The crybaby nanny was bullied and cried again by her yandere husband.

The ceremony for incorporating the child into the family genealogy was scheduled for three days later.

The Qin family's rules are indeed quite strict.

Because of this ceremony, Qin Zhengde gave Shang Yu and Lin Zhao a stern warning.

They were instructed not to meet during the day or at night for the next three days.

Moreover, Lin Zhao had to bathe and burn incense every day.

Shang Yu could roughly guess why he wasn't allowed to sleep with Lin Zhao at night; it was similar to going to a temple to pray for blessings—it required abstinence from sex…

Three days isn't actually a long time; he could manage just abstinence.

The problem is that he can't hold Lin Zhao while sleeping for three nights in a row, and he really can't stand that!

I don't know if it's because they're afraid Shang Yu will sneak into Lin Zhao's room in the middle of the night.

The old man was extremely wary of him.

They were specially assigned the two furthest rooms.

One is on the third floor, and the other is on the first floor.

Shang Yu's room was on the third floor, right next to the old man's room. The old man could hear any noise coming from the doorway.

It was absolutely impossible for Shang Yu to sneak out in the middle of the night to find Lin Zhao, because he had tried it before.

As soon as I turned the doorknob, another door opened.

"Xiao Yu, what are you doing so late?"

Shang Yu remained unfazed.

"Grandpa, I need to get up in the middle of the night."

Qin Zhengde fiddled with his Buddhist prayer beads, not even lifting his eyelids.

"Oh, your guest rooms don't have bathrooms? That's really inconvenient. Look around the room, it's right opposite the bed. Young man, keep your eyes peeled."

Shang Yu: ...

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but said nothing at all.

"Go back to sleep."

Qin Zhengde slowly turned around.

"I need to get up early tomorrow to burn incense and get enough rest."

The door clicked shut.

Shang Yu stood there, staring at the tightly closed door.

Should he refrain from embracing Lin Zhao for three days?

dream.

It was two in the morning, and everyone was asleep.

Shang Yu stood by the window and observed the terrain for a full ten minutes.

There is a century-old banyan tree outside the third-floor window, with thick branches and one of its branches extending right out of his window.

The distance isn't far, but it's still challenging.

Shang Yu took off his shoes, wearing only a dark nightgown, and with one hand supporting himself on the windowsill, he flipped over and jumped out.

The branch creaked softly as he stepped on it.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Shang Yu's forehead, and his fingers gripped the rough bark tightly, afraid to move.

His gaze was fixed on the old man's room, and ten minutes later, the lights remained off.

Shang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief and slowly climbed down the tree branch.

Lin Zhao couldn't fall asleep at all, because before going to bed, Shang Yu said he would come to see him tonight.

This man always kept his word, but he didn't expect that the man would actually come, only to climb down from the tree.

"Brother Ayu?"

Lin Zhao opened the window and looked at the man climbing down from the big tree.

Her pajamas were torn to shreds, and there were a few leaves in her hair. I felt both sorry for her and amused.

"How...how did you climb down from the tree?"

"You'll get arrested if you go through the front door."

Shang Yu flipped over and leaped into the room.

Lin Zhao quickly helped him up, removed the leaves from his head, and checked him for any injuries.

When my fingertips touched the cold back of his hand, my eyes welled up with tears.

"Are you stupid? What if you fall?"

Shang Yu pulled the man into his arms and took a deep breath into the crook of his neck.

Like an addict finally taking a breath of divine air, his voice was hoarse.

"Falling won't kill me, but not being able to hold you will kill me."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Lin Zhao punched him unhappily, and Shang Yu caught the punch and kissed it.

Do you miss me?

"I don't want to!"

Lin Zhao blushed and didn't dare to look at him, but her hands honestly wrapped around his waist.

Shang Yu chuckled softly.

"Okay, okay, I don't want to."

After saying that, he suddenly bent down, picked Lin Zhao up, and carried her to bed.

Shang Yu pulled Lin Zhao into his arms, rested his chin on the top of his head, and sighed contentedly.

"It's still more comfortable to hold Zhaozhao."

"Grandpa will be angry if he finds out..."

Despite saying that, Lin Zhao still snuggled closer to him.

"He's asleep."

Shang Yu closed his eyes, his fingers unconsciously stroking Lin Zhao's back.

"I checked, the old man's room is dark."

Lin Zhao looked up at him, her eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Then...then we can only hug, nothing else."

Shang Yu chuckled softly, then suddenly seemed to remember something and tackled Lin Zhao to the ground.

"Okay, just do the other things."

That's not what I meant!

Lin Zhao reached out to block, but Shang Yu easily raised one hand above her head.

"Has Zhao Zhao forgotten that you promised me that day that you would serve me?"

Lin Zhao's eyes widened.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Shang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I remembered it wrong."

Lin Zhao had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Shang Yu had let him go, when the next second, the man suddenly leaned down and covered his mouth with his.

As night deepened, the temperature inside the room gradually rose.

The sound of breaths mingling, the whispers of secrets.

There were also occasional soft humming sounds with a nasal tone and the rustling of fabric, which made people blush.

Shang Yu ultimately kept his promise and did not fulfill it to the end.

Lin Zhao was exhausted, and he lay in Shang Yu's arms, mumbling incoherently.

"Brother Ayu, you need to go back early tomorrow morning..."

Shang Yu held him and patted his back gently, like coaxing a child to sleep.

"Yes, I know."

He lowered his head and kissed the forehead of the person in his arms.

"Sleep well, baby."

At five o'clock in the morning, before it was fully light, Shang Yu woke up.

He gently released the person in his arms, tucked the blanket around Lin Zhao, stole a kiss on his lips, and then got out of bed.

Climbing back up is harder than climbing down.

Shang Yu stood barefoot on the grass, looked up at the old banyan tree, took a deep breath, and was just about to climb up.

The old man's window on the third floor was open.

"Oh, did you get up to go downstairs in the middle of the night?"

Shang Yu put his foot back down, touched his nose somewhat guiltily, and was just about to make an excuse.

Qin Zhengde chuckled and shook his head.

"Alright, let's go through the door. Go back, take a shower, and it'll be time for breakfast."

After saying that, he closed the window.

Shang Yu sighed and silently walked towards the front door.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On this clear and bright day, the Qin family ancestral hall was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood and was packed with members of the Qin family.

The return of the eldest grandson of the Qin family is a momentous event.

Lin Zhao, dressed in a moon-white long robe, stood before the ancestral tablets.

Watching Qin Zhengde dip his brush in ink and slowly write his name on the family genealogy.

"Qin Zhao, courtesy name Mingyuan, eldest son of Cheng'an..."

Halfway through writing, Lin Zhao suddenly spoke softly.

"grandfather."

Qin Zhengde paused, his pen still.

"May I ask you for a favor, grandson?"

Lin Zhao knelt upright.

"The grandson wishes to retain the surname Lin, either as... or as the grandson's courtesy name, or to have it written next to it."

"This is the name the headmistress gave me. She raised me for over twenty years, and her grandson doesn't want to forget her."

Qin Zhengde looked at him for a long time, then sighed and solemnly added a stroke next to the name Qin Zhao.

"His childhood name was Lin Zhao, in memory of the kindness he received in raising him."

Lin Zhao's tears fell onto the blue brick floor.

After the ceremony, Qin Zhengde helped Lin Zhao to his feet and patted the back of his hand.

"As expected of the Qin family, they value loyalty and righteousness."

He then looked at Shang Yu, who understood and stepped forward.

Qin Zhengde personally placed Lin Zhao's hand in his own, and joked.

"Alright, we don't need to climb the tree tonight."

Lin Zhao stared wide-eyed at the old man in disbelief.

"Grandpa...?"

Shang Yu's ears turned bright red, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing that he had amused Qin Zhengde enough, he composed himself.

"Treat him well. If I find out you've bullied him, the Qin family's business in Beijing, while beyond my control, will still give you a lot of headaches."

This was the second warning, yet Shang Yu was not only not annoyed, but was happy for Lin Zhao, which shows that Qin Zhengde truly loved this grandson.

He bowed deeply.

"Don't worry, that day will never come."

On the day they returned to Beijing, Yu Shuwei held Lin Zhao's hand at the airport and cried for a long time.

Qin Cheng'an patted his son on the shoulder and said in a deep voice.

"Come back often, this is your home too."

Lin Zhao nodded heavily, looking at the blue sky of the port city, and finally felt that he had also put down roots in this land.