Lunar New Year's Eve
The next day was New Year's Eve.
The streets were already filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. Fengyue had originally planned to make breakfast for Zhang Chenglin in the morning, but he suddenly said he wanted to go out to eat.
Fengyue was puzzled for a moment. During the Lunar New Year, which family would be open to sell breakfast?
When I went outside, I saw that all the shops were still open, and every household had red Spring Festival couplets and big red lanterns hanging up.
"Don't they celebrate the New Year this year?" Feng Yue looked at her and couldn't help but laugh.
Zhang Chenglin turned to look at her. The smile on her face was very sweet, much more beautiful than the fake smile he usually gave her: "The weather is very good this year, and the harvest is good for everyone. The festive atmosphere is naturally stronger. People are buying more New Year's goods than in previous years, so business owners are happy and their shops are still open."
Fengyue nodded thoughtfully, "That's good."
After saying that, he added, "I wish it could be like this every year."
Zhang Chenglin raised an eyebrow in slight surprise upon hearing her words, but remained silent.
They had just finished eating and hadn't even left when Ji Ruqiong and Chai Feixue appeared in the restaurant.
"What a coincidence!" Ji Ruqiong greeted first, "Brother Lin, Fengyue."
"Hi~ Fengyue." Chai Feixue nodded slightly to Zhang Chenglin as a greeting, then sat down next to Fengyue with a smile.
After ordering, Ji Ruqiong sat down and watched Chai Feixue and Feng Yue chatting as if no one else was around, her eyes full of smiles.
Ji Ruqiong occasionally chimed in with a few words, but Zhang Chenglin sat there the whole time without saying a word.
"Are you very busy?" Twenty minutes later, Ji Ruqiong and Chai Feixue put down their chopsticks, and Ji Ruqiong stared at Zhang Chenglin with bright eyes and asked.
Zhang Chenglin knew exactly what she was thinking. His gaze fell intently on her, but he didn't answer her.
“In that case,” Ji Ruqiong turned to look at Chai Feixue, exchanged a glance, and then said with a grin, “You go ahead and get busy! We’ll take care of Fengyue for now!”
Having confirmed his suspicions, Zhang Chenglin turned to look at Feng Yue. Feng Yue met his gaze with a stern smile, but remained silent.
“Okay,” Zhang Chenglin said tactfully as he got up, leaving with the words, “Come to my house for dinner tonight.”
"Okay, okay," Ji Ruqiong nodded repeatedly, her mind racing with ideas. "We'll buy the groceries and cook them ourselves."
Zhang Chenglin had just returned home when Ji Yuxing arrived.
"Hey? Why are you home alone?" Ji Yuxing looked around after entering the room, his face full of doubt: "Where's Fengyue?"
"You're asking me?" Zhang Chenglin looked up at him, then picked up another cup in front of him and poured him some tea.
Ji Yuxing suddenly realized, his tone filled with disbelief: "You mean Ah Qiong and Fei Xue took her away?"
Zhang Chenglin didn't reply, but his gloomy expression was full of tacit agreement.
Looking at his unpleasant expression, Ji Yuxing recalled what Zhang Chenglin had said when he left last night: "If you don't have anything to do tomorrow, you don't need to come over. Just remember to come for the New Year's Eve dinner tonight."
Ji Yuxing had known him for so many years and was a shrewd person; how could he not know what he meant by those words?
It's just that I'm free tomorrow, so I'll set aside a day to enjoy some time alone. Please don't bother me.
He didn't come to bother them, but he never expected that his sister and wife would intercept him halfway.
"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor," Ji Yuxing said helplessly, looking at Zhang Chenglin's increasingly ugly expression. "Go find whoever stole Fengyue away."
Zhang Chenglin remained silent.
“You know, the women in our family make the decisions,” Ji Yuxing shrugged. “It’s no use coming to me; I have no say in anything.”
"You're hopeless." Zhang Chenglin glanced at him sideways and criticized him without any politeness.
“However,” Ji Yuxing said, a hint of joy suddenly appearing in his eyes, as if teasing, “nowadays, with three women making a drama, you probably don’t have much say anymore.”
Zhang Chenglin: "...Shut up."
Ji Ruqiong and Chai Feixue took Fengyue somewhere and didn't return until almost six o'clock. The bodyguards who went out with them were carrying all kinds of chicken, duck, fish, meat and vegetables.
As Ji Yuxing walked out of the main room, he happened to see them coming in and couldn't help but say, "The three of you can live on your own."
"Great!" Ji Ruqiong spoke first, "We're so happy without you guys bothering us!"
Ji Yuxing: "..."
After watching the three of them enter the kitchen, Zhang Chenglin came out of the main room and stood next to Ji Yuxing, saying in a very indifferent tone: "You said it yourself, three women make a drama, so why did you provoke them?"
Ji Yuxing didn't want to say anything more, so he turned around angrily and went back to the main room, picked up the teacup on the table and took a big gulp.
The New Year's Eve dinner was very lavish. Of the three of them, only Ji Ruqiong didn't know how to cook, but she helped out and didn't sit idle at all.
Every now and then, she would lean forward and secretly learn from Chai Feixue and Feng Yue.
But expecting the young lady to cook by herself? Maybe in her next life.
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, the group of people were making a lot of noise, and it was already 10:30 p.m.
Ji Yuxing, Ji Ruqiong, and Zhang Chenglin sat at a table playing cards. Feng Yue and Chai Feixue rested for a while before getting up to clear the table.
"Just leave it there, what's the rush?" Ji Yuxing turned to look at the two of them and said, "With the Zhang family being so wealthy and powerful, surely they can afford a housekeeper?"
“Those who don’t work have no right to speak,” Ji Ruqiong reached out and turned his head, her tone vicious: “Shut up!”
Zhang Chenglin's words caught in his throat, and he didn't say anything more.
Feng Yue couldn't help but laugh when she saw him like this.
They were having a great time when Xin Jie rushed in from outside, "Sir."
"What's wrong?" Zhang Chenglin looked up at him, saw his anxious expression, stood up and took two steps toward him.
“Mr. Tan sent someone to say,” Xin Jie said. Ji Yuxing and Ji Ruqiong heard the words “Mr. Tan” and looked up at the same time. “Madam Zhuang has passed away.”
"Who did you say?!" Ji Yuxing stood up instantly after hearing this, his tone full of disbelief.
After speaking, he turned and looked at Zhang Chenglin. Both of them found the answer they knew perfectly in each other's eyes.
The only person they can now refer to as "Madam Zhuang" is Li Lianhuan, Zhuang Yanbin's wife and Zhuang Eryi's mother.
"When?" Zhang Chenglin asked suddenly after a long silence, as if he had thought for a few more seconds, "What's going on?"
“The messenger said… around nine o’clock tonight,” Xin Jie’s voice was low, with a hint of frustration, “stomach cancer.”
"Understood," Zhang Chenglin nodded in agreement. "You can go out now."
After Xin Jie left, Zhang Chenglin stood still, lost in thought, while Ji Yuxing stared at him without saying a word.
Li Lianhuan and Zhuang Yanbin have known each other since childhood. When they got married, Zhuang Yanbin was just a lowly worker with nothing. She accompanied him all the way to where he is now, helped him through all the lows, watched him go further and further on the path he wanted to take, and watched him finally stand at the highest point he wanted to stand at.
Zhuang Eryi once mentioned in a casual conversation that many of her uncles and elders said that when her parents got married, her father promised to give her mother the best life. Over the past thirty years, Zhuang Yanbin has gone further and higher, and he has never broken his promise.
But why did it have to be at this time... the person who shared all his hardships ultimately couldn't share a moment of sweetness with him.
Ji Yuxing thought that perhaps for Zhuang Yanbin, all the sweetness he encountered from then on would turn into bitterness.
The once lively scene suddenly turned cold. Ji Ruqiong gently fiddled with the few cards she hadn't finished playing, slightly lost in thought.
Chai Feixue and Feng Yue came over after tidying up the kitchen. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, they couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Ji Ruqiong stood up first, grabbed Ji Yuxing's coat and stuffed it into his hand, then pulled Ji Yuxing and Chai Feixue out, saying, "Let's go back first, come back to play tomorrow!"
They went outside, and seeing that Zhang Chenglin hadn't moved, Fengyue walked two steps to see him off.
At the gate, Ji Ruqiong first helped her brother and sister-in-law sit in the back of the car, and then turned to Fengyue and said, "Madam Zhuang Yanbin has passed away. Brother Lin is in a bad mood, just like my brother. Please comfort him."
Feng Yue, with a smile always in her eyes, nodded and said, "Okay."
After Ji Yuxing's car left, Fengyue returned home. Standing at the entrance of the main room, she looked at Zhang Chenglin standing inside and sighed almost imperceptibly.
Although she hasn't had much contact with this circle over the years, Fengyue has still heard some things about it.
Knowing that Zhuang Yanbin's wife, Li Lianhuan, was a very gentle person who was kind to the younger members of the Kuomintang or their children, Zhang Chenglin, who used to eat at Zhuang Yanbin's house often, naturally knew this well.
Ji Yuxing, having been classmates with Zhuang Eryi for three years, had some understanding of Li Lianhuan.
Gentle people always leave a deep impression on those around them without them even realizing it, and Li Lianhuan is one of those people.
"Sir." Feng Yue entered the main room and walked to Zhang Chenglin's side.
“I’ve never liked Zhuang Yanbin,” Zhang Chenglin said suddenly without looking at her. His voice was not loud, and Feng Yue could barely hear him: “He wants too many things. Sometimes he will do anything to get what he wants. Many uncles and elders in the Kuomintang don’t like him.”
"But you should have met Zhuang Eryi."
Fengyue didn't know what he was going to say next, so she nodded and said, "Mm."
"Although she is a bit outgoing, she is more like Aunt Huan in her speech and mannerisms. She is very gentle and graceful in every gesture."
"The wives of the Kuomintang leaders often go out for tea together. Among these wives, Aunt Huan has always had the best reputation. No one could dislike someone like her."
"She accompanied Zhuang Yanbin through all the hardships of his life, but passed away when he was at the height of his success."
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