The thirtieth day of the lunar year, the night was as cool as water.
It should have been a time for family reunions, for everyone to gather and share a New Year’s Eve dinner, yet in some places, human tragedies were unfolding.
An “influenza” that no one cared about at first had destroyed many families in just half a month, even separating loved ones by death. Behind the curtain of this play called the New Year, countless blood and tears were intertwined in struggle…
But at least for the Tang Family at this moment, although there were regrets, things were ultimately beautiful—
“Happy New Year!”
In the Tang Family Old House, the lights were bright. Oil Lamps and candles had already been lit in every room.
They symbolized the dispelling of evil and the avoidance of disaster, brushing away the filth of the old year to welcome the hope and rebirth of the new one…
At the dining table in the main hall, there was a burst of laughter and joy. The atmosphere of reunion temporarily blew away the previous gloom. Amidst the clinking of glasses were the smiling faces of the family members present…
“Nanfeng, since this is our first time meeting, your Second Uncle would like to toast you! Thank you for taking care of Xinyuan at school.”
The elegant middle-aged man stood up and lightly clinked his glass with the young man, who had also risen.
“You are being too formal, Second Uncle. Besides, Xinyuan is my girlfriend now; it is only what I should do,” Qin Nanfeng replied with a smile. As he spoke, he looked down at the girl beside him who was still focused on her food.
As if sensing his gaze, Lin Xinyuan raised her head with a look of confusion. Then, noticing everyone’s subtle stares, she shyly and hurriedly lowered her head again to continue eating.
Seeing this, Qin Nanfeng’s smile deepened. He then looked back at Second Uncle. “I’ll finish this first; please drink at your own pace!”
With that, Qin Nanfeng drained the wine in his glass.
“Good, you’re a straightforward young man.”
Seeing this, Second Uncle praised him and nodded with great satisfaction.
He had already heard about Qin Nanfeng from the elderly lady. His own mother had been going on and on about how good he was…
Looking at him now, the young man was indeed excellent. He had outstanding looks, proper etiquette, and was neither humble nor arrogant. For a moment, he couldn’t find any faults…
Thinking this, Second Uncle also drained his glass. He then looked at his niece and said with a chuckle, “It seems Xinyuan has very good taste. You found such a good boyfriend so quickly. You two should get along well in the future!”
Second Aunt, standing by his side, added with a warm smile, “Your Second Uncle and I are waiting to drink your wedding wine.”
“That’s right.”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone else at the table nodded in agreement.
Among them, Tang Yayun was the most enthusiastic. Her eyes were bright as she clapped her small hands together. Not afraid of making a scene, she asked Qin Nanfeng, “Hey, Brother-in-law, are you and Xinyuan going to get married right after graduation?”
Hearing her words, everyone laughed.
Qin Nanfeng’s expression remained calm. He simply looked at the girl, a gentle smile on his lips as he lightly raised an eyebrow. “That depends on when Xinyuan is willing.”
In contrast, Lin Xinyuan’s heart was not calm at all.
She was already embarrassed by what Second Aunt had said, and now that Tang Yayun had teased her like this, she felt even more like a shrinking quail.
Her fair little face instantly flushed crimson. She was too ashamed to look directly into those gentle yet burning eyes. Her heart felt both sweet and embarrassed, leaving her deeply conflicted for a moment…
“You girl! Why are you worrying about that? Just eat your food.”
Second Uncle scolded his daughter with a smile. Seeing Tang Yayun stick her tongue out playfully in response, he found it somewhat amusing.
“It seems Yayun is also anxious to drink Xinyuan’s wedding wine and wants to be a bridesmaid.”
Grandma laughed at this. She looked at her granddaughter and teased, “Did you hear that, Xinyuan? Don’t make Nanfeng and your sister wait too long! I also want to see a great-grandchild while I’m still alive!”
She spoke without much reservation, causing Lin’s mother, who had been quiet, to frown slightly in resignation. “Mom, what are you talking about? It’s bad luck…”
“Oh, it’s a happy day. It doesn’t matter. Besides, I already have one foot in the grave; I can’t be bothered with those superstitions.”
Grandma smiled kindly, making Lin’s mother’s eyes flicker away, her heart feeling quite bitter…
Grandma saw this but only looked at her with tenderness. She then turned to Grandpa beside her. “Isn’t that right, old man?”
As she spoke, she patted Grandpa’s arm, but when there was no reaction, she turned her head and found that he was still pouring wine for himself. She became annoyed again. “Hey, hey, hey! You’re still drinking? You drink all day without stopping? We have to stay up for Shousui tonight! If you keep drinking, you’ll fall asleep!”
“Oh, it’s a happy day. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. Hehehe…”
“Hey, you old man, are you mimicking me?”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll stop. Can’t you just let me finish this cup…”
“No!”
One of the happiest things in the world is to be born into a relaxed and harmonious family.
That way, when you are tired from working outside, the voices on the phone won’t be full of chaos, but rather filled with caring chatter.
In this way, you will often think of your family and find the spirit to keep moving forward…
“Sigh… it’s a pity Tianshun and the others couldn’t make it back this year…”
Grandpa was a bit tipsy and couldn’t help but think of his eldest son’s family. He felt a sense of regret, and a trace of worry unconsciously appeared in his old, fierce eyes.
“Dad, it’s fine.” Second Uncle saw his father’s worry and quickly comforted him. “Big Brother and the others are blessed. Back then, Big Brother survived even with those injuries. He has a very strong fate!”
“True…”
Hearing his second son say this, Grandpa thought back to that incident. It had left a deep impression on him…
At that time, a leader from the military unit had called to say something had happened to his eldest son, which had terrified him and his wife.
Fortunately, he had pulled through and received timely treatment without any lasting side effects…
Thinking about it now still brought a lingering fear.
However, even though his second son said so, Grandpa was still worried. He especially remembered that his grandson, who was a military officer, was very likely headed to the front lines. A string of tension remained pulled tight in his heart, but he was somewhat comforted, and his expression relaxed slightly.
“Alright, it’s the New Year! Let’s not talk about such topics. Eat!”
At this time, Grandma began to complain, her expression subtly unnatural. Her inner worry was no less than Grandpa’s, but she tried her best not to show it.
Even though Grandma said this, everyone else at the table had heard the conversation. Even though Second Uncle kept bringing up other topics to try and liven up the atmosphere afterward, it was inevitable.
The atmosphere inevitably became a bit heavier, or at least not as lively as before…
This New Year’s Eve dinner ended fairly successfully. Although there were a few interludes, the overall mood was mostly joyful.
After finishing the meal and helping to clean up, they couldn’t leave yet because they had to begin Shousui. They had to wait until after twelve o’clock the next day to set off firecrackers before they could go back to rest.
The living room of the old house had a television, but it was an Old-style TV from before, which could only show broadcast channels.
The family sat separately on the sofas. Grandpa turned on the TV and tuned it to CCTV-1.
It wasn’t that they wanted to watch the Spring Festival Gala—locally, or rather in the entire Guangdong Province, there was almost no habit of watching the Spring Festival Gala. They simply used it as a background for their chatting to add a bit of atmosphere to the New Year’s Eve.
The Oil Lamps and red candles were still burning quietly, both emitting a faint light. A slightly pungent smell lingered faintly at the tip of the nose—
In such an atmosphere, the elders gathered to chat about recent trivial matters.
Meanwhile, the four young people on the other side played games together on their phones to pass the time. But they didn’t play for long before they all felt bored and went off to do their own things…
At this time, Lin Xinyuan held her phone and leaned against Qin Nanfeng’s arm, scrolling through videos together.
Occasionally, the two would discuss the content of a video, the atmosphere harmonious and warm.
However, it was clear that Qin Nanfeng’s attention was not on the videos. His gaze remained almost entirely on the girl’s face. Watching her beautiful smile, the corners of his mouth curled upward.
It wasn’t until the girl inadvertently turned her head and caught a glimpse that she saw his gentle gaze.
Lin Xinyuan couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “Watch the videos… why are you… always looking at me…”
Qin Nanfeng couldn’t resist lightly pinching her cheek. His expression was dead serious. “Xinyuan is good-looking and so cute. The videos aren’t as interesting as you.”
“Tch… gross…” Hearing his flirtatious words, Lin Xinyuan’s face turned slightly red. She let out a soft huff and then turned her face away in embarrassment, pretending to continue watching the videos.
Looking at her shy appearance, Qin Nanfeng laughed inwardly and continued to rub her fluffy head.
The girl’s body trembled slightly, but she didn’t offer any resistance…
However, this harmonious atmosphere did not last long before it was quickly broken.
Notification sounds rang out one after another, “ding-ding,” echoing almost simultaneously from their phones—
The girl and the young man looked at each other. It seemed they didn’t even need to guess to know who it was…
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