Axolotl Translations

As Qiao Haoyu arrived at the entrance of the Wei family’s courtyard, he saw Aunt Fen washing clothes in the yard while Grandaunt sat in the shade, stitching a shoe sole. With a bright voice, he greeted them, “Grandma Wang, Aunt Fen, I’m back!”

Hearing a man’s voice from outside, both women paused their work and looked up toward the entrance.

There, standing before them, was a young man in a green military uniform. His appearance hadn’t changed much, though there was now a hint of maturity in his features that hadn’t been there before.

Aunt Fen was the first to react. She quickly put down the clothes she was washing and stood up, exclaiming, “Haoyu, you’re back! Come on in!”

Then, noticing the bags in his hands, she frowned slightly and chided him, “We’re family—there’s no need to bring gifts every time you come.”

Haoyu handed her the bags with a good-natured smile. “These are just some supplements for Grandma Wang and you, as well as a few treats for the children. Nothing too extravagant.”

Hearing this, Aunt Fen didn’t argue further and took the bags from him. After all, she knew from experience that there was no point—Haoyu had always been like this. Every time he visited Shencheng, he would show up with bags of gifts, and by now, they had grown used to it.

Seeing it was Haoyu, Grandaunt set her shoe sole aside, got up from her seat, and watched him approach with a warm smile. His upright posture and confident demeanor made him seem even more imposing than before.

“Grandma Wang, I came to see you. How have you been? Is everything at home going well?” Haoyu asked with concern as he approached Grandaunt.

“Good, good! Everything is well!” she replied, gently patting his solid arm.

“It’s been three years since you last came back. You’ve grown much stronger! How long will you be staying this time?”

Haoyu stood obediently, waiting for her to finish patting his arm before responding with a smile, “With all the training every day, it’s only natural that I’ve built some muscle! This time, I can stay home for ten days.”

Greataunt felt a twinge of sorrow upon hearing that he had only ten days of leave, but she understood that a soldier’s time was not his own. There was no point in lamenting—it was simply the way of life for those in the military.

At least ten days was enough for him to rest and recover at home. After all, hadn’t Jiajia’s parents gone even longer without returning home?

“Ten days is good. Spend more time with your grandmother while you’re here—she’s always thinking about you.”

“We must make sure you’re well-fed while you’re home! Didn’t you used to love Aunt Fen’s sweet and sour mandarin fish? Let’s have her make it for you today.” With that, she turned to instruct Aunt Fen to head to the seafood market to buy some fresh fish.

Aunt Fen promptly set the bags down in the hall and was about to go to her room to get money and ration tickets when Haoyu stopped her.

“Grandma Wang, Aunt Fen, don’t trouble yourselves. I also brought a classmate home with me, and since today is a bit rushed, we won’t be eating here. I’ll come back another day.”

The two women considered his words and found them reasonable. After all, the boy had just returned, and Grandma Zhang surely wanted to spend more time with her grandson. There was no need to insist—Haoyu would be in Shencheng for another ten days anyway, so he could come over for a meal another time.

“That works too. Next time, we’ll buy fresh ingredients and have Aunt Fen cook for you. I’ll have Jiajia go fetch you when the time comes,” Grandaunt suggested after some thought.

“Alright, Grandma Wang, I’ll definitely come. I’ve been craving Aunt Fen’s cooking,” Haoyu replied with a smile.

Though he was chatting with them, he couldn’t help but glance around the courtyard a few times, but there was no sign of Wei Jiajia. He wondered how her ankle was.

Last night, they had finally pierced through the delicate veil between them. Had she spent the night thinking about it? Was she now regretting it?

Just as he was getting lost in his thoughts, two small, chubby figures suddenly burst out of the left-side room, rushing toward him.

They stopped before him, tilting their heads back as they peered up at this tall, unfamiliar man.

“Who are you? Why are you in my house?” Nuannuan was the first to speak.

Yangyang remained silent but fixed his large, round eyes on Haoyu, staring unblinkingly.

Haoyu looked down at the two tiny kids, who barely reached his knees, and couldn’t help but smile as they interrogated him in their babyish voices.

The two children bore a noticeable resemblance to Wei Jiajia, sharing at least five similar features. Nuannuan, in particular, looked so much like her that Haoyu could almost imagine how adorable Jiajia must have been as a child.

Noticing how much effort they had to make just to look up at him, Haoyu crouched down, his usually serious expression softening into a gentle smile.

“My name is Qiao Haoyu. I’m your sister’s fiancé. I came to visit your Great-aunt, and of course, your sister, your brother, and you two little ones as well.”

Despite their young age, Haoyu didn’t brush them off. Instead, he took their questions seriously and answered them with sincerity.

“What’s a fiancé?” This time, it was Yangyang who asked.

“A fiancé is someone who is going to get married in the future,” Haoyu explained.

“You’re going to marry my sister?” Yangyang’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s right. We’re going to get married,” Haoyu affirmed without hesitation.

Watching this interaction, Grandaunt and Aunt Fen exchanged smiles, their expressions filled with warmth and amusement.

“Wow! Does that mean there will be a baby soon?”

Nuannuan’s thoughts took an unexpected turn. As the youngest in the family, she had always wished for san even smaller sibling to play with—then she could finally be a big sister.

Seeing Nuannuan’s wide, curious eyes—so much like Wei Jiajia’s—and the subtle excitement flickering within them, Qiao Haoyu suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

How was he supposed to answer that? Of course, they would have children after getting married, but Jiajia was still young. Marriage would have to wait until she finished university, and as for children… who knew how long that would take?

Looking at this miniature version of Jiajia standing before him, Haoyu could already imagine what their future daughter might look like—just as smart and charming as Nuannuan, with delicate, doll-like features.

Nuannuan, seeing that the uncle in front of her was simply staring at her without answering, grew impatient and quickly tugged on Qiao Haoyu’s hand.

“Uncle, when will you and my sister have a baby?”

Haoyu snapped back to reality. The first thing he noticed was her calling him “uncle,” which pierced his heart like a dagger. But as for when they’d have a baby… that wasn’t something he could decide on his own.

Even though he and Jiajia now had a mutual understanding, today was only the first step in his pursuit of her.

Seeing the eager anticipation in Nuannuan’s eyes, he worried that if he didn’t answer, the little girl might start crying.

“You should call me ‘big brother,’ not ‘uncle,’” Haoyu said, quickly steering the conversation in a different direction.

“Where is your sister? I haven’t seen her.”

“She’s still sleeping,” Yangyang answered matter-of-factly.

“The sun is already high in the sky, and my sister is still asleep. I wish I could grow up quickly without having to eat vegetables!”

Hearing Yangyang’s words, Nuannuan immediately remembered her own wish.

Upon learning that Wei Jiajia was still asleep, Qiao Haoyu felt reassured. He wondered if his sudden confession last night had kept her up all night.

Grandma Wang and Aunt Fen couldn’t help but chuckle at the little one’s wish. Nuannuan’s aversion to vegetables had always been a headache for them when preparing meals.

Inside the house, Wei Jiajia was feeling more and more like an ostrich hiding from reality.

She really should’ve gotten up the moment the kids walked in. Would Haoyu think she was lazy?

And the little ones’ questions—those made her feel even more embarrassed. She and Haoyu were still in an ambiguous stage, yet the conversation had already turned to having children. Thankfully, Qiao Haoyu had managed to steer the topic away; otherwise, she might not have been able to leave her room today.

Pushing aside her embarrassment, Wei Jiajia quickly got up and headed outside. She was worried that if she didn’t intervene soon, Qiao Haoyu might struggle to keep up with the children’s whimsical thoughts.

Just as Haoyu was busy answering the endless stream of questions from the little ones, he suddenly heard the door creak open and instinctively looked up.

Before his eyes stood the very figure that had occupied his thoughts all night. The young woman wore her hair in two neat braids and was dressed in a simple black-and-white checkered dress. Though the colors and design were modest, they only served to highlight her delicate beauty. The sunlight cast a soft glow on her exposed skin, making it appear as smooth as porcelain.

She was even more breathtaking than last night, and the thought that she was his future wife made her all the more irresistible.

As Qiao Haoyu gazed at the young woman’s radiant smile, his heart began to beat erratically. Only he knew how badly he wanted to pull her into his arms, to keep this beautiful sight for himself alone.

Feeling a little shy, Wei Jiajia placed her hands behind her back, fidgeting with her fingers as she greeted him.

“Brother Haoyu, you’re here! Sorry, I woke up a bit late today.” As she finished speaking, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“It’s okay. I just came a little early,” Qiao Haoyu reassured her, sensing her discomfort and shifting his gaze to her ankle.

Noticing his concern, Wei Jiajia responded with a reassuring smile and took two steps forward to show that she was fine.

Only after confirming that her ankle was normal did Qiao Haoyu finally felt at ease.

The two little ones, seeing their sister come out, immediately ran over, each clinging to one of Wei Jiajia’s legs while calling out, “Sister! Sister!” over and over again. Fortunately, their enthusiasm kept Jiajia from feeling too self-conscious.

She gently patted their heads and said, “Go play for a bit. Sister needs to wash her face and brush her teeth.”

Hearing this, the two little ones realized their sister hadn’t had breakfast yet. Being quite understanding, they let go of her legs and started playing with the wooden toys that Uncle Zhu had made for them.

Aunt Fen also noticed Jiajia’s unease in front of Haoyu and quickly stepped in to ease the situation. “Jiajia, go freshen up. Your breakfast is still warm in the pot.”

Then, turning to Qiao Haoyu, she spoke in a half-complaining tone, “You know, this girl has barely had a proper night’s rest because of the college entrance examination. Every day, she’d study until midnight and wake up early to start reciting her lessons. Now that the exams are finally over, the tension in her heart has suddenly eased, and of course, she’s feeling exhausted. She even woke up with a headache this morning.”

She cast a glance toward Jiajia, who was brushing her teeth by the sink, and continued, “Now that both of you are here, you should take this chance to properly replenish yourselves. Jiajia has lost so much weight from all the stress, and you, too—no matter how good school food might be, it can’t compare to a proper home-cooked meal.”

Hearing Aunt Fen’s words, Qiao Haoyu agreed wholeheartedly. He had already noticed last night, when carrying her home, just how light she was.

“In that case, I’ll be eagerly awaiting Aunt Fen’s best dishes,” he replied with a smile.

Having finished freshening up, Wei Jiajia walked toward the kitchen, listening to their conversation with a sense of resignation.

In truth, she was quite satisfied with her current figure. Though she appeared slim, she had everything she was supposed to have. Compared to most young women nowadays, she had nothing to complain about. Even by modern standards, her well-defined S-shaped curves would be the envy of many.

She turned to her grandaunt, who was sitting in a shaded spot listening to the conversation, and asked, “Where are Xiangdong and Xiangxi? I haven’t seen them around.”

Her great-aunt chuckled. “Those two went with Uncle Zhuzi to the recycling station.”

Jiajia nodded in understanding. Because of Uncle Zhuzi’s job, their house was always filled with random items he had salvaged from the recycling station.

The twins had taken a particular interest in the place after realizing it contained an assortment of discarded comic books. Ever since then, they had made a habit of accompanying Uncle Zhuzi every few days.

The family actually encouraged them to go. After all, there wasn’t much to do at home, and at least at the station, they could lend a hand when Uncle Zhuzi was busy.

Besides, the place was full of old books and various second-hand items, which was a great way for them to broaden their horizons. Even if they stumbled upon books they couldn’t yet comprehend, they could always bring them home and have someone explain them.

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