They saw Huo Tingzhou standing at the door, unshaven with bloodshot eyes, and carrying large and small bags in his hands.
The old couple felt both happy and distressed.
“What happened to you?” Old Master asked.
Anyone who didn’t know might have thought he had just escaped a disaster and returned.
Huo Tingzhou was used to sharing good news but keeping troubles to himself. In truth, it wasn’t anything serious—just that the border had been unstable lately.
He’d been flying night missions for over half a month straight and had pulled an all-nighter yesterday, which was why he looked so worn out.
“Grandpa, Grandma, I’m fine. I just need to rest for a couple of days, and I’ll be good as new,” he said.
Old Master wanted to press further, but Grandma Huo cut in.
“Alright, the boy just got home—let him catch his breath first,” she said.
As she spoke, she poured some hot water into a basin. “Xiaozhou, go wash up with hot water to freshen up.”
“Grandma, I can do it myself,” he replied.
Grandma Huo didn’t argue. Once he’d washed his face, she filled him in on everything that had happened at home over the past two weeks.
“Oh, right, these are the photos your eldest brother sent,” she added.
They’d only received the photos yesterday morning. The eldest son and his wife were so thoughtful—they’d sent not just photos, but also dried beef strips, milk curds, dried fruits, and candied preserves.
Huo Tingzhou took the photos and glanced at them. In the bottom right corner was the date: June 1st of last year.
The image was a bit blurry, but his eldest brother’s facial features still clearly showed the Huo family resemblance.
He noticed his brother was wearing a military uniform with two pockets on the top and two on the bottom, paired with standard-issue leather shoes from the army.
Huo Tingzhou instantly knew what that meant. That style was called an “officer’s uniform” in the military, worn by those with a rank no lower than platoon leader. Given his brother’s age, he must be at least a deputy battalion commander by now, if not higher.
He didn’t ask how his brother had been all these years—the happy smiles of the family of four in the photo said it all: life had treated him well.
“Grandma, did he say when he might come home?”
Grandma Huo nodded. “Your brother’s family lives in Xinjiang now. This year’s too rushed, so they won’t make it back.”
“But next year, when they have time, the whole family will come to Capital City to visit. Then our family will finally be complete,” she said.
At that, Grandma Huo’s eyes teared up.
Huo Tingzhou wasn’t great at comforting people, so Old Master stepped in.
“Alright, stop sniffling,” he said. “You cried for ages yesterday—if you cry again today, you’ll ruin your eyes.”
“I’m not sniffling! I’m happy!” Grandma Huo insisted, though her voice wavered.
After all, the eldest son’s family had been found. The third son was married—maybe next year she’d even become a great-grandmother. And her daughters-in-law got along like real sisters. She had every reason to be overjoyed.
She’d wanted to chat with her grandson a while longer, but she noticed him sneaking glances upstairs every few minutes.
Grandma Huo smiled. “Stop looking—Sisi isn’t home.”
Not home?
Huo Tingzhou’s expression froze. It wasn’t even 8:15 yet. Normally, Sisi would have just woken up around this time. Even if she’d gone out shopping, she never left this early.
With that thought, he asked, "Grandma, where did she go?"
"She went to the Workers' Stadium with your Second Sister-in-law to watch a match."
"Watching a match?"
"Hmm, not entirely just to watch the match. Your wife has recently been drawing some kind of facial features database template for the public security system."
Grandma Huo didn't understand any of this, but that didn't stop her from thinking her granddaughter-in-law was outstanding.
Yesterday, when she took fruit to the study, she'd made a point to take a look—the eyes and mouths were drawn so beautifully!
Even someone like her, who knew nothing about painting, could tell just by looking at the eyes which neighbor from the family compound they belonged to.
And yet, her granddaughter-in-law had said it was still just a work in progress.
Grandma Huo couldn't even imagine how stunning the finished product would be.
No wonder Fourth Uncle had been so excited lately, always dropping by the old house for no particular reason.
Once she'd more or less explained the whole story, Grandma Huo went on.
"I heard Sisi say she's made progress with the elderly, children, and female subjects. Now she just hasn't finished the male facial features yet."
"Well, today happens to be the Tenth Youth Games."
"Your Second Sister-in-law is a table tennis referee, so she took your wife along."
"Don't worry, your Fourth Uncle sent two people to keep an eye on them—nothing will happen."
Huo Tingzhou said he wasn't worried, but his body told a different story.
In Old Master's words, that expression of his was far from reassuring; he was clearly on pins and needles, feeling like every minute dragged on like a year!
Sure enough, he lasted less than ten minutes before giving in.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm going to the stadium to check on things."
Grandma Huo didn't object. She just looked him up and down, then finally couldn't hold back.
"How about you go upstairs first, take a shower, and clean up a bit?"
She was too embarrassed to say it outright, but he looked way too unkempt to go out like that.
Old Master had no such reservations. His words were as sharp as ever.
"You're already several years older than Sisi. If you don't clean up properly, when you get to the stadium later, people might mistake you for her uncle!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Huo Tingzhou froze in place, rooted to the spot.
Grandma Huo smiled and pushed him toward the stairs.
"Go on, cleaning up won't take long."
"Sisi bought you a new outfit when she went to the department store the other day—it's on the rightmost shelf of the wardrobe."
"After you shower, put it on, and shave your beard too."
Huo Tingzhou grunted, "Got it, Grandma."
Once he was upstairs, Grandma Huo gave the old man an annoyed thump.
"Why did you have to scare him like that? Third Son might be a bit older, but he's perfectly presentable once he cleans up."
Grandma Huo wasn't just tooting her own horn.
All the boys in the family were good-looking. Third Son was just a bit older, but when it came to looks, he had no flaws at all.
"I'm just worried about him, that's all."
In the flow of conversation, Old Master let his tongue slip and blurted out what he'd been keeping to himself.
"Sigh, you have no idea how many people were trying to steal Third Son's girl recently."
What?
Someone was trying to steal Third Son's girl.
"Who? Which shameless scoundrel is trying to steal Third's girl? I'll fix him good!"
Realizing he’d put his foot in his mouth, Old Master waved his hands frantically in a panic.
"Those old codgers didn’t actually say they were going to steal her. It’s just that the day Si girl first arrived, they ran into her..."
His voice grew quieter as he went on, especially when he got to the last part.
"They didn’t know she was Third’s wife, so they asked me about her, wanting to set her up with their own boys."
As soon as the words "old codgers" left his mouth, Grandma Huo instantly zeroed in on the suspects.
"Was it Old Li? If not Old Li, then Old Wang."
Old Master didn’t dare say who it was; he quickly changed the subject.
"Don’t worry, I already set them straight. It’s just that the young couple never held a wedding banquet, so a lot of people in the compound have been asking about it."
In this day and age, only city folks were into getting marriage certificates; in the countryside, most just held a banquet.
Before, the young couple had been far away on Qiongzhou Island, so it had been fine that they didn’t have a banquet.
Old Master meant that now that both of them were back, maybe they should ask them?
If they agreed, they could have a simple banquet.
First, it would stop people from gossiping behind their backs.
Second, they didn’t want to shortchange Third and his wife.
Grandma Huo didn’t object. "Alright, then I’ll ask them when they get back tonight."
The two were so caught up in their conversation that neither noticed Huo Tingzhou had long since stopped on the second floor.
He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop; it was just that when he heard Old Master mention "stealing his girl," his feet had stopped involuntarily.
He didn’t say a word then, but afterward, he was unusually meticulous in getting himself ready.
He even used soap to wash his face, which was a first.
After showering, he carefully shaved off the stubble that had just grown in, then fussed with his appearance in the full-length mirror for quite a while.
Only then did Huo Tingzhou put on the new clothes Jiang Si had bought for him.
Usually, he wore his air force uniform most of the time; this was his first time in such a crisp, upright Zhongshan suit.
When he went downstairs, he saw his grandparents staring at him with wide eyes.
Aside from feeling a little awkward, Huo Tingzhou was more nervous than anything else.
