What Should I Do If I Time-Traveled Forty Years Later and My Lover Has Become an Old Man? - MLFYL: 21

“So… you’re really… pregnant?” Yang Yun stared at the screen, looking like she was trying to remember something important.

“Yep.” Yu Yao sat cross-legged, one hand resting on her flat stomach, the other propping up her chin, just waiting for her old friend to snap back to reality.

Grandma Yang Jun suddenly exclaimed, “So your kid is going to be younger than my grandkids!”

“And? Your sons are older than me.”

“…”

After a few playful jabs, Grandma Yang Yun’s expression turned serious.

She sighed, “Honestly, your Old Jiang has a point. Do you really want to have a baby right now?”

Yu Yao just laughed, “Have I ever regretted any decision I’ve made since I was a kid?”

It was true.

Yang Yun had known her for nearly twenty years. From the little things—like who to be friends with and what to eat each day—to the big life choices, like picking a school, a career, and getting married, Yu Yao had always called the shots. Once she set her mind on something, there was no changing it.

She still remembered when Yu Yao turned down No. 1 High School for that awful No. 16 High School. She had literally broken down her own door with a knife and rolled herself into that school to register. Her stubbornness was legendary.

“When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing that popped into my head was pretty wild,” Yu Yao shared.

Yang Yun asked cautiously, “Was it whether Jiang Zhonglin was happy about it?”

Yu Yao chuckled and shook her head, “No, no. I actually did the math on my pregnancy timeline and realized it happened just a day or two before I time-traveled. So I started wondering, did it happen before or after I jumped through time? If it was before, that means my kid would be forty by the time they’re born!”

Yang Yun couldn’t help but laugh, “How are you even thinking about this stuff?”

Yu Yao grinned, “Why not? It’s a fascinating question! If the baby came along with me when I traveled, then they’d have been on this journey for forty years already. But if they were conceived after I got here, that’s just plain magical, right?”

“I’m a miracle for you, and this baby is a miracle for me, so I’m definitely having this kid,” she declared, her tone shifting. “Plus, if I want Jiang Zhonglin to accept the reality of things, I need to have this baby!”

“What’s up with that? Is Old Jiang not treating you well?” Yang Yun asked, surprised.

Yu Yao grimaced, “He’s got this heavy mindset. He thinks it’s best for us to just be in a mentor-mentee relationship right now. He’s always worrying about what’ll happen to me after he’s gone, like I’ll be all alone with no one around. I swear, I’m ready to wake that stubborn old man up today!”

Yang Yun really knew her friend, so she quickly said, “Hey, Yaoyao, take a chill pill. He’s over sixty, you can’t just go around hitting people! They won’t handle it!”

Yu Yao smirked a bit, thinking about that pillow she tossed out in a fit of rage. Afterward, she saw his face and felt a pang of guilt. It just felt so unfair.

“Well, too late now. I already did it.”

“…”

After a moment, Yang Yun cleared her throat, “Since you’ve already let it out, just move on. But try not to do that again, okay? Here, I want to show you this app.”

She tapped on her terminal and pulled up an app with a cute little flower icon.

“Check this out; it’s got all kinds of stuff—pillows, cups, stinky fish, dog poop, even kitchen knives. Seriously, there’s a ton of options. The holographic projections feel super real when they hit you. So, if you’re really mad and feel like breaking something, just use this. Smash it on him; it won’t hurt at all. Look at this dog! I often use it to let off steam with my husband. It barks when you hit it; it’s a blast.” Yang Yun was clearly having a good time explaining, and it was obvious her husband had been on the receiving end a few times.

“When you’re done venting, just close the app, and all the projections will vanish, or if you step outside a five-meter radius, they’ll disappear too. Super convenient, right? Next time, just use this instead of going for the real deal.”

Yu Yao was taken aback by this ridiculous invention but went ahead and downloaded the app Yang Yun sent her.

Well, even if she didn’t end up using it, it would definitely be fun to play around with.

“Hey, Yaoyao, you’re not gonna get into it with Old Jiang again, right?

Yu Yao scrolled through her app without even looking up, “I didn’t argue with him; that was just a negotiation strategy. I don’t care what he was thinking before. Now that he’s agreed to have this baby, he’s gotta treat me like his wife. I know him well; he’s got this strong sense of responsibility. He looked like he was planning to live forever before, and now that we’re having a child, he won’t go anywhere, even if he’s not feeling great. He’s gotta stick around to take care of the kid until they grow up.” She smiled at the thought.

Yang Yun couldn’t help but chuckle, “Looks like you had Old Jiang wrapped around your finger from the start, and here we are, he still can’t handle you.”

Yu Yao shook her head seriously, “Marriage isn’t about winning or losing, so there’s no fight. If two people want to be together for the long haul, they need to be rational along with the love. It’s super important to understand each other’s personalities and find the right way to get along.”

“Sometimes, I think maybe my time travel of forty years wasn’t all that bad. If I hadn’t gone back, we might have ended up like a lot of couples, with feelings fading and eventually splitting. Even though Jiang Zhonglin liked me a lot, I never thought that kind of feeling could last forever; otherwise, why do we hear about so many seven-year itches? I just vanished when our feelings were at their peak, so he kept thinking about me and couldn’t forget me. He’s held onto my memory for forty years.”

“In his mind, I’m this woman no one else can compare to, and he’ll never forget me. He probably never got to see my flaws, so he’s turned me into the ‘best’ in his eyes. After losing me and finding me again, he won’t change his mind; he’ll just stick by me and love me even more until the end. That way, we won’t have any emotional issues in our marriage—doesn’t that sound great?”

Yang Yun was taken aback by what she heard.

She had so much to say, but ended up keeping it to herself. Never mind, she decided to stay quiet and just grieve for Jiang Zhonglin.

After all, who could blame the old gentleman for falling for Yu Yao back in the day?

Just then, the door creaked open, and Yang Yun turned to see her three-year-old grandson.

Her face instantly lit up with a warm smile, “Hey there, sweetie! Come here to grandma!”

The little guy dashed over and was scooped up into her arms.

She proudly showed off her grandson to Yu Yao, “Look at him in this adorable little duck outfit! Isn’t he just the cutest?”

Yu Yao gazed at the big-eyed mixed-race boy and replied, “Aww, he’s so cute! Where’d you get that outfit?”

Yang Yun beamed, “I got it for him! If you like it, I can grab a few for your little one too. They have bunny outfits too!”

Yu Yao chuckled, “It’s still a few months until my baby arrives, so no need to rush.

She glanced at the little boy in Yang Yun’s arms, imagining her own child would be even cuter. No matter if the baby took after her or Jiang Zhonglin, it would definitely be a cutie.

Ideally, it would resemble Jiang Zhonglin so he could teach the little one well. She just knew her child would grow up to be polite and smart, definitely not like her with that rebellious streak she never really liked.

Yu Yao was lost in thought when there was a knock at her door. It was Jiang Zhonglin. With the temperature dropping, he had on a long-sleeved shirt layered with a light beige knitted sweater. His glasses perched on his nose, he looked over with that gentle, scholarly vibe he always had.

“Let me help you carry your stuff downstairs,” he offered.

Yu Yao was moving to the first floor to share a room with him. The old gentleman was concerned it might be a hassle for her to go up and down the stairs while heavily pregnant. She wasn’t surprised by his decision; she had been expecting it.

Jiang Zhonglin’s wife, who seemed to have a knack for predicting things, simply grabbed her pillow and quilt, “Sure.”

His bedroom was on the first floor, with a direct entrance to the study. The sliding door to the study was usually half-closed, so stepping into the bedroom, you could catch a glimpse of rows of bookshelves, a desk, and several cabinets overflowing with books in his study. The desk was a bit chaotic, scattered with manuscripts, pens, ink, paperweights, and other little odds and ends.

In contrast, his bedroom was much tidier, featuring a dark blue mattress with matching quilt and pillow. On the small cabinet next to the bed sat a desk lamp, and underneath was a book he probably read before hitting the hay at night.

Across the small balcony, there was a rattan chair positioned by the window. It had clearly been there for a few years, with worn-out armrests that hinted Jiang Zhonglin spent plenty of time sitting there.

The room had a few closed cabinets, and the walls were totally bare—no decorations, no fun patterns or colors at all. It felt really quiet and abandoned in there.

Yu Yao spun around and tossed the pillow and thin quilt she was holding onto the bed.

Her quilt was a light purple with some patterns, and when it landed on the dark blue bedspread, it looked like a flower had just bloomed. She didn’t even bother to spread it out properly and instead opened the wardrobe to take a peek.

Honestly, nine times out of ten, a single guy’s wardrobe is a bit of a mess, even if he’s a nice older gentleman.

She just dove right in and started sorting through Jiang Zhonglin’s clothes to make some space for her own.

Jiang Zhonglin picked up the quilt she had tossed onto the bed and, noticing her squatting in front of the wardrobe organizing things, he walked over, “Let me help you with that.”

She put on a mock serious face, “No way, just step back.”

Jiang Zhonglin was left speechless.

Even though they had come to an agreement about the kid, seeing Yu Yao like this made it clear she was still upset, and she wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. He thought to himself that maybe he shouldn’t have said what he did; no wonder she was still in a funk.

It’s pretty normal for couples to have their spats, and a few words here and there are no big deal, but with Yu Yao still upset, it was weighing on him Jiang too. After thinking it over, he decided to step outside for a bit.

Yu Yao didn’t catch what he was saying. After a moment of silence, she watched him walk away.

She shot a glance at the secret passage behind her. The older he got, the more awkward he became! He claimed she had a heavy psychological burden, but honestly, he was the one carrying the weight of his thoughts.

Maybe he’s been teaching for too long, and it’s made him more stubborn than he was in his younger days. He’s trying to act all teacher-like, but he just doesn’t know how to connect with her. If she doesn’t push him, he’ll just bottle up his ‘for your own good’ ideas and end up suggesting something like ‘living apart.’

If she doesn’t help him out of this rut, they really won’t be able to make it work.

Luckily, even if the old dog is trickier than the young pup, at the end of the day, he’s still part of the family, and it shouldn’t be too tough to sort things out.

The tears she shed earlier were a mix of genuine sadness and a bit of performance. No matter how old he is, how can he stay indifferent when he sees the person he likes so upset and crying? It’s just not possible.

Especially Jiang Zhonglin; she knows him well, and her observations over the past couple of months have paid off.

If she can cry once, then crying a second time will surely tug at his heartstrings.

In the end, being too fond of someone can be a double-edged sword.