Chapter 24: Together
“Okay!” The sound of fireworks covered Lin Xia’s voice, but Tang Yinlang heard it. He hugged Lin Xia tightly, as if wanting to meld Lin Xia into his arms, becoming a part of his flesh and blood.
“Lin Xia, I’m so happy…” Tang Yinlang was so moved he wanted to cry. No one knew how long he had been waiting for this day. It wasn’t just a month, as Lin Xia thought, but more than two years, more than 700 days and nights of agonizing longing and missing…
Tang Yinlang hugged Lin Xia tightly until Lin Xia’s limbs went numb and he pushed him away.
“We should go to bed.” Lin Xia said. They both had to go out for New Year’s greetings early tomorrow morning, so they should rest early tonight.
“Mm.” Tang Yinlang nodded, reluctantly turning back several times as he walked back to his own house.
They had just confirmed their relationship and it wasn’t suitable for them to live together, although he really hoped Lin Xia would let him stay.
Seeing Tang Yinlang leave, the heat in Lin Xia’s head cooled down, and he could finally calmly reflect on what had just happened. However, thinking about what had just happened between them, his head started to spin again.
“Falling in love really makes you muddle-headed!” Lin Xia worried.
Since he couldn’t sleep, he might as well check his WeChat Moments and send New Year’s greetings.
Zhao Yuhao:
The first day my wife went back to her parents’ house, missing her.
The first post was from Zhao Yuhao, with a picture of a beautiful ragdoll cat. The CEO had just gotten a boyfriend, who had gone home for the New Year, and the CEO expressed his longing and depression. However, his friends didn’t understand his depression, instead, they all commented in unison: “New Year’s greetings from a single dog, expressing my pleasure!”
Chen Mingjie:
New year, new look, I’m in a relationship, thank you for your blessings!
The second post was from Chen Mingjie, without a picture. This post expressed his excitement about being in a relationship. But Lin Xia, who knew him well, could see his true emotions. Chen Mingjie was definitely not happy; this post wasn’t something he would have wanted to post. Chen Mingjie always included emoticons when posting, but not this time.
What’s going on? Lin Xia was puzzled, wanting to call Chen Mingjie to ask. But it was too late, he would just go to his house tomorrow to ask.
However, Chen Mingjie had finally found a boyfriend, which was wonderful. Although Chen Mingjie didn’t seem reliable, he had never been in a relationship before. The Chen family had very strict rules, and Chen Mingjie was busy, so he had never had a relationship. Lin Xia was genuinely happy for him that he had finally found a boyfriend.
Wang Ziyu:
Shocked! A certain wealthy person sent me a huge, huge, HUGE New Year red packet. I’ve never received such a large red packet before. What should I do? Online waiting, it’s urgent!
Wang Ziyu’s screenshot showed a Alipay red packet, the amount being 66,666.
Lin Xia guessed it was Li Hao who had sent it to Wang Ziyu. He recognized the profile picture; even though it was mosaicked, he could vaguely recognize it.
It’s great to receive red packets! Lin Xia was envious, but it was okay; tomorrow he could take Bai Tuanzi to collect red packets. But still, he wanted to receive a red packet.
A thought struck Lin Xia, and he posted on his WeChat Moments.
Lin Xia:
I also want a New Year red packet (‘ε`)
After posting, Lin Xia put down his phone and prepared to go to bed.
Ten minutes later, his phone rang, a message from his bank.
“Dear Mr. Lin, greetings! Mr. Tang’s account ending in xxx transferred 3,344,520 yuan to your account ending in xxx at xx:xx on xx/xx/xxxx. Message: Happy New Year, Lin Xia! Please check.”
Upon seeing this message, Lin Xia jumped out of bed, almost waking Bai Tuanzi. He took his phone and ran to the balcony to call Tang Yinlang.
“Why did you transfer so much money to me?” Lin Xia’s voice trembled slightly.
It was too frightening; even with money, this wasn’t the way to spend it. Besides, they had only just confirmed their relationship.
“Mm?” Tang Yinlang stood on the opposite balcony, gazing at him affectionately. “I’d rather give you all my assets.”
Ultimately, Lin Xia didn’t persuade Tang Yinlang, and he accepted the money. He would just consider it as keeping it for Tang Yinlang. Although he was still terrified, he felt it was improper to accept such a large sum without reason.
Back in the room, Lin Xia felt sleepy. He hugged Bai Tuanzi and fell into a sound sleep.
Early the next morning, Lin Xia got up to prepare breakfast. After breakfast, he would take Bai Tuanzi and the little hamster to Chen Mingjie’s house for New Year’s greetings.
Breakfast was the leftover dumplings from yesterday, which were quickly cooked in a large pot, without needing constant supervision. Lin Xia took the opportunity to prepare the dipping sauce. Before long, the steaming, fragrant breakfast was ready.
After preparing breakfast, Lin Xia went to wake up Bai Tuanzi and the little hamster. After they finished washing up, he called Tang Yinlang to come over for breakfast.
The call was answered immediately; Tang Yinlang said he would be there soon after getting ready.
Lin Xia put down his phone, his heart pounding wildly. This was their first meal together after confirming their relationship. Suddenly changing from friends to lovers, he still hadn’t quite grasped the change.
Although Tang Yinlang said he needed to prepare, he arrived shortly after.
“Happy New Year!” Seeing Bai Tuanzi and the little hamster, Tang Yinlang offered his New Year’s greetings and took out large red packets.
“Awoo!” Thank you, Uncle Tang!
“Thank… you!”
Bai Tuanzi and the little hamster were overjoyed to receive the large red packets, their eyes shining brightly.
“Okay, come and eat dumplings.” Lin Xia smiled at them, feeling that this New Year was the most lively one yet.
The human and the two animal companions followed Lin Xia’s instructions, obediently sitting at the dining table to eat dumplings.
“These are cabbage-filled, these are leek-filled, and these are pure meat-filled.” Lin Xia introduced the different fillings in the three plates of dumplings.
“Awoo!” Dad, An’an wants to eat the pure meat-filled ones! Bai Tuanzi took the lead, his eyes fixed on the plate of pure meat dumplings.
“Okay.” Lin Xia lovingly served him some dumplings.
Tang Yinlang ate the dumplings, occasionally looking up at the father and son feeding each other, a smile playing on his lips.
The freshly cooked dumplings were still hot. After letting them cool, taking a bite, the mouth was filled with delicious juice and filling. The cabbage and leek dumplings were fragrant and not greasy, and the pure meat dumplings were full of meat, satisfying for meat lovers.
After breakfast, Lin Xia and Tang Yinlang washed the dishes, tidied up, and then went out together.
They didn’t go the same way, parting ways after leaving Lvro Community. Lin Xia drove Bai Tuanzi and the little hamster to Chen Mingjie’s house, while Tang Yinlang went back to his grandparents’ house.
“Awoo awoo!” Dad, answer the phone, Uncle Mingjie is calling! Lin Xia received a call from Chen Mingjie.
“Mingjie?”
“Xiaoxia, are you on your way?” Chen Mingjie’s voice was excited, as if he had encountered something good.
“I’m driving there now.” Lin Xia replied.
“Be careful on the road, I’ll wait for you!” Chen Mingjie’s tone sounded a little regretful.
“Is there something you want to talk about?” Lin Xia knew him well. He knew that Chen Mingjie must want to share some gossip.
“Tsk tsk tsk, you guessed it. Fine, since that’s the case, I’ll tell you.” Chen Mingjie was immediately enthusiastic about sharing gossip with someone. “The little hamster came for the New Year too, right? Guess how Chen Mingzong explained the little hamster’s identity to Old Master Chen and Mrs. Chen.”
“Oh? How did he say it?” Lin Xia was also interested. As far as he knew, Chen Mingzong was very straightforward, and he wasn’t sure how he would explain the little hamster’s identity to his family.
“He said—his future daughter-in-law is coming, telling them not to scare her! Hahaha…” Chen Mingjie could be imagined rolling on the floor laughing at the other end. “Do you think he’s bold or not? Old Master and Mrs. Chen were terrified.”
“What happened next?” Lin Xia only guessed the beginning but not the ending. He really didn’t expect Chen Mingzong to be so direct.
“Later, Old Master and Mrs. Chen had no choice but to accept it, of course.” Chen’s parents were open-minded people; otherwise, they wouldn’t have raised a child like Chen Mingjie.
“That’s good.” The ending was happy, Lin Xia was very relieved. “By the way, don’t you have something to share?”
Lin Xia suddenly asked, remembering seeing Chen Mingjie’s post about being in a relationship yesterday.
“What do I have to share? No, wait, I do have something…” Overnight, he suddenly went from single to a member of the coupled-up society, and he still hadn’t adapted to his new identity.
“Someone’s calling me for breakfast, I’ll talk to you later when you get here!” Chen Mingjie wanted to say more, but someone called him for breakfast, so he had to end his call with Lin Xia.
“Okay.” Lin Xia waited for Chen Mingjie to hang up, checked the time, estimated the time to reach Chen’s house, and felt a little impatient…
Author’s Note: Bai Tuanzi: Awoo! An’an is going to collect red packets!
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