“Starting tomorrow is the holiday,” Wen Qin stood in the office, telling her subordinates. “Everyone be careful during the break. Don’t drink too much at gatherings, and those going back home need to be careful on the road.”
She then singled out Zhan Xi, Yuan Sichen, and Qian Yun. “You three need to watch what you eat too. Don’t get fat eating too much meat – you still have to perform on stage when you return. Practice the dance at home, what I saw last time was terrible! Completely out of sync.”
Yuan Sichen looked miserable: “Sister Wen, we’re not professionals! It’s just for fun!”
Wen Qin laughed: “Even for fun, you three can’t dance like you’re doing three different dances. Especially you, Zhan Xi – you’re center position! You’re in front, so practice well, got it?”
Zhan Xi hung her head: “Got it…”
Wen Qin clapped her hands: “Alright, time to go. See you all after Spring Festival!”
Yuan Sichen cheered: “See you after the festival! Thanks for the crabs, Sister Wen!”
Zhan Xi packed up and left the company. It was the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, marking the start of the long Spring Festival holiday, but she wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
She carried a box of hairy crabs – three male and three female – a private department perk from Wen Qin, whose husband was apparently a distributor. Crabs don’t keep well, and she couldn’t eat them all herself, so she called Zhan Jie to say she’d bring the crabs over for dinner.
Originally, she could have given them to Little Fish…
Zhan Xi took the subway to Zhan Jie’s place and immediately sensed something was wrong when she entered.
Zhan Jie sat angrily on the couch. When Weiwei wanted to watch cartoons, he even yelled at him. Qin Fei was cooking with a stern face. Zhan Xi took the crabs to the kitchen and quietly asked, “Sister-in-law, what happened with my brother?”
Qin Fei glanced at her and said, “Zhan Xi, let me ask you – last year, the year before, and the year before that, didn’t I spend New Year at your house?”
Zhan Xi thought for a moment and replied, “Yes.”
Qin Fei spoke loudly: “Before marrying your brother, we agreed that after spending two New Years at your place, I’d spend one at my parents’. We should have gone to my parents’ last year, but your mom said grandma wasn’t well and might not make it, tricking us into going back. Grandma’s perfectly fine now! This year, we absolutely should spend New Year at my parents’, but your mom won’t allow it. Tell me, is that reasonable?!”
Zhan Xi turned to look at the living room and found Zhan Jie had already walked over. His voice was equally loud: “Qin Fei, don’t complain to Huanhuan. Isn’t New Year the same wherever we spend it? It’s not like we never visit your family. When do we not visit? What’s the difference between going on New Year’s Eve or the third day?”
Qin Fei glared at him: “Exactly! If New Year is the same wherever we spend it, why can’t we spend New Year’s Eve at my place and visit your family on the third day?!”
Before Zhan Jie could speak, Qin Fei continued: “You still have a sister, but I’m my parents’ only daughter! I haven’t spent New Year’s Eve with them for three years! In the eight years since marrying you, I’ve only spent it there twice! The travel time from Qiantang to your home and my parents’ is about the same! My parents asked me three months ago, and I agreed! I confirmed it with you too! Now at this critical moment you tell me we’re not going – are you sick?!”
Zhan Jie frowned: “In our area, the tradition is that after marriage, you spend New Year at the husband’s home! You can visit the wife’s family during the first month!”
“Ha!” Qin Fei sneered, “So what you promised before marriage was just hot air? We don’t have that tradition where I’m from! Your sister!” She pointed at Zhan Xi, “When she gets married, will she never spend New Year’s Eve at her parents’ home? Would your mom agree to that? Are you kidding me?!”
Zhan Jie looked at Zhan Xi and couldn’t answer.
Zhan Xi quickly tried to mediate: “Brother, you already promised sister-in-law, so go spend New Year with her family. Coming back on the third or fourth day is the same.”
Zhan Jie sighed: “Mom calls me every day asking when we’re coming back. I already promised her.”
Qin Fei was furious: “Fine! Then you go back! Your mom doesn’t like me anyway, we can each go to our own homes and find our own mothers! Let me tell you, Zhan Jie, this year, I’m definitely spending New Year at my parents’!”
Zhan Jie raised an eyebrow and asked: “You make it sound so simple, but what about our son?”
Qin Fei answered: “Of course he comes with me!”
“No way!” Zhan Jie said, “When we went home for New Year’s Day, Mom only saw Weiwei briefly, and we left early the next morning. During such an important holiday, you won’t let her spend more time with her grandson?”
Qin Fei was shocked: “Oh! Your mom wants to see her grandson, but my mom doesn’t want to see her grandson? What kind of logic is that?”
Zhan Jie shouted: “The answer is no means no! I promised we’d go to your place on the third day, or even the second day if you want! We can stay four nights at your place, isn’t that enough?!”
Qin Fei stared at him coldly for a while, then suddenly laughed and shook her head: “Fine, take your son then, and take your sister too. You can have the car, go back to your precious mother’s home. I’ll take the bus to my parents’. Don’t bother coming to my place during the New Year – we’ll meet back here on the sixth. You can go wherever the hell you want! Do whatever the hell you want! I’m done serving you!”
She untied her apron and threw it at Zhan Jie, ignoring the food cooking on the stove, and walked out of the kitchen.
“Sister-in-law!” Zhan Xi tried to follow and persuade her, but Qin Fei ignored her and went into the study, slamming the door shut in Zhan Xi’s face.
Weiwei was too scared to make a sound in the living room. Zhan Xi went back to persuade Zhan Jie: “Brother! What are you doing? You already promised sister-in-law, why are you going back on your word?”
Zhan Jie had no more anger left, only helplessness: “You know what Mom’s like, calling us to come back every day. I got caught up in the moment and agreed, thinking your sister-in-law would understand. What difference does it make which day we go? Aren’t they all the same?”
“Of course it’s different!” Zhan Xi said, “Sister-in-law’s home isn’t far, she just wants to have New Year’s Eve dinner with her parents. The key is you promised her and then went back on your word – I’d be angry too!”
Zhan Jie stood with his hands on his hips, saying nothing.
Zhan Xi picked up the apron from the floor and put it on, saying: “I’ll cook, and then I’ll leave. You really should apologize to sister-in-law tonight and go spend New Year with her family. I can take the bus home myself, I’ll talk to Mom about it.”
“No way!” Zhan Jie’s eyes flashed, “Tomorrow at 6 PM, after I get off work, I’ll bring Weiwei to pick you up. Have your things packed and ready. She’s too spoiled! If she won’t come, fine!”
Zhan Xi: “…”
She wanted to say, Brother, you’re digging your own grave!
Of the six plump crabs, Zhan Xi didn’t get to eat a single one. After finishing cooking for Zhan Jie and steaming the crabs, she had no appetite at all and left immediately.
When she got back to Qingque Garden, Zhan Xi passed by the pet hospital at the community entrance and, thinking of Gift, went in to inquire.
Gift was too young to stay home alone for so long, and Zhan Xi didn’t dare take it home. Chi Guilan still believed her daughter was allergic to anything with fur, and Gift’s life would definitely be in danger in her mother’s hands. The best solution was to board it at a pet store.
The pet hospital stayed open during Spring Festival and offered boarding services. Zhan Xi got a stored-value card, prepaid five hundred yuan, and arranged to bring the kitten the next day. She calculated that boarding for the entire Spring Festival holiday would cost nearly a thousand yuan. Sigh… raising a daughter was expensive.
—
On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month, Zhan Xi took Gift to the pet hospital and called Zhan Jie again, trying to persuade him to accompany Qin Fei home while she took the bus back.
But Zhan Jie was like a smelly, hard rock at this point, refusing to listen to anything. He just told his little sister not to meddle and wait for him to pick her up in the afternoon.
Zhan Xi did a big cleanup at home, organized the things in her refrigerator, and finally sat on the couch lost in thought.
Since Little Fish’s birthday, she hadn’t seen him or sent any WeChat messages.
That night, she had sent those messages while crying, and Little Fish hadn’t replied. Several days had passed, and still no reply.
Although Zhan Xi said they would still be good friends, she felt that Little Fish probably wouldn’t talk to her anymore.
In the afternoon, Zhan Jie came with Weiwei to pick up Zhan Xi. Sure enough, Qin Fei wasn’t in the car.
Weiwei sat in the back seat with red eyes. Zhan Xi knew her little nephew must have been crying and could only console him: “In a few days, your dad will take you to see mom. Don’t be sad.”
Weiwei shouted: “Dad is a big meanie! I don’t want to go to grandma’s! I want mom!”
Zhan Jie was getting a headache: “Didn’t your aunt tell you we’ll go see your mom in a few days!”
Weiwei burst into tears again, his little legs kicking: “I want mom now! I want mom! I want mom…”
Zhan Xi held him in her arms, trying to comfort him. The three of them were all very distressed – there was no festive atmosphere in the car at all.
It was very late when they arrived in Fucun Town. Chi Guilan was waiting at the door again, and when she saw her daughter-in-law wasn’t there, she asked Zhan Jie: “Where’s Qin Fei?”
Zhan Jie patiently said: “She went to her parents’. I’ll go get her on the second day of the New Year.”
Chi Guilan’s face immediately darkened: “She’s getting more and more unreasonable! Going to her parents’ alone during New Year, not even wanting her son? When relatives come and ask, what are we supposed to say? They’ll think we did something to her! And you – why are you going on the second day? Haven’t you always gone on the fourth in previous years?”
Zhan Jie said: “We’ve always gone on the third!”
“What’s the difference between the third and fourth?” Chi Guilan walked towards the house frustrated, then turned back to look at Zhan Xi, “What are you doing? Young lady, you have no spirit at all! Don’t hunch your back! Huanhuan, let me tell you…”
Chi Guilan took her daughter’s arm: “Your aunt told me about a young man the other day. He’s from Tong County, twenty-seven years old, works in Qiantang, at the court! I’ve already had her arrange for you to meet him on the third day of the New Year. Make sure you dress up nicely then.”
Zhan Xi said: “I’m not going.”
Chi Guilan was stunned: “Why not?”
Zhan Xi looked at her mother: “No reason, I just won’t go.”
“You must go!” Chi Guilan’s tone brooked no argument.
Zhan Xi said quietly: “Even if I go, I won’t talk. Mom, do what you want.”
Now Chi Guilan was really angry. She cursed at Qin Fei, cursed at Zhan Jie, cursed at her husband, cursed at her daughter. Weiwei started crying loudly like a trumpet again. Zhan Xi just felt a headache coming on and went upstairs with her bag saying: “I’m not eating dinner. I’ll take a shower and go to bed.”
“This is rebellion!” Chi Guilan stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her, finally giving a “hmph” before going to make dinner for her son and grandson.
—
On New Year’s Eve, Luo Jingyu didn’t go home early, instead working alone at home on the cherry blossom tree project.
He had given Zhong Peng and Mo Yang five days off – they would return to work on the fifth day of the New Year. The New Year’s daily wage he offered was very generous. After working this month, the two children wouldn’t have to worry about pocket money for next semester, so they were very enthusiastic.
At 3 PM, Luo Jingyu went out for New Year’s Eve dinner. While taking the elevator down, he was very nervous, afraid it would stop at the eighth floor, afraid of seeing that girl.
Then he thought, it’s already New Year’s Eve afternoon, she must have gone home already.
Walking out of the building, Luo Jingyu pulled his hood low, wore his mask, put his hands in his pockets, and strode towards the community exit. When he passed the pet hospital, he suddenly stopped, looking through the glass into the hospital.
The pet hospital seemed busier than usual, with many cages, each containing cats and dogs. In a cage not far from the glass window, there was a familiar white figure.
Very small, smaller than the other cats, like a kindergartener among cats.
Luo Jingyu pushed open the door and went in, walking to the ground-level cage and crouching down. The cage had a litter box, two bowls, a small cat tree, and a cat bed… Luo Jingyu put his finger against the cage, and the kitten inside seemed to recognize him, putting its little paw on the cage bars and opening its mouth, looking very lively.
—Are you calling me, Gift?
Luo Jingyu thought: Why are you here? Did your mom go home? She didn’t take you back? How many days will you have to stay here? Can you only stay in the cage? Poor thing, such a small space.
“Sir?” the staff member came over and called from behind him, but Luo Jingyu didn’t respond.
After calling twice, she tapped his shoulder: “Sir?”
Only then did Luo Jingyu turn around.
He stood up and took off his mask, pointed at Gift, and took out his phone to type to the staff: [This cat belongs to my friend, can I take it home?]
The staff member said apologetically: “That probably won’t be possible…”
Luo Jingyu opened his phone gallery to show her many photos and videos of Gift.
“…” The staff member thought for a moment and said, “It’s possible, but I need to confirm with its owner.”
Luo Jingyu typed: [You call her, tell her my surname is Luo, I’m deaf, can’t use phone.]
The staff member’s eyes immediately filled with sympathy, and she found Zhan Xi’s number and called.
Zhan Xi was sitting in her family’s downstairs living room eating peanuts and watching TV, surrounded by relatives.
The Spring Festival Gala on CCTV1 had started in the afternoon, showing various behind-the-scenes details of the gala preparation. Her father had turned the volume up very loud, filling the whole living room with festive music.
The phone rang several times before she noticed it. When she answered and heard it was from the pet hospital, Zhan Xi was startled, thinking something had happened to Gift. But when the staff explained the situation, she was completely stunned.
“Miss Zhan? Miss Zhan?” The staff member heard her suddenly go quiet and prompted.
Zhan Xi came back to her senses: “Ah, I’m listening, I’m listening. Well… I agree, let him take the cat. Um… please tell him to bring the cat back to you on the seventh day of the New Year, I’ll pick it up when I’m back.”
The staff member said: “That’s so troublesome! You could just go to his place to pick up the cat.”
“No no no no, that won’t work…” Zhan Xi thought about how Little Fish was right there beside the staff member, and her heart started racing. “Just the seventh day, let him bring the cat to you. Please speak slowly to him, he can read lips. If necessary, you can type on your phone for him.”
The staff member agreed, and just as she was about to hang up, Zhan Xi called out: “Wait wait wait, please help me tell him ‘thank you’, really thank you so much!”
“Okay.” After hanging up, the staff member looked at Luo Jingyu and thought these two were really strange – why couldn’t they just message each other on WeChat?
Ex-partners? Tsk tsk tsk, possibly.
Afraid of not conveying everything properly, she typed Zhan Xi’s words for Luo Jingyu to read. After reading, Luo Jingyu nodded and made an “OK” sign to show he understood.
The staff member processed his paperwork, and Luo Jingyu bought a cat carrier and put Gift inside.
Gift seemed to know it wouldn’t have to stay in that cramped cage anymore and behaved very well.
Luo Jingyu took Gift back to apartment 1504, turned on the air conditioning, and prepared litter, cat food and water for the kitten. Everything was new – he had prepared a set of everything since he knew it was troublesome for Zhan Xi to bring all these things every time she brought Gift over.
He thought he wouldn’t need them anymore, but surprisingly, they came in handy.
After getting out of the carrier, Gift happily climbed to the second level of the cat tree. Luo Jingyu crouched down to watch it, reached out to rub its head, and signed: [I’m going for New Year’s Eve dinner first, I’ll come back to play with you tonight. We’ll spend New Year’s Eve together, be good at home, okay?]
Gift had no reaction. Although the cat tree was still unfamiliar, Luo Jingyu’s home was spacious and warm, already familiar to it.
When Luo Jingyu went out again at 4:30, Luo Xiaomei sent him a WeChat message.
[Luo Xiaomei]: Little Fish, where are you? Why aren’t you here yet? [Big Fish]: Just left home. [Luo Xiaomei]: Just left? What time will you get here? Everyone’s here except you. [Big Fish]: You eat first, don’t wait for me. Not taking subway, getting a taxi.
On New Year’s Eve, as families gathered together, brilliant fireworks occasionally lit up the city sky.
Luo Jingyu stood on the high-rise balcony at his uncle’s home, lost in thought as he watched those fleeting beautiful lights and shadows.
He remembered spending New Year as a child, when people would set off firecrackers and fireworks in the welfare factory dormitory area. Children would gather to watch, covering their ears while shouting and jumping, afraid to get too close.
Only he would foolishly try to catch the fireworks with his hands, scaring his father who would grab him by the waist and pull him back.
Were the sounds of firecrackers really scary?
Luo Jingyu didn’t know, he only knew they were beautiful, like colored eggs – you never knew what the next one would look like or what color it would be. They were also like shooting stars, letting him make silent wishes.
Behind him in the living room was the not-yet-finished New Year’s Eve dinner with his mother’s siblings and their children and grandchildren, but even after so many years, Luo Jingyu still couldn’t fit in.
Both his grandfather and grandmother were deaf, and after having his father Luo Mingsong and discovering he was also deaf, they didn’t dare have more children.
The deaf gene in their family should have been inherited from his grandmother’s side. It was too long ago to know about the earlier generations, only that among grandmother’s six siblings, some could hear and some were deaf.
After these people married and had children, in Luo Mingsong’s generation, there were more hearing people than deaf people. Then in Luo Jingyu’s generation, there were supposedly both hearing and deaf people again.
After high school graduation, Luo Mingsong was assigned to the welfare factory. At that time, communication was difficult for deaf people, so he didn’t have much contact with relatives on his mother’s side and didn’t know how many deaf children his cousins had.
Anyway, his family had particularly bad luck – they had two children, both deaf.
When Luo Jingyu was born, his grandfather, who was still alive then, was reportedly very angry. Unable to yell, he beat his father instead, saying he wasn’t content with hurting his daughter but had to hurt a son too.
These were all things his grandmother told him. She felt very guilty and remained depressed until her death.
Yan Yajuan was different – her deafness was caused by medication. Her siblings were all healthy, as were their spouses and children. Except for Yan Yajuan’s older brother and younger sister who could do simple sign language, the others knew nothing about it. So, Luo Jingyu never socialized with his cousins on his mother’s side, even though they were similar in age. Even when eating at the same table, they were like strangers.
No one cared what he had been busy with lately, no one was interested in pressed flowers, no one knew where he lived. They would ask Gao Yuan how much money Luo Jingyu made in a year, whether Gao Yuan and Luo Xiaomei planned to have children, and what about Luo Jingyu? Was he dating? Would he have children?
His aunt earnestly advised Gao Yuan: “Xiao Gao, really, don’t have children! You have limited mobility, and Xiaomei might pass it on. What’s the point of having children? Just live your lives happily. What if you have a child with bad ears – it would just be a burden!”
Gao Yuan smiled and brushed it off. Luo Xiaomei’s expression was bland. Luo Jingyu could read his aunt’s lips and pressed his lips together, looking down at his phone.
He thought, so he was a burden?
A burden to the family, or to society?
Fortunately, Gao Yuan was loyal enough not to tell the relatives about his situation, and even helped Luo Jingyu pretend to be poor, saying he only made fifty or sixty thousand a year.
Everyone thought this was reasonable – a deaf young man who hadn’t gone to university earning fifty or sixty thousand a year was already quite good!
—
Zhan Xi’s family spent New Year’s Eve dinner with her father’s siblings, eighteen people crowded around two tables on the first floor of their home.
Grandmother ate and went to bed, the adults played cards or watched the Spring Festival Gala, and her male cousins bought lots of firecrackers and fireworks, setting them off one by one in the courtyard. The noise was very loud. Weiwei both wanted to watch and was scared, clinging to Zhan Xi to accompany him, which she was more than happy to do.
In the courtyard, the little one hugged his aunt’s waist, watched the fireworks for a while, then looked up with wet eyes: “Auntie, I miss mom.”
“Be good, your dad will take you to see mom soon.” Zhan Xi patted her little nephew’s head.
It was very cold outside, but Zhan Xi didn’t want to go in at all. During dinner, her mother had said many bad things about Qin Fei. Zhan Jie remained silent, but Weiwei got angry and cried loudly, saying “Grandma is bad!”
Chi Guilan lost face and switched the topic to Zhan Xi, praising her for being obedient and preparing for the provincial exam with good prospects.
Chi Guilan said: “I’m not worried about our Huanhuan’s work at all. She’s been good at studying since she was little, she’ll definitely pass the exam. But her marriage prospects really worry me. She’s too naive, too shy to even speak when meeting boys. What can we do?”
Her cousin said: “Aunt, it’s because you’ve kept Huanhuan too strictly controlled. You should let her socialize more, participate in some mixers. Like hiking, book clubs, board games – those kinds of activities young people like. It’s easy to meet boys there.”
Chi Guilan was shocked: “How can she just meet random people! Who knows what kind of people they are! No no no, introductions are more reliable. I just had my sister introduce someone to her, they can meet in Tong County in a few days. He’s twenty-seven, works at the court…”
All of this repulsed Zhan Xi. She didn’t want to hear any of it.
After the relatives left, Zhan Xi went upstairs to shower, leaving her phone in her room. When she returned, she found someone had touched her phone.
Her unlock password was strange, four random digits with no logic – her mother probably couldn’t open it.
Zhan Xi was very calm. Her phone was extremely clean now, the photo gallery empty – she had transferred all photos to her computer before coming home. Same with WeChat – everything that should and shouldn’t be deleted was all gone.
Even so, she didn’t want to let her mother look at it.
At midnight, deafening firecracker sounds erupted outside.
While Qiantang and Tong County urban areas banned fireworks and firecrackers, the town didn’t care. Every household had a courtyard, and everyone set off firecrackers.
Zhan Xi knew Zhan Jie was setting them off too – her brother hoped the whole family would have a prosperous new year with abundant wealth.
She hid under her blanket scrolling through WeChat Moments, wanting to plug her ears from the noise. As she scrolled, she saw a post that made her finger freeze.
[Big Fish]: Happy New Year. Attached: Gift.jpg
In the photo, the kitten was nestled in a left arm, looking a bit frightened.
Was it scared by the firecrackers? Were the firecrackers in Qiantang that scary too? Zhan Xi didn’t know – she had never spent New Year’s Eve there.
She looked at that left arm again. He must have been sitting, wearing a dark green sweater – was it new? She had never seen him wear it.
He wore black sweatpants below, his left arm cradling Gift, long fingers stroking the cat’s fur. That hand, as always, was beautifully white, seeming impossible to photograph badly.
Zhan Xi stared at the photo for a very long time, downloaded it, blocked all her family members, and posted her own Moments.
[Egg Pudding]: Happy New Year. Attached: Gift.jpg
Soon, comments and likes from colleagues and classmates came in.
[Yuan Sichen]: Who is this?? Something’s up! [Lin Yan]: Happy Spring Festival. Is this your cat?
Of course the gossip queen Luo Xinran couldn’t be missed.
[Luo Xinran]: Baby, both the cat and hand look good, is the person handsome?
Yu Ying and Zhao Qingqing quickly followed.
[Yu Ying]: Baby, both the cat and hand look good, is the person handsome? [Zhao Qingqing]: Baby, both the cat and hand look good, is the person handsome?
Instead of replying one by one, Zhan Xi clicked “comment” directly, meaning everyone who could see this post would see her next words—
[Egg Pudding]: Extremely handsome!
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