Happy New Year
He led Song Zian to burn paper money and kowtow, and did not linger for long. After finishing, he left with Jiang Yang and his group.
Without a doubt, the New Year's Eve dinner was eaten at Jiang Yang's house. The group sat around the table chatting and eating. During the meal, Lu Zhiyan sent a message to Song Zicheng, asking to see what Song Zicheng was eating that night.
Song Zicheng then took a picture and sent it over. Lu Zhiyan replied instantly, "The food is pretty good!", and then there was no further response.
Before leaving, Bai Ning took out two red envelopes and gave them to Song Zicheng and Song Zian respectively. Song Zicheng waved his hand and said, "Uncle and Aunt, I'm too old to accept red envelopes."
"Even if you get married and have kids in the future, you'll still be a child in my and your uncle's eyes. Here, take this." Bai Ning's attitude was firm, and she kept pushing the red envelope into Song Zicheng's pocket.
Unable to resist the arrogance, Song Zicheng accepted the red envelope with both hands and said with emotion, "Thank you, Auntie."
It was past ten o'clock when they got home. After his younger brother washed up and went to bed, Song Zicheng returned to his room. He didn't turn on the light, and the room was dim with only a little moonlight shining through.
Unlike the joy he felt while eating New Year's Eve dinner, he stood outside the window with a somber expression and furrowed brows, gazing intently at the crescent moon. Even without turning on the light to see his expression, his desolate and lonely figure clearly revealed the heavy burden on his mind.
Every night over the past three years has made Song Zicheng more aware of the magnitude and irreparable mistake he made back then. Minor mistakes can be made up for, but the mistakes he made can never be undone in this lifetime.
So many times he tried to numb himself with a busy life and work. He dared not rest, dared not have a moment of free time. It seemed that if he had even the slightest chance to prolong his life, he would fall into a deep vortex of self-blame and be unable to extricate himself.
The incident three years ago left Song Zicheng with a psychological scar that he could never forget. At its worst, he couldn't sleep for nights on end, lost his appetite, and was hospitalized several times. He also secretly sought help from a psychologist, and after multiple interventions and a long period of time, he finally showed some improvement.
Unlike other young people in their early twenties who are full of vigor and youthful pride, Song Zicheng had been locking himself in a dark and hopeless cage since the summer he turned eighteen, repeatedly doing everything he could to atone for his sins.
A video call rang again, the sound sudden and loud enough that it took Song Zicheng a while to bring him back to his senses.
"Why is it so dark where you are? Are you sleeping?" Lu Zhiyan's voice came from the phone.
Song Zicheng belatedly realized what was happening. He groped his way to the door in the dark, and heard a "snap" as the light came on. He seemed a little disoriented and closed his eyes for a while before slowly opening them.
His face was deathly pale, looking extremely unwell. Lu Zhiyan glanced at him once, then frowned and scrutinized him closely: "What's wrong with you? You look so pale."
Song Zicheng slowly walked to the window, his eyes filled with confusion. He didn't speak, and Lu Zhiyan also looked at him without saying a word.
After a long while, he heard his own hoarse voice, his tone trembling as he spoke: "I often think, if I hadn't insisted on eating sour fish soup, would my parents have been spared this accident?"
Lu Zhiyan's brow twitched in the video. He knew what Song Zicheng was talking about. Although he had found out that Song Zicheng's parents had died in a car accident, he did not know how Song Zicheng was involved.
Once his thoughts were unleashed, they surged forth like a raging torrent. The problems that had plagued Song Zicheng day and night for the past three years, the secrets he had never told anyone, were all laid bare in front of Lu Zhiyan.
The things that had been suppressed in his heart for so long were so long that Song Zicheng felt a sharp pain in his heart and had difficulty breathing. Once a small hole was torn in it, everything would spill out uncontrollably, even though the person in front of him was not close to him.
Song Zicheng pondered for a long time, then sighed hesitantly, as if preparing for a cathartic outburst. The surroundings were unusually quiet, and even though his voice was very soft, Lu Zhiyan could hear it clearly.
"After the college entrance exam results came out, I did very well, and my parents were overjoyed. They had been planning a trip for a long time. After the admission results came out, our family went on a road trip to Guizhou. Guizhou is very beautiful, and we visited all the big and small scenic spots. Just as this trip was coming to a perfect end, I came across a small but very popular sour fish soup restaurant online. Maybe because we were too tired from traveling, Zian was feeling a little unwell. We were waiting for my parents at the gas station to buy sour fish soup. At the intersection within 50 meters, a car accident happened. I was completely stunned. I grabbed my brother's hand and walked around the messy scene. At first, I could only see the truck that had crashed. After I took two or three more steps, I saw the broken license plate. In an instant, my mind went blank. I quickly covered Zian's eyes. I didn't know how the accident was handled that day or when the doctor arrived. I only heard the doctor say that there were no vital signs..."
Song Zicheng's tone seemed calm as he spoke, but his breathing was unsteady, his eyes were dull, and a pained expression unconsciously appeared on his face. Lu Zhiyan, who was also standing by the window, felt a sharp pain in his heart upon hearing this. He felt a wave of heartache wash over him. Looking at Song Zicheng's empty eyes, he wished he could rush over and hold him tightly.
“If I hadn’t eaten the sour fish soup, my parents wouldn’t have had this accident. It’s all my fault.”
Song Zicheng's tone was no longer calm; it was filled with deep self-reproach and agitation. His eyes were wet with tears streaming down his face.
Looking at him, Lu Zhiyan recalled Song Zicheng's ramblings in his sleep that night. His heart ached, and his tone was soft and gentle: "Your aunt and uncle won't blame you. You are excellent, resilient, and brave, and will always be their pride. Life is unpredictable. You can't take all the blame on yourself. I believe that your aunt and uncle in heaven would not want to see you in such pain and self-blame. They want you to live happily. They will worry about you if you are like this."
Song Zicheng was stunned, somewhat dazed by Lu Zhiyan's words. He looked up at the scattered stars in the sky, and in the blur, his parents appeared before him, smiling warmly and kindly at him.
He stared intently, almost greedily, at his parents who appeared before him, as if the moment he blinked, his loved ones, whom he missed every night, would vanish instantly.
Just then, the sound of a clock ticking in the apartment came through the phone.
"Happy New Year! Song Zicheng, you're very good. Don't blame yourself so much. If you have any troubles or worries on your mind, you can talk about them. I'll listen."
Lu Zhiyan's deep, masculine yet gentle voice reached Song Zicheng's ears. His words seemed to possess a magical power, warming Song Zicheng's heart, which had plummeted to the depths of despair.
"Thank you, Happy New Year!" Song Zicheng rarely showed a genuine smile.
Song Zicheng, who never showed his emotions or confided his feelings in front of outsiders, suddenly revealed to Lu Zhiyan the things he had suppressed and buried in his heart for the past three years.
Perhaps it was the distance between them, a thousand kilometers apart, that made it seem as if the awkwardness and embarrassment of revealing their feelings face-to-face could be dispelled by using their phones. Or perhaps it was because these feelings had been buried in his heart for too long that Song Zicheng could no longer control himself. With the slightest hint of something, he broke through all obstacles and finally spoke them out in the quiet of the night, when his family was reunited.
After saying that, Song Zicheng felt a sense of relief. The heavy rope that had been hanging around his neck was finally worn away. He breathed heavily, as if he had been rescued from drowning. The feelings that had been stuck in his heart were finally expressed so easily and with difficulty.
Although the other party was Lu Zhiyan, Song Zicheng did not feel anything was too wrong. He never thought that the first person he would confide in would be Lu Zhiyan.
Based on the principle that important people tend to forget things, Lu Zhiyan probably didn't care about Song Zicheng's long list of words. Tomorrow morning, the sun will rise in the east, it will be a new day, and everything will return to normal. Lu Zhiyan will probably wake up and not remember anything.
This year's Lunar New Year's Eve was the most peaceful night Song Zicheng had slept in the past three years. He was still asleep in the early morning when he was woken up by a sudden knock on the door.
Half asleep, he glanced at his phone; it was only six o'clock. He got out of bed, his eyes half-closed, and went to the door to look through the peephole.
With just a quick glance, Song Zicheng's drowsiness and anger at being disturbed in his early morning vanished in an instant. His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief and shock.
Lu Zhiyan, wearing a long black woolen coat, was standing outside the door. Her usually neatly combed hair was now messy and hanging down beside her ears. Her face looked tired and weary. She seemed to have underestimated the temperature in Anhui. Lu Zhiyan was breathing on her hands to keep warm because of the cold.
The moment the door opened, before Song Zicheng could even speak, Lu Zhiyan pulled him into her arms and held him tightly. In that instant of physical contact, Song Zicheng could clearly feel Lu Zhiyan trembling.
Lu Zhiyan wrapped his arms tightly around Song Zicheng's waist, buried his face in Song Zicheng's warm and fragrant neck, and then took several deep breaths, as if he were addicted to savoring some delicacy.
Song Zicheng felt a little uncomfortable from Lu Zhiyan's hot breath. The temperature was low in the early morning, and after standing outside the door for just a few minutes, the chill instantly spread throughout his body.
Lu Zhiyan seemed to have hugged him enough before slowly letting go. His teeth were chattering from the cold, and he muttered, "Why is Anhui so cold!"
Lu Zhiyan's tone was so aggrieved, and trembled slightly, which made Song Zicheng chuckle: "Come in quickly."
Song Zicheng turned on the air conditioner in the living room, poured Lu Zhiyan a cup of hot water, and then took a thick blanket from the wardrobe in the room and covered Lu Zhiyan with it.
He looked at Lu Zhiyan's slightly purple lips and asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"
"I couldn't sleep at night, and this idea just popped into my head." Lu Zhiyan's tone was very casual and willful.
Song Zicheng looked at him and gave a wry smile. Sure enough, Lu Zhiyan's thought process was beyond the comprehension of a mere mortal like himself. He looked at Lu Zhiyan's arm, which was still wrapped in bandages, and asked, "How is your arm?"
"It's alright, it'll be fine in a while. How are you?"
How are you?
This question left Song Zicheng somewhat bewildered: "I'm fine, what do you mean by that?"
Lu Zhiyan waved his hand, got up and looked around the living room, then chuckled and said, "It's nothing, won't you show me around?"
Song Zicheng didn't ask any more questions, but the doubt in his heart was not eliminated. He gave Lu Zhiyan a brief introduction to his three-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom house. When they got to the kitchen, he said, "We only have noodles for breakfast."
Lu Zhiyan leaned against the kitchen door, his voice tinged with weariness: "I'm not eating. My flight is at 7:30 to France." With that, he walked toward the door.
“France?” Song Zicheng repeated softly.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, a time for family reunions and joyful celebrations to welcome the new year. At this crucial juncture, Lu Zhiyan is actually going to France? Song Zicheng stood there, stunned, utterly bewildered.
Lu Zhiyan chuckled casually, leaned against the door, turned back to look at him lazily, and said, "There's a project that's urgent, and it's very important to me. I must secure it successfully."
You can do it.
After finishing speaking, Song Zicheng frowned and stared at Lu Zhiyan's back for a while. An inappropriate thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
He followed him down the elevator, and the two said goodbye in the empty space downstairs. Before getting into the car, Lu Zhiyan took an exquisite and formal bag from the back seat and handed it to Song Zicheng: "A New Year's gift for you!"
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