On New Year’s Eve, Lin Ting spent the night in Duan Ling’s room, and he spent the night inside her.
It wasn’t until the early hours that they finally slowed down.
In the morning, when it was still dim outside, the sound of firecrackers came through intermittently.
Duan Ling’s room was definitely soundproof, but after they finished last night, Lin Ting asked him to open the window to air out the smell, and it hadn’t been closed since, so the noise was coming in.
She was woken by the sharp crackle of firecrackers, turning over several times but too lazy to get up and close the window.
Duan Ling got up and closed the window.
Once the window was shut, he returned to bed, burying his face against Lin Ting’s front, lips pressed close to her heart, sharing warmth with each other.
Then he held her again, slipping inside—the quilt warm, her body warm.
Lin Ting opened her eyes, pinched Duan Ling, and tugged the quilt toward the wall side, forcing him away from the warmth of the bed and her.
Duan Ling’s hand reached over the quilt, hooking her waist, pulling her back in—returning to warmth.
Her waist itched where he hooked her, and other places tingled faintly.
Lin Ting habitually kicked at him, but Duan Ling caught her raised foot and moved it forward to rest on his shoulder.
If he just tilted his head a little, he could kiss her.
Just then, Lin Ting’s phone suddenly rang, caller ID showing: Mom.
Duan Ling put down Lin Ting’s foot, withdrew, picked up her phone, answered, and placed it to her ear.
Inside came Li Jingqiu’s voice: “Where are you? Why aren’t you in your room?”
She tried to make her tone sound natural: “I, I went out.”
Li Jingqiu was surprised: “It’s not even seven yet, and you’re out?”
Lin Ting usually kept a regular schedule at school, but at home during the holidays, her routine was irregular.
She usually stayed up late unless someone upstairs dragged her out of bed.
Lin Ting half-truthfully said, “The firecrackers were too loud, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up early. I was bored, so I went out for a walk.”
She urged, “Don’t wander around too much, come back quickly. We need to pay New Year’s respects.”
“Got it, I’ll be back in five minutes.” Lin Ting sat up and put on her shoes.
While she was on the call with Li Jingqiu, Duan Ling was already helping her get ready, putting on clothes.
By now, she was dressed except for her shoes.
After hanging up, Lin Ting said to him, “Go check if there’s anyone in the living room.”
Duan Ling walked over to the heavy trash bin, glanced inside at the used condoms, tied up the garbage bag, and carried it out to see if anyone was around.
“No one.”
Lin Ting crept out like a thief, moving quietly—but the next second, she froze.
Duan Ling’s eldest brother, Duan Lisheng, happened to come out of his room and caught their eyes.
Duan Lisheng was over ten years older than them.
When they were in middle school, he was already in university, attending Military Academy, rarely coming home.
Later he joined The Army and served, so he came home even less often.
This year, he was on a special vacation to spend the New Year at home.
When Lin Ting was a child, she used to call Duan Xinning’s older brother “Big Brother,” so seeing him today, she blurted out, “Big Brother.”
Duan Lisheng glanced at her, then at Duan Ling, his eyes full of scrutiny.
He wasn’t puzzled why Lin Ting came out of Duan Ling’s room but why she was coming out at this time.
Lin Ting quickly thought of an excuse: “My mom asked me to call him to come to our place.”
Duan Lisheng asked, “Why?”
She quietly tugged on Duan Ling’s shirt hem and made up on the spot: “We’re moving a table at home. It’s heavy and needs four people to carry it, so I asked Duan Ling to come help.”
Young people usually asked peers for help with labor, not elders.
Skipping over Duan Ling’s parents to go upstairs to him was plausible.
Besides, they were neatly dressed, no visible marks on their skin that would suggest anything else.
Duan Lisheng believed it and smiled, “Is that so? I’ll go help you guys, too.”
“No need for that many. That’s enough.”
Her family wasn’t moving any table at all.
If Duan Lisheng went to “help,” it would blow their cover.
Duan Lisheng rolled up his sleeves, ready to head downstairs through the courtyard toward her place.
“No worries, more hands make the work lighter. By the way, is the table moving upstairs or downstairs?”
Lin Ting stopped him, “Really no need. You just got back yesterday, take a good rest today.”
Duan Lisheng was used to early mornings and exercise in the army; long rest was torture for him, but Lin Ting had already refused twice, so he didn’t press further.
“Alright, but if you can’t move it, remember to call me.”
She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Duan Ling away.
“If we can’t move it, we’ll call you.”
Only then did Duan Lisheng notice the black garbage bag in Duan Ling’s hand.
“Duan Ling, give me the trash. I’ll take it out. You just go next door and help her with the table.”
The trash had to be carried out of the courtyard.
“Listen, Big Brother, Second Brother, what are you two talking about?” Duan Xinning got up, leaning against the doorframe yawning.
“They’re going to move a table…” Duan Lisheng wanted to point at Lin Ting and Duan Ling but noticed they slipped away during her words.
“Huh, why did they leave? And they didn’t leave me any trash.”
Still groggy from just waking, Xinning didn’t understand what trash Duan Lisheng was talking about.
She didn’t ask further and just grabbed her phone to reply to Xia Zimo’s recent New Year message.
Meanwhile, Lin Ting had already returned home, and Duan Ling went to throw out the trash at the street corner.
Lin Ting lay down on the living room sofa, relaxing her body, lazily looking toward the bustling kitchen.
“Mom, Dad, I’m home.”
Li Jingqiu glanced at her lying like a salted fish and said, “You’re grown up, how come you’re still like a kid who likes to run around?”
Ying Zhihe said, “Young people like moving around, that’s a good thing. Let it be.”
Lin Ting agreed, “Dad’s right.”
Li Jingqiu gave them both an eye roll.
“Lin Ting, go get the firecrackers and set them off outside with your dad. Set off firecrackers to welcome the New Year.”
She went upstairs to brush her teeth and wash her face, then grabbed the firecrackers and went outside the courtyard to light them.
The crackling sounds filled the air, scattering red paper everywhere, very festive.
Lin Ting couldn’t resist taking a photo and privately sent it to Duan Ling with a message: “Look.”
In less than a minute, he replied.
Duan Ling: “Nice shot. I took one upstairs too. See what you think.”
He attached a photo.
Lin Ting zoomed in.
The photo showed her standing at the courtyard gate, holding a lighter, with Ying Zhihe beside her.
In front, the firecrackers were burning wildly, bright red paper flying everywhere.
After looking at the photo, she turned and faced Duan Ling’s second-floor window, squinting as she looked at him standing there.
After a moment, she replied: “Did you go back after throwing out the trash? Were you spying on me?”
Duan Ling: “Just got home.”
He only answered the first question, ignoring the second.
Lin Ting snorted, didn’t push further, and saved the photo.
Just as she was about to put her phone away, someone in the group chat sent a red envelope.
Xie Qinghe: “Happy New Year, everyone.”
Lin Ting tapped the envelope first, then replied with New Year greetings and a thank-you emoji.
Xie Qinghe sent a normal red envelope—not the random amount kind—188 yuan for each person, very fair.
Seconds later, Jin Anazi sent a random red envelope.
Lin Ting was the first to tap it again but only got six cents.
Pathetic.
She refreshed and checked how much others grabbed… all were tens or hundreds of yuan.
Her luck was something else—not even a few yuan or dimes, just a few cents.
Currently Raising a Dog: “Tsk, did I see that right? @Ling Ting, Lin Ting, you only got six cents? Want me to send the random red envelope again? Or maybe I should send a normal envelope like Xie Qinghe?”
Lin Ting knew Jin Anazi couldn’t lose his habit of teasing her, even on New Year.
He had a cute, charming dog avatar, but his words were so annoying.
She definitely needed to give him a good scolding sometime.
Ling Ting: “You’re so asking for it.”
Ling Ting: “One day I’ll sneak into your house and steal your dog, so you’ll know what happens when you mess with me.”
Lin Ting sent two messages in a row.
Currently Raising a Dog: “……..”
While they were chatting, Duan Ling also sent a random red envelope.
Lin Ting hadn’t fully registered before tapping it.
Unexpectedly, this time she grabbed the most—over 190 yuan.
Jin Anazi got the least—two cents.
A classic turn of fortune.
Lin Ting bent over laughing, thinking Duan Ling was pretty lucky for her.
After laughing, she didn’t forget to send a message in the group chat.
Ling Ting: “Tsk, did I see that right? @Currently Raising a Dog, Jin Anazi, you got two cents?”
The teasing format was almost identical.
Jin Anazi didn’t respond.
Xie Qinghe jumped in at the right moment to lighten the mood.
Xie Qinghe: “When are you all free? Let’s meet up.”
Ling Ting: “Definitely not today. As for the second day of the New Year, I’m going to my grandparents’ with my parents, but I’m free after that.”
Duan Ling: “Same here.”
Xinning: “Same QAQ”
Jin Anazi fed his dog while squeezing in replies.
Currently Raising a Dog: “I’m free anytime, just tell me when and where.”
Xie Qinghe: “Okay, we’ll figure out a day after the second day of the New Year.”
Ling Ting: “OK.”
***
After the New Year greetings, Lin Ting set her phone to silent and went back to her room to nap.
She hadn’t slept well last night, and having gotten up so early, now that she was free, her eyes were nearly shut.
Evening.
She woke up.
Most people checked their phones first upon waking, and Lin Ting was no exception.
She closed her eyes, reached for her phone nearby, then opened them.
Many people had messaged her on WeChat.
She sat up and opened Duan Ling’s message first.
Duan Ling: “Text me when you’re awake.”
How did he know she was sleeping?
Did he think if she wasn’t replying, she must be asleep?
Lin Ting typed to ask him how he knew.
Duan Ling: “Two hours ago, I came to your place looking for you, wanting to go out for a walk. Your dad told me you were sleeping. How did you sleep?”
Ling Ting: “Great. Not exaggerating—I feel like I could kill a few tigers after waking up. You went back now, right?”
Duan Ling: “I’m still at your place.”
Ling Ting: “You’re still at my house? So you’ve been here two hours?”
Lin Ting stayed at Duan Ling’s place for more than half an hour, sometimes even overnight.
But Duan Ling was different.
Although he sometimes came to her place, he never stayed long, usually only coming when she would definitely be there.
Duan Ling: “Yeah, Uncle Ying wanted to play chess with me, and we’ve been at it till now. Come downstairs when you’re up.”
Lin Ting casually grabbed a handful of hair to make it look less messy, then went to wash her face, opened the door, and walked down to Ying Zhihe’s side, but her eyes glanced at Duan Ling sitting opposite him.
Duan Ling looked up and met her gaze.
Afraid Ying Zhihe would notice, she quickly looked away and asked, “Dad, why the sudden urge to play chess?”
Zhihe studied the board and answered distractedly, “Your mom went next door to chat with Aunt Feng. I was bored alone at home, so I dragged Duan Ling to play with me.”
Lin Ting didn’t disturb them further and sat quietly watching them play.
Soon, Ying Zhihe lost.
“No more.” He put away the chess pieces.
“Duan Ling, you came to find Lin Ting, right? Talk to her. I’ll go next door to see how long your mom will be.”
After Ying Zhihe left for Duan Ling’s house, Lin Ting and Duan Ling headed out.
She saw him go to the courtyard shed and push a bicycle.
“Where are we going?”
She thought if they were just going out for a walk nearby, they wouldn’t need to bike—it must be somewhere a bit far.
“The seaside.”
Lin Ting had just woken up refreshed.
Hearing they were going to the seaside, she immediately sat in the back seat.
People living by the sea had decorated the beach with lanterns cut from red plastic bags to enhance the New Year atmosphere.
Lin Ting stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Duan Ling’s shoulders, back to the sea, and took a few selfies.
On the last one, she turned her head and kissed his cheek.
Duan Ling glanced at it, the corner of his mouth curling slightly, thoughtful: “Send me all the photos.”
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