Timeless

Auspicious

tick tock tick tock

He kept an eye on the clock, his knee bouncing as his cast mates conversed around him.

He felt a hand rest on his knee and he stilled as he looked over to see his mom with a teasing look on her face, "Waiting for something?"

He tried to deny it and shake his head but he was mid-shake when his mom got that knowing look in her eye and he caved, "Yue's performance starts soon and I don't want to miss it. I want her to know that I'm always cheering her on."

He heard his mom let out a chuckle,

"Didi, I don't know how she could think otherwise with that stirring song you led us all in minutes ago."

He blushed thinking about it but the song (even if he didn't remember all the words) was one of Yueyue's favorites and he was so thankful of his cast mates for being game enough to do it.

He posted it on his Weibo but he sent the video first to her with a caption saying "Ning Que and his buddies are sending you good luck. I'm sure you'll kill it. Go out and enjoy every second! I'm so proud of you my love!"

"It's one of her favorite songs Mom" he replied with a shy smile.

His mom smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "Then what's with all the worrying? Don't you think she'll do well?"

He shook his head, "It's not that! I know she's going to ace this performance! I'm just worried that she's going to trip and hurt herself. Have you seen the shoes her stylist has put her in? They are taller than the Great Wall. Mom, my moon is one of the clumsiest people I have ever met so I'm worried she's going to get hurt when I'm not there to catch her."

He felt her pinch his cheeks, "I still can't believe it. My son's in loveeee!"

He looked around worriedly because although there was a lot of noise around them, he didn't want anybody to overhear them.

She tugged his ear as she waved away his worries with one hand, "We are speaking in our Sichuan dialect, I highly doubt they would be able to understand us even if they could hear us, so don't worry Didi."

With his mom's reassurance, his shoulders relaxed and he smiled widely, thinking about Shen Yue for the 1001st time that day and how much he loved her.

"I am. I love her so much Mom. I'm so incredibly lucky the universe brought us together because she is someone I never knew I needed in my life until she arrived. She makes me so happy Mom. I can be myself around her and its so refreshing and comforting. I feel like I can face everything the world throws at me if she is by my side. She is my universe."

He felt himself reddening at that unexpected confession but smiled giddily nonetheless because every part of it was true.

His mom's warm hand cupped his cheek and she looked into his eyes and smiled, "I am so glad my energetic baby boy who is now a man. I have watched you grow up into who you are today, watched your path lead to this very moment right here and I am so proud of you. 

I was worried about you embarking on this sometimes dangerous and uncertain career path on your own. But now, I am so happy that you have found someone who makes you truly happy. I'm not so worried anymore because I know you have her and I trust her with you. I could see it when we met her in Chengdu at the airport and when she stayed with us in Leshan but I know without a doubt now that I wouldn't choose anybody else for you. 

You were made for one another."

Hearing his mom's words of confidence made him more confident in them through all the times they had to be apart. It was all worth it because he had her.

His mom's voice brought him back from his contemplations,

"So, speaking of my future daughter-in-law,"

He grinned just hearing that.

"When is she arriving?"

"She is taking a flight out here as soon as she is done with her performance. She will be staying for almost two weeks. It will be the longest stretch of time we would have spent together all year. We'll get to be together before the filming location changes and it will be harder to see her. I'm very excited."

"Aah! I'm happy for you Didi and I'm happy that I get to celebrate the Lunar New Year with the both of you. Are you sure she wants to spend the Lunar New Year with an old lady like me?"

He nodded vigorously, "Absolutely! Yue loves spending time with you Mom. She says you are one of the most interesting and kind people she has ever met. She has plans for all the things we can cook together tomorrow (so much so that I don't know if we have enough counter space for it all). She is very excited to come and see you."

He watched his mom blush and smile, "You should tell her I am equally excited."

Feeling incredibly happy in that moment, seeing how much his mom is fond of the love of his life and knowing that love, respect and affection is reciprocated, he wrapped his arms around his mom and rubbed his cheek against her hair.

Smelling the perfume that she has worn for as long as he could remember, a scent that he associated with her, he whispered in her ear, "Thank you Mom for everything and for being here right now. I've missed you so much. I love you"

She squeezed his arm and whispered back, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love you too my son."

He kept hugging her as he watched in amusement the interactions of everybody else around the table.

His mom was laughing her head off at the antics of some of them whilst stealing food off his plate when they called him up to do some karaoke.

As he broke away from his mom's embrace and walked towards the stage, with the goal to pick a song that would make her smile, he was extremely excited for tomorrow.

The Year of the Pig would get off to an auspicious start because he would be spending it with the two most important women in his world and he couldn't wait.