The Last Few Days

New year.

Three days after Hua Xin and Xia Yan returned to their grandfather's small northern county, a day that was especially important to the people who had worked hard all year, the day arrived as scheduled.

This is also their second New Year together.

Compared to the bustling and vibrant city of Shanghai, this small northern county town, where even young people rarely stroll around, seems to have a stronger festive atmosphere.

Although there aren't many residents, the streets and alleys are adorned with colorful lanterns and red lanterns symbolizing the New Year, and the stalls are filled with all kinds of "Fu" characters and couplets. Even though there aren't many young people dressed in bright and fashionable clothes, the New Year atmosphere is much stronger than ever.

Even though there are more elderly people living on this land who intend to be buried here, there is no somber or lifeless atmosphere.

The anticipation of the whole year may only last for these two days.

This year, because Hua Xin and Xia Yan came back, Grandpa didn't go to celebrate the New Year with Xia Zhongshan and Xia Fen as he did in previous years, but stayed in his hometown.

In the old house where you could only hear coughing, you can now hear busy sounds starting early in the morning.

The couplets on the door, which were already peeling and damaged, were replaced by the young couple who woke up early in the same bed. Then, throughout the morning, the various pots and pans in the kitchen were not idle. Xia Yan cooked all kinds of food that needed to be steamed first. It was best to do these time-consuming steaming and boiling in the morning so that they could be served with only a little processing when it came to the New Year's Eve dinner.

The three of them couldn't eat much, so the New Year's Eve dinner was prepared with a slightly more variety of dishes but a slightly smaller quantity.

But if you accidentally make too much food, it's not a big deal, since Hua Xin is there. As long as the girl is there, she can probably swallow any amount of food into her seemingly bottomless stomach. But after eating, she doesn't feel bloated like a big stomach. It's hard not to wonder if the food that Hua Xin can eat has fallen into another dimension.

And even though I spent the New Year with my grandfather...

But his health hasn't been good these past two days. He's been coughing more and more frequently each day, but if it were just a normal cough, it wouldn't be so bad. Xia Yan knows that each cough could be the last one that drains all of his grandfather's strength.

With one cough, Xia Yan knew that he was likely to cough up blood again.

From his childhood memories, his grandfather was always a smoker. It seemed that life would be meaningless without cigarettes. Although Xia Yan remembered that his grandfather had tried to quit smoking a few times, he never seemed to be able to resist this habit that he had maintained for decades.

Especially after Xia Yan's parents divorced, he was almost always smoking.

May time slow down a bit.

After returning home from the hospital where he endured countless injections and various forms of torture, Grandpa's condition seemed to have improved significantly; at least his eyes no longer looked so full of pain.

Xia Yan's original idea was that even if the chance of a successful cure was infinitely close to zero, she would still try. She absolutely could not give up any chance of a cure, even if it only meant living a few more days...

But he later changed his mind.

Standing in front of the hospital bed, he could never imagine that the person in his memory was always standing tall and proud, seemingly unaware of what unhappiness was, and always finding ways to make his younger self happy.

Grandpa never seemed to cry, even when he was accidentally injured, he would only frown.

But the suppressed moans of pain he heard while lying in the hospital bed made it impossible for Xia Yan to stick to his own ideas.

It wasn't until Grandpa mentioned his original idea to Xia Yan and Xia Zhongshan again that the three words "no longer treatable" were finally settled.

Will there be a miracle?

"Buzz buzz buzz..." At this moment, the gas whistle on the pressure cooker suddenly sounded a little urgent. The whistling sound of boiling steam brought Xia Yan, who had been lost in thought, back to reality. He gently turned the gas button and turned off the flame.

A faint, unique aroma of seafood wafted out, and Xia Yan skillfully scooped out a large piece of braised beef. Judging from its color, it was already very flavorful. He sliced off a piece; the taste was just right, neither too salty nor too bland.

Xia Yan cut off the part with alternating layers of muscle and tendon and put it on a plate. They would eat this part for dinner, and the rest would be taken out when Xia Fen came after the first and second days of the Lunar New Year.

"It smells so good..."

Hua Xin arrived at the kitchen door at some point, her eyes completely drawn to the large chunks of beef that Xia Yan had just braised. She stared at them intently, forgetting for a moment to take off the rubber gloves she was wearing.

Xia Yan picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks and waved it at Hua Xin, who was standing not far away. "Want to try some? It's freshly made, let's see how it tastes." He winked, like a hunter in the woods using food to lure cute little animals into a trap.

"It's delicious, even better than the last time I had it."

Faced with the temptation of food, Hua Xin resolutely gave up resisting and calmly jumped into the trap prepared by the hunter. She then devoured the beef with a loud gulp and said with some surprise.

"It's probably because the seasonings were used more thoroughly this time."

Xia Yan smiled and poured out the broth from the pressure cooker. Then he wiped his hands and paused slightly before saying, "Take a rest. Take off your gloves and lie down for a while. We'll just have a simple lunch. The real feast will be tonight."

"Okay, but there's still one piece of glass left to clean. I'll rest after I finish that."

"Then I'll start cooking the rice first, and then go back to my room to lie down for a while?"

"Okay, but you go to the sofa, it's too cramped lying next to you."

The girl made a sarcastic remark, but there was no resentment in her words. After all, her grandfather had gone out to visit his old friends, and Xia Yan was preparing various things for the New Year's Eve dinner. She couldn't just watch her like that until the countdown to the New Year started, could she?

She may not be good at other things, but she has retained the good cleaning habits she developed a year after her transformation. Doing housework, tidying up the house, and getting some exercise is a good thing. In addition, she also found some things from Xia Yan's childhood.

Ignoring Xia Yan's helpless look, she turned and walked into the living room, her eyes somewhat dazed as she stared at the small wolf acrylic keychain under Xia Yan's keys, which were spread out on the coffee table.

Ah...

Xia Yan probably forgot about this incident they witnessed when they were children.