Under Aunt Wang's direction, the entire home was refreshed and sparkling.
After the lively New Year's Eve and the first day of the lunar new year, on the second day, Jiang Mo was still lounging in bed when Aunt Wang hauled her out from under the covers.
"Mom, it's only 7:30. He won't be coming this early. Let me sleep a bit more," Jiang Mo said, curling up inside the quilt.
"Get up right now! You need to have breakfast and fix up that face of yours," Aunt Wang pulled the curtains open, letting the sunlight stream in. "Look how lovely the weather is."
Jiang Mo didn't reply, sinking back into sleep.
Seeing her like this, Aunt Wang made a move to yank the quilt away. "Are you getting up or not?"
"Just ten more minutes," Jiang Mo mumbled. "Mom, go do your own thing."
No sooner had Aunt Wang left than Jiang Mo fell asleep again.
In the living room, the two Li men were eating at the dining table. Li Zheng, wearing thick cartoon pajamas with his hair sticking up, stuffed a dumpling into his mouth and said, "See, I told you Sis would sleep in."
"It is a bit early. He wouldn't come visiting first thing in the morning anyway," Li Daming said leisurely.
"What if he does come early? Besides, the house still needs tidying up," Aunt Wang said, sitting down at the table and cracking a boiled egg to eat.
Li Daming looked down at the gleaming floor. "What's left to tidy? We've been cleaning for days. I think you might as well sweep us out the door and host the guests by yourself."
Li Zheng snorted with laughter. "I'd rather stay home, Dad. You can go out by yourself."
"I won't kick you out today. After breakfast, help prepare the ingredients. Get the vegetables for lunch ready ahead of time," Aunt Wang instructed.
They chatted as they ate. After finishing breakfast, seeing there was still no movement from the bedroom, Aunt Wang put down her chopsticks and made a second trip to rouse Jiang Mo.
The quilt was pulled back, letting in a draft of cold air, and Jiang Mo launched into a tug-of-war for the covers. "Mom, Mom, I'm getting up right now."
Aunt Wang dropped the quilt. "Hurry up."
Only then did Jiang Mo abandon her warm nest, get up, and get dressed. Picking up her phone, she saw a message from Gu Ye: "Estimated arrival at your place around 8:50."
"So early? I don't even get up this early for work," she replied, then sped up her dressing and washing routine.
By the time Jiang Mo was mostly ready and had a quick breakfast, the doorbell rang.
Li Zheng ran to open the door. Facing him was Gu Ye, both hands full of things, with Gu Xuan beside him, also laden with items.
Only Su Yunjin was relatively elegant, dressed quite luxuriously.
This was her first time visiting Aunt Wang's home. So this was where they lived.
"Please, come in!" Hearing the commotion, Aunt Wang hurried out, welcoming them inside with a smile.
Li Daming followed behind. "You're too kind, bringing so many things," he said, quickly taking the items from their hands.
Gu Xuan, young but sharp, said, "Uncle Li, my second brother prepared a lot of stuff. There's more downstairs in the car that hasn't been brought up yet."
Jiang Mo promptly started making tea for everyone. "Auntie Su, please come sit over here."
Su Yunjin glanced around. The apartment was a bit small, probably just over a hundred square meters, but it looked quite cozy overall.
Accepting the hot tea and taking a sip, Su Yunjin said, "I'm just here to see your home for the New Year. This boy was so anxious this morning, afraid we'd be late."
"You're not late at all," Jiang Mo said, washing some fruit and placing it on the coffee table for guests. "Auntie Su, this is your first time at my home, right?"
"Yes, I only knew you lived in this area before."
"Huh, Mom, you've never been here? But I have, I even stayed over once," Gu Xuan said.
Gu Ye teased, "Yeah, that time you ran away from home and no one noticed."
"Second brother!" Gu Xuan raised his voice. Did he have to bring up old wounds?
Gu Ye sat down next to Jiang Mo and took her hand. "Did you stay up late last night?"
Jiang Mo grinned. "Just a little bit."
Staying up late during vacation is perfectly normal.
Su Yunjin watched the young couple whispering to each other and smiled warmly. She stood up to look around and wandered into Jiang Mo's bedroom.
Jiang Mo's bedroom had a photo wall; she liked to print out photos and stick them on the wall.
Sure enough, Su Yunjin saw photos of the two of them together. With looks like that, any children they had wouldn't be bad.
Aunt Wang followed her in, and the two mothers started chatting.
The parents had their own gathering, so after a while in the living room, Gu Ye and the others remembered the things still downstairs in the car.
The whole group bustled back downstairs.
Fortunately, there were enough people, and they managed it in one trip.
Gu Ye unpacked the gifts, handing out the corresponding presents. Aunt Wang looked at the all-too-familiar gifts before her and blinked. Weren't these all from the storeroom?
