Chapter 250 - 131: Are You Two Together Now?

Chapter 250: Chapter 131: Are You Two Together Now?

All morning, Chen Yuan’s phone had been buzzing with group messages wishing him a Happy New Year. He didn’t read them too closely, but he knew he had to reply.

"In the New Year, I wish you one smooth journey, two great successes, three paths to prosperity, four seasons of peace, go fuck yourself, six-fold luck, seven shining stars, eight avenues of wealth, nine major accomplishments, and ten-out-of-ten perfection, with a hundred joys, a thousand good fortunes, and all your wishes come true."

After drafting the New Year’s greeting, he sent it to his three "sons" from the dorm.

Sun Pengnan: "Happy New Year, Boss."

Liu Shiyu: "HappyNewYear.jpg."

Sheng Kangming: "Nothing happy about it for me. I failed Advanced Math and Technical Drawing. My life is over."

’The grades are out?’

He opened the school’s website and checked his grades.

He hadn’t failed anything, but he’d barely scraped by in Advanced Math and General Physics. The professor must have gone easy on him.

His English grade was pretty good—a 92. He could sign up for the Level 4 exam next semester.

Liu Shiyu: "Fuck’s sake, dude, could you try being a decent human being for once?!"

Liu Shiyu: "I forwarded it to my girlfriend, and she totally chewed me out."

Chen Yuan: "That was a personalized message just for you guys. It’s your own fault for not reading it first. Not my problem."

After bullshitting with his three "sons" in the group chat for a while, he got a message from Jiang Wanyi. It was a video she’d recorded of herself and little Mili.

A festive New Year’s tune played in the background. Jiang Wanyi was making Mili’s little body wiggle, and Mili was laughing so hard her eyes crinkled shut.

Jiang Wanyi was dressed in a set of red pajamas. Even though it wasn’t her zodiac year, most people wear red during the New Year for good luck.

Mili was the same, also dressed in a little red outfit. The sight of the mother and daughter sitting together just radiated a New Year’s atmosphere.

Jiang Wanyi had been sending a lot of videos lately. He hadn’t seen them in about half a month, and Mili was already walking much more smoothly. As long as she held onto something, she could walk quite a distance.

Jiang Wanyi: "Can’t talk anymore, I have to go cook. I’ll show you our New Year’s Eve dinner later."

Chen Yuan: "OK."

After he finished chatting with Jiang Wanyi, he opened his messages from Song Jianye.

Her family’s situation was a bit different. They had taken her on a trip to Europe and wouldn’t be back until after the holiday.

But because of the time difference, it was still nighttime where she was. She was probably asleep, since she hadn’t replied to his message.

Fang Youning’s family situation was similar to Jiang Wanyi’s; they were also staying home for the New Year.

In her video, Fang Youqing was also there, sitting on the sofa in a pair of black shorts that showed off her impossibly long legs. Zhao Wen Cheng was sitting beside her, playing with an Ultraman figure.

’Normally, she should be spending the New Year at her mother-in-law’s place,’ he thought. ’Is her husband still out working on a ship over the holiday?’

’Seems possible.’

Around noon, it was time for the meal. The large family gathered to eat and drink together.

During the meal, Chen Yuan received a message from Jiang Wanyi.

Jiang Wanyi: [Image]

It was a photo of her New Year’s Eve dinner. A total of sixteen colorful dishes covered the entire table.

Chen Yuan: "I bet I can guess which ones you made."

Chen Yuan saved the photo, circled the dishes he thought she’d made, and sent it back to her.

Jiang Wanyi: "Smart."

Chen Yuan sent a photo of his family’s spread, too—twenty-two dishes in total. But when it came to presentation, his couldn’t compare to Jiang Wanyi’s cooking.

After a brief chat, the family began to eat.

Chen Yuan had quite a few relatives on his side of the family, more than a dozen people in total. The drinking started at noon and didn’t wrap up until after four in the afternoon.

BZZZT—

Chen Yuan’s phone buzzed. It was a video call from Song Jianye.

When he answered, he saw her still lying in her nest of blankets, hair disheveled, her brain clearly not fully booted up yet.

The time difference between Paris and China is seven hours. It was a little after four in the afternoon for him, which meant it was just past nine in the morning for her.

Song Jianye had a habit of sleeping in, so it made sense for her to be waking up around now.

"Happy New Year! I hope you have a really happy year."

From inside her cocoon of blankets, Song Jianye shyly made a finger heart at Chen Yuan, looking like a little hamster peeking out of its nest.

"When are you coming back?" he asked.

"We’ll be back in a few days," Song Jianye said sullenly.

"I told my uncle I wanted to come visit you, but they said no."

"You can always come visit later," he said. "They probably wouldn’t be comfortable with you traveling alone anyway."

"I guess so. And I have to go to work at the company when I get back. I don’t want to go."

"Then what do you want to do?" Chen Yuan asked with a smile.

Song Jianye pouted. "I want to hang out with you."

"Wait until the semester starts. For now, you should listen to your uncle and aunt."

"Mm."

"Son..."

The door to his room was pushed open, and Li Huiping came in.

"Your sister’s calling you to play cards..."

Li Huiping trailed off mid-sentence when she saw her son was on a video call.

"Is that your mom?" Song Jianye’s voice came from the phone.

Hearing Song Jianye’s voice, Li Huiping leaned in for a look and saw the girl still bundled up in her bed.

"Auntie!"

With a start, Song Jianye shot upright in bed. She was wearing white pajamas with a little elephant print on them, which suited her personality perfectly.

After sitting up, she hastily tried to fix her hair so she wouldn’t look so messy.

"Happy New Year, Auntie! I’m Chen Yuan’s good friend, Song Jianye."