaining uproariously that it’s normal to bare your torso at the beach; nothing to make a fuss about.

"Who did you send it to?" Qin Guanglin asked suspiciously, cramming his big head over, only to be pushed away by He Fang, which made him quite displeased.

Pulling hard while taking the photo, then shoving him aside once done, hmmph, women.

He Fang sneaked a smile, pocketed her phone, and said, "Sent it to my family’s group."

"What did they say?"

"They said you look handsome, got taller, and bulkier."

"I think you’re lying to me." Qin Guanglin was a hundred percent skeptical.

He Fang’s family was quite lively, five people in total. With He Fang outside and He Cheng not yet grown up, the three people at home made it quite bustling, unlike his home – just the two of them.

Thinking of this, he nudged He Fang with his shoulder, "Send one to my mom too."

"I sent it to you, you send it."

He Fang felt it wasn’t quite suitable for her to send it, although she knew Qin’s Mom would surely be delighted, but it was better if Qin Guanglin sent it.

"You send it, she’d be happier."

"Alright."

After giving it some thought, He Fang took out her phone again, found Qin’s Mom in the list, sent the photo, typed a few words, and then stood up, "Let’s go, time to head back."

Qin Guanglin didn’t move, pulling her down to sit on the beach again, pointing to the orange-red sun setting over the sea in the distance, "Stay a little longer, watch the sunset."

The sunset by the sea was different from what he’d seen in Luo City. The sky was gentle, the sea aflame in red, reflecting the setting sun, its ripples dancing, and waves blooming.

Qin Guanglin wrapped his arms around He Fang, letting the sunset’s afterglow spill over them as they gazed into the vast sky.

The sound of the tide was unending, and the clouds in the sky gradually darkened to gray, heralding the night’s arrival.

"If I ever make a lot of money, I’ll buy a big house, a sea-view house, to spend every day with you like this. Bathe in the sun when we want, enjoy the sea breeze, watch the tide ebb and flow... Oh yeah, and put a lounge chair here – would be bliss. What do you think?"

"I don’t think that’s good."

"Hmm? What else do you want?"

"To gain one thing is to lose another; how busy would someone who makes that much money be? Money doesn’t just blow in with the wind."

"Don’t be so absolute... I’ve got you, haven’t I? What have I lost?"

"Freedom."

"..."

Qin Guanglin fell silent for a moment, then patted the sand off his bottom, stood up, and when He Fang got halfway to her feet, he bent down, scooped up her knees and hoisted her whole body, spinning her around.

"Who’s lost their freedom now?"

"Ah! Stop messing around! You’ll drop me..."

"Say it, who’s not free?"

"I, I didn’t."

"That’s more like it." Qin Guanglin, satisfied, put her down and laughed as she nudged him a couple of times, walking towards the place they had come from.

It was getting dark, and the beach was still crowded with people strolling around, some who had just had dinner out for a walk to aid digestion, hand-in-hand couples, laughing fathers and daughters, and running children. Everything was so lively.

The damp sea breeze blew in their faces. He Fang suddenly nudged Qin Guanglin with her elbow, "Do you think that woman is pretty?"

"Which one?"

Qin Guanglin followed her gaze to a bikini-clad woman swaying her hips as she walked past.

"You’re really looking!" He Fang had her gesture ready and the moment he turned his head, she pinched his waist.

"Ouch! That’s entrapment!"

"Yep, I did it on purpose."

"Cunning and sly." Qin Guanglin clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Actually, I’m really not interested. I’ve seen you so many times, it doesn’t matter how little she’s wearing... Ow, don’t pinch, I’m just talking. If it were you wearing that, it might be a different story."

He Fang wrinkled her nose, took off her straw hat and put it on his head, "I wouldn’t wear it."

"Not even in the room?"

"...Maybe I’d consider it."

"Let’s forget about it, some other day." Qin Guanglin unconsciously rubbed his waist, "Some other day, we still have plenty of days ahead... What do you want to eat? That open-air barbecue over there looks pretty good..."

He Fang smiled and glanced at him, "Okay, let’s go back, take a shower, then come out to eat."

The recklessness of youth is eventually punished, and then after a few days, it’s back to the same old ways.

Hmph, men.

...

Deep into the night.

The stars were dazzling, and the moonlight was like water.

The endless sea mirrored the reflection of the starry sky, the shimmering waves undulating continuously.

Qin Guanglin lay by the window, listening to the roaring waves outside, and looked up at the starry sky. He Fang sat by the other window, her head tilted up, seemingly lost in thought.

"You say..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think... there’s such a thing as a parallel universe?" He Fang, resting her chin on the back of her hand, asked while looking at the pitch-black night sky.

"Who knows, maybe there is." Qin Guanglin had also pondered this issue during his idle moments, "I tend to think there isn’t. This parallel thing... There’s no reason for it to exist. It’s just a fancy idea from those philosophers."

"Is that so?"

"What do you think?"

"I don’t know." He Fang lowered her eyes, speaking slowly, "But I hope it does exist."

"Your hoping is pointless. This thing is less plausible than time travel. I’d rather believe in time travel than in parallel universes." Qin Guanglin said casually, "I read about a four-dimensional theory, which is like our world, this time..."

He scratched his head as he thought aloud, "Time is like a line, we walk from the start of the line to the end, and that’s what creates the illusion of time passing. In fact, the end of the line already exists, time doesn’t pass, it’s just our perception that keeps refreshing as we move along the timeline."

As Qin Guanglin spoke, he gestured with his hands, "If your consciousness could go from the end of the line back to the start, that would be the legendary time travel, getting reacquainted with the world... Do you understand?"

"I don’t."

He Fang shook her head and changed the subject, "What were you thinking about just now?"

"The Starry Night."

"..."

"..."

Both of them stared at each other in silence for a moment, and He Fang, seeing he had no more to say, couldn’t help but ask, "What’s that?"

"A painting." Qin Guanglin realized she didn’t know what it was, "I thought everyone knew... It’s by Van Gogh, um... it’s also called ’The Starry Night.’"

"Oh, if you’d mentioned Van Gogh’s Starry Night I would’ve known."

He Fang nodded her head and looked up at the night sky. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, "You should be an artist."

"Hm?"

"You should be an artist," He Fang looked at him seriously, "You have the artistic talent, as well as the patience and perseverance. If you dedicate time to it, you’re bound to succeed."

Qin Guanglin was amused by her serious expression, "Do I have artistic cells?"

"You do."

"But I lack patience. Painting those broken paintings, who knows how many years it would take... What’s the use of becoming famous after I die, leaving a bunch of artwork for others to admire?" Qin Guanglin laughed and shook his head, looking back out the window at the sky.

"The most important thing is to live in the moment."