Ch.37 – New Years

Back in S city, it was almost New Year’s Eve.

Shen Yu asked Aunt Chen to pick up his luggage for him and Tang Li and moved into Elder Shen’s house without stopping by the main house.

They had no sooner left than they received a phone call from Aunt Chen, saying that two relatives of the Shen family came to visit with their things, and Aunt Chen had already sent them away on the pretext that Shen Yu was still traveling.

Hearing this, Shen Yu breathed a heavy sigh.

During holidays, there are always a group of people who can accurately find out when he’d be home and come up with a reason to visit that Shen Yu cannot refuse. As a result, Shen Yu’s holidays are all used to receive visitors.

Fortunately, he ran away fast enough this time, because in the next few days, Shen Yu would receive similar messages from Aunt Chen almost every day.

Today is the visit of the Shen family. Tomorrow is the visit of Shen Yu’s maternal family. Several times, the two sides collided with each other, which would ultimately trigger a fierce battle of words.

Just listening to Aunt Chen’s words, Shen Yu felt a headache coming on.

The pace of life in the city is fast.

However, Shen Yu is used to being a loner. Before crossing, he spent the New Year in a small house by himself, but now that he was accompanied by Elder Shen, Tang Li and others, he is much happier than before.

On New Year’s Eve, they went to the seaside.

The beach was packed with people coming out for the New Year.

Shen Yu saw the children running and playing along the beach. They waved burning fairy sticks[1] and sparks jumped in the dim night. They were very beautiful.

When he saw sparks, he asked Uncle Zhang to buy a bunch of fairy sticks. After the housekeeper returned, Shen Yu handed them to Tang Li without saying a word.

Tang Li held the whole bag of fairy sticks and looked at Shen Yu inexplicably.

“Go and play with them.” Shen Yu pointed off into the distance, softened his eyes, and smiled, “When I was younger than you, I liked to play with these.”

While saying this, Shen Yu showed a nostalgic expression.

Tang Li turned his head and looked in the direction of Shen Yu’s finger. He saw several girls about his age playing. He looked down at the fairy sticks in his arms.

Then, Tang Li fell into a long silence.

Shen Yu didn’t know why, so he reached out and patted Tang Li on the shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Tang Li shook his head, took a deep breath and with a face full of humiliation and arms full of fireworks, he approached the girls.

Shen Yu looked at Tang Li funnily. His little figure looked solemn and grave, as if he were going into a great battle. Shen Yu couldn’t help laughing. He turned to Uncle Zhang and said, “His reaction is too exaggerated, does he not like it?”

Uncle Zhang said, “That should be correct.”

Shen Yu sighed, “Then he should refuse directly. He knows I wouldn’t force him to do these things.”

“If young master Tang Li refuses you, then it’s not him possessing that body.” Uncle Zhang smiled. “Many people say that young master Tang Li tried to appease you just to survive, but I think he really cares about you and even regards you as his whole world.”

Shen Yu was silent.

Somehow, what Hui Jing said a few days ago came to mind.

“Uncle Zhang…” Shen Yu opened his lips somewhat tentatively. “Do you think… If I did something wrong, will Chestnut forgive me?”

Uncle Zhang paused and hesitated before replying: “If young master Tang Li made a mistake, would you forgive him?”

Shen Yu couldn’t imagine what kind of mistakes Tang Li would make. For him, the biggest mistake Tang Li could make was to kidnap and tear up his ticket to the afterlife for the sake of the female lead. However, at present, this possibility had already been reduced by a lot.

As for other mistakes…

As long as it does not involve murder, and as long as it does not hurt his life, he will naturally be willing to forgive.

Just who was it that let Tang Li decide his life and death?

So Shen Yu helplessly answered, “If not my own child, who else can I forgive?”

Uncle Zhang laughed and said, “Young master Tang Li probably think the same.”

Shen Yu heard Uncle Zhang’s laughter echoing in the night breeze. Suddenly, his mood became lighter. He raised the corners of his mouth into a happy smile and manipulated his wheelchair over to Tang Li’s side.

At this time, Tang Li was surrounded by girls, squatting on the ground expressionlessly, holding a lighter to a fairy stick inserted on the beach sand.

Even though Shen Yu was still separated from Tang Li by a small distance, he can clearly feel the depression emanating from the little villain.

Shen Yu laughed and called out, “Chestnut!”

His voice was not very loud compared to the noisy environment, so he didn’t actually think that Tang Li could hear him. However, his voice had not yet faded, when he saw the little villain’s chin lift up with his head.

Seeing Shen Yu’s smiling face, Tang Li’s eyes became as bright as stars.

Tang Li returned the lighter to one of the girls and quickly patted off the sand on his body. He rushed over to Shen Yu and looked at him excitedly.

Shen Yu fixed Tang Li’s hair, which was messed up by the night wind. “Let’s go over there to play.”

Tang Li didn’t ask where Shen Yu was talking about and didn’t hesitate to nod. “Okay!”

As Shen Yu took Tang Li away, the eyes of the girls were full of complaints.

There were still a lot of fairy sticks left. Shen Yu chose a relatively quiet place and lit them with Tang Li and Uncle Zhang. The three people quietly watched the beautiful sparks illuminate each other’s faces.

Before crossing over, when he was young, Shen Yu and his friends often chased each other while playing with the fairy sticks. Now he can’t run and can only sit in a wheelchair and stare at the sparks.

Through the burning sparks, Shen Yu saw Tang Li sitting on a stone bench across from him, looking directly into his eyes. The little dark orbs almost melted into the deep night behind him, and Shen Yu could not see what emotion was rippling within them.

By twelve o’clock in the evening.

Everyone began counting down in unison.

“Five!”

“Four!”

“Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

“Happy New Year!”

At the same time, brilliant fireworks blossomed in the night sky, layers upon layers, so that the whole sky turned bright as the day. The crowd called out sounds of amazement and laughter.

Tang Li looked up at the fireworks in the sky with surprise and the vividly bright colors were reflected in his eyes.

Shen Yu’s own eyes were full of smiles and he stretched out his hand to rub Tang Li’s hair. When the little villain turned his head to look at him, he put the necklace he had previously prepared around Tang Li’s neck.

“…” Tang Li blinked his eyes in surprise.

“Happy New Year, Chestnut.” Shen Yu said with a smile.

“…” Tang Li was caught off guard. He wanted to see the necklace around his neck, but he was too stiff to move.

Suddenly, Shen Yu burst into laughter at the sight of Tang Li’s dazed expression. He couldn’t help but to move forward and gently move the stray hairs away before he pressed a feathery kiss against the little villain’s soft forehead.

“It’s your late birthday present.” Shen Yu said, “Since something unexpected happened at that time, I didn’t give you the gift in time. Fortunately, now things are back to their original state.”

Tang Li was stunned for a long time before he slowly raised his hand and grasped the pendant in front of his chest. Under the fireworks illumination, he saw a squatting mouse made of pure gold.

Certainly, he is a rat.

Shen Yu waited for Tang Li’s response for a long time. He thought he didn’t like this birthday gift. He wanted to say that he would take Tang Li out for a while and add a few more gifts.

When Tang Li finally raised his head, Shen Yu found that the little villain’s eyes were wet and red.

“Chestnut…”

Shen Yu hurried to pull Tang Li’s hand. However, Tang Li took the opportunity to grab Shen Yu’s own wrist.

Suddenly, Shen Yu was stunned. Before he had time to react, he saw the light fading in front of him and felt a soft touch coming from his lips.

It was like a dragonfly landing softly on water.

Tang Li quickly moved back.

“Thank you.” Tang Li laughed, and the beautiful phoenix eyes became curved with his smile. “I like it very much.”

Hearing Tang Li say so, Shen Yu’s joy could not be controlled. He pinched Tang Li’s face and said with a grin, “I’m glad you like it.”

—————-

It was three o’clock in the morning when they returned to Elder Shen’s house.

The Elder Shen always worked and slept regularly. Even on New Year’s Day, he went to bed early.

Shen Yu said goodnight to Tang Li, returned to his bedroom, took a bath, and laid down in bed before he remembered to take out his phone to check for new emails and text messages.

Turning it on, he turned to the address book.

Then he saw the name [Yi Hua].

After a period of deliberation, Shen Yu decided to make an appointment with Yi Hua’s family before the Lantern Festival.

The next day.

Shen Yu opened his eyes and saw the bright light in the room. The bright yellow sunlight penetrated through the thin curtains and covered everything in his sight in soft glow.

After Shen Yu slowly washed and dressed, he went to the dining room in his wheelchair. Upon arrival, he could see that Tang Li and Elder Shen were already sitting at the dining table and eating in relative silence.

“Good morning.” Shen Yu yawned and naturally parked his wheelchair next to Tang Li. He suddenly mused, “Ah, what a good breakfast…”

Elder Shen could only hate that iron was not steel[2] and slammed the table with the palms of his hands. “The sun is shining on your butt and only ghosts are eating breakfast. It’s already lunch!”

Shen Yu answered with a laugh and turned to the servant who had given him his bowl and chopsticks. “This old man’s temper is so fierce and it’s only the first day of the new year. Is it you who provoked him?”

The servant glanced at Shen Yu and said, “Miss Yang is here.”

“!!!”

Shen Yu sprang up. “Where?!”

The servant said, “She just left half an hour ago.”

Shen Yu’s suddenly shocked heart slowly calmed down. He patted his chest happily. For the first time, he was grateful for his habit of lazing in bed. Otherwise, he would have to look at Jenny Yang on the first day of the New Year.

The important point is that he already blacked Jenny Yang’s phone number and Weibo.

If Jenny Yang had asked him to unblock her in front of Elder Shen, Shen Yu wouldn’t have been able to refuse.

Elder Shen looked at Shen Yu’s reactions, including his heavy breath of relief. He immediately became fired up and glared at him. He put down his chopsticks, pointed at Shen Yu and scolded, “Even if you don’t like Little Yang anymore, don’t you have the basic courtesy of a man?! In order to talk to you, Little Yang stayed from eight o’clock in the morning to twelve o’clock in the afternoon, but you slept like a dead pig!”

Shen Yu had long become accustomed to Elder Shen’s scolding. While eating, he calmly said, “You didn’t come to call me over. How would I know Jenny Yang is waiting for me?”

“Who said I didn’t call you?!” Elder Shen shouted angrily, “I sent Chestnut to shout at you seven or eight times. You didn’t get up and even had the nerve to drive poor Chestnut out. You dare say you haven’t heard Chestnut yet!”

Shen Yu: “What?”

Shen Yu stared at Tang Li in surprise.

Tang Li was burying his head in his bowl like he was digging for rice. When he noticed Shen Yu’s shocked and doubtful eyes, he threw a pitiful, weak and helpless look at Shen Yu.

“I really called you…” Tang Li whispered.

“You called me…”

Bullshit!

Halfway through, Shen Yu suddenly guessed Tang Li’s intentions, and all his words were immediately blocked in his throat.

Well, it seems that Tang Li not only succeeded in preventing him from meeting Jenny Yang, but also put a pot on his head [3] .

Look at this pot. It’s big and round.

[1] I don’t know what different people in different regions call these. I grew up calling them sparklers.

[2] meaning he’s depressed that Shen Yu is living up to expectations.

[3] Meaning he was framed.