Song Qiuyu wasn’t sure if her mind was in the gutter, but her subconscious felt she was right.
Consequently, she crept back to the front of Jiang Xiao’s room like a thief, keeping a wary eye on everyone in the living room downstairs.
Then, she hunched over and looked up at the door in front of her. She reached out tentatively to give it a push.
If it wouldn’t open, she would just go back quietly and pretend she had never been there!
However, the door suddenly opened first, and Jiang Xiao pulled her into the room in one swift motion.
“Mm!”
Caught off guard, Song Qiuyu’s pupils contracted and her breathing quickened. She instinctively tried to make a sound, but her lips were instantly blocked.
Thud.
Her back was forced against the door, and her lips trembled open as Jiang Xiao took the opportunity to lock the door behind them.
At that moment, a soft sound echoed as a box fell out of Song Qiuyu’s pocket and landed on the floor.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Xiao looked down, and he was momentarily stunned.
Downstairs in the living room, it was already past midnight. There were less than 30 minutes left before the Spring Festival Gala ended.
The sound of fireworks outside had yet to stop, and the adults’ card game had just entered a heated phase. Jiang Zi was playing Plants vs. Zombies with gusto, occasionally pricking up his ears to eavesdrop on the adults’ conversation.
For some reason, they always managed to chat about something else for a few sentences before inexplicably circling back to his brother and Shen Xi.
During this time, they had also joked about when his aunt and uncle-in-law planned to have children.
However, perhaps because the two were in no rush, they tactfully steered the topic back to his brother and Shen Xi again.
Throughout the entire card game, even though his brother and Shen Xi weren’t in the living room, it felt as if they were always there.
“By the way, your child should have left my son’s room by now, right?” Jiang Xiao’s mother, Hua Shuying, said suspiciously as she looked at Su Luo, as if suddenly remembering.
“I’m not quite sure,” Su Luo admitted honestly.
“Mom, I know,” Jiang Li said as she sat on the sofa, observing the cards in her grandfather’s hand. “I saw Brother Qiuyu go back to her own room.”
“My child is very well-behaved. I don’t know what you’re so worried about!” Song Zhao Ye said as he played a card.
“Young man, then why don’t you tell me this? Since these two kids met again in college, is their relationship still truly pure?” After saying that, Grandpa Jiang slammed down a pair of twos! “Pass!”
Su Luo was breaking out in a cold sweat. It was highly likely that things were no longer pure… It was hard to say if they had taken the final step, but the things a couple should do were probably mostly done.
Song Zhao Ye and Su Luo both shared the same thought and didn’t dare to respond.
“Looking at her performance today, she does seem like a well-behaved child. I just hope she’s consistent inside and out,” Mother Jiang said, rubbing her temples as she stared at her cards in thought.
“Sister, don’t worry too much.” Jiang Yingxue glanced at Mother Jiang while dealing with her own hand in the game. “I think both those kids are very well-behaved. We’re all still keeping the New Year’s vigil on the first floor, so they certainly wouldn’t do anything reckless!”
“Right, right, right!” Su Luo and Song Zhao Ye nodded hurriedly.
“Sister, do you actually quite like that child from the Song family?” Mother Jiang shot a glance at Jiang Yingxue.
As she spoke, she looked toward her son’s room and played a card. “After this round, I’m going upstairs to take a look.”
“Alright, I’ll take over,” Father Jiang nodded and said.
Hearing this, Jiang Li frowned slightly and glanced toward her brother’s room, letting out a sigh of relief. It was a good thing Brother Qiuyu had left. Even if her mom went up to see her brother later, nothing should happen.
Then she noticed Xie Zhuran on the other sofa. He was peeling an orange while tapping away on his phone. Immediately following that, the audio of a short video played loudly. It instantly attracted everyone’s attention.
“Uh…” Xie Zhuran seemed to just realize what happened. He rubbed his head and apologized, saying, “Sorry, was my volume too high?”
“Does your phone have my grandson’s voice in it?” Grandpa Jiang asked with a frown.
“Yes, Grandpa Jiang. This is a short video we filmed in college. We made several!” Xie Zhuran nodded, explaining hurriedly.
As he spoke, he took the chance to ask everyone for a round of follows, likes, shares, and recommendations. Seeing that everyone’s attention had shifted to the short video, Jiang Li looked at Xie Zhuran curiously, not understanding his intent.
“Want an orange?” Xie Zhuran then handed her a freshly peeled orange.
Jiang Li lowered her eyes, looking at the neatly peeled orange. After a moment of hesitation, she took it with a faint smile and thanked him.
“This kid from the Song family really looks great when she dresses up in a skirt. She looks better than those female stars. It’s just a pity about her chest size,” Grandma Jiang remarked, pointing at the pink Snow Woman costume Song Qiuyu wore in the video.
Jiang Li agreed. ‘Brother Qiuyu is indeed too small. If she has a child in the future, the baby might go hungry.’
“She’s not that pretty. You’re exaggerating. I think she’s just mediocre,” Mother Jiang said dismissively, though her eyes were fixed honestly on Song Qiuyu in the video.
As she watched, she gradually forgot her initial plan to go upstairs.
Xie Zhuran kept an eye on everyone’s situation while continuing to peel oranges. After finishing one, he ate it while looking at a message Jiang Xiao had sent on his phone, sighing inwardly.
‘I can only help you guys this much.’
The message read: ‘Brother Xie, help me stall my parents and the others. Don’t let them come upstairs. If you really can’t stall them anymore, please let me know in advance. I’ll buy you dinner later!’
Xie Zhuran didn’t think much of it. They were brothers; what was there that he couldn’t see through? If nothing unexpected happened, they were probably having a sweet duo-queue session.
Lao Lin and Xia Qi also seemed to be duo-queueing. They were playing PUBG Mobile to get a chicken dinner.
‘Sigh, duo-queueing. I wonder if I can ask Jiang Li to duo-queue with me later. Even playing the Love Nikki open world would be fine.’
In the dimly lit room, the shadow of a young girl was vaguely reflected against the white-painted wall.
“Jiang Xiao, didn’t you say… um… you wouldn’t let me stay?”
“Because I changed my mind.”
“Mmm…”
Song Qiuyu bit her lip, her eyes looking as if they were about to overflow with water, unsure of where to look. Their thoughts were perfectly aligned. It was wonderful.
“How about closing your eyes like me?”
“Okay!”
Song Qiuyu obediently closed her eyes, thinking it was a good suggestion. After a couple of tries, she bit her lip and reminded him, “You can’t secretly open your eyes either!”
“I won’t!”
Accompanied by a tender rhythm, the winter air gradually grew hot. Jiang Xiao remained honest for a while before secretly opening his eyes. His vision was filled with an incredibly beautiful scene. Just one look made his breath hitch and his brow furrow.
“Jiang Xiao, I heard Xia Qi say that after a sweet night like this on New Year’s Eve, every day in the new year will be very sweet!”
“Xia Qi and Lao Lin should be duo-queueing in a game tonight… since Lao Lin was so direct about it.”
“Heh…”
Jiang Xiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He couldn’t help but glance at the unopened box, and his heart rate suddenly spiked. It was probably about time.
He was about to call a halt, but at that moment, Song Qiuyu curled her shoulders, pressed her lips tight, and opened her blurred eyes. Then, she inevitably met his gaze.
The gaze of someone who was supposed to have his eyes closed.
Their eyes met. The air turned deathly silent.
You’re all such small fry, small fry. It’s only the middle of the month, yet you small fry don’t have any tickets left? You can’t even scrape together enough for one extra chapter!