Chapter 27 World One [27]
On New Year's Eve, Jing Ke and Shang Siyu posted the dried-up couplets outside the door. Along with the couplets, they also posted the word "Fu" (good fortune) that Jing Ke had practiced writing for two days.
Although it does not have a unique personal style, in the eyes of ordinary people, this character "Fu" can be considered beautiful.
There is a custom of staying up all night on New Year's Eve. In the past, when only Shang Siyu and her mother were at home, the mother and daughter would sit on the sofa together, waiting for the arrival of the New Year.
But this year was different. After eating a sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner together, Shang’s mother just watched the Spring Festival Gala for a while and went to her room to sleep before ten o’clock.
"I'll leave the New Year's Eve celebration to you. I've prepared some fireworks for you so you can set them off for fun when the time comes." said Shang's mother.
Mu'an County banned the use of fireworks several years ago, but the government can only turn a blind eye to small things like fairy wands. As long as they are not large fireworks that can soar into the sky, they will pretend not to see them.
"Okay, Mom, go to bed and rest early." Shang Siyu said with a smile.
"Good night, Auntie." Jing Ke said obediently.
Mother Shang glanced at the two people wearing the same home clothes, nodded with a smile, and went back to her room to rest with great satisfaction.
The task of staying up all night to welcome the New Year has been left to the two children. If I have to get up early to cook porridge tomorrow, let her do it alone so that the children can sleep a little longer.
-
The Spring Festival programs on TV are still as boring as ever, focusing on reunion and urging marriage and childbirth. No matter how big the conflicts are at the beginning, everyone has to make and eat dumplings together in the end.
However, for Jing Ke, who has never watched the Spring Festival Gala, such programs and sketches still have some value, because she can see some subtle policy directions from them.
After seeing a skit about fraud, Jing Ke even used his imagination to pull Shang Siyu's sleeve.
"Xiao Yu, if there are disabled actors in the future, will our products have a chance to appear on the Spring Festival Gala? If our brand name appears on such a well-known program, our products will be known throughout the country." Jing Ke said, her amber eyes filled with prospects for the future.
"Of course we can, but the relationship should be the other way around. Only after our products become known nationwide or world-famous can they appear on the Spring Festival Gala," said Shang Siyu.
"This is a program for the entire nation, and the censorship is very strict. At most, brand names might appear in it with a sarcastic tone, but there won't be any advertisements."
Shang Siyu explained, "Generally speaking, advertising time is a few minutes before and after the Spring Festival Gala begins, and most of it is contracted by state-owned enterprises with a market capitalization of over 100 billion yuan. If we wanted to advertise, the advertising fees would be a daunting expense."
Jing Ke nodded as if she was being taught. "Our products are currently only targeted at specific users. It seems that ensuring quality and reputation is more important than advertising."
"Isn't Professor Lin conducting more in-depth research? If the current technology can make another breakthrough, perhaps humans will be able to control an extra hand." Jing Ke asked.
Shang Siyu nodded. "Teacher, I only have a few ideas at the moment. In vitro neural connection is also a very difficult research project. If successful, it will be classified as confidential. Should you first consider military applications?"
In this way, Jing Ke and Shang Siyu would watch an interesting program for a few minutes. If they were bored, they would use the Spring Festival Gala as background music, leaning against each other's shoulders, and talk about other topics.
Five, four, three, two, one.
As the countdown to the Spring Festival Gala ended, the sound of fireworks and firecrackers outside also rang out.
Regulations are regulations, but every year there are always some people who insist on creating a New Year atmosphere, so they often commit crimes against the rules, and their main goal is to let someone go and run away. As long as I run fast enough, you can't catch me.
After kissing to the sound of fireworks, Jing Ke and Shang Siyu completely opened the curtains and looked through the glass at the fireworks that were particularly obvious in the dark night.
"Beautiful fireworks." Jing Ke looked up at the large fireworks that covered nearly one-third of the sky.
After blooming for less than ten seconds, the fireworks that almost lit up the sky disappeared without a trace like falling stars.
"Fireworks used to be more beautiful, with all kinds of styles," Shang Siyu said. "But the fire risk was too great, so the government, after weighing the pros and cons, decided to ban them."
"Maybe we can be more humane and set up a designated location for setting off fireworks," Jing Ke said.
"It seems like this is being pushed forward, and it might be implemented next year." Shang Siyu held Jing Ke's hand. "Mom prepared some small fireworks for us. Do you want to go to the balcony to play with them, or go outside?"
"Let's go to the balcony. It's so cold outside and I don't want to change clothes." Jing Ke withdrew his gaze from the window and turned to look at Shang Siyu.
"Fireworks are beautiful, but you, Xiaoyu, are even prettier." Jing Ke said these earthy love words seriously, "You can't keep the fleeting fireworks, but you can keep me who has always loved you."
Shang Siyu burst out laughing, "Did you just look this up online?"
"No, I just wrote it down from my heart." Jing Ke frowned slightly and explained seriously, "At most, I just referred to some comments on the Internet."
"Okay, okay, I'll get the fairy wand and let you feel the fireworks up close and see if I'm more beautiful than the fireworks." Shang Siyu still smiled.
Seeing that Jing Ke was still frowning, Shang Siyu stood on tiptoe and kissed the tip of her nose, then manually smoothed out the wrinkles between her brows.
“On the first day of the new year, you must be happy so that you can be happy throughout the whole year.”
Jing Ke opened her amber eyes wide, "Okay, then after I set off the fireworks, I want to do something happy with you, so that we can be happy for the whole year."
"Okay, but it's still the same process as before." Shang Siyu emphasized, "I'll teach you first."
After seeing Jing Ke nodded without hesitation, the smile in Shang Siyu's eyes became even more intense.
If I can control Jing Ke on the first day of the new year, then I will be able to have the upper hand for the whole year!
Wonderful!
-
There was nothing wrong with Shang Siyu's idea, but she overestimated her physical strength.
Sometimes, taking the initiative does not mean you can secure the final victory. Endurance and stamina are more important factors in the subsequent competition.
Fortunately, Shang Siyu set the alarm before going to bed. Even though her body was still a little tired, she opened her eyes at 8:30. She drowsily pulled Jing Ke along and had breakfast cooked by her mother at 9 o'clock.
When Shang's mother was serving porridge to the two of them, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at their open collars, and there was more smile and helplessness in her eyes.
Young people are really energetic. The marks on their necks must be fresh marks from the early morning.
You are still so energetic even after staying up late. You must be in good health.
-
According to the customs in Mu'an County, people do not visit relatives on the first and second days of the first lunar month. They usually spend the day comfortably at home.
In the past, when it was just Shang Siyu and her mother, they would usually watch TV and chat in the living room, or read a book, trying to spend the day as relaxed as possible.
With the addition of Jing Ke, there are more things that can be done. Not only can they play Landlord, but they can also play mahjong with three people without the strips of cards.
In order to increase the fun, the candies originally bought for children became chips. If someone lost all the candies, he would have to take on the task of washing the dishes after dinner.
Playing cards was something Jing Ke had never experienced before, but she seemed to be very talented at it. Not long after she understood the rules, she won five games in a row, and the cards she got were extremely good.
Shang Siyu said that this was the novice protection period, and couldn't help but communicate with his mother by blinking. The two farmers tried to unite and kill Jing Ke, the landlord.
It’s a pity that the luck couldn’t be resisted. Jing Ke failed several times afterwards, and didn’t even give Shang Siyu and Shang’s mother a chance to play a card.
The final result is predictable. Jing Ke became the final winner. Shang Siyu and Shang's mother lost everything and had to take on both cooking and washing dishes.
Jing Ke, who was eating and drinking for free and doing nothing, felt a little embarrassed seeing this, so after dinner he took the initiative to roll up his sleeves and start cleaning up the dishes.
"Xiao Jing, don't move. Let me do it. This is a bet. We are willing to accept the loss." Mother Shang said, snatching the dishes from Jing Ke's hands.
"Be good, go watch TV first. There are only a few bowls and we can wash them quickly." Shang Siyu reached out and pinched his girlfriend's ear, then leaned over and said.
"Today is your novice protection period. We still have to stay at home for several days. You definitely won't win all the time."
Jing Ke's ears twitched. She really wanted to tell Shang Siyu that as long as she could remember all the cards that had been played and do some calculations, winning at cards would be a very simple matter.
However, Jing Ke, who had finally learned some worldly wisdom, swallowed the words back after they came to his lips, and just nodded obediently, indicating that he very much agreed with this point of view.
Being able to remember and count cards can make winning very easy, but at the same time, you can also let your opponent win without them noticing.
-
After enjoying two days of leisurely time, the third day of the first lunar month, when guests will come to visit, arrives.
Mother Shang rarely contacts her relatives. She usually just sends some money to her parents who live in her son's house, and that's considered her return.
However, Shang's mother is a teacher and is usually responsible for the music courses for an entire grade.
Music is not a major subject, but children nowadays are becoming more and more competitive. If their children don’t even have a good instrument, parents will feel that their children have already lost at the starting line.
Therefore, in order to meet the needs of parents, the school also set up an extracurricular class so that students in need can freely choose whether to study or not.
As a teacher with more than 20 years of experience, Mother Shang has a well-known good reputation and is the school's designated extracurricular teacher.
In addition to the music classes on the normal schedule, not only do more than ten students need to be tutored in musical instruments, but many people also want to pay a high price for Shang's mother to come to their home as a tutor, and the tuition fee is several hundred yuan per hour.
But Mother Shang didn’t like to tire herself too much, so she didn’t agree to any of the requests. She just tried to teach her students more during class.
But this did not affect the popularity of Shang Mama. The first group of guests arrived before nine o'clock with their children and gifts, and their words were full of praise and flattery for Shang Mama.
Jing Ke and Shang Siyu couldn't join in the conversation between Shang's mother and the students' parents, so they simply took out some snacks and watched TV with the eight or nine-year-old children.
"Are you all Teacher Shang's children?" The little girl with a delicate ponytail looked up at the two of them, her big eyes blinking, looking extremely cute.
"You can say that." Shang Siyu said with a smile and handed the little girl a candy.
"Thank you, sister." The little girl took it and put it in her pocket, then took out a piece of chocolate, "Sister, this is for you."
"Are you going to give it to me? Don't you want to keep it for yourself?" Shang Siyu asked with his head tilted.
"My mother taught me that when accepting gifts from others, I should give appropriate gifts in return." The little girl said in a serious tone, and her serious look was a bit like Jing Ke when she was being serious.
"Besides, I like my sister very much. I am very happy to talk to her. This piece of chocolate is also a gift from me to her."
"I like you, too." Shang Siyu's smile deepened. "You must be a very obedient child at home."
"Of course, only good children get rewards." The little girl's face showed two dimples. "Sister, you are all Teacher Shang's children. You must be very good too, right? You can play many instruments."
"Well, I can play the piano, guitar, and I've also learned a little bit of the erhu." Shang Siyu tried hard to recall the musical instruments he had come into contact with.
The little girl's eyes showed a trace of admiration, and she praised from the bottom of her heart, "Sister, you are so awesome."
"It's okay. I learned it when I was a child." Shang Siyu replied with a smile and couldn't help but reach out to touch the little girl's head.
Hmm, it's soft and warm, and feels very good.
"What about this sister? Are you also very good?" the little girl said and looked at Jing Ke.
"Me?" Jing Ke stopped peeling the melon seeds and placed all the kernels in Shang Siyu's palm. "I might know a little bit, but not very well."
I have theoretical experience, but zero practical experience. It's somewhere between knowing how to do it and not knowing how to do it, but I can say I know a little bit.
The little girl didn't know what euphemism meant. After hearing Jing Ke's words, she exclaimed "Wow" and her childish face was full of admiration.
"Sister, you are so awesome! How do you manage to know a little bit of everything? Can you teach me?" The little girl looked at Jing Ke with watery eyes and couldn't help but move closer.
The little girl's eyes were filled with anticipation: "My mother wants me to learn more musical instruments, but I can only play the piano so far."
"Just study hard. You are still young. If you learn a musical instrument a year, you will be as good as me when you grow up." Jing Ke said perfunctorily, and his eyes could not help but fall on the little girl's head.
Xiaoyu must like this little girl very much. They have only met for a short time and she has already touched her head.
It was only after I had known Xiaoyu for a long time that Xiaoyu reached out and touched my head for the first time.
"Okay, I will work hard and learn to play a musical instrument in a year!" The little girl answered loudly, her tone full of confidence.
For children aged eight or nine, a year is a very long time, enough time to do many things.
-
"Xiao Yu, do you like children?" After the little girl left with her mother, Jing Ke approached Shang Siyu and asked.
"It's okay. I think I would like an obedient child more." Shang Siyu said.
"So you like that little girl just now very much?" Jing Ke continued to ask.
Shang Siyu nodded without giving it much thought. "Don't you think she's adorable? She's so young but not shy at all. She speaks with so many profound truths. She looks like a little adult."
"Really? I don't particularly like it. Many human cubs are like this. They want to become adults as soon as possible, so they subconsciously imitate the behavior of adults." Jing Ke said, feeling a little unhappy.
After hearing what Jing Ke said, Shang Siyu also came to his senses.
"Do you think I care too much about her?" Shang Siyu asked tentatively, not sure whether Jing Ke was jealous of the little girl.
After all, Jing Ke has always behaved very reliably, so Shang Siyu couldn't label him as childish for the time being.
"Yes, she only spoke to you less than ten sentences, and you praised her directly. Not only did you say you liked her, you also touched her head." Jing Ke frowned slightly.
"When we first met, you didn't even think about taking me home, and you were a little resistant to me," Jing Ke said.
Shang Siyu laughed helplessly, "But she's just a child, I just followed her words and said I liked her."
"If I choose a child's body, would you be willing to take me home on the first day we meet?" Jing Ke asked back.
Shang Siyu was stunned for a moment. "If you were a child without a guardian, I would probably take you home, right?"
At that time, Jing Ke and I had already established a certain level of trust. If the other party had appeared in a more harmless image, I might have been able to let down my last bit of defense more quickly.
Seeing Jing Ke's brows getting more and more furrowed, Shang Siyu held her face and kissed her, then explained.
"I want to emphasize that my liking for that little girl is just ordinary, just like my liking for a flower or a painting. It's just a temporary feeling that I will soon forget."
"So am I the only one you like?" Jing Ke was not comforted by a kiss, and the expression on her face was still a little unhappy.
"Yes, I only like you, and I only love you." Shang Siyu said as he kissed Jing Ke again, the smile in his eyes becoming more and more intense. "And I think she is a bit like you when she is reasonable, so I think she is cute."
Being jealous of a child is indeed a very childish thing, but if this happened to Jing Ke, it would only make Shang Siyu happier.
You would only be jealous if you really like and care about someone, right?
After hearing that Shang Siyu loved the little girl because she looked like him, the last bit of unhappiness on Jing Ke's face finally disappeared.
"Me too, I only like you and love you." Jing Ke added, "No matter how cute a child is, I won't like them. You are you, not anyone else's replacement."
Jing Ke's last words made Shang Siyu's heart skip a beat. "Can't anyone replace me?"
"Yes, no one can replace you." Jing Ke said without hesitation.
Shang Siyu opened his mouth, wanting to ask the question that had been weighing on his heart.
If I am irreplaceable, does that mean Jing Ke won't fall in love with other people in the future?
But when the words reached his throat, Shang Siyu swallowed them back again.
Jing Ke is not an ordinary person, she is not even a human being. She can exist for a very long time, while she can only live for a hundred years at most.
It seems a bit too selfish to tie Jing Ke down forever with a relationship that lasts less than a hundred years.
-
The start date for primary schools is usually the day after the Lantern Festival, while the start date for hard-working workers is usually the first day after the statutory holiday.
Shang Siyu is a rare good boss among them. Not only does he close the statutory holidays two days in advance, but he also starts work two days later than the statutory holidays. The ninth day of the first lunar month is the start time for Xinsheng Technology to start work in the new year.
After helping their mother receive batch after batch of guests, the countdown to Shang Siyu and Jing Ke's vacation began.
Compared to Shang Siyu's slight reluctance, Shang's mother acted as if nothing had happened and stuffed the leftover New Year's goods and most of the gifts she had received into Jing Ke's car.
"Okay, just come and see me next time when you have time. It's not like you won't be back." Mother Shang patted her daughter's shoulder.
"But I just want to stay a few more days." Shang Siyu hugged her mother and acted like a spoiled child for once. "Mom, don't you want me to stay home for one more day? If we leave, you'll be all alone."
"Of course I want to, but we all have jobs. I have to go to school for a meeting the day after tomorrow and I have to help with a lot of preparations." Mother Shang patted her daughter on the back.
"You live with Xiaojing now, so you have a companion. I feel more at ease than before," Shang's mother said. "As for me, you don't have to worry. I have many friends and students."
After letting go of her daughter, Mother Shang looked at Jing Ke who was standing upright on the side and smiled at her.
Mother Shang: "Xiao Jing, I'll leave Xiaoyu in your care. You have to help me supervise her and make sure she doesn't work overtime and doesn't overdraw her body to make money."
Jing Ke nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will supervise Xiaoyu well and she will definitely go to bed no later than twelve o'clock every day."
"Okay, drive slowly on the way back, don't rush, safety is the most important." Mother Shang continued to remind them, and finally waved to the two of them, watching the car gradually disappear from her sight.
Leaving home and parting with the loved ones who have always cared about you is a process that is bound to be accompanied by a little sadness.
Shang Siyu, who has always been independent, was no exception. On the way back, her mood was not very good. She only relaxed a little when she returned to their home safely.
"Jing Ke, will you always stay with me?" Shang Siyu hugged Jing Ke, buried his head in the crook of his neck, and asked in a muffled voice.
"Yes, I will always be with you." Jing Ke gently stroked Shang Siyu's back and promised, "Even if my body is damaged by some accident, I will always be with you with my consciousness until the end of your life."
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