"Yinci, Shuangjiang is alright." Ye Wangshu stopped Lin Yinci. "We're leaving soon, hurry up and get ready."
After picking out some easily digestible breakfast, Xie Wang returned to his room. As he opened the door, a warm breeze wafted in, filling the entire bedroom with the fragrance of Ling Shuangjiang and the scent of photinia flowers.
Seeing that Ling Shuangjiang was awake, he leaned over and said, "Baby, shall I take you to wash your face and brush your teeth?"
Ling Shuangjiang was so tired that she couldn't even lift her eyelids, and hummed, "Mmm."
Carrying Ling Shuangjiang to the sink, Xie Wang squeezed toothpaste and prepared mouthwash for him, then held it up for him to brush his teeth.
"Does it hurt? I checked last night, and there's no redness or swelling."
"It doesn't hurt too much."
After brushing his teeth, Ling Shuangjiang let Xie Wang wash his face and then leaned lazily against Xie Wang.
After tidying everything up, Xie Wang carried him to dinner.
I fed him spoonfuls of light millet porridge, and even cut the quail eggs in half to prevent him from choking.
Xie Wang is very caring, just like YUXI. Just like last time, Ling Shuangjiang woke up in the morning feeling very dry, and even the sheets and blankets were all brand new and had a light fragrance.
"Let's not go to the public bath today, I'm worried you might get infected. Our room has a small bathtub, you can take a soak there."
Ling Shuangjiang responded and nestled in Xie Wang's arms, gently closing her eyes.
With his arm around Ling Shuangjiang's waist, Xie Wang carefully examined his eyebrows and eyes, and felt more and more that compared with when he was a child, his facial features had hardly changed except that they had grown a little bigger.
Most of the photos of Ling Shuangjiang from her childhood that he collected at home were taken before she was eight years old, and that period of her teenage years is unfortunately missing.
Xie Wang: "Shuangjiang, can I see your photos from junior high and high school?"
Ling Shuangjiang opened her eyes: "It's in my phone's photo album. Look for it yourself. The password is 6214."
Opening Ling Shuangjiang's phone for the first time was like opening Pandora's box, tinged with mystery.
Xie Wang quickly found Ling Shuangjiang's photo album from her school days and carefully flipped through each picture.
Ling Shuangjiang was especially cute as a child, with innocent eyes and a sweet smile.
It wasn't until junior high school that Ling Shuangjiang became more mature and reserved, and her photos always carried a hint of worry.
Xie Wang guessed that Ling Shuangjiang's father had probably passed away by this time.
After sending these photos to his phone, Xie Wang set a solo photo of Ling Shuangjiang from her second year of high school in a stage play as his screensaver.
In this photo, Ling Shuangjiang is wearing a crown, dressed in a dark blue prince's robe, and holding a scepter, standing in the light, as if all of this was tailor-made for him.
Xie Wang had always felt that he had no particular regrets.
But now, he regrets not having met Ling Shuangjiang sooner.
If only they had met sooner.
When Ling Shuangjiang was eighteen, he was twenty-four.
They can start dating six years earlier.
They're married now.
—
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and on the eve of New Year's Eve, the group returned to the city by car.
Ye Wangshu and Lin Yinci had a very pleasant conversation, and Ye Wangshu warmly invited Lin Yinci to move into her home and spend the New Year with them. Unable to refuse her kind invitation, Lin Yinci went to Ye Wangshu's house for a short stay that day.
On New Year's Eve, Xie Wang and Ling Shuangjiang woke up early in the morning to prepare to put up couplets and hang the character "福" (good fortune).
Knowing that Ling Shuangjiang was good at calligraphy and planned to write it himself, Xie Wang sat down beside him and ground the ink for him. "Shuangjiang, I've thought of a couplet."
Ling Shuangjiang asked with a smile, "What?"
Xie Wang: "The first line is 'Love at first sight, now we're companions,' the second line is 'A happy marriage, a lifetime together.' The horizontal scroll reads: 'When will we get married?'"
Ling Shuangjiang smiled, holding the calligraphy brush: "Are you sure this is a Spring Festival couplet and not a wedding couplet?"
Xie Wang: "One device serves two purposes, saving energy."
Ling Shuangjiang thought for a moment and wrote a cheerful Spring Festival couplet on it, "Didn't we agree that we would get married after you turn thirty?"
Xie Wang picked up his phone: "I'll have Xiao Jin change my information to thirty now."
"Silly dog." Ling Shuangjiang picked up the couplet. "Let's go to the forum together."
In previous years, Xie Wang never paid much attention to the rituals of the New Year. He would usually have a meal with his brothers at noon on New Year's Eve, and then go directly to the old house to celebrate the New Year with his grandparents and parents. This place was always quiet.
Now that Ling Shuangjiang is here, Xie Wang feels a sense of honor and satisfaction in managing his own little family.
After pasting up the couplets, Xie Wang hung the red lanterns at the door. A property management staff member on patrol called out, "Mr. Xie, Happy New Year! This year truly brings a fresh start!"
Xie Wang patted the dust off his hands and raised an eyebrow: "Having a home naturally brings a new look."
The property management staff realized what was happening and congratulated the two, saying, "Congratulations!"
After entering the house, Ling Shuangjiang began to put up New Year decorations in other parts of the house, while Xie Wang prepared lunchware.
They agreed to spend the Lunar New Year at their own home at noon, and then take Lin Yinci to Xie Lao's place in the evening.
Lunch was pre-ordered from a riverside restaurant, and Xie Wang only needed to prepare the tableware. Ling Shuangjiang liked the food there, especially their roast duck.
When bored, Xie Wang logged into Weibo to see if there was anything new happening lately.
Having been tagged more than 99 times, Xie Wang randomly clicked on a post and happened to see a Weibo post that broke the news.
Xiaoyu Entertainment: According to reports, the couples special of "Infinite Challenge" will be filmed during the Chinese New Year. The guest list includes some well-known couples, as well as the recently popular brotherly couple @XieWang and @LingShuangJiang. Are you looking forward to it?
"Did the variety show 'Infinite Challenge' invite you for the Frost's Descent?" Xie Wang asked, turning around.
"I was invited." After finishing pasting the paper-cut window decorations, Ling Shuangjiang walked towards Xie Wang. "How did you know about this?"
Xie Wang: "I saw the leak on Weibo, but it seems they didn't invite me." He stood up, his brow furrowing slightly: "They invited you but not me, who do they want you to be paired with?"
Seeing that he was overthinking things, Ling Shuangjiang explained, "We sent both of our invitations to my side. I was thinking that if you don't have time, we won't go."
“If you have time, let’s go.” Xie Wang leaned closer, glancing at his phone. “Reply to them quickly, we’re going.”
Ling Shuangjiang's smile deepened: "Aren't you going to ask about the recording time?"
"Anytime is fine, I want to go with you."
Ling Shuangjiang saw through Xie Wang's little scheme. He raised his hand and patted Xie Wang's head, "The sixth day of the Lunar New Year, for three consecutive days, excluding travel time, the location is Yunnan."
"Okay." Xie Wang hummed an unknown tune and made a basketball shooting motion as he went upstairs. "I'll go pack my luggage in advance."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled without saying a word and told Li Man about it.
That evening, the two went to the Xie family's old house to celebrate the New Year with Xie's family.
The Xie family has a tradition of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, when relatives will come over.
The children were very happy, running around in the living room and playing with fireworks.
Lin Yinci stayed by Xie Lao's side, listening to him recount his past with her father decades ago.
When Mr. Xie got to the emotional part, he was filled with emotion.
Ling Shuangjiang and Xie Wang were watching the Spring Festival Gala together when a group of children looked at each other, then walked over to Xie Wang's side with smiles on their faces.
"Uncle, brother, Happy New Year."
Xie Wang raised an eyebrow: "Brother?"
The children looked at Ling Shuangjiang and said, "Yeah, handsome brother."
Xie Wang pulled out a thick red envelope from his pocket, but hesitated to hand it over. "Why am I the uncle and he's the older brother?"
The child blinked: "Because the handsome older brother is very young."
Ling Shuangjiang chuckled and leaned on Xie Wang's shoulder, whispering, "Just give it to them."
Xie Wang handed them the red envelopes, and they all shouted in unison, "May Uncle and Aunt be happy!"
Xie Wang couldn't help but chuckle: "That's more like it."
The surroundings quieted down, and Xie Wang took out the last red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Ling Shuangjiang: "Happy New Year, Little Shuangjiang."
"I have one too?" Ling Shuangjiang took it.
"Of course you do, you're a kid too." Xie Wang hugged him. "Go back and stay up to welcome the New Year."
This red envelope is quite special; the material inside is very hard, and it looks like a card.
Xie Wang noticed Ling Shuangjiang's curiosity and whispered in his ear, "Salary card."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled, her eyes lowered: "You've paid me my salary?"
"Hmm, give it to my wife for safekeeping." Xie Wang gently stroked Ling Shuangjiang's waist with his fingertips. "The main card is for you, the supplementary card is for me."
Ling Shuangjiang carefully put away the red envelope: "Then I'll give you my card too."
"No." Xie Wang's tone was somewhat clingy. "I'll give you all my money, and you'll give me all your money. You're the eldest in our family."
"Simp." Xie Lin, sitting opposite, heard this cheesy remark and his opinion of his brother subtly changed.
Ling Shuangjiang: "But I've never managed any money."
"Practice makes perfect," Xie Wang said.
Fireworks began to be set off in the courtyard at midnight.
Xie Wang led Ling Shuangjiang upstairs and asked, "What is A-Jiang's New Year's wish?"
Ling Shuangjiang: "Your family is safe and well. How about you?"
Xie Wang: "I want a home, a place that doesn't need to be spacious, as long as you're there, and two little red books (marriage certificates) are enough."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled gently.
Xie Wang's obsession is so strong, and he can't understand what Xie Wang means. If this continues, he'll probably be delirious every day. In severe cases, he might even have trouble sleeping.
"No rings may be used when proposing marriage."
Ling Shuangjiang felt that she had already made it clear.
Xie Wang nodded: "Of course there has to be a diamond ring, but you won't marry me this year."
Fireworks burst open with a "bang".
Ling Shuangjiang lay on the bed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Silly dog."