Chapter 125 Exclusive (125) ...
I went out after breakfast. The snow had not stopped yet and was all over the ground. Probably because I went out early and it was snowing, there were fewer cars on the road than I expected.
The snow on the streets was already very thick, and many residents living nearby were sweeping snow and shoveling ice. The snowflakes that fell from the trees were fluttering in the air, and before they even hit the ground, the howling cold wind turned them into white mist.
The cub took off his hat as soon as he got on the car. His hair, which had been neatly combed by Xiao Susu before he went out, looked a little messy because he had just put on the hat. At this moment, he was sitting in the back, watching cartoons attentively with his little face made pink by the air conditioning.
"It looks like the snow won't stop anytime soon." Shen Qingyue looked out the window with interest. The inside of the one-way car window was already covered with white mist. He stretched out his hand, used his fingertips to push away the mist, and drew a Q-version round little face.
Gu Xianzhi took a look at him during the red light, followed the position of his finger upwards, and whispered, "The weather forecast says that it will snow even harder tonight."
“You drew Dou Dou?”
Shen Qingyue turned to him in surprise: "You can see this?"
Gu Xianzhi snorted and laughed: "Isn't this obvious?"
"Senmo Doudou!"
The cub had sharp ears and heard the conversation between Xiao Susu and Gu Susu. It swung its two short legs and rubbed off the seat. Its face pressed against the seat in front of it, squeezing the flesh on one side of its face flat. The cub poked its head out like a puppy who was happy to get away: "Is that the pocket drawn by Senmo?"
"Here, this is the face of Doudou that I just drew." Shen Qingyue bent his knuckles and tapped the glass, pointing it to the cub, "Does it look good?"
Most of the patterns drawn by the fingertips condensed into water, and flowed down along the curve of the glass, so that only the round little head and facial features could be barely seen.
The cub tilted his head and stared blankly for a long time, then looked at Xiao Susu, hesitant to speak, and finally made up his mind and said in a baby voice: "Not a bit silly."
Shen Qingyue couldn't help laughing, and leaned over to poke Xiaobao's face: "Well, our Doudou is a very honest and aesthetic baby."
The road was slippery due to snow, so we drove slowly, but fortunately we left home early and the road was smooth, so the two adults and one child stood in front of the familiar gate of the villa with gifts in hand ten minutes before nine o'clock.
Doudou had only been here for two days. The little cub was being held on either side by Shen Qingyue and Gu Xun. He made a hopping sound when he walked, and his tiger-toe shoes made a crunching sound in the white and soft snow, but the feeling of the shoes on his feet was soft and it was super fun.
There were brand new couplets posted on the gate of the villa, with a lot of fresh gold powder left on the door panels. In front of the door were two newly hung hexagonal lanterns, with the fiery red tassels swaying gently in the wind and snow. The plum blossoms in the courtyard were emitting a faint fragrance, and many red ribbons and small lanterns were loosely wrapped around the branches.
"The New Year atmosphere is so strong in your home." Shen Qingyue sighed softly.
He was a little nervous on the way here, after all, it was his first time meeting the parents. But when he actually arrived at the door, the nervousness disappeared for the most part.
Gu Xianzhiteng knocked on the door and it was opened from the inside.
Gu Yuyin, wearing a thick red sweater and an off-white cashmere dress, smiled even more when she saw them: "Of course, you're here quite early. I was just telling my parents that it snowed yesterday and the roads were difficult to travel today, so I called to urge you!"
"We came early, and there were not many cars on the road, so we arrived early as well." Shen Qingyue smiled and said sweetly, "Happy New Year, sister."
"Happy New Year, Xiao Shen! Come in." Gu Yuyin took two pairs of slippers with a smile, then stepped aside to make way for them.
Doudou, who was standing in the middle and dressed like a little Fuwa, blinked his bright eyes and imitated Xiaosusu's words, saying happily: "Auntie, Happy New Year!"
"Oh, Doudou, you haven't seen your auntie for a few days. Do you miss her?" Gu Yuyin was amused by the cub and laughed. She leaned over to pick up the cub and spun it around: "Baby is dressed as a little tiger today! Let's take the little tiger baby into the house first!"
Xiaoxun heard the noise and ran down the stairs in a hurry holding Beibei's leash. When they saw Doudou, the two cubs were extremely excited, jumping up and down holding hands. Even the puppy was the same, twisting its butt around and spinning among the cubs.
The entrance was warm and cozy. Shen Qingyue lowered his head to change his shoes. When he looked up again, he saw two middle-aged couples who looked well-maintained. They were sitting on the sofa, looking towards him in sync and trying to stand up.
Seeing Shen Qingyue looking up at them, the couple stood up from the sofa and walked over here together.
Shen Qingyue pursed her lips, then smiled and said to Gu Hongshen and Rong Mingyu: "Uncle, aunt, happy new year."
Gu Xianzhi put the bags he was carrying in one hand aside, and with his other hand he held Shen Qingyue, saying, "Mom and Dad, we're back."
"Xiao Shen, are you cold on the road?" Rong Mingyu's voice was as gentle as her appearance. She held Shen Qingyue's hand while speaking, and her eyes kept looking at him: "Why are you so thin? Did you drink the soup that Auntie made? I'll give you some more at home in the next two days."
"Mom, it's natural." Gu Xianzhi took Shen Qingyue's coat and hung it beside his own coat: "It's only been two months since the surgery, and the doctor didn't recommend him to eat greasy food."
Rong Mingyu gave him a reproachful look: "How is the tonic greasy? You are so strong and Xiao Shen is so thin. Standing next to you, I feel like I will be blown away by the wind."
"Auntie..." Shen Qingyue was a little amused by Rong Mingyu's description.
He was about to explain to Gu Xianzhi when Doudou, who was playing nearby, suddenly had his eyes light up. He ran over with small steps and jumped into Gu Hong's arms, shouting in a clear voice, "Grandpa!"
Gu Hongshen, who was originally standing aside and watching the interaction between Rong Mingyu and Shen Qingyue with a smile on his face, immediately leaned over to catch the kid, holding him in his arms and shaking him. His deep voice was filled with an unconcealed smile: "Doudou, do you still remember Grandpa?"
"Remember!" the cub answered seriously, "Grandpa is so happy, grandma is so happy," and then he turned over happily to hug his grandmother, making the two old people very happy. Doudou also smiled and opened his little mouth, revealing a few happy little teeth.
Back in the living room, Shen Qingyue gave the gifts he had prepared in advance to the two elders, and Rong Mingyu took her hand and praised her like a flower.
In fact, he was not used to getting along with his family. He was used to being independent in his original world and had never felt the warmth of family since he was a child. So before coming here, he made a lot of psychological preparations.
Within an hour of being here, he had already completely felt that this was a loving family, which made him feel relaxed and happy.
"Let's eat together in the afternoon, and then have the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening." Gu Yuyin came out of the kitchen in a formal manner, wearing an apron. "Gu Yuzhi arranged to deliver the meal at 6 o'clock in the evening. Before that, you should eat something to warm up. I'll go get some snacks."
"Let me help you." Shen Qingyue stood up and said, but Gu Yuyin waved her hand to stop him: "No, I baked the cookies with Xiaoxun yesterday, and we can take them out after baking them again. There is also the milk snow frog stewed by my mother this morning, which can be heated up."
"Yes, Xiao Shen, sit down and have a chat." Gu Hongshen was holding Doudou in his arms and teaching the kid to recognize the words on the Spring Festival couplets. He turned around and said something when he heard this.
Shen Qingyue sat down, and Gu Yinzhi leaned close to him and whispered, "I'll go to the upstairs bedroom to put my luggage, and I'll be there soon."
"Yeah, okay." Shen Qingyue nodded in agreement, and Gu Yuzhi gently held his hand.
After a while, Gu Yuyin came out with sweet soup and biscuits, and also brought a plate of fruits. Gu Xiaoxun took Doudou and explained to him one by one what shape the biscuits were and how they were made.
Doudou was really giving face and clapped for Gu Xiaoxun generously with his little hands, making Xiaoxun feel embarrassed.
Shen Qingyue took a bowl of milk snow clam and drank it in small sips. It was freshly heated and still emitting steam. A spoonful of honey was added to the bowl, which had a strong milky flavor. It tasted even better than the ones made in street dessert shops.
When Gu Yinzhi came down, half an hour had passed. Shen Qingyue was chewing on the cold potatoes cut into small pieces and his words were a little slurred. He leaned close to Gu Yinzhi and asked, "Why did you take so long to come down?"
"The room has not been occupied for a long time, so I tidied it up a bit." said Gu Xizhi.
Shen Qingyue didn't think anything was wrong and continued to watch TV while slowly biting the fruit.
*
At six o'clock, the New Year's Eve dinner was delivered on time.
The snow outside was getting heavier. The delivery staff were all wrapped in icy snow, but the food they served was hot and placed on the heated table in the restaurant. The aroma of hot food filled the entire living room.
"Wash your hands and get ready to eat." Gu Hongshen came out with bowls, plates and chopsticks. Shen Qingyue and Gu Xizhi helped to set the table. They carried the kid to the table, and the whole family sat down.
The TV in the living room was on, and the Spring Festival Gala was being shown as a warm-up. Shen Qingyue had just eaten a spoonful of crab roe tofu when another dish of boiled black tiger prawns came over.
Abalone steamed egg, shredded pork with Beijing sauce, emerald cabbage rolls, salmon, four-happiness meatballs, red date eight-treasure rice pudding, and the greasy black plum cherry tomatoes. Shen Qingyue was almost full after trying every dish.
They enjoyed the meal and finished a bottle of wine. Gu Hongshen opened another bottle of red wine and everyone poured a little. Although Shen Qingyue was not a big drinker, he enjoyed the meal and drank two more glasses.
Doudou sat next to Xiaosusu. The cubs were drinking freshly squeezed apple juice, a transparent liquid that didn't taste as good as the red drink that Xiaosusu and the others were drinking.
The cub stretched out his short arms and hugged Shen Qingyue's arms, resting his chin on Xiao Susu's shoulder, and pointed at Xiao Susu's beautiful wine glass with his little finger. Then he pursed his little lips and looked at him with bright eyes and expectation.
Shen Qingyue pinched the kid's fat face and said with a smile: "Do you want to try it too?"
The kid immediately raised his head and nodded vigorously, his purring voice sounded particularly expectant: "Yes, yes, yes, yes."
"Okay, I'll give you a sip." Shen Qingyue picked up a small spoon and scooped a spoonful of soup from the black plum cherry tomato and showed it to Doudou: "Is that right?"
The cub was a little confused, but when he saw that it was also a red drink, he nodded happily: "Yes!"
Shen Qingyue fed it to the baby. The sour juice was so sour when it entered his mouth that Doudou's little face wrinkled. He finally closed his little mouth and swallowed it.
"Do you want to drink more?" Shen Qingyue asked, holding the spoon.
The kid's eyes widened when he heard that and he quickly shook his head to refuse. He then obediently held onto his apple juice and drank two big gulps.
The adults who watched the whole thing were trying to hold back their laughter.
Gu Yuyin raised her glass and said, "Let me raise my glass. I wish you all a happy new year. May you have this day every year."
"Happy New Year!"
The wine glasses collided with each other, making a crisp clanging sound. The deep red wine splashed in the glasses, and on TV, the opening credits of the Spring Festival Gala on Channel 1 began to play lively with the sound of firecrackers.
Shen Qingyue drank half a glass of red wine, and seeing that there was not much left in the glass, he simply drank it all slowly.
After dinner, we cleaned up the dishes and sat together as a family to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Although Shen Qingyue had no interest in the Chinese New Year before, he would always turn on the TV even if he didn't watch the Spring Festival Gala. Now that he had Gu Xianzhi and his family with him, the show became more and more interesting.
But the alcohol from the evening came up at an inopportune time. Shen Qing felt more and more dizzy and his eyelids became heavier. He reached out and took hold of Gu Xunzhi's arm, and his face unconsciously leaned forward.
Gu Xianzhi turned around and saw Shen Qingyue leaning against his shoulder with his eyes half closed. His skin was redder than usual, even his eyelids were red. He looked drunk.
He noticed when Shen Qingyue was drinking in the evening, but seeing how he drank, he didn't look like someone who has drunk before, plus it was New Year's Day, he didn't stop him. And he seemed normal until after dinner, but he didn't expect that he was drunk at this moment.
He gently patted the back of Shen Qingyue's hand: "Are you sleepy? Do you want to go to sleep?"
"What's wrong with Xiao Shen?" Rong Mingyu also noticed it and asked.
This sentence focused everyone's attention on Shen Qingyue. He tried to stand up, and he felt that his mouth was a little out of his control and he said vaguely: "Maybe I'm a little drunk and sleepy."
"Son, take Xiao Shen upstairs to rest for a while, and I'll cook some hangover soup for him." Gu Hongshen blamed himself: "I knew Xiao Shen was not in good health, but I didn't think about it. He shouldn't have been allowed to drink."
Gu Xianzhi nodded and said “yeah”, then picked him up from the sofa: “I’ll take him upstairs first, thank you for your hard work, Dad.”
"Can you hold it? Do you need my help?" Gu Yuyin asked from the side.
Gu Yinzhi shook his head and signaled to the two kids who looked worried and nervous: "You take Xiaoxun and Doudou."
"Okay." Gu Yuyin agreed.
In fact, Shen Qingyue was no longer fully conscious and was a little fuzzy due to his sleepiness, but he still felt shy when Gu Xianzhi carried him upstairs in front of everyone, and the blush on his chest became more obvious.
Gu Xunzhi put the man on the bed and fetched a basin of water to wipe his face and body. He felt even more guilty, so his expression was particularly serious and indifferent.
Gu Hongshen's sobering soup was cooked quickly. After it cooled down, Gu Yinzhi fed it to Shen Qingyue, kissed him on the forehead, and left the bedroom to let him rest in peace.
When the alcohol just started to take effect, Shen Qing felt dizzy. Even when Gu Xunzhi was wiping his body and feeding him soup, he didn't feel any better. He felt like he had a very long and confused sleep.
When I woke up and opened my eyes, the room was pitch black. The bedroom window was slightly open, and cold wind blew in, but quickly disappeared in the heat.
After waking up, Shen Qingyue closed his eyes and rested for a while, wondering how long he had slept. After waking up this time, he felt that he had never been so awake and energetic. As a result, he looked at the time and found that only three hours had passed.
It’s 11:30 pm, and there’s still half an hour until New Year’s Eve.
After getting up and getting dressed, he went downstairs in his slippers. The lights in the living room were still on. The family was sitting together eating nuts and watching the Spring Festival Gala. Everyone was a little surprised to see Shen Qingyue coming down.
Gu Xianzhi took two quick steps to the stairs to meet him, and put his arm around Shen Qingyue's waist. "Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Why don't you continue sleeping?"
"It's not uncomfortable." Shen Qingyue was looked at by a crowd of people, and lowered his eyes a little embarrassedly: "Don't treat me like a patient."
"Xiao Susu, wake up!" Seeing Shen Qingyue coming down, the kid who was already lying on the sofa stood up and went to greet him happily.
Rong Mingyu said: "How do you feel now?"
"Much better now. I'm fully awake." Shen Qingyue answered as he walked downstairs. Seeing his steady steps, Gu Shenzhi felt relieved.
"You came down just in time. Gu Xianzhi was planning to take Xiaoxun and Doudou to the rooftop to set off fireworks. The countdown will start in twenty minutes. Do you want to go together?" Gu Yuyin said enthusiastically.
Shen Qingyue was stunned for a moment, looked at Gu Xunzhi, and saw the person next to him nodded.
He raised the corners of his lips in a good mood: "Okay, let's go up and play for a while."
Setting off fireworks on the rooftop must have been planned long ago. Shen Qingyue stared at the large box of fairy wands placed next to the terrace table: "Are they all prepared for today?"
Gu Danzhi chuckled and gave him a pair of gloves to put on. The two cubs were already fully armed and eager to try: "There's one more time on the fifteenth day of the lunar year."
The snow on the roof tiles had been cleared in the morning, and now there was a thin layer of snow on it, which made a slight crunching sound underfoot.
Doudou and Xiaoxun have already started playing, one of them holding an extended version specially made for children, and giggling at the lit poppers.
"Xiao Susu, set off fireworks! Fireworks!" Doudou was wrapped up so that only his eyes and nose were exposed. The tip of his nose was red from the cold wind, but it was still difficult to hide the cub's excitement.
"Okay." Shen Qingyue handed the firework stick in his hand over, carefully lit the lighter, and golden sparks ignited with a hiss and crackled on the snow beside the two of them.
Shen Qingyue was having a lot of fun. One firework stick after another lit up and went out brilliantly in his hands. Xiao Xun and Dou Dou surrounded him and cheered happily, with snowflakes flying around them.
"Why don't you join us?" Another firework stick went out, and Shen Qingyue moved closer to Gu Xunzhi and asked curiously.
"One more minute." Gu Xunzhi suddenly spoke.
Shen Qingyue said "Hmm?" and then suddenly realized what was happening. He said briskly, "Yes, there's still one minute until the New Year."
The firework stick in his hand burned out again. He turned around and placed the stick on the table beside him. Before he could continue, someone grabbed his hand from behind.
Shen Qingyue turned around to look, and happened to see Gu Dianzhi holding his left hand, kneeling on one knee in the snow, his black coat sunk in the snow, and the other hand holding an exquisite red velvet gift box.
He felt his head buzzing, and the disappeared aftertaste of the red wine seemed to start beating again in his heart.
“Plop!”
“Plop!”
The two little kids playing nearby didn't know what was going on, but when Gu Susu/uncle knelt down, they also bent their legs and knelt down one after another.
Gu Xizhi: "..."
The second hand turned to twelve o'clock, and the city's long and distant countdown clock rang out along with the fireworks that suddenly bloomed in the sky. The fireworks in the sky glowed in the night sky, like countless crushed stars.
Helplessly, he picked up the two kneeling little fools, carefully brushed the snow off their knees, held Shen Qingyue's palm again and looked up, smiles already appeared on the corners of both of their lips.
Gu Xianzhi opened the gift box in his palm, revealing two interlaced platinum circles, which sparkled brightly under the dim light from the rooftop.
He spoke slowly, his dark eyes seemed to be able to gaze into people's hearts: "Xiaoqing, I want to love you legitimately."
Shen Qingyue held his palm and helped him up. The long-lost clear heartbeat sound rang in his ears.
He reached out and took the smaller ring and put it on himself, then put the other one on Gu Dan's ring finger. When he spoke again, there was a barely perceptible tremor in his voice: "Is this legitimate enough?"
Gu Dunzhi's breathing became heavy. He stretched out his hand and pulled the person in front of him into his arms.
“Crack, crack—”
Gu Yuyin appeared out of nowhere with a camera in her hand, followed by Gu Hongshen and Rong Mingyu. Gu Yuyin kept taking pictures, and the two elders smiled and waved to Xiaoxun and Doudou.
The cubs were surprised at first, but they still ran over together obediently.
"We are a family in the legal sense from now on." Gu Yuyin checked the photos, nodded with satisfaction, and waved, saying, "We will leave first and will not disturb you."
The rooftop was quiet again. Shen Qingyue buried her face in Gu Xizhi's chest with some shame, and said in a low voice: "Why are uncle, aunt and sister here? Did they know in advance?"
"Well, I discussed it with them when I was making the plan, but I didn't expect them to come here at this time." Gu Yinzhi wrapped him tightly and kissed him lightly on the forehead: "Did I scare you?"
"Not really." Shen Qingyue left him, and the two walked back hand in hand. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "What if I drink too much tonight and don't wake up?"
"Then create the next opportunity." Gu Xizhi gently squeezed his palm.
In fact, he had made a similar decision when he sent Shen Qingyue back to the bedroom tonight, but he didn't expect that he would wake up so quickly, and Gu Yuyin reminded himself in time.
The kids were taken to the children's room to rest. When the two returned to the bedroom, the snow on Gu Xianzhi's body had melted into snow water. As soon as he changed his clothes and came out, Shen Qingyue pulled him to take a lot of photos.
After taking the photos, Shen Qingyue shared them with him and went to wash up with satisfaction. Gu Xizhi stared at the photos and thought for a while, then opened the dialogue box with Gu Yuyin.
There was a cold wind at night. Shen Qingyue took a shower first, and then took a comfortable bath in the bathtub. Halfway through the bath, he flipped through his mobile phone for a while.
I opened WeChat and found that Gu Xunzhi, who had never posted to Moments before, had made the first post in history.
There are two photos. One is a profile of them embracing each other on the rooftop. Doudou and Xiaoxun are standing on their left and right, looking up at them at the same time. Behind them is the colorful sky and the endless snow scene.
The other photo was taken when she and Gu Tanzhi took a selfie after she came back just now. They both stretched out their hands to show the rings, and both of them were smiling happily.
The caption reads: "Today I ask about marriage, good luck."