That night, Lu Xi originally planned to stay up late to celebrate the New Year and go to bed after midnight.
After dinner, she turned on the living room TV, which hadn’t been used in a long time. Like most families that night, she watched the Spring Festival Gala while snacking.
Lu Xi couldn’t remember the last time she had watched the Gala.
It must have been at least ten years. After she became more aware of things, every New Year’s Eve, she would find an excuse to go back to her room or go out to meet friends instead of watching the show with her Uncle, Aunt, and two younger cousins downstairs.
Even though they invited her every year, Lu Xi always felt that they, as a family, should have time to themselves—to truly enjoy their family reunion.
She never went to her Uncle and Aunt to complain, even when she once overheard her cousin telling someone at school that she was only staying with them because her parents had passed away and she had nowhere else to go.
She never told anyone that she once heard her Aunt ask her Uncle if they could convince her to apply to an out-of-town university so she wouldn’t be living with them anymore.
But in the end, Lu Xi still chose a local university.
She wouldn’t wrong herself just to accommodate someone else’s wishes. She wasn’t about to make a spiteful decision and go far away just because of one comment from her Aunt. However, after starting college, she only lived on campus for a short while before moving out to rent an apartment. She only occasionally returned to her Uncle’s place during the holidays.
After her parents passed away, they left her some assets, and after entering university, she also bought her own property. She was never reliant on staying with relatives.
But by then, she had already deeply understood one thing: only in her own home, with people who were truly family, could she feel relaxed and comfortable.
Like now. This was what a real New Year felt like.
To be honest, the Spring Festival Gala… was pretty boring. Neither Xie Yizhao nor Xie Heng found it entertaining.
But strangely enough, even though none of them enjoyed it, no one suggested changing the channel or leaving for their rooms.
The three of them sat on the sofa. Well, more accurately, only Xie Yizhao was properly sitting. Lu Xi lounged against him without a care, while Xie Heng lay on the opposite sofa, playing on his phone.
Each of them was engrossed in their own screen, with the Gala as nothing more than background noise. But it still felt lively.
After a while, Lu Xi got bored and suggested playing a game.
When it came to gaming, Xie Heng was the expert. He was already playing PUBG, and Lu Xi was intrigued, saying she wanted to join.
Xie Heng gave her a doubtful look. “Are you sure you know how to play this?”
Lu Xi : “If I don’t know, can’t I learn?”
“…” Could he even say no?
By the time his current round ended, Lu Xi had already convinced Xie Yizhao to download the game as well. She looked at Xie Heng expectantly. “Add us to your game!”
Little Xie exchanged a look with Old Xie, both seeing helpless indulgence in each other’s eyes.
Fine, might as well treat it like playing with parents for a festive family game night.
And so, staying up to watch the Gala turned into staying up to play games.
But within half an hour, Lu Xi lost interest. Her poor skills frustrated her, so she quit the game in irritation.
She grabbed a pillow, watching a skit on TV while occasionally glancing at Xie Yizhao’s gameplay.
She had to admit, he was pretty good.
His movements were smooth, his reactions quick, and he even figured out some settings on his own without Xie Heng’s guidance. By the third match, he and Xie Heng secured a win.
Lu Xi’s eyes sparkled, and she clapped enthusiastically like a seal.
“Wow, amazing! Are you sure this is your first time playing?” she asked, full of admiration. “Carry me next time!”
Xie Yizhao responded calmly, “It’s my first time, but carrying you won’t be a problem.”
Across from them, Xie Heng banged the table in protest. “I’m good at this too! Why don’t you ask me to carry you?”
Lu Xi shot back mercilessly, “Find a girlfriend first, then you can carry her.”
“…”
Xie Heng felt his Dad was getting ridiculous. His Dad had even learned how to carry a teammate in a game. Was this really his usually serious and stoic CEO Dad?
Lu Xi really wanted to stay up until midnight, but her biological clock was too strong. On top of that, she had drunk alcohol earlier, so by around 10:30 PM, she started feeling drowsy. Before long, she had dozed off against Xie Yizhao.
Xie Yizhao put down his phone, adjusted her head gently, and stroked her hair. In a soft voice, he asked, “Do you want to go to bed?”
Too sleepy to open her eyes, Lu Xi simply nodded.
With practiced ease, Xie Yizhao lifted her into his arms. Before heading upstairs, he glanced at Xie Heng. “You too, go to bed early.”
Judging from his Dad’s tone, it was clear his Dad wasn’t coming back downstairs.
Xie Heng swiftly got up, turned off the TV, exited the game, and followed his parents upstairs.
Since he was carrying Lu Xi, Xie Yizhao opted for the elevator to avoid waking her.
When they reached the second floor, Xie Heng stepped out.
Rubbing his ear, he quickly turned back and muttered, “Happy New Year in advance.”
Then, as if embarrassed, he rushed off to his room.
Soon after, Xie Yizhao heard the sound of his door closing—almost like he was in a hurry.
With gentle eyes, Xie Yizhao let out a quiet laugh. He looked down at Lu Xi, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, and his gaze grew even softer.
The New Year wasn’t as wonderful as Lu Xi had imagined.
She thought she could relax at home for a few days, enjoying her time freely, but she forgot one thing.
During the New Year, relatives and friends would come to visit.
Even though the Xie family didn’t have many relatives, there were still some, and with Xie Yizhao’s extensive connections, there were even more friends.
Not to mention others—just over a decade ago, when Xie Yizhao had first joined the Xie Corporation, he had fallen out with several uncles and forcibly removed their influence from the company. Back then, some of his relatives had hated him so much that they wished to never see him again.
But now? Those very same uncles were bringing their children and grandchildren over to visit him.
Xie Yizhao simply turned a blind eye, maintaining a surface-level peace.
As for their attitude toward Lu Xi, they were very polite, so polite that she could sense the deliberate effort behind it.
Their main goal? To curry favor.
Lu Xi found it somewhat exasperating, but as long as the visitors were respectful, she responded in kind, keeping things cordial. However, for those who tried to butter her up with luxury bags and watches, hoping to use her to get closer to Xie Yizhao for benefits, she flatly refused to accept any gifts, smiling as she returned them.
Her reason was straightforward and irrefutable: “I already have these. Giving me more would be pointless.”
The smarter ones immediately understood her rejection.
Then there were those who were either too slow to catch on or simply pretending not to understand, continuing to bring up the topic.
For such situations, Lu Xi had her own way of handling things.
She would smile and bring up Xie Heng. “Oh, by the way, my son has been doing great this year! This semester, his grades improved by nearly a hundred ranks. How about your child’s grades?”
Coincidentally—or perhaps not—most of these relatives’ children were academic underachievers…
And so, the conversation usually hit a dead end right there.
Once, while passing through the living room, Xie Heng happened to overhear Lu Xi bragging about him.
He was baffled. He had only improved by 88 ranks in total over two exams, so where did the extra twelve come from?
After the guests left, he couldn’t help but ask Lu Xi about it.
Lu Xi blinked innocently. “Rounding up.”
Xie Heng : “Thanks, I never knew that’s how rounding worked.”
Lu Xi patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Keep it up! Praise leads to progress. You’ll improve even more next semester.”
“That’s a given,” Xie Heng replied confidently.
He considered his winter break quite fulfilling.
After the New Year holiday, Lu Xi’s studio resumed work. She gave each employee a red envelope to start the year, not a huge amount—666 yuan1 per person—but enough to make everyone happy.
That included Xie Heng.
She called each employee into her office individually to hand out the red envelopes and discuss their goals for the year. After all, as the boss, she needed to maintain good relationships with her team.
When it was Xie Heng’s turn, she handed him a red envelope with a smile. “New Year’s red envelope, good luck and success in your studies! Be a good boy.”
Xie Heng’s mouth twitched.
Studying hard was fine, but what was with the “be a good boy” part?
But with the red envelope right in front of him, tempting him, he took it anyway. Clearing his throat, he tried to act composed. “Got it. When have I ever not been good?”
Lu Xi tilted her head and unceremoniously recalled, “Hmm… we could trace it back to last year, when you refused to acknowledge me as your Mom and accused me of forging a paternity test.”
“…” Xie Heng’s face darkened. “Can we not bring up black history?”
Lu Xi, ever good-natured, agreed, “Alright, I won’t mention it anymore this year. I’ll bring it up next year when I give you another red envelope.”
Xie Heng rolled his eyes and left her office.
Having his past mistakes brought up? Not fun.
But getting a red envelope, and knowing he’d get another next year? That was pretty nice.
On the first day of the New Year, his Dad and Ms. Lu gave him a red envelope.
During breakfast, Lu Xi dangled the red envelope in front of him. “Say ‘Happy New Year’ to me and your Dad, and you’ll get your red envelope.”
Xie Heng didn’t hesitate in the slightest. “Happy New Year!”
He took the red envelope, but something felt off.
It was thin.
So thin that he could barely feel any money inside.
Seeing his reaction, Xie Yizhao chuckled knowingly. “Go ahead and open it.”
Xie Heng opened the envelope and pulled out a thin slip of paper—a bank deposit certificate.
His eyes widened as he read the number.
One million?
He looked up in disbelief at Xie Yizhao and Lu Xi. “Are you sure this is for me?”
He knew his family was wealthy, and a million wasn’t much for his Dad, but he had never held so much money in his own hands before.
Xie Yizhao explained, “Your Mom and I each contributed 500,000. It’s in a fixed deposit for three years. By then, you’ll be in college, and you can use it however you like. Buy a car, start a business, it’s up to you.”
Lu Xi curved her almond eyes at him with a smile. “Consider this a growth fund for my little cub. How you spend it is entirely up to you.”
After all this time, Xie Heng had long since grown accustomed to her calling him little cub.
It was a little embarrassing, a little cheesy, but also very endearing—like he was a cherished little kid.
Now, standing outside Lu Xi’s office, holding the red envelope she had just given him, Xie Heng felt his palm grow warm and his heartbeat quicken.
He was beyond happy.
She had already given him a huge red envelope once before, and now she was giving him another one. Ms. Lu truly loved him.
Xie Heng felt completely surrounded by her affection, and he was absolutely certain of it.
Back at his desk, he couldn’t resist pulling out his phone, snapping a picture of the red envelope, and preparing to send it to the group chat with Song Siyang and Xu Jiaming.
For once, he finally understood why Lu Xi loved posting on social media.
Because when one’s happy, they just want to show off!
A few days ago, when he received the big red envelope, he’d been tempted to share it then, but he held back. The amount was too large, and flaunting it wouldn’t have been appropriate. In this regard, he was a lot like Xie Yizhao: both preferred making money in a low-key manner.
But today’s 666 yuan? That was totally fair game!
Xie Heng opened the group chat, just about to send the picture, when he saw three new messages from a minute ago.
Song Siyang : [Damn it, winter break is almost over! Ahhh, I’m gonna lose my mind!]
Xu Jiaming : [I might be transferring schools next semester.]
Song Siyang : [?]
Xie Heng froze for a moment, then quickly sent a question mark of his own.
[You’re transferring? To First High? Isn’t that school about the same as ours?]
It was nearly five minutes before Xu Jiaming finally replied.
[I might be going abroad for school.]
At 12:30, Xie Heng took the subway to a commercial pedestrian street and met up with Xu Jiaming and Song Siyang at a fast-food restaurant.
They had both just arrived as well.
It was Song Siyang’s idea to meet up in person. Some things were hard to explain over text.
They hadn’t seen much of each other this winter break. As soon as vacation started, Xu Jiaming went to his grandmother’s place in another city for the New Year, while Song Siyang traveled abroad with his parents.
Just this morning, Song Siyang had wanted to gather everyone for a basketball game, only to be blindsided by Xu Jiaming’s sudden transfer news.
He was going abroad? Wasn’t that way too abrupt?
Xie Heng ordered some food, absentmindedly stuffing a french fry into his mouth as he asked, “Did something happen?”
Like Song Siyang, he found the news shocking.
With Xu Jiaming’s grades, he could easily get into the country’s top universities and have a great future.
Xu Jiaming was silent for a moment before answering, “It was my Mom’s decision.”
Xie Heng and Song Siyang exchanged a glance, their expressions darkening.
No matter how rebellious they could be, they knew that when a parent made a decision, it was hard for a child to change it.
Especially as outsiders, they were in no position to interfere.
“But… why?” Xie Heng couldn’t help but ask. “Is it to give you a better education?”
Xu Jiaming shook his head, the corners of his lips pulling into a bitter smile. His usually bright, clear eyes were now shadowed. “It’s because of my father.”
The way he said ‘father’ was filled with undisguised disgust.
It was not indifference like Xie Heng’s feelings toward Xie Yizhao. No, this was outright loathing.
Xie Heng knew that Xu Jiaming’s parents had divorced early. He had never brought up his father before, and they had never asked.
Even Xu Jiaming himself hadn’t expected to ever cross paths with that man again.
His parents divorced when he was six years old. He remembered it clearly. His father had cheated, leaving his Mom for another woman who wasn’t as beautiful or as elegant as she was.
At the time, he hadn’t understood what cheating meant. He only knew, from his Mom’s reaction, that it was something terrible.
After the divorce, his father took the other woman abroad. Over the years, he only made the occasional perfunctory phone call, showing no real concern.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, his father suddenly showed up at his grandmother’s house, kneeling at the door and insisting on seeing him.
The commotion drew the attention of all the neighbors.
Yang Yihan was furious and had her assistant drive him away.
But a grown man wasn’t so easily deterred. From that day on, he showed up at his grandmother’s house every day, making a scene.
Yang Yihan quickly found out that he had lost everything to gambling. His house, his car, even his shares in his company. His mistress had left him, and a serious illness had left him a shadow of his former self.
Xu Jiaming saw through it all. Lowering his gaze, he murmured, “Now that he has nothing left, he suddenly remembers he has a son and wants me to take care of him.”
There was no way Yang Yihan would let that man ruin Xu Jiaming’s life.
Knowing that the man had Xu Jiaming’s address and school information, and that the man could harass him anytime, she decided the best way to protect her son was to send him abroad, far away from that wretched man.
Xie Heng frowned deeply as he listened.
Aunt Yang was absolutely right. If that wasn’t a wretched man, what was?
Looking at Xu Jiaming, Xie Heng suddenly thought of his own Dad.
It might not be the best time for this, but… compared to this scumbag, his Dad suddenly seemed like a great man.
He used to resent his Dad so much, but at least his Dad had never abandoned him or kicked him out…
Maybe it was time to stop butting heads with Old Xie so much.
He should be a little nicer to his Dad.
- In Chinese culture, the number 666 is considered a very lucky number. It means that things are going smoothly and successfully. The number is pronounced as “liù liù liù” (六六六), which sounds similar to “liū liū liū” (溜溜溜), a phrase that means “everything goes smoothly.” ↩︎