Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

Grandma Pei’s birthday party arrived as scheduled.

In the early morning, the chirping of cicadas gradually weakened. Grandma Pei bathed in the morning light. Flower buds covered with night dew fell on the shoulders of her blue cloth shirt, like pieces of gold scattered all over her collar.

“Time to rake the leaves again.”

Her knees made a slight sound as she bent down to pick up half a burnt leaf. Suddenly, she heard the rustling of fabric coming from the main hall.

Morning light filtered through the crack in the carved door. Mother Pei stood on tiptoe to hang red silk, humming a tuneless rendition of "Jasmine Flower."

Kong Haoyu lay under the eight-immortals table like a nimble cat, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the blue light of the tablet computer. The gear-shaped wax seal in the toolbox was facing the window frame, cutting the sunlight into tiny golden patterns.

Shi Yunchen's leather jacket rustled in the morning breeze, the red dot of the laser rangefinder bounced back and forth on the lantern stand, and the golden osmanthus twig tied to his helmet swept across his jaw with the movement.

"Mom!" Dad Pei rushed out of the kitchen holding an enamel pot. The soy milk was rippled on the edge of the pot. Half of a handwritten recipe was exposed in his apron pocket, and the corner of the paper was shiny with oil stains.

He hurriedly used his arms to block the picture of the God of Longevity on the altar. His white hair, stained with flour, gleamed in the morning light, and the front of his blue shirt was stained with bean paste. "You, you got up so early today?" Grandma Pei narrowed her eyes, looked at her son's red ears, and glanced at last year's osmanthus flowers in the bamboo plaque in the corner of the wall - underneath it was a yellowed photo of a sugar painting stall. In the photo, she was wearing a pigtail and pouring syrup into a bamboo spoon, and little Dad Pei beside her was standing on tiptoe to reach the sugar threads.

The roar of the engine tore through the silence of the alley.

Pei Luonan's Maybach rolled over the bluestone slabs, and the tires crushed a few early-fallen golden osmanthus leaves.

When the car door opened, Gu Fanxing stepped out holding a sandalwood box. The surface of the box was inlaid with a longevity picture outlined with silver threads, and fresh golden osmanthus branches were wrapped around the corners.

Mother Pei rushed down the stairs wearing an apron embroidered with longevity peaches. Her curly hair was messed up by the wind, and when she reached out her hand, the hairpin on her temple fell off.

"Aunt Pei," Gu Fanxing's voice was like warm tea, and her fingertips traced the silver lines on the box. "I heard that grandma always had back pain when she was young, so I asked someone to find her a waist protector made of aged Qi moxa wool and a smart heat compress device."

She opened the box. A dark green waist brace lay on a dark red velvet cloth. A microchip on the side flashed a blue light. "It can automatically adjust the temperature according to body temperature. It also records an excerpt from the Pingtan opera 'Pearl Tower' that Grandma loved to listen to."

Pei's mother suddenly covered her mouth, and her eyes instantly turned red.

She held Gu Fanxing's slender wrist, and rubbed it unconsciously with her thumb: "You are so thoughtful, child..."

Before he finished speaking, Pei Luochuan had already jumped in front of him, his round-framed glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose, almost touching his waist guard: "Graphene heating film! Temperature control accuracy of ±0.5°C! Sister Gu, where did you get these military-grade parts?"

Shi Yunchen whistled, and the live camera followed the gift box. "Look, my friends! This gift from the Pei family's granddaughter-in-law has the essence of traditional moxibustion, but also the shell of high-tech!" He suddenly leaned close to Gu Fanxing's ear and said, "Next time my back hurts, can I borrow it..."

Before he could finish his words, Kong Haoyu pushed him away.

Kong Haoyu held up the camera for a close-up shot. He suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes sparkling behind the lenses. "Brother Pei said last time that grandma was tossing and turning all night in pain. Your gift..."

Grandma Pei stood under the eaves, her blue cloth shirt blown up by the draft.

She looked at the pearl hairpin dangling at Gu Fanxing's temples, then at the dark red waist guard, her cloudy eyes watering. Her dry fingers supported the door frame: "Girl, are you... giving this to the old woman?"

At the eight-immortals table, Pei's father shakily picked up a runny egg, the yolk gleaming golden in the porcelain spoon. He adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down. "Your mother said you like runny eggs," his voice suddenly choked. "I turned the casserole twenty times, afraid it would be overcooked..." He quickly picked up a lump of crab meat and a lion's head. "Three pounds of black pig hind leg meat, no starch at all."

Mother Pei pulled Gu Fanxing's hand and placed it in her palm: "Silly child, how many pharmacies do you have to go to to find this aged mugwort?"

She turned and hurried into the kitchen. When she came out, she was holding a blue and white porcelain food box. The lid was opened and steam was rising. "Try it. The sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice cake has 20% more honey than other cakes. It matches your intention."

As Pei Luonan poured the wine, the bottle made a soft sound against the rim of the glass. He watched Gu Fanxing's silhouette as she adjusted the heat compress, his Adam's apple rolling as he poured two full glasses.

Shi Yunchen suddenly bumped into his shoulder, and the live camera swept across their intertwined shadows. "Boss Pei, that look! I suggest you write a book called 'How to Win Over Your Future Grandmother with Gifts'!"

Kong Haoyu secretly took a picture of Grandma Pei touching the waist protector, and the AI automatically wrote: "The person who is favored also favors you."

After three rounds of drinks, Mother Pei with red eyes pulled Grandma Pei to the side hall.

When the sandalwood box was opened, the jade earrings shone like spring water under the candlelight, and the lotus knot on the red rope was polished to a shine by time.

Mother Pei grasped the old man's calloused hand, her fingertips gently brushing the curve of the jade. "Mom, this heirloom should be given to Fanxing by you yourself." She looked out at Gu Fanxing, squatting on the floor, patiently demonstrating the touchscreen operation of the heat compress device to Father Pei. "She remembers your chronic back pain and cares about it more than her own granddaughter."

Grandma Pei stroked the warm jade and suddenly remembered the rainy night fifty years ago.

Her husband clutched the wrinkled food coupons and stuffed the earrings into her palm with his red, frozen hands: "Put these on and you'll feel warm even in the coldest weather..." Tears fell on the lid of the box. She looked at Gu Fanxing's profile, which was softened by the candlelight, where she saw the shadow of herself when she was young.

As Grandma Pei shakily placed the jade earrings on Gu Fanxing's earlobe, Shi Yunchen's livestream commentary was instantly flooded with messages of "running in both directions." Pei Luochuan's drone captured a double image: the jade on Gu Fanxing's ear in real life, overlapping with the AR projection of the jade earrings from a 1973 sugar painting stall. Time quietly flowed through the fragrance of golden osmanthus.

Gu Fanxing felt the old man's rough fingers linger on her earlobe for a moment, and the temperature was hotter than jade.

When Gu Fanxing helped Grandma Pei cut the cake, the device hidden in the beam by Kong Haoyu was activated.

Holographic golden osmanthus rain fell, and one of the virtual petals landed accurately on Gu Fanxing's hair. The AR sugar-painted phoenix suddenly brought a "virtual waist protector", which contrasted with the real object in her hand.

Pei Luonan's hands were shaking as he held the camera. In the viewfinder, the light spots on the girl's eyelashes looked very much like her focused eyes when she was choosing a gift.

Grandma Pei suddenly tightened her grip, her knife and fork scraping against the cake. "Girl, this waist protector... is warmer than the old cotton-padded jacket I've kept for thirty years."

She turned and glared at Pei Luonan, "If you dare to bully her in the future, I'll break your legs with this knife and fork!"

The midnight wind blew through the carved window lattices, and Gu Fanxing tied a Qi Ai wool waist protector for Grandma Pei.

When the warm touch came over him, the smart chip on the old man's lower back automatically played a selection from "Pearl Tower".

Pei's mother quietly pushed the door open and came in, clutching a cloth bag in her hand: "Mom, let me add some spices to your waist protector. I dried some golden osmanthus flowers, which smells better than medicine."

She suddenly turned around and hugged Gu Fanxing in her arms, "Good boy, thank you..."

In the yard, Shi Yunchen handed a wreath made of golden osmanthus branches to Gu Fanxing, with a note attached: "Exclusively for the waist-protecting goddess."

Pei Luochuan set the video of Gu Fanxing giving gifts as the homepage of the AR album, with the caption "Textbook-level filial piety".

Outside the window, golden osmanthus petals were falling. Grandma Pei touched the new jade pendant on her wrist and patted the waist protector around her waist.

In the main hall, Shi Yunchen's live broadcast was still playing, and the screen was filled with comments like, "This isn't a birthday party, it's a two-way celebration of love!" The old osmanthus tree in the corner rustled, transforming the cherished memories in the courtyard into a warmth that never faded under the moonlight.

Late at night, Grandma Pei lay in a royal chair, a waist brace strapped to her waist. The heat compress function of the waist brace automatically activated. The red light reflected on the jade peace locket. In a trance, she saw herself fifty years ago again, wearing jade earrings, wiping the sugar stains from the corners of little Pei's father's mouth at the sugar painting stall...