My name is Little Pomelo.
Because I was born in the season when pomelos ripen.
I have a gentle and virtuous mom, and a great scientist dad.
But the person I like the most is my grandma!
Grandma is also an incredible scientist, everyone calls her “Professor Jiang.”
Sometimes Grandpa calls her that too.
Whenever that happens, Grandma always replies, “Professor Xie.”
Bet you didn’t expect it, right? My grandpa is also a scientist!
I often hear Grandpa and Grandma’s names in news reports, and their papers are in those scientific journals I can’t understand.
There are many reasons why I like Grandma.
First, Grandma is very beautiful and also very clean.
Every time I throw myself into her arms, there’s a faint scent of oranges.
I’ve seen photos of Grandma when she was young, you can find them online with a simple search. She’s even prettier than celebrities. It’s said that back then, Grandpa drank up all the aged vinegar in Sifang City.
Who doesn’t like beautiful people?
Anyway, I like them!
Mom says I’m a total looks enthusiast.
I admit it!
Secondly, Grandma is also extremely smart, no matter what it is, she learns it instantly!
She can play the hardest version of TYT board games, solve the starred difficult problems in workbooks, and even handcraft Luban locks, general’s desks, and all kinds of modern architectural models.
Oh, right, whether it’s Huarong Dao, Monopoly, script-kill games, or escape rooms, Grandma is always the MVP!
On parents’ open day, I brought Grandma along, and then… we won almost all the prizes, even making my deskmate, the chubby boy, cry from anger.
Grandma also loves me very much. She says I’m her little sweetheart, just one look at me makes her heart feel sweet!
I think it must be because Grandpa controls her too strictly and doesn’t allow her to eat sweets, so she likes hugging me so much.
Because I’m sweet, I can satisfy her cravings!
Besides Grandma, I also love Grandpa very much.
First of all, Grandpa is super handsome and cool. Especially when he wears a suit, he looks like a domineering CEO straight out of a TV drama, very stylish!
However, that coolness lasts less than three seconds. Then he’ll lean close to Grandma and act spoiled, asking her to help tie his tie or fix his collar, any excuse will do~
At those moments, Grandma will say she doesn’t want to, doesn’t feel like it, is unwilling, but her hands are very honest.
She ties a beautiful knot, adjusts it neatly, and finally smooths out all the wrinkles with her palm.
“All done, Professor Xie.”
“Much appreciated, Professor Jiang.”
The two look at each other and smile.
At that instant, even as a bystander, I feel like I’ve been struck by happiness, and the corners of my mouth unconsciously lift.
It was also then that I realized, not every couple in the world is as loving as Grandpa and Grandma.
For example, Dad never acts spoiled asking Mom to tie his tie, and Mom never looks at Dad with that helpless yet indulgent gaze, like she’s looking at a child.
If I had to describe it in one phrase, it would be…
Respectful as guests.
For a long time after that, I was very confused. If it’s not like Grandpa and Grandma, married for love, then why get married at all?
Dad patted my head and sighed.
He said: There are many kinds of love. Not every kind is like your grandparents, possessing equally outstanding looks, evenly matched intelligence, and perfectly compatible souls.
I asked: Then what about you and Mom?
Dad smiled faintly: We met the right person at the right time, and through day after day, year after year together, we gradually became compatible.
I didn’t understand, but I still nodded.
Dad returned to the laboratory and continued working.
I think he loves Mom, loves me, and also loves those experimental instruments, data analysis, and research papers.
If it’s really as hard as Dad says, then why are Aunt and Uncle just like Grandpa and Grandma, so loving?
Will I also be able to find a boy in the future who can love me the way Grandpa loves Grandma, the way Uncle loves Aunt?
But when I experienced my first love, and then broke up half a year later, I realized that “love” isn’t simple, nor is it as sweet and affectionate as what Grandpa and Grandma show.
In my junior year, I dated my fourth boyfriend.
He was Dad’s student, a rising star in the physics world.
I hoped he would have a scientist’s romance, like how Grandpa once used holographic AI projection technology to gift Grandma a spaceship on their wedding anniversary.
Unfortunately, he embodied a scientist’s silence and dullness perfectly, and displayed a straight man’s rigidity and stubbornness to the fullest.
So, this relationship only lasted two months.
Even when we broke up, he was calm and rational, like a cold, emotionless machine.
At that moment, I suddenly felt relieved. There was only one thought in my mind…
Thank goodness we broke up!
Two people who aren’t suitable forcing themselves together is just a waste of time.
It turns out even “suitability” is so difficult.
In my senior year, I dated a programmer.
He was 1.8 meters tall, not very handsome, but not ugly either. He was one of the “Genius Program” graduates newly recruited by my uncle’s company, with a prestigious academic background and outstanding ability.
But this relationship only lasted half a year.
The reason for the breakup was that he worked too much overtime, every time I called, he couldn’t come out.
The moment the words “break up” were spoken, although I felt a little wistful, I wasn’t heartbroken.
Aunt said: Silly girl, you’ve never truly loved, how could you be heartbroken?
What is love?
I don’t understand, but I know I may never find someone who loves me the way Grandpa loves Grandma.
Yes, Grandpa loves Grandma.
From childhood to adulthood, what I’ve always seen is Grandpa coaxing Grandma, indulging her, giving way to her, treating her like a treasure in the palm of his hand.
Grandma, of course, also loves Grandpa, but I always felt it wasn’t as much as he loved her.
Until…
The year I graduated with my doctorate, a 3S virus broke out in Continent F. Due to its strong transmissibility and high fatality rate, the infected would become stiff, convulse, and show symptoms like bloodthirst and eating raw meat, just like zombies in movies. So the disease was also called “zombie disease” by the locals!
China immediately dispatched a virology expert team to Continent F, but after two months, the death toll did not decrease, and the virus was not effectively controlled. It continued to infect the general population on a large scale.
Grandpa was appointed at a critical moment and, at the age of ninety, rushed to the frontlines of the epidemic.
On the day he left, Grandma went to the airport to see him off. They embraced in farewell, but neither shed tears, their faces remained smiling the whole time.
“Professor Xie, you must come back early.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
However, this time Grandpa broke his promise. Because of his advanced age, his resistance was already weak, and he worked day and night at high intensity. In the end, he was infected by the virus, collapsed at the lab bench, and never woke up again.
That night, Grandma received the call. From answering to hanging up, it took one minute and eight seconds. She only said one sentence the entire time: “Okay, I understand.”
I saw tears clearly in Grandma’s eyes, but they never fell.
The next day, Grandma boarded a flight to Continent F.
Before leaving, she smiled at Dad and Aunt, then patted my head. “Take good care.”
After leaving those four words, she turned and walked into the cabin without looking back.
Soon, the loud roar of the propellers sounded, then gradually faded away, disappearing, no longer heard.
Three months later, the vaccine was developed, and the virus was completely conquered.
But along with the good news came the bad news of Grandma’s passing.
She wasn’t infected, nor did she die suddenly. On the night the vaccine was successfully developed, she held Grandpa’s urn as usual, closed her eyes to sleep, and quietly stopped breathing in her sleep.
According to the medical staff present at the time: Professor Jiang passed very peacefully, her complexion rosy, her expression calm, with a faint smile still on her lips.
I know, Grandma must have felt that Grandpa would be too lonely alone, so she went to accompany him.
That sentence before she left, “Take good care”, was not a farewell, but… a final message!
She had known all along and had already made her decision.
At that moment, I realized I was completely wrong, Grandma loved Grandpa just as much as he loved her!
…
Half a month later, two urns draped in the national flag were carried off the plane.
Outside the airport, countless people saw them off with tears.
In the end, the two urns, along with the bright national flags, were buried together in the national cemetery.
Kneeling before Grandpa and Grandma’s side-by-side tombstones, I seemed to see them sitting together on the swing in the garden outside the villa.
Swaying gently, back and forth, Grandpa and Grandma looked at each other and smiled under the setting sun.
…
This is the story of my grandparents.
My name is Jiang Buli, and I have a twin brother named Xie Buqi.
Both names were given by Grandpa.
Thank you for listening.
(End of full text)
Originally, I also wanted to write one for Little Brother Jiang, but I realized that after such an ending, adding anything more would only ruin the beauty. This is the most complete ending in my mind.
Many beautiful things lie in ending abruptly.
This story ends here.
Thank you all for accompanying me along the way. See you in the next book.
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