There was a knock on the villa door. Lian Han raised an eyebrow and looked at Pei Sumei, who quickly waved her hand, "It wasn't me."
"I didn't say it was you." Lian Han shook his head. "Wash your hands and go open the door."
"Okay." Pei Sumei washed the flour off her hands and immediately ran out of the kitchen.
Although she volunteered to cook for her sister Xiaohan, she regretted it less than ten minutes into the meal. She'd seen her mother make simple things before, but the oddly shaped dumplings she made were simply unbearable to look at. She realized she should really just buy dumplings from Tianwang and cook them directly.
Lian Han watched her run away and smiled helplessly. She hadn't originally intended to do it, but Xiao Mei—in previous years, Aunt Ruan would at least bring her a bowl of dumplings for the New Year, and later she had also helped Aunt Ruan with the cooking. She couldn't let the little girl suffer during the New Year.
Less than a minute later, the little girl exclaimed, "Sister!"
"What's wrong?" Lian Han rushed out, and then—she was also shocked.
The attendees included Ling Xin, Ling Yue, Ling Xuanyu, Ling Wei, Ling Ze, Zong Jingyuan, An He, Aunt Shen, Ruan Zhenyue, Ye Ying, Li Ke, and Han Yuqi.
Lian Han: ...
Lian Han instinctively put his hands behind his back. "What are you doing?"
"It's the New Year, and I was worried you and Xiao Mei would be lonely, so I came to check on you. What are you doing with your hands behind your back?" Anhe entered the villa with practiced ease and pushed aside the two people blocking the doorway.
As a group of people filed in, instantly filling the villa's living room, Lian Han wanted to facepalm, but she restrained herself. She first ran to the kitchen to wash her hands, and then walked out aggressively, asking, "Why aren't you spending the New Year at your own homes? What are you doing here?"
The girl looked at them coldly, her expression menacing—provided one ignored the custom-made apron with her pet's pattern on it, which made her look like a cat with its fur standing on end. Ling Xin suppressed a laugh, "Little sister, you're here."
His gaze swept over Ling Xuanyu, Ling Wei, Aunt Chen, and the other elders. Even Han couldn't bring himself to be fierce anymore. He said with disdain, "Take your look and leave. The villa can't accommodate you all."
"No, boss. I'll be leaving after paying my respects for the New Year. By the way, this is a New Year's gift, I made it myself, please don't mind it." Ruan Zhenyue said with a grin.
Zong Jingyuan nudged her boyfriend's arm, and he reluctantly placed the gift box on the table, saying, "A New Year's gift."
"Thanks." Exchanging gifts among friends during the New Year is a tradition for Di Luo. She missed it last year, but now everyone's doing it. Lian Han smiled and took out the prepared gift box. "These are for you."
Zong Jingyuan was about to say thank you when Han Yuqi took the box when he said with disdain, "It's cards again. All you can do is give cards."
"Han Yuqi, are you asking for a beating?" Zong Jingyuan said unhappily.
Han Yuqi pretended to open the box, "Did I say something wrong? Given the size of this gift box, it can't possibly contain anything other than cards. We're still missing one..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Lian Han wasn't annoyed, and raised an eyebrow at him.
The young man put the gift away and awkwardly said, "Thank you."
"You actually thanked me? What is it? Let me see it," Zong Jingyuan asked curiously.
"Jingyuan, this is yours." Lian Han smiled. The gift boxes were the same size, but Zong Jingyuan's was red, Ye Ying's was white, and Li Ke's was black.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Zong Jingyuan asked, "Can I take a look now?"
"sure."
Upon seeing the item, Zong Jingyuan's eyes lit up, and she threw herself into Lian Han's arms, exclaiming, "Goddess, I love you to death!"
"Then why don't you break up with your boyfriend and be with me?" Lian Han joked.
Han Yuqi's expression, which had just calmed down, was about to explode, "Lian Han, you..."
Unexpectedly, Zong Jingyuan readily agreed, "Okay. I don't want him anymore, I want to move in with the goddess. He's not even half as good-looking as the goddess."
Han Yuqi: ...
Ruan Zhenyue stole a glance at his gift, then gloated as he put his arm around Han Yuqi's shoulder, "Brother, that hurts, doesn't it? Serves you right for not liking the boss."
Han Yuqi looked annoyed, but considering the three elders present, he snorted coldly, "Aren't we going to the Century Exhibition? It's about to start."
"It can't be that fast," Zong Jingyuan replied, then said goodbye to Lian Han, "Happy New Year, goddess! See you tonight."
"Okay, go ahead."
"Then I'll be leaving too." Ruan Zhenyue said. Actually, he had wanted to leave when he encountered the Ling family at the door. Now that the whole family was gathered together, it would be obvious that he would make himself uncomfortable if he stayed any longer! Before leaving, he glanced at Ye Ying, signaling them to leave as soon as possible.
Ye Ying put down the gift. "Xiao Han, I've come to say goodbye."
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. There are some things to take care of at home, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to come to school next year, so I mentioned it to you."
"Are you in trouble?" Lian Han frowned.
"I can handle this. Besides, I have Xiao Ke. Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
Ye Ying glanced at Lian Han's family, "Can I hug you?"
"Of course." Lian Han hugged her. "Take good care of yourself."
"Mm. Thank you, Xiaohan."
Ye Ying quickly let go, holding Li Ke's hand, "Goodbye."
Seeing her voice trembling with tears, Lian Han felt a pang of sympathy and took out another card. "Little Night Cherry, call me if you need anything. We'll always be there for you."
"Yes!" Yozakura nodded vigorously before retorting, "I'm not little at all. I'm clearly so much older than you."
"Goodbye, take care," said Li Ke, who had been silent all along.
"You too."
Watching them leave, Lian Han looked at An He, who said, "Ye Ying already said goodbye to us. It seems something happened at home. She has Li Ke protecting her, so she'll be fine."
Hopefully. Lian Han frowned, somewhat worried about the introverted girl.
"Hey! Where's my present? It's better to have friends than a brother."
Lian Han glanced at him and said disdainfully, "No."
Ling Ze's face fell, and he was about to say something when someone suddenly grabbed Lian Han's hand. "What about me?" Pei Sumei looked at Lian Han with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.
"Of course there's one for Xiao Mei." With a wave of his hand, three cards appeared in front of Pei Su Mei.
The New Year's gift she prepared was indeed a set of cards. However, it was a character card, or more precisely, a protective card with portraits of each of them.
"Xiao Han is being unfair. I only have one," An He said.
Hearing this, Pei Sumei's eyes crinkled into a smile, and she quickly put the card away. "Sister is the best. Who can blame me for knowing you the longest?"
Anhe: "...Ahem. Was Xiaohan cooking just now?"
"Um."
Mentioning this, the girl's fox tail practically swished in the air, "My sister said she'd make dumplings for me herself!"
The Ling family members: ...We used to think this little girl was quite cute. How come she's so hated now?
"Let me help you," Shen Sihan stood up. "That will be faster."
Lian Han glanced at the group, who clearly had no intention of leaving, and nodded helplessly.
"I'll go help too," Ling Wei said, standing up as well.
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