Time passed just like that, and the atmosphere of the approaching New Year grew stronger. On her routine commute between home and the milk tea shop, Zhu Yaya watched the red decorations on the streets multiply day by day.
After completing the fourteenth mission, the system seemed to have vanished, not making a single sound.
Zhu Yaya had not brought the piece of paper on which she had written the key plot points of Xu Chun and Murong Beichen's future romantic development, so she pondered over it on the bus.
After the scene where he stood up for her at the milk tea shop, the plot seemed to be...
Just then, the bus passed by Times Square in the East District of the Imperial Capital. There was a giant electronic screen playing various festive advertisements.
The bus pulled up at the stop, and passengers got on and off one after another. Zhu Yaya was seated quite close to the driver, so she overheard a conversation between the driver and a regular passenger.
Times Square. New Year's Eve. Electronic fireworks.
Zhu Yaya's eyes lit up as she listened to their chat. She remembered now; the subsequent plot went like this—
On New Year's Eve, Murong Beichen would go to the West District to find Xu Chun and take her to Times Square to watch the electronic fireworks until midnight. Murong Beichen would also take the opportunity to confess his feelings to Xu Chun once again.
The system's voice, which had been missing for days, rang out at this exact moment: "Congratulations on successfully unlocking the fifteenth mission. Please arrive at Times Square in the East District of the Imperial Capital at 10:30 PM on New Year's Eve to witness Murong Beichen's confession to Xu Chun under the fireworks and enjoy the drama."
It seemed the fifteenth mission would have to wait until New Year's Eve! In that case, she wouldn't need to run to the Once in a Lifetime milk tea shop to clock in every day for the time being.
Zhu Yaya immediately beamed with joy. Even though she was almost at the milk tea shop, she prepared to head back the way she came.
Right then, Zhao Jing called. She said she had swapped shifts today and had some free time, so she wanted to take Yaya to a clothing store in the East District to buy some new clothes for the New Year.
"The owner of the store is an old friend of Mom's. Her husband is the principal of an elementary school, and I was the one who played matchmaker for them. We can get a discount if we buy clothes there," Zhao Jing said over the phone.
"Sure, Mom. I'm already in the East District right now. Just tell me the address of the store, and I'll go wait for you there," Zhu Yaya replied.
"Okay."
Zhao Jing gave Zhu Yaya the address over the phone and repeatedly reminded her to be careful before finally hanging up.
The store owned by Zhao Jing's old friend was just one street away from Wanqi Street. Zhu Yaya walked past the Once in a Lifetime milk tea shop and went to look for the store.
After finding it, Zhu Yaya wasn't in a hurry to go in. She wasn't familiar with Zhao Jing's old friend, so going in alone would only be awkward! She simply wandered around the street where the store was located.
After waiting for quite a while, Zhu Yaya finally saw Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing immediately linked her arm through Zhu Yaya's. "Look how busy Mom has been. It's almost the New Year, and I haven't even bought you your new clothes yet. This auntie seems to have met you when you were little. When you see her later, remember to greet her properly."
"Okay." Zhu Yaya nodded obediently.
Zhao Jing must have a really good relationship with this old friend. As soon as she stepped through the door, she shouted loudly, "Wang Ling! Lingdang! Your Sister Jing is here!"
Seeing Zhu Yaya's curious gaze, Zhao Jing smiled and patted her hand. "This Auntie Wang used to have a nickname, Lingdang."
Zhu Yaya nodded.
"Oh, Sister Jing is here! What a rare guest!" An elegant, well-maintained auntie walked over to greet them.
As soon as Zhu Yaya saw her, she politely called out, "Hello, Auntie Wang."
Wang Ling looked at Zhu Yaya with a slightly puzzled expression and said to Zhao Jing, "This is..."
"Did you forget? This is my precious daughter, Zhu Yaya! I remember you even held her when she was a baby, didn't you?"
"Is that so?" Wang Ling decided not to dwell on it and smiled at Zhu Yaya. "She's grown so big! Sister Jing, Yaya is much prettier than you were in your youth."
"Of course! Look whose daughter she is." Zhao Jing looked proud. "Our Yaya has great grades, too. She's a freshman at Scott High School now, and she ranks first in her grade in every monthly exam!"
"She's that good at studying!" Wang Ling cast a surprised glance at Zhu Yaya.
Zhu Yaya felt a bit embarrassed and tugged at the hem of Zhao Jing's shirt. "Mom~"
"She's even getting shy! Sister Jing, you guys must be here to buy New Year clothes! Oh, why buy them? I'll give them to you as a gift! Come, Yaya, see if there's anything you like! Auntie Wang will treat you!" Wang Ling was very enthusiastic.
Zhu Yaya went to pick out clothes. After trying on several outfits, she finally decided on a fruit-green cropped hooded padded jacket paired with cream-colored straight-leg jeans.
Zhao Jing and Wang Ling argued over the payment for a long time. In the end, Zhao Jing still paid, but Wang Ling gave them a discount.
After Zhao Jing and her daughter left, Wang Ling was tidying up the clothes Zhu Yaya had tried on earlier. She shook her head and muttered softly to herself, "When did Sister Jing have a daughter? Why don't I really remember? I guess she did have one."
The mother and daughter went on a shopping spree, visiting several stores. Zhu Yaya even picked out a few matching clothing items for Zhao Jing and Zhu Jianjun. Finally, they went to a large supermarket to buy snacks to entertain guests during the New Year.
"On the third and fourth days of the first lunar month, our relatives will come over to wish us a happy New Year. There will be lots of kids coming then! Your tastes should be pretty similar, so pick out a few things you'd like to eat yourself," Zhao Jing said.
Zhu Yaya looked at the dazzling array of goods, her hands itching to grab them.
In the following days, Zhu Yaya didn't go to the Once in a Lifetime milk tea shop to clock in. Instead, she stayed home and prepared for the New Year spring cleaning. Zhao Jing and Zhu Jianjun were usually too busy with work, especially during this period when the crowds in the Imperial Capital were even larger, so Zhu Yaya decided to take on the cleaning task all by herself.
Zhu Jianjun was so moved by this that his eyes welled up with tears. However, for Zhu Yaya's safety, he refused to let her clean the windows.
Usually, Zhu Yaya always felt that their apartment was a bit small, but when it came to spring cleaning, she suddenly realized that her home was actually quite big!
Wearing an apron and looking miserable, Zhu Yaya held a dripping mop and meticulously mopped the floor.
Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on the door.
Who could it be? Could it be that Zhu Jianjun had come back early?
Zhu Yaya casually leaned the mop against the wall and, afraid of keeping the person waiting, went straight to open the door.
She didn't look through the peephole and just opened the door directly, only to find Yan Heng, whom she hadn't seen for a few days.
Zhu Yaya was caught off guard and said in surprise, "Yan Heng? Why are you here?"
Yan Heng didn't answer her question first. Frowning, he said, "Why did you just open the door? Without even asking who it is? That's too dangerous."
"Haha," Zhu Yaya laughed sheepishly. "I'll be more careful next time."
"Don't let your guard down. If it was a bad guy, you'd be in danger right now."
Zhu Yaya knew that Yan Heng was looking out for her safety, so she didn't argue back and obediently listened to his lecture.
