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Psst! We're moving!
Early in the morning, Yan Qingming returned home to find the door of the first-floor apartment wide open, with almost everyone present.
“What’s going on?”
Jiang BeiBei wrung out a cloth and wiped the table, singing as she replied, “It’s a long story. In fifteen words: Second Brother got drunk in the middle of the night and has been causing trouble ever since.”
“Why didn’t you beat him up!” Yan Qingming rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands. He saw Song Lang washing a mop, Qin Yuan boiling egg tea in the kitchen, and Chu Yao examining a thermometer in the bedroom, bathed in the morning light.
“Does he have a fever?”
“Just a low-grade one.” With the expert now here, Chu Yao stepped aside. “Second Brother is tough—he only threw up after everyone left.”
Chu Yao’s tone was full of admiration.
“Did he wake you all up last night?”
Chu Yao nodded. “More or less.”
“You’re all so patient—why didn’t you beat him up?” Yan Qingming remarked.
Jiang BeiBei overheard from the living room, her laughter startling the obediently lounging Song Da Miao on the sofa.
Tang Xizhou opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling as he swore, “If I drink again, I’m an idiot.”
“Exactly—you are an idiot.”
“Big Brother,” Jiang BeiBei peeked around the doorframe, showing just half her face, and asked Yan Qingming, “Are you off today?”
“Mhm, do you need something?”
“Just…” Jiang BeiBei whispered, “There’s a program at our station called The People Around Us . The production team wants to do a feature on you guys. The editor-in-chief said they’d like to invite you all to dinner to discuss filming… If you agree, that is.”
“A program?” Yan Qingming’s face immediately reddened, and he looked embarrassed. “What’s there to interview me about… What about you guys?”
Yan Qingming turned to the others in the room. “Are you guys filming it?”
“I’ve already filmed mine,” Chu Yao said. “Just now, BeiBei explained it to Yuan and the others—we don’t really have any objections.”
Tang Xizhou added, “Only Big Brother is left.”
Yan Qingming said, “Alright then, do I need to coordinate with the hospital?”
“Just leave that to the production team—they’ll handle it. It won’t affect work much… They’ve filmed plenty of doctors before; they’re experienced.” Jiang BeiBei reassured him. “If Big Brother agrees, I’ll have the editor-in-chief book a restaurant for tonight…”
Seeing Yan Qingming’s expression, she quickly added, “Don’t worry—no alcohol.”
“Everyone, come eat!” Qin Yuan banged on the pot, and sure enough, the first to respond was none other than Song Da Miao.
During breakfast, Qin Yuan said, “Next week, when you two have a day off, let’s talk.”
He pointed at Jiang BeiBei and Chu Yao.
“Monday,” Chu Yao said, then asked Jiang BeiBei, “Do you want to go?”
Jiang BeiBei blushed, biting the tip of her chopsticks as she whispered, “I definitely have to go… There needs to be a proper discussion.”
The room fell silent for a long while. Suddenly, Qin Yuan turned to the other three brothers, who remained calm, and asked, “Wait a minute—how are you all so unfazed? You all knew?”
The answer was obvious.
Qin Yuan sighed. “So I’m the last to know?”
Song Lang hesitated for a moment before saying, “...Judging by your reaction, I think you’re the last to know.”
Jiang BeiBei wanted to bury her face in shame. She covered it with her hands and muttered softly, “This feels so unfair to Third Brother.”
It felt like everyone had collectively betrayed him.
Qin Yuan put down his chopsticks. “...I’ve lost my appetite.”
Tang Xizhou grabbed his rice bowl with one hand. “Thanks.”
Yan Qingming asked, “How does Xiao Yao plan to celebrate his birthday?”
Qin Yuan successfully steered the conversation back to its original goal, his eyes locking onto Chu Yao once more. Jiang BeiBei hurriedly placed a piece of dried fish on his plate, trying to appease him.
“We’ll celebrate together,” Song Lang said. “We’ll go to my place. BeiBei’s been talking about having a meal together for ages.”
“Forget about that—let’s figure out where to go for the New Year,” Tang Xizhou said, breaking off half a radish cake and handing it to Qin Yuan.
“After BeiBei finishes visiting the graves on the first day of the lunar year, we can’t waste the second to fifth days playing mahjong like last year.”
Song Lang suggested, “There’s a new hot spring hotel in Baiyun District—let’s go soak in the hot springs! We can bring Grandma too. BeiBei, would you like to go?”
“My grandma is spending the New Year with Aunt Liu in Dongshan… I don’t want to go to Aunt Liu’s house—there are too many relatives I don’t know. You guys decide where to go—I’m free this year!”
“My family isn’t visiting relatives this year,” Yan Qingming said.
Jiang BeiBei understood. Yan Qingming’s grandfather had passed away this year, and according to local customs, they wouldn’t visit relatives for the next three years.
“I’ll just drop by home briefly on the first day and return in the afternoon,” Tang Xizhou said. “I’m injured this year, so I’ll focus on recovering instead of doing manual labor. Fourth Brother, your parents are definitely going on a road trip, right?”
“They’ve already booked a short self-driving trip to the neighboring province,” Song Lang replied. “Once my parents retired, their only companion during the New Year became me—and the dog.”
“That’s not bad—you can’t expect anyone else to keep you company. A girlfriend, maybe?” Tang Xizhou chuckled, shaking his head.
Yan Qingming turned to Qin Yuan. “Third Brother, where are you going this year?”
“Nowhere,” Qin Yuan said. “My mom’s already set up the mahjong table, and my dad will only rest for one day before returning to work on the second day. What about Yao Ge?”
“At home,” Chu Yao said. “I’ll finish my tasks, and then I’ll be free.”
“Does the funeral home still have tasks during the New Year?”
“No, it’s a task at home.” Chu Yao smiled. “Once I’ve prepared all the food we need for the New Year, I’ll be free.”
“Alright then, so after BeiBei finishes visiting the graves, we can go out and have fun, right?” Tang Xizhou said. “Let’s settle on the hot springs first—does the girl have any objections?”
Jiang BeiBei: “Wait a moment, let me calculate…”
Song Lang and Qin Yuan were clueless—one asked what she was calculating, while the other assumed she was figuring out the budget.
After three seconds of thought, Chu Yao said calmly, “It should be fine.”
Tang Xizhou burst into laughter but winced immediately as his wound pulled. He laughed while gritting his teeth in pain.
Yan Qingming sat still like a rock, quietly eating his meal.
Jiang BeiBei’s face turned red. She wasn’t as quick with her calculations as Chu Yao, and she was surprised that he already knew her schedule. Trying to stay composed, she nodded demurely, “Mhm, it’s fine.”
Song Lang: “So what are you calculating?”
Qin Yuan also looked confused, clearly not catching on.
Tang Xizhou laughed so hard his tongue trembled. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Fourth Brother, stop asking—it’s a girl thing.”
Song Lang still didn’t understand, but judging from everyone’s reactions, it was clearly something they couldn’t talk about openly.
This mention of “a girl thing” finally triggered Qin Yuan’s realization.
“Oh…” He drew out the word, blurting out without thinking, “Her period?”
Jiang BeiBei froze, utterly shocked that Third Brother would say such a thing outright. She nearly fainted on the spot.
Song Lang: “Ah!” Finally understanding, he sighed, “Girls really are troublesome.”
Tang Xizhou slammed the table, pointing at Qin Yuan. “Big Brother, hit him! Why does everything have to be said out loud?! Beat him, beat him!”
In the chaos, Qin Yuan suddenly recalled something amiss. He redirected his attention toward Chu Yao. “Wait… how do you know?”
He then turned to Jiang BeiBei with a look of heartbreak, something inside him crumbling.
Jiang BeiBei was horrified. “Wait! I don’t know how Yao Ge knows either! I never told him!”
So why did Yao Ge know?!
Qin Yuan: “How do you know?!”
Chu Yao: “...”
If you pay attention, it’s easy to figure out!
Jiang BeiBei said her stomach hurt, Grandma told her to drink brown sugar water and avoid cold foods… Every time he heard these things, he’d instinctively check the dates. Over time, even if he didn’t know the exact day, he could at least narrow it down to a range.
Chu Yao: “Who knows? I just guessed.”
“Bullshit!” Qin Yuan grabbed Chu Yao’s collar, ready to punish him for his supposed indiscretion. “Spill it or I’ll bite you to death!”
Tang Xizhou was laughing so hard his wound felt like it might split open. Even Yan Qingming, who had been pretending to remain oblivious, couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Hiding behind his bowl of porridge, he chuckled secretly.
Song Lang and Song Da Miao looked at them with disdain. Song Lang muttered, “Today I’ve learned yet another lesson…”
“Fourth Brother, is the hot spring resort you mentioned divided by gender or is it communal?”
“It’s apartment-style—we’ll rent an entire standalone villa with its own private hot spring. We’ll fill it ourselves and soak together—just us.” Song Lang thought for a moment and added, “But now that I think about it, five grown men taking one young girl along isn’t exactly convenient. Maybe we should change the plan?”
“Let’s stick with the hot springs,” Tang Xizhou said. “It’s not like we’re going to strip naked—we’ll all wear swimsuits. And even if we did strip, I wouldn’t mind.”
Tang Xizhou flexed his muscles. “Can’t help it—I’m in great shape.”
Yan Qingming shot him a glare. “Behave yourself. What nonsense are you spouting in front of a child?”
Jiang BeiBei coughed twice and said, “Um… let’s go with the hot springs.”
“The girl’s too cunning,” Tang Xizhou, the experienced detective, saw through her little scheme. “When I mentioned body shapes, look how happy you got.”
“No way!!” Jiang BeiBei vehemently denied it.
“What’s there to hesitate about? Hot springs it is!” Song Lang declared. “We’ll book the biggest villa—two floors, four rooms. Six people will fit perfectly.”
Qin Yuan: “Four rooms for six people? How’s that enough?”
“How’s it not enough?” Song Lang replied. “BeiBei gets one room, and the rest of us divide the remaining three. Are you saying you don’t want to share a double bed with your buddies? Then sleep alone—I’ll bunk with Yao Er.”
Chu Yao: “I don’t want to sleep with you.”
Qin Yuan: “Did you hear that? You sleep alone with Song Da Miao. I’ll sleep with Chu Yao. You fart in your sleep anyway—it’s better with Yao Er, at least he smells nice.”
Chu Yao corrected him. “Put the word ‘sleep’ at the end, thank you.”
“You’re always nitpicking!” Song Lang waved his hand dismissively. “That’s settled. I’ll make the reservation now for the second and third days of the lunar new year. We’ll settle the bill after the holiday.”
Qin Yuan: “Don’t forget to bring the mahjong set.”
“Going to the hot springs is to prevent your mom from dragging us into mahjong!” Song Lang shouted. “Bring mahjong? Fine, play with Song Da Miao—you can soak in the hot springs later!”
Tang Xizhou, ever eager to stir the pot, added fuel to the fire. “By the way, Yao Er, aren’t you planning to share a room with BeiBei this time?”
Jiang BeiBei choked, spraying tea everywhere.
Yan Qingming wiped the table, gently scolding her. “Don’t get so worked up.”
Chu Yao: “If no one objects, that’s how I’d like to arrange it.”
“I have no objections—I approve. As long as BeiBei agrees…” Tang Xizhou drawled. “Girl, don’t be shy. If you want to, just nod.”
Yan Qingming: “I have no objections either.”
Song Lang: “Hmm… Now that I think about it, it feels a bit heartbreaking, like giving away a daughter.”
Qin Yuan: “No objections, huh? Alright, let me voice my opinion—I do have objections. I’m definitely sharing a room with Chu Yao.”
“Hahahaha… I knew it!” Tang Xizhou roared with laughter.
Qin Yuan cracked his knuckles menacingly. “Yao Er, you’re not getting away. This time, I’ll keep a close eye on you!”
“Not fair!” Song Lang complained.
“I don’t care. As long as we’re all going out together, BeiBei is our little sister.” Qin Yuan declared. “No family members allowed—she’s just our sister.”
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