They ate their meal until after eight o'clock. Grandpa and Grandma had already gone to take a shower and were getting ready for bed. They are old and it's cold in winter, so they go to bed early.

Zhao Qingyun retrieved the fireworks from the trunk, placed them by the roadside, and then went inside to pull Xu Lai along, saying, "Come with me."

Xu Lai had drunk some wine and felt weak all over. When he tried to move, he didn't want to move.

Zhao Qingyun picked her up, walked outside, put her down, and went to the car to find a lighter.

She wasn't wearing a coat and was very cold, so Zhao Qingyun put a coat on her from the car.

Xu Lai complained that standing was uncomfortable, so he turned the car around and lifted her onto the hood.

"Is it all right now?" Zhao Qingyun looked up at her.

Xu Lai wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay, what are you going to do?"

She was a little drunk, and her words carried a hint of coquetry.

Zhao Qingyun pulled the person away, saying, "Let me go first, I'll go light the fire."

Xu Lai cupped his face and kissed him, even biting his lips twice. "I don't want you to leave."

Zhao Qingyun said patiently, "I bought you fireworks, I'll set them off for you now, okay?"

Xu Lai nodded, and she sat down with her arms around the hood. Zhao Qingyun went over and lit the firework. A few seconds later, the firework rose into the sky and exploded with a bang.

Xu Lai wanted to take out her phone to record a video, but then realized she hadn't brought it with her. Zhao Qingyun returned to her side, and amidst the fireworks, he leaned close to her ear and said, "Xu Lai, Happy New Year, I love you."

The fireworks were so loud that Xu Lai couldn't hear what he was saying, so she shouted, "What did you say?"

Zhao Qingyun raised her voice as well: "I said, Happy New Year!"

Xu Lai smiled and said, "You too, Happy New Year!"

I hope everything goes well for you, that you stay healthy and free from illness, and that you will always love me.

Against the backdrop of fireworks, he supported Xu Lai, and she found his lips, taking the initiative, and the two kissed passionately.

In the distance, some families were setting off fireworks, signifying the end of the year.

The next day, Xu Lai woke up with a headache. She had drunk a bit too much in her excitement the night before, but she didn't black out. After the fireworks display, she and Zhao Qingyun...

"Sigh, I've been drinking and doing something inappropriate. I should drink less in the future." Just as she finished speaking, Zhao Qingyun came out of the bathroom.

There was a red mark on his neck, which was from Xu Lai's bite. Last night, she was more proactive than ever before, and he couldn't resist her.

Xu Lai stood up and stretched. "Couldn't you have stopped me a little?"

Zhao Qingyun: ...I wonder who was so proactive.

But he ultimately didn't say anything, after all, he thought Xu Lai was quite interesting in this way.

After washing up, the two went downstairs for breakfast, which consisted of the leftover sweet potato balls and fried crab from yesterday.

Xu Lai re-fried it in an air fryer, and the taste was still the same as yesterday.

She also fried two chicken drumsticks. When they were eating breakfast, Zhao Qingyun was sitting next to her, but Xu Lai had to film a video because she hadn't posted the daily sharing she promised her fans.

Zhao Qingyun consciously sat down to the side. When Xu Lai was eating the chicken leg, she only ate half of it before she couldn't eat anymore. So Zhao Qingyun didn't touch the other whole chicken and just took it from her and ate it.

When editing the video, Xu Lai saw his hand in the frame, but she didn't cut it out. Instead, she kept it, using this opportunity to convince her fans that she really did have a boyfriend.

After the video was posted, fans indeed found some clues and replied in the comments section: "Okay, I believe it. This brother-in-law has admitted it."

Ms. Yingqiu was also watching Xu Lai's video. When she saw Zhao Qingyun's hand, she took the phone and showed it to her husband, saying, "Hey Lao Zhao, look, isn't this our son? I gave him this watch."

Zhao's father nodded: "It should be him."

Ms. Yingqiu laughed: "He's officially recognized online now; lots of people are calling him 'brother-in-law' in the comments."

Xu Lai didn't expect so many people to call him brother-in-law, which made Zhao Qingyun very happy. He also joined the fan group and got carried away, sending out a few red envelopes in the group.

Xu Lai was completely bewildered by him. He had exposed his own identity. Fortunately, that account had never posted any content, and the likes were only for some commercial videos or Xu Lai's works.

Despite this, she still gained a small number of fans. Zhao Qingyun turned off the notifications, because these fans were too crazy and could find out the truth from the slightest clue.

Xu Lai glanced at his follower count and exclaimed, "It's actually reached eight thousand!"

Zhao Qingyun joked, "I've become a little famous because of my girlfriend."

Xu Lai slapped him on the back, "Stop being silly."

Zhao Qingyun winced in pain: "Xu Lai, if you kill me, you'll never have a boyfriend."

Xu Lai joked, "It's okay, I can just find another one."

Zhao Qingyun pinched her face and said through gritted teeth, "Say that again!"

She quickly backed down, saying, "I was wrong, I was just kidding."

"You can't joke like that, so please don't cheat on me." Zhao Qingyun said quite seriously.

Xu Lai brushed her disheveled hair aside and said, "I was saying, what if, what if we break up someday?"

Zhao Qingyun thought for a moment and said, "I won't bring up breaking up, so if you bring it up first, then I'll stick with you shamelessly."

Xu Lai couldn't help but say, "Are you a mangy dog?"

"Whatever, I'll do anything as long as I'm with you."

Another week passed, and Xu Yan was on winter vacation. Xu Lai picked him up at the high-speed rail station. He had lost some weight. Xu Lai zipped up his coat and said, "Wear your clothes properly. You don't even zip it up. It looks better with it open."

Xu Yan scratched his head: "It's fashion."

Xu Lai slapped him, "Do you still need to act cool in front of your sister? I've realized no one cares about you."

When the two returned home, Xu Yan saw the man's clothes on the balcony and couldn't help but ask, "Is your brother-in-law living with you?"

Xu Lai nodded: "Is there a problem?"

Xu Yan felt he was still too conservative. "But you're not married yet."

Xu Lai secretly told him, "He always comes quietly. How could he let the villagers see him? Otherwise, they would drown us in their spittle."

Xu Yan frowned. "Anyway, as long as the two of you know what's going on, do Mom and Dad know?"

Xu Lai's smile faded. "Let's talk about it when they get back."

She didn't intend to tell them, but there was no need to hide it from them; they would find out sooner or later. She just hoped they wouldn't act the way they did before.

The Liang family always looked down on her because of the bizarre actions of her parents and aunt.

She worried that the Zhao family would look down on her because of this. Xu Lai always felt that her family background was completely mismatched with Zhao Qingyun's, and she always had a line of defense in her heart.

Although Zhao Qingyun doesn't care about these things, do his elders in the family not care at all?

Zhao Qingyun is the standard male protagonist in the story, but she may not be the female protagonist whose status matches his.

So she wanted to work hard so that his family could sincerely wish them well.