Ming Weiting didn’t know where his father had gotten to either.

After all, he and his father had agreed to communicate using sky lanterns, but until now, he still hadn’t received a sky lantern from his father.

…Nor had he seen any message in a bottle or smoke signals.

And on the night before he left, Young Master Ming had decisively destroyed his phone card. So naturally, he had no opportunity to describe to his father how his mother had single-handedly snapped the grape trellis with her homemade, colorful, flashing nunchucks.

Yan Yu’s ability to take action was formidable. After circling the small courtyard and failing to find Mr. Ming paddling a canoe, she prepared to go out and search.

The two boys were not bad in terms of skill, but they were still young after all, and their presence was a notch shorter than Heroine Yan’s. A moment of carelessness and they failed to stop her. They chased her to the courtyard gate, just in time to meet Ren Shuangmei returning from her mid-session break.

“What’s going on?” Ren Shuangmei winked at the two boys, hugged Yan Yu and coaxed her softly for a few moments, then took away the nunchucks that flashed with five colors. “Is Heroine Yan remembering sad things?”

Yan Yu didn’t know if she was sad or not. She lowered her head listlessly and hugged her, sniffling softly. “Your little boy’s guitar playing is too good.”

“Of course,” Ren Shuangmei was immediately proud. “Everyone who’s heard it says so.”

Only after her moment of pride did she realize, coughed lightly, and smiled as she stroked Yan Yu’s head. “So good? It made our Heroine Yan cry?”

Yan Yu was the mother and auntie to the two boys, and she could still hold it in. But being held by Ren Shuangmei like this, being petted on the head and coaxed in a soft voice, she buried her face in her good friend’s shoulder, and the tears all came rushing out.

The guitar was super beautiful. Yan Yu had long known that her good friend’s Huo Miao was amazing at playing the guitar, but she hadn’t expected it to be this beautiful.

The more she listened, the more she missed her ship. She had stayed on shore for too long. The scenery on land was good, life was comfortable, and it was good for her health. She could see her family whenever she wanted, but she still missed that sea.

She had specifically chosen a place where she couldn’t see the sea at all, thinking that way she wouldn’t think about it every day, but it was still no use.

Two rivers came down from the mountains here, converged into one that meandered to the sea, and eventually flowed into the Arctic Ocean. Every day, she couldn’t help but check the weather forecast for the nearest port.

She was the most disappointing person in the world. In the place farthest from the sea, she was waiting for her ship every day.

“I’ve done it all. I have the balcony, the hot spring, and the grapes are planted… my wine is the best tasting.”

“My health has recovered too. I still get a little seasick, but I haven’t been sick for several years. I can snap this kind of wood in one go.”

Yan Yu touched the grape trellis, completely unable to understand. “Why hasn’t he come to take me home yet?”

Ren Shuangmei hugged her and patted her back gently. “He’s coming.”

“Your little boy said so, he’s on his way,” Ren Shuangmei signaled discreetly, confirmed with Ming Weiting, and assured her. “It won’t be long.”

Yan Yu was super angry. “If he comes too late, I won’t go with him.”

“Right,” Ren Shuangmei coaxed her. “If he’s late, we won’t go.”

Yan Yu stood with her chest out and head held high for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something else, and started shedding tears again with a blank expression.

Ren Shuangmei could barely hold back her laughter. She coughed lightly. “Heroine Yan?”

“It’s over,” Heroine Yan cried even more sadly. “I think I still can’t help but run off with him.”

“No matter how late he comes, I can’t help but run off with him. No matter how many times I beat him up, I still can’t help but run off with him.” Yan Yu was incredibly disappointed in herself, and punched another part of the grape trellis. “Why am I so disappointing!”

Originally, only one side of the grape trellis had a problem. Ming Weiting was holding up the trellis, and Huo Miao was urgently trying to fix the broken wooden slat with a rope, when the other side collapsed without warning.

Young Master Ming’s reaction was also very swift. He raised his hand in time to prop up the collapsing trellis, and Luo Chi lunged to the other end to hold onto all the grapes that were swaying precariously.

Watching the two boys scrambling to save the grapes, Ren Shuangmei finally couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore and quickly coaxed Heroine Yan into her room.

The wine was indeed exceptionally well-made.

Putting aside the taste, the alcohol concentration was clearly not low. She got drunk just like that, without any buffer.

Ren Shuangmei had a heart-to-heart with the sorrow-drowning Heroine Yan and helped her check the weather for the port on that river. After finally getting Yan Yu washed up, changed, and sound asleep in bed, she finally found a chance to come out and help.

After a few days apart, the two boys’ coordination had become more and more tacit. Under the moonlight and the lights in the courtyard, they had almost finished repairing the grape trellis.

A few small bunches of grapes were not so lucky and had fallen from the vine. Young Master Ming had washed them and was now feeding them at a steady pace to Huo Miao, who was finishing up the last bit of woodwork.

Luo Chi had done a lot of this kind of work during those three years. Although the situations were different, they were fundamentally similar. He was exceptionally skilled even after not doing it for a few years, and even had the spare energy to eat grapes while hammering nails.

The skin of these grapes was very thin, and they were sweet and crisp even when eaten directly. Luo Chi was纠结ing for a moment over whether to spit out the grape seeds, when Ming Weiting took out his small knife, cut each grape open, and handed him only the pulp.

The two of them, one feeding and one opening his mouth, coordinated with great skill. In a short while, they had finished off almost all the fallen grapes.

Young Master Ming’s knife was sharpened, looked very sharp, had exquisite carving, and a good weight to it. Fortunately, its size wasn’t too exaggerated, so although the procedures were complicated, it could still be checked in and flown over.

…

When this knife was made, it probably never imagined its purpose would be to shred phone cards and deseed grapes. Otherwise, it might have broken in the factory out of anger.

Luo Chi hammered in the last nail, put down the hammer, and dusted off his hands.

He straightened up and was about to speak when he saw a familiar figure, and his eyes suddenly lit up: “Mom!”

Ren Shuangmei smiled and caught the flying Huo Miao, lifting him up and spinning him around. “Did you miss Mom?”

Huo Miao nodded vigorously, then eagerly reached into his pants pocket, took out the new snacks he had bought and the pretty stones he had picked up, and stuffed them all into his mom’s hands.

Of course, Ren Shuangmei immediately took them, carefully putting away each and every one. “This is great! Mom was just craving some snacks!”

She then picked up the stones and looked them over. “Beautiful! We’ll make them into brooches later, they’ll definitely be more unique than all that other random stuff.”

Huo Miao’s ears immediately grew warm, and the corners of his mouth lifted high. He then pulled his mom to sit and rest under the grape trellis.

Luo Chi ran back to the kitchen himself, brought out the date-and-walnut snacks they had made during the day, and shared them with his mom and Ming Weiting. “Is Auntie feeling any better?”

Ren Shuangmei knew someone would be worried about this. Seeing the concern in the two boys’ eyes, she smiled and ruffled each of their heads. “Don’t worry, there’s no problem at all.”

There are many things that are not good to always keep bottled up inside.

Unspoken words become regrets, regrets become obsessions, and in the end, they can only be suppressed in the heart, gradually turning into an unbreakable deadlock.

These deadlocks will drag a person down, pull them down without reason, and become an impenetrable, heavy fog that traps a person.

“Everyone has the right to be unhappy.”

Ren Shuangmei sat under the stars, moon, and grapevines, and told the two boys: “You have the right to cry, the right to laugh, the right to do whatever you like and want to do.”

“You must not hide everything in your heart. You must say it.”

“If you’re sad, you have to say it. If it hurts, you have to say it. Say whatever you want.”

Ren Shuangmei gently ruffled Huo Miao’s head: “You must live the most dashing and free life.”

…

Before the two classmates could fully understand these words, they were sent off to the hot spring by Ren Shuangmei.

Ren Shuangmei gave them a lot of snacks and fruit, brought drinks from the fridge, and also took the opportunity to grab the clothes Huo Miao had brought with him, which he had originally planned to wash.

The hot spring here was super comfortable.

The night sky was dark and vast, dotted with countless cold stars, which converged in one spot to form the even more immense Milky Way.

The hot spring water was channeled from a natural spring. Lying down in a good spot, the slightly hot water quickly washed away the day’s fatigue, and your whole body would relax without you even realizing it.

Luo Chi was excitedly playing with the water in the hot spring. Today’s woodworking had actually been a bit tiring for his back, but being in the hot water was very comfortable, and the stiffness and soreness in his back muscles eased a lot.

His forehead was slightly sweaty. Just as he was about to secretly grab a can of iced cola, he felt a familiar pressure on his lower back.

Luo Chi blinked and turned to meet Ming Weiting’s gaze.

“Relax,” Ming Weiting said. “A massage will feel good.”

Luo Chi nodded obediently, turned over to lie on the warm stone, and rested his chin on his arms.

He had originally thought he wouldn’t be able to see the stars in this position, but he found that their reflections were in the water too. He couldn’t help but poke them one by one, and the starlight shattered on the water’s surface.

Ming Weiting watched his actions, smiled lightly, and touched his short hair, which was damp and soft from the steam.

He had specifically learned several massage techniques, chose the least painful one, and slowly massaged the muscles on Huo Miao’s lower back in the hot spring water. He then placed his palm on the bone that was still slightly protruding.

“It’s okay,” Luo Chi said, as if he knew what he was thinking. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

Ming Weiting asked, “It doesn’t hurt at all?”

Luo Chi originally wanted to nod, but for some reason, he remembered what his mom had taught him earlier, and he inexplicably hesitated.

He paused, then quietly admitted, “It… hurts a little bit.”

Ming Weiting tried a few spots, adjusted the pressure based on the sharp inhales of his breath, and after carefully massaging and loosening the muscles, he spoke softly again: “Huo Miao.”

Luo Chi splashed in the water a couple of times, propped himself up on his arms, turned over, and looked back at him.

“Auntie is right, this is very necessary.”

Ming Weiting said as he reached out and helped him lean steadily against the stone edge: “From today on, I will also supervise you on this matter.”

Luo Chi was taken aback: “Supervise me?”

Ming Weiting nodded.

Habits can be formed.

He would always remind Huo Miao to speak up when he was uncomfortable or in pain, and to also proactively say what he wanted and what he wanted to do.

As long as he got used to saying these things, no matter what they encountered in the future, the same kind of crossed-wires misunderstanding that happened between his father and mother would not happen between them.

Luo Chi had actually been trying hard to correct this, but it was the first time he had heard such a clear request. He pondered for a moment, then raised his hand to ask a question: “Can I say whatever I want?”

Teacher Ming acknowledged, took the hand he had raised, and soaked it together in the hot spring full of shattered light.

Both of them almost couldn’t hold back their laughter, but remembering the agreement they had just made, they both became serious and sat facing each other in the hot spring.

The pale white steam rose, slightly blurring their vision. The evening breeze flowed gently, bringing a particularly comfortable and refreshing coolness, along with the fresh scent of grass and trees from the nearby flower fields and meadows.

Luo Chi couldn’t help but sigh in comfort, spread his arms, and slowly slid into the water.

Ming Weiting supported his waist and lay down with him.

“As long as I say it,” Luo Chi said in a small voice. “I can become dashing and free.”

Ming Weiting nodded: “And you can also become cool.”

This incentive was clearly super effective. Huo Miao’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly propped himself up on his arms and sat straight.

Ming Weiting, having learned from his auntie, touched Huo Miao’s ear and praised his progress: “What do you want?”

“My back doesn’t hurt, and the weather will be great tomorrow.”

Huo Miao’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him: “Can we go horse riding?”