Seeing this, Chen Bing didn't press the matter further. In fact, he hadn't thought much about it at all, simply treating it as a normal occurrence.
He went back to watching his favorite TV dramas, completely unaware of the turmoil in Shang Yunmiao's heart.
Perhaps, sometime years later, Shang Yunmiao will casually bring this up, prompting Chen Bing to exclaim, "Oh! Is that so? I never thought of that back then!" and take the opportunity to tease Shang Yunmiao. However, it's more likely that he won't remember what happened today or what he said to Shang Yunmiao at all.
It can only be said that people's joys and sorrows are not shared. In Chen Bing's memory, that day in mid-December was just an ordinary day.
Life is as simple as the aroma wafting from the kitchen, the sweet and crispy cookies freshly baked, warm and crunchy when you bite into them; life sounds pleasant in every sense of the word.
Sitting in a warm room, watching the light snow falling outside the window, Chen Bing feels safe and happy. This is just her daily routine.
...
Firecrackers, fireworks, red lanterns... Even though it's already the third day of the Lunar New Year, the festive atmosphere is still there.
According to local customs in Shandong Province, or rather, the general practice across the country, people visit their maternal grandparents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Although Chen Bing's maternal grandparents have passed away, she still has a great-aunt.
The elderly woman is over sixty years old and lives alone in a small village in the county. In previous years, her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson would come to visit on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but this year, due to some unfortunate circumstances, they will never be able to come.
When Liu Yue was little, she was very close to this aunt. She, Liu Jing, and her cousin from her aunt's family were about the same age and went to the same primary school, so she would often go to her aunt's house to stay overnight.
Now, the other party's family has all unfortunately passed away, and Liu Yue's maternal family is also gone. The old woman is all alone and quite pitiful. So on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yue and her younger sister Liu Jing came to visit the other party.
Liu Xiaoxiao and Chen Bing were also traveling with them.
After exchanging pleasantries and reminiscing, the group, suppressing their sadness, shared a reunion dinner and chatted until late into the night. They spent the night there before reluctantly parting ways.
After leaving her great-aunt's house, Liu Xiaoxiao went to Chen Bing's house with her mother, as they had already arranged to stay there for a few days.
Besides her aunt, Chen Bing also has two uncles in Nanjing, but since there are no elderly people left in the family, they don't come back for holidays.
As for Old Chen's side, since the other party grew up in an orphanage, they don't have any relatives there. Only every year on Chen Shichao's birthday, his wife and children would go with him to visit the old director, aunties, and other people who had taken care of him back then.
In short, Chen Bing grew up in a small, complete family, but with few relatives and friends. In his previous life, as far back as he could remember, he had neither siblings nor grandparents. Apart from his uncles and aunts whom he could only see once every two or three years, he had no other relatives, and the Lunar New Year was always very quiet.
Although he still remembered his maternal grandparents in this life, what touched Chen Bing more and changed more was the addition of a little girl who seemed like a younger sister.
"Here comes Xiao Shang, just in time!" After hearing a knock on the door, Chen Bing first glanced at Liu Yue and the other woman sitting on the sofa chatting. Finding that they didn't seem to notice, he then looked at Chen Shichao, who was watching TV on the other side.
Although the other person heard him, he clearly had no intention of answering the door. He gestured to Chen Bing with his chin, indicating that she should open the door.
Fine, fine, what can I do? I'm the son.
The hardworking Comrade Chen Bing reluctantly got up and went to answer the door on behalf of the family.
As soon as the door opened, a fair-skinned, delicate, and adorable face appeared in Chen Bing's sight. Who else could this familiar little red face be but Xiao Shang?
The little cutie she had just been talking about suddenly appeared in front of her, and Chen Bing walked over happily and hugged her very naturally.
"Welcome, welcome! You're back from your hometown!"
Xiao Shang was dressed in a beautiful winter Hanfu, and her long, jet-black hair was tied up with an exquisite wooden hairpin, making her look both gentle and elegant, like a lady from a noble family who had traveled from ancient times.
Faced with Chen Bing's sudden hug, Miss Shang was slightly startled, but then she returned to normal and hugged him back.
After hugging for a second or two, Chen Bing let go of Xiao Shang and then greeted Uncle Shang and Aunt Xuan beside her.
The two elders greeted him with smiles and handed him their gifts.
In the blink of an eye, Liu Yue and Chen Shichao, who had been sitting in the living room, came over and greeted each other as they entered the house.
Visiting each other's homes before and after the New Year is a Chinese tradition. Although the two families aren't related, they've built a deep friendship over ten years. Besides, the Shang Yunmiao family has other business in town today.
"Oh, you bought a house here?"
"Yes, I just signed the contract and toured the new house. Once the renovations are finished in June, we should be able to move in soon," Yunxuan replied with a smile, taking the tea Liu Yue offered.
"Which house did you buy?" Chen Shichao interjected from the side, and the person who answered him was Shang Zhengxin.
"The right half of the first and second floors of Building A3."
"Oh, isn't that right next to our house? We can see it through the window. We can be neighbors again."
“That’s right. I work in the county now, and it takes me a lot of time to travel back and forth every day. My daughter will be starting high school soon, and she’ll inevitably have to come here again.” Shang Zhengxin lowered his voice slightly as he said this, “When Xiaomiao starts high school, I’ll have Xiaoxuan come to work in the county too.”
"That's great! We can get together more often then, it'll be so lively and fun!"
The parents continued chatting, and Chen Bingxin, feeling bored, took Shang Yunmiao's hand and led her to her room on the second floor.
Seeing Chen Bing's boldness, Shang Yunmiao, filled with both anticipation and fear, followed her into the room, only to be disappointed to find that there was already a girl in Chen Bing's room.
However, his disappointment lasted only a moment, because he recognized the girl sitting at the computer desk playing games as his cousin, Liu Xiaoxiao.
The other person had an event in their favorite game during the Spring Festival, but they'd been traveling around with their parents these past few days and hadn't had time to play. So today, they finally had a chance to log in, be active, and claim their rewards.
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