Grandpa's Birthday

Du Zihe finally couldn't resist the soft and hard persuasion of Nurse Chen and a few colleagues, and revealed her love affair, but she did not mention Lin Che's name and occupation. She also didn't say why the two of them had a sudden argument and hadn't spoken to each other for several days.
After a busy day, Du Zihe's spirits dropped as soon as she finished work, and she lost her enthusiasm for work.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice when she passed by Lin Che.
"Du Zihe." Lin Che called out.
"Oh my god, why am I hallucinating? Du Zihe knocked on her head. She continued walking forward.
Lin Che hugged Du Zihe from behind, "Still angry, not even talking to me."
Du Zihe was startled and really wanted to give him a throw, but unfortunately she didn't know how. Du Zihe broke free from Lin Che's arm and turned her head to stare at him. "Do you know? Even if you wrap yourself tightly, you can't hide the radiance emanating from you. But I'm different. Even if I undress completely, there may not be anyone willing to embrace me. So when your radiance warms me, I become scared, tremble, become unsure, and fear losing it. Can you understand how I feel?"
Lin Che felt guilty. Why did he say such words to this somewhat self-deprecating girl that day? Why did he get angry with her? "I understand now, I'm sorry, Xiaohe. I overlooked your feelings."
"Don't apologize, I'm not doing well either. You've done so much for me, and yet I'm still stuck on my own feelings."
"When two people resolve their conflicts, it feels like their hearts are closer. That's how love is, it's not always sweet and romantic, there will definitely be storms and rough patches."
Du Zihe sat in the passenger seat, smiling happily. These past few days have been tough due to some conflicts, and my mood has been really bad. But now that we've made up, I couldn't be happier.
"By the way, it's my grandfather's birthday today, and there will be a family gathering at home. I'll bring you to meet everyone," Lin Che said as he noticed Du Zihe's good mood and took the opportunity to invite her.
"Ah! Meeting the parents, so suddenly. I didn't even prepare a gift." Du Zihe panics.
"Turn around," Lin Che pointed to the back row, where there were a pile of gift boxes. "You prepared so thoroughly, you're really thoughtful."
"Is your grandpa easy to get along with? Do I need to be careful about anything?" Du Zihe seemed nervous.
Lin Che held Du Zihe's hand and placed it in his palm. "Don't worry, I'm here. My grandpa is stubborn, so you don't have to take his words to heart," Lin Che reassured.
The vehicle slowly drove towards a quiet direction, where there were no towering buildings but a residential area consisting of two-story houses. Every yard looked similar from the outside.
The car stopped in front of a tall courtyard wall, with a large gate securely closed, hiding the view inside. Lin Che pressed the doorbell, and a pedestrian door by the courtyard wall opened. Holding a large and small package, Lin Che entered the yard.
Du Zihe followed behind Lin Che timidly, taking small steps.
Lin Che noticed Du Zihe's state and turned back, saying affectionately, "I can't hold your hand while carrying things, so why don't you hold onto my shirt." Lin Che was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with a plaid shirt over it.
Du Zihe ran up and grabbed the corner of Lin Che's shirt.
As soon as they reached the door, they could hear a lively atmosphere inside, as if there were many people. Du Zihe became even more nervous, as she had never seen such a scene before. After all, it was her first time meeting the parents. She naturally didn't need to be afraid of her godmother, but with all these people in the room. Even though the weather was cool, Du Zihe was still nervous to the point of sweating on her back.
Aunt Lin saw Du Zihe following Lin Che into the house, and joyfully greeted them, grabbing Du Zihe's hand. "Good child, godmother missed you so much, come here, let me introduce you." She then pulled Du Zihe into the living room, where the sofa was fully occupied.
"Du'er, this is your elder aunt."
"Hello, elder aunt," Du Zihe politely smiled at her elder aunt.
"This is your second aunt."
"Hello, second aunt."
"This is your third aunt."
"Hello, Third Aunt."
"This is your Fourth Aunt."
"Hello, Fourth Aunt."
"This is your eldest uncle."
"Hello, Eldest Uncle."
"This is your second uncle."
"Hello, Second Uncle."
"This is your third uncle."
"Hello uncle number three."
"This is your uncle number four."
"Hello uncle number four."
"These are your eldest sister, second sister, and third sister."
"Hello sisters."
"This is your sister-in-law."
"Hello sister-in-law." Du Zihe was dragged around in a circle by too many people and couldn't remember anything, feeling dizzy.
"Ah! You're his sister-in-law. What should I address you as, sister-in-law?" Aunt Lin couldn't help but laugh. "This is the child from your fourth aunt's family."
Du Zihe snapped out of it and saw a boy who looked like a junior high student, holding his stomach and laughing uncontrollably.
Du Zihe's face turned red instantly, you arrogant kid, no need to mock me like that.
Lin Che looked at Du Zihe's confused look and thought of helping her out.
"So many people, Zihe may not be able to remember everyone for a while, take it easy," Lin Che held Du Zihe's hand and walked towards the kitchen.
"When will 'Half a Lifetime of Reluctance' be released?" The eldest sister at Aunt's house is a TV fan.
"It's still being edited, no release date yet." Lin Che replied.
"This girl has a good height, looks good standing next to Lin Che." Aunt said to cousin.
"Yes, yes, I think they look neat and clean, that's good," said the second aunt also agreed.
"I like my little sister's long hair. When my hair grows waist-length, will you marry me?" said the older sister with sleek short hair, while touching her own hair.
"Sister, you should watch less TV dramas," said the youngest brother, Li Siyuan.
"Is this the nurse you were talking about introducing?" Aunt Four and Aunt Little are close in age, so they often go shopping and have tea together.
Aunt Xiaogu nodded, "Yes, yes! I even became her godmother."
"She's not that young, right? How many years younger is she than Lin Che?" Aunt Sigu asked.
"She's six years younger,"
"Six years is alright, that makes her 25. She's young, I guess she doesn't have much life experience," Aunt Xiaogu questioned.
My cousin heard someone questioning her goddaughter, and that's definitely not acceptable.
"You don't know how talented my goddaughter is, despite her young age, she excels in cooking and is very popular at her workplace. Our patients all highly appreciate her."
"What's the use of patient recognition? The main thing about getting married is taking care of the family. One should be a housewife and raise children," a loud voice came from the stairs.
An elderly man wearing a Zhongshan suit is being supported by a young man as they descend the stairs.
Du Zihe and Lin Che quickly stick their heads out of the kitchen upon hearing the sound. "That's my grandfather, and he's being assisted by my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law is a retired soldier, and my grandfather really likes him," Lin Che introduced to Du Zihe.
The nanny heard the sound and also came out of the kitchen to greet the old man into the restaurant. "General, the meal is ready."
Lin Che's grandfather, Lin Guodong, is already in his 80s this year. His body is still in decent shape, but his heart is not too good, so everyone is very careful not to anger him.
Lin Che pulled Du Zihe into the restaurant and walked over to where Lin Guodong was sitting. He said to him, "Grandfather, this is Du Zihe, my girlfriend."
Although Du Zihe was very nervous and her heart was pounding, she still managed to be polite and said, "Hello, Grandfather Lin. I am Du Zihe."
Lin Guodong picked up the reading glasses hanging around his neck and put them on his eyes. He carefully looked at Du Zihe from head to toe and asked, "How old are you this year?"
"25, Grandpa," Du Zihe replied, trying to hide her nervousness with a smile.
During the conversation, the whole family sat down in an orderly manner, leaving two seats next to Grandfather Lin for Lin Che and Du Zihe.
"You're 25? Then you should get married quickly, as a woman's prime childbearing years are only a few," said Lin Guodong seriously. "Just like your grandmother, she had five daughters before she gave birth to a son; she had to take advantage of her youth and quickly have children."
Du Zihe felt a lump in his throat when he heard Lin Guodong's words. This old general was surprisingly conservative in his thinking, even favoring boys over girls.
Upon hearing Lin Guodong's words, Xiaogu Ma was worried that it would frighten her goddaughter. She quickly intervened, saying, "Oh dear, Dad. They've only just started dating. Your words might scare the poor girl."
"What are you doing sitting next to me? Yifan, you sit here," Lin Guodong glared at his little aunt.
His little aunt huffed in anger, pouted her lips, and pinched Liu Yifan's arm before reluctantly changing seats with him.
"It was almost your mother's life that was taken when she gave birth to you, and yet you turned out to be a girl." Lin Guodong pointed at his younger sister and brought up the old story.
"Come, come, come. Dad, let's drink and not talk about those things." Liu Yifan filled the glass in front of Lin Guodong with baijiu (Chinese white liquor), "Taste the homemade sorghum wine I brought back from the rural distillery for you."
Lin Guodong doesn't like those fancy high-end wines with flashy packaging. He just prefers the home-made small-batch liquor from rural distilleries.
Du Zihe is eating nervously, afraid of getting indigestion.
Before Lin Guodong went downstairs, everyone was talking and laughing. Now the atmosphere is serious, and no one dares to speak casually.
After drinking a few glasses of white wine, Lin Guodong brought up Lin Che's profession: "You're already 31. Haven't you had enough of being an actor?"
"Why are you bringing up my career again?" Lin Che was impatient.
"Why am I bringing it up again? You're thirty and should be settling down and having a stable career now! I didn't say anything when you were just playing around before," Lin Guodong said in a serious tone.
"It's okay. Lin Che will be back soon. There's a position for him in the company." Liu Yifan quickly tried to ease the tension, afraid that the father and son would have a unpleasant argument.
"You spoil him too much!" Lin Guodong scolded Liu Yifan.
My uncle-in-law wants to change the topic to lighten the atmosphere: "Duguniang, what department are you in at the hospital?"
"Ah, I am in the Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy Department, uncle." I can't remember which uncle-in-law it is, but calling him uncle should definitely be correct.
"Rehabilitation, is it only for old people like us?" Uncle jokingly said.
"No, besides, you are not old. People of all ages can benefit from it," Du Zihe said with a smile, looking at Uncle.
“工作辛苦吗？”
“还好，早8晚4，正常的医院上班时间。”杜紫禾回答。
林国栋在旁边听了一会，打断了他们的闲谈。
"Xiaodu, your work schedule is really tight. After you and Lin Che get married and have children, you won't have time to take care of them. This won't do," Lin Guodong said seriously.
"Grandpa, I..."
Before Du Zihe could say anything, Lin Guodong said, "After you marry Lin Che, don't work anymore. Stay at home and take care of the children, be a good wife and mother."
Du Zihe cannot agree with Lin Guodong's viewpoint. She loves her job very much, not only for making a living, but also because she believes it is meaningful to save and help others.
"Grandpa, I think I should be able to balance my work and family." Du Zihe advocated for herself.
"How can you take care of everything, women don't have that much energy. Your mission in the future is to give birth to a big chubby son for our Lin family," Lin Guodong snapped at Du Zihe as they argued.
"Grandpa, you can't be so traditional," Du Zihe couldn't agree with Lin Guodong's viewpoint, and couldn't accept the task he assigned of having a child. She was feeling agitated.
"You say I'm traditional! If you want to marry into our Lin family, you must do it this way!" Lin Guodong said angrily.
"Dad! Dad! Don't be angry. Du Nianji is still young. She can't handle what you're saying to her," Little Aunt comforted Lin Guodong.
Lin Che originally wanted to quietly bring Du Zihe to have a meal, but he didn't expect that she would have a conflict with her grandfather. Lin Che naturally understood Du Zihe's thoughts and pulled her away from this awkward dinner.
Two people got on the car and drove fast.
"Lin Che, I'm sorry, I may have sounded a little impatient just now." Du Zihe felt a bit apologetic, messing up the first meeting with his family.
"It's fine, I don't blame you. My grandfather has the same temperament, he is uncompromising. You don't have to take it to heart," Lin Che comforted.
"Yeah, I just don't understand why getting married means you have to stop working. I can't relate to that," Du Zihe scratched her head.
"So if we get married in the future, will you follow me when I often go out to work?” Lin Che asked.
“But I have to work too, what will I do if I follow you and work?”
"So, what Grandpa worries about is not without reason," Lin Che began to affirm Grandpa's viewpoint.
"Lin Che, what do you mean? Do you also want me to resign?" Du Zihe looked shocked.
"You can quit your job and stay by my side."
"I have quit my job, how can I make money, how can I support myself?" Du Zihe was very frustrated. He had just argued with his grandfather and now he had to come and argue with Lin Che.
"I will support you. I will earn money for you," Lin Che said firmly.
"Why do I need you to support me? I have hands and feet," Du Zihe said with a bitter smile.
The two of them debated this issue all the way until they reached the bottom of Du Zihe's house.
"I have a flight to Beijing tomorrow," Lin Che suppressed his anger.
"Oh," Du Zihe also felt a lot of grievances.
The question of whether to continue working has been debated all the way, but there is no answer. They do not agree with each other's opinions. Lin Che thought that Du Zihe would ease her attitude because they are about to part, but she doesn't seem to care. Lin Che's heart feels like it is being pierced by something, causing pain.
Du Zihe didn't hesitate for a moment and got off the car quickly, without even giving Lin Che a goodbye kiss.
Lin Che pressed the button of the passenger window, and the car glass slowly descended. Du Zihe looked up, and the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Lin Che slowly spoke, "Xiao He, I am sure that I love you, but are you sure you love me?"
After finishing his words, Lin Che stepped on the accelerator and disappeared in front of Du Zihe.
Du Zihe stood there, constantly thinking about what Lin Che said, "Du Zihe, I am sure I love you, are you sure you love me?"