Chapter 167: Xie Qin

Shen Li lowered her head and squeezed some hand soap, "You and Mom went out, how was I supposed to tell you?"

Shen Zhaozhao: "Then couldn't you have told me in advance!"

Shen Li looked at her and didn't pay her any mind.

Leaving the washroom, Yu Lizhen brought up the last soup; Shen Wenqing followed and took four sets of bowls and chopsticks, placed them on the table, and then sat in the main seat to start dining.

The atmosphere began to be a bit calm, so Shen Zhaozhao started taking the initiative to find a topic, discussing a recently popular TV series.

Yu Lizhen didn't speak, let alone look at him.

Shen Li was also listening quietly on the side.

Compared to herself, Shen Zhaozhao was the one who didn't want this home to fall apart; if her father and mother divorced, she would be the one unable to find her place in this home.

It should also be her who was racking her brains to get Dad to come back.

This counted as... the one time she didn't hate Shen Zhaozhao.

After dinner, Shen Wenqing took the initiative to help Yu Lizhen wash the dishes, Shen Zhaozhao put the unfinished food into the refrigerator, and Shen Li was responsible for wiping the table.

After tidying up, Shen Wenqing went to the TV to watch television.

Shen Li returned to her room, took the medicine out of her bag, and poured out two pills; just at this moment, Shen Zhaozhao walked in without knocking and saw the medicine bottle in her hand: "Are you taking medicine?"

"Are you sick?"

She didn't know if this sentence was out of concern or simple curiosity.

Shen Li swallowed the medicine and told her, "Taking medicine for depression."

Shen Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment, then she laughed, not believing it at all, "You have depression? Who are you trying to fool?"

She felt that this illness had nothing to do with her.

Otherwise, she was pretending to be sick, pretending to be pitiful, just because she didn't want to repeat a year and wanted to participate in the Mathematics Competition, so she deliberately did it for them to see.

"Isn't Mom just wanting you to repeat a year? You just obediently repeat a year, why do you have to compete with me? Besides... your grades are so good, what's wrong with letting me have this one time? After I study abroad, graduate, find a job, and earn money... at worst, I'll buy you more good things to compensate you."

She said these words as if they were so matter-of-fact.

She didn't want to continue arguing with her on this topic, "Do you have something for me?"

"Mom wants you to go downstairs and take out the trash."

Shen Li: "Don't push the things given to you onto me."

"Get out."

"You!" Shen Zhaozhao was a bit furious at being blocked by her; remembering that her father and mother were at home, she didn't dare to speak loudly, stomped her feet, and turned to leave.

Shen Li: "Close the door."

With a "bang," the door was closed.

Seeing her leave, Shen Li took out the dictionary from the drawer and looked at the high-spirited youth in the photo.

Her fingertips brushed over the photo, and there was a slight fluctuation in her heart.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon it was the New Year.

Yu Lizhen made a table full of New Year's Eve dinner; the Spring Festival Gala was playing on the TV, but no one was watching it, just listening to the sound, feeling the somewhat cold New Year atmosphere. Shen Wenqing gave each of them a New Year red envelope; the red envelopes were very thick, with over three thousand yuan.

Shen Li finished tidying the table and walked out of the kitchen, just bumping into Yu Lizhen's gaze; she gave a faint look and quickly withdrew it. Such a look made Yu Lizhen feel a bit uneasy in her heart and stung her again.

Since their mother-daughter cold war, they hadn't spoken a word to each other.

Yu Lizhen looked at her back as she returned to her room, wanting to speak but stopping.

Di Du.

Xie Qin's home had over a dozen relatives; there was a noisy group of people downstairs. He found it noisy, so he hid outside, wearing a thin black sweater, leaning against the wall by the door, staring blankly at the chat dialog box on his phone.

The bangs on his forehead covered those eyes that were less sharp, and there was a bit of dim light in his eyes.

"A-Qin, hurry over, Dad is giving out red envelopes."

"..."

"... Xie Qin! What are you doing? Didn't you hear Mom calling you? Hurry over."

Hearing the urging voice behind him, Xie Qin was impatient; he took one last look at his phone and turned to enter the living room.

The next day, the first day of the New Year.

Liang Jingze came to pay a New Year's visit; Shen Zhaozhao went to the kitchen to help for the first time in a long time and even made two vegetable dishes. Liang Jingze and Shen Wenqing sat on the sofa chatting one sentence after another.

Shen Li also rarely came out of her room and brought the tea she had brewed to him.

As long as there were guests in this home, it was always harmonious, without the somewhat oppressive atmosphere of yesterday's New Year.

At dinner, the topic of conversation didn't stop; Shen Li was eating and didn't take the initiative to speak much, only responding casually when the conversation turned to her.

After eating, Shen Li came out of her room, wearing thicker clothes and a scarf.

Shen Wenqing: "Going out?"

Shen Li nodded: "Mm, going to stroll at the Cheng Huang Miao."

Shen Zhaozhao heard this: "I want to go too, Sister, Brother Jingze, take me with you."

Liang Jingze said to her: "I remember you had an appointment with classmates to go out together?"

The expression on Shen Zhaozhao's face solidified a bit, and she didn't know how to respond for a moment; finally, she just said awkwardly: "Ah, I forgot."

"Then I won't go, you guys go."

Shen Li walked to the entrance, bent down, and was just about to change her shoes.

Just at this moment, Yu Lizhen took the initiative to speak to her, "Wait."

Shen Li stood up after changing her shoes and found that what Yu Lizhen gave her wasn't that old phone, but an Apple phone. Shen Li was stunned for a moment, a bit unsure if it was the old phone Shen Zhaozhao had discarded and didn't want.

"Take the phone when you go out, it's convenient for contact."

"Don't play too much, come back before nine."

Shen Zhaozhao on the side secretly gritted her teeth in hatred, a trace of jealousy flashing in her eyes.

Shen Li reached out and took it slowly, not caring what expression Shen Zhaozhao had: "Thank you, Mom."

Leaving the house, Shen Li sat in the passenger seat, lowering her head to fiddle with the phone; the phone should be new. She was still setting up the startup program; after downloading WeChat, she quickly logged into her WeChat account and saw dozens of messages popping up in the list.

There were New Year's blessings sent by Zhang Zixin and the others yesterday.

Zhang Zixin: 【Happy New Year (mua! (*╯3╰))】

Xu Zhouyuan: 【Happy New Year, Sister Li.】

Zhou Mingyu: 【Wish you a Happy New Year, school beauty of Chengde University.】

Qiao Lang: 【Happy New Year, asking for a red envelope.】

Liang Jingze looked away and saw her curving her lips, "Something happy?"

"Mm." Shen Li told him: "It's New Year's blessings sent by friends."

Shen Li wasn't in a hurry to reply to those messages.

Instead, she immediately edited four words for Xie Qin, who had never sent her a message: 【Happy New Year.】 Clicked send.

Today is the first day of the New Year; it shouldn't matter if it's a bit late.

Haishi's Cheng Huang Miao was full of the thick New Year flavor; the flying eaves and upturned corners were covered with red lanterns, and looking at it, it was a sea of red; the pavilions and towers were brightly lit, and the warm light spread through the old city, lively and festive.

Xie Qin had the phone to his ear, and Xue Jingshu's nagging didn't stop: "Is the feng shui of this house bad, or is there something unclean? Why can't you stay put? You just came back a few days ago and where are you running off to fool around again?"

Xie Yanli sat on the sofa, calmly reading the newspaper: "Child's mother, don't say unlucky things during the New Year."

The pedestrians on the street were a bit crowded; he turned slightly, his shoulder brushing against someone passing by, and he replied lazily: "Where else could I go, I've gone to sea."

(Just got off the plane to Haishi.) Abbreviation: Gone to sea.

"It's nothing, hanging up."

Xue Jingshu: "Gone to sea? What sea are you going to? Speak clearly."

Xie Qin had just hung up the phone when a message popped up on WeChat.