“I’m safe with him. I don’t want to stay home during the New Year. Don’t call me anymore. I’ll be back before seven.” With that, Shen Moyu hung up the phone and walked towards Su Jinning.
After throwing the last stone, Su Jinning asked, "Are you done?"
"Um."
Su Jinning looked at the calm lake surface, then patted the dust off her hands: "Let's go then, I'll take you home."
"Go back to what home? Did I say I wanted to go back?" Shen Moyu asked, puzzled.
Su Jinning was taken aback: "Didn't Zhou Xingqi say that your dad told you to..."
"Why listen to him? He's crazy." Shen Moyu punched Su Jinning on the shoulder: "My dad wants us to break up, are you going to?"
"Bullshit!" Su Jinning finally panicked, stepped forward, grabbed Shen Moyu's hand, and poked his cheek to warn him: "Don't say things like that in the future."
“Okay, then teach me how to skip stones.” Shen Moyu put his arm around Su Jinning’s shoulder.
"I guarantee you'll learn it." Su Jinning gave a flirtatious wink.
Zhou Xingqi persisted, making two calls, both of which Shen Moyu hung up on. Finally, fearing that Su Jinning would be unhappy, he simply turned off his phone.
"He keeps calling me 'brother' all the time, like a leech that I can't shake off." Su Jinning threw a stone into the water.
He'd been putting up with this guy for a while now; he was like an informant, constantly monitoring Shen Moyu. Thinking of this, he grabbed Shen Moyu and spun him around twice.
What are you doing?
"Let me check if you have any tracking devices on you."
Shen Moyu chuckled twice: "Don't worry, he probably doesn't want to eat dog food during the New Year."
His words actually comforted Su Jinning somewhat. For example, the thought of Shen Moyu hanging up on Zhou Xingqi to stay by his side was quite satisfying.
"But I'm also wondering why he's been staying at my house for so long." Shen Moyu tossed a stone in, which this time actually made some splashes, but they didn't drift far.
Su Jinning's eyes darkened, and after a long silence, she said in a relaxed tone, "Maybe it's because you're so popular that your younger brother likes you a lot."
"Come on, don't give me that." Shen Moyu nudged him backward with his elbow.
"Ouch, that hurts!" Su Jinning cried out dramatically, then grabbed his hand that was about to throw the stone, moved closer and said, "I'll teach you one last time."
His chest was pressed tightly against Shen Moyu's back, and he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Su Jinning gently touched his ear with her lips: "Keep your hands down a little, brother."
Damn. That almost intoxicatingly sexy voice seemed to hit a nerve with Shen Moyu, and he trembled.
"What are you doing..."
"I'll teach you how to skip stones." Su Jinning's voice was laced with sneer: "Brother..."
"Stop yelling." Shen Moyu reached out and covered his mouth.
If you call again, something bad will happen.
He felt an intense itch inside; it was a name he heard all the time, but the way he said it drove him crazy. It felt completely different from how Zhou Xingqi called him.
Su Jinning looked down at him. Shen Moyu seemed to be in a daze, but his eyes kept darting away. What was he hiding from? Su Jinning thought with a smile, then leaned closer.
There was a row of thick poplar trees by the lake. Su Jinning pinned Shen Moyu against a tree trunk and kissed his cool lips. But even if the two of them were doing something naughty behind these trees, no one would notice.
————
Shen Moyu returned home before the Spring Festival Gala began. As soon as she opened the door, the aroma of food wafted into her nostrils, but the strongest smell was of fish.
"You've prepared the food so early?" Shen Moyu looked at the two people busy in the kitchen and felt a little guilty. She and her boyfriend had been out all day, only to come back to eat a ready-made meal.
Hearing his voice, Shen Donghai quickly turned around and replied with a smile, "There's only one more dish to finish. Go sit down and wait a while. The Spring Festival Gala is about to start, isn't it?"
Shen Donghai wasn't angry? That's really strange.
Shen Moyu nodded: "I'll get the bowls and chopsticks."
"Where did you put the red wine?" Zhou Xingqi had just come up from the basement when he saw Shen Moyu return. He was stunned for a moment, and then his face fell instantly: "You still know to come back. You kept hanging up on me."
Shen Moyu coughed lightly and changed the subject, "I know where it is, come with me."
The basement was cool, and the wine cellar was right next to the stairs. Shen Moyu searched for a while before finally finding it: "One bottle should be enough, right?"
"Hmm." Zhou Xingqi took the red wine and said, "Uncle is very angry today, you know that?"
Shen Moyu paused, stood up, and the chill of the wine cellar seeped into his collar: "Do I really need to know?"
"Brother, can you please consider Uncle's feelings? Why do you have to go out with him during the New Year?"
"Then who's thinking about me?" Shen Moyu's tone rose a little, and his voice immediately echoed in the cellar: "Does he think I won't go out just because he doesn't want me to? I don't want him to meddle in my business, but he's so eager to interfere." As he spoke, he picked up the wine bottle and was about to leave.
“Brother, you should break it off with him yourself.” Zhou Xingqi looked at the cold red wine in his hand, water droplets sliding down his knuckles: “I don’t want to see Uncle forcing you.”
"Don't talk about things that bother me during the New Year." Shen Moyu went upstairs. He didn't understand what Zhou Xingqi meant.
Firecrackers are banned in Shanghai. During the Spring Festival, apart from watching the Spring Festival Gala, the only festive atmosphere is the colorful lanterns and hanging lights across the street, along with the sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.
"I was originally thinking of buying some fireworks to set off, but the city center is too strictly controlled. Tomorrow night, Dad will take you to the suburbs to watch the fireworks," Shen Donghai patted Shen Moyu and Zhou Xingqi on his left and right.
"Okay, come on, Dad... Uncle, cough cough, let me pour you some wine." Zhou Xingqi glanced guiltily at Shen Moyu across from him, thankfully he was looking at his phone.
Xia Wei sat down next to Shen Moyu and reached out to turn on the TV. Just then, the Spring Festival Gala opening ceremony started playing, and grand and festive music filled the air. Shen Moyu looked up at the TV.
He hasn't watched the Spring Festival Gala for several years now. In previous years, after having New Year's Eve dinner with Xia Wei, he would fall asleep as soon as he was tired, and Xia Wei wouldn't be in the mood to watch it anymore.
Every year has been quite uneventful.