On Fuguang Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing, there were rows of old ginkgo trees. It was midsummer, and the lush green leaves formed a dense canopy. Looking up, one could faintly catch glimpses of red walls and yellow tiles.
Various old alleyways crisscrossed among the traditional siheyuan courtyards. Cars could only go as far as the entrance of the alleyways before they had to stop.
A middle-aged woman in a gray suit didn’t wait for the driver to get out. Instead, she hurriedly opened the car door herself.
“No need to wait for me, just head back.”
“Director Liu, let me help you carry those inside.”
Liu Suhe waved her hand dismissively. After closing the car door, she picked up the items herself and walked into the alleyway. Along the way, she ran into one or two acquaintances, who naturally asked about what she was carrying.
“These are things my daughter-in-law sent over. I already told her there was no need to prepare so much, but she insisted…”
Though she said that, her brows and eyes were filled with joy—it was clear that she was beyond delighted.
Everyone living in this area was as shrewd as foxes, so how could they not see through her pretense? Naturally, they played along with some flattering words.
“Oh my, that’s just her being filial! If only my daughter-in-law were half as thoughtful, I’d be burning incense in gratitude. Yinghuai sure has a good eye. Just from hearing about that girl, I can tell she’s a great one. When will he bring her back so we uncles and aunts can meet her?”
Liu Suhe sighed. “You all know what kind of job Yinghuai has. It’ll probably have to wait until New Year’s.”
“No rush, no rush. The day will come eventually. You’re heading to your parents’ house, right? I won’t hold you up. Come over for tea sometime.”
“Sure.”
After that brief chat, Liu Suhe’s arms were already feeling sore from carrying all the items. She quickened her pace, and finally, she arrived at the entrance of a siheyuan1A siheyuan (四合院) is a traditional Chinese courtyard-style residence, commonly found in Beijing and other parts of northern China. The name siheyuan literally means “four-sided enclosed courtyard”, referring to its architectural structure—four buildings surrounding a central courtyard..
She carefully set the things down on the ground before raising her hand to knock on the door.
It wasn’t long before a middle-aged woman with an honest and sincere look came running to open it. Seeing Liu Suhe, she looked surprised.
“Director Liu? What brings you here at this hour?”
“I came to check on my parents.” Liu Suhe smiled and pointed at the things on the ground. “Aunt Zheng, give me a hand. I’m exhausted.”
“Oh, oh, okay.” Aunt Zheng didn’t have time to dwell on her surprise. She quickly picked up the packages from the ground. Seeing that she could carry them, she didn’t let Liu Suhe touch them. Liu Suhe didn’t insist either. She rubbed her sore arms and asked as she walked into the siheyuan courtyard, “Are the two elders at home?”
“They’re home.” After saying this, Aunt Zheng paused and added, “You came just in time—Chief Zhou and the others just returned from the courtyard next door not long ago.”
Liu Suhe’s footsteps faltered for a brief second before she continued walking forward.
This siheyuan was practically half of the Zhou family’s old residence. Ever since Old Master Zhou retired, he and Old Madam Zhou had been living here. The courtyard was large, and with only the two of them, it was naturally lonely and dull. So when Second Brother’s family took the opportunity to move in, she and Zhihong didn’t interfere—after all, the elderly needed companionship as they grew older.
As for her and her husband, due to their work, it was impossible for them to move here. They could only visit on weekends.
But over time, the two elders had become muddle-headed, and their hearts had started to show favoritism.
Especially after that pair of twin grandsons was born next door, Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou practically wanted to move in with them.
If this had been an ordinary case of sibling rivalry, she wouldn’t have minded the elders favoring one side over the other. But Second Brother’s family—they didn’t deserve it!
Thinking about this, Liu Suhe felt her breathing become slightly uneven.
After passing through the covered walkway and garden, she arrived at the rear courtyard, where she immediately spotted Old Master Zhou sitting in a pavilion, trimming a potted plant. She adjusted the smile on her face and stepped forward to greet him.
“Dad.”
Hearing her voice, Zhou Fuqiang turned his head. When he saw that it was Liu Suhe, a faint smile appeared on his face. He gestured for her to come closer. “Oh, the eldest daughter-in-law is here?”
“Where’s Mom?” Liu Suhe noticed that the stone table was covered in fallen pine branches. Without minding the mess, she took out a handkerchief and cleared a small section of the table before motioning for Aunt Zheng to set the packages down.
“She’s in the kitchen, ladling out the soup she was making. You should have some later.” Zhou Fuqiang spoke while observing Liu Suhe’s actions. Seeing how carefully she handled the package, he couldn’t help but feel curious. “What’s this?”
But Liu Suhe didn’t answer right away. Instead, she deliberately teased, smiling as she said, “I’ll go help out in the kitchen. Let’s wait for Mom to come, and then we’ll open it together.”
“Alright.” Zhou Fuqiang nodded in response. He then carefully placed the potted plant he had been trimming onto the ground before settling into a chair, though his gaze kept drifting toward the package.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Liu Suhe returned, walking alongside Yang Taoxin, chatting and laughing as they came from the kitchen.
The moment Yang Taoxin saw the large package on the stone table, she turned her head toward Liu Suhe. “Did you bring this over?”
Beside them, Aunt Zheng chuckled and said, “Director Liu carried it all the way from the entrance of the alley. It was quite heavy.”
“You child, we don’t lack anything here. In the future, don’t go carrying such heavy things over. It’s such a hot day—you must be drenched in sweat. That must be uncomfortable.” Yang Taoxin couldn’t help but feel a pang of concern. She had always favored this eldest daughter-in-law the most—smart, capable, and a woman of great accomplishment, much like she had been in her younger days.
“I know, but this is different—it was sent by your granddaughter-in-law. That makes it special, so of course, I had to deliver it in person.” Liu Suhe placed the tray she was holding onto the edge of the stone table and smiled as she spoke.
However, as soon as those words fell, Yang Taoxin and Zhou Fuqiang’s expressions noticeably dulled.
Yet Liu Suhe acted as if she hadn’t noticed at all. She simply picked up the scissors that Zhou Fuqiang had casually left aside earlier and began cutting open the package. “I only took a quick look earlier. These are all specialty goods from Rongzhou—Qiuqiu put a lot of thought into this. And there are also some photos of the young couple.”
At the mention of photos, Yang Taoxin and Zhou Fuqiang exchanged a glance, their interest barely rekindled.
“Our Yinghuai must have accumulated blessings over several lifetimes to be able to marry a fairy-like young lady.” Liu Suhe knew exactly what they wanted to see, so she immediately handed over the envelope containing the photos.
Fairy?
Neither Yang Taoxin nor Zhou Fuqiang took those words to heart. They absentmindedly opened the envelope, and the first thing that caught their eyes was a solo photo of Zhou Yinghuai.
“This photo of Yinghuai is taken quite well.” Yang Taoxin ran her fingertip over the picture and sincerely praised it.
Zhou Fuqiang also added a compliment, “The photographer is quite skilled.”
Seeing that they weren’t in a hurry to look at the next photo, Liu Suhe frowned slightly but didn’t rush them. Instead, she casually echoed their remarks.
Finally, Yang Taoxin opened the next photo. It was of a woman sitting upright in a chair. The moment they saw her face, both of their eyes lit up, a rare look of amazement flashing across their expressions. In their minds, they recalled Liu Suhe’s earlier words—and indeed, she really did look like a celestial beauty.
As they continued looking through the pictures, some included the two of them together. Even though they had always considered the Zhou family’s genes to be excellent, and even though Zhou Yinghuai was a young man outstanding among thousands, they had no choice but to admit that in front of this young lady, he was completely overshadowed.
She was strikingly beautiful, her radiance so bold and dazzling that she looked as if she had stepped out of a painting.
“She truly has exquisite features,” Yang Taoxin murmured. She paused for a moment and looked up at Liu Suhe, immediately catching the unmistakable pride and smugness in her gaze. Only then did she belatedly realize the true purpose of Liu Suhe’s visit.
Sending gifts? That was just a pretense. What she really came for was to show off just how stunning her granddaughter-in-law was.
“Yinghuai and Qiuqiu both have such good looks. Imagine how beautiful their children will be in the future.”
Hearing this, Yang Taoxin and Zhou Fuqiang couldn’t help but follow her train of thought, a touch of anticipation rising in their hearts.
Just then, Tian Chunying happened to walk over after hearing the commotion. The first thing she heard was Liu Suhe’s last sentence.
Her vision nearly went black from anger—she almost fainted on the spot.
Who was this hidden barb aimed at? Others might not know, but how could she not?
Their family wasn’t unattractive, but in order to ensure her husband outshone the eldest branch of the family, she had forced her son to marry the daughter-in-law he had now. The girl had a strong background and was well-educated, but… she wasn’t exactly pleasant to look at.
But compared to her husband’s future, everything else was insignificant.
Who would have thought that, in the end, her husband still hadn’t managed to suppress the eldest branch? Not only that, but her son had secretly resented her for two whole years. And now, she had two squinty-eyed, flat-nosed grandsons! Thankfully, they were still young and chubby, which at least made them somewhat cute.
As for how they’d look when they grew up…
Well, that was a problem for the future.
Though she didn’t want to admit it, this had always been a sore spot for her. Normally, no one would bring it up and stab at her heart. Plus, the two elders adored children and often spent time playing with her grandsons, so she had slowly forced herself to move past it, even growing more fond of the two boys over time.
But if she hadn’t heard Liu Suhe’s words just now, she would never have realized—she wasn’t over it at all.
Not only did she care, she cared so much it was embedded in her very bones.
She gritted her teeth, took a moment to adjust her emotions, then deliberately raised her voice and called out:
“Sister-in-law, when did you get here?”
The moment Liu Suhe heard this irritating voice, she nearly lost control of her carefully maintained composure and rolled her eyes on the spot. But in the end, since they hadn’t completely fallen out yet, and the two elders were still present, she held back. Instead, she forced a polite yet insincere smile and responded,
“Not long ago.”
“Are you staying for dinner today? I just happened to buy your favorite crucian carp, planning to stew it with tofu.” Tian Chunying was smiling as well, but there was something off about the curve of her lips.
The way she said it, one would think the entire siheyuan belonged to her family.
Liu Suhe had no patience for her nonsense. Her smile only widened, her tone even more cheerful as she replied,
“No need, I’ll be eating here with Mom and Dad.”
Tian Chunying’s smile stiffened for a split second. Almost instinctively, she glanced over at Yang Taoxin, and sure enough—the old lady’s expression had darkened.
Tian Chunying knew better than anyone that Yang Taoxin cared a lot about these social customs. She swallowed hard, forced out two dry chuckles, and then—out of the corner of her eye—caught sight of the massive package sitting on the table.
Her heart sank as she guessed what it was.
She stepped forward and casually asked, “Did Aunt Zheng’s family send over some local specialties again?”
The moment those words fell, the entire courtyard went silent for a brief moment.