There’s not much to say about New Year’s – it’s just eating, drinking, and watching the Spring Festival Gala. Everything was perfect except for Dad’s phone call, which slightly dampened the mood.
I still remember the first New Year’s without Dad. That night, lying in bed listening to the firecrackers outside, I sobbed under my blanket. But now, hearing that he couldn’t return from Japan due to heavy snow, I felt so numb that I couldn’t even muster disappointment or sadness.
I suppose I’ve gotten used to it.
After acting strange for a while, Jiang Rui seemed to return to normal. But then on New Year’s Eve, while we were setting off fireworks in the courtyard after dinner, he suddenly blurted out:
“How was your chat with Aunt Zhang the other day?”
I was stunned for a moment. “Aunt Zhang… what about her?”
Jiang Rui fell silent, staring at the fireworks blooming in the night sky. I couldn’t be bothered with him and took out my phone to call Lin Yusen. I was curious about when exactly they celebrated New Year’s Eve there – was it synchronized with us or did they wait until evening? However, just as the call connected, Jiang Rui suddenly turned to me and said seriously, “Sis, if – and I mean if – you break up, tell me immediately.”
The fireworks were quite loud, so Jiang Rui leaned in close to speak. I glanced at my phone, quietly hung up, and started whacking him with the sparkler in my hand.
He ran around the courtyard, covering his head. “I said ‘if’!”
Still daring to talk nonsense. “Even ‘if’ isn’t allowed.”
Jiang Rui stopped running. “You seem quite serious about this.”
“…How could I not be serious about something like this?”
This gentleman might end up being my life companion. Oh wait, shouldn’t I say “hopefully will be” instead of “might”?
Jiang Rui fell silent again.
My phone rang, and I ignored him to answer it. On the other end, Mr. Lin said quietly: “Your brother seems to have issues with me.”
I said cheerfully: “Well, who told you to bully me before? I complained to him about you.”
Jiang Rui slowly wandered back over at this point, crouching beside me like a big dog, intently watching me talk to Lin Yusen. His staring made me uncomfortable – I had planned to scold Lin Yusen for not calling me first, but now I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“Happy New Year, I’ll call you back in a bit.” I quickly hung up and crouched down to face Jiang Rui. “What’s wrong with you?”
I was a bit troubled.
Had I described Lin Yusen too negatively before, making my brother so worried? After some reflection, I explained: “He’s very nice. There were just some misunderstandings before. You’ll understand when you meet him.”
Jiang Rui said listlessly: “Hasn’t it been less than a month? And I already need to make an appearance?”
…
We only use the term “make an appearance” for weddings, and it usually refers to elders meeting. Jiang Rui was giving himself too much importance.
I was speechless and felt like hitting him again. I looked down to find the sparkler I’d dropped earlier when I heard Jiang Rui say softly:
“I just don’t want you to… miss out.”
The last two words were barely audible – I barely caught them, but I didn’t understand what he meant, nor did I care to investigate. I didn’t want to hit my brother during the New Year, so I pulled him up. “Come on, let’s go watch the Spring Festival Gala. Isn’t your favorite what’s-their-name performing?”
Jiang Rui’s strange behavior continued throughout the Spring Festival, including but not limited to interrogating me about various relationship details and suddenly becoming enthusiastic about shopping. I went back to Wuxi for the first and second day of the New Year to visit my grandparents, and after returning to Nanjing on the third day, he dragged me shopping almost every day, from morning till night, and always at the same place – Xinjiekou!
I felt like my legs were about to give out and the winter wind was aging me prematurely, but he was still dragging me around everywhere like an unleashed husky.
I grabbed his hand and refused to move. “Brother dear, how has university changed your life philosophy so much? Weren’t you the one who said real men don’t go shopping?”
He glanced at me a few times: “I have a difficult decision to make, so I’m leaving it to fate.”
“Huh? What does that have to do with shopping every day?”
“To see if we can run into them.”
…So it turns out he’s in love! And it’s unrequited?
I instantly felt rejuvenated, thinking I could walk three more streets just to catch a glimpse of his “her.” “Is she from Nanjing? Your university classmate? Lives around Xinjiekou?”
While I was bombarding him with questions, Jiang Rui suddenly pulled me aside, nervously glancing at the crowd, and said, “Sis, help me out.”
“What?”
“If someone calls out to me in a bit, pretend to be my girlfriend.”
I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. Jiang Rui grabbed my hand and turned around. I couldn’t help but look back and saw a girl rising on her tiptoes, calling out happily: “Jiang Rui.”
Then she came running over, her footsteps clicking against the ground. When she saw me, her expression instantly dimmed. “So you do have a girlfriend… aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Jiang Rui said calmly: “Her name is Xiao Guang.”
The girl looked at me with both envy and sadness. “You’re so lucky. Jiang Rui really likes you – he even has you as his phone wallpaper.”
“…”
I immediately turned to look at Jiang Rui, who had an “oh crap” expression on his face. After the girl reluctantly left, I immediately reached out to him.
“Give me your phone.”
Jiang Rui took out his phone and handed it to me. I pressed the button – the wallpaper was a cat.
“Come on, I changed it ages ago, I only used that when she was around. Do you know how traumatic it would be for a young man to see his sister’s face every time he picks up his phone?”
“Heh.”
I couldn’t be bothered to scold him. Using me as a shield and still complaining? “What’s the story here?”
“Just don’t like her, but she’s too persistent.”
I really hated when he acted like this and couldn’t help but take him down a notch: “Go ahead and be smug. Don’t regret it when she stops liking you.”
Jiang Rui suddenly looked at me, his expression very serious: “Like how you don’t like Brother Zhuang anymore?”
I suddenly felt irritated, not understanding what was wrong with Jiang Rui – he’d been mentioning Zhuang Xu so frequently these past few days. I answered him firmly: “Yes.”
Jiang Rui sighed, looked up at the sky for a long while, then stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to leave. “Let’s go home.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I chased after him, “Weren’t you trying to run into someone? Who is it? Do you have a photo to show me?”
His pace kept getting faster, and I was panting as I chased him. “…Young man, don’t give up so easily, what happened to the chance encounter we talked about?”
He suddenly stopped, and I almost crashed into his back. He turned around, nodded, and said, “You’re right.”
Me: “???”
What?
Him: “Let’s keep shopping.”
One hour later.
“Brother, I’m no longer interested in your secret crush, can we go home?”
Two hours later.
“Brother, I don’t think you two are destined for each other… how about that girl we met earlier?”
Holidays always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the New Year. We had to go back to work on the eighth, and poor me had wasted my precious holiday at the repetitive Xinjiekou.
Mr. Lin informed me that he would land at Pudong Airport at 4 PM on the seventh, but wouldn’t go to Suzhou until the ninth because of some family banquet or something.
This is why big families are so troublesome, and not nearly as relaxed as “nouveau riche” families like mine.
During dinner that evening, I seriously warned Jiang Rui, “After dinner today, I absolutely won’t go night shopping at Xinjiekou with you, not even for a movie.”
Jiang Rui replied wearily: “I’ve given up too, okay?”
Mom, who had been happily socializing and playing mahjong every day, finally noticed our unusual behavior: “You two have been going to Xinjiekou every day? What’s so good about it? I haven’t seen you buy anything.”
I played coy for a while, and finally, despite Jiang Rui’s warning glances, mercilessly sold him out: “Little brother’s growing up.”
Uncle looked at Jiang Rui a few times, his expression quite pleased: “It’s not bad to date in college.”
Jiang Rui wore an expression of wrongful accusation. Just as I was making faces at him, my mom suddenly turned her artillery on me: “You should find a boyfriend too.”
I said seriously: “I will, I will. I must find someone who’s handsome and handsome and especially handsome.”
I was joking, but my mom frowned: “Character is most important, what use is looks?”
I immediately thought of my dad – wasn’t he extremely handsome when he was young… I felt a bit choked up and stopped joking with my mom, obediently saying: “I know.”
Uncle asked me: “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Anytime is fine, maybe after lunch.”
“Then come with me. I’m going to Shanghai tomorrow night for Old Man Sheng’s birthday banquet, I can drop you off in Suzhou on the way.”
Sheng family? Birthday banquet?
Could this be the same banquet Lin Yusen mentioned?!
Before I could think too deeply about it, I quickly raised my hand, “I want to go too!”
Everyone was startled by my outburst, four surprised faces staring at me. Remembering my previous attitude of avoiding such gatherings whenever possible, I felt a bit sheepish.
“…Just want to check it out,” I explained weakly.
They all looked unconvinced, so I coughed and said: “Mom, didn’t you tell me to find a boyfriend? Maybe I’ll find someone suitable there.”
I already have one~~~
My mood soared, and I excitedly said to Jiang Rui: “Hurry up and eat! We’re going to Xinjiekou tonight! I need to buy a cocktail dress!”