Chapter 18, "Happy New Year".

"Wanwan, are you up?"

Song Qinru's voice came from outside the door. Song Wan sat cross-legged on the bed, examining her kissed mouth with a small mirror.

The swelling and redness subsided considerably overnight, but the scab on the lower lip remained...

Song Wan was annoyed and couldn't help but curse Chen Jianjin's ancestors for eighteen generations in her mind.

"Wanwan?"

Song Qinru entered through the door, and Song Wan, without time to cover herself, had her injured mouth exposed to her mother's view.

"What happened? Did it bump into something or get bitten?"

Song Qinru lifted her chin and examined her back and forth.

Song Wan pursed her lips slightly, her eyes darting around, "I accidentally bit it."

Song Qinru frowned and looked at the trash can by the bedside. Sure enough, there was an ice pop wrapper inside.

"When are you going to break your bad habit of eating ice in the dead of winter? Now you're reaping the consequences."

Song Wan's heart was pounding. Fortunately, she had taken out an ice pop when she applied ice to reduce the swelling last night.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. As is customary, she was supposed to spend it with her aunt's family. Around that time, Song Wan went out with Song Qinru.

The two families live in the same neighborhood, and their buildings are close together; it only takes them less than three minutes to get there.

"Look who's here, it's my aunt and great-aunt."

Zhao Shu was holding Xiao Bao and swaying around in the living room.

Song Qinsu was preparing food in the kitchen, and Song Qinru went in to help after greeting her.

"Auntie, give me a hug."

Zhao Shu handed the child to Song Wan, and noticing the injury on her lower lip, her gaze held a hint of mockery. "Youth is truly wonderful, like a wolf or a tiger."

Song Wan didn't understand at first, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, she realized what was happening and her face turned bright red.

"Sister, could you... could you please not tell Mom?"

Hearing this, Zhao Shu laughed and pinched her chubby cheeks, "How could you think Auntie couldn't tell? She's not my mom."

Song Wan's expression froze, and her face grew even paler.

Seeing her hesitation, Zhao Shu stopped teasing her. "Don't worry, your aunt isn't unreasonable. Otherwise, she would have chased after you when you saw your boyfriend off last night."

Even so, Song Wan's expression didn't improve much, and she stammered, "My mom... how did she know?"

"My God." Zhao Shu was speechless and shocked. "Your boyfriend's eyes are practically glued to you. Only my mom, who's so focused on building a relationship and trying to lose less money, can't see it."

This time, it was Song Wan's turn to be unable to see through it.

Xiao Bao started fussing in Zhao Shu's arms, so Zhao Shu took her back.

"But doesn't he look at everyone the same way?"

"How are they the same?" Zhao Shu said, then realized something was wrong. "You can't tell he likes you, can you?"

Zhao Shu quickly dismissed the guess, "That's not right. Weren't you two already together? It wasn't like he was the only one pursuing you, how could he not have noticed?"

Zhao Shu was too perceptive. Song Wan swallowed lightly, her gaze darting away as she looked away. "I... I'm just not quite sure."

Looking at the wound on her lower lip now, and recalling the red mark behind her ear before, Zhao Shu could easily guess what Song Wan was worried about.

So, she smiled and patted her hand, "Don't worry, your boyfriend likes you for who you are, not for those things. I have a great eye for people."

Zhao Shu misunderstood.

Song Wan didn't explain, because the more she explained, the more confused things became.

One lie requires hundreds or even thousands of lies to cover it up.

Ever since she learned that Song Qinru had seen through her but hadn't said anything, Song Wan became increasingly uneasy.

Her mother would definitely be able to guess that Chen Jianjin was the "rich second generation" that Lian Huaiyang was talking about.

"Wanwan, hand your brother-in-law some chili sauce."

Song Wan was suddenly brought back to her senses when her arm was bumped.

Zhang Huaiyu smiled nonchalantly, "It's alright, I can reach it."

"Wanwan seems a bit out of sorts today," Song Qinsu casually asked. "What are you thinking about?"

"What else could I be thinking about?" Zhao Shu teased with a smile. "I'm missing my boyfriend, of course."

Song Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly looked at Song Qinru.

Unexpectedly, she merely glanced at him and looked away, but Zhang Huaiyu, standing to the side, started gossiping, "Wanwan's dating? Who is it? Do I know them? It can't be... um!"

Zhao Shu picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, stopping him from blurting out the name, "Don't worry, you don't know it."

Zhang Huaiyu swallowed his food while asking suspiciously, "Who was that?"

Song Qinsu continued, "He's one of Wanwan's seniors. He's good-looking, comes from a good family, and most importantly, he's humble and polite, and he never looks down on anyone."

If Zhang Huaiyu still couldn't understand the hidden meaning in his mother-in-law's words at this point, then he would be truly stupid.

He pursed his lips and winked at his wife beside him.

Zhao Shu tried to lean closer and whisper in his ear, but Song Qinru interrupted her by tapping the edge of her bowl with her chopsticks, saying, "Eat your food, what are you arguing about?"

Song Wan was most afraid of Song Qinru getting angry.

He ate the second half of the meal even more absentmindedly.

There was still some time before the Spring Festival Gala started broadcasting. Zhao Shu was looking after the child, while Song Qinsu and Zhang Huaiyu were busy in the kitchen.

Song Wan quietly walked to the balcony.

Song Qinru has a long-standing hobby of growing flowers, and right now, she is watering the flowers in her spare time.

"Let me do it, you take a rest."

Song Wan tried to take the watering can from Song Qinru, but Song Qinru dodged her, saying, "I don't need you."

Song Wan's hand missed its target, and her heart felt empty in an instant.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't suppress her hoarse sobs as she called out to her in a wronged voice, "...Mom."

Mother and daughter are connected by heart; when she cried, Song Qinru's heart broke.

She moved her lips, but before she could say anything, Song Wan's phone vibrated.

Song Wan wiped away her tears, hung up without even looking back.

Soon, the phone rang again.

This time, Song Qinru saw the caller ID clearly. Before Song Wan could hang up for the second time, she pressed her hand down, sighed, and said, "Answer it. What if it's something important?"

It was Chen Jianjin's phone call.

Song Wan hesitated for a moment before sliding to the answer button.

"Honey, look out the window."

Song Wan was puzzled, but the next moment, bursts of fireworks exploded in the distance, a magnificent and spectacular sight.

The dazzling lights illuminated half of the dark blue sky, and also brightened Song Wan's clear eyes.

The girl's eyes were reddish at the corners, and her round, almond-shaped eyes seemed to explode with beautiful fireworks.

A drone carrying an exquisite gift box flew onto the balcony.

Song Wan didn't even dare to look Song Qinru in the eye, her brows furrowed deeply as she refused, "Chen Jianjin, I will not accept your gift."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the drone suddenly swooped down and flew into the balcony.

A beam of bright light shone down, and Chen Jianjin squinted instinctively.

In the blink of an eye, the person holding the light quickly moved away to check the surroundings.

The empty firework wrappers are still there.

The perpetrator and the stolen goods were both present.

The security guard patrolling the community stepped forward and kindly reminded him, "Young man, the community has issued a notice that fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited this year."

Chen Jianjin calmly said into the phone, "Happy New Year."

Finally, he hung up the phone, put it away, calmly hummed in agreement, and asked, "So, are we going to the police station now?"

Chen Jianjin prepared New Year's gifts for everyone. Song Wan's gift was still a bouquet of sunflowers. Zhao Shu was so excited that she didn't even bother to unpack her own things and went to rummage through the bouquet. Sure enough, she found a velvet box inside.

A gift only has meaning when the recipient opens it. Zhao Shu stuffed the gift into Song Wan's hands and urged with a smile, "Open it and take a look."

Song Wan didn't want to; she was afraid it was something very valuable, and she inwardly refused.

"Holy crap! Honey!"

Zhang Huaiyu rushed over in shock, holding his phone. "Look what I found! This tiny drone costs hundreds of thousands?!"

Song Qinsu was also shocked. Holding her child, she exclaimed, "My goodness, what kind of family is this?"

After this incident, Song Wan dared not look Song Qinru in the eye even more.

She was afraid of seeing the disappointment in the examiner's expression.

On the other hand, Zhao Shu became even more agitated, constantly urging Song Wan to open the gift box and see what was inside.

Zhang Huaiyu is checking the contents of the box.

There was Song Qinsu's bird's nest and ginseng, Zhao Shu's annual beauty card, Zhang Huaiyu's purchase contract, Xiao Bao's full moon gold lock, and... Song Qinru's car key.

"Song Wan, come with me."

Song Qinru, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.

Song Wan followed her closely to the balcony.

Her fingertips twitched, and Song Wan called out softly, "...Mom."

"You like him a lot?" Song Qinru asked directly.

Song Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her eyelashes.

She wanted to say no, but she didn't know how to explain everything that had happened over the years.

The relationship between her and Chen Jianjin is very complicated, and as it has developed, it can no longer be simply summarized as liking or disliking.

Song Wan didn't think she liked Chen Jianjin, but unknowingly, she kept owing him.

Song Wan was beautiful and gentle. During her early and middle school years, when she was young and confused and her heart was just beginning to open to love, she wasn't without people who confessed their feelings to her.

Snacks would mysteriously appear in her desk drawer, and boys would awkwardly approach her under the guise of asking questions. But never had anyone persisted in relentlessly trying to force their way into her life after she had clearly refused.

Song Wan lowered her eyes and didn't speak. Song Qinru guessed most of it, sighed, and patted her hand, "Wanwan, Mom just wants you to be happy."

If you like it, then like it.

Hearing her say that, Song Wan felt both relieved and uneasy.

What's reassuring is that Song Qinru didn't blame her; what's not reassuring is that she doesn't know when this current situation, concealed by lies and as fragile as a bubble, will shatter.

"Wanwan! Your boyfriend gave you this ring!"

Through the balcony door, Song Wan heard Zhao Shu excitedly shouting.

The ceiling lights were blindingly bright. Chen Jianjin listened to the admonitions and lectures of the person in front of him, letting them go in one ear and out the other. He leaned lazily against the U-shaped workbench, his right hand gripping a black pen and scratching it on the paper.

The three large characters "Guarantee" appeared.

It was already 1 a.m. when I left the police station after paying the fine.

In the stillness, Chen Jianjin stretched his aching right wrist and suddenly felt a craving.

I want to kiss him, but I don't know if his baby is asleep yet.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Jianjin suppressed the restlessness in his bones, unlocked the car, and got in.