Chapter 25 New Year's Eve Hot Pot Jiang Huaichuan glanced at the grinning face...

Jiang Huaichuan glared at the grinning Shen Wenyuan, his anger rising. His precious time with Shen Li had been completely ruined.

How can this person be so shameless!

"Big brother and the others are here?" Hearing the noise, Shen Li poked her head out of the kitchen. When she saw the three people at the door, her bright almond-shaped eyes curved slightly, and her smile widened.

"Yes, they're here." Jiang Huaichuan composed himself, opened the shoe cabinet with a gentle expression, and took out three pairs of unopened cotton slippers.

Never mind, as long as Shen Li is happy.

As Song An stepped inside, he noticed that the furnishings were different from when he had come to deliver documents last week. There was a floor-to-ceiling cat tree in the corner of the living room, a warm and soft orange bed next to the sofa, and...

With its chin tilted back and tail curled around its front paws, it sat regally on the glass platform, its golden vertical pupils gazing at them with curiosity… a black and white cat?

"When did you raise it?" Shen Wenyuan's expression changed drastically after he saw it clearly. He quickly hid behind Song An, hunched over, and asked incredulously.

When Shen Wenyuan was five years old, he was kidnapped. To scare him, the kidnappers cruelly locked him up with several starving stray cats. In the dark and cold room at night, little Shen Wenyuan was sleepy and hungry. He vaguely felt barbs licking his face. When he opened his eyes, just five centimeters from the tip of his nose, he met a pair of vertical pupils that glowed green and were sinister and fierce.

It's no exaggeration to say that 5-year-old Shen Wenyuan was so scared he almost peed his pants on the spot.

This incident cast an indescribable shadow on Shen Wenyuan's heart, but the young master Shen still cared about his reputation, so he didn't even tell his parents about it, let alone anyone else.

Jiang Huaichuan's gaze swept over Shen Wenyuan's panicked face. He untied his apron and picked up the cat, which was licking its "plum blossom" paws, from the glass table: "I brought it back last weekend."

Jiang Huaichuan led the cat to the room behind the living room. The room had been rearranged and was its own. There was a large wooden cabinet at the entrance, and in the middle of the cabinet was the "exam god-possessed" cat doll that Shen Li had received during the interview.

Upon closer inspection, the doll appears to be custom-made to resemble the kitten, with even the position of the white heart on its right back being exactly the same.

The kitten tilted its head back and gently rubbed against Jiang Huaichuan's palm, making a soft meow.

Jiang Huaichuan patted the cat's head: "Play in the house for a while, and I'll open a can of fish for you later."

Last Sunday —

Shen Li was in the secretary's office coordinating year-end work with the general secretary. When she came out, she happened to hear Zhou Ya chatting with her colleague at the next workstation.

Zhou Ya pushed off with her foot, and the chair moved her a meter to the side: "Have you seen my WeChat Moments? The dessert shop across the street has a new product, raspberry pistachio. It looks good in the photos. Shall we go try it?"

"Sure, shall we go over at noon?"

Zhou Ya: "Okay, I'll pre-order it then. Besides the new product, which other item do you want?"

"I want……"

After listening for a while, Shen Li left the secretary's office thoughtfully. At noon, he sat in a dessert shop and ordered a raspberry pistachio cake.

As the year draws to a close, the dessert shop is not crowded. Zhou Ya and her colleague are sitting in the innermost seats. When she sees Shen Li, Zhou Ya greets Shen Li.

"Shen Zhu is here to buy new products too?" Zhou Ya said with a smile when she saw the green color peeking out of the bag in Shen Li's hand.

Shen Li shook the bag: "Hmm."

Shen Li brought this to that hungry ghost in the company. She lowered her expression and silently prayed, hoping that the hungry ghost would let her go after eating the dessert...

As he stepped out of the dessert shop, a gust of cold wind swept in. Standing in the wind, Shen Li was choked by the gust. He turned his back, covered his lips, and coughed lightly.

After recovering, Shen Li's ears suddenly twitched. The faint meow was almost inaudible, but in the cold wind, it sounded like a thunderclap in Shen Li's ears. He walked towards the alley next to him in surprise.

The dim, cold alley was only wide enough for one adult to squeeze through sideways. A black and white cat was curled up deep in the alley, its soft black ears drooping. Sensing movement, the cat raised its head, revealing its pink nose and its golden vertical pupils full of alertness. It raised its tail and hissed at Shen Li.

Shen Li's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the kitten, a small black and white kitten about three months old, still covered in soft fur. Born in late autumn, it would be difficult for it to survive the winter and see the vibrant spring if it couldn't find shelter from the cold.

Shen Li left, went back into the dessert shop, bought a cup of warm milk and some soft bread, then went back into the alley, poured the milk into the lid of the cup, tore open the bread packaging, and placed it in front of the kitten.

After doing all this, Shen Li took a few steps back and stood in front of the alley.

Yu Guangzhong noticed that the kitten had moved. It walked to the food, sniffed it gently with its cute nose, and then cautiously glanced at him in the distance with its wide eyes before lowering its head to eat.

After finishing her meal, Shen Li originally planned to clean up the trash and leave, but unexpectedly, the kitten came over and lay down next to her feet.

"So you just took him in?" Shen Wenyuan stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Just because that cat "slapped" down, his little brother softened his heart?!

Cats are indeed animals that are good at bewitching people.

Shen Wenyuan thought to himself.

Shen Ci, however, liked it very much. He asked with great interest, "What's his name?"

"Little Pear." Jiang Huaichuan put his apron back on and kicked the stool leg under Shen Wenyuan's buttocks. "Your name is Dongli (Frozen Pear). Brother-in-law, get up and get to work."

Shen Wenyuan shuddered and rubbed his skin to get goosebumps.

"Damn it, don't call me that, it's scary. And aren't you taking advantage of me by naming a cat Little Pear?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaichuan was displeased. He raised his eyelids expressionlessly and said, "Do I need to rely on a cat to take advantage of others?!"

"You son of a bitch!" Shen Wenyuan couldn't stand these words; his own cabbage had been eaten by a pig.

Shen Li had already prepared the hot pot base and dipping sauce, and was waiting for the two people in the kitchen to wash and plate the vegetables so they could start eating.

Compared to Shen Ci's relaxed demeanor, Song An appeared somewhat awkward. He sat upright on the sofa, not even using his phone.

Shen Li looked tired, so he handed Song An an orange and said gently, "Relax. You're here to celebrate the New Year at a friend's house, not to work."

Upon hearing this, Song An smiled. Today, he had taken off the black suit that he wore almost year-round and hadn't used the hair gel he always wore. He was just wearing a dark blue sweater and looked like a college student who had just entered the workforce. If he didn't mention it, no one would know that he was already 30.

Shen Ci, who was standing to the side, peeled an orange and put a segment in his mouth. Suddenly, his calm gaze froze. He casually handed the orange to the side, and Song An subconsciously took it and put a segment in his mouth as well.

The two exchanged a strange look.

Shen Ci turned his head and called out, "Big brother, come and eat some oranges."

Shen Wenyuan came out upon hearing the sound, his long arm reaching out from behind Song An's head, snatching the remaining half of the orange from his hand, and stuffing a slice into his mouth.

Suddenly, Shen Wenyuan's handsome face scrunched up. He glanced accusingly at the two faces watching the show on the sofa, forced himself to regain his composure, and took the remaining half of the orange into the kitchen.

Shen Li watched the whole thing: ...

"Get out! It's so sour!" The next second, Jiang Huaichuan's furious voice came from the kitchen.

Shen Wenyuan was kicked out.

Reason: It's in the way.

Even though he was used to being pampered, Young Master Shen got soaked while washing vegetables. If he hadn't been wearing an apron, he would have gone straight to the bathroom to wash himself.

At 6 p.m., the five people sat around the table and started eating hot pot. Except for Shen Li, the others poured themselves some wine.

Halfway through the meal, Shen Li brought out the dumplings that she and Jiang Huaichuan had made that afternoon. Since they were going for the auspicious meaning of reunion, they didn't make many, just six for each person.

The only dumpling with a coin inside was in Song An's bowl.

Shen Li clapped her hands and said, "Congratulations! May the new year bring you good fortune, everything go smoothly, and wealth!"

Shen Wenyuan joked, "Bringing in wealth and treasures is up to President Jiang."

"You think you can call the shots? Don't think I don't know you're bothering Song An every other day." Jiang Huaichuan swished a slice of beef, speechless. "So my assistant is working for you for free? Hurry up and give me a red envelope."

"Here you go." Shen Wenyuan quickly transferred a red envelope to Song An, saying, "Happy New Year, may you have peace and joy."

Song An: "...Thank you, President Shen."

Jiang Huaichuan was displeased again: "Only Song Anyou? You're being too biased."

"We have them all, we have them all." Shen Wenyuan's ears were red from drinking. He hurriedly said, "Send them to the group chat, you guys can grab them."

Song An buried his head in the dumplings in his bowl, his eyes reddening, and even his breath was hot and moist. After a while, Song An took out a tissue and wiped his face.

In the end, this hot pot gathering only resulted in two drunken shrimp.

Mr. Shen, who inexplicably felt guilty and got drunk, and Assistant Song, who drank heavily after eating dumplings and couldn't be persuaded to stop.

Fortunately, there were plenty of empty rooms, enough for one person per room, which was enough to fit everyone in.

——

Outside the window, fireworks burst in the night sky, their dazzling colors illuminating the darkness in a truly dreamlike way.

"Happy New Year, Shen Li." Beads of sweat slid from his chin to his V-line with each movement. Jiang Huaichuan gripped Shen Li tightly with the heel of his hand in the very first second of the new year.

Shen Li let out a muffled groan, lifted his swollen eyelids, and kissed Jiang Huaichuan's chin.

Happy New Year, Huaichuan.

Shen Li was in a daze. This was the happiest year he had ever had. He hoped that the bright moon would still shine in the new year.

It's okay if it doesn't stay the same... It's already good enough, we can't ask for too much...

Shen Li thought to herself.

"Don't even think about it." Jiang Huaichuan said coldly, holding his phone, leaving no room for argument. "Don't come. Even if you brought the director here, it wouldn't make a difference. I'm hanging up."

With just a few thousand people at the company headquarters, he'd be jealous enough to keep him mad every day. Asking Shen Li to appear on TV shows and film variety programs? What a pipe dream!

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, before the company had even resumed operations, Jiang Huaichuan received a call on his mobile phone from someone hoping that Shen Li would come to work.

Lu He'an gained a small following last summer through a popular historical drama. He was then packaged by his agency and put into a travel variety show, where he played one of Jiang Huaichuan's childhood friends, causing chaos throughout the show.

As soon as the call connected, Lu He'an yelled at the top of his lungs, "Brother! Brother Jiang! Father Jiang! Help—"

"What's wrong?"

"Hey, Brother Jiang, you see, we've known each other for so many years. This bond of growing up together is priceless. I..."

"Get to the point."

"Hehehe, is Shen Li free lately? I'd like to ask him to talk to me about something."

Jiang Huaichuan frowned. "No time." That laughter was clearly not a good thing.

Lu He'an pursed her lips: "Oh, then I'll go find him myself."

"Wait, what is it?"

"It's nothing big, it's just that, well, I have a variety show after the New Year, and I'm going to bring a non-celebrity friend on the show, and we'll also film some everyday life moments, that's all..."

"You want Shen Li to go on the show with you?!" Jiang Huaichuan's voice was so shocked it was almost split. He couldn't believe it. "Lu He'an, did Lin Hui eat your brain?"

Lin Hui, who was listening intently nearby: ?

what to do?

Lu He'an mouthed the words to Lin Hui.

Lin Hui shook his head, indicating that he couldn't do anything about it either.

Jiang Huaichuan continued speaking on the other end of the phone.