"Let's go back for New Year's Eve dinner. Coach Yan is still waiting for us."
The boy slightly curved the corners of his lips and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.
"good."
Cheng Zhen also got out of the car and helped her put her luggage in the trunk.
"Oh my, this person has a lot of influence. I just arrived in Jiangcheng City, and before I've even had a chance to settle in, I'm being dragged here to do hard labor."
Qiao Yuchu glared at him.
"I don't know who it is, not going home for the New Year, but insisting on coming here to join in the fun. Why not use the readily available laborers?"
Xie Shi'an got into the car, her hands and feet already numb from the cold. The car was warm, and she finally felt a long-lost warmth.
"Why are you here?"
Jian Changnian moved a little to the side to make room for her.
"Grandma was discharged from the hospital today, but there are no more buses back to the village. I thought I'd let her stay with me in our dorm for the night. Coach Yan said we'd all have hot pot for New Year's Eve dinner tonight, so Yu Chu and I dragged Cheng Zhen out to buy groceries. Zhou Mu didn't go home either; she's at the training base with Grandma, helping Coach Yan make dumplings."
Qiao Yuchu fastened her seatbelt and turned around to say.
"I was about to go back after buying groceries when I happened to pass by here. I was thinking, should I ask you if you still want to eat? I was just about to call you when you came out."
Cheng Zhen turned around and smiled.
"I also bought a lot of fireworks. We'll set them off after we finish eating."
No one asked her what had happened there, or why she had left home with her luggage in the middle of the night. Every word she uttered seemed uncaring, yet every word revealed her concern.
The boy's blood, which had been ice-cold, gradually warmed up again.
"Orange Juice, drive faster, I'm starving!"
"Okay, okay, I know, I'll be speeding if I go any faster!!!"
***
The group returned to the training base, still in the dormitory assigned to him by the unit. Yan Xinyuan was wearing an apron and stirring the hot pot base, while Coach Liang assisted him by washing and preparing vegetables.
Grandma and Zhou Mu sat in the living room rolling out dough for dumplings.
As soon as someone entered, Zhou Mu immediately stood up.
"You're back!"
Coach Liang rushed out upon hearing the commotion and took the things from their hands.
"You're finally back! Come on, come on, we're just waiting for your food to be cooked."
Jian Changnian ran over and patted her grandmother's shoulder.
"Grandma, are you tired?"
Grandma smiled, holding the dumplings in her hands.
"Not tired at all, what's so tiring about making a few dumplings?"
"Changnian, look, why are Grandma's dumplings so pretty, but mine are so ugly?"
Jian Changnian almost burst out laughing when she saw the dumplings on the cutting board. Her grandmother's dumplings were angular and looked like big gold ingots, while Zhou Mu's dumplings were neither like wontons nor like steamed buns.
"Hahahaha, you'd better not waste the ingredients!!"
Zhou Mu angrily pounced on her and tickled her.
Seeing this, Grandma couldn't stop smiling.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Your teammate is putting up paper-cut window decorations. Why don't you go and help out? Come on, Mu Mu, pinch here first, then pinch here. Gently gather your index finger together, and the dumpling will be formed."
Jian Changnian ran over to help Qiao Yuchu and the others put up paper-cut window decorations.
"Higher, even higher."
Qiao Yuchu stood below giving instructions, while Cheng Zhen stood on a stool, craning her neck.
Is this the place?
"Yes, yes, slow down, don't stick it crooked."
"Sister Yu Chu, is there anything I can help you with?" Jian Changnian asked.
Qiao Yuchu glanced back at her, holding onto Cheng Zhen's chair tightly, not daring to let go.
"Go check on Shi'an, she's putting up couplets at the door."
Jian Changnian dashed out the door in a flash.
Xie Shi'an held the couplets in her hand, wobbling on the chair. Jian Changnian put one foot on the chair and reached out to support her leg, then looked up and smiled at her.
Xie Shi'an glanced down at the couplet and asked, holding it up.
Is it correct?
"A little more to the left, okay, okay, that's it."
After the two of them finished pasting the couplets together, Xie Shi'an picked up the character "福" (fortune) from the plastic bag on the ground and was about to paste it on the door when...
Jian Changnian stopped her and turned the "Fu" character in her hand upside down.
"Hey, hey, hey, the character '福' (fortune) should be pasted upside down, it means 'fortune has arrived'!"
Xie Shi'an rarely spent New Year's Eve with anyone, let alone something like pasting up the character "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune). She rolled her eyes, but still followed her lead and pasted the "福" character upside down.
"superstitious."
Jian Changnian picked up the small lantern from the ground again.
"Shi'an, there are still lanterns here, let's hang them up too."
"good."
Xie Shi'an stood on a chair and hung red lanterns on the left and right sides of the entrance. The unit's mottled iron gate and peeling paint on the walls were transformed into a festive and brand-new look after their efforts.
Jian Changnian clapped her hands, looking at her masterpiece with satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad, I really have a talent for interior design."
"What are you talking about? I was the one who put them up, okay?"
Xie Shi'an retorted.
Zhou Mu ran out and called out.
"Changnian, Shian, hurry up and wash your hands and eat!!"
The fire in the stove was blazing, the red pot was boiling, and the whole room was filled with people of all ages chatting and laughing, each with a happy expression on their face.
As the clock struck midnight, fireworks lit up the sky outside the window.
Zhou Mu set up the camera in front and then ran back.
Yan Xinyuan picked up his wine glass.
"We're making an exception today, so everyone can have just a sip of alcohol. Happy New Year!"
The cups clinked together, the camera shutter clicked, and time froze at that moment.
"Happy New Year!"
new year.
hapiness.
***
That evening, after finishing the New Year's Eve dinner and sending her grandmother back to her dormitory to rest, Jian Changnian was just about to lie down and go to sleep.
A strange noise came from the window.
Someone is throwing small stones at the glass.
She opened the window and saw Zhou Mu waving at her. Cheng Zhen, Qiao Yuchu, and Xie Shi'an were all downstairs.
"Let's go set off fireworks."
The boy mouthed, "Wait for me."
She turned around, hurriedly put on her coat, and ran downstairs.
The group drove to the deserted riverbank in the early hours of the morning.
Fireworks were still rising on the opposite bank.
Cheng Zhen also lit the fireworks.
"Bang bang——"
Colorful flowers bloom overhead.
The tide rolled onto the shore.
Jian Changnian shouted at the surging river, "Hey, can you hear me? I'm going to make it to the World Championships!!!"
Zhou Mu followed suit.
"I want to get into my dream university!!!"
Cheng Zhen also cupped her hands into a trumpet shape.
"I'm going to win the national swimming league championship!!!"
Xie Shi'an also stood beside them.
"I want a Grand Slam!!!"
Qiao Yuchu laughed and shouted at the river.
"Then I will pray that all my friends' wishes will come true!!!"
A long, drawn-out whistle came from a ship on the river in the distance.
The silent sky, the deep night, the surging river, and the brightly burning fireworks—all the beauty in the world responded to them.
The boys smiled brightly.
Those who look to the sea will become the sea themselves. [1]