show
After the initial excitement subsided, Shen Anxia realized that this was still just flirting.
They've only known each other for a few days? This guy is so frivolous! But her intuition told Shen Anxia that he wasn't such a frivolous person... This contradiction between what she saw and her intuition confused her.
If Shen Anxia's previous feeling that Yang Zheng was quite charming was just a misconception, then now she is certain.
So Shen Anxia was even more puzzled as to why he hadn't talked about it all these years.
Seeing Yang Zheng rubbing his temples, looking tired, Shen Anxia thought about how he had driven so far, had to watch a performance that night, and then drive her back, and how exhausted he must be. She said to him, "Why don't you take a nap now since you don't have anything to do? There's no one in this room right now, so I'll lock the door so no one will bother us. We'll go back to Yi'an after the performance tonight."
Yang Zheng thought about it and decided that he could only take a break now. So he had Shen Anxia drink the milk first, then lay down, covered himself with a coat, and fell asleep in no time.
Shen Anxia quietly locked the door from the inside, covered Yang Zheng's legs with her down jacket, and turned her head to see Yang Zheng's sleeping face.
That side profile is absolutely stunning!
This person is really something. His face is gentle and noble from the front, and his profile is strong and resolute. She was really curious how someone who is so captivating could remain single and even end up having to go on blind dates.
Shen Anxia sat back in her seat, composed herself, and then took out her small dictionary to start memorizing words.
After studying for a while, her phone rang. She quickly silenced it and then answered it.
A female voice on the other end of the phone called to her: "Xiao Shen, come to room 113 to do your makeup."
She replied softly, "Right away."
After glancing at the sleeping Yang Zheng, Shen Anxia quietly opened the door and went out.
When Yang Zheng woke up, it was dark. He glanced at his watch; it was 6:10.
He tried to sit up, only to find Shen Anxia's down jacket covering his legs. After folding Shen Anxia's clothes, he put on his shoes, walked to the door, and turned on the dressing room light.
I sent Shen Anxia a message: [Are you busy?]
Two seconds later, Shen Anxia replied: [Awake? I'll probably need about twenty minutes to come find you.]
Yang Zheng: [No rush, I'll go buy some things first, then you can come and eat in a bit.]
Shen Anxia was about to reply that the production team had provided boxed lunches, but then she thought that there might not be any extra, so she replied: 【Okay, then buy a little less, I'll bring the boxed lunches over】
Yang Zheng immediately replied: 【Give your lunchbox to the people who brought their families to see the show】
Twenty minutes later, Yang Zheng returned with dinner, and Shen Anxia arrived on the second floor just then.
Yang Zheng looked at the sparkling girl walking towards him. She was already made up and wearing hair accessories. From head to toe, every part of her was dazzling and radiant. Yang Zheng felt that she was born to stand on the stage in the spotlight, bloom in the colorful sunset, and live as the most exquisite and poetic moonlight.
"Why did you buy so much?" Shen Anxia glanced at Yang Zheng, who was carrying at least four large bags of food, and missed the amazement in his eyes.
"We'll eat what we can't finish on the way." Yang Zheng lowered his long eyelashes, concealing all his worries.
The two entered the dressing room together, moved a dressing table to serve as a dining table, and laid out dinner items one by one. Finally, Yang Zheng took out a pack of wet wipes for Shen Anxia to wipe her hands.
Shen Anxia didn't stand on ceremony and ate some of the foods she liked, but then stopped eating because she knew there would be a performance later.
"You haven't had your milk yet." Yang Zheng handed her a glass.
Shen Anxia shook her head: "I can't eat or drink anymore. I have to go on stage later, and it's not convenient to go to the bathroom while waiting."
"Then we'll drink it on the way."
Shen Anxia glanced at her watch: "I should go. The show starts in less than an hour, and the audience should be taking their seats. You should go too."
Yang Zheng put down the food in his hand and nodded: "Then I'll wait for you at the back door after your performance, and take you back to the dormitory to remove your makeup first?"
Shen Anxia's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "Let's remove my makeup when we get back to Yi'an! It's rare that I don't have to take the high-speed rail today, so I'll let my parents see me when we get home." Then she picked up her coat and went out.
Yang Zheng restored the dressing room to its original state and then left.
At 8 p.m., the New Year's Eve party started on time. After the host's enthusiastic and cheerful opening remarks, Shen Anxia's performance began. Yang Zheng immediately spotted Shen Anxia among a group of girls dressed in identical court lady costumes and took out his phone to take a few photos.
The eight-minute dance ended quickly. Yang Zheng got up and walked towards the back door, where he met Shen Anxia, who had changed out of her dance costume but hadn't removed her makeup. She was pulling a suitcase in one hand and carrying a bag from a branded cake shop in the other.
Yang Zheng took the suitcase and put it in the trunk, then glanced at the bag in Shen Anxia's hand: "What's this?"
Shen Anxia held the bag up to Yang Zheng: "It's a gift from the TV station. It contains small pastries from a cake shop. We'll eat them on the way."
Before he could even warm up the car, Yang Zheng turned the heater to its highest setting and looked at her, saying, "I thought your suitcase was still in the dorm."
"I was worried about the tight schedule for catching the high-speed train, so I brought my luggage. I planned to take a taxi to the train station after removing my makeup at the theater, so I brought everything with me." Shen Anxia was glad that she brought her luggage, saving Yang Zheng the trouble of making another trip to the dormitory.
This was the first time in Shen Anxia's life that she had shared a car with a man other than her family. As the car entered the highway, the temperature inside gradually warmed up, and soft music was playing. In the cramped space, the two of them could smell each other's scent clearly. Shen Anxia blushed quietly.
Stealing a glance at Yang Zheng, who was focused on driving, Shen Anxia's embarrassment was palpable. She felt she needed to find something to do.
"I...I have an exam coming up soon, I need to study English for a bit," Shen Anxia said, making an excuse.
"I'll turn the music down a bit." Yang Zheng turned off the soft music directly.
Putting on her headphones, Shen Anxia started listening to English. Strangely enough, she became focused as soon as she started listening to English.
Yang Zheng saw her start to quietly repeat English, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile, his eyes softening. He focused on driving and didn't disturb her any further.
The drive took nearly three and a half hours. At the service area, Yang Zheng accompanied Shen Anxia to the restroom before driving all the way to Shen Anxia's apartment building.
Shen Anxia called Shen Anyi in advance and asked him to come down and get her suitcase.
After turning off the engine, Yang Zheng took a gray tote bag from the back seat and handed it to Shen Anxia, saying, "Anxia, Happy New Year!"
Shen Anxia asked, "What is this?"
"New Year's gift".
"Huh?" Shen Anxia said embarrassedly, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate..."
"It's for girls. If we don't give it to her today, it'll be too late tomorrow," Yang Zheng emphasized, fearing that Shen Anxia would refuse.
"Well... I... didn't think of preparing a gift... I'll make it up to you next time?"
Yang Zheng was amused by her: "Of course, I'll prepare the gift for you."
"Would you like to come to my house for a while? My parents and Ayi are all here." Shen Anxia said this, but she hoped that Yang Zheng would not come up to sit with her. She felt that the two of them had not yet reached the point where they could go to each other's homes.
"No, it's almost New Year's Day. I'll be home in about ten minutes. Please give my regards to Aunt Zhao, Uncle Chen, and An Yi."
"Okay, please give my regards to your family. I'm leaving now."
After saying that, he got out of the car.
Shen Anyi came downstairs just then and shouted, "Sister!!" Then he hugged Shen Anxia tightly.
Shen Anxia also hugged Shen Anyi: "Ayi!"
Yang Zheng got out of the car as well, took her suitcase, and watched her walk to the entrance of the apartment building before turning back to smile at him: "Yang Zheng, thank you for bringing me back. Happy New Year!"
Shen Anyi also greeted him: "Happy New Year, Brother Yang Zheng!"
Yang Zheng smiled at him and said, "Happy New Year!"
After waving to him, Shen Anxia and Shen Anyi ran upstairs.
This was the first time Shen Anxia had called him by his name.
Yang Zheng was in a good mood.
Watching the lights in the hallway turn on and off one by one from the first floor to the fifth floor, Yang Zheng got back into his car and left.
When Shen Anxia returned home, Shen Ke and Zhao Ping were making dumplings.
"I guessed you'd be back soon! The Yang family said they'd come to pick you up, so your dad had some free time."
Zhao Ping wiped his flour-covered hands, pulled Shen Anxia over to look her over, and then said to Shen Ke, "This is the first time I've seen Xiaxia in stage makeup. Our daughter is really beautiful. No wonder Yang Zheng refused to go on blind dates before, only meeting our daughter."
Shen Ke smiled and flirted with Zhao Ping: "Speaking of daughters, they really take after my wife. They could rely on their looks, but they insist on relying on their abilities. I'm so lucky."
Upon hearing Zhao Ping's words, a thought flashed through Shen Anxia's mind, but before she could grasp it, she began to hear her father's oblivious display of affection—the two of them always had to express their love for each other with everything they said.
"Hey Dad? Why didn't you mention me at all? I was a free gift with my phone top-up?" Shen Anyi put Shen Anxia's suitcase in her bedroom and immediately came out.
“You weren’t a free gift with a phone top-up, you were a buy-one-get-one-free deal. I got pregnant by accident, what can I do? Your mother was overjoyed to find out you were pregnant, otherwise I wouldn’t have let my wife have another child,” Shen Ke asked. “Has that Yang family kid left?”
Shen Anxia and Shen Anyi spoke at the same time—
"Yes, just drop me off downstairs and leave," Shen Anxia said.
"It's fine as a free gift for my sister," Shen Anyi said.
"How are things going?" Zhao Ping asked, ignoring Shen Anyi, who was idly standing to the side.
In fact, she had asked this question more than once, and each time Shen Anxia gave the same answer—
"fine."
Perhaps feeling that Shen Anxia's rejection of their previous blind date was too decisive, the couple now automatically interprets "it's good" as "they're dating" or "it's time to get married."
The couple exchanged a knowing look.
Shen Anxia removed her makeup first, then picked up her phone to send Yang Zheng a message to ask if he had arrived home, only to find that Yang Zheng had already sent her a message ten minutes earlier.
Arrived home
Just then, the time on her phone jumped to 00:00, and she immediately received a message from Yang Zheng: "Anxia, Happy New Year!"
Shen Anxia suddenly remembered the gift Yang Zheng had just given her, so she quickly took the bag, opened the box inside, and saw that it was a bottle of perfume.
She sprayed a little on her wrist; it smelled like roses.
Then I picked up my phone and texted him: "Happy New Year! I really like the gift, thank you!"
If you like it, that's good. Are you free tomorrow?
Tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year, so I should have some time.
【available】
"I'll pick you up at 9 a.m. tomorrow, and we'll go to Urasuk city center. I'll take you back at 8 p.m., okay?"
Does Yang Zheng mean all day? Shen Anxia saw this and came out of the bedroom to ask Shen Ke and the other person for their opinions.
Zhao Ping and Shen Ke had just finished making dumplings when they laughed and said, "If Yang Zheng invites you in the future, just go. We think this kid is pretty good, knows his place, and your dad and I both like him. We feel at ease going out with him. Xiaxia, tell Ayi to set off firecrackers."
"But we have to go to my uncle's house tomorrow at noon, right?" Shen Anxia hesitated.
“Your uncle isn’t going anywhere. You’ll see him when you go to your aunt’s house the day after tomorrow,” Zhao Ping laughed. “Your uncle is hoping you meet someone you like.”
Shen Anxia tilted her head and looked at Shen Ke and Zhao Ping—these two really went to great lengths to keep her in Yi'an! She replied to Yang Zheng with "Okay," and then called Shen Anyi downstairs.
The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks began to echo in the neighborhood before midnight. At exactly midnight, every household began to celebrate. From the sky, the entire city of Yi'an was brightly lit and decorated with red, yellow, green, purple, and blue lights. Colorful fireworks exploded everywhere in the sky, and the whole city was filled with the sound of firecrackers. Every household was joyfully welcoming the arrival of the New Year.
After setting off a string of firecrackers, the Shen family of four gathered at the dinner table. The siblings wished their parents a Happy New Year, and the couple smiled like old birthday gods, giving the siblings red envelopes and saying auspicious words. Then, with Shen Ke's command of "Let's eat," everyone began to eat dumplings.
"Mmm..." Shen Anxia bit into the dumpling and immediately bit into it. She happily took a 50-cent coin out of her mouth. "I got to eat my first dumpling!"
"It seems Xiaxia is the luckiest person this year," Zhao Ping said with a smile.
Shen Anxia secretly made a New Year's wish again, hoping to stay in the dance troupe as she wished, and repeatedly prayed that her wish would come true.
After eating New Year's dumplings, Shen Anxia and Shen Anyi called their elders on both sides to wish them a Happy New Year. The younger generation on both sides also called Shen Ke and Zhao Ping to wish them a Happy New Year. After more than an hour of greetings, everyone finally calmed down. The four members of the Shen family got together and played two rounds of mahjong. When they were so sleepy that they could hardly keep their eyes open, they went back to their bedrooms to rest.
By the time Chu Yi got up, it was almost noon. The four members of the Shen family then drove to their eldest uncle's house, which was a two-story building in the suburbs of Yi'an City, but in a different district.
When we arrived at my uncle's house, we wished my grandparents a Happy New Year. The adults and children played mahjong at three tables. After we finished playing mahjong, we had hot pot at one table upstairs and one table downstairs. After eating hot pot, we continued playing mahjong.
After the younger generation had finished playing mahjong, several cousins went shopping in a suburban commercial district, buying a lot of snacks and a large box of ice cream, eating and playing at the same time.
After a hectic day, the family finally returned to the city in the evening. Shen Anxia and Shen Anyi were so tired that they had already slept several times in the car.
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