After Tao Yue signed for the package, she directed two bodyguards to carry it inside the house.

"Ayan, who sent you this package? Why is there so much stuff?" Tao Yue asked curiously.

Su Yan said, "The clothing company's partner sent two sets of each of the winter clothes I designed last time. You can pick the ones you like to take home later. Now let's go buy New Year's goods first, otherwise we won't be able to buy anything good if it gets late."

Upon hearing this, Tao Yue quickly ran back to the living room and called Li Juan to come out.

Su Yan stood at the gate waiting for them to come out when her phone rang again.

She glanced down and saw it was the number that had called earlier without saying a word. She immediately answered and put it to her ear, "Who is this? If you still don't answer, I won't answer your calls again."

There was another moment of silence on the other end.

Just as she was getting impatient and about to hang up, there was finally a response on the other end: "It's me."

Her voice was deep and magnetic, yet tinged with a hint of caution and trepidation—a voice she would never forget.

Su Yan was momentarily lost in thought, and for some reason, her eyes started to sting.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No." Less than two seconds after saying that, Jiang Jingxing nervously added, "Happy New Year."

Su Yan tugged at the corner of her lips, "This year is the 29th of the lunar year, not the New Year."

"Then I'll call you again tomorrow."

"No need." She refused without hesitation. "Commander Jiang, since we've already broken up, it's better to cut ties cleanly. I don't like having lingering ties with my ex. Bye."

"etc!"

"Ayan, I know I was wrong. Can you give me one chance to make amends? Just one chance, please?" Jiang Jingxing said anxiously. "I have reflected on my actions and I promise that this will never happen again. It's okay if you don't want to make up. Just give me one chance to make amends."

Su Yan's hand holding the phone tightened, and she gritted her teeth and said, "No! Jiang Jingxing, every time I hear your voice, I think of the intimate scene between you and Si Nan, which makes me feel nauseous. I don't want my New Year's mood to be affected. Please, Commander Jiang, have mercy and don't bother me again."

After saying that, she immediately hung up the phone.

She took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and lowered her head, trying to calm her disordered breathing.

Even though she guessed that Jiang Jingxing was deliberately putting on an act with Si Nan to make her give up on him, she just couldn't forgive him and couldn't get over that hurdle.

"Ayan, what's wrong?"

When Tao Yue came out, she saw Su Yan with her head down and couldn't help but worry.

Su Yan paused for a few seconds, and when she looked up, she had regained her composure and smiled, "It's nothing, I was just lost in thought."

Neither Tao Yue nor Li Juan doubted what she said.

Li Juan said, "Let's go, it's almost ten o'clock."

The three adults and two children went out together.

The New Year's goods street is less than one kilometer away from the courtyard house; it's a short walk away.

At this moment, two figures slowly appeared at the corner diagonally opposite the main gate of the courtyard house.

Jiang Jingxing sat in his wheelchair, holding a phone, his gaze fixed on the figure in the distance that he had been longing for day and night.

Su Yu, sitting behind the wheelchair, said with a complicated expression, "Since you've already come all this way and waited so long, why not just appear in front of her directly? Ah Yan has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Perhaps if you face her, she won't say those harsh words she just said."

The two of them arrived an hour ago and had been hiding here ever since. They were covered in a thick layer of snow, and their eyelashes were covered in ice. In this freezing weather, no matter how thickly they were dressed, the cold wind still hurt when it hit their skin.

Su Yu, in particular, was truly tormented. His home was so close, yet he couldn't go back!

Jiang Jingxing didn't even blink.

Only after Su Yan's figure disappeared at the intersection did he say in a hoarse voice, "She hates me. Appearing in front of her will only cause her more pain."

Su Yu clicked his tongue lightly, "How do you know if she's just saying one thing and meaning another? The sharper her words, the softer her heart."

After his anger subsided, he could see Jiang Jingxing's feelings for his sister more clearly.

Putting himself in her shoes, he wouldn't let his lover suffer with him, much less marry her.

"Forget it, let's go back," Jiang Jingxing said.

He was already content just to see her.

Su Yu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing he could only try to win over Su Yan in the future.

If his sister were to get married in the future, he would still prefer Jiang Jingxing to be his brother-in-law.

After all, he was his comrade-in-arms for many years, and they knew each other well; his family was small.

With Jiang Jingxing protecting him, he didn't have to worry about Ayan being bullied by her in-laws.

...

New Year's goods street.

The New Year's goods market starts setting up a week before the Lunar New Year and lasts for a week.

The street sells a wide variety of things, including New Year's items, as well as many food and toys, making it like a large market with a rich variety of products, especially vegetables, some of which you can't even find in other markets.

Su Yan headed straight for the meat section and waved her hand dismissively.

They ordered 15 catties of pork, half a mutton, 40 catties of beef, five chickens, two ducks, eight bass and two large grass carp.

Li Juan was startled and quickly said, "Ayan, how can we finish all this food? Just take ten catties of each."

How much money would all this meat cost? You can't spend money like this even if you make it.

Seeing that the RMB that was about to slip through her fingers was about to fly away, the boss quickly retorted, "Oh dear, ma'am, you're not right. Ten pounds isn't enough to eat! It'll be gone in two days. During the New Year, we definitely need to eat a lot of meat and fish, otherwise, how can it feel like the New Year?"

Su Yan said, "Mom, I plan to bring my master to celebrate the New Year with us. My senior brothers will definitely come over for dinner. And with so much meat, I'll fry some meatballs, send some out, and cook the rest in a hot pot. We'll also make some dumplings. It'll be gone in no time. Besides, this is my eldest brother's first New Year back home, so we should make sure he has a good time."

Although Su Yu hasn't gone home yet, he had previously said that he would come back for the New Year's Eve dinner.

With her brother's wolfish appetite, that meat would be gone in a few days.

Sure enough, Li Juan stopped trying to stop them as soon as she heard this, and readily said, "Buy it, buy it, buy more."

The shop owner instantly grinned from ear to ear, "You probably can't carry all this meat back, right? I'll deliver it to your door."

"That would be great." Su Yan smiled. "We still need to buy other things. You can leave the meat here for now, and then we can deliver it together when we come back from shopping."

The boss readily agreed, "Okay, go ahead, you can pay when you get back."

After buying the meat, you'll naturally need some green vegetables to cut through the richness.

After buying a few vegetables, Su Yan glanced at a stall in a corner as she finished browsing the vegetable section.

All the other stalls along the way were full of customers, but this little stall was inconspicuous and you couldn't see it until you reached the end.

The key point is that the boss was a little girl who looked to be only about five years old. Her padded jacket was so tattered that the cotton inside was showing, and her worn-out shoes were covered in mud and snow.

In front of the little girl were various kinds of mushrooms, some of which were fresh.

It's rare to find fresh mushrooms in this snowy weather.