RIRW – Chapter 200

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No one said anything. Only little Shen Zhuzhu, who was still too young to understand, was being held in her father’s arms. Her big eyes darted around curiously. Seeing that everyone else had gone quiet, she actually started babbling loudly.

Grandma stood up and said, “Oh, I just remembered—I have a dance appointment. You young people go ahead and talk.”

Chen Zhisen also stood up. “I’ve got some official business to handle. I’ll go to the study.”

That left only Zuo Dan and her husband, along with the Shen siblings, staring at Zuo Cong and Chen Pingping.

Zuo Dan cleared her throat. “Youyou, what’s this about a ‘greeting kiss’? How come I didn’t know your aunt kisses your uncle?”

Shen Youyou scratched her head. “It was on my birthday. I went to uncle’s room to ask for my birthday present and saw aunt holding uncle’s face and kissing him. Aunt said it was a greeting kiss. She said it’s a very polite thing.”

“Cough cough cough…” Chen Pingping suddenly burst into a fit of coughing.

Zuo Cong lowered his head even more.

Zuo Dan looked at the two of them with a blank expression. “It’s one thing for you two to be dating, but what are you teaching the kids? Kids are the flowers of the future—you need to help them build the right worldview.”

“Big Sister…” Zuo Cong looked at her with puppy-dog eyes.

Chen Pingping’s heart softened the moment she heard that. She raised her head and looked at Zuo Dan with a look of bravery like she was ready to face death. “That’s right! We’re dating… Well, um, both of us have reached the legal age for marriage in the country. I think it’s about time we dated, don’t you think, Cong?”

Zuo Cong quickly nodded.

Zuo Dan smiled without saying a word.

Chen Pingping went on, “I am a few years older than Cong, just three or four… Well, strictly speaking, not even a full four years. Age doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we have a lot in common, right, Cong?”

Zuo Cong nodded even more vigorously.

Zuo Dan chuckled. “You don’t need to explain so much. We never said you two weren’t a good match. It’s just strange that you’ve been sneaking around instead of telling the family. You should’ve said something earlier to make everyone happy.”

“…We were waiting for the right time. Cong hasn’t graduated yet, so we thought we’d wait until then,” Chen Pingping said awkwardly. She had her pride too, okay? Besides, she had been the one to make the first move in this relationship… No, it was an irresistible impulse. Looking at such a handsome and pure young man beside her—how could she resist? It just happened that she kissed Zuo Cong first, and this pure-hearted little guy… Well, things naturally progressed from there…

Worried that Zuo Dan would be angry, Zuo Cong tried to defend her, “Sister, Pingping treats me really well. We always study together and make progress together. It hasn’t affected my studies. And… and in all my life, only Pingping has liked me. And I like her too.”

Chen Pingping guiltily looked to the side.

Zuo Dan said, “What if another girl comes and says she likes you—then what?”

Chen Pingping also turned to look at Zuo Cong, a bit anxious. If Zuo Cong weren’t so naïve, it wouldn’t have been her turn…

“I—I already have Pingping. Even if someone else likes me, I won’t like anyone else,” Zuo Cong declared with determination. As soon as he said that, his face turned even redder with embarrassment.

Zuo Dan deliberately sighed with a smile, “Alright, alright, I haven’t even said anything yet and you’re already getting all anxious. Didn’t you say before that you’d always listen to your big sister? Now you’ve got a girlfriend and forgotten about your sister, huh? Ay…”

“Sister, I haven’t! You’re still very important to me,” Zuo Cong quickly explained.

Zuo Dan burst into laughter. “Relax, I’m just teasing you. I noticed something was up a while ago, I just didn’t say anything. Who would’ve thought that you’d be so careless—none of the adults caught you, but little Shen Youyou did.”

Both Chen Pingping and Zuo Cong blushed again, like students being scolded by a teacher who didn’t dare talk back.

Shen Youyou asked, “Mommy, what did I see? Is a greeting kiss wrong?”

Zuo Dan said seriously, “Of course it is. Only mommy and daddy can give each other greeting kisses. You must never go around kissing other kids like that.”

“But uncle and auntie—aren’t they like mommy and daddy too? Then why don’t they have babies like me and Zhuzhu?”

The couple’s heads drooped even lower.

As for the relationship between Chen Pingping and Zuo Cong, the whole family was naturally happy about it. They all knew each other well and had no objections. Chen Zhisen also supported the idea of letting the young people make their own decisions. The only issue would be Pingping’s parents—they’d have to work that out on their own.

Even though Chen Pingping had an older brother, she was the only daughter in her family. Her parents might not be willing to let her marry into a family in China and live far away. The key issue was that the Chen family elders had high standards for a son-in-law. Zuo Cong was still a college student, hadn’t graduated yet, hadn’t established a career or proven his abilities—which, in the eyes of Pingping’s parents, was clearly not good enough.

Even if the two got married in China, they couldn’t ignore the elders’ opinions entirely.

After hearing all this from Chen Zhisen, Zuo Dan secretly asked him, “Dad, are you satisfied with your son-in-law?”

“You want the truth?” Chen Zhisen asked.

Zuo Dan nodded. “Of course, the truth.”

Chen Zhisen laughed. “In my heart, no one is good enough for my precious daughter. Him… he’s barely passable.” His tone carried a hint of disdain.

But Zuo Dan thought he probably was satisfied with Shen Yiming. After all, saying someone is ‘barely passable’ often really just means the opposite—something like ‘you’re okay, but I won’t admit it out loud.’

At night, when it was time for bed, she lay on top of Shen Yiming and praised him earnestly.

“My dad is very satisfied with you. He thinks you have great potential and a promising future. Marrying a virtuous wife and bringing honor to your ancestors is just the beginning. You might even surpass the older generation and leave them in the dust!”

Shen Yiming held her by the waist with one hand and read his thesis with the other. Hearing her words, he smiled and said, “Your dad has a good eye.”

Zuo Dan grinned proudly.

A good husband was hers, a good dad was also hers. Her son… aside from being a bit scheming, was also a good son. Her daughter… a bit lazy, but still a beautiful and lovely girl.

So, even if the good younger brother now belonged to another family, it didn’t feel all that regrettable anymore.

With their relationship now public, Chen Pingping and Zuo Cong no longer needed to sneak around. Of course, Chen Zhisen had discreetly asked them not to behave intimately in front of the kids, so the two of them would head out early and return late every day, directly going on dates outside.

Shen Youyou was not happy about this. His mom and dad didn’t stay home, and now even his uncle and aunt were never home. Every day he had to be watched by his grandpa and the teachers… oh, and also his little sister Zhuzhu.

Shen Youyou privately brought up his complaints to Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming. “Mom, I don’t want to study so much. The teachers at kindergarten don’t teach all this stuff.”

His little face was full of righteous indignation.

Zuo Dan glanced at Shen Yiming. Shen Yiming, holding their daughter in his arms, completely ignored their son’s nonsense. After all, in this family, someone was even better at causing trouble than their son.

Since the child’s father wouldn’t step in, Zuo Dan had no choice but to take on the task of educating her son. She earnestly pulled Shen Youyou aside. “Youyou, do you really not want to study anymore?”

Shen Youyou nodded firmly. He wanted to go to kindergarten, play with friends, and not study every day.

Zuo Dan said, “I see… well, I can talk to your grandpa about it. But Youyou, if you stop studying, then all your rewards will be gone too. The toy cars, airplanes, bicycle, boat, playground trips, and even the little pony that’s about to grow up—your grandpa gave you all of those as rewards for studying hard. If you don’t like learning anymore, then we should return them all. After all, the kids at kindergarten don’t have these things. If you want to be like other kids, then let’s be exactly like them. Don’t you think that’s fair?”

Shen Youyou frantically shook his head. “No, no, that’s not fair!”

Seeing this, Zuo Dan frowned and said, “Youyou, you can’t be greedy. You said yourself you want to be like other kids. Then everything has to be the same. You can’t get special treatment. Otherwise, what’s the point of going to kindergarten?”

“…Mom…” Youyou’s face fell.

“Calling me ‘Mom’ won’t help. You see, because I didn’t stay home and study, your grandpa didn’t buy anything for me. If you’re going to kindergarten, then Mom will stay home and study with the teachers. Then all your stuff will become mine! That would be great! I can ride the boat, drive the little car, and ride the pony. Oh, and I heard your grandpa is bringing a piano soon. I’ve been looking forward to that for a long time.”

Zuo Dan finished with excitement and looked at Shen Youyou. “So, are you still going to kindergarten? If not, I’ll go talk to your grandpa right now and have him give me all your things.”

Shen Youyou pouted and said reluctantly, “No, I’ll study. Mom said to study hard and improve every day.”

“Good, study hard and improve every day. I’m proud of you. My son is so clever, well-behaved, and sensible.” Zuo Dan smiled with satisfaction.

Shen Youyou had no choice but to continue studying obediently. But of course, he still had his own little schemes. So he went secretly to find Chen Zhisen.

“Grandpa, if I stop studying, will you take back my toys?”

Chen Zhisen shook his head with a smile. “No, those are your rewards for working hard. Why would I take them away?”

Shen Youyou’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“But Youlin, if one day Grandpa isn’t around anymore, who will give you those things then?”

Shen Youyou looked at his grandpa in confusion. “Why wouldn’t you be around?”

“Because Grandpa might go to a faraway place. When you grow up, I might not be able to take care of you anymore. What will you do then? You’ll be too big for toy cars, and I won’t be able to buy you new ones. Your toys will be useless. So what will you have then?”

Shen Youyou shook his head.

“Youlin, don’t you want to be like Grandpa? When you want something, you can get it. And not just for yourself—you can give things to others, like your mom, dad, and Zhuzhu.”

Shen Youyou nodded seriously. He liked giving gifts. He once gave Zhuzhu a rattle, and she loved it.

Chen Zhisen patted his little head. “Then study hard. When you’ve learned everything your teachers teach you, you’ll be able to buy whatever you want—big cars, airplanes, ponies…”

Shen Youyou didn’t fully understand what all that meant yet, but in his heart, Grandpa was omnipotent. He could turn puzzle pieces into real things. He also wanted to be as amazing as Grandpa—able to create many, many things.

So he decided to gain knowledge and become someone like his grandpa.

Zuo Dan soon noticed a change in her son. He no longer fussed about going to kindergarten and played obediently at home while studying.

Zuo Dan was very satisfied. Boys, after all, must withstand trials.

Soon, it was Shen Zhuzhu’s first birthday. This year, during the New Year, Zuo Cong brought Chen Pingping back to meet his parents. Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming didn’t return to Nanjing either because they had to work on their thesis over the winter break. So, Shen Zhuzhu’s first birthday was celebrated in the capital.

Watching her daughter and son play together, Zuo Dan felt moved and decided to take a family portrait with everyone.

Originally, she planned to just take a photo with their small family, but during the shoot, she realized it didn’t feel right to leave her widowed father out. Plus, Grandma was getting older, and they didn’t know how many more years she’d be around. So she brought the two elders along too.

Chen Zhisen smiled, “It’s been years since I took a family photo.”

“That’s why we must take a really nice one this time. And from now on, we’ll do it every year,” Zuo Dan said with gusto.

Chen Zhisen smiled warmly and nodded.

In the courtyard house, Grandma sat in the middle holding Shen Zhuzhu, Shen Yiming stood to one side holding Shen Youyou, and Zuo Dan stood on the other side holding Chen Zhisen’s arm.

The photographer directed them for quite a while in front. “Okay, everyone smile!”

Zuo Dan shouted cheerfully, “Everyone follow me—say cheese!”

The whole family smiled together.

After the photo was taken, Shen Youyou threw himself into Zuo Dan’s arms. “Mom, I like taking pictures with everyone. Can we do it again next year?”

Zuo Dan kissed his forehead. “Of course. Next year we’ll take one with your grandparents from the provincial capital too. And your uncle and Aunt Pingping. And in the future, when they have kids, we’ll take one big family portrait all together.”

“Wow, all of us in one picture?” Shen Youyou’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Looking at her husband, daughter, father, and grandmother—and thinking of her relatives in the provincial capital—Zuo Dan smiled with happiness. “Yes, because we’re all one family.”

The End

_{And with that, we’ve reached the end of the main story! Thank you so much for sticking with this journey until the very last chapter. Translating this novel has been a wonderful experience, and I’m truly grateful for all the support and encouragement.}

_{The author wrapped up the story beautifully—each character now has their own path, and we can imagine them living happy, fulfilling lives. While this marks the conclusion of the main plot, don’t worry! The author has mentioned that there will be extra side stories (番外). These extras will jump forward in the timeline and explore more moments in the characters’ lives. Since such time skips may feel too fast for the main text, they’ll be published separately as extras.}

_{If you’ve enjoyed the story so far, I hope you’ll continue to support the upcoming side chapters. And for those who are ready to dive into something new, feel free to check out other translated novels – https://www.wtnovels.com/discover-stories-reviews}

_{Thank you again for reading. See you soon in the extras! 💕}