"Yuan, what are you doing cooped up in your room? You didn't even hear calling you for lunch."
KNOCK KNOCK. The doorknob turned, and Mrs. Chen pushed the door open a crack, poking her head in to peer curiously around the room.
The mont Chen Yuan heard the sound, he frantically shoved the box onto his desk!
He jumped.
"Mom, why'd you co in without my permission!"
Chen Yuan's cheeks flushed red at an incredible speed, a look of pure embarrassed frustration on his face. The words ca out as an accusation.
But Mrs. Chen completely ignored his point.
She waved a dismissive hand. "Well, you weren't answering . Hurry up and co eat!" Then, she closed the door and headed back to the living room.
Chen Yuan, who had been about to blow up, was left speechless. He could only listen as her footsteps faded away.
In reality, Mrs. Chen had barely called him at all. She just wanted an excuse to co in and take a look.
The myriad of emotions he'd been feeling was abruptly cut short.
After a mont's daze, Chen Yuan closed the lid on the box, placed it in his drawer, and obediently went out of his room for lunch.
Over the years—perhaps because Chen Yuan was growing up, or perhaps because the pace of society was quickening—the New Year's spirit just wasn't as strong as it was when he was a child, even though it was already New Year's Eve.
In the past, Chen Yuan would wander around with his friends, setting off firecrackers together.
He'd co ho to watch TV with his family, see what was being cooked for the New Year's Eve dinner, and find the table covered in snacks and candy that he could eat as much of as he wanted without being scolded by the adults.
Back then, the floor would be littered with sunflower seed shells, needing to be swept again and again.
Firecrackers had been banned for air quality reasons, but so people still set them off secretly. The occasional, scattered sound of fireworks beca one of the few remaining festive touches of the New Year.
In the family apartnt building, many people who worked elsewhere had returned. There were older "brothers and sisters" Chen Yuan knew from his childhood, as well as so slightly younger high school students.
If he went out and ran into one or two of them, he'd have to say hello.
Everyone was basking in the lively, festive atmosphere of the New Year, free from the bustle of their daily work. They could forget their overbearing bosses and the damn, endless overti, escaping the headaches of workplace socializing.
Even if it ant coming ho to argue with all their nosy relatives and get lectured a few tis about still being single.
It wasn't so bad anymore.
After lunch, Chen Yuan helped clear the table.
Mrs. Chen imdiately laid out a new tablecloth, brought over a cutting board, sprinkled it with white flour, and began vigorously kneading dough to make dumplings for the evening.
"I'm going to take a nap."
"Go on, go on."
After saying that, Chen Yuan returned to his room. He had a habit of taking afternoon naps, regardless of the season.
In high school, even if he didn't have ti to go back to his dorm, he'd have to put his head down on his desk and sleep for half an hour. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the energy to pay attention in his afternoon classes.
Lying on his bed, Chen Yuan typed a line into the chat box, then deleted the ellipsis at the end and replaced it with a tilde (~).
"I got the gift you sent ~"
DING DING—
Just a few seconds later, Yaoyao replied.
"How is it?"
"Is it pretty?~"
"Young Master, why don't you put on the scarf and send a picture?"
A wave of tenderness washed over Chen Yuan's heart.
"It's beautiful. I love it."
"Thanks for all your hard work, my adorable girlfriend."
He couldn't clearly express the tsunami of emotions crashing within him, nor could he transform the gratitude he felt in that mont into tangible words in a chat box for Jiangg Yao to feel.
But it was clear that Chen Yuan's affection for Yaoyao had just climbed to a new level.
Chen Yuan, of course, wasn't about to be a spoilsport. He got up from bed and grabbed the scarf.
He held it up against himself for a mont, then sent Jiangg Yao a ssage: "I don't know how to wear a scarf. Do I just wrap it around my neck three tis?"
Jiangg Yao replied with a "shocked kitten" sticker and then sent him an image.
The image was self-explanatory. Chen Yuan understood at a glance.
It was the simplest way to tie a scarf: just make a loop, slip the other end through, and pull it snug.
Chen Yuan followed the steps in the picture, then opened his phone's cara and took a photo.
DING DING—
"Where's the cartoon pattern I knitted on it??? Young Master, don't tell it got squished off during shipping!"
Jiangg Yao was frantic.
Chen Yuan quickly flipped the scarf around to show the side with the cartoon pattern.
He took another picture.
This ti, the anxious Jiangg Yao could finally relax.
"Handso~ My Young Master is so handso. And with the scarf I knitted... you look even more delicious!"
"Kisses"
The sweet, heartwarming chat made Chen Yuan smile involuntarily. The frustration of being in a long-distance relationship these past few days seed to gradually fade away, replaced by Jiangg Yao's cuteness.
...
After his afternoon nap, Chen Yuan spent his ti studying the finance materials that Pei Youwen had found for him.
Although this Pei Youwen guy seed like a smooth-talking suck-up, the spitting image of a treacherous court official, he was actually quite clean and efficient when it ca to getting things done.
Speaking of which, Chen Yuan was rather surprised by this whole affair.
He had originally thought Jiang Zhengfeng wouldn't agree to the internship. Worried, he had already started thinking about finding other companies, though he wasn't sure if any large corporation would accept his request to only work weekends and take short-term jobs during holidays. His own family's company would surely be more accommodating, which was his initial thought process.
But the very next day, Pei Youwen had actually called him personally to tell him the internship had been all arranged. Once the New Year holiday was over and the company resud operations, Chen Yuan could go in anyti. This was a huge, pleasant surprise.
Following that, a pile of study materials was sent over, along with so books that were still in transit. From what Pei said, the idea was for him to study up first so he wouldn't be completely in the dark when he arrived at the company.
Chen Yuan opened the files half-doubtingly, only to find... they were genuinely difficult. This wasn't sothing he could grasp in a short amount of ti.
Pei Youwen wasn't just humoring him; he was taking this seriously.
This unexpectedly made Chen Yuan feel more favorably toward him.
Furthermore, Pei even set aside an hour every evening to answer Chen Yuan's questions, explaining the concepts from the materials in a simple, practical way, connecting them to real-world examples.
He was acting just like a master tutor.
This completely changed Chen Yuan's previous impression of him as soone who could only suck up. Who said a sycophant couldn't have real skills? That was the eighteen-year-old Chen Yuan being naive, a victim of stereotypes. If Pei Youwen wasn't the real deal, how could Jiang Zhengfeng possibly entrust a company under him to this man, personally promoting him from a corporate drone to company chairman!
In reality,
Jiang Zhengfeng didn't care about a person's character; he only cared about their ability. And when he employed soone, he trusted them completely.
Besides, Pei Youwen, with his slicked-back hair and immaculate suits, was a bona fide top student!
He ca from a poor background and couldn't afford to study abroad like Jiangg Ning. After graduating, he worked for quite so ti before he was lucky enough to be noticed by Jiang Zhengfeng, who gave him the opportunity to go overseas as a factory supervisor. As it turned out, while working abroad, the guy actually worked and studied part-ti to earn a degree from the Royal Technical University.
He was truly a god-like figure of incredible perseverance.
When Jiang Zhengfeng found out, he was quite astonished and began to pay even more attention to Pei Youwen.
However, it had been seven or eight years since he was promoted to company chairman. Now, at thirty-eight, after a series of grooming asures...
Pei had beco a capable and loyal subordinate!
He had been sufficiently polished.
Originally, Jiang Zhengfeng had truly intended for him to join the Jiang Corporation's planning departnt, which would have guaranteed a bright future. But Chen Yuan's sudden existential crisis sent Pei down another path with an even greater future.
It had to be said, Pei was not the only candidate for the high-level position of advising the "crown prince."
But Jiang Zhengfeng considered it and felt that his slick, cunning nature would be a good counterbalance to Chen Yuan's worldly innocence and naivety.
The business world was nothing but deception and backstabbing. To put it bluntly, the thods used to get by in this circle were all dirty. Only profit was eternal.
As it turned out, the choice wasn't bad.
In just a few days, Pei Youwen had demonstrated an excellent attitude. Although he was always sucking up and lavishing praise on Chen Yuan during their daily video lessons, he was at least delivering real substance.
On the other hand, one had to admit Chen Yuan's treatnt was absurdly good—asking for an internship and getting the company chairman as a personal tutor.
The treatnt befitting a crown prince, indeed.
On New Year's Eve, there was, of course, no video lesson.
Chen Yuan didn't have ti anyway. He needed to rest well tonight, as he had to get up early tomorrow morning to drive back to his ancestral hotown with his parents for New Year's visits.
He had to be up at five a.m.
After eating dumplings and watching a bit of the boring New Year's Gala, he would probably just lie in bed and wait for sleep to co.
As night fell, the fireworks in the sky began to look truly beautiful. Streams of light swelled and burst in the deep night, like gorgeous flowers blooming one after another.
For Chen Yuan, it was a simple and unadorned New Year's Eve.
He stood on the balcony taking pictures for a while and sent them to Jiangg Yao.
anwhile, Jiangg Yao, far away in Mingzhu City, had probably gone with her family to a special spot to watch the fireworks. She recorded a stunning video of them, seemingly from a high vantage point, with an amusent park's Ferris wheel in the background.
The vibrant, dazzling fireworks illuminated Jiangg Yao's bright, smiling face. She stood on a small hill, a smile playing on her lips, wrapped in a dark gray woolen coat.
Her long legs were crossed, and her sweet cheeks were puffed up like a goldfish's.
Utterly adorable.
...
"Over here, over here! They're selling cotton candy."
"Aren't you a little old for cotton candy?"
"Ningning, it has nothing to do with age! Even though I'm a young wife with a child already, I'm still young at heart!"
"My cousin's right! I want cotton candy too! Sis, you're paying!"
"Alright then."
Mingzhu City.
In an amusent park on the outskirts of the city, several stunningly beautiful won walked arm in arm.
The place was crowded with people—families out on a trip together, and friends simply gathering.
Among these beautiful won, two who looked almost identical were the most breathtaking—the kind of beauties you could never forget after a single glance.
They were Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao.
Both were dressed in stylish and elegant light-colored coats, their fair, shapely legs wrapped in tights.
n passing by couldn't help but stare, even at the risk of twisting their necks.
It was a testant to just how gorgeous they were.
Once New Year's Eve passed, their birthday—when they would turn another year older—was not far off.
The two sisters had fully ripened like succulent peaches, waiting for their fated husbands to co and pluck them.
"Jiangg Yao, what flavor do you want?"
"Do they have lychee?"
Jiangg Yao was engrossed in her phone, in the middle of a heated chat with Chen Yuan, and answered her sister without looking up.
"No, just strawberry, yogurt, and pineapple."
"Strawberry, then."
"Okay."
Jiangg Yao finished typing a ssage and sent it:
"Young Master, it's already eight p.m. I know you have to sleep early, so I won't hide it from you anymore... Actually, there isn't just a scarf in that box. There's also a Love Letter I wrote for you (shy). I tucked it into the secret compartnt of the box. Don't forget to look for it."
The mont she sent it, a firework exploded overhead.
The soaring sparks were like arrows released from a bow, shooting rapidly into the air with brilliant tails of fla.
The crimson streaks of light flickered, propelling them to the feet of the stars before they suddenly burst against the black curtain of the sky! In an instant, the passionate fireworks ignited the entire night, erupting and vanishing in a flash.
On New Year's Eve, clusters of flowers blood in the night, gorgeous and dazzling, complenting the hazy moonlight and the brightly lit amusent park.
Jiangg Yao and Jiangg Ning looked up together, the fireworks glittering in their eyes. In that mont, it was as if fiery ripples were dancing in their dark pupils.
"Sis, look! The fireworks are so beautiful~"
"I see them."
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