Bringing the Nation's Husband Home

Only after 4pm did Father Song finally decide to head back.

After saying so much to Mother Song, he was unusually happy, his lips were curled upwards the entire journey back.

When they reached home, Father Song suddenly spoke. ”Sisi, daddy wants to eat the chicken from Qiaoxi, can you get some for me?”

Xu Jiamu turned to look at Song Xiangsi. ”Give me a moment, I’ll go with you.”

”Sisi can go alone, it isn’t far.” Father Song then said,, ”Little Xu, accompany me at the park for a while.”

-

Father Song walked into the park slowly with the help of Xu Jiamu.

He stopped often, pointing out places, telling him more about Song Xiangsi.

”That tree.. should be about thirty to forty years old. When Sisi was young, she loved to play jump rope with the other children.”

”In the past... that man-made lake wasn’t there. When Sisi was younger, it was just a pit, she would play there with a bunch of boys. Every time she came back covered in mud, shed get a scolding from Mother Song.”

”Oh, that cypress forest should be over ten years as well. Back then, these cypress trees were just young seedlings,I never expected them to grow to such heights. Whenever Sisi was upset, she would cry inside this tiny forest.”

”Sisi has a tiny scar on her forehead. When she was young, she would often play with the kids in the neighborhood. There was once when she accidentally fell, hitting her head, causing that scar to form. But it’s barely visible now that she’s grown out her hair.”

After circling the entire park, Xu Jiamu carried him back home.

Even though Father Song was exhausted, he refused to rest. He pulled Xu Jiamu into his room and pointed towards an aged table, signaling for him to open a drawer.

Xu Jiamu went over and pulled it open, seeing inside a worn metal tin. Under Father Song’s instructions, he brought it over.

Father Song tapped the empty space beside him, waving him over. Xu Jiamu brought the tin over and pried it open, finding inside a huge stash of photos - some of them were black and white, some were colored , some looked worn, and some looked new. Amid the stash of photos were entertainment news that had been carefully cut out. They were all about Song Xiangsi.

Father Song’s wrinkled hands caressed the photos before finally pulling a black and white one out. ”This is Sisi when she was a hundred days old. Look at her, she used to be so chubby, unlike now. She’s so thin I’m sure the wind can tumble her over.

”This is when she was one year old, her mother brought her to the photo studio in the city to take this photo. Look, wasn’t she already pretty then?

”This is when she was three... The first year of elementary school… This was the third year of elementary school when she won an award... This was with her grandparents... This was the first year of middle school... And this is her during high school. At that time, she was already popular among the boys and would often receive love letters... This was her during the second year of high school, this was also the year her mother passed away. That year, she barely smiled, hence the sour face in the photo.”