"Yicheng, when the time comes, I will definitely show you which photo I am going to use to enter the contest first," said Pei Yining happily. After shooting all morning, she hadn’t managed to capture a photo she was particularly satisfied with. Unexpectedly, she had accidentally taken a beautiful photo.
She was eager to develop the photo immediately, but there was still quite a bit of film in the camera. To ensure that these films were not wasted and to avoid failure at the last step, she was very careful, resisting the urge to rush.
Pei Yining carefully placed the camera down, and then joined Xu Nianhua for a walk and talk in the yard. The cool breeze was incredibly soothing.
"Nianhua, let’s have some fruit!"
After digesting, Pei Yining craved some fruit again.
The two nestled in the living room, eating fruit, chatting, watching TV, until it was nine o’clock in the evening. Yawning, Pei Yining said, "I can’t keep my eyes open. Why hasn’t my brother come back yet?"
Pei Yining yawned and glanced outside. It was quiet, with no sound of a car returning.
"He’s probably busy. He said over the phone that he’d be late coming back," Xu Nianhua glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "If you’re sleepy, you should go to sleep. I’ll read for a while."
Xu Nianhua was holding a French book, studying it.
"It’s okay, I’ll keep you company for a bit longer." Pei Yining yawned continuously, struggling to keep awake while watching TV. Before long, she drifted off to sleep on the couch.
"Yining, go back to your room to sleep. Don’t sleep here, you might catch a cold," Xu Nianhua gently woke Pei Yining and urged her back to her room.
"Oh, then I’m going to sleep," Pei Yining mumbled sleepily as she crawled back to her room, reminding him, "Nianhua, don’t wait up for my brother. Who knows when he will come back. You should go to sleep early too."
Wearing her pajamas, Pei Yining fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Xu Nianhua covered her with a blanket before heading back downstairs. It was still early, and she wasn’t sleepy. Sitting under the lamp, she became engrossed in her book until 10:30 PM, when she finally turned her stiff neck.
"Is it this late already?"
Xu Nianhua murmured to herself, looking outside where it was pitch black. She thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen to boil some noodles in hot water before cooling them in cold water. She also fried an egg and chopped some green onions, ready to cook the noodles as soon as Pei Yicheng came back.
The living room was unusually quiet around nearly eleven o’clock. Xu Nianhua looked at her book, but her eyes kept drifting outside, hoping to see if he had returned. She would stop and look every time she heard the slightest noise.
Unable to concentrate on her book any longer, she closed it and quietly recited vocabulary words in the living room.
Suddenly, dazzling car lights burst through.
Xu Nianhua’s eyes lit up, and she hurried to the yard.
After eleven o’clock, Pei Yicheng returned home as usual. Thinking that Xu Nianhua was also at home added an extra eagerness to his steps, and even though he knew she might be asleep, he still felt a rush to be home.
As the car stopped outside the gate, he could already see the warm yellow light shining from the living room, like a lighthouse in the darkness.
As soon as Pei Yicheng got out of the car and opened the gate, he saw Xu Nianhua opening the door. Under the light, she was wearing a floral dress, her long black soft hair hanging by her sides, her eyes sparkling, and her smile brilliant, like a celestial being misplaced in the mortal world.
"You’re back," Xu Nianhua said in a soft, excited voice.