Alice Grant’s anger, which had finally subsided, suddenly flared up again as she continued to shout, “What are you hiding from!”

Mr. Carter silently turned his head back again. He lowered his eyes to look at his wife, whose appearance hadn’t changed in forty years, and felt a cool touch on his face, leaving him momentarily dazed.

He recalled a memory: after they got married, they took turns cooking—whoever had time would cook, and both of them were decent enough in the kitchen. When both were free, it was usually him cooking, because at those times Alice Grant would be in the living room playing games. He didn’t like onions, but Alice Grant loved them. The first time he bought onions, he had no idea how powerful they were; as he cut them, his eyes watered so much he couldn’t see through his glasses, and he couldn’t wipe his eyes with his hands, so he awkwardly used his arm, nearly knocking his glasses off.

As newlyweds, he was too embarrassed to call out to Alice Grant in the living room for help. But just then, Alice Grant, who should have been playing games, appeared at the kitchen door. She glanced at his sorry state and said, “I could tell you weren’t paying attention the moment I smelled onions. Bookworm is always a bookworm—no life experience at all.”

As she spoke, she leaned in to wipe the tears from his face. The sensation of her fingers touching his skin was just like this.

It was as if time had rewound, as if the old scene had returned. He was still that young man trying to win his wife’s favor with his cooking, made awkward by a single onion. Yet, as he lowered his head and let his wife’s fingers brush his cheek, his heart skipped a beat.

Alice Grant’s fingers touched the white hairs at Brian Carter’s temples. He seemed to have gone gray earlier than others; even Old Xu from Yang Yun’s family, who was a few years older, didn’t have as much white hair as he did.

A faint ache welled up in Alice Grant’s heart. She lowered her hand, but her other hand still held tightly to Brian Carter’s.

Suddenly, she looked seriously into Brian Carter’s eyes and asked, “Back when I decided to marry you, Yang Yun didn’t think it was a good idea because you were three years younger than me, and my dad didn’t approve either. But I still married you. Do you know why?”

After all the ups and downs, Mr. Carter, whose hand had been held by his young wife for quite a while, had quickly adapted and could now take it in stride. He answered tactfully, “I thought it was because your father didn’t approve, so you…”

Alice Grant was caught off guard by his answer and felt a bit choked up. Her relationship with her father had always been rocky, and she did often oppose him just for fun. But hearing Brian Carter say it like this, she wasn’t happy. So, in a rather unfilial move, she gave Mr. Carter’s hand a squeeze.

Although that was part of the reason, “That’s not the main reason,” Alice Grant said, tugging at the corner of her mouth and steering the conversation back.

Mr. Carter sighed inwardly, tolerant of the young one’s temper. “Then I must have misunderstood back then.”

Alice Grant said, “It was because you liked me that I agreed to marry you.” In her more than twenty years of life, she had liked many things, but never herself. She always felt she was full of flaws, nothing to like. So when she met Brian Carter and discovered his feelings for her, she was surprised and curious—curious how long he could keep liking her—so she agreed to marry him.

“Do you know what I mean by that?”

“……”

“I mean, if you don’t like me anymore, I’ll move out as soon as possible, so you don’t have to feel uncomfortable around me.” If he didn’t want her to stay, she really would leave right away.

Brian Carter’s fingers, held by Alice Grant, twitched slightly. After a long pause, he said, “Stay.”

“Alright.” Alice Grant smiled. “See, wasn’t that easy? You’re so tight-lipped.”

After saying this, she crossed her arms and walked out. At the kitchen door, she turned her head and said, “I actually think old men are kind of cute now. It doesn’t feel weird to touch you at all.”

After she left, Mr. Carter turned back to rinsing the rice. After a couple of rinses, he suddenly realized—had he just been teased by Alice Grant?

Ah, young people. Mr. Carter had taught so many students in his life, encountered all kinds of difficult young people, but the only one he couldn’t handle was this one. At his age, being scolded by a young person, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Alice Grant was a very gentle person. Her gentleness was different from his, hidden beneath her casual manner. What she had just said and done was simply to express one thing—“Keep me by your side.”

Not everyone can accept a lover who has suddenly grown old without any reservations. She had just told him plainly that she accepted it.

It was almost impulsively simple. But that’s how young people are—when there’s love in their hearts, they’ll do anything for it.

Two days ago, he received that phone call. The young staff member told him they had found his wife. For a moment, Brian Carter thought he’d misheard. He couldn’t understand what the person on the other end was saying; the teacup in his hand fell to the floor, water splashing onto his shoes. He couldn’t help but ask, “Did you just say…?”

The staff member repeated it. When he heard the words “your wife Alice Grant has come back,” he didn’t catch anything after that and had to ask again. He had never found a sentence so hard to comprehend—he understood every word, but just couldn’t grasp the meaning.