Fu Chengyan pursed his lips and furrowed his brows when he saw the two items. He didn’t know what to make of it either.
“Forget it. Let’s just stop thinking about it altogether!” When Shi Nuan was about to keep the gifts, she saw two red packets at the bottom of the gift boxes. Her eyes sparkled as she took them out. It was given to them by Jiang Shizheng as part of the New Year’s tradition. She couldn’t help but laughed. “Since when did Grandpa learn how to play tricks like that?” Only he would be able to come up with something as elaborate as this.
Fu Chengyan shook his head as he laughed. He passed the red packets to Shi Nuan while he kept the two gift boxes. “Let’s go. I’m sure Grandpa has his reasons for giving those gifts.”
“Get in the car.”
“Alright!” Shi Nuan nodded. She continued to stare blankly at the gift boxes inside the car. Even when they reached home, she was still unaware.
It was only when Fu Chengyan opened the car door and placed his hand on her forehead that Shi Nuan recovered her senses. “What is it?”
“We’re home!” Fu Chengyan helped Shi Nuan unbuckle her seatbelt and reached out to touch the tip of her nose. “Time to get out!”
“Oh, didn’t we say that we wanted to light some fireworks for tonight? We have yet to buy any of them yet!” Shi Nuan finally remembered after she looked around and realized that they had come straight home from Grandpa’s house. How were they going to have fireworks when they didn’t buy any?
“Get down!” Fu Chengyan helped her out and closed the door behind her. She was pleasantly surprised to see fireworks stacked outside Wutong Residence. “This…”
“Mr. Fu, Mrs. Fu!”
Zhou Zheng walked out from inside the house and stood in front of Fu Chengyan respectfully. “I did what you asked. Would you like to take a look?”
“Alright!” Fu Chengyan nodded as he passed the car keys to Zhou Zheng. “Well done. Happy New Year!”
Zhou Zheng caught the keys that Fu Chengyan had thrown in his direction. His eyes sparkled when he saw them in his hand. “Thanks, Mr. Fu!” He turned to Shi Nuan. “Thanks, Mrs. Fu!”
“Me? Thank me?” Shi Nuan gave Zhou Zheng a puzzled look. “What are you thanking me for?”
Fu Chengyan led Shi Nuan into the house as he yelled. “Go home. You have three days off!”
“Thanks, Mr. Fu!” Zhou Zheng’s eyes sparkled with joy as he left with the car keys.
He was initially reluctant to run errands for Fu Chengyan on such an important holiday. However, his reluctance turned into delight when he found out that he would be compensated with a car.
Fu Chengyan held Shi Nuan’s hand as he led her into Wutong Residence. She had no clue what was going on. When she entered the house, her mind was still trying to figure out why Zhou Zheng looked so happy to be running errands on New Year’s Eve.
“What are you thinking of?”
Fu Chengyan had changed into his slippers and passed Shi Nuan hers. However, when he noticed that she was still in a daze, he smiled as he tousled her hair. “Why are you spacing out?”
“It’s nothing!” Shi Nuan shook her head and felt that she didn’t seem to be in her element today. “Why is Zhou Zheng so happy to be working on New Year’s Eve?”
“In exchange for a Land Rover.” Fu Chengyan chuckled.
Shi Nuan blinked in sudden realization. “No wonder he was overjoyed when you passed him the car keys. So you gave him the car as a gift?”
“Of course.” Fu Chengyan nodded as he led Shi Nuan into the house. The living room had its floor heating turned on, and it felt very comfortable.
Fu Chengyan turned on the TV, and they sat together to watch as it was still early. Shi Nuan had taken off her slippers and was sitting with her legs up on the sofa. When she saw Fu Chengyan approach, she patted on the seat next to her.
Fu Chengyan sat down and pulled Shi Nuan into his embrace as they lay on the sofa together. He had one hand on the remote and the other stroking Shi Nuan’s head. “Zhou Zheng has been with me for many years. If you need something and can’t get me, you can go to him right away.”
“Alright!” Shi Nuan nodded in acknowledgment. When she reached out her right hand and admired the shiny ring on her hand, she felt that she couldn’t be happier. “Yan.”
“Hmm?” Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrows. “What is it?”
“I love you!” Shi Nuan stretched herself straight to put her arms around his neck and kissed his neck. Fu Chengyan hugged her tightly and kissed her back. “Why did you suddenly say that you love me, hmm? Is there something wrong?”
“No, there isn’t!” Shi Nuan lowered her head bashfully. She fiddled with her own ring before fiddling with Fu Chengyan’s. “I just realized that I loved you more now!”
“Is that so?” Fu Chengyan sank himself into the sofa as he hugged Shi Nuan’s waist. With one arm on the sofa, he leaned into Shi Nuan’s ear and said, “What a coincidence… I love you more too!”
His reply brought her to a halt.
Shi Nuan could feel her heart pounding non-stop. It was beating so fast that she couldn’t keep it under control. She put her hands on her heart and felt that it was still pounding. “It’s so embarrassing!” Shi Nuan couldn’t help but mumble.
“Hmm?” Fu Chengyan raised his eyebrows as Shi Nuan pushed him away. She put a little distance between them before placing her hands on her cheeks. “Nothing, I said I wanted to watch TV!”
Fu Chengyan smiled mischievously, but his eyes were filled with endearment for her. After hesitating a moment, he shook his head as he gave her the remote.
Shi Nuan snatched the remote away without even looking at him. She was worried that she would be bewitched by this demon of a man, Fu Chengyan. It was only at that moment she had just realized that there was no way she could resist him anymore.
Fu Chengyan shook his head as he asked, “What would you like to drink?”
Just as he spoke, his phone started to ring. He glanced at Shi Nuan, who stood up and said, “I’ll make us some tea as we ate a lot of greasy food at Grandpa’s. You should take the call first!”
Fu Chengyan nodded. He waited for Shi Nuan to enter the kitchen before picking up. “Hello!”
“Yan, where are you?”
It was his sister Fu Jiayu that called. The Fu clan was celebrating the New Year at the Fu residence. All family members were obliged to be there based on tradition. However, they were missing one of their most important members today, and that was Fu Chengyan.
They had called a few times to nag him about it, but he never showed up. Hence, Fu Jiayu had to call him because she had no other choice. “Granddad and father are both waiting for you!”
“Alright.” Fu Chengyan took a peek at the figure that was busy in the kitchen. His gaze sunk as he replied, “You guys should go ahead and not wait for me.”
“That’s not acceptable!” Fu Jiayu was outraged when she heard what Fu Chengyan said. “Yan, you have never acted like this before. What’s happening? Did something come out at your end?”
“It’s nothing!” Fu Chengyan’s long fingers were tapping on the sofa armrest. “Please tell Granddad and father that I’m not coming home today!”
“Yan!” Fu Jiayu didn’t expect Fu Chengyan to be so direct and stubborn at the same time. “You have been coming home every New Year’s Eve. If you don’t this time, it will cause an uproar. Tell me, why are you…”
“There are a lot of people at the Fu residence. It doesn’t really matter if I’m not there. Besides, I don’t really feel like attending a gathering like that!” Fu Chengyan’s tone changed to be more solemn. “That’s all. I’ll hang up if there’s nothing else.”
Fu Chengyan ended the call and pinched his eyebrows in frustration. He then saw a cup of hot tea being served to him, and he could still see the steam rise from it. He squinted his eyes as he picked up the cup.
Shi Nuan noticed that he was in a bad mood, so she inquired, “What’s wrong?”
However, Fu Chengyan shook his head. “Nothing, something at work just came up.”
“Yan, don’t lie to me. Nobody would be working at this hour. Did you get a call from your family?”
Shi Nuan could guess what happened without even the need for him to explain simply because she overheard him talking on the phone just now. “You know you don’t have to stay here with me. You should go home!”
“I’ve promised to spend the evening with you!” Fu Chengyan turned off his phone as he spoke and threw it aside.
Shi Nuan frowned. “But your family…”
“No one is more important than you.” Fu Chengyan interrupted her and motioned her to come over. She sat down close to him and leaned sideways against his body. “May, you’re the most important person to me. There will always be gatherings like those.” He didn’t feel like wasting his time on those people. “Do you want to see the fireworks now?”
“But, isn’t it too early?” Shi Nuan checked her watch. “It’s just half-past ten. Wouldn’t it be too early if we light the fireworks now?”
“It doesn’t matter what time we light it. At midnight, everyone would be doing the same, and ours wouldn’t seem so special anymore. Come on!” Fu Chengyan held her hand as he pulled her along, but she pulled back instead and said, “Hold on a second, let’s get changed. It’s too cold outside.” Shi Nuan ran upstairs and brought a jacket down for Fu Chengyan while wearing a light purple sweater herself. Fu Chengyan’s eyes glowed when he saw her wrapped up like a porcelain doll.
Shi Nuan held Fu Chengyan’s hand as they walked out and chatted along the way. “Are we going to light the fireworks in the garden or on the roof? I mean the top floor!” Shi Nuan stood at the entrance as she looked at the glass-covered room on the top floor of Wutong Residence. “What do you think it feels like to see the fireworks from the roof?”
Fu Chengyan followed her gaze to the roof. He squinted his eyes and said, “Do you want to know? Let’s go up there and find out!”
“Alright!” Shi Nuan clapped her hands as her eyes looked especially enchanting underneath the moonlight. “Yan, please carry two boxes up there for us to try. We’ll light the rest later.”
Shi Nuan instructed Fu Chengyan to carry the fireworks as she held onto the camera to record him doing it. “Yan, I’ll be recording a video of you. Look at the camera and say hi! Quick, say hi!”
Just then, Shi Nuan reached out her hand to hold Fu Chengyan’s hand. However, she was ascending the steps while walking backward. Suddenly, she missed a step and fell. Luckily, Fu Chengyan caught her in time, or the both of them would have rolled down the stairs. “Be careful!”
Fu Chengyan shook his head and reprimanded, “I think I need to tie you up and latch you onto my belt. That way you won’t be able to fall!”
