Chapter 56
Jiang Zhuochun pressed the call button. Since they knew each other, he didn't wear headphones and turned on the speakerphone directly.
In the video, Jiang Juncang can't see anyone else but his younger brother, so he assumes that he is alone.
On the other end of the video call, Jiang Juncang looked at his younger brother, whom he hadn't seen before, and asked with a smile in his eyes, "How are you?"
"Making dumplings."
Hearing this, Jiang Juncang was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but tease him, "So, does that mean we'll be able to eat your dumplings next year?"
"..."
The two chatted for a few more minutes until Jiang Juncang casually brought up Xiang Wan: "How is Xiang Wan?"
Jiang Zhuochun was unaware that her brother had confessed his feelings to Xiang Wan and been rejected, so she carelessly pointed the camera at Xiang Wan.
“She’s right here beside me, you can talk to Wanwan yourself.”
Upon hearing this, both Xiang Wan and Jiang Juncang on the other end of the video call froze for a moment. They looked at each other through the phone screen, both somewhat surprised.
Jiang Juncang was surprised that his younger brother was so clueless, and Xiang Wan was also caught off guard.
Since the last time they were at school, on their way back from the new campus, when Jiang Juncang made a suggestive refusal that she subtly rejected, the two had not spoken to each other again.
But seeing that Jiang Juncang on the other end of the phone was obviously more embarrassed than she was, Xiang Wan pretended that nothing had happened and took the initiative to greet him.
The two families were originally just acquaintances, so why make things awkward? Both of them were respectable people. When Jiang Juncang saw Xiang Wan casually offering him a way out, even though he felt regretful, he still accepted the offer.
"Please give my regards to your parents on my behalf," Jiang Juncang said politely. Xiang Wan smiled and asked him to send her greetings to Jiang's parents as well.
Just before the call was about to end, Jiang Juncang added, "If my brother gets into any trouble in Northern Europe, just tell me, and I'll deal with him when we get home."
Although it was a polite remark, it was clear that it wasn't meant for her, but rather a blatant hint to her brother that he should wait for her when he got home after what had just happened.
Knowing that the words weren't meant for her, Xiang Wan simply looked at Jiang Zhuochun after hearing them. However, the man didn't understand at all and complained to his brother on the other end of the video call, "How could I possibly cause any trouble? Brother, you underestimate me."
"..."
Hearing this, Jiang Juncang almost laughed out of exasperation. Looking at Xiang Wan on the other end of the video, his smile was genuinely helpless: "Miss Xiang, please excuse my rudeness."
Xiang Wan really wanted to laugh, but she didn't. She just politely replied "no" and handed the phone back to Jiang Zhuochun.
After the four finished making dumplings, Li Xia and Chen Yan returned, and Zhou Chengze and his sister Zhou Xinyi also came over.
Because of the Chinese New Year, all the maids in the villa went home, and even the New Year's Eve dinner was cooked by Wang Yidong and Li Xia themselves.
The group sat at the dining table, their mouths watering as they looked at the table laden with food.
Although the chefs at this villa are all Chinese, perhaps because they have lived in Northern Europe for a long time, the dishes they make are not very authentic.
Having been away from home for so long, they were all somewhat homesick, and seeing such a delicious New Year's Eve dinner from Bei Yi made them all quite excited.
Shen Feiyang picked up a piece of her favorite sweet and sour pork ribs, and after eating it, her eyes even welled up with tears: "It's my favorite sweet and sour flavor."
She swallowed the rib whole, then turned to look at Wang Yidong: "Sister Yidong, won't you consider coming to our house?"
Although Wang Yidong knew the other party was joking, he was still very happy to hear it: "Since Miss Shen likes it, then eat more."
"I already told you, Sister Yidong, just call me Feiyang."
Wang Yidong's smile deepened: "The rules cannot be abolished."
Shen Feiyang looked somewhat helpless, but still gave in. She looked at Xiang Wan and said, "Shuhan, where did you find such an all-around capable Yi Dong?"
Xiang Wan also picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs. As she savored the sweet and sour taste of the ribs, her expression brightened.
Both her previous and current lives combined, she still felt that Wang Yidong's sweet and sour pork ribs were truly exceptional.
When I was studying abroad, my neighbor in the same apartment was an Asian girl who said that there was a Chinese restaurant that served really good pork ribs. Because the girl had said it so many times, Xiang Wan was curious and went there once. When she got to the restaurant, she only took one piece of pork rib from the whole plate.
Because the taste was just too bizarre. Unlike Bei Yi's sweet and sour flavor, the ribs at that restaurant were spicy, and she could even taste a bit of wasabi in them.
But that bizarrely made pork rib dish is still the most popular Chinese restaurant among foreigners, supposedly because the owner specially made a modified version to cater to local tastes.
Xiang Wan never went to that Chinese restaurant again, but when she left the restaurant that day, she missed Wang Yidong's sweet and sour pork ribs terribly. On the day she returned to China, she ate two whole plates of sweet and sour pork ribs by herself.
Li Xia didn't eat with them. Instead, she packed up a three-person New Year's Eve dinner and took it to the company to deliver to Xiang's parents.
When he left, the other people at the table were still engaged in a heated conversation around the scrambled eggs with tomatoes on the table.
Jiang Zhuochun: "Who made this scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
Che Nanbei: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Nan: "It doesn't look like something Sister Yi Dong would have made."
Jiang Zhuochun: "It doesn't look like it at all, and I guess it will taste very strange."
"..." Che Nanbei, "Maybe it just looks bad but tastes delicious."
Jiang Zhuochun: "Case solved. This unusual tomato and egg stir-fry was made by Miss Che."
Che Nanbei's forehead was covered in black lines: "!!!! How come I'm so out of place?? We're perfectly harmonious."
"Maybe it'll taste alright." Shen Feiyang's tendency to play peacemaker kicked in again. She used the serving chopsticks to pick up an egg from the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and scooped a spoonful onto her plate.
However, after taking only one sip, her voice suddenly stopped, her face turned bright red, and Zhou Xinyi silently handed her the water glass.
Shen Feiyang took the water, thanked her, and then looked at Che Nanbei and asked, "Why is it so spicy?"
"..." Seeing his friend's face turn red from the spiciness, Che Nanbei also took a bite.
However, after taking a sip, she began frantically searching for a water glass. Once the spiciness in her throat subsided, her expression became somewhat bewildered: "That shouldn't be the case. I only put in a tiny bit of chili."
Everyone fell silent, some facepalming, but Jiang Zhuochun burst into laughter, so much so that he couldn't straighten up: "My goodness, have you ever seen anyone add chili peppers to their tomato and egg stir-fry?"
Looking at his friend across from him, whose eyes were red from the spiciness, Che Nanbei felt a little guilty: "I just thought that one wasn't particularly red..."
"So I added chili peppers." Shen Feiyang took another sip of water and replied coolly.
"..."
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but chuckle. Che Nanbei turned towards Shen Feiyang, clasped his hands together in a sincere gesture, and said, "I was wrong."
Xiang Wan simply watched the group playfully bickering with a smile, then picked up another piece of sweet and sour pork ribs.
Because there were many people, the dining table was a rotating tray, so whoever wanted to eat a certain dish could rotate it to that table. She remembered that the ribs had been on the opposite side of the table, but when she wanted to pick up another piece, she found that the plate of sweet and sour ribs was right in front of her.
Xiang Wan was stunned for a moment, her gaze following the pair of fair and slender hands that were fixed on the turntable, and then settling on Chen Yan beside her.
His voice was slightly cool, yet carried a hint of warmth: "Is that enough?"
Xiang Wan's lips curled up, and her eyes lifted with a touch of natural flirtation: "That's enough."
The farce was still going on. Before leaving after packing up the food in the kitchen, Li Xia made a point of coming over to Xiang Wan, who was seated at the head of the table, and toasted her: "Miss, I probably didn't get back until midnight. Happy New Year, Miss!"
"Li Xia, Happy New Year to you too."
"Miss, I'll be going now."
"When you see my parents, please say Happy New Year to them for me. I sent them a text message, but they're probably too busy to check their phones."
"Yes, Miss."
*
After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, everyone played two rounds of mahjong before heading out to the courtyard to set off fireworks.
Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen didn't want to go out because it was cold outside. The two of them huddled together on the sofa by the fireplace, cursing Xia Yueshen's scumbag ex-boyfriend who had abused her.
The eight young people, who weren't afraid of the cold, went outside together. Jiang Nan and Zhou Xinyi played with sparklers in the snow, while a trio volunteered to be the ones to start the fire.
Xiang Wan felt that the three of them were not very reliable, and since the fireworks had not been lit for a long time, she was a little worried, so she asked Chen Yan to keep an eye on them and tell them not to go too far.
Somehow, in the end, it turned into Xiang Wan and Zhou Chengze standing in the courtyard watching the fireworks.
Although Zhou Chengze has recovered, he has a slight fracture in the toe of his left foot, so he has to sit in a wheelchair for the next few days.
Originally, Zhou Xinyi was the one pushing him, but Jiang Nan encouraged Zhou Xinyi to play with the sparkler, so Xiang Wan became the one pushing the wheelchair.
Just after midnight in the Nordic time zone, as my digital watch chimed the hour, the fireworks on the snow were finally ignited. A few seconds later, they soared into the sky, leaving a breathtakingly beautiful trail.
Xiang Wan and Zhou Chengze were in a blind spot, so she pushed Zhou Chengze a little further out of the yard.
The moment the fireworks burst open, the two of them looked up at the sky at the same time.
Looking at the colorful fireworks in the sky, Zhou Chengze's expression softened for a moment: "When I was buried in the snow, I had a dream."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Wan didn't respond. She neither asked what the dream was about nor did she show any reaction. She simply pushed him toward Zhou Xinyi.
However, when he uttered the next sentence, Xiang Wan felt as if her blood had reversed, and she froze on the spot.
"I dreamt that you were my fiancée, and we're getting engaged in six months..."
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