You really like Lanjian, don't you?

"You really like Lanjian, don't you?"

51.

"elder brother!"

Meimei's excited and enthusiastic voice came from outside the door, interrupting Chongming's thoughts. He put away the marriage certificate, got up, and opened the door.

As soon as the doorknob was turned, Meimei rushed in, clutching a red paper with the character "福" (fortune) written on it. Her parents already knew she was back, but due to the icy roads, for safety reasons, Meimei stayed in Shenhua Village to spend the New Year with him and Lanjian.

Ms. Ming Zijuan complained incessantly as she accompanied President Lu to the military base to reward the troops. Ming Yuesheng, that heartless young lady, didn't care how her mother spent New Year's Eve. She was used to the lively days of being the center of attention and complained that her brother's family was too few. So she invited the Xie family of three, who were also trapped in Shenhua Village and unable to spend the New Year with their parents, to her home.

Xie Tangqian is currently receiving his calligraphy lessons, and whenever he visits his Uncle Dou Dou's house, he brings his scribbles and enthusiastically writes Spring Festival couplets in the living room. Lan Jian was quietly writing, but was teased by the playful young lady, disrupting her concentration.

"Mingyue Sheng!" In just two days, Meng Lanjian had already figured out Chongming's younger sister's personality. She was even more like a childish imp than she was. Chongming liked quiet or had something on her mind, so these past two days she had always locked herself in her study. Lanjian and Mingyue Sheng, the two childish imps, stuck together, climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. "Don't think that just because you're hiding with your brother I'll let you off the hook!"

Meng Lanjian's voice grew louder as he approached. Mingyue Sheng, after causing trouble, was being chased by her sister-in-law and had run to the study to seek help from her brother. Chongming had no intention of indulging Meimei, and before he could catch her, he saw Meng Lanjian storming in with a calligraphy brush, his face smeared with ink.

"Pfft!" What kind of sloppy appearance hadn't Chongming seen from Meng Lanjian? But this was the first time he'd seen her dressed like a pirate captain. Her comical yet lively and playful appearance dispelled the gloom in Chongming's heart, and he couldn't help but laugh.

Lan Jian glanced at him, her eyes warning him to watch his words.

Chongming feigned indignation: "How dare they! How can someone write Spring Festival couplets on other people's faces?"

Meng Lanjian ignored him, chasing Ming Yuesheng around the desk, her brush waving dangerously in the air, "You stop right there! I want to draw back too!"

Mingyue Sheng wasn't drawn, but Chongming's sweater had an extra stripe on it.

Mingyue Sheng was halfway through making a funny face when she saw her brother reach out from behind her sister-in-law and pick her up around the waist. "What are you drawing for? Go wash your face!"

"Chongming! Put me down! I'm not a gentleman if I don't avenge this!"

Chongming, whose sweater was covered in graffiti, half-carried, half-dragged Meng Lanjian out of the study. Before they even reached the bathroom, they saw an even more exaggerated panda eye not far away. It was Xie Tangqian's little brat, being forced to have his face painted by his own father. Wang Xiyu's mother was filming nearby, and when she saw Chongming carrying Lanjian out, the camera immediately turned towards them.

"Wang Xiyu! Stop taking pictures!" Lan Jian instantly clung to Chongming, burying her face in his chest and trying to hide. "You're just as boring as Mingyue Sheng!"

"Hahahaha!" It was Xie Nandu, who had transformed his son into a giant panda and was laughing uncontrollably. "Son, so handsome!"

The house was a complete mess.

But it had a fresh and lively festive atmosphere.

Looking at Meng Lanjian's expressionless face in the mirror, Chongming gently wiped her face with a damp towel. "Alright, don't be angry. I'll definitely help you deal with Mingyue Shen later."

"How do we clean it up?"

"What do you think about throwing her out of the house to be eaten by wolves?"

"Huh? Are there wolves in Shenhuali?" Meng Lanjian instantly stopped being angry and grabbed Chongming's wrist by her temple. "That's too dangerous. Don't... I won't be angry with Weiwei anymore."

"Just kidding, you actually believed that?" Chongming chuckled and tapped her nose. "You think Iceland is right outside the door?"

“If this really is Iceland, I won’t be afraid. Little Ying can chase away wolves. I encountered one when I was a child, and he was the one who chased the wolf away.”

"You actually encountered wolves?" Chongming paused in his work. "You must have been terrified back then, right?"

Meng Lanjian grinned, forcing a smile, "Just kidding, you actually believed that?"

Chongming was so angry with her that he turned her face, which was covered in ink, around and cupped it in his hands, and launched into a fierce verbal battle.

Meng Lanjian had been thoroughly punished; she pinched his firm back muscles, stepped on his slippers, and felt like she was floating on air. The messy ink stains she had drawn on his body smeared onto hers, and the two of them, neither minding the other, entangled tightly, kissing passionately.

"Cough cough!"

An unpleasant cough came from outside the half-open bathroom door.

Chongming turned his head away unhappily, "Didn't your parents teach you that children aren't allowed to peek?"

"I didn't peek!" Mingyue Sheng, who had only come to deliver makeup remover to help, saw Meng Lanjian blushing and turning her face away, hiding in her brother's chest and refusing to meet her gaze. She crossed her arms and said calmly, "I was watching openly and honestly!"

Chongming was speechless for a moment. Being watched by Meimei and his wife kissing, especially the kind of deep, wolf-like kiss where the tip of their tongues touched the root of their tongues, was truly shameful. He couldn't glare at the unruly Meimei, so he could only imitate Lanjian and slowly turn his head away.

Mingyue Sheng watched as her brother, who was often jokingly referred to as an "enlightened monk," also blushed from his ears to his neck, just like the wife in his arms.

Should I close the door for you?

"No need. Turn around and walk!"

Mingyue Sheng: "..."

The newlyweds' first family dinner at Shen Huali's home happened to be New Year's Eve dinner. Chefs Chongming and Xie Nandu were at the helm, preparing a diverse and abundant meal that was both Chinese and Western. Little Xie Tangqian ate until his belly was round and bulging, and he even insisted on eating half a chestnut cake. After dinner, he kept pestering Meng Lanjian to continue telling him about her encounter with wolves in Norway. Meng Lanjian retorted to Chongming that afternoon that her childhood encounter with wolves was true, only the location was in another Nordic country, Norway.

The person who chased the wolf away was indeed her brother, Li Ying. His grandmother was Meng Lanjian's great-aunt. She had gone to Iceland with his grandfather for research in their early years and later stayed there. Li Ying was born in Iceland and grew up in Norway. In recent years, he had been traveling all over the world, and Lanjian didn't know where he had been recently.

Seeing that Xie Tangqian was particularly interested in Scandinavia, Meng Lanjian took advantage of his parents and Chongming and his sister going out to play cards to call Xiao Yingge. She wanted to wish him a Happy New Year and also ask him to answer Xie Tangqian's quirky questions that even she couldn't answer.

"How so?"

As soon as the call connected, a lazy, magnetic male voice came through the receiver. Straight to the point, without a single pleasantry—it was definitely her little brother Ying.

Lan Jian chatted with him for a while and learned that he happened to be at his home in Oslo, Norway. So he asked him to turn on the video to show Xie Tangqian the forest in Oslo at three o'clock in the afternoon. The dense winter forest surrounded the detached wooden house in the forest in a gray haze. After watching the long-lost scenery on the screen for a while, Lan Jian couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that I didn't come to ask you to sketch again this year."

Li Ying closed the side door, turned his phone camera back, and casually tossed the paper bag containing the last loaf of bread into the fireplace. The firewood was burning brightly, flames licking his fingertips. He was demonstrating the fastest way to recycle paper waste in front of Xie Tang. He casually asked his beloved Meimei, who lived far away on the southern slope, "Is the man you married treating you well?"

"Great! Would you like to meet him? Oh, by the way, his sister is here too..."

"Sister-in-law!" Mingyue called to Lanjian from not far away. She only called her "sister-in-law" sweetly when she needed her help. "Could you come and take over for me for a while? My brother thinks I'm clumsy!"

They are playing

In bridge, Chongming and Xie Nandu, two professional players with similar rankings, were paired with two amateur players. Wang Xiyu, who studied statistics, was quicker to think than Mingyuesheng, who studied business. Mingyuesheng played for five minutes, but her brother spent ten minutes analyzing her tactics. She was so overwhelmed that she called for her sister-in-law to come and save her.

Li Ying, on the other end of the camera, had switched to the rear camera at some point. Xie Tangqian was still eagerly wanting to say a few more words to this mysterious Nordic uncle. Lan Jian patted Xie Tangqian's head and said, "How about Aunt Weiwei video chats with you?" After saying that, she called out "Brother" again. Li Ying responded with an "Mmm" and continued to walk around in the empty living room.

When Ming Yuesheng took her sister-in-law's phone, she only saw a grand piano in her field of vision. The person on the other end of the screen silently took a few steps, and then the screen went completely black. She heard the deep sound of the piano lid being opened, and a white lace curtain flashed across the screen before plunging back into darkness. Light and melodious piano music floated from the receiver. Confused, Ming Yuesheng asked Xie Tangqian, "Who are you talking to?"

"A Nordic uncle who can chase away wolves!"

Unlike Lan Jian, Ming Yue Sheng wasn't patient enough to adjust the height of his phone for him. Instead, she propped the phone up on the table for him and put a cushion under his bottom. Xie Tangqian swung his little feet on the sofa, listened to the music for a while with his upper body upright, and then, as if hypnotized, leaned against his aunt Weiwei, who was sitting next to him playing on her phone and receiving blessings.

"Little Swallow?" Mingyue called out softly to Xie Tangqian, only to find his eyelids so heavy he couldn't open them. She was secretly pleased; she hadn't expected the person opposite her to be able to lull the energetic boy to sleep before even finishing a single song. She leaned closer to the phone screen and whispered, "He's already asleep. Thank you, and Happy New Year!"

After giving her instructions, she didn't care whether the person on the other end had finished playing the piece or not, and ruthlessly cut off the video.

As the piece ended, Li Ying's fingers rested on the black and white keys, and after a long while, he finally opened his lips and uttered a word that sounded like a sigh:

Happy New Year, Miss!

After Xie Tangqian fell asleep, his parents were also tired from playing. Chongming reserved a room for the family, and the three of them turned off the lights and went to sleep early because they didn't plan to wait for the midnight fireworks.

Mingyue was still watching silly anime on the sofa. Lanjian and Chongming finished washing up and sat with her on the sofa to wait for the New Year's fireworks at midnight. Chongming wanted to see a Chaplin silent film, while Lanjian wanted to see "Tomand Jerry." They played rock-paper-scissors, and Lanjian won, but she was the first to fall asleep after the cartoon started.

Unlike Xie Tangqian, who fell into a deep sleep, she kept her head bobbing against her chest like a chick pecking at rice. When she was halfway through a nap, she would shake her ponytail to wake herself up, and then close her eyes again to start pecking at rice.

Chongming watched with detached amusement, admiring her endearing clumsiness. Just as she was about to bend over on the sofa like a pea pod, he finally reached out and pulled her onto his shoulder. She adjusted her position, half-asleep, and mumbled, "Chongming, remember to wake me up to watch the fireworks!"

Chongming didn't agree to her request. Watching the little mouse in diapers carrying a triangular cheese on the screen running around, he felt as if there was a piece of unmelting triangular cheese rolling around in his heart.

"Brother." After seeing her brother staring at his wife with a silly grin for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Ming Yuesheng couldn't help but call out to him.

"Um?"

Chongming turned his head, his face radiating a bright and gentle warmth that was as comforting as a spring breeze.

"You really like Lanjian, don't you?"

Chongming didn't speak, but his smile didn't fade.

Mingyue Sheng smiled at him and said, "You like her so much that you're willing to give up your discharge application for her, right?"

@Mingyuesheng: I finally understand the joy of shipping couples from the front row!

@Author Jun: Mingyue Sheng, co-second author of "Love Story of the Nuclear Research Institute".

@Xiaoyingge: The tool is online.