Chapter 19

Chinese New Year’s eve

X year, 3 February

Weather: Hazy

It’s Chinese New Year’s eve tonight. I don’t know what’s going on at Wu Yunfei’s side, but here, almost every relative I greet asks passionately about my marriage situation.

(Ｔ▽Ｔ)I’m only 25 ah! From the way they are asking, why does it feel like I am an old fogey who can’t find a wife at all?

To restore my inner peace, I hid in an empty room and called the sand sculpture.

As the real definition of an old fogey who can’t find a wife, the situation at his side should be a lot worse than me ba?

However, this guy actually hung up my call and video-called me a second later.

I answered the call and couldn’t help but laugh at his outfit.

“Why are you dressed like that? New fashion trend?” I asked.

I’m already used to that guy always wearing unique and different clothes, but after knowing him for so long, this was the first time I saw him wearing a military overcoat, topped with a Lei Feng hat.

“My mum was afraid I would be cold, so she specially found me a cotton-padded jacket.” He had an expression full of exasperation and seemed to find his outfit very unsatisfactory.

I laughed even harder and hurriedly screenshotted this ‘beautiful’ image of him in the military overcoat. But thinking of it, why is he running around and hanging outside on the eve of Chinese New Year instead of having his reunion dinner with his family at home?

“I’m going to hang out with you ah,” he said seriously, “asking you out to light firecrackers.”

“Stop bullshitting! The entire of Beijing prohibits lighting firecrackers now, there aren’t even any places selling them, how do you even find one to light?” I laughed.

“The recluse naturally has a brilliant plan, I’ve prepared smokeless firecrackers.”

“What the heck are smokeless firecrackers!”

“Come out and see!”

Even if it’s pitch dark outside, I could still tell where he is by the blurry background scenery behind him. If I guessed correctly, he should be just downstairs.

I opened my curtains and peered down. As expected, that guy donning a huge military overcoat with his Lei Feng hat stood there.

He saw me and excitedly waved at me, looking a little foolish.

Now that I think about it, that guy had been like this since we were young, always dragging over a whole box of firecrackers on a tiny cart to play with me. Even though he was a lot older than me, he was still a little scaredy-cat. Every time we played with firecrackers, he would always make me cover my ears and stand very far away, but he himself kept shivering and couldn’t even light up the firecrackers at all.

There was even once when he finished using an entire box of matchsticks and still couldn’t manage to light the firecrackers. In comparison, I was much more courageous at that time, to the point where I feared nothing in Heaven or Earth, I would even hold the firecracker in my hand and only toss it far away just when it was about to blow up.

I always knew my own limits, but that guy always gets scared shitless and he even lied to me, saying that if I kept playing with firecrackers, the gunpowder would eventually enter my body and when the weather becomes hotter, I would explode like those firecrackers. I was quite dumb then, so I wholeheartedly believed his words and hid in an aircon room throughout summer, I didn’t dare to step a foot out into the sun, fearing that I would explode.

As expected, that guy got severely punished by his father in the end and he made him swear to never lie to me again.

“I saw you, don’t move, I’m coming over now.” I said.

Her Excellency my mother saw that I hurriedly wore my jacket and thought that something happened in the company, she came to me with a worried expression.

I told her that it was just Wu Yunfei who came, and I was going out to play with him.

“You two are already so old, why are you still acting like kids who never grew up?” She mocked.

I said this has been a tradition since many many years ago, and according to usual practice, that guy is probably going to ask me for a red packet later.

“It couldn’t be that you guys are still single just to get red packets ba?” Her Excellency my mother teased.

I smiled and remained silent. Although the small sum of money in the red packet seemed a lot when we were younger, the meaning behind giving and receiving it is much more than the usefulness of the money inside.

And as for why we couldn’t find a partner… for me, it’s simply because I have no time, but for that guy, it’s most probably that his standards are too high ba?

If he refuses to lower his standards and still stubbornly tries to find a heavenly maiden, then I reckon he’s really going to be lonely till he’s wrinkly and old.