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Yan Heyu returned home, just putting the three books he bought on the bookshelf when Fan Zhisen called him, asking if he was home.
“Yes, I’ll open the door.” Yan Heyu put on his overcoat and went downstairs.
Fan Zhisen brought him handwritten Spring Festival couplets.
“Mr. Yan, how do you like this calligraphy?” He also prepared several sets of printed couplets for Yan Heyu to choose from.
Yan Heyu carefully unfolded the couplets on the kitchen island. He had practiced calligraphy when he was little. Although he wasn’t very skilled and only went to calligraphy classes to join the fun and play with older kids, he still knew a little.
“Who wrote them?” he asked.
Fan Zhisen said, “Wen Di’s grandpa. He writes his own couplets every year. I brought a few sets.” He himself had no appreciation for art; in his eyes, even the most valuable calligraphy or painting wasn’t as practical as a pack of cigarettes.
Given that Yan Heyu was interested in everything related to the Wen family, he took one to give to him. “How is it? Old Mr. Wen is the president of our Jiangcheng Calligraphy Association.”
Yan Heyu stared at the couplets, pondering. Such calligraphy level didn’t seem to come from Old Mr. Wen’s hand. Perhaps he just wrote it perfunctorily.
Then he felt it shouldn’t be.
People who love calligraphy treat their works meticulously at all times.
“Isn’t it good?” Fan Zhisen was an amateur, just looking at the general impression. Anyway, he couldn’t write such cursive script even if he practiced for ten or eight years.
He couldn’t even copy it.
Yan Heyu said against his true feelings, “It’s quite good.”
He kept the handwritten couplets from Grandpa Wen and asked Fan Zhisen if there were any specific customs for pasting them.
Fan Zhisen knew even less. “Just paste them whenever you feel it’s a good time.”
He looked around the seven to eight-meter high living room, feeling it was increasingly desolate.
“Mr. Yan, after the New Year, I’ll hire a few workers for you. As for the chef, do you have any special requirements?”
“No need, the housekeeper and Aunt Cui will come after the New Year.”
Fan Zhisen nodded repeatedly. “That’s good then.”
He sat for about ten minutes, then excused himself.
Yan Heyu saw Fan Zhisen off, then continued to admire the couplets. For a moment, he wondered if Wen Di had written them. The next second, he dismissed the thought.
He’d been obsessive lately, connecting everything to Wen Di.
He chose to put up the Spring Festival couplets on the morning of Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Pasting couplets alone was all by feeling.
After pasting, the second line was a bit crooked, so he adjusted it slightly.
His phone rang, and the sound echoed in the spacious living room, a ringtone he had recently set.
Yan Heyu went into the house to get his phone. It was He Yan.
Yan Heyan’s voice was tired and hoarse, as if she hadn’t quite woken up. She asked him how things were in Jiangcheng.
Yan Heyu said, “Not bad.”
“Even though you deserve it, I still wish you a Happy New Year and may your dreams come true.”
Yan Heyu was self-aware. “Dreams won’t come true.”
“Even if they don’t, spending New Year in Jiangcheng means you can be closer to Wen Di.”
“Mm.”
Yan Heyu looked at his watch, calculated the time difference. It was early morning where she was. “Go to bed early.”
Before hanging up, Yan Heyan asked him to send her the specific address of the Jiangcheng villa.
“What do you want my address for?”
“To send you a token of my regard, a small wish box. I don’t know when it’ll arrive. Send it quickly, I’m exhausted.”
After hanging up, Yan Heyu sent the villa address to his sister.
After pasting the couplets, there was nothing else to do.
Spending New Year alone, no matter how grandly the house was decorated, it still felt utterly devoid of New Year’s spirit.
The only lively place was the group chat.
They @ him, asking him to come to the club to play cards tonight.
Yan Heyu: [In Jiangcheng, you guys play, it’s on me.]
Someone asked: [Is Guan Xiangmu there too?]
Yan Heyu: [...He’s at home.]
Everyone, as if by prior arrangement, sent him red envelopes, expressing their sympathy.
Over sixty red envelopes, not large sums, some five yuan, some eight, the largest one was from Qin Xing, twenty yuan.
Later, Qin Xing asked around and heard that others only gave a few yuan in sympathy. He discussed with Yan Heyu: [Brother Yan, can you give me back ten yuan?]
Yan Heyu ignored him, collected the red envelopes, and exited the chat.
His phone rang again. It was his mother.
Ye Minqiong asked him, “Are you home now?”
Yan Heyu paused, perhaps sensing a mother-son connection, he asked back, “Mom, where are you?”
Ye Minqiong said, “Open the door for me.”
She was at the villa’s entrance. Jiangcheng was cold and damp today, making her shiver.
Worried about her son spending New Year’s Eve alone, she thought it over and decided she had to come.
Not knowing her son’s villa address, she had He Yan ask for it.
In less than two minutes, the main gate slowly opened automatically.
Yan Heyu hurried out, his breath uneven. “Mom, why are you here?”
“Spring Festival travel, Jiangcheng is nice.”
Yan Heyu pushed the suitcase. “Why didn’t you let me pick you up?”
“It’s too much hassle going back and forth; taking a taxi is easier.”
The house was as warm as summer. Ye Minqiong took off her overcoat and unwrapped her scarf.
Yan Heyu poured his mother a cup of hot water to warm her hands. Their family never had reunions during the Spring Festival. As far as he could remember, his father had never eaten New Year’s Eve dinner at home, nor on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Every Spring Festival, they would eat at Grandpa’s house at noon and gather at Grandma’s house in the evening.
“You’re not accompanying Grandma and Grandpa this year?”
Ye Minqiong said earnestly, “Your grandpa said that your unqualified product getting into the market means I, the quality inspector, am incompetent. He told me to come and correct you.”
Yan Heyu chuckled. “...Grandpa means, he wants me to be re-forged?”
“That’s what you said yourself.”
Joking aside, Ye Minqiong went to the kitchen to see what ingredients were available.
Yan Heyu followed his mother into the kitchen. “Mom, you don’t need to trouble yourself. Fan Zhisen prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner for me, his own homemade Jiangcheng dishes.”
Ye Minqiong remembered that Jiangcheng didn’t seem to have the custom of eating dumplings during the New Year. She planned to make dumplings with her son.
“Do you have flour?”
Yan Heyu wasn’t sure. Probably not. Fan Zhisen wouldn’t prepare those for him.
Mother and son searched for a long time, turning the kitchen upside down but found nothing.
Neither of them was very good at cooking, and making dumplings was such a big project; it was a bit difficult for them.
“Mom, how about we buy some frozen dumplings?”
Ye Minqiong insisted on making them herself. “We have nothing to do today anyway. Let’s make dumplings and chat. Let’s find that old New Year’s feeling.”
Yan Heyu called someone to deliver flour, and he also added dumpling filling to the order.
Ye Minqiong took her suitcase back to her room and changed into comfortable clothes suitable for working.
“Heyu, put on some music.”
The house was empty, a bit desolate.
She didn’t know why that word came to mind.
Yan Heyu turned on the living room’s surround sound system and selected a few songs to play on a loop.
Ye Minqiong said, “It sounds familiar.”
“The theme song of ‘Human World Is Not as Good as You,’ and the last one is an interlude.”
“No wonder, I usually skip the opening and closing credits when watching TV. It’s quite nice.” When “Human World Is Not as Good as You” first aired, it was on repeat on their home TV.
As his daughter put it, her brother was really trying hard to contribute to the viewership ratings.
This was the first time Yan Heyu had ever made dumplings with his mother.
He learned by watching his mother, managing to make something that vaguely resembled a dumpling. Since he was eating it himself, he didn’t mind how ugly it looked.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
For making his mother fly all the way to Jiangcheng to spend New Year with him.
Ye Minqiong was clumsily rolling out dumpling wrappers. No matter how she rolled, they wouldn’t turn round, so she had to manually pull them into shape.
She handed the hard-won round dumpling wrapper to her son and said, “Mom should apologize to you too.”
“Why are you suddenly apologizing to me?”
“Your grandpa said that your current state is half my responsibility.”
Ye Minqiong confessed, “At first, I was unconvinced and argued with your grandpa for a long time. I thought, ‘You’re being a rascal, how can you blame me? I didn’t force you to get engaged.’“
“Mom, don’t pull the dumpling wrapper with your hands. You’ve pulled it too thin; this part is about to burst from the filling.” Yan Heyu changed the subject, showing his mother the dumpling wrapper.
Ye Minqiong directed him, “You put two dumpling wrappers together and wrap them like that, so it won’t burst.”
Yan Heyu: “...”
Ye Minqiong continued her previous thought, “I blame myself for not telling you what kind of responsibility you should have in a relationship before you became an adult.”
“At that time, I was abroad, far from home and authority.”
“It has nothing to do with distance. If I had constantly nagged you, the effect would definitely be different.”
But at that time, she was negligent.
Her husband was busy, and she was busy, unable to pay attention to their children. Compared to other people’s children, her son and daughter were already very sensible; she never had to worry about their studies or careers.
Being in such a privileged environment, with so many temptations, he didn’t indulge in idle pleasures, wasn’t idle, and always thought of the family. This once made her proud.
But she just forgot to guide him emotionally.
By the time she realized he was utterly despicable, she couldn’t control him at all, and he wouldn’t listen to his family.
Ye Minqiong looked at the dumpling wrapper she had just rolled, almost forming a triangle. She resisted the urge to pull the wrapper round and simply tossed it to her son. “You figure it out yourself.”
Yan Heyu folded the edges inward, shaping it into a circle.
Ye Minqiong glanced at it. “Not bad.”
She told her son, “You made a mistake, and I also have responsibility. We’ll change together. I’ve thought it through. After the New Year, I’ll find someone to arrange a meeting with Zhao Yueli. First, I’ll apologize to her, then I’ll state that our whole family quite likes Wen Di. As for whether you and Wen Di have a destiny, and whether she’s willing to forgive you, that’s up to your own efforts. No one can help you with that.”
“Mom, thank you.” Yan Heyu didn’t expect his mother to put aside her pride. “You don’t need to go to Aunt Zhao. I’ll handle this myself. If I don’t have that much responsibility, Wen Di won’t forgive me.”
Regardless, he was very grateful to his mother.
Ye Minqiong stopped on that topic. “Then let’s talk about something happy.”
“You say.”
“You and Wen Di, who pursued whom first?”
Yan Heyu didn’t want to talk about that topic and told his mother to focus on rolling the dumpling wrappers.
Ye Minqiong gossiped, “There’s no outsider here, what can’t you tell me?”
Yan Heyu dusted the flour off his hands and went to pour some water.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t say; it was because he didn’t want to recall.
Ye Minqiong persisted, asking repeatedly.
Yan Heyu told his mother, “I was the first to follow her Weibo. Her self-created short jokes were very interesting.”
“Can we skip the preamble? I just want to know the outcome.”
“...”
Yan Heyu put down his water glass. “I have to talk about the cause first.”
“No need.”
“...It was at a dinner party. At that time, everyone at the dinner party added each other on WeChat.”
Ye Minqiong interrupted, “Are you saying you deliberately plotted to get her contact information?”
“Mom.” Yan Heyu was helpless. He directly stated the outcome his mother cared about most, “I pursued her for three months and five days.”
“Did you two argue?”
“No arguments.”
He wasn’t telling the truth. He and Wen Di argued no less than other couples. Every time they argued, if she was wrong, she didn’t like him to reason with her; she only allowed him to indulge her, to spoil her.
Sometimes he would be half-mad with anger, but he still had to go back to her.
However, he would always first ask Assistant Kang to find her, either with documents or asking her to help pack luggage for a business trip. In fact, he never went on a short business trip when he argued with her; packing luggage was just an excuse.
Yan Heyu and his mother spent most of the day making dumplings and also talked about Wen Di for most of the day. He shared many interesting stories about Wen Di with his mother.
Ye Minqiong sighed, “Such an interesting girl, and look what you did back then.”
Yan Heyu remained silent.
After more than four hours, the dumplings were finally wrapped. He cleared the dining table.
Later, his mother didn’t bring up Wen Di again.
After New Year’s Eve dinner, it was almost evening. He told his mother that he would take her to explore Jiangcheng’s old city district tomorrow. That area was an ancient city and the place with the strongest New Year’s atmosphere in Jiangcheng, where Wen Di went every year.
He held the hope of meeting her and decided to explore from morning until evening.
At 6:30 PM, he received a call from Guan Xiangmu.
“You sponsored the fireworks?”
Yan Heyu asked back, “How did you know?”
He had signed a sponsorship contract with the industrial park but requested confidentiality.
Guan Xiangmu said, “The park wouldn’t burn that much money; it must be you.”
He followed Jiangcheng’s official public account. Being idle tonight, he scrolled through the updates and saw a notification that there would be two fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve: one at 7 PM and another at 11:50 PM.
The 7 PM display was in the old city district, where many people lived. The 11:50 PM display was in the eastern urban area, mainly the industrial park and villa area, which were not densely populated.
The 7 PM display lasted for half an hour, while the 11:50 PM display only lasted for fifteen minutes.
“Wen Di hasn’t seen a fireworks show before.”
“You don’t understand.” Yan Heyu didn’t explain further.
Wen Di indeed didn’t join the crowd for the 7 PM show.
It took half an hour to drive from Grandpa’s house to the old city. After dinner, she sat next to her father, watching them play cards, just like last year.
At 11:45 PM, her second aunt reminded her that there would be a fireworks display in five minutes.
No need to go out; they could see it from their west-facing balcony.
No sooner had her second aunt spoken than Wen Di received an overseas call.
She took the elevator up to the third floor and called Xiao Donghan back once she reached upstairs.
Xiao Donghan asked if she hadn’t heard him earlier.
Wen Di leaned on the west-facing balcony and said, “I heard it. It’s noisy downstairs.”
“You’re afraid your family will ask who you’re talking to.”
Wen Di chuckled. “...You’ve become smarter.”
Xiao Donghan: “He who lies with dogs will rise with fleas.”
He said it, then thought for a moment, it shouldn’t be wrong. To remember somewhat profound sentences, Secretary Lu had compiled hundreds of famous quotes and proverbs for him, which he memorized during his commute to the company.
Wen Di asked him where he was now and if he had eaten New Year’s Eve dinner.
Xiao Donghan was drinking red wine, the desolate scenery stretching endlessly before his eyes, hazy. “At the manor. Our family doesn’t make a big deal out of holidays.”
“I always forget you’re abroad. Your family must be used to celebrating Christmas.”
“Not really. No holiday feels festive. You’ve probably heard Tangtang say that when our family gets together, everyone has their own agenda.”
She knew that the Xiao family’s kinship was very distant, no one was truly sincere, and there was fierce infighting within the group.
Xiao Donghan didn’t want to talk about his family and asked her what she had been doing these past two days.
Wen Di: “Nothing much. Grandpa has been writing Spring Festival couplets these days. I was a bit bored, so I imitated a few sets. They look so real that several people were fooled by me.”
Xiao Donghan said, “Let’s video call. I want to see your calligraphy.”
“I’ve put them away. I’ll find them for you another day. The fireworks show is about to start; I’m waiting to watch it.”
“On TV?”
“No, released in Jiangcheng Industrial Park.”
“I’ll watch too.”
He wanted to video call her, from looking at her calligraphy to watching the fireworks display.
Xiao Donghan made a video call. Today, Wen Di was wearing a dusty pink long dress.
But before he could even take a second look, she aimed the camera at the sky. “It’s starting.”
At 11:50, fireworks precisely ignited in the western sky, illuminating the villa’s courtyard.
This was the liveliest New Year’s Eve Xiao Donghan had ever spent, albeit through a phone screen.
At midnight, he told her, “Happy New Year.”
At this moment, four large characters burst into bloom in the sky above Wen Di: Happy New Year.
The four characters in the fireworks were Chinese red, lively and festive.
Ye Minqiong was also on the balcony watching the fireworks display. “You did all this just to say these four words to her at midnight?”
Yan Heyu nodded, but he wasn’t sure if she had seen it.
For the past two years, he hadn’t had the opportunity to buy her gifts, so he spent all the money he would have used on gifts on these two large fireworks displays.
________________________________________
The next day, New Year’s Day. Yan Heyu and his mother didn’t need to pay New Year’s calls. After breakfast, he took his mother to visit the ancient city district.
The ancient city district had two main streets, lined with antique buildings. This was the most popular check-in spot for Jiangcheng people during the New Year, offering everything for eating, drinking, and entertainment.
Yan Heyu wasn’t familiar with the vicinity and finally found a parking spot after searching for a long time.
The ancient street was crowded with people. Ye Minqiong said, “It feels a bit like a temple fair.” She hadn’t experienced such a lively scene in over ten years.
Yan Heyu told his mother, “The night view here is even better.”
Ye Minqiong knew her son’s intention: he wanted to explore until evening, hoping to run into Wen Di.
She indulged her son’s wish. “It’s rare to come here. I want to browse every single shop. If you don’t want to walk, you can wait for me in the car and watch TV.”
Yan Heyu said, “I’ll accompany you.”
From afternoon till sunset, until all the streetlights lit up, they had visited all the shops on both streets but hadn’t encountered Wen Di.
Ye Minqiong noticed that her son still didn’t want to leave.
She said, “I’m hungry. Shall we get some snacks?”
“Okay, I’ll go buy them.” Yan Heyu bought some local Jiangcheng snacks for his mother.
Ye Minqiong, like young people and children, ate wherever she went.
Yan Heyu searched through the crowd. The road was almost at its end, but he still hadn’t found her.
Ye Minqiong said, “Shall we stroll around a bit more?”
“No more.” It was getting a bit late; she probably wouldn’t come over.
Yan Heyu and his mother walked towards the parking area. At the exit of the ancient street, he caught sight of that familiar figure. “Mom, that’s Wen Di.”
Ye Minqiong looked in the direction her son indicated. On the other side of the road, Wen Di was on the phone, wearing a white coat, walking very slowly. People were coming and going around her, but she didn’t see them.
Yan Heyu noticed that the hand holding her phone wasn’t wearing a glove.
She was often like that; she never wore gloves, no matter how cold it was. When her hands got cold before, she would just put them around his neck to warm them up.
“Mom, wait for me.”
“What are you doing?”
Her son turned and walked back towards the ancient street.
Yan Heyu: “Buying her a pair of gloves.”
On the other side of the road, Wen Di walked leisurely, one hand in her pocket. She spoke into her phone, “It’s crowded during the day, so I specifically chose this time to come.”
“What about you? Are you at the company or the manor?”
Xiao Donghan said, “Neither.”
He looked out the car window. The buildings were unfamiliar, as if he had stepped from modern times into ancient ones.
“Then you go ahead and be busy.” Wen Di intended to hang up. “I’m going to look around.”
Xiao Donghan: “Stay with me for two minutes.”
Through the receiver, the sudden shift from quiet to noisy, various sounds, she even heard the sound of a car door closing.
Wen Di asked him, “Are you on the street?”
“Sort of.”
Xiao Donghan was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Wen Di, turn around.”
Wen Di suddenly turned around. He was two or three meters away, his phone already lowered from his ear.
She looked surprised, then smiled. “How did you get here?”
Xiao Donghan walked closer. “Came to see your Spring Festival couplets.”
“If you want to see them, I can video call you and show them.”
He didn’t reply, but instead asked, “Wen Di, how was your Chinese language performance in school?”
“Good, among the top few.”
Xiao Donghan nodded, meeting her gaze. “I thought about it all the way on the plane. If your Chinese is good, I’ll relax my requirements for you. The part about whether you have me in your heart can be postponed for a few months. As long as you pursue me, I’ll agree to you.”
Wen Di looked at him. The entire street scene was reflected in his glasses, the lights gathering in his eyes, feeling a bit cold, yet seemingly warm as well.
She still said the same thing, “I told you, I never pursue anyone.”
Xiao Donghan’s voice softened. “In such cold weather, I flew myself from London for you to pursue me. Give me some face just this once.”
“I won’t pursue you.”
“If not, there are other ways. If your math is good, that works too.”
“...”
Wen Di smiled.
Xiao Donghan took her phone and put it in her bag. He held her cold hand and slipped it into his right overcoat pocket.
Perhaps it was the fabric of his overcoat, but when he held her hand, static electricity coursed through.
He said, “I’ll just assume you’re a math genius.”
Passersby instinctively looked at them.
Ye Minqiong saw this scene. Without thinking much, she turned to look for her son in the street, fearing he would be upset if he saw it.
After two steps, she stopped.
Her son was holding a pair of women’s gloves in his hand. She suddenly didn’t know what to say, because Wen Di’s hands were already being warmed by someone.
“I’m fine.” Yan Heyu grabbed his mother’s arm. “Mom, let’s go. We’ll take the small path to the parking lot. The small path is closer.”
The surging crowd pushed them forward.
He wanted to turn back and look, but he didn’t dare.
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