Chapter 23 Video Call
Let's go back to New Year's Eve, to the Lu family.
The Lu family's old house was brightly lit and decorated with lanterns, and a huge round dining table was full of people.
Lu's father's branch was considered the main family, and together with his uncles and relatives, they gathered together in a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Servants moved about, serving up one carefully prepared dish after another.
Lu Yan sat quietly to the left of his mother, appearing out of place in this overly large family gathering.
Lu Zhao sat opposite him, looking down and rapidly tapping on his phone, his brows furrowed, as if he were arguing with someone.
Just then, the eldest uncle's spoiled youngest son ran up to Lu Yan and asked in a loud voice, "Brother Yan, my mom said you grew up outside, so did you eat so much good food during the New Year before? Have you never eaten such a big ham before?"
He was pointing to a chef dressed in a white uniform, intently slicing a bright red Iberian ham with a slender knife, its surface adorned with delicate marbling.
Children's innocent remarks instantly silenced the noisy dining table.
Mr. and Mrs. Lu's expressions changed slightly, and their uncle and aunt hurriedly apologized.
Lu Yan remained calm, even managing a faint smile: "It's alright." He looked at the child, his tone steady, "The food we ate during the New Year was indeed different in the past. Grandma's dumplings were tastier than ham."
"Hey! What nonsense are you spouting, you brat!" Lu Zhao suddenly raised his head, slammed his phone on the table, and glared at the child without any politeness. "Can't you talk? If you can't, we'll stuff a chicken leg in your mouth to shut you up!"
When he gets angry, he doesn't care about the occasion; his protectiveness is clearly written on his face.
"Ah Zhao!" Father Lu whispered, but there was not much blame in his tone.
After this ordeal, Lu Yan became noticeably more silent, and soon after, he made an excuse to leave early.
Watching his brother's departing figure, Lu Zhao also found the noisy scene rather dull. He hastily ate a few bites of food and soon slipped back to his room.
After closing the door, Lu Zhao ruffled his hair in frustration.
Last time, Ling Wei grabbed me with a message and made me work as her free stagehand and human selfie stick for that damned final short film assignment, which kept me up until midnight.
He opened WeChat, and his chat with Ling Wei was still on the location she had sent him that day.
He quickly typed a line of text and sent it.
[Announcement to the world: Hey! You didn't even bother to send New Year's greetings to your biggest VIP on New Year's Eve?]
The next room.
Lu Yan pushed open the glass door and stepped onto the terrace.
The distant mountains are like dark eyebrows in the twilight, and the old Lu family mansion sits quietly on the mountainside.
The city lights below the mountain resemble a distant galaxy, while here, there is only the silence of the wind rustling through the treetops.
He stood still for a moment, then took out his phone and dialed his grandmother Liang's number.
"Xiao Yan? Have you had your New Year's Eve dinner yet?" His grandmother's familiar local accent, filled with laughter, instantly dispelled the slight chill in his heart.
"Yes, I've eaten. Grandma, what about you? Did you make dumplings?"
"They're all packed! Pork and cabbage filling. Your neighbor, Aunt Wang, even brought over some sausages she made herself. It's quite a lively place!"
As Lu Yan listened, his expression softened unconsciously. "Grandma, this year... are you really not coming to celebrate the New Year with us? The house... is very spacious." He carefully chose his words.
"Oh dear, what would I do at your big house?"
Grandma Liang's voice was loud and clear, "There are so many rules, I don't even know all the roads, I have to think carefully before I speak, it's so stifling! I'm at home, the neighbors can visit each other, it's so comfortable. Your dad sent someone to pick me up last time, but I refused. There's no place like home!"
Lu Yan knew his grandmother's temperament, so he didn't force her. He just carefully reminded her to take care of her health.
After hanging up the phone, he watched the fireworks rise sporadically outside the window, streaking across the silent mountain night.
Some roots are deeply embedded in the everyday life of the city, and cannot, nor need to, be transplanted to the tranquility of this mountaintop.
Su Yuqing's New Year's greeting call came in at this moment.
On the other end of the receiver, her voice was as gentle and poised as ever, with just the right amount of laughter: "Ayan, Happy New Year. I wish you and your aunt and uncle all the best in the new year, and that the Lu Group will achieve even greater success."
"Thank you, and Happy New Year to you too." Lu Yan's response, spoken through the glass door of the terrace, sounded somewhat empty and distant.
"My filming is going quite smoothly. Director Anderson is strict, but everyone is in good spirits..." She seemed to want to chat a bit more, share some of her experiences on set in a foreign country, and try to bridge the distance created by this overseas phone call.
"That's good." Lu Yan replied simply, his tone devoid of much emotion, as if he were merely confirming news that had nothing to do with him.
Su Yuqing keenly sensed the coldness in his tone, and her carefully maintained smile froze slightly on the other end of the phone. However, she quickly recovered, said a few more appropriate blessings, and wisely stopped talking.
"I wish you a successful shoot, goodbye," Lu Yan said one last thing before hanging up the phone.
The call ended, the screen went dark, and his figure, standing alone on the cold, deserted terrace, reappeared.
He subconsciously clicked on a familiar profile picture again, but the chat window remained quiet all day.
The interface is still stuck on the 29th day of the Lunar New Year.
[Weiwei smiles brightly and transfers 10,000.00 yuan to you]
[Note: It's the end of the year! Time to give my biggest benefactor a big thank you! Tonight, I'm doing a thorough cleaning and steaming buns with my family. Happy New Year to my future benefactor too!]
He looked at the title "Big Boss" and remained silent for a moment before replying:
[Yan: Received. Happy New Year.]
Then, all day long, until night fell, the chat box remained empty.
It's Lunar New Year's Eve... I'm too busy being with my family?
Or... was it too cold of him to just say Happy New Year? He didn't even add an emoji.
The faint sounds of laughter and conversation from his relatives, who were still playing cards downstairs, made the terrace where he was standing seem even quieter.
His phone vibrated a few more times, sending New Year's greetings from several classmates, some familiar and some not so familiar. He composed himself and began to reply politely to each one, maintaining the necessary social etiquette.
Just as I was replying, a video call request popped up at the top without warning.
Caller ID: [Weiwei's smile is very energetic].
Lu Yan paused, and what surged up before reason was a lightness that even he himself had not expected.
He almost instinctively straightened his back, his gaze quickly sweeping across the empty terrace, as if just to confirm the privacy of the environment, before his finger steadily pressed the answer button.
The moment the call connected, Ling Wei's energetic, clearly tipsy voice exploded out: "Happy New Year! My savior!!"
On the other side of the screen, her cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were surprisingly bright, like they were filled with stars in the night sky, against a backdrop of dim light and howling wind.
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