Xu Lai returned downstairs, and Zhao Qingxi came over and said, "Long time no see."
Xu Lai was somewhat surprised, "President Zhao?"
Zhao Qingxi smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Qingyun, "Hasn't this kid told you yet?"
Zhao Qingyun tilted her head slightly in her direction. "Let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Zhao Qingxi."
Xu Lai instantly realized, "That machine couldn't be because of him..."
Zhao Qingxi shook her head: "Please don't misunderstand, he doesn't have that much influence. I invested purely because I thought your project was feasible and I was quite interested in it."
Xu Laisong sighed. She had already relied on Zhao Qingyun's influence a lot before. If this matter was also due to him, she would never be able to repay him.
After everyone stayed for a while, the old man told them to go home.
When Xu Lai returned to the Zhao family home, Ms. Yingqiu asked, "Did the old man give you any trouble?"
Xu Lai shook her head: "No, Grandpa just chatted with me for a few minutes."
Ms. Yingqiu nodded. It was her first time meeting her parents, and she was quite nervous, but the old man didn't make things difficult for her; in fact, he was very kind to her.
...
On the third day in City B, it snowed. The snow piled up to knee-high. Xu Lai had lived here for a long time before, so snow was not a rare occurrence for her.
But this snow was really heavy. If you went out without an umbrella, you'd come back completely covered in white.
She was quite excited, so Zhao Qingyun told her to dress warmly and took her outside to build a snowman.
Xu Lai was wearing gloves, two pairs of socks, and leather boots, making it impossible for her to walk.
Since there were no suitable tools at home, Zhao Qingyun went to the kitchen and took Aunt Zhang's basin for washing vegetables and her spatula for shoveling snow.
Xu Lai first let him take more than a dozen photos, which she would post later. She had asked her fans for leave and stopped updating her account for the past few days because she was meeting her parents.
Zhao Qingyun first shoveled the snow together, then piled it into a large mound, and then used the shovel to shape it.
Xu Lai found two tree branches and stuck them next to her, then took off her scarf and wrapped it around the snowman.
It was still missing eyes and a nose, so Zhao Qingyun took two cherries and a carrot from the refrigerator and put them on.
After the snowman was finished, Xu Lai took a picture of it. Zhao Qingyun then raised his phone, hugged Xu Lai, and took a picture with the snowman as the background.
After being outside for more than an hour, Xu Lai's face turned white from the cold. When Zhao Qingyun saw that she was shivering, he immediately pulled her inside, took out some cold medicine, and made her a cup.
Aunt Zhang was about to cook when she realized that her vegetable washing plate was nowhere to be found, and her spatula had also vanished.
Hearing Aunt Zhang's questioning voice, Xu Lai pointed at Zhao Qingyun and whispered, "Where are the shovel and basin? Why didn't you bring them back?"
Zhao Qingyun shushed him, "We'll talk about it later. We can't take it now, or Aunt Zhang will nag me for ages."
Aunt Zhang searched for a long time and even came over to ask Zhao Qingyun if he had seen it. Xu Lai saw his serious expression and struggled to suppress her laughter.
Aunt Zhang finally took out a new spatula to cook, saying from time to time, "I remember putting it in the pot."
...
After the Lunar New Year, on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Xu Lai prepared to return to Heng County. Zhao Qingyun drove her to the airport. Since it was still early before boarding time, he held her in his arms and kissed her for a long time.
Xu Lai couldn't help but pat him, "Um, it's...okay now."
Zhao Qingyun kissed her lips one last time, "I can't bear to see you go."
Xu Lai leaned against him and said, "It's okay, you'll be back in half a month, won't you?"
He took her luggage down. When they came, they shared one suitcase, but on the way back, she used two suitcases by herself.
One box contained clothes, including the sets Aunt Jiang had bought before, and the other box was full of local specialties that Ms. Yingqiu had bought.
Xu Lai tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "Okay, let's go back now. It's cold outside. I'm going inside."
It was already afternoon when the plane landed. Xu Lai found Zhao Qingyun's car and, before leaving, he handed her the car keys and told her to drive home.
When she got home, Xu's mother was still cooking. She didn't know the exact time Xu Lai would return, and hadn't even asked.
Seeing her return, he was a little at a loss: "Xiao Lai is back."
Xu's mother exclaimed, "I'll quickly cook some rice. I didn't know you were coming back today, so I might not have cooked enough for dinner."
Xu Lai nodded and then hugged her grandmother, saying, "Grandma, I'm back."
Grandma smiled and said, "I've been looking forward to your return."
Xu Lai took out the local specialties, saying, "These were all bought by Aunt Jiang."
After finishing her meal, Xu Lai carried her suitcase upstairs. Xu Zhicheng was checking the gifts one by one, and she didn't want to talk to him anymore.
After taking a shower, Xu Lai talked to Zhao Qingyun on the phone for more than ten minutes. She was a little sleepy, and her phone fell onto the blanket while they were talking.
Zhao Qingyun smiled, said "Sweet dreams," and then pressed the hang-up button.
On New Year's Eve, Xu Lai helped her mother cook. Today was a big day, and the family had prepared chicken, duck, and pig's trotters.
During the meal, Grandma was a little sad, saying, "Perhaps this is the last New Year that Xiao Lai will spend at home before she gets married."
Xu Zhicheng couldn't help but say, "Why say all this? It's a good thing that she's getting married. What girl is almost thirty and still not married?"
Xu Yan said, "Why do you care so much about my sister? She can get married whenever she wants."
Xu's mother placed a chicken leg in his bowl, saying, "Xiao Yan, eat yours."
She remembered something, rummaged through the bowl, and then picked up a chicken leg for Xu Lai.
Xu Lai couldn't help but think to herself that she had assumed this time it would be like before, with only Xu Yan receiving the gift and her only being able to watch.
Normally, people stay up all night on New Year's Eve, but this is not a custom in their family. When someone invited them to play cards, Xu's father and mother went to play mahjong, while Xu Lai went back to her room.
Around 11:50, Xu Lai was woken up by a phone call. It was quite lively on Zhao Qingyun's end; everyone was playing cards at the old house, and he was calling her from the balcony.
Hearing Xu Lai being woken up, Zhao Qingyun asked, "Aren't you going to stay up all night to welcome the New Year?"
Xu Lai hummed in agreement. It was the same every year. After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, she went back to her room to prepare for bed.
He paused for a moment and said, "Xu Lai, let's spend the Spring Festival together next year. It's lively here, but if you want to be alone, I can keep you company."
Xu Lai hummed in agreement again, and Zhao Qingyun was overjoyed. "So you've agreed?"
Xu Lai smiled and said, "You've proposed twice already, how could I possibly refuse?"
A moment later, fireworks went off. Xu Lai drew back the curtains, and outside, the fireworks were a riot of colors. It was midnight, and from that moment on, it was truly the New Year.
Zhao Qingyun's voice came through the sound of firecrackers, "Xu Lai, Happy New Year! I've prepared a red envelope for you; it's in the pocket of your coat."
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