Chapter 294 - 291: Happy New Year

Chapter 294: Chapter 291: Happy New Year

The young couple spent the entire day entangled in bed. Although it was all touching and no doing, Lin Yanwan still satisfied Jiang Xia’s various kinky requests.

The two only reluctantly crawled out of bed after their stomachs growled for the twenty-eighth time.

"I thought you said I could rest?" Jiang Xia yawned, feeling completely drained.

"I told you to get some sleep, but a certain someone just had to keep rubbing up against me until he couldn’t take it anymore. Who’s to blame for that?"

Lin Yanwan was rendered speechless. She hadn’t even said a word, and here he was, not only playing innocent after getting what he wanted but also trying to pin the blame on her first.

"Hehe, I want more next time," Jiang Xia said, pinching her cheek before leaning in to give her a loud kiss.

"There won’t be a next time!" Lin Yanwan retorted, flushing with a mix of shyness and annoyance. Spotting a fresh hickey near his collarbone, she leaned down and bit his shoulder, leaving a clear line of teeth marks.

Jiang Xia blinked. ’I don’t believe that for a second. If it happened once, it’ll happen again. If I have to, I’ll just pester her until she gives in.’

"What should we eat?"

"Let’s eat out. We can see what looks good around here."

The two found their underwear at the foot of the bed. After Lin Yanwan got dressed, she went into the bathroom to rinse her mouth and brush her teeth.

The snowstorm outside had stopped at some point. Jiang Xia stood at the window and looked out. The residential complex was festively decorated with red lanterns. Tonight was New Year’s Eve, the last day before the start of 2010.

He couldn’t help but think back to this time in his past life. ’Wait... what did we even do back then?’

Lin Yanwan brushed her teeth meticulously, making sure that strange taste in her mouth was completely gone.

Seeing Jiang Xia spacing out by the bed, she tiptoed up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What are you thinking about?"

"Honey, what did we do at this time back in our freshman year? I can’t seem to remember," Jiang Xia asked.

"Freshman year? We didn’t even know each other then. Of course you can’t remember," Lin Yanwan said, exasperated.

’They first met during that thunderstorm over winter break, and it wasn’t even winter break yet.’

"Oh, is that right? Ah, now I remember. I think that’s how it was."

"So, what were you doing back then? Which girl did you spend New Year’s Eve with?" Lin Yanwan asked, her tone rising dangerously.

"I don’t remember. But I definitely wasn’t with a girl. You’re my first love; I was still flying solo back then."

Lin Yanwan seemed to have expected that answer. She hugged him tighter. "We get to spend it together this year."

Jiang Xia smiled and nodded. He turned around, and they shared a deep, passionate kiss.

A little while later, the two left the apartment hand in hand. The streets were teeming with people. On this New Year’s Eve, countless couples were acting intimately, and Jiang Xia figured the hotels would all be booked solid. After all, the opportunity for a "year-spanning bang" only came once a year.

After wandering around for a bit, Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan still couldn’t decide on a main course, so they settled on getting street food and eating as they strolled.

"Where are we going?" she asked, taking a bite from the side of a candied hawthorn skewer. The crunchy, sweet candy shell gave way to the tart fruit inside. It tasted even better than the ones back home.

"How about Tian’anmen? We can watch the first flag-raising ceremony of the new year," Jiang Xia suggested after a moment’s thought.

’He’d been in the Imperial Capital for so long but still hadn’t visited Tian’anmen. What a shame.’

"So we’re not sleeping tonight?"

The flag-raising ceremony was held at dawn, and it was said that tens of thousands of people lined up to watch every day. If you arrived late, you wouldn’t get a spot unless you pulled an all-nighter.

"Didn’t we already sleep all day?" Jiang Xia grinned mischievously.

Lin Yanwan silently rolled her eyes. ’Could you even call that sleeping? It felt more like he was tormenting me.’

The two finally managed to hail a cab by the roadside. Jiang Xia protectively ushered Lin Yanwan into the back seat.

"Tiananmen Square, sir," he said.

"Celebrating New Year’s?" The taxi driver gave him a surprised look. "You’re not a local, are you, son? Tiananmen Square is already closed for the night. You can go to the Tian’anmen Gate Tower, though."

"Alright, then the Tian’anmen Gate Tower it is," Jiang Xia nodded.

’He wanted to see the flag-raising anyway, so as long as they were nearby, it was fine.’

The heat was blasting in the taxi. Jiang Xia pulled Lin Yanwan’s scarf down a little. "What about your roommates? Are they spending New Year’s Eve in the dorm?"

"I’m not sure about Si Si and Cui Jiaying, but neither of them has a boyfriend, so they’re probably in the dorm. Qiuting is definitely there, though," Lin Yanwan said.

That girl had social anxiety; the more crowded a place was, the more she disliked it.

Thinking of Qiuting’s personality, Jiang Xia chuckled softly.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Tian’anmen Gate Tower. A large crowd had already gathered, apparently all planning to ring in the new year before the portrait of the great leader.

"Darling, stand over there. I’ll take a picture of you."

"What’s the use? Phone cameras from this era are terrible. The pictures will just be a blurry mess."

"That’s what gives it character! It’s a sign of the times," Jiang Xia laughed. "From now on, I’ll take your picture here every single year. When you’re old, you’ll be able to look back at them and see the passage of time."

"Just a picture of me? You’re not going to be in it?" Lin Yanwan raised an eyebrow.

’Doing the same thing with him every year for the rest of their lives... that would be so meaningful. Even when they were old, she knew looking back at those photos would make her smile.’

"Hmm, I’ll find someone to help."

Jiang Xia found a random young man on the street and handed over his phone. He then stood with Lin Yanwan in front of the gate tower, they struck a simple pose together, and the moment was captured.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem."

Lin Yanwan snatched the phone and eagerly pulled up the photo from the gallery. Both of them froze.

Affected by the surrounding lights, the photo was severely overexposed. Not only were their faces completely unrecognizable, even the banners in the background reading "Long live the People’s Republic of China" and "Long live the great unity of the peoples of the world" were blurry. The portrait of the great leader, however, was perfectly clear.

"See? I told you it would be a blurry mess," Lin Yanwan said, laughing as she pointed at Jiang Xia’s distorted image. "Look at you! Your face is completely warped."

"His hand must have been shaking!" Jiang Xia insisted.

As time ticked by, the crowd in front of the gate tower grew larger and larger. Soon, it was the final minute of 2009.

A group of people began shouting the countdown: "59, 58, 57..."

Jiang Xia held Lin Yanwan’s hand and looked up at the benevolent portrait of the Chairman in the center of the Tian’anmen Gate Tower. He took a slow breath of the frigid air, and an inexplicable emotion welled up inside him.

’In those arduous times, the people cried, "Long live the great leader!" But the great leader himself said, "Long live the people."’

His train of thought was shattered by the thunderous roar of the crowd as the final countdown began.

Lin Yanwan turned to look at Jiang Xia’s handsome face. Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss and smiled.

"Happy New Year, hubby."