Extra Chapter
Seven
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Grandpa was holding up just fine, health-wise.
But then, after the New Year, Auntie brought some terrible news.
“Chen Yao’s grandpa has passed away?” Lin Nan asked, holding her phone and sounding utterly incredulous.
No way! She used magic to boost that old geezer’s health! His lifespan might not have increased, but surely the magic would buy him some extra time.
“Yeah, he slipped on the stairs and fell… By the time they got him to the hospital, he was already gone.” Auntie’s tone remained calm, but Lin Nan could faintly hear Uncle sobbing in the background.
Even with enhanced health, taking a tumble down the stairs can be fatal for an elderly person.
After a pause, Lin Nan bit her lip and asked, “Does Chen Yao know?”
“I don’t know how to tell him.”
Maybe it was a grandparental bond thing, but Chen Yao had always been close with his grandpa, visiting him once a month, even more often than he saw his own parents.
After all, his parents were busy running a hotel, so much like Lin Nan, he spent his childhood lingering around Grandpa and Grandpa—until Grandpa passed away in middle school, after which Chen Yao had drunkenly stumbled to Lin Nan’s house. And now…
“Let me tell him… Should we get Chen Yao back to see Grandpa one last time?”
“Don’t bother, he’s already gone. The cremation is tomorrow.”
Life, d*ath, sickness—it’s all unavoidable, even magic can’t bring someone back from the great beyond. Not to mention Lin Nan was all out of magic juice at the moment.
Hanging up, Lin Nan turned to her son Chen Jing, who was blissfully gaming on the couch.
Now he looked at her with big, doe-like eyes, clearly confused.
Lin Nan had encountered the concept of life and d*ath before; her grandparents had passed in elementary school, then her great-grandmother a decade ago, and now it was Chen Yao’s grandpa.
So, she was handling it pretty well, since she hadn’t interacted with Chen Yao’s grandpa that much.
But how to break the news to Chen Yao was still a dilemma.
“Chen Jing, go downstairs and buy a couple of boxes of beer.”
“Huh? Mom, didn’t you say Dad isn’t allowed to drink?”
“You heard me! Just buy it!” Lin Nan shot him a glare.
This kid has become increasingly rebellious since starting high school, always testing her limits. But Lin Nan was a woman of principles; cross the line, and her face would darken. At that point, everything on the table would suddenly seem like a projectile to the easily rattled Chen Jing.
If he didn’t get rattled, we wouldn’t be discussing line testing— we’d be talking life and d*ath stakes here!
As Chen Jing prepared to leave, Lin Nan quickly added, “Oh, and pick up a pack of cigarettes for your dad; something around twenty to thirty bucks.”
Chen Jing didn’t even ask his mom for cash. He lethargically counted his pocket change and headed off to the neighborhood convenience store.
Once he was out, Lin Nan ambled to the balcony and dialed Chen Yao’s number.
Feeling a bit anxious.
She still had nightmares about how he reacted when his grandpa passed away back in middle school. Who knows how he’d respond now?
“Hey, darling.”
“What’s for dinner? I’m thinking some stir-fried beef with green peppers, maybe a steamed crab or two. I’m craving seafood.” Chen Yao casually replied.
Lin Nan usually called around this time to see what he wanted for dinner.
“Sure.”
“Okay, I’ve got to get back to work.”
“Wait, there’s something else.”
After a brief pause, Chen Yao expected her to continue, but there was sudden silence on Lin Nan’s end.
“Hey, is there something that can only be told over the phone? Is Valentine’s Day coming up? Wedding anniversary? Wait a second, there’s no big day around this time, is there?”
“Oh right, the Lantern Festival! I’ll swing by Sanfang Qixiang on my way back and grab you some meat dumplings. You’re drooling, huh?” Chen Yao chuckled.
“Um… Honey, your grandpa passed away.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, and Lin Nan hung her head, gripping the balcony railing, feeling her emotions sink along with Chen Yao’s.
At some point, they had started to influence each other’s emotions. Even though Chen Yao didn’t say much at that moment, Lin Nan could feel his pain as if it were her own.
“Can I take a few days off? It’ll eat into my paycheck, but I’ll cover the loss.”
They were creeping into middle age, but their financial situation was much tighter than when they first got married.
Most of the dowry went into Chen Jing’s education, and now that Chen Jing was growing up, there were less than ten years left to save for a house for his wedding.
“Okay, I’ll request time off.”
Chen Yao’s voice sounded weary on the other end.
Hanging up made Lin Nan uneasy about Chen Yao’s mental state.
She decided to whip up a hearty meal to comfort him.
Stretching, Lin Nan made her way to the kitchen.
Over the years, her cooking skills had skyrocketed. Not quite at a head chef level, but definitely up to small restaurant standards.
She slipped on an apron to keep her white turtleneck from getting messy, tying her shoulder-length brown curls into a ponytail—a newly minted domestic goddess was ready for action!
Normally, Lin Nan looked like a mature college student, but today, she had that “perfect wife” vibe going on—though perhaps just a tad too youthful for the role.
Chen Jing strolled back in with beer, and upon stepping through the door, he was greeted with the mouth-watering aroma of stir-fried dishes.
He scampered into the kitchen like a puppy and peeked in at his mother. “Mom, what’s cooking today?”
“Your dad wants seafood. I ordered it online, and it should be here soon.”
“Seafood, huh?” Chen Jing mumbled, slightly uneasy due to his mild seafood allergy. Why on earth would he be allergic to seafood when he was born by the ocean? If Lin Nan didn’t give birth to him herself, she’d seriously question his parentage!
Chen Jing leaned against the kitchen door, arms crossed, admiring his mom. He truly found her more attractive than any celebrity or school beauty.
Yet walking down the street with Lin Nan, people always mistook them for siblings.
And Chen Yao, looking slightly older than Lin Nan, was often taken for Chen Jing’s brother.
With youthful parents, Chen Jing, at sixteen and a towering height nearing six feet, was frequently mistaken for someone in the workforce.
“Mom, should I head back and see Great-Grandpa now that he’s gone?”
“Tomorrow, just go back with your dad.” Lin Nan gave him a pointed look, “Aren’t you going to do your winter break homework instead of loitering around?”
“I finished that ages ago.”
Just then, the front door swung open, and Chen Jing hopped to greet the new arrival. Unfortunately, it was his father, who came in with a sullen face, reluctantly flashing a smile.
The atmosphere in the house immediately soured, causing Chen Jing to wisely keep his distance.
Chen Yao marched straight into the kitchen and pulled open the sliding door.
“Hey, darling, it’s pretty smoky in here!” Lin Nan called out helplessly.
But Chen Yao stepped forward, suddenly wrapping his arms around Lin Nan’s waist, burying his face in the crook of her shoulder, trembling slightly.
The spatula slipped from Lin Nan’s grip, and though her body stiffened, her hand instinctively began to gently stroke Chen Yao’s neck.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…”
