Chapter 74: As the Fox New Year Approaches

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: As the Fox New Year Approaches

Lin Zhengran chatted with Xiao Heqing for a while before hanging up the phone.

He closed his eyes again, ignoring a certain fox beside him. To his surprise, the Little Fox’s paw lightly kicked his calf in a fit of pique.

"Are you losing your mind again?" Lin Zhengran asked.

Han Wenwen turned back around and laughed. Staring at him, she said, "Yeah, I just couldn’t stand the look of you on the phone, Zhengran."

Lin Zhengran pulled the quilt up to cover her eyes. "If you can’t stand it, then don’t look at me. Be a good girl and take your nap."

Han Wenwen was left speechless. Slowly, she pulled down the quilt blocking her vision and scrutinized his sleeping face. She pursed her lips. Even though Lin Zhengran was just chatting with Qingqing, she truly felt jealous.

Seeing that he was falling asleep, the Little Fox gently touched his hair with her fingers, only for Lin Zhengran to swat her hand away.

A few days later, it was only two days before the Lunar New Year.

Today, Han Wenwen and Lin Zhengran officially went to the supermarket to buy vegetables and meat, largely because Han Wenwen had an inexplicable love for chicken. Perhaps she really was a reincarnated fox spirit in her past life. In any case, whenever she saw chicken ingredients, this fox would stare longingly, her feet rooted to the spot as she gulped down saliva in pure greed. Thus, taking advantage of the approaching holiday, Lin Zhengran accompanied her to buy a whole hen, along with some red dates, goji berries, and Chinese yam, planning to stew chicken soup for the New Year.

Passing by the supermarket aisles, Han Wenwen spotted small bags of flour and stopped in her tracks. She tugged at Lin Zhengran’s clothes. "Zhengran... should we make dumplings for the New Year? Since it’s just the two of us, we only need to make a little bit."

Lin Zhengran blinked. "Normally, we should, but do you know how to make them? Because I don’t."

Han Wenwen smiled. "I don’t either, but we can learn." She looked at him coquettishly, shaking his sleeve. "Let’s buy it, let’s buy it~ It won’t go to waste."

Lin Zhengran couldn’t understand her logic. "Why are you acting all spoiled? You’re paying for it yourself anyway. If you want it, just buy it. It’s not like it’s expensive."

Han Wenwen blinked, suddenly realizing he was right. "That’s true. How about I give you control of my video channel from now on, Zhengran? You can keep all the money I earn, and I’ll ask you for an allowance when I want to spend it."

"Do you have too much free time? I don’t see the point in doing that..."

Han Wenwen poked her cheek with her finger, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "If we do that, you can scold me when I spend too much, and I’ll have a perfectly good excuse to act spoiled and beg you to buy me things."

Lin Zhengran couldn’t resist knocking her on the head. "I’m not going to indulge your craziness. If you want to buy it, hurry up; otherwise, we’re leaving."

Han Wenwen rubbed her head—which didn’t actually hurt—and softly hummed. "You really don’t understand girls at all, Zhengran. Or, then again... maybe you understand them too well."

In the end, she bought that small bag of flour along with some fillings, preparing to make dumplings for the New Year.

It was the final twenty-four hours before the Lunar New Year.

Midnight tonight would mark the beginning of the new year. Han Wenwen woke up bright and early in the morning. She gathered her long hair, which usually cascaded loosely over her shoulders, into a single thick bundle over her chest. Like a busy little fox, she neatly arranged the ingredients off to the side. She dug up a large cardboard box from somewhere, flattened it out on the floor, and draped a blanket over it. This way, they could sit on the floor to make the dumplings.

She tested it out by sitting down. Finding it quite comfortable, she leaned against the bed and began studying the essentials of dumpling-making on her phone.

Lin Zhengran came over to her place just like any other day, knocking lightly on the door.

"Zhengran?"

Lin Zhengran gave an affirmative grunt and opened the door with his key, surprised to see her already sitting on the floor with all the ingredients prepped.

Han Wenwen, still staring at her phone, briefly glanced up at him. "You don’t need to knock next time you come over, Zhengran. Just use your key and come right in."

"It’s called having manners."

Still looking at her screen, she muttered casually, "You don’t need to be polite with me. Just do whatever you want here; I don’t mind at all."

Lin Zhengran scoffed, ignoring her comment as he sat down on the floor as well.

Han Wenwen sat up straight and held her phone right in front of his face. "Look, I searched up a few videos on how to fold dumplings. I’ve pretty much learned how to do it. Do you want to take a look, Zhengran?"

Lin Zhengran took her phone. "A quick glance is enough."

One viewing was all it took. He handed the phone back to Han Wenwen.

The Little Fox gasped in awe. "Did you memorize all the steps again, Zhengran?"

"I memorized them, but whether I can actually execute it is another matter entirely."

"What a great brain. If only I were this smart," she praised.

The two of them worked together, figuring out how to flatten the dough wrappers and pinch the patterned edges. Perhaps because Lin Zhengran was normally absurdly good at everything he did, his initial clumsiness at a task requiring practice—like folding dumpling wrappers—was quite amusing.

It made Han Wenwen cover her mouth and giggle continuously. "It seems you really do need a girl in your house in the future, Zhengran. Otherwise, wouldn’t learning all these trivial chores one by one be such a hassle?"

Lin Zhengran rolled his eyes at her.

As Han Wenwen pinched the edges of a dumpling wrapper, she said, "I think my judgment of people has always been spot on. The way I see it, you’re definitely going to make lots and lots of money in the future, Zhengran. If you really do get rich and become a big boss one day..." She put on a bewitching expression. "How about I become your secretary? I can follow you around all day and handle all the tedious little things for you."

For once, Lin Zhengran didn’t immediately reject the idea. Instead, he paused to think about it. This moment of hesitation actually made Han Wenwen’s smile falter.

Lin Zhengran said very seriously, "If that day really comes, I’ll consider it. After all, a secretary’s role seems simple, but it actually entails a lot of responsibilities. It’s not a job just anyone can do well, but you’d be quite suited for it."

Han Wenwen’s face inexplicably flushed red. Her invisible nine fox tails swayed back and forth as she responded earnestly, "Really?! Then it’s a promise? If you really get rich in the future, Zhengran, I have to be your secretary. And don’t worry, I know this position requires absolute loyalty to the boss. I promise I’ll always be on your side in everything." She gave him a meaningful look, her expression teasing. "I’ll be all yours from now on. Good day, Boss Lin~"

Lin Zhengran stopped entertaining her cheekiness. "Stop being so glib and hurry up. At this rate, we won’t even get to eat dinner tonight."

"Whatever you say, Zhengran~ Yes, sir."

After bustling about for quite a while, mid-morning rolled around, and Lin Zhengran received several phone calls in succession.

The first one was from Xiao Heqing, just calling to chat. Han Wenwen sat to the side making dumplings, a hint of jealousy on her face.

The second was a rare call from Jiang Xueli, uttering a few aloof, somewhat awkward sentences that vaguely sounded like New Year’s greetings. Han Wenwen sat there, puffing her cheeks out in jealousy.

Immediately after, a strange girl actually called him. Based on her description, it seemed she was also a classmate from middle school who had specifically tracked down Lin Zhengran’s number to ask how he planned to spend the New Year.

In truth, it wasn’t uncommon for girls harboring secret crushes on Lin Zhengran to obtain his contact info through others just to speak with him; today was far from the first time. It wasn’t Han Wenwen’s first time witnessing this either, but today she felt more jealous than ever before. This time, their intimate two-person world felt different, and she was so infuriated that she ended up using excessive force while pinching the dumpling wrappers.

That was, until the final phone call rang. The caller ID displayed the name of Lin Zhengran’s mother, Lin Xiaoli.