Chapter 584: Are We Getting Married?!

January 27th, New Year's Eve.

Early in the morning, Li Luo slowly woke, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, lingering for a moment before gradually shaking off the fog of sleep.

Seeing the quilt taken by Ying Chanxi, Li Luo pulled it back, draping the other end over Yan Zhusheng.

He then sat up, slipped out from under the covers, and tiptoed downstairs to the bathroom to wash up.

He'd stayed up too late last night, so he'd simply let Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng sleep in, letting them rest a little longer.

After washing up himself, Li Luo went downstairs to the second-floor living room.

Grandma had already cooked porridge; seeing her beloved grandson come down, she immediately ladled him a bowl, peeled a preserved egg, cut it in half, and dropped it into the soy sauce dish, then returned to the kitchen to fry an egg.

Li Luo slurped down the steaming hot porridge with the preserved egg and fried egg, finishing the entire bowl in one go—his body instantly warmed, feeling wonderfully comfortable.

At this moment, Grandma smiled and said, "Go call Xi Xi and Zhu Sheng downstairs for breakfast."

"They slept late—I'll wake them later. You go ahead."

"Alright."

Li Luo's grandmother went to chant sutras every week, and before the New Year she chanted even more, having to meet with other elderly women early in the morning—it was quite busy.

After watching Grandma leave the courtyard downstairs, Li Luo stretched on the second-floor balcony and saw his parents coming down.

"So early?"

Lin Xiuhong yawned, poured herself a bowl of porridge, sat down, and called to Li Luo on the balcony, "Where are Xi Xi and Zhu Sheng?"

"Still asleep, I think."

"Why didn't you wake them for morning run today?"

"It's the New Year—let them rest one day."

"So you're going alone?"

"Yeah, warming up, just about to head out."

"Then go. I'll wake Xi Xi and Zhu Sheng later."

"No need—you can just wait. I'll call them after my run."

"Alright." Lin Xiuhong nodded without overthinking, "Then later, your dad and I will visit relatives around the village—you take Xi Xi and Zhu Sheng out and have fun."

"Got it."

After hearing Lin Xiuhong's instructions, Li Luo went downstairs for his run.

After slowly jogging around Li Family Village and returning, Li Luo checked the living room upstairs—his parents were gone—then went back to the third-floor bedroom and patted the small buttocks under the quilt.

"Wake up, the sun's shining on your butt."

As he spoke, Li Luo walked to the window and yanked open the curtains.

Bright sunlight flooded in, illuminating the two girls' sleeping faces, their skin pale and luminous, faint downy hairs visible around their lips—adorable beyond words.

Yan Zhusheng had already woken and opened her eyes to look at Li Luo.

Ying Chanxi stirred slightly, then reluctantly rubbed her eyes, squinting open just a slit before finally forcing them fully open.

"Want a hug," Yan Zhusheng extended her arms toward Li Luo, speaking with solemn seriousness the words that should have been full of coquettishness.

"What hug?" Ying Chanxi immediately slapped Yan Zhusheng's arm away. "Can't you get up yourself?"

"Sister, you're mean." Yan Zhusheng turned to look at Ying Chanxi. "After Li Luo hugs me, he can hug you too."

"I—I don't want him to hug me," Ying Chanxi insisted, shoving Yan Zhusheng off the bed.

Yan Zhusheng didn't get her hug and was shoved off the bed, so she slipped on her slippers and left the room to wash up.

But after Ying Chanxi shifted to the edge of the bed, she didn't get up—instead, she blinked twice and glanced at Li Luo.

Li Luo looked at her with amusement: "Want a hug?"

"I didn't say that…"

"Then why won't you get up yourself?"

"I'm just a little cold—I'm still warming up."

"Oh, then I'll go."

"Hey!" Ying Chanxi reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt. "Where are you going?"

"Then what should you say?"

"Hug… hug me…"

"Wrong."

"Then what do you want me to say…"

"What did Zhu Sheng just say?"

"You—" Ying Chanxi snapped, glaring at Li Luo, then softened, turning her head away and whispering softly, lips trembling, "W-want a hug…"

The next second, Ying Chanxi felt herself suddenly lifted into the air.

She gasped, instinctively wrapping her arms tightly around Li Luo's neck; when she realized what she'd done, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she lightly patted his chest before burying her face in his chest.

Li Luo held her for a moment, then leaned down and gave her a good morning kiss before setting her gently on the floor and crouching to slip her slippers on.

He idly pinched her cute, tiny, pink feet.

Then Ying Chanxi went off to wash up.

By then, Yan Zhusheng had finished brushing her teeth, washed her face, and stepped aside to let Ying Chanxi take her turn, even thoughtfully closing the bathroom door behind her.

So when Li Luo stepped out of the bedroom, Yan Zhusheng shoved him against the wall.

"Wash up and come downstairs for breakfast," Li Luo smiled, holding her slender waist.

But Yan Zhusheng said nothing—she only buried herself deeper into his chest, seeking a hug, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent, lost in it for a long while.

Li Luo held Yan Zhusheng, gently stroking her long hair that reached her waist.

Only when the sound of water from the bathroom stopped did Yan Zhusheng lift her head and whisper softly into Li Luo's ear: "Sister won't let me hug her, yet she secretly comes to you for hugs—sister's mean. I don't mind if sister hugs me, so I'm good."

After saying that, Yan Zhusheng broke free from Li Luo's embrace, just as Ying Chanxi pushed open the bathroom door and walked out, seeing the two of them who had been waiting at the door all along.

"Let's go, head downstairs to eat." Ying Chanxi didn't notice anything unusual and turned to walk downstairs.

Li Luo laughed softly as he glanced at Yan Zhusheng, thinking that this girl's train of thought was always simple and direct, yet somehow amusing and endearing.

It was truly hard not to laugh.

Still, Yan Zhusheng's adaptability was a bit too strong—she called her "big sister" so naturally.

He wondered when Ying Chanxi would ever call Zhusheng "little sister."

It would be even better if both of them were in his arms when he shouted like that.

Li Luo imagined such a scene in his head, and almost missed his step on the way downstairs, tumbling down the entire flight.

Fortunately nothing happened, and after the three of them reached the second floor, Li Luo went to the kitchen and fried two eggs for them to eat.

After finishing the porridge, Li Luo took them to a nearby convenience store to buy fireworks and firecrackers, preparing for the New Year's Eve countdown later that night.

……

In the afternoon, Li Luo's entire extended family began bustling about.

Li Luo's uncle-in-law Chen Hailin took charge of the wok in the kitchen, while several aunts and Lin Xiuhong assisted on the side; dish after dish quickly came out of the pan and was carried to the dining table in the living room.

Li Guohong, together with Li Dao, prepared one by one all the items needed for the New Year's Eve ancestral worship.

Candles, wine cups, yellow paper, silver ingots, and a large black wok for burning paper money.

Starting from a little past four in the afternoon, Li Luo's family had to take turns kneeling and performing the ritual before the candles, then bow once more before the candles were extinguished.

Once this worship was finished, they would carry the large black wok to the balcony and begin burning the yellow paper and silver ingots, along with the Buddhist sutras that grandma had just finished reciting that morning.

By the time this entire process was done, it was already past six in the evening.

Some twenty people sat around two tables, while Lin Xiuhong and others bustled back and forth between the kitchen and living room, reheating the dishes that had gone cold.

The New Year's Eve dinner began.

The men who were drinking sat at one table, while the women and children sat at another.

Since Li Luo was now of age, he was pulled over to the main table next door, poured himself a glass of beer, and sat beside his grandfather.

The old man, who rarely got to see his grandson during the New Year, cheerfully poured himself a small cup of baijiu, clinked glasses with Li Luo, and downed it in one go.

Seeing this from the next table, grandma immediately raised her eyebrows and scolded: "Drink less! Who downs it in one gulp?"

"It's New Year's, don't be so controlling." Grandfather said helplessly, "I'm just happy, that's all."

"Li Luo, you drink less too." Grandma reminded again, "Don't follow your grandfather's example."

This little battle of wits with grandma was, in a way, the old couple's own form of affection.

Li Luo watched the scene with a grin, feeling nothing but warmth.

Still, considering his grandfather's health, he said: "Grandpa, take it slow on the drinks, eat more dishes to line your stomach."

The New Year's Eve dinner started a little past six in the evening and went on until eight at night, by which time the Spring Festival Gala had already begun on the television.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the opening ceremony of the Gala, and then someone turned to look at Yuan Wanqing, asking why she hadn't gone to the Gala this year.

"The director did invite me, but I've been especially tired this year, so I politely declined." Yuan Wanqing said with composure.

Chen Lu and the others nodded in understanding—after all, she had held over ten consecutive concerts since October, and was scheduled to continue performing through the summer break; she must have been completely worn out.

What they didn't know was that not only the Spring Festival Gala, but also invitations from several local TV stations, had all been turned down by Yuan Wanqing.

Originally, under the company's plan, even if she skipped the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, she was supposed to accept the evening gala invitation from Qianjiang TV.

But Yuan Wanqing had signed under the studio model, giving her considerable autonomy, and she had been personally mentored by Ying Zhicheng.

So as long as she herself didn't want to go, no one at the company could force her.

For Yuan Wanqing, compared to attending any evening gala performance, it was clearly more important to follow Ying Zhicheng back to his hometown for New Year's.

Especially this year, it was more crucial than ever.

However, just as Yuan Wanqing was responding to the others' curious questions while picking up food, she suddenly noticed a pair of chopsticks from beside her picking up a piece of braised pork that she couldn't quite reach.

Yuan Wanqing instinctively said thank you, then followed the direction of the chopsticks, only to realize it was Ying Chanxi who had picked it up for her.

This made her freeze on the spot.

Ying Chanxi, meanwhile, turned her head away, not meeting Yuan Wanqing's gaze, but this proactive gesture of goodwill sent a warm current flowing through Yuan Wanqing's heart.

Certain memories welled up in her mind, and Yuan Wanqing even felt a mist gathering at the corners of her eyes.

How alike she is...

Ruqing, your daughter is just like you—always so thoughtful and considerate.

Yuan Wanqing lowered her head, picked up the piece of braised pork from her bowl, chewed it slowly, and found it incomparably delicious.

The slight nervousness she had felt about eating New Year's Eve dinner at the Li family's home also dissipated at that moment.

She watched the children—Chen Lu and the others—who had already run off to the coffee table to play poker, then looked at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, who were eating beside her.

She turned her head again to look at the next table, where Ying Zhicheng and Li Luo were drinking.

A smile rose to Yuan Wanqing's face.

The stable, peaceful life she had once dreamed of was now right before her eyes, within reach.

At this moment, she even entertained the thought of retreating from the limelight.

If only she could just choose to retire right now.

But Ying Zhicheng hadn't yet fully established his footing at the company, and both he and Li Luo were in the rising phase of their careers.

So Yuan Wanqing only let herself think about it briefly, quickly tossing the idea to the back of her mind, wanting only to take advantage of this short New Year holiday to enjoy as much of this peaceful, happy little life as possible.

……

As the Spring Festival Gala passed ten o'clock at night, grandpa and grandma could no longer hold out; after the drinking session ended, they went downstairs to wash up and go to bed.

Staying up late wasn't good for the elderly, so they wouldn't be joining the youngsters for the New Year's countdown.

And as the time gradually approached midnight, Li Luo and the others took their fireworks and firecrackers and headed down to the courtyard below, ready to set them off shortly.

Ying Zhicheng held a wine cup and joined Li Guohong on the second-floor balcony, watching the children below play with firecrackers and fireworks, taking a small sip.

"Time really flies… another year's gone," Li Guohong remarked, gazing at the warm scene beneath the night sky. "With this year passing, these kids are all about to take the college entrance exam. After university, they'll truly be adults."

"In my memory, they were still little things."

"And now, in a blink, they've grown so tall."

"Yes," Ying Zhicheng swirled his cup, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp, exhaling a strong puff of white breath as if shedding a heavy burden. "They've all grown up. After all this time, some things can finally be spoken out."

"Huh?" Li Guohong had thought Ying Zhicheng was just making a casual remark, but now he sensed something off. "What do you mean, 'spoken out'?"

Ying Zhicheng glanced at his childhood friend, then let out a slightly embarrassed laugh, raised his hand, and patted Li Guohong's shoulder, exhaling slowly: "Want to know?"

"What are you dragging this out for?" Li Guohong rolled his eyes. "Just spit it out."

"I'm getting married."

These words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Li Guohong utterly stunned, frozen in place, unable to process it.

"N-not… how did this… suddenly happen?" Li Guohong's mind nearly shut down. "You never showed any signs of this before—why so sudden?"

"It's not that sudden," Ying Zhicheng smiled wryly, looking down. "It's been years. I just kept it hidden from you all—yesterday, I finally told Xixi."

"So who is it? You never mentioned anyone before!" Li Guohong stared at Ying Zhicheng, utterly baffled.

"There," Ying Zhicheng nodded toward the room, a hint of pride in his eyes. "She's sitting right inside."

In that instant.

Li Guohong whipped his head around, his gaze locking onto a slender silhouette inside the room—his entire body went numb.

Holy shit!

You bastard, Ying Zhicheng!

(End of Chapter)