New Year’s Eve for the Jiang family began amidst a ruckus of celebration.
Outside, the night sky was ablaze with festive lights and fireworks, while inside, the most important moment had arrived.
It was time for the New Year’s money.
“There are a total of five coins hidden in tonight’s dumplings.”
Grandpa Jiang looked at the large bowl of dumplings on the table and smiled. “Whoever finds a coin, I’ll give them 5,000 as New Year’s money!”
“But if you don’t find any, you won’t get a single cent from me this year.”
“Then the total comes to 25,000. You’re really going all out this time!” Jiang Yingxue said with a wide, toothy grin.
Hearing this, Xie Zhuran’s eyes widened. “In that case… do I have a chance too?”
“You do!” Grandma Jiang nodded. “As long as your luck is good enough tonight!”
Xie Zhuran immediately became excited.
Song Qiuyu also tightened her grip on her chopsticks, determined to get those coin dumplings.
‘Bodhisattva above, this believer is willing to sacrifice all her luck for the next six months to avoid losing her Gacha pulls, if only I can get one coin.’
Subsequently, everyone began picking up dumplings. Surprisingly, the final five coins were all found by the five youngest people at the table.
Each of the five received 5,000, and then they continued to receive New Year’s money from various elders.
One round, two rounds, three rounds… eventually, because there was too much cash, they switched to sending red envelopes directly through WeChat.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao were tasked by the family to wash the dishes as usual. As she washed, Song Qiuyu’s legs began to feel weak.
“Mm…” Song Qiuyu let out a breath. “Jiang Xiao, let’s go faster!”
“Even faster?”
“Ah!” Song Qiuyu gritted her teeth, her cheeks flushing red.
“Alright then, you’d better hold on tight.” Jiang Xiao turned his head and smiled slightly as he watched her two small, fair hands speed up the dishwashing. “Don’t let a hand slip and break a bowl.”
“But is the heating in this house set a bit too high?” Song Qiuyu lowered her eyes and exhaled.
“Well, it’s very cold tonight. It’s more than 10 degrees below zero out there,” Jiang Xiao said with a smile.
“There are so many bowls!” Song Qiuyu couldn’t help but grumble.
“We’re washing the bowls for this many people all at once, after all.” After saying that, Jiang Xiao paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow at the person beside him. “How about we do something fun once we finish the dishes?” he said mysteriously.
“Huh?” Song Qiuyu was startled.
“The kind of thing we haven’t done together yet.” Jiang Xiao’s voice became deeper and slower, a mischievous expression crossing his face.
Hearing those words, Song Qiuyu’s heart pounded.
She instinctively pressed her legs together. No matter how she looked at it, it could only be—that kind of thing!
A moment later, Song Qiuyu walked into Jiang Xiao’s room carrying a carton of strawberry milk and sat down with him. Looking at the computer screen in front of her, her pupils slowly dilated.
So he really did mean watching an adult movie together. This was indeed something they had never done together!
The last time at her house, she had only opened it by accident and was forced to watch a small part of it with Jiang Xiao…
“So this is how it’s supposed to be?” Jiang Xiao’s voice echoed in her ear, sounding as though he were a dedicated student.
“Didn’t you say you’d seen it all before?” Song Qiuyu looked suspiciously at the side of Jiang Xiao’s face.
This material had actually come from her own hands. Even so, perhaps because she had never watched it with Jiang Xiao before, the experience felt very different.
“This is way too fast.” Jiang Xiao seemed immersed in his “studies,” only offering occasional comments.
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu gave a soft snort. she detached the straw from the back of the strawberry milk and slowly removed its plastic packaging.
“Let me do it.” Jiang Xiao, who had been focused on the video, turned to look at her hands, which were slightly waterlogged from washing dishes for too long. His voice carried a hint of concern.
“No need.” Song Qiuyu handled it easily herself. Then, her eyes darted around as she smiled and held the straw toward Jiang Xiao’s mouth. “Here, Jiang Xiao~”
“Alright.” Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. He extended his neck to take the straw, but in the next second, the person holding the milk tried to pull her hand back.
Expecting it, he grabbed her slender arm, lightly caught the straw, and took a sip. “So sweet.”
By chance, his words aligned perfectly with a line from the movie!
“It’s strawberry milk, of course it’s sweet!” Song Qiuyu’s face flushed bright red as she hurriedly pulled the milk back and bit down on the straw herself.
The more she drank, the more her heart raced with shame, and a watery mist began to cloud her eyes. Her vision blurred slightly as she continued to watch the movie on the computer screen. She became increasingly restless, and the speed at which she drank the milk picked up.
Even though the milk had just been taken out of the refrigerator, it didn’t help at all. She stole a glance out of the corner of her eye and saw that the person beside her had changed his posture. He was leaning back slightly with one leg crossed over the other.
At this sight, Song Qiuyu suddenly realized something, but she simply continued to watch him while tightening her grip on the milk carton.
“I’ll step out for a moment. You keep watching.” Jiang Xiao felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at. He clenched his fist and coughed.
“Uh…” Song Qiuyu instinctively grabbed the corner of Jiang Xiao’s shirt.
“Xi’er?” Jiang Xiao paused.
“Our relationship shouldn’t be the type where we need to avoid each other, right?” Song Qiuyu frowned, staring intently into Jiang Xiao’s eyes.
“Yeah, I know.” Jiang Xiao looked at her and nodded after a moment of silence. He then reached out to pat her fluffy hair and said with a smile, “But the situation is special right now.”
Song Qiuyu’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes blinked as she stared at him blankly.
Being watched like that, Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but rub her head again and pinch her cheek. He let out a sigh. “If I let my mom and dad notice, it might be a bit of a problem.”
“Mm…” Song Qiuyu had to admit that Jiang Xiao had a point. Moreover, deep down, she didn’t really want others to realize what they had done.
Watching him walk into the bathroom, she bit her lip and looked back at the computer screen, holding her breath slightly.
The thought that she would have to leave this room after watching the movie to sleep in another room arranged by the Jiang family made her feel frustrated. She didn’t know how long she watched before she pressed her legs together, took a shallow breath, and finished the rest of the strawberry milk in one gulp.
“Hoo…” She squeezed the milk carton, and then her reddened ears twitched.
Following the sound of footsteps, she turned her head to look at the person who had walked back in looking refreshed. She couldn’t help but purse her lips, feeling a little aggrieved.
“Alright, let’s continue.” Jiang Xiao rubbed her head again with a smile and sat down with her once more.
Song Qiuyu, however, was already distracted and couldn’t focus at all.
She pursed her lips in hesitation. After a long while, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and gathered her courage to once again grab the corner of his shirt.
She feigned a soft, spoiled tone. “Jiang Xiao…”
“Hmm?”
“Tonight…” Song Qiuyu bit her lip.