Chapter 153 The First Day of the New Year
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone was a little tipsy.
Cheng Shi directed Cheng Yuan and Zhang Hengyuan to set up a screen and projector in the center of the courtyard. The group wrapped themselves in blankets and nestled in the booths, enjoying the laughter and cheers of the New Year's Eve party as they awaited the arrival of the new year.
As night deepened, the electric fireplace under the table hummed with warmth, making people drowsy. Cheng Shi took half of his blanket and gently covered her and Lin Yu's knees, which were pressed together.
Lin Yu held a glass of steaming red wine, the warmth seeping into his fingertips and slowly flowing into his heart.
She buried most of her face in the thick wool blanket, leaned on Cheng Shi's shoulder, and only her almond-shaped eyes were visible as she looked at Mifa and Xiduo playing not far away.
Hido, with an orange-red frisbee in its mouth, hopped around Mifa's short legs in a provocative manner. Mifa, not to be outdone, bit Hido's leash and pulled back relentlessly.
The two dogs chased each other, tumbling and frolicking on the lawn on a winter night.
The swirling grass clippings landed on Qi Sheng's dark jeans, but he seemed oblivious. His brow furrowed slightly, and he had been on the phone since dinner, seemingly dealing with some tricky matter.
Jiang Chuan had not replied to the message. This was the first time Lin Yu had lost contact with him for so long, and he felt a little uneasy.
Just then, the phone screen on the table suddenly lit up. Lin Yu thought it was Jiang Chuan, so he quickly got up and leaned over, only to see a video call invitation from Yao Fangfang.
She and Lin Jingtou huddled together in the small camera lens, smiling broadly, saying that next spring, after finishing their current tasks, they would definitely visit Anji to support her business.
Lin Yu smiled and thanked them, then carefully reminded them to take care of themselves.
The video call had barely ended when Lin Jianguo called again. He told Lin Yu that he had arrived home safely and that she shouldn't worry, and promised to return to the company to help after the Spring Festival.
Grandma, who was standing nearby, clapped her hands with joy when she saw her granddaughter on the screen. Lin Yu quickly turned her head to show her grandmother the pair of gold earrings on her ears.
Grandma was all smiles on the other end of the video call, nodding repeatedly and saying, "So beautiful! So beautiful!" Finally, she reminded everyone not to forget to eat glutinous rice balls, so that the new year would be smooth and prosperous, and that the family could be reunited.
The screen went dark for a short while, and then Lin Min's video request popped up.
My mother spoke in her usual tone, concerned for the whole family, saying that everything was fine back home and that my maternal grandparents were still in good health.
Grandma, in particular, has been in a much better mood lately. She often goes square dancing with the neighbor ladies instead of always wandering around the yard alone.
"You and Xiao Jiang need to get along well. No matter how busy you are, remember to eat properly, okay?" After finishing her instructions at home, Lin Min didn't forget to give Lin Yu these words of advice.
"Okay, I understand," Lin Yu replied instinctively.
"I'm not going to talk to you anymore. Get some rest and don't stay up too late, it'll damage your health." After only a few words, Lin Min was about to hang up the phone.
Lin Yu suddenly remembered what her grandmother had said to her after her aunt's funeral. Since returning from her hometown, she hadn't found a suitable time to talk to her mother about it, but now, perhaps, was a good opportunity.
So she got up and walked to a quiet corner, softly calling her mother's name to the screen. "Mom..."
"Hmm?" Lin Min on the other end of the video sat up slightly, her eyes asking.
"How have you and Grandma been lately?"
"Didn't I just say everything was fine?" A hint of confusion flashed across Lin Min's face.
“No…” Lin Yu stared at her intently. “You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Min was visibly taken aback and remained silent for a long while. After a long pause, she finally gave a soft laugh. "What could be wrong? It'll be the same as always."
“A while ago… Grandma mentioned something to me.” Lin Yu finally mustered up her courage. “She said that when you and Dad were going through a divorce, she went to see him once.”
"What?" Lin Min blurted out, leaning forward in disbelief. Her eyes flickered, carrying a barely perceptible evasiveness and an expectation she herself was unaware of.
She still remembers that the complete break with Lin Jianguo happened in the dead of winter. The farm was still connected to the town by a bumpy dirt road, and the bus trip took almost half a day each way.
My mother injured her knee at work years ago, and it would ache terribly every winter. She dared not think about how she endured the pain, crammed alone in a drafty bus, anxiously running around for her own sake.
A long silence fell on the other end of the phone. Lin Min's fingers tightened slightly around the phone, her knuckles turning white.
"...She." After a long silence, Lin Min finally found her voice and said hoarsely, "She has never mentioned any of this to me."
Lin Yu watched as shock and disbelief rapidly gathered in her mother's eyes, and her own heart trembled slightly. "Grandma said she didn't tell anyone about this, not even Grandpa."
Since Lin Min got married, her grandmother has rarely come to town, worried that she might cause her daughter unnecessary trouble.
She didn't recognize her father's workplace address, so she had to walk and ask for directions in the biting cold wind until she finally found Lin Jianguo's door before dark.
When Lin Jianguo saw his grandmother, his heart tightened, and his face showed some unease and restraint, fearing that the old woman would cause a scene at the entrance of his workplace. So he quickly invited her into his office and poured her a cup of hot tea.
Grandma didn't take the tea; she saw right through him and cut to the chase with a cold face. "I only just heard about your divorce from my daughter. I'm not here to cause you trouble."
“My daughter didn’t want anything from you when she married you. Now that she’s determined to leave, we won’t ask you for anything.”
Grandma paused, softened her tone, and tried to pronounce each word more clearly and forcefully. "But there are some things I, as her mother, have to tell you on her behalf."
“It is indeed very difficult to manage a marriage well, but as a husband and as a father, you are far from being competent.”
“We will try our best to make up for what you didn’t give her in the future. And please learn to be at least a passable father in the future.”
"...to share some of the burden with my daughter when she is overwhelmed, so that my own children won't look down on me in the future."
The moment the words left her lips, Lin Min's eyes welled up with tears. The next second, she abruptly turned away, hastily pulling her face away from the camera. Yet, her trembling shoulders and broken sobs were still clearly transmitted through the airwaves.
The grievances, misunderstandings, and the pain of feeling uncared for and unappreciated by his mother that had been building up for decades were all shattered by the belated truth at this moment.
During that period, Lin Min was not in a good state because of the divorce.
Lin Yu's career is on the rise, and she is still young. She is busy every day, and her relationship with her mother has become increasingly distant over the years.
She naturally wouldn't, and didn't know how, to bring up the struggles and difficulties she had experienced during that time.
She always thought she was fighting alone, and that this failed marriage would bring shame to her mother. She never imagined that in the most difficult and helpless moment of her life, her mother had silently supported her with her meager strength.
"I don't know, I thought, I thought she..." Lin Min murmured these words repeatedly, tears streaming down her face.
Seeing his mother break down in tears in front of him for the first time, Lin Yu felt a pang of sorrow, yet also a profound sense of relief.
Although Lin Min looked disheveled at this moment, the heaviness that had been building up between her brows for many years seemed to be dissolving and dissipating little by little with her tears.
"Mom," Lin Yu called softly. "Grandma told me that you once asked her a question that she hadn't figured out how to answer, but perhaps this is the answer she wanted to tell you."
"So, Mom..." Lin Yu paused. "What exactly was the question you asked Grandma back then?"
"I asked her back then..." Lin Min's voice was hoarse as she tried to calm herself down. When she looked at Lin Yu again, her eyes held a complex and tender look.
“I asked her if, no matter how well I did, her heart would always only belong to your uncle and aunt.”
On the screen, the closing theme of the New Year's Eve gala slowly began to play, the cheerful melody flowing through the quiet night. Lin Yu held his phone, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
The profound regrets and pains in life may never be fully repaired or healed by time.
But there are always some things, such as this belated realization, or love and cherishing that are left unsaid, that are like stars in a clear winter night sky—not intense or fiery, but enough to illuminate the path we came from and guide those who will lead us home.
"...Banban, thank you for telling me all this." Lin Min's voice finally calmed down, carrying a weary sense of relief.
"You're welcome." Lin Yu smiled sincerely. "Happy New Year, Mom!"
After the call ended, Lin Yu put down his phone and returned to his booth.
Zhang Hengyuan, naturally outgoing, had already pulled Cheng Yuan aside and was chatting enthusiastically about the recent K-line trends and market sentiment.
Yuan Jie held up his camera, aiming it at the twinkling Milky Way, capturing the shimmering lights in the night sky. Seeing Lin Yu pass by, he turned his head and exclaimed, "This is truly an excellent vantage point for stargazing."
Lin Yu smiled back, sat back down, picked up his wine glass, and took a small sip, savoring the aroma of cinnamon and orange peel. The warm wine slid into his heart with a comforting sensation.
The two dogs had just finished eating the freeze-dried food that Qi Sheng had given them, and they wagged their tails as they returned to the booth.
Mifa gently rubbed its wet nose against Lin Yu's wrist, tickling her so much that she couldn't help but laugh. She bent down and rubbed its head. Xiduo, on the other hand, lay quietly at her feet, resting its chin on her shoe, looking completely obedient.
"It's almost midnight." Cheng Shi glanced at his phone, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.
Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on the New Year's Eve gala being broadcast live on the screen, the hands of the electronic clock slowly approaching midnight.
"Five, four, three, two, one..." For a moment, only the host's voice leading the countdown and Mifa's occasional coquettish whimpers filled the courtyard. "...Happy New Year!"
Just as the hour and minute hands coincided at midnight, the distant sound of fireworks rising into the sky was heard, followed by a burst of light shooting into the night sky and exploding with a "pop".
Pale purple light shone through the holly bushes in the courtyard, gently illuminating everyone's faces.
Looking at the scene before him, Lin Yu couldn't help but recall the image of Jiang Chuan holding his hand and running wildly through the streets of Hong Kong on this day last year.
A slight stirring ran through her heart. She opened the video on her phone and secretly captured this wonderful moment on camera, wanting to share it with Jiang Chuan when he returned.
Qi Sheng hung up the phone at that moment and came back. He ruffled Lin Yu's hair and smiled at everyone, "I'm going to rest now, you all enjoy your New Year's Eve vigil."
The others, as if by prior arrangement, yawned and got up one after another.
"Time waits for no one, time to go to sleep."
"I'm leaving too. Happy New Year everyone!"
"Seriously? Are you guys trying to spoil the fun?" Lin Yu watched his friends' departing figures and laughed helplessly. "You're all usually night owls, why are you all suddenly all taking care of your health today?"
In just a short while, the once lively courtyard was now empty except for her.
Thinking of Jiang Chuan's promise, Lin Yu sighed softly and muttered, "Jiang Chuan, you liar!" He then shook his head and got up to clean up the mess of cups and plates on the table.
The projection behind her subtly switched the moment she bent over, and the melody of "The Ludlows" began to play.
Lin Yu paused, straightened up in confusion, and froze on the spot the moment he saw the screen.
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