Chapter 94 New Year's Eve
We had dinner at Lin's house.
All the dishes made were Lin Qingxu’s favorites.
However, Lin Haonan is not picky about food and feels satisfied with every bite.
In the evening, the two elders of the Lin family gave Lin Qingxu and Lin Haonan two big red envelopes respectively. Lin Qingxu's was thicker.
Lin Haonan didn't really care about that. He just thought the older children should get more and the younger ones should get less. And the older sister should have the best.
After staying at the Lin family for a few hours, Gao Luo took Lin Qingxu back home. Lin's grandparents were reluctant to let their granddaughter go and wanted to let them stay for another night.
However, seeing that Lin Qingxu wasn't interested, Gao Yao smiled and declined, saying she had other things to do at home. She would bring Lin Qingxu back to visit them after the New Year.
Lin Qingxu nodded under the hopeful gaze of the two elders.
*
Lin's grandparents live in Linshi, a little distance from Yicheng.
When I was about half an hour away from getting home, Kan Zhao sent me a message.
It was a photo of a child. The chubby, white baby was sleeping soundly.
HZ: [Kan Yue's son]
HZ: [Don’t let me hold you]
HZ: [The little fat guy is sleeping soundly... he's drooling all over my collar.]
Kan Zhao also went to his grandparents' house with Fang Yun and others tonight.
Lin Qingxu zoomed in on the baby in the picture and typed: [So cute.]
HZ: [Not bad]
HZ: [My grandma compared it to my old photo album and said I looked exactly like her when I was little. I don’t think she’s as good-looking as me.]
He then added, "The desserts and cakes Auntie made this year are pretty good. I asked her to make a few more and bring them back for you to try."
LQX: [Okay.]
Although there was no behavior that showed any emotion, Kan Zhao could still sense Lin Qingxu's depressed mood through the screen.
HZ: [What's wrong? Are you unhappy?]
Lin Qingxu paused for a moment, then replied, "No, I'm just a little tired."
It's late at night.
There were no lights on in the car, only the faint blue light emanating from the dashboard. In this private darkness, Lin Qingxu's emotions were also revealed.
She suddenly heard Gao Yao in the driver's seat ask, "Qing Xu, who are you chatting with?"
Lin Qingxu replied, "It's Kan Zhao."
Gao Luo chuckled: "Are you reconciled?"
"Yeah." Lin Qingxu replied with his head down.
In the darkness, the cold light of her phone screen softly illuminated her face. As Lin Qingxu read the message from Kan Zhao, her eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a gentle shadow beneath her eyes.
Gao Luo saw her daughter through the rearview mirror and suddenly caught sight of the two red envelopes casually placed on the other side of the back seat. The ones from her grandparents had been treated like this in the past, but the ones from her grandparents were carefully pocketed by Lin Qingxu.
"Why didn't you keep the red envelope that your grandparents gave you?"
Lin Qingxu remained silent. The faint smile on his lips slowly faded. His phone went dark, the only light vanishing, plunging into a dark silence.
Seeing her like this, Gao Luo sighed in his heart.
A mother knows a daughter best, so she naturally knew Lin Qingxu's personality. On the surface, she seemed gentle and submissive, unwilling to argue about things. However, when it came to something she valued most, Lin Qingxu was extremely protective.
Overbearing and stubborn. In the end, if it wasn't for her alone, then he wouldn't give it up.
But there is not so much loyalty in the world.
Gao Luo explained the ways of the world to her, and perhaps did not ask her to follow them, but in this gregarious society, she should understand.
"Qingxu, when I was young, I was just like you. I believed that love should be pure and I couldn't tolerate even a grain of sand in my eyes."
"But only at this age do I understand that the human heart is like a light in the night," Gao Luo said, looking at the winding road ahead, "flashing on and off, sometimes near, sometimes far away."
"Grandpa and grandma may not be able to give you complete love, because they are already tied up in many things. They are old and looking forward to having children and grandchildren around them, so it is inevitable that they can't bear to be cruel to that little boy. Blood ties cannot be severed just by saying so."
The car drove through a tunnel, and flickering light and shadows flowed in the car.
"We can maintain our own boundaries, but we don't have to push everyone away." Gao Luo's tone became increasingly gentle. "Just accept the red envelope your grandparents gave you as a token of their appreciation. As for the rest... just let things take their own course."
Gao Luo's voice was as gentle as the night.
Lin Qingxu lowered her head in silence. After a while, she finally whispered the question that had been lingering in her mind for the past few days:
"Mom, what do you do if the person you love gets lost like you and Dad?"
This question was asked carefully.
Gao Luo's hand holding the steering wheel paused slightly. She looked through the rearview mirror inside the car and saw the hesitation flashing in her daughter's eyes.
She sighed.
"This is probably Mom's fault."
"I was so busy with work before that I couldn't take care of your emotions. I also had little time to personally teach you and accompany you, which is why you have this view of love now."
"Qing Xu, nothing in the world is absolute. It's true that Mom and Dad got separated while they were in love, but aren't your Aunt Fang and Uncle Kan just as loving now?"
Gao Yao's voice was gentle and calm:
"People always stumble, fall, and suffer setbacks throughout their lives. It's like this at eight, it's like this at eighteen, and even at eighty-eight, we're still growing. We can't predict what the future will hold. Perhaps not all love will eventually see the light of day, and some will inevitably fall apart."
"But you can't be hesitant and lose the courage to love because of this."
Lin Qingxu's eyelashes trembled slightly.
After a long moment, she gently shook her head and said, "Mom, I don't understand."
The novelty will expire, the excitement will fade. Courage may eventually become just an impulse.
Gao Yao smiled slightly and said softly:
"Then follow your heart."
"One day you will understand that love is never a calculation problem that requires estimation and guesswork, but a journey worth taking."
"I remember a sentence in a book that said, 'We are not afraid of shedding tears, but we must make them worthwhile.'"
*
New Year’s Eve came in a blink of an eye.
During festivals, families on both sides who have good relations will visit each other. Those with very good relations, such as Gao Luo and Fang Yun, have celebrated together for many years.
Very early in the morning, the air outside began to smell like New Year's Eve dinner. Downstairs, children's laughter could be heard as they chased and played. Brand new Spring Festival couplets were pasted on every door.
Lin Qingxu woke up early in the morning and opened the bedroom door to see Gao Yao busy in the kitchen. She had seen a post about the recipe for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall last night and had piqued her interest, so she started working early in the morning.
There were all kinds of food on the stove, including abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw. Lin Qingxu went into the kitchen to help Gao Luo for a while, but was soon driven out and asked to do her own thing.
The preparation process of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is complicated, and with all the other dishes, Gao Luo was busy until the evening before she finished preparing this table of delicacies.
As in previous years, the table was overflowing with delicious dishes: soups, sweets, cold dishes, and all sorts of delicacies. Gao Yao was a skilled cook, but she didn't cook often, only showing off her skills on important occasions like these. Once the final dish was served, the New Year's Eve dinner began.
Although it's customary to not talk while eating or sleeping, it's Chinese New Year after all, so there aren't many formalities. Kan Zhenzhong started the conversation at the table. Times are changing rapidly, with many industries declining and new ones emerging. It's time to listen to Gao Luo's thoughts. Fang Yun patted her on the back. It's Chinese New Year, so just eat well and don't be so busy that you can't even celebrate the whole year.
After a hearty meal and a few drinks, they sat on the sofa together, watching TV to celebrate the New Year's Eve. It was an old tradition, something they had always done in previous years. There wasn't much to watch, just the same old things over and over again. Kan Zhenzhong brought up the same old topic, but Fang Yun didn't bother to respond anymore, just munching on some sunflower seeds and watching the Spring Festival Gala.
It is inevitable that your mouth will feel dry after eating melon seeds. Seeing that the tea on the table was running low and there was not much fruit left, Gao Luo asked Lin Qingxu to get some more snacks.
Lin Qingxu responded. Kan Zhao also stood up and followed her. They divided the work. Lin Qingxu went to the refrigerator to get the fruit and wash it, while Kan Zhao took the tea canister from the high shelf. After all, it was for the family to drink, and Kan Zhenzhong liked it the most. Kan Zhao was too lazy to go through the tedious process and just poured some in and waited for the water to boil.
There were a few new faces in this year's New Year's Gala, but even so, this old skit was too clichéd, lacked any innovation, and wasn't as funny as in previous years.
Fang Yun reached for the remote to change a channel. Her eyes fixed on the TV, her hand searching for the remote by memory. She accidentally bumped into a cell phone, which vibrated at that very moment. The screen lit up, annotating it with a message from Senior A.
[Qing Xu, Happy New Year].
It was a normal sentence, but the A was unusual. Furthermore, the nickname the other party used was a bit ambiguous.
Fang Yun paused. This...
Although she understood her son's feelings very well, a relationship requires mutual affection.
She remembered how Kan Zhao had been half-dead, like a pool of stagnant water some time ago. These past few days, he'd been following Lin Qingxu closely, going to her grandparents' house for dinner and bringing back some desserts for her.
...Could it be that during those days of silence, I convinced myself to become a mistress?
She turned her head and asked Gao Yao, who was talking to Kan Zhenzhong, "Ajin, does Qingxu have a boyfriend?"
It happened that Kan Zhao was coming over with a teapot at this moment and heard these words.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: There is no misunderstanding, no abuse, Kan Zhao has already seen it through (actually he has no other choice)
There are three chapters left to finish [milk tea][milk tea][milk tea] The main text has been written, and the system will release it on time [scatter flowers][scatter flowers][scatter flowers] (but it should be released early, there will be 400 bonus chapters soon)
There will be a chapter extra and a bonus chapter for the if line later (if nothing unexpected happens, I am writing it now, and it should be released together on the day of entering V)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
