On the evening of Chinese New Year's Eve, Chen Mo took several kids to set off fireworks.
Although they were called kids, the tallest among them, Gu Xiuyuan, was already as tall as Chen Mo.
"Sure enough, setting off fireworks is a must during the Spring Festival," someone said.
Ji Nian was wearing a woolen hat on her head. She was squatting on the ground, holding a sparkler in her hand. Every time she waved it, the red string on her wrist flashed by.
The light from the sparkler shone on her face, making the light in her dark green pupils flicker. Her half - face looked indescribably gentle.
Shen Qingtang took a photo of her with a "click".
"Your Highness, do you need the photo?"
There was a time difference between where they were and where the other person was, but Lu Jinghuai still replied to her message quickly.
"Transfer 5000."
Shen Qingtang happily accepted the red envelope and sent him a photo.
Sitting in front of the computer, Lu Jinghuai reached out to pick up his phone beside him and looked at the photo sent by Shen Qingtang - a photo of Gu Xiuyuan sleeping.
It seemed that he was sleeping on the sofa in Ji Nian's room. His face was buried in the armrest of the sofa without any defense, and his sleeping face was sweet.
Lu Jinghuai sent a string of ellipses.
Shen Qingtang: "Hehe."
Although it was a joke, Shen Qingtang of course didn't really let him spend five thousand to buy the photo of Gu Xiuyuan sleeping. She quickly sent him the photo of Ji Nian she had just taken.
Lu Jinghuai tapped his finger to save it.
He stared at the photo for a while, then brought the screen closer and gently kissed the position of Ji Nian on the photo. He whispered, "Happy New Year."
Completely unaware of what Lu Jinghuai was doing, Ji Nian finished setting off the sparkler and sent a message to Lu Jinghuai right on time.
"Happy New Year."
Lu Jinghuai wasn't asleep and replied quickly.
Ji Nian's parents were sitting there. Naturally, she didn't dare to call him openly in front of her family.
As soon as it hit midnight, Ji Nian's phone started buzzing.
Messages came from her former and current classmates, Wei Junze, colleagues from the company, as well as Bruce and John Qiao.
Her grandparents had sent her messages earlier. The old people couldn't stay up late and went to bed after watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Ji Nian replied with "Happy New Year" to each of them.
She also glanced casually at the greeting messages from various banks, clubs, and associations.
Putting away her phone, Ji Nian was called over to eat dumplings.
She didn't know why her family had the custom of eating dumplings after midnight.
At first, she thought people in City S all had this custom. After asking Gu Xiuyuan, a genuine local, she found out that his family didn't have such a habit. In fact, there wasn't even a must - eat - dumplings rule.
Suddenly remembering this, Ji Nian leaned over and asked Zhiliao about it.
Hearing her question, Zhiliao thought for a while.
"A long time ago, on the evening of Chinese New Year's Eve, rich people would send people to scatter money."
"We couldn't squeeze through the crowd before. Later, Shen Rushan suggested that since Wei Yang was small and tough - skinned, we could tie him with an elastic rope and throw him over like casting a fishing rod. Then we'd pull him back after he grabbed the money."
Ji Nian: "..."
She looked at Shen Qingtang, who had leaned over curiously upon hearing the name of her father.
Shen Qingtang: "Oh, my dad was so naughty."
"What does this have to do with dumplings?"
Gu Xiuyuan was also listening. Seeing Zhiliao pause, he asked in confusion.
Then Wei Yang took over and said, "Some peddlers were very smart. They knew there would be people giving out money at that time, so they set up stalls there, waiting for people who got the money to come and spend.
"We were too young back then. If we took the money back directly, it would be snatched away. So every time we got the money, we spent it right away, buying a big bowl of dumplings to share."
He was even younger than Zhiliao at that time, but he still remembered this because they would go there every year until Ji Tingzhou was taken away by the Ji family.
"I still remember the most common dumplings we ate were filled with cabbage and pork. They cost ten yuan a big bowl and were so delicious."
Although looking back now, the dumplings had more vegetables than meat and thick skins, the care - free childhood memories of that time, despite the poverty, added a layer of filter to it. For Wei Yang, it was still a delicious taste he could never experience again.
"So that's why," Ji Nian understood.
"So because of this, the Ji Family has always kept the custom of eating dumplings after midnight," Chen Mo raised his eyebrows.
He didn't expect the three tough guys of the Ji Family to be so romantic. They never forgot their original intention.
Then Zhiliao pulled out a chair and sat down, shaking his head. "No."
"Because Wei Yang was too young to stay up late. Usually, he would fall asleep after eating a few. Then we could go next door to buy some skewers."
Ji Nian: "..."
Shen Qingtang: "..."
Gu Xiuyuan: "..."
Chen Mo: "..."
Wei Yang opened his mouth.
"Wait a minute..."
"No wonder you guys never touched the dumplings and always let me eat more first!"
He used to think his elder brothers and sisters loved him, and every time he recalled this, his heart would be filled with sweetness. It turned out they were just waiting for him to fall asleep so they could have the skewers all by themselves!
"How could you eat skewers behind my back," he looked at Zhiliao in disbelief.
Zhiliao said calmly, "It was your elder brother's idea."
Wei Yang then glared at Ji Tingzhou.
Ji Tingzhou glanced at him. "It's all gutter oil and rat meat. Kids can easily die from eating it."
Wei Yang wasn't stupid.
At that time, among the four of them, who was over eighteen?
Weren't they all just kids!
He refused to accept it. He moved his chair next to Ji Tingzhou and whined, demanding an explanation.
Ji Tingzhou found him annoying. He kicked Wei Yang's butt twice but still couldn't drive him away.
Really irritated, he sent someone to buy skewers for him, seemingly intending to make up for all the skewers he hadn't eaten over the years.
Only then was Wei Yang barely satisfied.
Shen Qingtang and Gu Xiuyuan exchanged a look.
Don't be fooled by Wei Yang's current behavior. In public, he was quite reliable and imposing, with an air of strong physical prowess that made people feel secure.
The two of them had never seen this side of him before.
Chen Mo twitched the corners of his mouth.
Apparently, it wasn't the first time he had seen this. Sometimes when he came to see Ji Nian, he would occasionally see Wei Yang acting coquettishly towards Ji Tingzhou. It gave him the creeps, and he would always complain that it was no different from Ji Tingzhou raising an extra son.
Ji Nian was used to it. She happily said that she also wanted to eat.
Ji Tingzhou glared at her. "There are dumplings. Why do you want to eat junk food?"
"Brother Wei Yang can eat it. Why can't I?"
"Do you also want to have diarrhea like him?"
"Erm!" Zhiliao coughed and glanced at Ji Tingzhou.
The dumplings in Chen Mo's mouth suddenly lost their appeal. He looked at Ji Tingzhou. "We're eating."
The look Ji Tingzhou gave him seemed to say 'Why don't you starve to death'.
Ji Nian looked at them and suddenly smiled.
Thinking about what Zhiliao had told Wei Yang about the past.
She looked at the still - flickering fireworks outside the window.
Suddenly, an image popped into her mind of three shabbily - dressed kids tiptoeing towards a skewer stand, whispering to the vendor in a low voice.
One of them was carrying a chubby little boy on his back, drooling in his sleep.
