Chapter 30 New Year's Eve
The boy's palms were slightly cool and dry, with long, strong fingers, and he gently shook the joystick with her hand.
Peng Chengyi subconsciously held her breath, her gaze quickly shifting back to the claw machine.
Kirby, who had been grabbed, swayed like he was on a swing, just as he was about to reach the highest point.
He gripped her hand tightly and suddenly increased the speed of shaking.
The next second, Kirby used its momentum to trace a perfect parabola and landed steadily in the hole.
"Go get it." Chen Yubai slightly curled the corners of his lips, released her hand, and put it back in his pocket.
Peng Chengyi took a few more seconds to react before excitedly squatting down and pulling out the round Kirby from the hole below.
"Is this really based on skill? I feel like you're just shaking my hand aimlessly." She straightened up and looked at him.
Chen Yubai smiled lazily: "That means you lack comprehension."
Peng Chengyi pursed her lips speechlessly: "...You're the smartest!"
Chen Yubai shrugged noncommittally: "Do you want to switch to another machine and keep catching them?"
Peng Chengyi glanced at the remaining game tokens in her pocket: "Forget it, if they catch me again, I won't have any money to play anything else. I still want to drive a racing car."
Chen Yubai: "Then let's go."
"Mm." Peng Chengyi nodded, glanced down at the Kirby in her hand, and then put it in his arms. "This is for you."
"...You think it's in the way and want me to carry it for you?" Chen Yubai paused, giving her a long, meaningful glance.
"I'm not helping you carry it, I'm giving it to you." Peng Chengyi pursed her lips, explaining slightly embarrassed, "Consider it an extra birthday present this year."
Chen Yubai raised an eyebrow in surprise, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he teased, "Giving me a plush toy I won, you really are as sincere as ever."
"..." Peng Chengyi choked for a moment, then held out her hand to him unhappily, "I did grab this myself, didn't I? I didn't let go of the joystick, and I used my allowance to put in the coins. If you don't want them, give them back!"
Chen Yubai hugged Kirby tightly and dodged her outstretched hand: "There's no reason to take back a gift that's already been given. Let's go play racing."
As he spoke, he leisurely took long strides.
"..."
Peng Chengyi's hand, which had missed its target, hovered for a moment before silently catching up with him.
-
Two days after my birthday, it was Lunar New Year's Eve.
That day, as usual, Peng Chengyi went back to her grandmother's house with her parents and had a lively reunion dinner with her uncle, aunt and other family members in Linbin.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Peng Chengyi, who had no interest in watching the Spring Festival Gala or playing mahjong, and didn't want to play with her childish younger cousins, became restless and sidled up to Zhou Lifen: "Mom, I want to go home and watch cartoons first."
Zhou Lifen, fiddling with the mahjong tiles, didn't even look up: "How are you going to get back? There are no buses or taxis at this hour. Just stay put and wait for your dad to drive you home tonight."
“I’ll ride a shared bike back,” Peng Chengyi quickly said. “It’s less than four kilometers, so I’ll consider it my after-dinner exercise.”
Zhou Lifen then looked up from the card table: "Are there any shared bikes at the entrance of the community?"
"Yes, I saw a lot of them when I came!"
Zhou Lifen thought for a moment and finally agreed: "Okay then, be careful on the road, pay attention to the road, and especially avoid those who set off firecrackers."
"Okay, Mom!" Peng Chengyi felt like she had been granted a pardon. She happily put on her down jacket, tied her scarf, wrapped herself up tightly, and quickly fled this noisy but boring place.
It was already past 8 p.m. when I got home.
Peng Chengyi rubbed her slightly reddened hands, took off her heavy coat, grabbed a bottle of cola, and comfortably nestled into the sofa to watch the theatrical version of "Natsume's Book of Friends".
The heartwarming and comforting scene had only been playing for half a minute when a loud "bang" suddenly came from next door, as if something heavy had been violently overturned and slammed against the wall.
Peng Chengyi was taken aback, quickly grabbed the remote control, pressed the pause button, and listened intently.
These past two days, since Chen Jianye has returned, she hasn't gone to see Chen Yubai again.
After all, it was a rare occasion for the three of them to reunite, so she didn't want to disturb them too much.
Strangely enough, although his parents had a terrible relationship, they had dragged it out for so many years, even to the point of separation, but they still hadn't gotten a divorce.
She even asked Zhou Lifen out of curiosity, but Zhou Lifen only said one thing to her: "Don't pry into adults' affairs."
However, she still managed to glean some information from Zhou Lifen and Peng Weiguo's occasional conversations.
It's probably because she wanted to give Chen Yubai a complete family.
She didn't quite understand it.
If her parents argue fiercely every time they meet, she would rather they divorce than have a so-called complete family.
She felt that Chen Yubai might be the same way.
But she was too afraid to ask him.
Because her family was so much happier than his, when she asked him, it felt a bit like deliberately reopening old wounds.
A moment later, another crisp sound of porcelain shattering came from next door, interrupting Peng Chengyi's thoughts.
It seems his parents really did have another argument.
She thought that during the Lunar New Year, his family would be at least a little more harmonious.
Peng Chengyi hurriedly stood up, touched the phone lying to the side, opened the chat window with Chen Yubai, and carefully typed: "What are you doing? Do you want to come to my house to watch cartoons?"
After waiting a while, Chen Yubai replied with two lines of messages.
Listening to songs by the Black Sugar Band
"The noise cancellation on the headphones is quite good."
Peng Chengyi pursed her lips: "Aren't you coming?"
Chen Yubai: "It's the Lunar New Year, let's forget about it."
Peng Chengyi thought for a moment and said, "My parents are still at my grandma's house. I came back first. They should stay until the Spring Festival Gala is over."
Chen Yubai: "Oh"
Peng Chengyi: "Come on, let's watch Natsume's Book of Friends together!"
Chen Yubai: "Okay, wait for me a moment."
Peng Chengyi: "Okay, I'll open the door first. You can come in by yourself. I'll continue reading."
That being said, Peng Chengyi opened the door slightly ajar but didn't watch any of the animation.
I was always listening intently to what was happening next door.
Only when she heard Chen Yubai enter did she suddenly breathe a sigh of relief, her tense back slowly leaning back onto the sofa.
Unlike when she was a child, when her parents argued, she could pretend not to understand and just knock on their door to invite him to her house.
Now, she not only has to consider her parents' feelings, but also his self-esteem.
Although his personality didn't seem to have changed much, he still seemed lazy and didn't care much about anything.
In fact, he became increasingly strong-willed in front of her.
She realized this during the summer vacation after her first year of junior high school.
That day, his parents had another big argument for some reason, and they even started yelling at him.
Hearing the commotion, she quickly knocked on his door, hoping to get him to come out and take refuge.
After opening the door, he simply said "Mind your own business" without any expression, and then closed the door again.
The next day, she noticed a scabbed bloodstain on his eyebrow.
When asked how he got hurt, he only said that he bumped into it accidentally.
If he asked her a few more questions, he impatiently shoved a piece of Orion chocolate into her mouth, saying she must be a sparrow reincarnated, talking so much.
...
"You've watched this anime three or four times already, aren't you tired of it?" The boy's casual, teasing voice rang out behind her.
Pulling herself out of her reverie, Peng Chengyi adjusted her expression and turned her head away, feigning displeasure: "What do you know? This is a newly released theatrical version; I haven't even seen it once yet."
“Oh, the roles all look the same,” Chen Yubai said, sitting down on the sofa next to her.
“Theatrical versions usually don’t add any new characters.” Peng Chengyi paused, then picked up a cushion beside her. “Do you want one?”
"Go ahead and use your phone," Chen Yubai replied casually, leaning on the armrest next to him and lazily settling into the sofa.
"Oh." Peng Chengyi's gaze lingered on his expressionless face for a moment before she tucked the cushion back behind her back and turned to the television.
Although she had deliberately turned up the TV volume before he arrived.
But the arguing next door grew louder and louder, piercing through the gentle background music of the cartoon and stabbing into my eardrums like shards of glass.
Peng Chengyi couldn't help but glance nervously at Chen Yubai beside her, and tried to subtly reach for the remote control to turn the volume up a little more.
But then he suddenly said, "This monster is really ugly. Won't you have nightmares looking at it at night?"
Peng Chengyi immediately changed the direction of her outstretched hand and pretended to scratch the tip of her nose: "Ah, it's alright, ugly-cute."
"Where's the cuteness?" Chen Yubai glanced at her with amusement.
Peng Chengyi forced herself to continue, "...just big eyes, cute."
Chen Yubai paused for two seconds, then chuckled, "With such a unique aesthetic sense, no wonder they always say I'm ugly."
Peng Chengyi: "..."
Although she was speechless at the sight of the dog, she felt somewhat relieved to see that his attention was focused on the cartoon.
But before he could catch his breath for even two seconds, a hysterical curse suddenly came from next door: "Who said you could come back?! Go find your little secretary and spend the New Year with her!"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and Peng Chengyi's expression also stiffened.
She had previously thought that his parents simply had a bad relationship.
But now it sounds like his dad cheated on him.
Did Chen Yubai know this beforehand?
Just like her, on this Lunar New Year's Eve, which should have been a time for family reunion, she was caught off guard and heard this unacceptable news.
Peng Chengyi unconsciously held her breath and cautiously glanced at the boy beside her.
He maintained his calm expression and languid posture, only his eyes were a few shades darker than usual.
"Remote control," he said calmly, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Here, here." Peng Chengyi stammered, her throat tightening, and hurriedly took the remote control from under the coffee table and handed it to him.
"Thanks." Chen Yubai accepted it casually, his slender fingertips unintentionally brushing against the back of her hand, which was surprisingly cold.
Peng Chengyi clenched her fist, glanced at the expressionless boy, and turned up the TV volume until it drowned out the noisy boy next door.
A moment later, she stood up abruptly and said, pretending nothing had happened, "I think that on New Year's Eve, we should do things that are appropriate for the New Year. Watching cartoons is really out of place."
Chen Yubai paused, then slowly lifted his eyelids: "What, are you going to change the channel to watch the Spring Festival Gala?"
"The Spring Festival Gala is so boring, I want to go out and set off fireworks, come with me!" she said, tugging at his sweater sleeve and pulling him up from the sofa.
"Can't you put it away yourself?" Chen Yubai tugged at the collar of her sweater, which she had pulled out of shape, and glanced at her helplessly. "I'm not even wearing a coat."
“I don’t dare to go alone… As for the coat, you can wear my dad’s. You’re about the same size, and he’s not much shorter than you.” Peng Chengyi said, as she went into her parents’ bedroom, opened the closet, and took out a navy blue stand-up collar cotton coat from Peng Weiguo.
"Try putting it on quickly," she urged him.
Chen Yubai glanced down at it, her tone disdainful: "This style is too old-fashioned, I'd better just wear a sweater down."
Peng Chengyi's lips twitched slightly: "It's minus ten degrees outside, and you're only wearing a sweater? Are you trying to freeze to death?"
Chen Yubai: "It's only minus ten degrees Celsius, it won't freeze you to death."
"...No, why are you so concerned about your image? It's late at night and nobody's watching you!" Peng Chengyi said, somewhat speechless.
Chen Yubai: "Aren't you human?"
Peng Chengyi paused for two seconds, then said with a laugh, "Do you still care about my unique aesthetic sense?"
Chen Yubai: "At least you're a human being."
Seeing that he not only refused to compromise but also seemed to be cursing at her, Peng Chengyi simply draped her cotton coat over his shoulder and said, "Okay, hurry up and put it on, I'm going to get the fireworks."
"..."
Chen Yubai subconsciously pressed down on the cotton coat that was sliding down, and then glanced at her back as she rushed to the balcony.
Finally, he slowly put his arms into the sleeves and put on the cotton coat.
"Zipper it up." Peng Chengyi, who was carrying a plastic bag of fireworks, glanced at his open shirt.
"The zipper is broken." Chen Yubai put his hands in the pockets of his cotton-padded coat and started walking. "That's fine."
“Huh? How could it be broken? He just bought this one this year.” Peng Chengyi said, pushing the bag of fireworks towards his pocket and bringing it close to his face. “You hold it, let me take a look.”
Chen Yubai reluctantly withdrew his hand and caught the firework bag.
Peng Chengyi lowered her head, her fingertips pinching the zipper pull, fastening and tugging—
With a "whoosh," the zipper was pulled all the way up and got stuck below his Adam's apple.
"Isn't this working quite well?" she asked, raising her face in confusion.
Suddenly, she realized that her dad's cotton coat actually looked quite good on him.
Perhaps it was the style of this veteran cadre that neutralized his lazy temperament.
Perhaps it was the navy blue color that made his skin appear even paler.
She couldn't help but stare at him, looking at him for a while longer.
Noticing her gaze, Chen Yubai's slightly uncomfortable expression returned to its usual nonchalant state.
"Maybe it got stuck just now." He paused, then asked her leisurely, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"You don't think I look handsome dressed like this, do you, with your unique sense of style?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Peng Chengyi: I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense.
From now on, updates will be at 9 PM! [doge emoji with rose in hand] Thanks to SaltyFishDontWantToTurnOver, colorwind915, 73403844, GF, 75981039, and Sunshine for the nutrient solution! [heart emoji]
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