This chapter is brought to you by zhopiabee, thanks for the ko-fi! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･
In a fluster, Shen Qingyao stuffed the box containing the jade bracelet into Cui Qiao’s hands. As soon as her hands were free, they were grabbed by Lu Zhao. She followed his force and moved forward two steps before turning back to signal Cui Qiao with her eyes to carefully keep the box.
When she was taken to a small building where they could see fireworks, Shen Qingyao was left with only a piece of pastry in her hand, the one Shen Qingli had used to silence her earlier. After biting a small notch into it, she had been holding onto it. Now she neither threw it away nor ate it, feeling extremely awkward.
Lu Zhao had already released her, his expression appearing pleasant, though the smile was not as wide as before. It was still early; the arranged fireworks were not yet ready. Shen Qingyao didn’t understand why they had to come out so early, but looking at Lu Zhao’s expression now, she suddenly had a bit of understanding.
Wasn’t he just tired of acting in front of others? Leaving the crowd early meant fewer things he needed to act out. After all, the two of them were experienced actors, and they could afford to be more casual around each other.
As Shen Qingyao breathed a sigh of relief, she also felt a sense of inexplicable disappointment. She lowered her head and took a bite of the jujube cake in her hand.
The jujube cake was sweet and sticky as it entered her mouth. Shen Qingyao hadn’t had the chance to fully taste it when she noticed Lu Zhao’s gaze on her hand.
Huh? What’s going on?
Shen Qingyao stopped her motion of taking another bite, cautiously raised her head to glance at Lu Zhao, and indeed found him looking at her pastry.
She was utterly puzzled, stealing glances between the pastry and him, unsure of his intentions. Lu Zhao’s expression seemed somewhat strange, as if he was reminded of something through this pastry, making Shen Qingyao feel a bit nervous.
“Perhaps he also wants to eat?” Shen Qingyao couldn’t help asking the system. The jujube cake did taste good.
System : […]
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, would you like some?” Shen Qingyao finally asked Lu Zhao, then looked at the pastry in her hand that she had already taken two bites of, sinking into thought. If Lu Zhao nodded, would she give it to him?
But Lu Zhao probably wouldn’t eat, right? Shen Qingyao comforted herself. After all, characters like White Moonlight often had some cleanliness quirks, right? Then she saw this cleanliness-conscious person nodding towards her, indicating, “Yes, I’d like some.”
“…”
Since she was the one who asked the question, Shen Qingyao could only pout and pick up the pastry. With a gentle twist of her fingers, she split the jujube cake into two halves, one half was the part she had bitten, while the other half was pinched by her hand…
She hesitated for a moment, feeling that the pinched half might be better than the bitten one, so she handed that half over. “Here, this piece is for you.”
As soon as the words were spoken, both of them paused simultaneously. Shen Qingyao’s mind flashed quickly with something, as if she had done this before a long time ago, but before she transmigrated over, she had always been in the hospital with no friends, so it was impossible for her to share a piece of pastry with anyone. Could that be a part of the original owner’s memories?
Lu Zhao’s gaze softened even more as he reached out to take the half piece of pastry, but he didn’t eat it. He just looked at her intently.
Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but ask, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, aren’t you going to eat?”
This sentence also overlapped with a voice in her memory. Shen Qingyao furrowed her brows slightly.
Lu Zhao seemed to realize something only then, and lowered his head to take a bite. After tasting the sweet flavor, he involuntarily furrowed his brows, but still smiled and said, “Yaoyao’s way of sharing pastries is still the same as before.”
Shen Qingyao widened her eyes, shouting in her heart, “This is indeed something the original owner did!”
After a moment, she felt something was off and asked again, “Wait a minute! Didn’t the original owner always stay indoors before? How could she have such an interaction with White Moonlight in the past?”
The system didn’t answer her, seemingly out for maintenance as before.
Shen Qingyao remained silent. At this moment, a sound came through, and suddenly a brilliant firework exploded in the sky outside the building. She was drawn to it, turning her head to look, and vaguely heard Lu Zhao say in a low voice, “Yaoyao really doesn’t remember, huh?”
The fireworks were too loud, and there were voices of other people of the Shen family downstairs, chatting and making noise. She couldn’t quite hear clearly for a moment. When she turned back, Lu Zhao was already standing behind her, looking normal, his eyes reflecting the colorful night sky and… her shadow.
Shen Qingyao’s already fragile heart once again entered a state of imbalance. Her heart skipped a beat, a warm flow passing through her heart. In front of her was a smiling figure with focused eyes, the chatter and laughter of family and friends was heard around them, and the sky was filled with colorful fireworks. Shen Qingyao suddenly realized, it seemed like this was the first time she had ever experienced such a New Year’s Eve.
In her past New Year’s Eves, her family would come to the hospital early to accompany her for a while, but they always had to leave. She couldn’t leave the hospital, but her family was anxious to go home for the New Year. After just one morning, they would leave her alone there, and wouldn’t think of her anymore.
About New Year’s Eve, she only knew the Spring Festival Gala1 that no one found interesting and noisy atmosphere that never belonged to her. This was the first time she found herself amidst the noise, standing at the center of the lights.
Shen Qingyao’s nose tingled, her eyes slightly reddened. She didn’t want Lu Zhao to see, so she quickly turned away, blinked her eyes. However, instead of the tears welling up, they overflowed from her eyes.
“Yaoyao?” Lu Zhao’s voice became nervous.
He had been watching Shen Qingyao all along, naturally noticing her change in mood. For a moment, he was at a loss, then he saw the girl herself sniffing, rubbing her eyes, and softly complaining, “What a crappy firework, it’s stinging my eyes so bad!”
Lu Zhao didn’t expose anything either, following her words, he comforted, “Yes yes yes! The fireworks weren’t used properly! It must be that the fireworks factory cut corners this year!”
Then he earnestly added, “Next time, let’s go for a different kind of fireworks.”
“Pfft.” The tiny bit of sourness in Shen Qingyao’s heart was dispelled by his capitalist landlord-like behavior. She chuckled with a nasal tone. And seeing her finally smile again, Lu Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Actually… it’s not so bad, right? No need to change…” Shen Qingyao looked back at the fireworks again, feeling quite good about them. If it was really because of her silly sentimentality that the fireworks workers lost their jobs, that would be too unfair! After thinking about it, she repeated, “It’s quite nice.”
“Alright.” Lu Zhao smiled, took a few steps forward, walking shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Yaoyao! Look!! Is it beautiful?!!” The rest of the Shen family were all downstairs watching the fireworks. At this moment, Shen Yushu, with sharp eyes, saw them upstairs. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to her, excited and unrestrained, completely different from his usual refined and gentle demeanor, more like an impulsive young lad.
Shen Qingyao leaned against the railing, seeing Shen Yushu getting a tap from Mother Shen, telling him to behave. The two sisters, Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingli, smiled simultaneously.
Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but think, if there’s enough happiness and touching feelings, then this kind of happiness can truly heal the unhappiness of the past. And she was being healed right now.
At this moment, Lu Zhao reached out a hand to protect her, afraid she might fall from upstairs.
Shen Qingyao followed his lead and stepped back, suddenly looked up at him, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, I think you look even better today!”
He practically radiated with brilliance.
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow, not thinking it was a good thing for a grown man to be complimented for his looks, but he didn’t refute it either.
The number above his head appeared again, but Shen Qingyao ignored it. She just continued, “Today is New Year’s Eve, isn’t Elder Brother Lu Zhao going to give me something?”
“I brought the palace’s granted dishes, didn’t I?” Lu Zhao pretended not to understand, teasing her with a clueless straight male demeanor.
Shen Qingyao pretended to be angry, glaring and shouting, “How can that count! Those are clearly for the whole Shen Mansion! Not just for me!”
She thought to herself : Don’t even think about fooling me with that cold dish.
After shouting, she calmed down a bit, feeling like she might have been unreasonable. After all, wasn’t it already good enough that Lu Zhao abandoned his family to be with her on New Year’s Eve? So, without waiting for Lu Zhao to speak, Shen Qingyao spoke again, “But… I’m quite happy too.”
Her voice was softer than before, and she wasn’t sure if she was saying it for Lu Zhao to hear or for herself.
Lu Zhao, who had originally intended to joke around a bit more, quieted down when he heard her tone, focusing on her and waiting for her to continue.
“I’ve never been so happy during the New Year before… really.”
She lowered her head, murmuring to herself, “Before, it was always just me. This year, I have Father, Mother, Elder Brother, Elder Sister, and you to accompany me. Plus, fireworks. It’s really nice.”
So, I forgive you for not preparing a gift separately! Shen Qingyao silently added the second half of the sentence in her mind.
Lu Zhao remained silent for a long time, staring at the young girl’s hair. Soon, he understood the meaning behind her words. Shen Qingyao had congenital health issues, and for the first few years, she had spent almost all her time on a sickbed. Although the Shen family loved her, her health was not sufficient for prolonged participation in such activities, often confined to her room alone. The young girl must have been lonely.
Feeling a pang of heartache, he almost didn’t hesitate, placing his hand on Shen Qingyao’s head. He gently ruffled her hair, tenderly saying, “Then you should get ready. You should be happy like this from now on, not just this year, but every year, there will be someone to accompany you.”
After a moment, Shen Qingyao felt the hand leave her hair. She heard Lu Zhao seemingly fetching something, and then a delicate box was placed in front of her.
Lu Zhao said again, “Here, exclusively for you, just for you.”
He deliberately emphasized this, causing Shen Qingyao to blush.
She reached out and opened the box, revealing another jade fox inside. It wasn’t the same one as last time; this one was entirely blood-red, with only two white spots on its ears. It was a red fox, looking as if it were a pair with the one from last time.
“This…” Shen Qingyao was somewhat surprised but genuinely liked it.
She tried to suppress the upward curve of her lips, but her eyes sparkled, “Only for me? Is it only mine?”
—It couldn’t be a mass-produced item, could it?
Lu Zhao chuckled softly, nodding as he lightly brushed her nose with his index finger, “Yes, keep it safe. It’s a New Year’s gift for Yaoyao.”
It was the first time in Shen Qingyao’s life that she received a ‘New Year’s gift’ like this, and she was a bit excited.
Shen Qingyao hugged the box, her expression mirrored that of the little fox inside, which made Lu Zhao’s heart soften.
“Thank you, Elder Brother Lu Zhao, I really like it.” Shen Qingyao looked into his eyes, and in the corner of her vision, it seemed like the number above Lu Zhao’s head moved slightly. However, the atmosphere was too good at the moment, so she generously ignored it, just boasting in her heart.
“System, system! Look! A little fox! A red little fox!! I have a little fox too! You don’t, hehe~~~”
[…] The system indeed didn’t have one, but that didn’t stop it from being sour and grinding its teeth, [Excuse me, is a jade fox really that rare? Huh? Is it rare?!!]
- A TV program in China that was broadcasted annually on Lunar New Year’s Eve. ↩︎