Chapter 40 Orange (3) Happy New Year’s Eve!

"Xia Xia, where are the coins I asked you to prepare?"

Zhao Qianyi suddenly asked, and both of them were startled. He Chuan sat back upright, while Lin Xia hurriedly stood up and answered:

"Yeah, right here!"

The two people pretended that nothing had happened.

The dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner are stuffed with peanuts, red dates and coins as lucky charms for good luck. When Lin Xia brought the coins to the kitchen, she saw that the dumpling filling had already been mixed.

"Shall we start wrapping now? Do you need my help?" she asked.

Zhao Qianyi laughed and scolded, "Why would you make them? The dumplings you make are always so soft that the filling leaks out. Don't embarrass yourself!"

Lin Xuedong also said, "The dough is resting. I'll wrap it up later. Xia Xia, go play."

What are you playing? You're still treating her like a child. But Lin Xia thought about it and suddenly had an idea:

"Then can I go out and set off firecrackers? I want to go set off firecrackers."

She saw a box of firecrackers at the door, but she bought them and put them there, and no one at home set them off.

Lin Xuedong said, "Wait a little longer. Dad will go out with you to set the dumplings off after we finish making them."

"No, no, I can go out by myself."

Zhao Qianyi disagreed: "What if you hurt yourself? Besides, it's so dark outside, why are you going out to set off fireworks by yourself?"

At this time, He Chuan came over from behind and said calmly and casually:

"I'll go with her, you guys get busy."

Everyone felt that this was the most reasonable arrangement. He Ping also advised:

"There's a lighter in the cabinet at the door. Xiaochuan, you two should be careful not to get burned."

So He Chuan held the box of firecrackers, and Lin Xia took the lighter, and the two of them went out one after the other.

They walked in silence, a long way off, all the way to the small square in the center of the complex. The complex was decorated with elaborate lights and colorful decorations, especially for the New Year.

He Chuan put the box on the ground, looked through the things inside, and asked:

"Which one do you want to put?"

This is a big gift bag of fireworks and firecrackers, which contains all kinds of things.

Lin Xia whispered, "I don't like setting off firecrackers, and I didn't come out to set off firecrackers."

"Then why?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Lin Xia couldn't help but glare at him. Why did this guy always like to bully her!

He Chuan laughed, reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding her in his arms:

"I came out because I wanted to set off firecrackers and fireworks, okay?"

How could he not see through her little thoughts? He just wanted to tease her, and for some reason, he just couldn't help it. He remembered that a long time ago, he and she had once denounced her deskmate who bullied her. But if he were the same age, in the same class, and became her deskmate, he might also be unable to help but make her angry.

Maybe boys' love for bullying girls they like is a bad nature ingrained in their bones.

Lin Xia snorted softly, then relaxed herself and leaned contentedly in He Chuan's arms.

The air was cold, but his chest was warm, and the faint smell of soap made her feel familiar and comforted.

It’s been a long time!

No one spoke. Just like that, on New Year's Eve, she and he hugged each other quietly. There were lights from thousands of houses around them, and the sound of fireworks and cannons could be heard faintly in the distance. They enjoyed this stolen moment of peace.

Lin Xia suddenly remembered something and looked up at He Chuan with a hint of accusation:

"How come you're not surprised at all to see me here?"

So calm, so peaceful, as if he had known it all along.

He Chuan was helpless: "Because I already knew you would come with your parents."

"Did your mother tell you?" Lin Xia was surprised. "Then why are you pretending not to know?"

He Chuan smiled and said, "If you want to give me a surprise, of course I have to cooperate with you."

Lin Xia thought about how she had pretended to regret that they had missed each other, and asked him indirectly what time the flight was, but he had already known that they would meet in Beidaihe. Seeing her acting alone, she suddenly became embarrassed and angry. Just as she was about to explode, she suddenly heard He Chuan continue:

"Besides, you should understand that because you are here, I must be present as well, according to my mother's request."

Lin Xia was stunned for a moment, and then slowly figured out the meaning of this sentence. Thinking of the words Zhao Qianyi blurted out in front of her before, she couldn't help feeling a little blocked in her heart, and felt a little confused.

"What the hell are you guys competing for?"

He Chuan sighed softly, hugged Lin Xia tightly in his arms, and told her seriously:

"Xia Xia, those are their own affairs. They have nothing to do with you or me. I can't stop others from doing anything, but I can assure you that I have no desire or greed for things that don't belong to me."

Lin Xia didn't say anything. She believed He Chuan, but she didn't want to hear these things because she couldn't stop others from doing what they did. Facing the conflicts and grievances between the previous generation, she and he were both powerless. Just like He Chuan said, only after they graduated, got a job, became financially independent, and truly left their parents, would they have the power to fully decide their own lives.

And now, the only thing I can do is escape and wait.

Seeing her depressed look, He Chuan patted her shoulder gently:

"Don't think too much, let's set off the fireworks. We can't just take it back like this."

"Um."

Lin Xia forced herself to cheer up and looked at the box of firecrackers with He Chuan.

She didn't really like setting off firecrackers, finding them noisy and irritating, but luckily there were fireworks in the box. Lin Xia picked the thickest and tallest bundle. She didn't dare to light it, so she asked He Chuan to do it. She stood aside, watching from a distance, tiptoeing, feeling both anticipation and fear.

He Chuan lit the fuse and ran back to her.

As the fuse burned to the end, a fireball was launched into the sky. After a few seconds of stagnation, there was a loud bang, and then thousands of beams of light bloomed, like flowers, like trees, like shooting stars in the sky, like the entire universe exploding before your eyes.

For a moment, Lin Xia almost held her breath. She didn't expect that the fireworks would be so beautiful and grand.

That brilliant moment lingered in her retina for a long time, until the light faded, everything was silent, and the night returned to its original loneliness and darkness. The lights of thousands of homes and the crackling of firecrackers seemed to become small and dim compared to the moment just now.

Lin Xia murmured:

"it's over?"

So gorgeous, yet so short-lived?

It was not until this moment that she noticed He Chuan standing behind her, reaching out to cover her ears. The warm palms blocked out the loud noise of the fireworks and the cold wind blowing in the night.

She looked up at him, and he was looking down at her. Their eyes met, and they smiled at the same time.

He kissed her forehead, her red nose, and then gently kissed her lips. She closed her eyes and reached out to cover his hand on her cheek, obediently accepting and responding.

This kiss was deeper and more passionate than their first one. They had no experience with this and explored it cautiously.

When the kiss ended, they were both a little breathless, their foreheads touching, their faces flushed, and they looked a little embarrassed.

“Happy New Year’s Eve!”

Lin Xia heard He Chuan whispering to herself, and then she felt a chill on her neck. She looked down and saw a string of beads hanging around her neck. They were colorful tourmaline beads, deep pink, light pink, emerald green and tender yellow. At the bottom was a peace locket wrapped with gold wire, which looked very beautiful.

"Ah, this—"

He Chuan said slowly, "Last year, my classmates heard that I had been in a car accident and said that I was in conflict with Tai Sui. They took me to the temple to ask the master to ward off disasters and solve problems. We asked for it together. It's not something expensive, just to ask for peace of mind. You are studying alone outside, so take good care of yourself."

Lin Xia was very happy and touched. She took the peace locket in her hand and played with it over and over again:

“I like it. This is really beautiful.”

He Chuan smiled and said, "As long as you like it."

He guessed that she would like this colorful and beautiful style.

"Why did you suddenly give me this?"

"It's a reward."

"Repay what?"

He Chuan said slowly:

"If someone gives you a papaya, you will get a jade in return. This is an ancient custom."

Lin Xia thought about it for a moment before realizing he was talking about her throwing oranges at him. She couldn't help but burst out laughing:

"Then you're at a loss."

He Chuan didn't say anything, just shook his head.

It's not a reward, it's a forever friendship, how can it be a loss?

"It seems that we are really in sync."

Lin Xia slowly unzipped her down jacket and took out a bracelet from the inside pocket.

"This was made last year. My roommate and I learned to make it. It took us ages. I wanted to give it as a return gift for the MP3 player you gave me, but I never had the chance. Now I can finally give it to you."

He Chuan lowered his eyes and took a look. It was a rope buckle woven with gold and red colors. It was woven in several different ways, with complicated patterns and looked very carefully made.

"What is this kind of knot called?" he asked softly.

Lin Xia blushed, hesitated for a while, and then honestly confessed:

"It's called a heart knot, it's used to tie the knot of marriage..."

So He Chuan smiled. He knew that when she had made this bracelet, they were not together yet. The tangled knots contained the girl's deep longing.

But he didn't point it out, he just stretched out his hand and said softly:

"Help me tie it."

Lin Xia nodded, rolled up his coat sleeves, unbuckled the bracelet, and carefully tied it on. He Chuan had fair skin and was thin. His wrists were slender, and his wrist bones were particularly prominent. The red and gold bracelet tied on them looked particularly good.

Lin Xia lowered her head and admired it with satisfaction for a while, thinking silently in her heart: With the marriage tied like this, he can't run away.

He Chuan smiled as he looked at the obvious thoughts on her face, then held her hand.

"Let's go back. The dumplings are almost ready."

Lin Xia nodded, put down his sleeves, hid the bracelet, and then stuffed the peace locket around her neck into her clothes to make sure that no one would see it, and then walked back hand in hand with He Chuan.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" she asked him. "I want to go to the beach. Can you come with me?"

"Of course, but—"

Lin Xia actually understood what He Chuan hadn't finished saying. Today was for the firecrackers, and if they wanted to go out together tomorrow, they would have to come up with another excuse to avoid arousing their parents' suspicion.

"How about we not tell them and sneak out? Oh, I got it. We'll get up early tomorrow and go to the beach to watch the sunrise. We'll stay up tonight to celebrate the New Year, so they'll definitely be up late tomorrow. If we sneak out early, no one will notice!"

The more Lin Xia thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She said excitedly:

"What do you say?"

"Okay, but are you sure you can get up?"

"Of course, don't underestimate me! See you tomorrow!"