Shen Duoyi didn't react immediately, just staring at Qi Shi'an directly yet bewilderedly. Only after carefully processing the words "birth mother" did he understand what Qi Shi'an meant.

"I'm actually from a single-parent family... well, not exactly single-parent." Qi Shi'an explained, "My dad's marriage with my current mom is his second marriage. Xiao Chuan and I are half-siblings, though emotionally there's no difference from being full siblings. You've met them, right?"

Shen Duoyi nodded: "Yes, that's why I'm so surprised. I never would have guessed."

Qi Shi'an pushed open the conference room door: "I'll tell you the details when we have time. Let's get back to work first."

They had already stayed inside longer than necessary, and since Shen Duoyi wasn't a manager, there was no reason for him to be openly discussing matters with a senior partner under everyone's watchful eyes. So they ended the conversation and returned to their respective offices.

Qi Shi'an went up to the thirtieth floor and asked Annie as he passed her desk: "Double-check the restaurant for this weekend - what time was it?"

"Eleven-thirty." Annie stood to answer. "The restaurant will handle the cake, and the gift will be delivered before we leave work today."

"Got it." After asking, Qi Shi'an entered his office. Instead of going to his desk, he sprawled casually on the sofa. After pondering for a moment, he called his birth mother.

When she answered, he said: "Mom, it's me."

Kong Yinhong skipped the pleasantries and asked directly: "What is it?"

"What else? Reminding you about having lunch with me this weekend, don't forget." Qi Shi'an stared at the ashtray on the table. "Should I pick you up, or will uncle drop you off?"

Kong Yinhong said: "You can pick me up." Before Qi Shi'an could agree, she asked suspiciously: "Not working today?"

"Of course I am, I'm in my office right now."

"Then let's end here, get back to work."

The line suddenly went dead - Qi Shi'an was caught off guard by being hung up on. His mother had been the same for decades: noble and aloof, working around the clock, and habitually holding others to her own standards.

Though it might be unfilial, he secretly hoped the weekend would come later.

Grandpa Shen shared the same hope about the weekend, as Shen Duoyi was taking him for his semi-annual routine checkup - practically a full day at the hospital, which was quite annoying.

The checkup items were extensive, seemingly examining everything from head to toe. After dinner, Grandpa Shen lay back on the balcony to catch the breeze, occasionally letting out a groan.

"Grandpa, what are you groaning about? Acting like you're paralyzed." Shen Duoyi came over with a bowl of strawberries, sitting on his small cushion. "Have some strawberries, I just washed them. They're really sweet."

Grandpa Shen was pained: "How could they not be sweet? How much was one box?"

Old people always fuss over such things - buying fruit for several dozen yuan was more painful than being paralyzed. Shen Duoyi avoided answering and ate them one after another himself. Seeing Grandpa Shen not moving, he said: "These are some imported milk strawberries, they're sweet."

Grandpa Shen had been waiting to argue: "Regular strawberries would be sweeter with sugar."

"Come on, are you going to eat or not?" Shen Duoyi put the bowl on the low table nearby. "Tomorrow at the hospital, you need to fast for two tests, so if you want to eat anything, better eat it tonight."

Grandpa Shen finally ate two strawberries - literally just two. "Getting old, can't eat too many cold things." After eating, he still savored the taste. "What tests are tomorrow?"

Shen Duoyi answered: "The usual ones - blood work, ECG, all the ones you've had before."

As they were talking, thunder rolled across the sky outside, and soon it was pouring rain. Shen Duoyi pushed open the windows, letting the cool, damp wind into the room. He covered Grandpa Shen with a thin blanket, and grandfather and grandson prepared to listen to storytelling together.

Grandpa Shen held the small radio, and after pressing the button, the rough voice of storytelling master Shan Tianfang came through. With a clap of the wooden block, the old man started guessing the plot: "Strong in martial arts, noble in character - must be Qin Shubao's entrance."

Shen Duoyi rested his head on his hand: "Weren't we listening to 'Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'? How did it become 'Tales of Sui and Tang'?"

"I finished that one while you were at work, don't interrupt." Grandpa Shen closed his eyes, listening to Shan Tianfang excitedly narrate the fight scenes. He was old now, could barely walk, but listening to these stories comforted him with memories of when he was once agile.

After two chapters, it was time for bed. Shen Duoyi had flattened the cushion from sitting, and his crossed legs were numb. He struggled to stand up, carrying the small radio in one hand while supporting Grandpa Shen back to the bedroom with the other.

"Grandpa, since we're going out tomorrow anyway, shall we eat out?"

"Fine, you're paying so it's up to you."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Something soft that I can chew."

After sending Grandpa Shen to his bedroom, Shen Duoyi stretched out the blanket and turned off the lamp, then crouched down waiting for Grandpa Shen to fall asleep. The routine checkups happened twice a year, and he actually felt nervous the night before each time.

Grandpa Shen suddenly spoke: "After we're done tomorrow, let's go see your parents. Haven't contacted them in a while."

Shen Duoyi laughed: "How can we contact them? Don't say such scary things."

After tucking Grandpa Shen's blanket again, he said: "Alright then, after the checkup we'll go sweep my parents' graves. I haven't told them about my new job yet anyway."

It hadn't rained for quite a while, and this rain came suddenly and violently. Though they thought it would end quickly, it only lightened in the early hours of the morning, continuing as a drizzle until dawn.

Hospitals are busiest on Mondays, weekends are better. Shen Duoyi drove Grandpa Shen out early, finally giving the noisy, annoying soy milk maker to the recycling station on the way.

Grandpa Shen held his thermos with the last bit of hot soy milk, sighing: "Wonder if the new company will give out new soy milk makers at year-end?"

Shen Duoyi laughed while turning the steering wheel, glancing up at the pendant hanging from the rearview mirror: "Don't know, the boss likes coffee - might give out coffee makers instead."

They arrived at the hospital joking around, and various examinations began for Grandpa Shen. Wheelchair-bound patients were visible everywhere, with elderly people making up the majority. Some test results wouldn't be available immediately and had to wait until tomorrow.

Shen Duoyi helped his grandfather sit down in a chair and said, "Grandpa, the blood test results will be out in half an hour, let's wait. The CT scan should be done around then too. I'll take the results to the doctor's office - you can just wait here if you don't feel like moving."

Grandpa Shen asked, "Where shall we eat lunch?"

"Already thinking about food?" Shen Duoyi felt a bit cold. After a night of rain, the temperature had dropped several degrees, and he was wearing only a thin, loose shirt that let in every breeze.

After finishing the examinations and leaving the hospital, grandfather and grandson found a restaurant to eat. Afterward, they went to a flower shop to buy a bundle of light yellow flowers, planning to visit Shen Duoyi's parents at the cemetery.

The cemetery wasn't in the city center - it took nearly two hours by car. There weren't many visitors outside of holidays and festivals, leaving plenty of empty spaces in the parking lot.

"Careful, Grandpa," Shen Duoyi supported his grandfather as the walking stick tapped rhythmically against the stone steps.

Grandpa Shen grumbled, "Why did you choose such a high spot for them? It's exhausting."

"I just thought the view would be better up here," Shen Duoyi looked up, "We're almost there."

The light yellow flowers were gently placed before the graves. Grandpa Shen stood while Shen Duoyi crouched down to clean the tombstones. He bowed his head, carefully wiping the engraved names and his parents' photographs on the tombstones.

"Grandpa, you go first."