What Should I Do If I Time-Traveled Forty Years Later and My Lover Has Become an Old Man? - MLFYL: 37

The lively New Year flew by, and spring showed up in no time.

One morning, Yu Yao stretched her arms and legs in the little courtyard by her door. That’s when she spotted a winter jasmine blooming in the corner, its delicate yellow flowers bursting open overnight.

Stepping outside, she noticed the branches were drooping over the fence.

“The forsythia is blooming!” her neighbor, Grandma Nie, called out with a smile from her yard, holding a big bunch of freshly cut forsythia branches.

She had forsythia in her own yard too, but hers looked like a waterfall of flowers cascading over the fence.

Yu Yao had always wondered how stunning it would be in full bloom, and now that she saw it, even the not-quite-open flowers were gorgeous. She had no idea how Grandma Nie managed to make them look so lush.

“Good morning! What are you planning to do with all those forsythia branches?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Grandma Nie beamed and replied, “It’s a tradition from my hometown. When spring arrives and the forsythia blooms, we cut some branches to make a wreath to hang on the door. It’s supposed to keep the family safe from illness and misfortune for the year.”

Yu Yao had never heard of this tradition before, but she found it pretty intriguing, and her eyes drifted back to the lonely little winter jasmine in her yard.

In the end, Grandma Nie handed her a handful of winter jasmine branches, probably to save her from messing with the ones in her own yard.

“Anyway, I’ve got plenty here. You don’t know how to tie them, do you? Come on, I’ll show you how to make a flower ring. Just make sure all the flowers on top are showing. Be careful not to drop any,” she warmly invited Yu Yao into her home to teach her the ropes.

After a bit, Jiang Zhonglin stepped out to find Yu Yao. She wasn’t in the yard, so he started looking around.

Just then, Yu Yao called to him from across the fence, waving a flower ring she had in her hand, “I’m over here! I’ll be back in a bit.”

Even though she said that, Jiang Zhonglin made his way over to watch her sit there, learning from Grandma Nie how to make a forsythia wreath.

“Oh, yes! That’s it! You’re so crafty. My granddaughter just can’t seem to get it. I try to teach her every year, but she never picks it up,” Grandma Nie chuckled, pointing at Yu Yao.

There’s a good reason she is so skilled. After a few years of being a kindergarten teacher, her craft skills really took off. She can whip up a little castle from tiny bits of wood and then paint it in all sorts of colors, making it just as good as the toys you find in stores. The kids at the kindergarten adore her. She can also make paper flowers, cut out butterflies, and more.

Yu Yao grabbed a forsythia wreath and headed back to her own courtyard with Jiang Zhonglin, hanging the wreath on the door.

“Safe and sound, healthy and strong,” she said happily, wrapping her arm around his waist.

As the due date got closer, Mr. Jiang started feeling a bit anxious. He set up a body monitoring program on Yu Yao’s terminal, so he’d get alerts if anything changed with her health.

Even if she was fine and didn’t go out much, he wanted to be there for her, just in case. But still, he couldn’t shake off the worry.

Yu Yao was feeling pretty chill. Ever since she discovered that cesarean sections are now painless, quick to recover from, and super safe, she’s been a lot more carefree. The doctor advised her to take it easy lately, so she ditched the heavy medical books and spent her downtime playing games every day.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhonglin popped two pills in the kitchen, tucked the medicine bottle away, and got the ingredients ready to whip up some soup.

Suddenly, he noticed Yu Yao’s heart rate was racing on the monitor, and his own heart skipped a beat. He quickly set down what he was doing and rushed out, worried that something might be wrong with her.

But when he stepped outside, he found her decked out in a VR headset, fully immersed in a game. The holographic simulation was pretty impressive. She was playing something called Leap Universe, where you can explore new planets and hunt for all sorts of weird alien creatures on desolate worlds.

Right then, she was soaring in the game, leaping off a massive cliff—her heart rate spiking from the rush of free-fall.

Mr. Jiang was just standing there, a bit taken aback.

He couldn’t help but worry that she might end up startling the baby.

After a while,  Yu Yao took off the headset and turned around, spotting him still standing there.

She glanced at the monitor and instantly got why he looked so concerned.

“Honestly, you’re being a bit dramatic. Ever since I put this thing on, I feel totally fine, but you’re probably the one who’s going to freak out,” she said, walking over to him and turning off the alert. “Just relax a bit. You’re way too tense.”

Mr. Jiang switched on the reminder again, “Honestly, I worry even more when I’m not keeping an eye on you.”

With no other option, Yu Yao decided to ditch the game and stick close to him to help ease his nerves. Once she settled in a spot where Jiang Zhonglin could see her, things did get a bit better.

At least now he could wash the ingredients and simmer the soup without stressing out.

She got a video reminder and instantly recognized it was from Yang Yun. She had been in touch with her good friend the most lately.

Opening the video casually, she pointed the camera at Jiang Zhonglin’s back.

Grandma Yang Yun picked up on it right away and grinned knowingly, “Old Jiang is making soup for you again, huh?”

Yu Yao stuck her tongue out and made a face of exaggerated suffering.

This old Mr. Jiang could seriously make the same peanut soup with pig’s trotters for her every single day for a month without changing it. She couldn’t quite figure out his obsession.

Noticing that Jiang Zhonglin was distracted, Yu Yao turned to the camera, puffing out her cheeks so her friend could see, nearly showcasing a double chin.

Yang Yun was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

Yu Yao sighed and murmured, “I’ve been pretty all my life, and here I am, reduced to this.”

Yang Yun leaned closer and whispered back, “What do you have to worry about? Honestly, Old Jiang doesn’t care about your looks anyway.”

“You just don’t get it. A woman’s beauty isn’t just for her partner; it’s really about how she feels about herself, you know? It’s all about that moment when she looks in the mirror.”

Yang Yun replied, “…Okay, you’ve got a point.”

After some light-hearted banter, Yang Yun mentioned, “Your due date is coming up soon. I should head back to China to help you out.”

“No need for that. Why are you going back and forth? Your health isn’t great.”

Yang Yun bit her lip, falling silent for a moment. Then she shifted the conversation to some fitness routines that could help Yu Yao recover after childbirth and some meds that would be good for her.

“Come try this,” Jiang Zhonglin called from across the room.

Yu Yao picked up the terminal and took a sip of the soup he had ladled out, “Why do you keep asking me to taste things lately?”

Jiang Zhonglin grinned, “My cooking’s a bit bland, and I thought you might not like it. So, how’s the soup? Should I toss in some more salt?”

She shrugged, “Go ahead and add it.”

“I feel like your cooking skills haven’t just plateaued; they’ve actually taken a dive lately.”

Jiang Zhonglin paused, “What’s up? Is it too bland for you?”

“I know, I know you’re gonna say too much salt isn’t good for you, so I went easy on it on purpose.”

Jiang Zhonglin added a spoonful of salt to the soup, “Alright, I’ll make sure to add more next time.”

She teased him, “Teacher Jiang, all those recipes you’ve memorized are for nothing. My cooking skills have totally outdone yours lately.”

Jiang Zhonglin chuckled and replied, “I admit defeat. At my age, I can’t keep up with the younger crowd.”

Yu Yao didn’t catch on to anything odd.

When he made a dish that turned out a bit too salty, Yu Yao watched him munch on the stir-fried greens without flinching and couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you think these greens are a bit salty?”

He took a moment, swallowed his food, and said, “Yeah, it is a bit salty. I might have gone a little overboard with the salt.”

With a sigh, she served him a bowl of soup to balance it out, “Stop just taking my word for it. I asked you to add more salt, but not that much! My taste isn’t that heavy. Next time, go with your own palate instead of trying to please me.”

Jiang Zhonglin just smiled, stayed quiet, and focused on his soup.

The next day, Yu Yao noticed that he had picked up a small scale to measure things precisely. Now, when he cooked, it was like he was conducting a science experiment with the seasonings.

Seeing this, she couldn’t help but think that he might be experiencing a bit of pregnancy syndrome. This quirky behavior often popped up in family members of pregnant women, and it was pretty common.

She was pretty sure that Jiang Zhonglin’s nerves were behind all this. She was understanding about it and didn’t pry into how he usually handled stress. She even gave him a break and tried the precise weighing method he swore by. But in the end, she found it a bit too much hassle and decided to stick with her own laid-back cooking style.

Jiang Zhonglin, on the other hand, was all about keeping that exact weighing method alive and kicking.

As the due date drew near, one morning Yu Yao opened her door to find a familiar face lounging on the sofa outside.

It was Yang Yun.

Surprised, she exclaimed, “Yunyun!”

Grandma Yang Yun came over, pulled her into a hug, and laughed while patting her big belly, “Wow, you’ve really packed on the pounds! Remember when we used to sip milk tea and snack together, and you’d brag about not gaining weight? Look at you now! Guess the universe has a funny way of balancing things out.”

“Didn’t I say not to come? It’s such a hassle.”

“I’m here! I told you I was worried.”

Yu Yao understood why she was concerned.

Yang Yun knew about her mom’s situation—it had been a sore spot for her since her teenage years. Back then, Yang Jun was her rock, helping her through all the tough times. No one understood the weight of that emotional baggage better than her, not even Jiang Zhonglin.

Yu Yao felt her eyes welling up as she held her good friend’s wrinkled hands, “Forget it, you’re already here. Now you can see the baby born right in front of you. When my little one arrives, I’ll make sure he recognizes you as his godmother.” They had agreed on this ages ago, decades back.

But Yang Yun waved her hand, “No way! Guagua is definitely going to see me as his grandma. We’re way too far apart in age for that!”

Yu Yao just stared at her friend, who was trying to stifle her laughter, and her expression turned fierce.

She playfully snapped, “Oh, come on! You’re totally taking advantage of me! If you’re Guagua’s grandma, doesn’t that mean you’re my grandma too? Have you forgotten how you used to call me daddy when we played games and begged me to take you along?”

Yang Yun burst out laughing, “Ha ha ha ha!”