So, why is it that after forty years, WeChat is still around? Not only is it still around, it’s even become something that combines QQ, Weibo, and other communication and social platforms all in one.

After finishing the game selection and heading out, the older man and the younger woman—husband and wife—went to buy daily necessities and clothes. Alice Grant just bought whatever she wanted; she pushed a cart in front, tossing things into it, while Brian Carter followed behind. Occasionally, when he saw her throw in some snacks, he’d pick them up to check the ingredient list or something. Alice Grant picked out quite a lot of junk food—after all, junk food is the source of happiness in life, and when you’re feeling down, you need some junk food to comfort your soul.

As for this, Brian Carter didn’t object. From start to finish, he only said one thing, pointing at a bag of chips in red packaging: “This snack has too many polyolefin synthetic additives, it’s not great. Switch to the one next to it, the ingredients are similar.”

Alice Grant: “Sure, you’re paying anyway.” She switched to the one he suggested.

Buying clothes was the quickest part. Alice Grant grabbed her size and picked a few comfortable outfits, and that was it. In the end, Brian Carter led her to the entrance of a store and said, “You go in and buy what you need, I’ll wait for you at the door.”

Alice Grant was baffled, “What kind of store is this? You’re not coming in with me?”

She walked in and saw nothing but rows of lingerie, and then she understood. She turned to look behind her—there was the old man, tilting his head up to look at the mall’s dome. A sixty-five-year-old man just didn’t have the face to accompany his twenty-eight-year-old wife into a lingerie shop.

They bought quite a lot of stuff on this trip, but thankfully, home delivery was available. The two of them went home easily and signed for a huge pile of goods at the door. Then they made trip after trip carrying things inside, tidying up for almost half the day.

That night, Alice Grant lay alone in the guest room, thinking: so that’s a whole day gone, just like that. Even though something extraordinary had happened to her, life itself wasn’t actually that hard to accept—including her husband, who had turned into an old man. It seemed that wasn’t so hard to accept either. Her new life, which had been a tangled mess, was now being unraveled by Brian Carter, and compared to last night, she felt much less anxious.

Alice Grant lay on the bed, playing the game she bought today on her own device. She had to admit, games forty years later were way more fun than before—so immersive, the “immersive experience” slogan wasn’t an exaggeration at all. She got so caught up playing that she lost track of time, only snapping out of it when a knock at the door startled her, and she realized it was already late.

Outside the door, Brian Carter knocked and said, “Go to bed early, stop playing games. You can play more tomorrow.”

Alice Grant turned to look at the closed door. Suddenly, she remembered the younger Brian Carter. His studies had always been demanding, but whenever he had time and was at home, he’d always come over to her side.

He was a bookworm, didn’t know how to play games, and apart from his field of study, seemed to have no other hobbies. On the rare days off when she didn’t have to work and could stay home gaming, Brian Carter would sit nearby, watching her with longing, wanting her attention but unable to say it out loud. In the end, he tried to join her interests and asked her to teach him how to play. But this straight-A student was absolutely terrible at games—he was so clumsy that even she, who wasn’t great herself, didn’t know how to teach him. He managed to drop her high-ranked account by two levels, and his teammates even called him an idiot.

Then he just sat there and watched as she beat those two who had insulted him so badly that they rage-quit.

Alice Grant smiled, but quickly stifled it, suddenly feeling bored. She tossed aside the game and flopped onto the bed, calling out, “I’m going to sleep.”

There was no sound from outside the door; she didn’t know if he’d left. Alice Grant lay there for a while, then quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to open the door. No one was there.

Downstairs, Mr. Carter was on the phone with someone.

“Sorry to bother you so late. I don’t know if you have time now, if it’s convenient to talk.”

The man on the other end laughed, “Teacher, you don’t have to be so polite with me! Whatever it is, just say it!”

Brian Carter said, “About the will I set up a year ago—I’d like to make some changes.”

“Oh, I see. What would you like to change, Teacher?” The man sounded a bit curious.

Brian Carter: “It’s about my heir.”

……

Alice Grant didn’t fall asleep until very late, so when someone shook her awake in the morning, the veins on her forehead throbbed and her head ached. Frowning, she opened her eyes and saw a stylishly dressed old lady at her bedside, shaking her excitedly, eyes full of tears.

Calling her an old lady wasn’t quite right—she was well-maintained, with dyed black hair, so she didn’t look that old. But age is age, and at first glance, the word “old lady” still came to mind.

For a moment, Alice Grant was confused, not sure who she was. But soon, she found a familiar feeling in the contours of the old lady’s face.

The old lady looked at her excitedly and called out, “Yaoyao!”

Alice Grant’s eyes widened, “Jenny?”

The old lady nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face as she choked out, “It’s me, it’s me!”

The person who showed up at her bedside early in the morning and shook her awake was named Jenny Parker, her best friend. The two of them had been in the same class since kindergarten all the way through high school, so close that they insisted on being each other’s bridesmaids at their weddings.

Alice Grant let out a shout and hugged the sobbing old lady, “Damn, I thought you were dead!”