The night gradually deepened, and fireworks lit up the sky outside the window. The sound of firecrackers and fireworks bursting non-stop.
Lin Jin actually didn't like the Chinese New Year. Every Chinese New Year's Eve, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until three or four in the morning. After all, once it passed midnight, the sound of firecrackers outside would be so loud that it made people’s ears ring. Moreover, his family didn't really celebrate the holiday with a large party. There was no New Year's Eve dinner, at most, the usual two meat and one vegetable dishes would change to three meat and two vegetable dishes.
Lying on the bed and looking through the open curtains at the sky outside, splendid fireworks exploded in the sky, turning into beautiful sparks. Amid the noise of the fireworks, he could faintly hear the chatter of children in the community and the chatter of those setting off fireworks on rooftops.
"Lin Jin, the Spring Festival Gala has started."
"Not watching, not interested."
Having refused his dad, Lin Jin pulled the quilt up to his neck, huddled in, and quietly watched the fireworks outside the window.
It seems that his father has gradually accepted him becoming more feminine. At least, in previous years, his dad had never called him to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
He vaguely remembered that before he was ten, every New Year's Eve, his mom would prepare a table full of good food. His dad, who was busy doing business all year, would also come back to rest for a week on this day. The family would gather around the table, eating and chatting about the past year and resolutions for the next. After dinner, everyone would gather on the sofa, his mom would serve desserts and snacks, and they would all watch the Spring Festival Gala together.
At midnight, his mom would lay out all the New Year goods on the table, light incense and candles to honor their ancestors, and then take the two children to set off firecrackers in the hallway. Then they'd go up to the roof of their residential building to set off fireworks.
Back then, Chinese New Year really felt like the New Year. But now, all he could do was reminisce about the past while huddling in his bed on Chinese New Year's Eve, watching the rising fireworks outside the window.
"Sigh."
Lin Jin sighed softly. Although he was already eighteen and it had been eight years since his mom left, he still found it hard to adapt to the lonely New Year's Eve.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. His dad got up from the sofa and opened it.
"Uncle, I brought a classmate to hang out!"
Shi Yuli, along with Liu Shengqi, stood at the doorway holding two cartons of Wangzai milk, and cheerfully said to Lin Jin's dad, "Wishing you a happy New Year in advance!"
"Are you here to hang out with Lin Jin?" The coldness on his dad's face melted away, replaced by a kind smile. "Come in, come in."
Lin Jin walked out of his bedroom when he heard the noise and saw the two people walking in from the door. His original sadness was instantly replaced with happiness.
"Why did you guys come to my place on New Year's Eve?"
Lin Jin took the milk cartons they brought and placed them in a corner of the living room. He then hurried to the kitchen to wash some fruits he'd bought a few days earlier and put them on the coffee table. He even brought out all the snacks from his bedroom.
"My home is just across from yours, okay? It's no big deal." Yuli, who was sitting on the sofa, hooked her arm around Liu Shengqi's neck and explained to Lin Jin, "His place was empty, so I brought him along."
"It's fine if you come, but why did he have to?" Lin Jin sat on the other side of the sofa and asked, "Wouldn't it be nice to let him spend the New Year alone at home?"
"Lin Jin!" His dad shot him an unhappy glare.
Lin Jin quickly changed his tune: "But it's great that you both came. Chinese New Year's Eve should be lively after all."
"We also bought fireworks. After midnight, let's go to the rooftop and set them off!" Yuli casually grabbed a handful of roasted sunflower seeds from the table and said as she ate, "Anyway, we've got nothing to do tonight. I even brought a book to read!"
"By the way, Liu Shengqi, why is no one home at your place?" Lin Jin turned to ask Liu Shengqi.
Liu Shengqi shrugged helplessly: "My dad went to the countryside, and my mom was invited to play mahjong. I don't really know her friends, so I didn't go."
"Tsk, abandoning her own son at home on Chinese New Year's Eve to go play mahjong" Lin Jin shook his head and asked him seriously, "Are you really their biological child?"
"I also suspect that I was picked up from a trash can."
Lin Jin had experienced the Chinese New Year's Eve mahjong situation himself. Back when they hadn't moved to the county town and were still living in a small rural village, seven or eight neighbors would set up tables in the village square. The adults would play mahjong while the kids ran around setting off firecrackers.
Those were the New Years that truly felt festive, but this year wasn't too bad either, it was at least a bit livelier.
On the newly purchased large screen LCD TV, the Spring Festival Gala was playing. Lin Jin's dad was sitting next to him, happily watching the three youngsters chatting, occasionally glancing at the TV.
This was the happiest Lin Jin had seen his dad all year.
Well, except for when he won money at the casino.
After a bit of chit-chat, Lin Jin stood up: "I’ll make you guys some food."
"I'll help!" Yuli immediately jumped up from the sofa, "When we were kids, our cooking was praised as especially delicious by everyone!"
"Actually, we were nearly throwing up" Lin Jin's dad chimed in nonchalantly, "We just didn't want to discourage you two."
"You might as well not bother. What can you do besides causing trouble?" Lin Jin also didn't mince his words, "You can't even tell the difference between MSG and salt, don't cause trouble."
"Then I'll help."
Before Lin Jin could refuse, Liu Shengqi followed him into the kitchen.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shengqi's cooking skills were actually quite good. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he pushed Lin Jin aside, looking like a professional. His chopping was quick and precise, and he even knew how to toss ingredients in the pan. Clearly, he either cooked often or had trained to be a chef.
"By the way, do we have a classmate who's both short and so fat that the neck isn’t visible?" Lin Jin suddenly remembered the kidnapper he encountered a few days ago while grocery shopping. "That guy said he was a middle school classmate and even wanted me to come over to his house, but I don't remember anyone being that fat in middle school."
"What's his name?" Liu Shengqi was sweating profusely while cooking. He took a moment to reply but then paused, "It should be Yu Feifan, right? I saw him yesterday, and he mentioned you."
Yu Feifan?
Furrowing his brows, Lin Jin focused, finally connecting the name to someone from the corner of his memory.
"Wasn't he dark and skinny?" Lin Jin asked in surprise.
"Yeah, but he gained weight later. His family opened a restaurant, and he's been eating well, so he gained weight" Liu Shengqi quickly finished frying the remaining chicken Lin Jin had and made a side dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. "He didn't attend our previous gathering because he was afraid you guys would make fun of his weight."
"Oh, oh."
So it wasn't a kidnapper or a scammer?
Well… Although the county's public safety wasn’t great, the chances of running into a bad person right after stepping out was indeed quite low.
The night gradually deepened, and fireworks lit up the sky outside the window. The sound of firecrackers and fireworks bursting non-stop.
Lin Jin actually didn't like the Chinese New Year. Every Chinese New Year's Eve, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until three or four in the morning. After all, once it passed midnight, the sound of firecrackers outside would be so loud that it made people’s ears ring. Moreover, his family didn't really celebrate the holiday with a large party. There was no New Year's Eve dinner, at most, the usual two meat and one vegetable dishes would change to three meat and two vegetable dishes.
Lying on the bed and looking through the open curtains at the sky outside, splendid fireworks exploded in the sky, turning into beautiful sparks. Amid the noise of the fireworks, he could faintly hear the chatter of children in the community and the chatter of those setting off fireworks on rooftops.
"Lin Jin, the Spring Festival Gala has started."
"Not watching, not interested."
Having refused his dad, Lin Jin pulled the quilt up to his neck, huddled in, and quietly watched the fireworks outside the window.
It seems that his father has gradually accepted him becoming more feminine. At least, in previous years, his dad had never called him to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
He vaguely remembered that before he was ten, every New Year's Eve, his mom would prepare a table full of good food. His dad, who was busy doing business all year, would also come back to rest for a week on this day. The family would gather around the table, eating and chatting about the past year and resolutions for the next. After dinner, everyone would gather on the sofa, his mom would serve desserts and snacks, and they would all watch the Spring Festival Gala together.
At midnight, his mom would lay out all the New Year goods on the table, light incense and candles to honor their ancestors, and then take the two children to set off firecrackers in the hallway. Then they'd go up to the roof of their residential building to set off fireworks.
Back then, Chinese New Year really felt like the New Year. But now, all he could do was reminisce about the past while huddling in his bed on Chinese New Year's Eve, watching the rising fireworks outside the window.
"Sigh."
Lin Jin sighed softly. Although he was already eighteen and it had been eight years since his mom left, he still found it hard to adapt to the lonely New Year's Eve.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. His dad got up from the sofa and opened it.
"Uncle, I brought a classmate to hang out!"
Shi Yuli, along with Liu Shengqi, stood at the doorway holding two cartons of Wangzai milk, and cheerfully said to Lin Jin's dad, "Wishing you a happy New Year in advance!"
"Are you here to hang out with Lin Jin?" The coldness on his dad's face melted away, replaced by a kind smile. "Come in, come in."
Lin Jin walked out of his bedroom when he heard the noise and saw the two people walking in from the door. His original sadness was instantly replaced with happiness.
"Why did you guys come to my place on New Year's Eve?"
Lin Jin took the milk cartons they brought and placed them in a corner of the living room. He then hurried to the kitchen to wash some fruits he'd bought a few days earlier and put them on the coffee table. He even brought out all the snacks from his bedroom.
"My home is just across from yours, okay? It's no big deal." Yuli, who was sitting on the sofa, hooked her arm around Liu Shengqi's neck and explained to Lin Jin, "His place was empty, so I brought him along."
"It's fine if you come, but why did he have to?" Lin Jin sat on the other side of the sofa and asked, "Wouldn't it be nice to let him spend the New Year alone at home?"
"Lin Jin!" His dad shot him an unhappy glare.
Lin Jin quickly changed his tune: "But it's great that you both came. Chinese New Year's Eve should be lively after all."
"We also bought fireworks. After midnight, let's go to the rooftop and set them off!" Yuli casually grabbed a handful of roasted sunflower seeds from the table and said as she ate, "Anyway, we've got nothing to do tonight. I even brought a book to read!"
"By the way, Liu Shengqi, why is no one home at your place?" Lin Jin turned to ask Liu Shengqi.
Liu Shengqi shrugged helplessly: "My dad went to the countryside, and my mom was invited to play mahjong. I don't really know her friends, so I didn't go."
"Tsk, abandoning her own son at home on Chinese New Year's Eve to go play mahjong" Lin Jin shook his head and asked him seriously, "Are you really their biological child?"
"I also suspect that I was picked up from a trash can."
Lin Jin had experienced the Chinese New Year's Eve mahjong situation himself. Back when they hadn't moved to the county town and were still living in a small rural village, seven or eight neighbors would set up tables in the village square. The adults would play mahjong while the kids ran around setting off firecrackers.
Those were the New Years that truly felt festive, but this year wasn't too bad either, it was at least a bit livelier.
On the newly purchased large screen LCD TV, the Spring Festival Gala was playing. Lin Jin's dad was sitting next to him, happily watching the three youngsters chatting, occasionally glancing at the TV.
This was the happiest Lin Jin had seen his dad all year.
Well, except for when he won money at the casino.
After a bit of chit-chat, Lin Jin stood up: "I’ll make you guys some food."
"I'll help!" Yuli immediately jumped up from the sofa, "When we were kids, our cooking was praised as especially delicious by everyone!"
"Actually, we were nearly throwing up" Lin Jin's dad chimed in nonchalantly, "We just didn't want to discourage you two."
"You might as well not bother. What can you do besides causing trouble?" Lin Jin also didn't mince his words, "You can't even tell the difference between MSG and salt, don't cause trouble."
"Then I'll help."
Before Lin Jin could refuse, Liu Shengqi followed him into the kitchen.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shengqi's cooking skills were actually quite good. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he pushed Lin Jin aside, looking like a professional. His chopping was quick and precise, and he even knew how to toss ingredients in the pan. Clearly, he either cooked often or had trained to be a chef.
"By the way, do we have a classmate who's both short and so fat that the neck isn’t visible?" Lin Jin suddenly remembered the kidnapper he encountered a few days ago while grocery shopping. "That guy said he was a middle school classmate and even wanted me to come over to his house, but I don't remember anyone being that fat in middle school."
"What's his name?" Liu Shengqi was sweating profusely while cooking. He took a moment to reply but then paused, "It should be Yu Feifan, right? I saw him yesterday, and he mentioned you."
Yu Feifan?
Furrowing his brows, Lin Jin focused, finally connecting the name to someone from the corner of his memory.
"Wasn't he dark and skinny?" Lin Jin asked in surprise.
"Yeah, but he gained weight later. His family opened a restaurant, and he's been eating well, so he gained weight" Liu Shengqi quickly finished frying the remaining chicken Lin Jin had and made a side dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. "He didn't attend our previous gathering because he was afraid you guys would make fun of his weight."
"Oh, oh."
So it wasn't a kidnapper or a scammer?
Well… Although the county's public safety wasn’t great, the chances of running into a bad person right after stepping out was indeed quite low.
