You've Lost Weight

Night, 9:50 PM.

Beyond the neon-lit downtown lay vast, dim fields. A row of single-story houses sat amid them, like a secluded refuge from the world.

Pale moonlight spilled down as the soft footsteps of a girl broke the surrounding silence.

"Mom!" Wrapped in a padded coat, Xue Yuantong slipped over to the doorway.

Since it was her mother's coat, it hung on her like an overcoat.

Aunt Gu glanced at her daughter.

Xue Yuantong asked, "Where's Jiang Ning?"

Aunt Gu replied, "In his room."

"Oh, then I'm going to see him." With that, Xue Yuantong skipped lightly into Jiang Ning's room.

Hua Fengmei watched the scene. A knowing smile appeared on her somewhat indifferent face, worn by the hardships of life. "Your Tongtong is more diligent about looking for him now than she was about looking for Chuchu as a child."

Aunt Gu's face was full of tender affection. "That little girl has never been obedient since she was young."

Then she added, "But seeing her like this now, I'm quite relieved."

When people of Aunt Gu's generation were Tongtong's age, they were already shouldering the burdens of life. They had been nowhere near as carefree as her daughter.

The lines on Hua Fengmei's face softened considerably, and her voice was full of envy. "Jiang Ning is a good boy."

Good grades, good-looking, tall, independent, gentle in both speech and conduct—and apparently strong, too. What mother-in-law wouldn't be satisfied with a boy like that?

Hua Fengmei thought of her own Chuchu. If Chuchu could meet a boy like that, even someone as demanding as Hua Fengmei would certainly approve.

After some thought, Hua Fengmei offered a subtle reminder. "You can't indulge them too much. They need to pay attention to safety as well."

Aunt Gu froze for a moment,