Chapter 248 - 131: Are You Two Together?

Chapter 248: Chapter 131: Are You Two Together?

A little over three hours later, Chen Yuan’s flight landed at the airport.

He rushed to the terminal and put on his down jacket, finally feeling a bit of warmth.

As for someone picking him up from the airport? ’Forget it. That’s not happening for a guy like me.’

He sent Jiang Wanyi a message to let her know he’d arrived safely, then hopped into the ride-share he had booked in advance. He got home at around five in the evening.

His parents were both home, having prepared a huge spread of dishes while waiting for him to return.

"How come you’re back with just a backpack? Where’s the rest of your stuff?"

Li Huiping asked, seeing Chen Yuan arrive so unburdened.

"By the time I go back for the next semester, the weather there will be warm, so I didn’t bring everything back. It would’ve been too much of a hassle."

Li Huiping didn’t press the issue; it was a trivial matter.

He went to his room to change, and the family of three sat down to eat. The table was filled with all of Chen Yuan’s favorite foods.

"Mom, your cooking seems to have gotten worse while I was away. It’s not as good as it used to be."

"I cook for your dad every day, how could my skills have gotten worse? You must have been eating out all the time and can’t appreciate home cooking anymore."

Chen Yuan didn’t say anything. After eating Jiang Wanyi’s cooking every day, his palate had certainly been spoiled. He was even finding it hard to stomach his mother’s cooking now.

"Son, what’s the deal with that friend of yours, Song Jianye?" Li Huiping asked, ever the gossip.

"She’s just a friend. What else would she be?"

"Don’t lie to me. If she were just a regular friend, would you have taken her out to dig for dandelions?"

"We’re just friends. Don’t overthink it."

Seeing that their son didn’t want to talk about it, his parents didn’t press him further.

They figured nothing was set in stone yet, so there was no point in asking too many questions.

Still, that girl was truly beautiful. If she ended up with their son, it would mean the Chens’ ancestors were smiling down on them.

During the meal, they chatted for a while about school, and family life settled back into its usual routine. Nothing much changed just because Chen Yuan was home.

He had just gone away for school, after all. It wasn’t like he’d been tricked and sent to Northern Myanmar. There was no need to make a big fuss.

Chen Yuan went back to his room. He hadn’t been home in nearly half a year, but everything was still in its place, untouched.

He had a lot of messages on his phone.

Jiang Wanyi had gone back to her parents’ house and was planning to stay there for the time being so they could help her with her child.

Song Jianye hadn’t been idle since getting home, either. Her aunt had taken her to the company to work as an assistant.

Aside from her daily tasks, she had also managed to crash her uncle’s Bentley, after which they wouldn’t dare let her drive it again.

The most relaxed one of the bunch was Fang Youning, who was simply eating, drinking, and enjoying her rare vacation at home.

Everyone’s life had changed to some degree because of the holiday. The only exception was Fang Youqing, who was still the same as ever—not only was she constantly busy with work, but she still had that cool, aloof way of speaking.

However, he could pick up from her short messages that something was off. She seemed a little upset.

’She had invited me over for dinner during the break, but I didn’t go because I was afraid of being a bother. I figured I could just go when school starts again; maybe I’d even run into a mission then.’

Even though he was on vacation, Chen Yuan wasn’t just sitting around.

For the first few days, he was out eating and drinking with his old high school friends. For a whole week straight, he barely ate a single meal at home.

After a week, Li Huiping’s reserves of motherly love were just about depleted.

By this time, the New Year was fast approaching. The festive atmosphere grew stronger each day, and his family began preparing for the holiday.

Jiang Wanyi, Song Jianye, and Fang Youning were all sharing details about their New Year preparations with Chen Yuan.

The cultural differences between the north and south became apparent then; their sense of ceremony for the New Year didn’t seem as strong as it was in the north.

Chen Yuan kept himself busy too. He went out to buy some local specialties to mail to Jiang Wanyi, Song Jianye, and the Fang Sisters.

He had to return the favor, since he had already received a package from Fang Youqing.

Just as he finished his shopping, he got a message from Jiang Wanyi.

It was an invitation to share his location.

Chen Yuan didn’t think much of it and tapped "Accept."

But she turned it off a moment later, and he received a message from her.

Jiang Wanyi: [Image]

The picture showed four exquisitely packaged gift boxes.

RING RING RING—

Before Chen Yuan could reply, his phone rang. It was a call from Jiang Wanyi.

"I went out to buy some things for the New Year today. I’ll mail them to you in a bit. They’re all local specialties."

"You sent that location-sharing request just to find out where I am, didn’t you?"

"Smart boy. Knowing you, you probably wouldn’t have just given me your address. Now that I have a general idea of the area, I’ll just mail it to a nearby delivery station. You can figure out the rest."

"I guess I have no choice but to tell you now. As it happens, I bought some things for you too. Should I mail them to your place or your mom’s?"

"You’re not even earning money yet, why are you buying me things? Can’t you just save that little bit of allowance money for yourself?"

"It’s nothing. Just tell me where to send it."

"You have to tell me what you bought first, then I’ll decide where you should send it."

"It’s just some food. Rice, red sausage, things like that. You probably can’t buy the authentic kind in Zhonghai."

"In that case, mail it to my mom’s place. I’m staying here for now."

’Chen Yuan knows my home address. Even if I didn’t tell him, he’d just mail it there anyway. I don’t even have a chance to refuse, so I might as well just accept it graciously.’

"Okay."

Neither of them was in a hurry to hang up. They talked for another half an hour, only ending the call when Jiang Wanyi got home.

As for the gifts for Song Jianye, Chen Yuan got her address from Uncle Zhang and mailed everything out at the same time.