Chapter 169: Blooming Fireworks

"Leaving so soon?" Zhou Yun saw the Song Chaoyang family off at the door.
"The New Year is starting tomorrow," Song Chaoyang said with a smile.
"Have a safe trip back."
"Goodbye, little aunt, goodbye, little uncle," Luo Yixia chimed in obediently from the side.
"Alright, remember to come play with us again, Xiaxia." Song Chaoyang genuinely liked this young girl.
Qi Manman had already climbed into the car early on.
Through the car window, she looked at Luo Yixia, who was wreathed in bright smiles.
She couldn't understand why, out of all people, her exceptionally brilliant cousin had chosen her in the end.
Back when they were kids, she had a foolish look about her, and even now that she was all grown up, she didn't look particularly smart.
Yet, her cousin had fallen for her.
Her cousin had been cold and devoid of smiles since childhood, but she had witnessed him protect Luo Yixia, smile at her, and bicker with her.
In front of Luo Yixia, her cousin transformed into a completely different person.
Perhaps, this was her cousin's true self after all.
Qi Manman indifferently averted her gaze.
The morning sun leisurely spilled its light, casting a golden glow across the earth.
The car sped away, leaving only a trail of exhaust behind.
"Is Chengyi awake yet?" Zhou Yun asked.
"I'm not sure. His cold is quite severe." Last night, Song Chengyi had coughed the entire night.
"Well, isn't running back and forth like that bound to make it worse?"
Luo Yixia felt a guilty conscience; Zhou Yun's words seemed to imply she knew something...
"Alright, now that everyone has left, Chengyi won't have to make that trip every single night."
Luo Yixia's face instantly flushed red.
She hadn't expected it to be pointed out so bluntly.
By the next day, Song Chengyi's cold was mostly gone.
Just as Zhou Yun had said, once the tossing and turning stopped, he recovered.
His cough was also much better than before.
Early in the morning, the whole family was up.
The streets were adorned with festive lanterns and colorful banners.
Faint sounds of firecrackers set off by children echoed from outside.
Song Chengyi stepped on a chair to put up the Spring Festival couplets while Luo Yixia stood by his side.
"Study carefully: the first line goes on the right, and the second line on the left." Song Chengyi was still teasing her about the previous incident.
"I didn't put those up."
"But you didn't even notice."
"..."
The family's domestic helper was on holiday, so Zhou Yun and Luo Yixia stayed in the kitchen to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.
Every year, the Song family made dumplings.
Although Luo Yixia didn't know how, she followed along to learn.
Zhou Yun's culinary skills weren't top-notch, but they were passable.
After a long busy stretch, they managed to whip up a table full of delicious dishes.
This year, the grandmother had not notified the extended relatives from the aunts and uncles' sides to come over, mainly because she didn't want them to disturb Luo Yixia.
While the city had strict regulations on fireworks and firecrackers, the town did not, and the sounds of fireworks began to ring out continuously as evening approached.
Everyone gathered around the table.
"Although we don't have as many people this year as in the past, we have Xiaxia with us now," the grandmother said with a beaming smile.
The New Year's Eve dinner was full of warmth and atmosphere.
Luo Yixia even joined everyone in having a glass of fiery liquor.
It tasted pungent at first sip, but left a sweet and fragrant aftertaste.
Song Chengyi didn't let her drink much more.
"Once we finish eating, I'll take you out to watch the fireworks." Luo Yixia immediately nodded.
As soon as they finished eating, the two of them eagerly headed into town.
Outside, the streets were brightly lit, and the night sky blazed with light.
Looking up, the sky was filled with gorgeous, vibrant fireworks.
"This is our first New Year's Eve together," Luo Yixia said, holding Song Chengyi's hand.
Song Chengyi looked at the obedient girl and reached out to ruffle her hair.
That night, the street was exceptionally lively, glowing red with festive cheer.
Luo Yixia bought a lotus-shaped lantern from some children, held it in her hands, and smiled like a child.
Her phone rang repeatedly.
It was a call from her dormitory group chat, and Luo Yixia answered it.
As soon as she connected, three faces appeared on the screen.
"Happy New Year!" The four of them, by rare coincidence, uttered the exact same phrase.
"Wow, Xiaxia, where are you? The place behind you is so pretty! Are you guys even allowed to set off fireworks there?" Gan Yanyan cried out in exaggerated surprise.
"Do you guys want to say hello to Senior Song?" Luo Yixia asked with a smile.
"Damn, you went straight to someone else's house for the New Year, and I almost forgot you're already a married woman," Lin Iya retorted quickly.
Luo Yixia ignored her teasing remarks and turned the camera toward Song Chengyi.
Song Chengyi smiled slightly and said, "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Senior." The three sycophants immediately went to work.
"Senior, you've won the heart of a beauty, you should send us a red envelope!" Gan Yanyan, the little miser, chimed in again.
The other two quickly echoed, "That's right, Senior, send us red envelopes!"
"Money, money, money—you only ever think about money. Why don't you say you should send me one instead?" Luo Yixia stepped back into the frame, not giving them a chance to badger Song Chengyi.
While Luo Yixia was playfully bickering with the three of them, Song Chengyi took out his phone and sent each of them 88 yuan.
"Wow, thank you, Senior."
"Senior is so generous!"
"Thank you, Senior."
The three of them offered their thanks in unison.
Luo Yixia still had no idea what was going on.
Gan Yanyan grinned, "As expected of Senior, so magnanimous."
"Since we got our red envelopes, we're out of here. We mustn't disturb your couple time," Lin Iya said meaningfully.
Then, the video chat participants hung up one by one, leaving only Luo Yixia on the line.
Luo Yixia resentfully hung up the call.
"Why did you spoil them like that?" In truth, she was still feeling a bit stingy about the money.
"I didn't send that much."
"How much is 'not that much'?" Right as she asked, Gan Yanyan posted a screenshot of claiming the red envelope.
The number 88 brightly displayed on the screen was dazzling... Three times 88 yuan, her heart ached.
Most importantly, he hadn't sent one to her.
"Why did you send them so much? Sending eight yuan each would've been enough, they're only worth eight yuan anyway."
"Are you talking about your fake plastic sisterhood?"
"I'm not even close with them," Luo Yixia insisted righteously.
"Is that so? I couldn't tell. It just seemed like you share all the same hobbies and interests."
Luo Yixia: "..."
"Hmm? Are you already exercising your rights as a wife? Starting to manage your husband's wallet?" Song Chengyi stepped closer to her, inch by inch.
Luo Yixia silently retreated backward: "No..."
"Then why are you angry?" Song Chengyi continued to close in, a playful, ambiguous smile hanging on his lips.
"I'm not angry..."
"You are angry."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not!"
"You definitely are!"
"Song Chengyi, are you annoying or what?" Pushed into a corner by him, Luo Yixia had no choice but to give his chest a firm shove, preparing to make her escape.
Yet, the moment she took a step, she was grabbed back by Song Chengyi.
"Hmm? Am I annoying?" Luo Yixia thought his voice sounded so magnetic and sweet.
She truly had zero immunity against Song Chengyi.
Amid their standoff, a massive firework blossomed right behind Song Chengyi.
Behind him flowed a winding stream, reflecting the water in a breathtaking display of beauty.
Luo Yixia's attention was successfully diverted.
With fireworks bursting behind him and his face half-hidden in the shadows, Luo Yixia's eyes sparkled with starlight as she looked up at his shadowed face against the light.
She felt that the glass of liquor she had drunk earlier was finally taking effect, making her head spin slightly.
With a slight curve of her lips, she reached up, hooked her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him.
From now on, every year, let's watch the fireworks together, okay...
I want to be with you forever.
Song Chengyi, Chengyi...
I'm so glad you like me too...
"Chengyi... Song Chengyi... I love you..." Luo Yixia slightly parted from his lips, clinging to his neck and murmuring affectionately into his ear.
Song Chengyi was slightly startled, then pulled her tightly into his embrace. The embrace was so fierce it seemed he wanted to melt her into his very body, before he captured her rosy lips with a deep kiss.
Under the sky full of fireworks, the two of them looked as picturesque as a painting.
On the way back, Luo Yixia clung to him: "Today is New Year's Eve, can you say something nice to me?"
"What do you want to hear?"
"I just said I love you, I want to hear you say it back."
"In your dreams." He rejected her completely and utterly.
"That's unfair! I said it first." Luo Yixia grew frantic with frustration.
"I didn't force you to say it."
The two of them bickered as they walked down the bustling street.
When they finally returned home, the house was already quiet, making it clear that everyone else had gone to sleep.
The two of them really had stayed out playing for a long time. Luo Yixia was curious about everything, acting as if it was her very first New Year, even dragging Song Chengyi to buy a huge bundle of small fireworks by the river to play with the local children, dragging her feet and refusing to return.
She was full of childish innocence.
There was a custom on New Year's Eve: lights had to be left burning all night, so the entire grand estate was brightly illuminated.
Luo Yixia was indeed exhausted from playing.
"I'm getting sleepy, I just want to go straight to bed," Luo Yixia said, letting out a yawn.
"Go brush your teeth and wash your face." Song Chengyi showed not a shred of sympathy.
Although unhappy, Luo Yixia pouted and headed into the bathroom.
Song Chengyi followed her inside shortly after.
Drowsily, Luo Yixia crawled onto the bed.
She grabbed the pillow at the head of the bed to use as a body pillow.
Yet, with that single pull, three bright red envelopes tumbled out from beneath the pillow.
Her sleepiness vanished instantly.
With a start, she sat straight up, clutching the red envelopes.
All three were stuffed with crisp, crimson hundred-yuan bills, and every single envelope felt thick.
And yet, there were three of them.
She lifted the other pillow, and sure enough, there were three more red envelopes underneath.
It seemed her parents and grandmother had each placed them there separately—how fair and thoughtful.
As Song Chengyi came out, he saw Luo Yixia beaming brightly as she counted her money.
"Your share is under your pillow," Luo Yixia said, keeping her head down as she continued counting.
Song Chengyi lifted his pillow, glanced at it, and then put it right back down.
"Aren't you going to count yours?" Luo Yixia looked up at him.
Song Chengyi rested his head on the pillow: "What's there to count?"
"Tsk..." Luo Yixia clearly couldn't be bothered with him.
Having received her red envelopes, Luo Yixia remained blissfully happy all night, and even her dreams were sweet.
Song Chengyi watched as the breathing of the person beside him gradually steadied.
He took out his phone from the side and unlocked it.
He looked once more at her sleeping face, thinking she would definitely be thrilled tomorrow morning.
Leaning over, he kissed her eyes and whispered softly, "I love you."
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Luo Yixia was woken up by a phone call.
Doggiedly, she felt around for her phone.
"Hello?" she mumbled weakly.
"You're still sleeping? It's already seven o'clock!" Her mother's roaring voice echoed through the phone like a lion's roar in a valley.
"Oh." Luo Yixia didn't react much, but after a fierce internal struggle, she finally dragged herself up.
They had stayed out playing until past two in the morning last night, and now it was only seven!
"It's the New Year and you don't even know to send a text or make a call to your parents?" Yu Wenjing complained with a tinge of grievance.
"I went out to watch the fireworks with Song Chengyi last night, and we got back really late, so I didn't want to disturb you guys," Luo Yixia rubbed her eyes and let out another yawn.
The other side of the bed was already empty—had Song Chengyi gotten up already?
"Alright, alright, hurry up and get up. You're already married, yet you're still this lazy," Yu Wenjing sighed.
Luo Yixia hurriedly agreed and hung up the phone.