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Yan Heyu blocked two rounds of drinks for Wen Changyun tonight. He was always the one others blocked drinks for, so being put on such a high pedestal by him made Wen Changyun a little uncomfortable, especially every time Yan Heyu called him “Dad.”
Wen Changyun knew his daughter and Yan Heyu were getting along and were in a “trial period,” so when Yan Heyu called him “Dad,” he didn’t know whether to respond or not. He could only vaguely say, “Mm.”
With Fan Zhisen mediating, the dinner was quite lively.
“Nephew-in-law, come, let’s have a drink.” Fan Zhisen no longer called him “Mr. Yan,” and the term “nephew-in-law” sounded very affectionate.
To the people around them, Fan Zhisen was seizing the opportunity to cozy up to him.
Only Yan Heyu and Wen Changyun knew that Fan Zhisen was easing the awkward atmosphere between the two of them.
Once he was called “nephew-in-law,” Yan Heyu became the junior, and he stood up and toasted Fan Zhisen.
In the past three years, Fan Zhisen had put in a lot of effort to help him get back with Wen Di. He was sincerely helping, but he had repeatedly confirmed that Yan Heyu’s feelings for Wen Di were genuine, saying he couldn’t do anything that would betray his old friend Wen.
After being in the business world for so many years, it was rare for him to meet someone like Fan Zhisen, who still had a conscience in the face of great temptation.
After finishing a glass of wine, Fan Zhisen asked, “Are you spending the New Year in Jiangcheng this year or going back to Beijing?”
Yan Heyu put down his wine glass and didn’t give a definite answer. “It depends. If there’s nothing important, I’ll stay in Jiangcheng and have a few drinks with Dad on New Year’s Eve.”
Wen Changyun: “...”
This was using him as an excuse, which definitely wouldn’t do.
In front of so many people at the table, he had to think before he spoke. He politely declined. “You can drink any day. For New Year’s, you have to go home. Old people wait all year for the family to be together. If even one person is missing, it feels like the holiday spirit is gone.”
Others agreed, saying the New Year was different from other holidays.
This situation didn’t exist in Yan Heyu’s family. Both the Yan and Ye families had so many people that one or two missing wouldn’t really make a difference. The elders might not even remember who was there and who wasn’t.
But he wouldn’t contradict Wen Changyun in public. “Mm, I’ll try my best to go back.”
Over half the people at their table were locals from Jiangcheng. After a few rounds of drinks, they unconsciously started chatting in their dialect.
It was Fan Zhisen who reminded them, saying Mr. Yan wouldn’t understand.
Yan Heyu was pouring water for Wen Changyun. He said in the Jiangcheng dialect, “I understand. Please continue your conversation.”
His dialect wasn’t very authentic; it was a little stiff since he had just started speaking, but he had the gist of it. They couldn’t believe it. “You really understand everything?”
Yan Heyu placed the cup of water next to Wen Changyun’s hand and replied in the dialect, “I might not be able to say some of the less common words, but other than that, it’s not a problem.”
Dialect could instantly shorten the distance between people that was normally created by wealth and status. They handed him a brand of cigarettes that was popular in Jiangcheng.
Yan Heyu accepted it, said thank you, and then said, “I hardly ever smoke, but I’ll try this to see how strong it is.” He picked up the lighter on the table and lit it.
Fan Zhisen knew Yan Heyu didn’t smoke, but others didn’t. In the past, if someone enthusiastically offered Yan Heyu a cigarette and he didn’t want to smoke, he wouldn’t even say much. He would just wave his hand to signal no.
Tonight, he was giving them a lot of face, but it was really for Wen Changyun’s sake.
He actually admired Yan Heyu. To be fair, he couldn’t have maintained Yan Heyu’s perseverance for three years. Because he couldn’t do it himself, he had an inexplicable admiration for someone who could. If Yan Heyu’s family had fallen on hard times or his career had suffered a major setback, and he was only lowering his status out of necessity, he wouldn’t have helped. But Yan Heyu was willing to change himself even when he was at the peak of his power, which was a rare and valuable quality in this world of fame and fortune. This was why he was willing to help Yan Heyu.
“How long have you been learning the Jiangcheng dialect, Mr. Yan?” someone asked curiously.
Yan Heyu exhaled a puff of smoke and still replied in dialect, “Over half a year. I learned from Wen Di.”
“To be able to speak so well in just over half a year, you must have put in a lot of effort.”
Wen Changyun glanced at Yan Heyu out of the corner of his eye. His proficiency in the dialect was also a surprise to him. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol.
________________________________________
It was almost midnight when Yan Heyu got back to his place. The living room light was on, and he could hear the TV.
Aunt Cui didn’t normally watch TV in the living room, and at this hour, she would have already gone to bed.
He strode into the villa. Heyan was leaning back on the sofa, dozing off, and the blanket covering her had slipped onto the carpet.
She must have been sleeping lightly because she suddenly opened her eyes when she heard his footsteps.
“Brother, you’re back.”
“When did you get here?”
“When it was getting dark.”
Yan Heyan bent down, picked up the blanket from the floor, patted it a couple of times, and placed it on the armrest of the sofa. “Aunt Cui said you went to the New Year’s gathering, so I didn’t call you.”
“You didn’t even tell me you were coming.”
“I came from Shanghai. It’s only about an hour by high-speed train, and it’s easy to get a taxi here, so I didn’t want to bother you. I knew you were busy.”
Yan Heyan turned off the TV and stood up from the sofa, stretching.
Yan Heyu took off his jacket and went to pour himself some water.
“You should go home tomorrow. You don’t have to stay here with me for the New Year this year.”
Yan Heyan slowly walked to the kitchen island and leaned against it. “I’m not here to spend the New Year with you. I came to hang the wishing plaque and get that off my mind.”
She had plans to travel with friends after the New Year and wouldn’t have time to come to Jiangcheng. Since she had time before the New Year, she came to take care of this important matter in advance.
“Wishing plaque?” Yan Heyu turned to look at her.
“Yeah. I had a store custom-make it. The quality is excellent. As long as the tree is there, it’ll definitely be there.”
Yan Heyu took out another cup and asked her if she wanted some water.
Yan Heyan shook her head. “I have a cup in my bag.”
Yan Heyu asked her to show him the wishing plaque. “What’s written on it?”
Yan Heyan wouldn’t let him see. “It’s my wish. It won’t come true if someone else sees it.”
She sniffed and smelled a strong scent of alcohol. Her brother’s neck was also red.
“How much did you drink?”
“Three glasses.”
“Three glasses of the kind you get in a decanter?”
“Mm.”
“That’s almost a whole pound! Are you trying to kill yourself?”
Yan Heyu had taken a hangover pill on his way back, so he felt okay now. The memory of getting drunk and having to go to the hospital for an IV drip in Jiangcheng was still vivid.
Yan Heyan rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll make you some hangover soup.”
“No need. I already took medicine.”
“Can’t you drink a little less?”
Yan Heyu drank another half a glass of warm water. “It’s for work. I can’t avoid it.”
Yan Heyan patted him and urged him to go to bed.
He had no plans the next day, so Yan Heyu slept until after seven. Heyan got up even later. He waited for her in the restaurant for more than an hour before she finally came out to eat.
Yan Heyan had bought a high-speed train ticket to go back in the afternoon. She asked her brother to take her to the old street after they finished eating.
Yan Heyu sent a message to Wen Di: [Heyan is here today. I’ll come find you at three o’clock.]
There weren’t many people in the old street in the morning. It was a cold day, so it felt even more deserted.
Yan Heyu remembered the general location of the wishing tree and walked there with his sister.
There were no customers in the courtyard at the moment.
“Boss, do you still remember me?” Yan Heyan asked with a smile.
The owner had an impression. This brother and sister had an extraordinary appearance and demeanor and were VIP customers back then.
“You didn’t come last year, right?” He was afraid of remembering wrong, so he first gave himself an out. “But I was out of the store for half a day, so maybe you came when I wasn’t here.”
Yan Heyan said, “We didn’t. We came this year to fulfill our wish.”
Since they were fulfilling a wish, it meant their previous wish had come true.
The owner said a lot of nice things. Seeing that Yan Heyu also had an unusual aura, he wouldn’t just make things up and also said a few sincere words.
“To be honest, it’s hard to say if it’s real or not. Sometimes it’s just a psychological comfort. No matter what the wish is, if you work hard, it might just come true, right?”
Yan Heyan smiled and agreed.
She chose the VIP package again this year, so she could hang her wishing plaque at the top of the tree.
Yan Heyu asked the owner how much it was and got his phone ready to scan the QR code, but Yan Heyan stopped him. “I’m the one who made the wish. I’ll pay myself. If the heart is sincere, the wish will come true.”
Yan Heyu put his phone away again. Heyan climbed the elevator lift. Under the tree full of red ribbons, he paced back and forth, trying to find the ribbon he had written two years ago, but he couldn’t find it after a long search.
His phone vibrated. Wen Di replied to his message: [You should stay with Heyan. I’m busy at the film set.]
Yan Heyu: [She’s going back in the afternoon. I’ll take her to the station later.]
He asked her what time she would be done in the afternoon.
Wen Di: [I don’t know yet. What do you need?]
Yan Heyu had no work plans for today. He had taken two days off for the New Year holiday in advance. [I’ll go shopping with you this afternoon.]
[I don’t have anything to buy.]
[Then we won’t buy anything. We’ll just walk around.]
On the lift, Yan Heyan finished hanging her wishing plaque. The words inside, which she had written and sealed beforehand, were a long passage:
[If you two haven’t officially gotten back together yet, today is the 1425th day since you broke up. I remember it clearly.
I’ve read five love-related books intermittently in the past six months and learned a lot.
This is my second time coming to the old street of Jiangcheng. I hope there will be countless more times in the future.
I hope you have the courage and strength to fall in love with each other again without reservation. I wish you a long and happy life together, filled with love and no more sorrow or separation. May the rest of your lives be beautiful and bright.
—Your little sister, Heyan]
________________________________________
After seeing Heyan off, Yan Heyu drove straight to the old city area.
On the way, he received a call from Guan Xiangmu.
Guan Xiangmu’s company was also on holiday today. He was waiting for his flight to Jiangcheng at the airport.
He asked Yan Heyu about his New Year plans. “Are you staying in Jiangcheng or...?”
“I’m already here.”
“I know.” Guan Xiangmu knew he had attended the industrial park’s gathering last night. “Are you spending the New Year there?”
“Mm, that’s the plan for now.”
Guan Xiangmu said, “I’m going to see Qizhen, but I have to come back for the New Year.” He couldn’t be as carefree as Yan Heyu, for whom it didn’t matter where he spent the New Year. His parents were old and in poor health, and he could count the time he had to spend with them on one hand.
When he was free and unattached, he would also go to Jiangcheng for the New Year.
He was more than halfway through his life. When he was idle just now, he thought about it, and it seemed like nothing truly belonged to him. His relationship with Wen Qizhen was only a tiny bit closer than being strangers.
“If you’re free tonight, get Fan Zhisen and the others to come to my place for a card game.”
Yan Heyu: “You get Fan Zhisen to bring some people to play. I’m with Wen Di.”
“Alright. I was going to tell you tonight when we played cards, but I’ll take up a few more minutes of your time and tell you on the phone.”
Yan Heyu asked him what it was about.
“Jiang Zhengqian knows that you were also secretly involved with the several shows he invested in and became a shareholder in those production companies. He spent a lot of time and effort coordinating every part of it, and you just reaped the benefits. He was so angry he almost got sick.”
Guan Xiangmu laughed. “He’ll probably be traumatized by Wen Di for the rest of his life and won’t bother her again.”
They chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call.
When he got to the old city area, Yan Heyu parked his car in the same spot he always used.
He called Wen Di and asked her to come out.
Wen Di was on the set. She walked out to the courtyard to look around. “I don’t see you.”
“I didn’t go to the old house. I’m at the alley entrance.”
Wen Di said something to Zhou Mingqian and the others, grabbed her bag, and left.
She hadn’t even reached the alley entrance when she saw Yan Heyu in the distance. He was holding a bag of oden for her, a street food she hadn’t eaten in half a year.
She had passed the food stalls this morning and had thought about buying some to eat after she was done with work in the evening.
Yan Heyu also walked toward her. As he got closer, she saw steam coming from the oden.
“Are you cold?” he took her hand.
“Not really. The air conditioner is on inside.” But she spent most of her time in the corridor outside, as they were filming inside.
In the car, Wen Di rubbed her hands together.
Yan Heyu looked at her. “Did you forget where to warm your hands?”
Wen Di met his gaze for a few seconds, then placed both her hands on his neck and reached into the collar of his cashmere sweater. It was warm.
She used to warm her hands like this.
Yan Heyu held her snacks and didn’t move.
“Next time you go to the set, wear more clothes.”
Wen Di said, “I’m wearing a lot. I have a thick sweater and a thick down jacket on.” But no matter how many layers she wore, it wasn’t enough to stand in the cold wind.
She wasn’t the only one who was cold; everyone was.
Her nose was red from the cold. Yan Heyu switched the snacks to his other hand, freeing up his right hand to hold the back of her head and pull her into his arms. He lowered his head and kissed her lips.
Being held in his arms to warm up like this was something that hadn’t happened in four years.
The car’s heater was getting warmer, and Wen Di wasn’t as cold.
Yan Heyu opened the car door and got out. “You stay in the car. I’ll go get something.”
“Get what?”
“The snacks I bought you. They should be ready now.”
When he had called her, he had placed an order at the store, and they should be packaged by now.
Five minutes later, Yan Heyu returned with a bag of snacks.
A hot drink, a box of candied haw berries, and a bag of roasted chestnuts.
Yan Heyu handed them to her. “I didn’t buy roasted sweet potatoes. I heard there’s a good place in the food street. I’ll buy you one when we pass by there.”
Wen Di had eaten a lot of food for lunch and wasn’t hungry. “No need. I’ll just eat some chestnuts.” She held the drink cup with both hands to warm them.
She put down the hot drink and then reached into his neck again. This time, she brought warmth to him.
Yan Heyu waited for her to settle in before starting the car and driving away.
It was too cold to stroll around the commercial street, so he drove straight to the underground parking lot of a mall on the commercial street.
After parking, he unbuckled her seatbelt. “I don’t have many clothes here in Jiangcheng. Can you come with me to shop and buy a few suits to wear for New Year’s dinners?”
Wen Di peeled a chestnut and put it in her mouth. “I’ll just be in charge of picking. You make sure you have your card with you, so you don’t end up saying you don’t have enough money on your phone.”
Yan Heyu really hadn’t brought his cardholder today. He thought for a few seconds, then gave her his phone. “Can you use my phone to pay? Is that okay?”
“...What’s the difference between you paying and me scanning the code to pay?”
“If you pay, I can pretend you bought them for me.”
Wen Di was speechless. She put his phone in her bag and pushed the car door open to get out.
The last time Yan Heyu was at this mall was two years ago. The brands in the mall had changed over the past two years, and a new men’s clothing brand had opened, with its flagship store on the first floor.
He held Wen Di’s hand, planning to go to the women’s clothing section with her first, but Wen Di didn’t have anything she wanted to buy. “I’ve gone shopping with Yin Ziyu several times before. I’ve bought everything I need.”
They went directly to the men’s clothing store.
Wen Di knew his size and favorite colors, and she quickly picked out some clothes for him.
Yan Heyu didn’t try them on. Any piece of clothing Wen Di had bought for him in the past had always fit perfectly. There was no need to try them on now.
When it was time to check out, Yan Heyu noticed that Wen Di was paying with her own phone. His phone was in her bag, and she hadn’t taken it out.
After paying, Wen Di only carried one shopping bag, and he carried the other seven or eight himself.
Back in the car, Wen Di handed his phone back to him without saying a word.
Yan Heyu wrapped his arm around her shoulder, lowered his head, and kissed her. “Thank you.”
His fingers caressed her chin, and he kissed her again, lingering on her lips.
His phone vibrated continuously with messages from the group chat.
They were asking him when he would be back to get a card game together.
Yan Heyu replied: [I might not be able to make it back before the New Year. Wen Di bought me a lot of clothes, so I’m trying them on to see if they fit.]
Everyone: “...!”
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