“Let’s go out to eat, Auntie should have finished cooking by now.”

During the meal, Mom Mitchell once again asked about Mason Scott’s parents. Mason Scott only said that her father had passed away and her mother was abroad. Mom Mitchell sighed twice but didn’t press further, focusing instead on persuading everyone to play three rounds of mahjong after dinner, saying it was good for body and mind. Unfortunately, no one was interested: Dad Mitchell wanted to take a nap, Amy Mitchell wanted to take Zach Wright to visit famous sights in Y City, so Mom Mitchell had to give up, feeling a bit disappointed.

Ian Mitchell hadn’t slept much the previous night, so he used the afternoon to catch up on sleep. Mason Scott had gotten up late in the morning and wasn’t sleepy, so while he slept, she amused herself by going through his old things.

Even an old test paper could keep Mason Scott absorbed for a long time, as she examined his handwriting from back then and checked which questions he got wrong. There were also Ian Mitchell’s old composition books, and Mason Scott read through his essays one by one. Ian Mitchell was excellent at argumentative essays, usually scoring around ninety points. Mason Scott thought about how she only ever got a little over sixty on such essays back then and couldn’t help but feel jealous. Luckily, his lyrical essays weren’t as good, which gave her some comfort.

When Ian Mitchell woke up, he saw Mason Scott sitting on the wooden floor, rummaging through his old odds and ends. He coughed to remind her. “Mrs. He, you’re invading my privacy.”

“Ian Mitchell, you’re awake?” Mason Scott looked up, her eyes bright and full of interest. “Is there anything else fun to look at?”

She really was hooked. Ian Mitchell couldn’t help but laugh and pulled her up. “Don’t sit on the floor.”

He bent down to sift through the scattered things on the floor. “Why does Auntie still keep all this stuff?”

“How old were you in this photo?” Mason Scott handed him an old photograph. In the picture, Ian Mitchell was still a teenager, handsome and upright, wearing the Y City No. 1 High School uniform and holding a trophy.

“Probably first year of high school, at the national physics competition.”

“Physics? I thought you studied law?”

“Yeah, but I was in the science track in high school.”

“If I’d known you were at No. 1 High, I would have gone there too,” Mason Scott said with deep regret. “I could have gone, but I thought it was too far from home and I wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning.”

“Good thing you’re lazy,” Ian Mitchell said, clearly relieved. “Gave me a peaceful high school life.”

Mason Scott glared at him fiercely. “Are there more photos?”

Ian Mitchell took an album from the upper cabinet. “Not many. No one in my family likes taking pictures.”

The album was the old-fashioned kind, clearly from years ago. The first page was a baby photo, with the words—“Ian Mitchell at one hundred days.”

The baby in the photo was fair and chubby, with a slight frown between the brows, looking very dignified. Mason Scott stared at it for a long time, then said in disbelief, “Ian Mitchell, you were this serious even as a baby.”

“Babies don’t have expressions,” Ian Mitchell frowned.

“They do!” Mason Scott argued. “My dad said I used to smile whenever I saw a camera.”

Most of the rest were group photos: a young woman holding a child, leaning against her young husband, smiling happily at the camera. Even though the photography was poor back then, it still captured the woman’s flawless beauty and the man’s tall, handsome figure. Ian Mitchell resembled his father more in appearance.

Mason Scott didn’t say anything else, silently flipping through the only album, then looked up at Ian Mitchell.

“I’m fine.” Ian Mitchell took the album from her hands. “It’s been so long, any feelings have faded.”

Mason Scott studied his eyes carefully, and only after a while did she feel reassured. “Shall we go visit them?”

“Let’s wait for Qingming Festival.” Ian Mitchell gently stroked her hair, which looked like it had been chewed by a puppy. “Wait until your hair grows out, or you’ll really look like an ugly daughter-in-law.”

Spring break wasn’t long. Most of the time, Mason Scott was pulled by Mom Mitchell to the mahjong table for some small-stakes fun, but after several days of intensive training, she hadn’t improved at all. She’d forget her own tiles as soon as she looked at the ones on the table, and when she looked at her own, she’d forget what others had played.

Ian Mitchell could only shake his head and sigh, unsure whether to be ashamed of his wife’s lack of talent or relieved that at least she wouldn’t lose the family fortune at the mahjong table in the future.

They were leaving for A City the next day. That night, Mason Scott tossed and turned, unable to sleep. On her third time turning over, Ian Mitchell pulled her into his arms.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ian Mitchell.” In the darkness, Mason Scott was quiet for a while before speaking softly, “Have I ever told you about my mother?”

Ian Mitchell placed his hand on her back, his voice deep. “No.”

“Dad and Mom were strange…” She paused to recall, then continued, “When I was little, I felt like Mom didn’t really like me, maybe because of Dad, but I didn’t think much of it. Later, after Dad’s incident, I was in the US, and Mom cut off contact with me. It was only then that one of Dad’s old friends told me that Mom and Dad had divorced a month before everything happened. Dad committed suicide in prison because Mom was implicated too, and he didn’t want to drag her down, so he took all the blame himself.”

Although the initial shock had faded, Mason Scott’s voice was still heavy: “I knew they had problems, but I never thought it was that serious.”

Sensing her body tremble slightly, Ian Mitchell held her tighter. “It’s over, don’t think about it.” Though he was eloquent, he wasn’t good at comforting people, so he just patted her gently, as if soothing a baby.

Mason Scott imagined Ian Mitchell coaxing a child and couldn’t help but laugh, the heaviness lifting a little. “I’m not sad anymore. I just thought, I’m really happy now, but she’s still spending New Year’s alone. I wonder how she’s doing.”

Ian Mitchell stared at the ceiling, his eyes calm in the darkness, but his tone was as gentle as the night. “If you’re worried, go see her tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Mason Scott was getting sleepy, leaning against his chest, her voice drowsy. “At least let her know I’m doing well.”

The next morning, Ian Mitchell and Mason Scott said goodbye to the reluctant Dad Mitchell and Mom Mitchell and set off for home. Amy Mitchell and Zach Wright had to go to work earlier and had already left the day before.

Before leaving Y City, they went to Qinghe New Village, but once again, it seemed no one was home. Mason Scott knocked for several minutes, but no one answered.

“Should we wait a bit?”

Mason Scott shook her head. “Forget it, let’s go.”

The old apartment building’s staircase was narrow and long. As they went downstairs, Mason Scott said with experience, “You have to go slow on these stairs, or you’ll bump into someone at the corner.”

Ian Mitchell glanced at her. “How many times have you bumped into someone?”

“…” Mason Scott mumbled, “Not that many.”

Which meant it was actually a lot. Not watching where she was going was one of her bad habits. Ian Mitchell reached out and turned her face left and right, then let out a sigh of relief. “At least you didn’t get your face knocked crooked.”

Mason Scott made a face at him.

Sitting in the car, Mason Scott looked back at the old building, feeling a faint sense of melancholy. She still hadn’t seen her. Even though she and her mother were related by blood, maybe their fate together was just too thin.

As the car was about to leave the neighborhood, Mason Scott glanced out the window and suddenly called out, “Ian Mitchell, stop the car.”

Ian Mitchell hit the brakes, and the high-performance sedan stopped quickly. Mason Scott opened the door and ran back. Ian Mitchell didn’t get out, but saw in the rearview mirror that she caught up with a slim, middle-aged woman some distance away.

A sudden irritation welled up in his heart. He instinctively reached into his pocket for cigarettes, but found none—he remembered he’d been planning to quit his already small smoking habit, so he hadn’t brought any. He closed his eyes, sighed, leaned back in the seat, and turned on the car stereo. Soft music flowed out, soothing his mood.

He didn’t know how many times the same piano piece had played when he heard a knock on the window. Ian Mitchell opened his eyes and saw Mason Scott, so he rolled down the window.

“I just told my mom I got married. Do you want to meet her?” Mason Scott asked.

Ian Mitchell nodded silently.

In the distance, Mason Scott’s mother, Pamela Ford, watched her daughter and a tall, upright young man walking toward her. Her eyesight wasn’t good, so she couldn’t see his face clearly, but she could sense his outstanding presence. It seemed Xiaosheng had good taste.

But… Pamela Ford frowned. Just now, Xiaosheng said his name was Ian Mitchell?

Ian Mitchell—why did that name sound so familiar?

In a moment, they were in front of her, and Pamela Ford could see that he was indeed a fine young man.

Mason Scott introduced them.

“My mother.”

“This is the Ian Mitchell I told you about.”

“Hello,” Ian Mitchell greeted her calmly.

Pamela Ford’s thoughtful gaze lingered on him, her sense of unease growing stronger. She smiled politely. “So you’re Ian Mitchell? Xiaosheng has good taste.”

“Mm.” Mason Scott felt a bit awkward.

No one said anything more, and Mason Scott didn’t have much to say. The questions she wanted to ask were taboo, and the polite greetings were quickly exhausted.

“Ian Mitchell, did you bring your business card?” Mason Scott suddenly remembered.

Ian Mitchell nodded. “It’s in the car. I’ll get it.”

On the back of the card Ian Mitchell brought, Mason Scott quickly wrote her cell phone number and handed it to her mother. “This is my contact info. If you want to reach me, you can call this number.”

Pamela Ford took it, glanced at it, and said, “Since you’re in a hurry to leave, I won’t keep you.”