"Woof, woof, woof..."
A string of barks rang out.
Chen Shu walked into the courtyard, kicking at the dog as he went.
"Grandma."
"Grandma."
"You're all here? You came early..."
"It's not early. We've already had lunch."
After answering, Chen Shu grabbed one sister with each hand and pulled them over. "Qingqing and Xiaoxiao. Remember them?"
"I do..."
Grandma was eighty-nine this year. Her hair had only just begun to turn gray, and she still looked healthy. She had few wrinkles, and neither her body nor her features showed much decline. She raised her head and studied the two young women. "You've grown prettier and taller. You really are two great beauties..."
"Say hello to Grandma."
"Grandma."
"Grandma!"
The two young women greeted her in turn, one coolly, the other solemnly.
Chen Shu grinned beside them.
It had been several years since he last brought Qingqing here, but she had barely grown taller since she was fifteen or sixteen. Her looks had changed subtly, though—she was now at her most beautiful, while before she had still looked a little young.
Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, had hardly changed.
Grandpa and Grandma were no strangers to them. Back when the two families were neighbors, Chen Shu's grandparents had known about the girls. Every year when he visited for New Year, they would ask about those two little girls.
"Good, good..."
Grandma gazed at Qingqing, her eyes full of smiles.
When Chen Shu called yesterday, he had told her Qingqing was her future granddaughter-in-law and asked her to bring out every bit of her cooking skill.
Now that she saw Qingqing, the more she looked, the more delighted she became with Joy.
The old woman could not help reaching out and taking both young women by the hand.
Neither resisted or pulled