When Li You knocked on the door of the Qin residence, Qin Nan was breaking ice in the pond and feeding the koi carp underwater.
Qin Nan looked at Li You, who had a worried expression, and squatted silently beside him watching him feed the fish, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"What's wrong? It's almost New Year's, why are you looking so gloomy? Is work not going well?"
Tanuki Yu grabbed a handful of fish food and sprinkled it in, then shook her head.
"Sigh... I'm just a little troubled, it's really annoying."
"What's wrong?"
"Um... did Bai Hao... tell you about me?"
Qin Nan shook his head in confusion; Bai Hao hadn't mentioned anything about Li You to him.
Li You scratched her messy hair sheepishly, looked at the quiet front yard, and leaned close to Qin Nan's ear.
"Well, before you woke up, before Bi Shen and I came to see you... that heartless beast of yours caused Bi Shen and me... to do that thing."
Qin Nan was puzzled.
Li You said anxiously, "It's that one, the one Bai Hao made for you."
Qin Nan's eyes widened in disbelief. "You...you and Bi Shen?!"
Li You nodded in distress.
"But, but you two don't seem to have any relationship."
Li You nodded vigorously, "Right, that's exactly it."
"ah?"
Li You scratched her head in frustration. "It was an accident, but Bi Shen said afterwards that he would take responsibility."
"You two are together?"
"……No."
"Uh, what about you guys?"
"Sigh, I don't know either. I'm... pretty annoyed too."
"What's bothering you? Bi Shen said he'd take responsibility, didn't you agree?"
Li You nodded awkwardly. "I told him that it was just a one-night stand, and that society is so open these days, there's no need to take any responsibility."
Qin Nan was shocked; she hadn't realized Li You had such an open mind!
"Then, what did Bi Shen say?"
"He...he agreed with me, and then he left..."
"..."
During the five years he was asleep, was society so open-minded? Would a beast like Bi Shen have agreed to such a thing?!
Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
"So what's bothering you now? Bi Shen wants to take responsibility, but you disagreed. He didn't force you and went along with your wishes, so why are you bothered?"
Li You was speechless.
He doesn't know either. If he did, he would just go and solve his problems instead of worrying about them here.
Seeing the somewhat confused look in his eyes, Qin Nan quietly relayed a message to Bai Hao in the backyard.
[Bai Hao, what happened to Li You?]
Bai Hao was watching TV while holding the pregnant fruit. When he heard Qin Nan's words, he glanced indifferently in the direction of the front yard.
It's nothing, I was just being a jerk.
[...Seriously!]
He likes Bi Shen but doesn't know it himself. Don't let him know. Even if he did, he wouldn't dare do anything. He avoids Bi Shen when she talks to him, and clings to her when she ignores him. Isn't that just being pathetic? Does he enjoy the way Bi Shen doesn't like him?
[...Uh, could it just be that I'm being shy and saying one thing but meaning another?]
No, that's just his personality. If someone confesses their feelings to him, he'll reject them and run away. But if someone avoids him, he'll definitely try to get close to them. The more someone dislikes him, the more enthusiastic he becomes.
[...Are you really not making things up about Tanuki Yu?]
Qin Nan really didn't believe it; it sounded unbelievable.
[Just wait and see. He's annoyed right now, but if Bi Shen keeps ignoring him, he'll eventually go to Bi Shen on his own.]
Bai Hao paused for a moment and continued, "[Isn't it almost New Year's Day? They've invited everyone over for a family dinner. Just you wait and see, after Bi Shen ignores him, won't he be anxious?]"
Qin Nan was speechless. Bai Hao spoke so confidently that he believed him. Li You was an awkward and contradictory person, but he really didn't know how to comfort her.
The raccoon stared blankly at the koi swimming in the water, looking completely listless.
Since Bi Shen left last time, there has been no news of him. Once, Li You passed by the street where Bi Shen's company was located and only saw Bi Shen seeing a client off from afar before turning back to his company. She did not find him there.
Bi Shen seemed as usual, unaffected, but Li You was different. She was often distracted, unconsciously thinking of Bi Shen, and in severe cases, she would dream about indecent animals at night.
He felt like he was going crazy, but he had trapped himself in a dead end, getting stuck in a rut and unable to find a way out.
Qin Nan didn't know what to say, so she silently accompanied Li You as she fed the fish. After the fish had eaten their fill, Li You left with a heavy heart.
After collecting the fish food and returning to the backyard, Qin Nan took out his hand and tagged all the people and beasts in the group, inviting them to a New Year's Day dinner.
With the New Year approaching, everyone is busy, but their restless hearts are still getting excited, and messages are being replied to very quickly.
He Yan and Wu Yulin can't come because there's an art exhibition on New Year's Day, but everyone else can come.
Last year there weren't so many people on New Year's Day, so hot pot was enough. This year there are too many people, so we need to change things up. Let's treat this as preparation for the New Year's Eve dinner, since we won't be able to get together on New Year's Eve.
Pi Sheng, Murong Xue, Zhou Miao, Lü Zeqi, Qi Jingtai, and Qin Fang all have elders or family members, so they will gather together for the New Year.
He Yan and Wu Yulin did have time to come to the Qin residence during the Chinese New Year. After all, it was too quiet for just the two of them, and their baby was still in gestation.
Two days before the New Year, Qin Nan took Chi Wei and Tao Xiaolu to the market to buy groceries, while Bai Hao and Qiong Ruiheng assembled warehouse shelves at home.
Xuan Yutengxue and Pi Yuan followed Shen Yan to clean the house, while Geng Chen was responsible for cleaning the roof and high places, and also had to supervise the work on his own house.
Early on New Year's Day, the first to arrive were Qi Jingtai and Qin Fang, accompanied by an adorable little Qilin.
Although Qin Fang was a cultivator, the difference in strength between him and Qi Jingtai was too great, so the cub completely inherited the Qilin bloodline.
Next to arrive were Pi Sheng and Murong Xue, along with two little ones, Pi Yuhan and Murong Ge.
Pi Yuhan was overjoyed to see so many younger uncles at the Qin residence, who were there to play with him. Meanwhile, Murong Ge was delighted to see a group of handsome older men, and he hugged and kissed each of them on the cheek.
Pi Sheng watched from the side with a dark expression, but there was nothing he could do. He was very sorry that Long Chengxiu hadn't come with Bai Muqiu, otherwise, if he had let the little brat suffer a loss, it might have changed his temperament.
He was genuinely afraid that this silly kid would either become a playboy or get completely fooled in the future.
Lu Zeqi and Zhou Miao arrived later, bringing with them the little girl Lu Tiantian.
A large group of children together is really noisy, making a ruckus in the front and back yards. Fortunately, it's New Year's Eve, so let them have their fun. Bai Haoxi, the quiet beast, silently tolerated it.
Bi Shen arrived earlier than Li You. When Li You arrived, the adults were chatting in the front hall, while the children were playing games in the front and back yards.
Qin Nan and Shen Yan were busy in the kitchen. Lunch wasn't a proper meal; they would just make some snacks to tide them over.
As daylight fades and night falls, the sound of firecrackers and the bursts of fireworks illuminate half the night sky before the New Year's Eve dinner is finally served.
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