Chapter 93 New Year's Greetings
"Do your eyes still hurt?"
Lin Qingxu sat on the sofa, looking at Kan Zhao who was bending over to apply medicine to her, pursed her lips, and shook her head slightly.
Kan Zhao tore open the packaging of the eye patches, took out two pieces of eye patches with a cool scent, and adjusted the position with his fingers.
"Close your eyes."
Lin Qingxu was obedient.
He leaned closer and carefully applied the eye moisturizer to her red eyelids.
"It might be a little cold." Kan Zhao reminded him, and then carefully smoothed out every wrinkle on the edge of the eye patch to ensure a perfect fit.
"You can open your eyes now."
Lin Qingxu's eyes were still red from crying in the afternoon, and she felt a little confused and helpless at the moment.
Regarding Kan Zhao’s sudden arrival.
She suspected that Gao Yao had caused trouble for Kan Zhao because of her. After all, when Fang Yun and Kan Zhenzhong found out, they would definitely take Kan Zhao to apologize to her.
But his movements were so gentle.
Kan Zhao took the eye drops bottle from the coffee table and unscrewed the cap. He leaned in slightly and, in a retaliatory move, lifted her chin without any negotiation.
"Tilt your head higher."
Lin Qingxu was still very obedient.
The transparent liquid medicine fell precisely into the corner of her eye. The sudden chill made her uncomfortable. Lin Qingxu's eyelids trembled unconsciously, and a tear slid down the corner of her eye.
"Don't move." Kan Zhao gently wiped away the teardrop with his fingertips and twisted it gently.
Lin Qingxu closed his eyes and waited for the medicine to dissolve in his eyes.
She heard Kan Zhao suddenly speak.
"The girl today is my cousin. She did very poorly on the final math test, so Ms. Fang asked her to come to me for tutoring. I told her to let Fang Liyu find you because you are smarter than me. But Ms. Fang vetoed it, saying that she couldn't let you get tired." Fang Liyu is the only second poor student in the Fang family after Kan Zhao, but the former has already made it to the top.
Lin Qingxu was a little surprised. She had thought... although now that she thought about it, it seemed unlikely... She subconsciously opened her eyes, and Kan Zhao had clearly anticipated it. He reached out and covered her eyes: "Wait five minutes for the drug to take effect."
Lin Qingxu obeyed and stopped moving.
Time passed slowly, but it seemed not so difficult when Kan Zhao was around.
Suddenly, she heard Kan Zhao apologize.
"It was my fault before."
Lin Qingxu didn't open his eyes, but tilted his head slightly to express his confusion.
Kan Zhao took her hand and spoke in a low, frank voice.
"I've known since childhood that the rough edges of my personality, like my inherent dominance, are traits you dislike. So when I heard your ideal type that day, I couldn't help but lose control. I felt jealous. Jealous that Qu Wen easily met all your ideals of love."
"I'm not angry about your standards, but about finding myself unable to meet them. I'm too proud and think you didn't realize I was better than Qu Wen. But at the same time, I can't help but feel self-loathing. Why did I go against Kan Zhenzhong when he forced me to act like a gentle gentleman when we were little?"
Anger came, self-loathing left. Kan Zhao felt his pride being infinitely eroded and damaged. Yes, as Lin Qingxu had judged, his personality was simply unpleasant. He was no match for Qu Wen.
Therefore, he had been using an indifferent attitude these days to try to regain some of the dignity he felt he had lost. But until Fang Yun spoke just now, he realized that this had its limits.
When he didn't know any news about Lin Qingxu, Kan Zhao could still numb himself. But once he actually heard that she was hurt or sad, he could no longer hold back.
He was too proud, so after being rejected again and again, he used the most childish way to cover up his anxiety.
But what did Lin Xiaoxiao do wrong? She just didn't like him.
Just like what that junior schoolmate did to him before.
And his love also caused trouble to Lin Qingxu, and even hurt him.
With a resigned compromise.
Even if it is a spare tire, it may be a redundant option that will never be chosen in the future.
He lowered his head and said in a pleading tone:
"Lin Xiaoxiao, can you please forgive me?"
"Let's make peace, okay?"
*
Two days before the Spring Festival, as usual, Gao Luo took Lin Qingxu to visit relatives and friends. They had two destinations: Lin Qingxu's grandparents and his grandparents' home.
Gao Luo and Lin Qingxu had stopped celebrating the New Year with them a long time ago. Rather than putting on a fake smile and pretending to be a nobody with all those relatives and friends for a day, Gao Luo felt it would be more comfortable to give the gifts and money in advance and then go back to stay up with Lin Qingxu and Fang Yun.
Gao Yao had been treated coldly at home since she was a child, with her parents favoring her older brother. Even after marrying Lin Haidong, her parents' attitude towards her was not as good as it was after she became successful.
Grandpa and Grandma Gao saw Gao Luo's car coming back from afar. The old couple quickly put down their work and followed Gao Luo's sister-in-law and sister-in-law to greet him.
The car slowly came to a stop. Before Gao Xiao could get out, Grandpa Gao quickly stepped forward and opened the door for Lin Qingxu with his calloused hands.
"Qingxu is back." Grandma Gao squeezed to the front, her face full of smiles. "Are you tired from the journey? Grandma made you some chicken soup, it's been warming on the stove."
As he spoke, he pulled Lin Qingxu into the house. Grandpa Gao and the others went to take out the New Year's goods from the trunk.
Lin Qingxu actually felt at a loss as to what to do with the enthusiasm of his grandmother and the others.
Perhaps she was too vindictive, remembering things from her childhood so clearly. Back then, her grandparents' attention was completely focused on her cousins, and they'd only respond perfunctorily to her. Whenever there was something delicious, they'd let them choose first, and then give her the rest.
And now Grandpa Gao was busy running around, picking out the most juicy strawberries from the fruit bowl and placing them in front of her, his face full of smiles: "I heard Qingxu did very well in the college entrance examination this time. He really made your mother proud!"
Lin Qingxu forced a smile. In fact, a year had passed since the college entrance examination.
She subconsciously leaned closer to Gao Luo.
Gao Luo noticed her daughter's awkwardness and gently put her arm around Lin Qingxu's shoulders. Without exposing their words, she said to her parents, "Mom and Dad, we'll sit for a while and then leave. We'll go to the Lin family's place later."
This sentence made the two elderly people's smiles freeze for a moment. Grandma Gao said hurriedly: "Why are you in such a hurry? I specially prepared a table of dishes..."
"No, you guys eat first." Gao Luo refused.
As usual, they stayed at Gao's house for over an hour. Gao gave some money to the two elders and also gave 8888 each to the younger generation who were still unmarried as lucky money.
It’s not as expensive as the bracelet and necklace I bought for Lin Qingxu. I just came here for the formality.
Gao Luo never had close contacts with them, and some people said that she looked down on her poor relatives, but that was not true.
Love can be disguised, but it can easily be exposed in the details.
Gao Luo knew that her daughter was intelligent and thoughtful, and it was easy for her to see the neglect and favoritism in the name of love.
Gao Luo knew from a young age that her parents favored their older siblings, and that their children would be loved even more. She'd always known that feeling, and it wasn't pleasant. So Gao Luo didn't want Lin Qingxu to feel that her grandparents didn't really like her that much.
Compared with the Gao family, the Lin family's love and care for Lin Qingxu comes from the heart.
However, since Gao Luo and Lin Haidong divorced, Gao Luo didn't feel comfortable going back to celebrate the New Year together. But she would go back to visit them during the holidays and give them red envelopes, which were much thicker than those given by the Lin family.
A long time ago, after knowing that Lin Haidong had cheated on his wife, the Lin family's grandparents did not allow Lin Haidong to go home for a long time. When they heard the news, Grandpa Lin was so angry that he was admitted to the hospital.
Even Gao Yao had finally let things go, but they still brooded over what happened back then. It was only in recent years that they reluctantly let Lin Haidong into their family, after all, they only had one son.
We arrived at Gao's house in the afternoon, but were delayed on the way, so it was already evening when we arrived at Lin's house.
Meeting Lin Haidong was an unexpected encounter. After all, he had been unable to enter his home in previous years, and in recent years he was only allowed to go back on New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival.
They never met during this period.
When Lin Qingxu got out of the car, he immediately saw the familiar figure bending over to take something from the trunk.
Hearing the sound of the car door closing, Lin Haidong looked up. The moment he saw his daughter, he was obviously stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Qingxu is here."
Lin Qingxu lowered his eyes and said "hmm" softly.
She felt a little uneasy. The conversation with Lin Haidong that day was still fresh in her mind, and it was hard for her to face him normally.
Gao Yao got out of the driver's seat and paused slightly when she saw her ex-husband. A look of realization crossed her eyes. She quickly regained her composure and whispered to her daughter, "Go get that bag of health supplements from the back seat."
Lin Haidong quickly put down the gift box in his hand: "Let me take it, it's heavy."
Gao Yao nodded and smiled at him, "Thank you." She turned her head and said to Lin Qingxu, "Qingxu, go see your grandparents. You haven't seen them for so long. They must miss you a lot."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a sound of brisk footsteps approaching from afar.
Grandma Lin was wearing a festive crimson cotton-padded jacket and walking quickly towards us with a smile on her face.
"Qingqing!" The old lady's voice was filled with uncontrollable joy. She opened her arms and walked towards her granddaughter. "Let grandma see, have you grown taller again?"
She walked right past her son and hugged Lin Qingxu into her arms, gently patting her granddaughter's back with her wrinkled hands: "Why are you losing weight again, kid? Didn't you eat well at school?"
"Grandma prepared your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs for you. Don't talk about losing weight today."
Lin Qingxu was infected by her grandmother's enthusiasm and smiled sincerely: "Thank you, grandma."
Grandma Lin pulled Lin Qingxu into the house.
When Lin Haonan heard Lin Qingxu's voice, he was sitting on a chair playing with toys alone, but he couldn't wait to put down the things in his hands and ran out.
Lin Qingxu was hit in the chest.
"Sister!" the little boy raised his chubby face, his eyes sparkling. "You're finally here! I saved the best chocolate for you! I ate all the bad ones!"
It’s Lin Haonan.
Lin Qingxu froze in place.
She lowered her eyes and looked at her half-brother, her fingers curled up unconsciously, not knowing how to react and feeling a little helpless.
Pushing him away with a cold face? It didn't seem to be of much use. It was just like that last time. Lin Haonan was sad for a while, then came up again.
Greet with a smile. It seems impossible.
"Haohao." Grandma Lin hurried forward again, her voice a little unnatural, "Don't bother Sister, let her sit down and rest first."
The old man's eyes flickered and he reached out to pull his grandson away, but his movements seemed to lack confidence.
This morning, Lin Haidong and his family of three returned to pay New Year's greetings. As soon as Grandma Lin saw Han Wenhui, she immediately closed the door and refused to see her. This mistress is really audacious to come.
If it weren't for her, the old couple wouldn't feel guilty every time they see Gao Luo.
But in the dead of winter, standing outside was fine for adults. How could a child endure such torture? But these three stood there for a long time, showing no sign of wanting to leave.
When people get older, they tend to be more soft-hearted towards children. But when you think about it, in the final analysis, Lin Haonan didn't do anything wrong.
I could only tell Lin Haidong that either he and the child would come in and tell Wen Hui to go back, or they would all go back to Nanchuan this year. They were not welcome at home.
This led to the current embarrassing situation.
After Gao Yao finished moving the things for the Lin family elders, she went into the house. Hearing the sound of a child in the room, she followed.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw Lin Qingxu's leg pendant.
Gao Luo's gaze lingered on Lin Haonan's face for a moment, then she quickly and naturally turned to Grandma Lin with a proper smile: "Mom, the New Year's goods are all in the entrance."
“Yeah.” Grandma Lin replied.
When Lin Haonan saw Gao Yao, he immediately called out politely, "Hello, Auntie."
"Hello." Gao Luo responded gently, her tone neither warm nor rude.
She took out a thick red envelope from her pocket and handed it to the child: "Happy New Year."
"Thank you, Auntie!" Lin Haonan thanked Gao Luo loudly in surprise.
Gao Luo touched his head, then walked to her daughter and gently put her arm around Lin Qingxu's shoulders to comfort her.
After all, Lin Haonan is connected to the Lin family by blood. Gao Luo had expected this day to come, so it was not surprising.
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